AGENDA ITEM #4
TOWN OF FAIRFAX
STAFF REPORT
May 4, 2022
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Lorena Barrera, Administrative Analyst
SUBJECT: Receive report on Councilmembers’ assignments, committees, and activities in March
__________________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Receive Councilmember activities report.
DISCUSSION
Every month, each Councilmember provides a list of the meetings they attended in the preceding month on behalf of the Town, for inclusion in this report. Under the agenda section entitled “Council Reports and Comments” Councilmembers may choose to highlight one of those meetings.
Mayor Hellman
• April 8: Meeting with San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin and DA Lori Frugoli on County Gun Buy Back event. The 2022 GunBuyback Program seeks to make our communities safer. The event will be held on Saturday, June 4th, 9am – 1pm at the parking lot of the Sheriff and will offer $100 for handguns, rifles, and shotguns; $200 assault weapons. • April 9: Attended “Toad Jam” a concert organized by Archie Williams HS students and fundraiser to protect native amphibian species.
• April 10: Participated in Fairfax Spring Clean up – picked up litter through the Bolinas Park, Peri Park, Central/Contratti field and creek area.
• April 11: Rent stabilization meeting with Vice Mayor Cutrano, Lucie Hollingsworth, Legal Aid of Marin, and Curt Reis, President of Marin DSA.
• April 13: Met with Commissioners on Aging Wendy Nuessle and Josaphine Buennagel to discuss several topics including opportunities for communication of the wonderful services provided to older adults by One Door Marin (website (https://www.onedoormarin.org/) • April 14: Meeting with RVFD Chief Weber to walk-through the Firefighters MOU for better understanding as we enter new negotiations.
• April 15: Fairfax Town Council retreat – discussed strengths, opportunities of council and new processes.
• April 19: Rent Stabilization discussion with Vice Mayor Cutrano, Town Manager Abrams, City Attorney Janet Coleson, and Marin DSA President Curt Reis and Rent Control expert attorney Leah Simon Weisberg.
• April 19: Climate Action Committee – discussed Landscape Ordinance, current budget and new Sustainability dept budget, Earth Day tabling among other topics. • April 20: Attended RVFD Labor-Mgmt. Subcommittee meeting. Appointed Director Steve Burdo as Chairperson and Ross Valley Firefighters’ Assoc President Oscar Arenas as CoChairperson for the Subcommittee for 2022. Received and update regarding Governance and Leadership Study for the future structure of RVFD.
2 • April 20: Attended Virtual Fair Housing Conference 2022: “Investing in Our Future:
Fair Housing and Race-Conscious Policies”. Presentations can be found here:
https://www.fairhousingnorcal.org/fairhousingconference2022.html • April 23: Attended Fairfax Earth Day Celebration in Bolinas Park. • April 23: Hosted Teen Open Mic night at Fairfax Women’s Club • April 26: League of Cal Cities Community Services Policy Committee. Among the agenda topics: U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
Presentation Informational Speaker: Helene Schneider, Regional Coordinator, U.S.
Interagency Council on Homelessness; Presentation on Behavioral Health Legislative Package; Addressing Homelessness in your Community Discussion • April 29: Meet with county staff about rent stabilization.
Vice Mayor Cutrano
• 4/18—The Climate Center ‘s Policy Summit in Sacramento. I attended the conference with the Town’s Climate Action Coordinator, Sean Youra. We attended various breakout sessions on sustainable mobility, microgrids, budgeting and financing for sustainability initiatives, and nature-based climate solutions at the local level.
• 4/19—Rent Stabilization Meeting. I met with Mayor Hellman, Town Manager Abrams, Town Attorney Coleson, Leah Simon-Weisburg and DSA Marin regarding the various pathways to implementation of a rent stabilization ordinance. We discussed the various ways that cities have implemented rent stabilization ordinances via phased approaches, including contract services with housing justice nonprofits for tenant and landlord education/services and contract services with other communities for hearing examiners. We also learned about how some communities used the Town Council as a temporary rent board to hear appeals. • 4/20—Meeting with Dustin Liebman from the Town’s Parks and Recreation Committee (PARC). I met with Dustin to discuss next sets on an outdoor exercise equipment station in Peri Park. At this stage, we are collecting additional information from Age Friendly Fairfax and creating an inventory of equipment that PARC can review. One preferred equipment is identified, a landscape architect would help PARC understand what is possible based on dimensions of the project site, including fall-zones and ADA accessibility. • 4/21—Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers (MCCMC) Ad Hoc Water Policy Committee Meeting. This Ad Hoc committee is working to complete an initial report for the full MCCMC body. This Ad Hoc committee is providing a high-level overview of the water policy landscape in the region, policies that we can implement within our jurisdictions, opportunities for collaboration, and possible funding sources. • 4/26—Meeting with Councilmember Ackerman, Climate Action Committee Chair Jody Timms, Climate Action Coordinator Sean Youra, and Bruce Bell regarding the Orange Charger Company. The Town is working with TAM to investigate innovate ways to expand electric vehicle infrastructure at a low cost throughout Fairfax. Orange Charger is a solution that could work for multifamily housing units and HOAs, by allowing tenants to utilize a wall outlet for Level 1 charging. A scannable QR code linked to individual tenant profiles and payment options would allow for multiple tenants to charge from the same outlet. The Town has also been investigating how we can use the electrical infrastructure located at public light posts throughout the Town in order to further on-street EV charging options. We discussed the Orange Company’s ability to accommodate this.
• 4/27—Meeting with Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) Executive Director Anne Richman, TAM staff member David Chan, and TAM legislative advocate Gus Khouri regarding State Leg/Transportation & Energy related bills. At the March TAM meeting, during the item regarding TAM’s legislative platform, I raised a question about whether or not 3 TAM should begin to take positions on building code or energy (grid) resiliency/modernization legislation, since the electrification of the transportation sector—both public and private—with be impacted by the successful deployment of electric vehicle infrastructure and the moderation of our electric grid to accommodate the changes in the transportation sector. As examples I brought up SB 1482 and SB 833. This was a follow up meeting to discuss possible efforts to address this emerging issue. Solutions included further coordination with MCE and BAAQMD, among others. In addition, TAM staff offered to evaluate any legislation I send along that connects to transportation electrification or transit equity. • 4/27—DEI Ad Hoc Committee Meeting. I met with Councilmember Goddard, Fairfax Management Analyst Lorena Barrera, and two staff members from FM3 Research regarding scope of work and costs associated with a Public Safety, Policing, and Equity Survey for the Town of Fairfax. At the Town’s regular October 2021 meeting, the Council received a presentation from staff regarding a suite of options to further diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Town. As part of Council’s direction to staff, the Town has been seeking proposals from various survey firms. We are starting to meet with the various firms that responded to the Town’s request for proposals.
• 4/27—Marin Emergency Radio Authority (MERA) meeting. Quick refresher: MERA is a collection of public agencies formed in partnership to provide and operate a public safety radio system. Our police department, fire department, and public works department all utilize this system. We are currently moving through the bidding and construction phases of the “NextGen” system. The NextGen system has 18 sites around Marin County. At our March meeting we approved Bid Package 2, which will be finalized for the May MERA meeting. At that point, the first 9 of our 18 sites will be under construction. At this meeting we received an update on the NextGen System and altered our contract with 4Leaf, who will be providing construction inspection services for all of our planned 18 sites. Full agenda packet can be found here.
• 4/28—Transportation Authority of Marin meeting.
Commute37 - Four North Bay transportation agencies have partnered to launch a pilot carpool program on May 1 for anyone who commutes on Highway 37, which connects Vallejo to Novato. People who register on www.Commute37.com will receive a $25 gift card just for signing up. Participants can find others who live and work nearby to create convenient carpools through the flexible program. For every 10 carpool trips logged, participants can also claim a $25 reward with an extra $10 bonus for anyone who commutes in an electric vehicle or hybrid.
North-South Greenway - On March 28, a portion of the North-South Greenway over Corte Madera Creek was opened for public use. Half the path width is available to bikers and pedestrians while the other half is still needed for the demolition and removal of the old narrow sidewalk. Construction is expected to be completed with the full path open to the public in late Spring/early Summer.
Electric Vehicle Concept Program - Last week was the final date for submitting EV project concepts to TAM as part of our efforts to identify the “next wave” of public agency EV needs in the county. 20 entities submitted projects with 53 different concepts of interest National Bike To School Day is Wednesday, May 4 - Students and families will celebrate National Bike to School Day on the first Wednesday in May. Contact Cooper Miley ([email protected]) for elementary and Lou Goodwin ([email protected]) for middle & high school for more information
4 Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 6 - The California Transportation Commission (CTC) issued the ATP Cycle 6 Call for Projects on March 16, 2022. ATP Cycle 6 includes four years of funding, and the funds will be programmed in FY 2023-24 to 2026-27. The available funding amounts are anticipated to be approximately $600 million for the Statewide Program and $50 million for the Regional Program administered by MTC.
Agencies who did not request TAM’s assistance are not precluded from developing their own applications. Therefore, other applications may be developed by local agencies for submittal. ATP applications are due June 15, 2022. CTC staff will announce recommended projects in October 2022 and the CTC will adopt selected projects in December 2022.
In addition to discussing these update, we approved an updated legislative platform for TAM, received an update on the possible outcomes of the Newsom administration’s $68 billion budget surplus, and voted to initiate the opt-out of the two-year updates of our Congestion Management Program (CMP) in favor of allocating resources to a four-year Countywide Transportation Plan (CTP). CMPs are updated without public participation, unlike a CTP. Marin is the only county in the Bay Area that does not prepare a CTP. The opt-out process will require every city council to pass a resolution to “opt-out” of the CMP process. TAM will supply jurisdictions with sample letters.
Full agenda packet can be found here.
• 4/29—Rent Stabilization Meeting. I met with Mayor Hellman and Leelee Thomas, Deputy Director of the Housing and Federal Grants Division of Marin County’s Community Development Agency. We received an update on the County’s Housing Element process.
The Community Development Agency plans to include information on a rent stabilization program in their Draft Housing Element Document due out later this spring.
Councilmember Ackerman
• 4/5 - Weekly meeting with Town Manager
• 4/5 - Meeting with Sean Youra
• 4/6 - Town Council regular meeting
• 4/11 - Pre-meet with facilitator for Council Retreat
• 4/12 - Meet with CAC officers and Town Clerk
• 4/13 - Weekly meeting with Town Manager
• 4/15 - Council Retreat (special public meeting)
• 4/19 - Weekly meeting with Town Manager
• 4/19 - Climate Action Committee regular meeting
• 4/20 - Briefing for Heather with Flood Zone 9 staff and Nancy Vernon • 4/25 - Flood Zone 9 Advisory Board meeting
• 4/26 - Weekly meeting with Town Manager
• 4/26 - Demo of Orange Outlet (EV charging for multifamily) • 4/26 - CAC Buildings Subcommittee
• 4/27 - MCCMC regular meeting via Zoom
• 4/28 - Countywide Ad-Hoc Microgrid Working Group
• 4/30 - Take-Back Day in Fairfax
Councilmember Coler
• Met with Town Manager several times on Town matters (April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3). 5 • MCE Clean Energy Executive Committee meeting – no meeting held in April. • Countywide HUD Funding Priority Setting Committee “PSC” (Federal HUD CDBG & HOME; State PLHA-Permanent Local Housing Allocation from HCD) (April 7) – The County overall should receive 22/23 HUD funding for CDBG est. at $1.6M (+$372K reprogrammed funds); and HOME est. at $800K. CDBG funds can only be spent on housing & capital projects (85%) and 15% for public services projects; HOME funds can only be spent on housing projects.
There are 3 planning areas (County Other – inc. Fairfax, and Novato and San Rafael). The Committee recommended allocations for “County Other” for: Fair Housing Advocates of NC, Episcopal Community Services for S. Eliseo, Homeward Bound for the Veterans Home, SGVAHA for Sage Lane, the Residential Rehab. Loan Program for Housing; For several capital projects inc. the Fairfax/San Anselmo Children’s Center and others; For Public Services for Covia, Legal Aid of Marin, Extra Food, FX/SA Children’s Center, Performing Stars and others. PHLA funding for the County overall is $1,127,763 for housing only – For “County Other” the Committee recommended the Bolinas Community Land Trust (Wharf Road) and Eden Housing (for the Point Reyes Coast Guard Housing). The City Councils of Novato and San Rafael as entitlement cities allocate their HUD funds – the overall Committee reviews only. The Board of Supervisors will finalize the approved allocations on May 10, 2022 for submittal to HUD and the State on May 15.
• Attended Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) meeting (April 14) – Commission received draft Municipal Services Review (MSR) for West Marin (comments submitted, MSR to be finalized at June LAFCO meeting); reviewed/approved LAFCO workplan for FY 22/23; created an ad hoc committee for the two Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities (DUCs) identified in the County by the 2020 Census (Marin City & CalPark RV park, San Rafael – Sup. Rodoni & Spec. District rep. Kious assigned); approved Operating Budget for FY 22/23; decided to meet virtually for the June meeting to allow West Marin participation for the MSR – likely meet in person in August 2022; letters to be sent to support two CalLAFCO sponsored bills. Closed session held for EO performance evaluation. • Attended Town Council Retreat (April 15).
• Attended Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA) Board meeting (April 21) – The Board approved CEQA Notices of Exemption for two Core projects: San Rafael Zone West San Pedro Road Fuel Reduction Project & Southern Marin Zone Tam Valley/Homestead Fuel Break Project; received educational presentation by the Insurance Institute for Business & Safety (IBHS) on a new program to be launched this summer – Wildfire Prepared Home Designation; update on grants – MWPA has given out 32 home hardening grants and 43 Dspace grants to date; chipper days have begun – MWPA is leading this year (vs. FireSafe); Board approved tax rate adjustment of 3% for FY 22/23 (there has been no increase the last two years); approved amendment to EO compensation of 8.8%; approved agreements for professional services and for software as a service (SaaS) for the evacuation risk assessment – this is the first of its kind – projected completion is March 2023 (will determine highest risk areas needing vegetation clearing for evacuation); update on FireSafe Marin funded by MWPA: see Adapt to Wildfire Campaign in the IJ and through social media; metrics presentation of FireSafe work funded by MWPA; and Ember Stomp Event will be held at the Civic Center on May 28 (look for ads soon).
6 • MCE Clean Energy Board meeting – No meeting held in April. • Attended Fairfax Age Friendly Task Force meeting (April 22) – Received update from new Victory Village Resident Coordinator; received report on planned events at the Fairfax Library for intergenerational (including older adults) for the 3rd Saturdays in May on climate change and Earth Day event; discussed Brown Act changes for the Task Force & potential options.
Heather Abrams attended the meeting.
• Attended Marin County Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) Legislative Committee (April 25) – Urgency Eviction Moratorium bill through June 30, 2022 (AB 2170) was signed into law March 31 by Acting Governor Eleni Kounalakis - only for people in the queue for rental assistance $$ and prohibits locals from enacting their own eviction moratoriums. Action taken on two bills: the Legislative Committee will send Oppose position letters on SB 1067 – eliminates parking requirements for housing projects within ½ mile of transit & AB 261 – provides that a public entity is liable for injury relating to the public entity’s homelessness policies on another public. Other bills of interest for watch positions at this time: several dealing with teleconferencing for jurisdictions under revised Brown Act rules (also watching other bills as they will change over time). MCCMC LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE SCOPE OF ADVOCACY: Fiscal Protection: protect city revenues from state Local Control: support legislation that enhances local control of resources to provide services while supporting regional co-operation. Oppose unfunded mandates and preemption of local authority and control of land use Transportation Investment: promote stable transportation finance structure for state and local government. Multimodal, enhancing livable communities Housing/Land use: protect local government land use authority. Oppose punitive housing legislation, and legislation that restricts or reduces local discretion on land use decisions. Other legislation can be recommended to MCCMC at a regular meeting.
• Attended MCCMC Monthly Meeting (April 27) – Along with general MCCMC business, there were two presentations: Mark Brown, Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority Executive Officer, “Outlook for Upcoming Fire Season” and “PG&E Enhanced Vegetation Management Plan for Marin” by Mark van Gorder, PG&E Sr. Government and Public Affairs North Bay. Coler sent questions in advance for PGE: 1) lack of (or very limited) coordination with local jurisdictions on their veg. management work – how will they rectify; 2) northern spotted owls are in our jurisdiction – what type, if any, environmental surveillance/mitigation work is being conducted for NSO or other endangered and threatened species for veg. management work; and, 3) spring is bird nesting season, how will PGE revise their veg. management scheduling to not conduct work at this time of year in the future.
• Attended Community Media Center of Marin (CMCM) Board meeting (April 28).
Councilmember Goddard
• Interview with Greg Larson (Facilitator) in preparation for the Town Council Retreat • Plastic Free Marin Meeting: Delivered public comment at the Board of Supervisor’s Meeting.
They considered the introduction of an ordinance to reduce Single use plastics and require either reusable foodware or BPI certified compostable foodware. The ordinance requires that the compostables be compliant with what is accepted at Waste Management EarthCare 7 compost facility at Redwood Landfill. The ordinance is modeled after and nearly identical to the ordinance approved by Fairfax and San Anselmo.
• Attended and Helped Archie Williams High School student Aidan Oreilly schedule a community concert ‘Toad Jam’, a fundraiser to protect native amphibians featuring young musicians and performing artists.
• Ross Valley Fireboard Meeting: Discussed Defensible Space Inspections. RVFD’s goal this year is to complete 15,000 inspections with a greater portion of these inspections being secondary, or re-inspections from last year. While the MWPA requires that every property within RVFD jurisdiction be inspected once every three years, RVFD is on track to inspect every property every two years.
• Discussion item to introduce the plan to develop an RFP for a study to develop policy options for the Board surrounding Future Leadership/Governance. The Board authorized the Fire Chief to draft an RFP for Board consideration
• Attended a workshop hosted by San Anselmo to receive public input regarding the future of outdoor dining in SA. The input from residents was almost unanimously positive and several retail businesses expressed concerns regarding parking and store front visibility. • Town Council, day-long annual retreat
• Met with Curt Ries from Democratic Socialists of America, and received an update on a possible Rent Control ordinance in Fairfax
• Met with Andrew Hening from Opening Doors Marin to discuss a County Forum addressing Homelessness
• MCCMC Economic Recovery Meeting
• Received a presentation from Placer Data regarding a data collection tool which ‘observes’ smart phone location finding technology. The data allows businesses and Government Economic Development Agencies to understand how and where people move during the course of a day. These tools have been instrumental in considering best locations for businesses or placement of services that best serve individual businesses and jurisdictions. (Very interesting presentation but my observation is that this is not a good match for our small town.)
• Attended the Mill Valley Earth Day celebration hosted by Green Change • Met with Steve Devine from Zero Waste Marin to receive an update on the JPA and next steps for the Local Advisory Task Force on which I serve as Chair • Joint Exercise Powers Authority (JEPA) meeting- Yellow Bus Program. With additional funds from Measure AA, increased funding from The County and both Fairfax and San Anselmo, the Yellow Bus Program will continue to serve Ross Valley School District and Ross Valley Charter students with a minimal increase in bus pass prices. The increase is $505 to $515 for a one-way pass. The subsidy for income qualified students will remain in place. • Met with Lorena Barrera, Vice-Mayor Cutrano and Consulting Firm FM3 Research, one of two firms being considered to conduct a survey with statistical integrity in order to guide the next steps of the Town’s DEI work plan
• MCCMC Regular monthly business meeting
8 • Coordinated and hosted the annual Fairfax Take Back Day for collection of electronic waste, document shredding, tire recycling. This annual event is planned in tandem with the Fairfax Police DEA drug take back event.