AGENDA ITEM #3
TOWN OF FAIRFAX
STAFF REPORT
June 1, 2022
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Lorena Barrera, Administrative Analyst
SUBJECT: Receive report on Councilmembers’ assignments, committees, and activities in May __________________________________________________________________________________
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
• May 5th: MCCMC Water policy committee meeting
• May 9th: Council agenda setting meeting with Town manager, staff and Vice Mayor Cutrano • May 11th: Meeting with The Spahr Center staff – discussed expansion of programs in Fairfax • May 11th: Ross Valley Fire Board meeting
• May 12th Fairfax Special council meeting
• May 13th: Council retreat reviewing and discussing draft budget for fiscal year 22/23 • May 16th: Attended Ross Valley schools (RVC and RVSD) lunch meeting with MCOE Superintendent Burke and staff.
• May 16th: Attended Fairfax PD event: Coffee with the Cops. Chief Tabaranza • May 17th: Fairfax Climate Action committee meeting
• May 19th: MCCMC water policy meeting – worked on finalizing our report to full committee. • May 25: Attended MCCMC regular meeting.
• May 27th: Meeting with Luke Barnesmoore ,Program Director for Home Match Marin. Home Match, which has operated in Marin County since 2012, is a nonprofit home sharing service that supports the process of creating and maintaining shared housing arrangements for Home Providers and Home Seekers.
• May 28th: Attended Firesafe Marin’s Emberstomp – Marin’s first wildfire prevention festival. • May 28th Attended Park and Rec’s kids movie night on the ballfield • May 28th: See attachment “Highlights from League of CA Cities Community Services Policy Committee”
Vice Mayor Cutrano
• 5/4—Regular Meeting of the Fairfax Town Council
• 5/5—Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers (MCCMC) Ad Hoc Water Policy Committee Meeting. Our Ad Hoc Committee reviewed our final deliverables and discussed our workplan to deliver a landscape analysis of current and projected water 2 supply and demand, long term and short term water resiliency programs and policies, and funding opportunities in Marin County.
• 5/9—Town of Fairfax Agenda Setting Meeting with Mayor Hellman, Town Manager Abrams, Town Attorney Coleson
• 5/11—Marin Emergency Radio Authority (MERA) Meeting. At our May meeting, the MERA board awarded “Bid Package 2” for MERA’s Next Gen system and approved the proposed FY 2022-23 operating budget and zero rate fee schedule for MERA. • 5/12—Special Meeting of the Fairfax Town Council
• 5/12—Town of Fairfax Budget Workshop
• 5/23—“Accelerating Our Efforts to End Homelessness in Marin County” Symposium. At this event we convened local and national experts to help us envision our path forward for implementing solutions to end homelessness in Marin County. We received a keynote presentation from Sam Tsemberis, who founded Housing First in New York City in the 1990s, and representatives from the national Built for Zero campaign. Sam’s presentation was enlightening, clarifying the difference between programs that are called “Housing First” and programs that are actually following the Housing First methodology.
Sam’s presentation also illustrated the importance of centering clinical and humane ways of screening and prioritizing care (moving beyond the VI-SPDAT and looking at administrative/medical history/data); how one-size-fits-all approaches are ineffective; the value of client-driven approaches; the importance of focusing on people experiencing chronic homelessness now, so that we can free up resources over the long term; the ineffectiveness of “care courts” as a method of compelling treatment; the need for expanding permanent housing and rent vouchers; the need to create pathways from housing with services to regular housing in the community; the possibility of addressing much of our poverty-induced homelessness with scattered-site housing to promote community integration; and the racial and economic disparities and inequities that exacerbate our homelessness crisis.
• 5/23—Rent Stabilization Ad Hoc Working Group Meeting with Mayor Hellman, Town Manager Abrams, Town Attorney Coleson. In this meeting we reviewed a first draft of a rent stabilization flow chart to assess roles and responsibilities for the Town and contractors. We identified a series of questions about staff responsibilities and administrative actions, which we will continue to seek answers to.
• 5/25—MCCMC Regular Meeting. At the regular meeting we received a presentation from Miriam Karrel Marin County Small Business Development Center (SBDC) regarding the Marin Microbusiness $2500 grant program. Information about the program is available here: https://www.marinsbdc.org/microbizgrants/. In addition, we received MCCMC Ad Hoc Committee Updates
• 5/26—Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Ad Hoc Committee Meeting. I met with Councilmember Goddard, Town Manager Abrams, and staff analyst Lorena Barrera, to discuss the progress made on the first tier of DEI actions/programs approved at the Regular October meeting of the Fairfax Town Council including: General Plan Update; Handbook for Recruiting, Hiring, and Retaining Employees; Diversity and Inclusion Training Program; Community Survey for the Town of Fairfax; and a Racial Equity Action Plan. Staff indicated a progress report would be provided at the Town Council meeting in July. • 5/26—Transportation Authority of Marin Meeting. At our May meeting, the TAM Board of Commissioners:
o Celebrated our Crossing Guard of the Year, Carmel Morini of Novato. o Received an update on that the Construction of the North-South Greenway over Corte Madera Creek is nearing completion. The multi-use path is now open for use, 3 with half the pathway available, and is scheduled to fully open for public use in the middle of June.
o Received confirmation that the last remaining High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane construction project as part of the 17-mile US 101 Marin- Sonoma Narrows (MSN) program was officially awarded on Tuesday, April 26, to Ghilotti Construction Inc. o Received an update that the 10-year review process is underway for the Measure B Vehicle Registration Fee (VRF) passed by Marin County voters in 2010. Measure B contributes approximately $2.3M to help fund a variety of transportation projects and programs in Marin County. The review process was initiated at the May 16 TAM Citizen’s Oversight Committee meeting and is expected to continue each month through September. A 45-day comment period will be opened once the review is presented to the TAM Board of Commissioners targeted for early 2023. These meetings are open to the public. Participation and public input are encouraged. o Were updated on a US Dept. of Transportation Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program. Applications are due September 15, 2022.
o Were informed that Caltrans is updating the US 101 North Comprehensive Multimodal Corridor Plan (CMCP) and is seeking input from the community via an online survey in English and en Español. The CMCP is a long-range plan developed to respond to growing transportation system needs along a corridor. o Voted to support SB1482 the EV Infrastructure Equity bill moving through the legislature. In April, I had a meeting with TAM staff and TAM’s legislative consultant to recommend the review of this piece of legislation.
o Adopted One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) Program Cycle 3 local criteria. Marin’s pool of funds is roughly $9.6 million for this cycle. TAM can send funding requests of 120% (or $11.5 million to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for consideration). In OBAG Cycle 1 we received funding for our parkade in the center of Town. A Call for Projects will be issued to local and transit agencies no later than May 31, 2022.
Applications will be due to TAM on July 27, 2022.
o We received an excellent update on the effectiveness of the current Safe Routes 2 School program, which reached 10,000 students in the last year. • 5/27—Rent Stabilization Ad Hoc Committee meeting with DSA Marin. I met with Mayor Hellman, Leah Simon-Weisburg and DSA Marin leaders regarding the various pathways to implementation of a rent stabilization ordinance. In particular, we discussed elements of a program that can be simplified (e.g, complaint form development, etc.) as well as methods • 5/31—Fairfax Open Space Committee May Meeting
Councilmember Ackerman
• 5/4 - Town Council regular meeting, in person at the Womens Club! • 5/5 - MCE Power Hour, webinar on load shifting initiatives • 5/11 - Marin/Sonoma Mosquito & Vector Control Advisory Board regular meeting, preceeded by closed session
• 5/12 - Town Council meeting on Housing Element, at Womens Club • 5/13 - Town Council budget workshop, at Womens Club
• 5/17 - Climate Action Committee regular meeting
• 5/19 - Meeting with Flood Zone 9 staff
• 5/19 - MCE regular Board Meeting (serving as alternate to Councilmember Coler) • 5/25 - MCCMC regular meeting, by Zoom
• 5/26 - Bay Area News Group webinar on housing and homelessness 4 Councilmember Coler
• Met with Town Manager several times on Town matters (May 10, 17, 24, 31). • MCE Clean Energy Executive Committee meeting – no meeting held in May. • Attended Special Town Council meeting (May 12) – Presentation of draft housing inventory and other matters related to the Housing Element under development; and approved contract amendment for Housing Element contractor, EMC Planning Group. • Attended Town Council Budget Workshop (May 13) - 1
st Budget Hearing to be held at
the June 1 meeting.
• Attended Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA) Board meeting (May 19) –The Board approved: its FY 22/23 Workplan (total projected expenditures for JPA-Wide, CORE, Local, D-Space is $20.5M) – Fairfax’s Local Projects = $102.070 for Invasive Vegetation Treatment Program; Fairfax’s Defensible Space Inspection/Evaluation Program = $102,070; its FY 22/23 Budget minus a new building rents expenditure of $125,000/year (to be discussed as a specific item at the June Board meeting). The Board approved a budget transfer from a Core project to the Ross Valley Shaded Fuel Break Project (includes Fairfax). Update on grants – MWPA has given out 34 home hardening grants and 57 Dspace grants to date (for next FY 22/23, the total amount allocated for these grants will be ~$650K- D-Space will be eligible for ALL, not just AFN and will be up to $1000 with no match required; Home Hardening will be eligible to all as with this FY and will be up to $5000, most will not require a match). Ember Stomp Event will be held at the Civic Center on May 28 (11am-5pm). The Board election for the President and VP will be held at the June meeting.
• Featured Speaker at Archie William’s High School 1st Lorax Science Symposium (May 19) – at the request of HS Environmental Science Teacher (and “Lorax creator”) Alan Neally, Coler provided a presentation “Pathways – Using Science to Achieve Environmental Benefits at the National, State, Regional and Local Governments’ Levels.” Barbara also viewed the students’ Lorax Science projects and discussed with them how they addressed their projects and next steps.
• Attended Marin County Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) Legislative Committee (May 23) – Action taken on bills: the Legislative Committee will send Oppose position letter on AB 2011 – requires ministerial approval for housing on retail and other properties, State would actually be largely overriding all planning being conducted by Cities through their Housing Elements; the Legislative Committee will send a Support letter on AB 1944 which deals with teleconferencing for jurisdictions under revised Brown Act rules and also a Support letter on State Budget Request by CalCities to pay cities/towns/counties unfunded mandates bill from 2004-2021 (for Fairfax this is ~$115,000 (also watching other bills as they will change through negotiations). May Revise ($307B with $97B surplus) - Governor has requested an additional $1.2B for utility arrearage and $2.7B for additional rental assistance – State Budget to be issued June 15 yet budget bills should continue until September 1. MCCMC LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE SCOPE OF ADVOCACY: Fiscal Protection: protect city revenues from state Local Control: support legislation that 5 enhances local control of resources to provide services while supporting regional cooperation. 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 (May 25) – Presentation: Miriam Karrel, Marin County Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will also be providing an update regarding the new Marin Microbusiness $2500 grant program. See:
https://www.marinsbdc.org/microbizgrants/. MCCMC Committee reports will also be presented by chairs/co-chairs for the: Homeless Policymakers Committee; Climate Action Committee; Economic Recovery Committee; and Water Policy Committee. • Attended Community Media Center of Marin (CMCM) Board meeting (May 26) – meeting held after report submitted.
• Attended Fairfax Age Friendly Task Force meeting (May 27) - meeting held after report submitted.
Councilmember Goddard
• Ross Valley Paramedic Authority meeting (RVPA) - Received a preliminary ’22-’23 budget presentation, discussed revenue sources for RVPA are approximately two-thirds Property Taxes and one-third Transport revenue. The over-all proposed FY2022/23 budget has revenues exceeding expenditures by $120 thousand. The renewal of the RVPA tax measure will be on the November ’22 ballot
• Discussion of Town funds - Met with Finance Director Michael Vivrette to ask questions and provide input regarding the ’22-’23 budget. Also had a discussion with Sean Youra (Climate Action Coordinator) regarding Zero Waste funds and prioritization of projects using these restricted funds.
• Planning meeting – Met with Andrew Hening from Opening Doors Marin to discuss content and structure for the May 23rd Marin County Forum on Homelessness. • Presented to Whitehill Middle School 6th graders
• ‘Children For Change’ - discussed the importance of youth voice in government and techniques for effective climate advocacy.
• Ross Valley Fire Board Meeting - Reviewed the proposed ’22-’23 budget and 5 year budget projection. The Department is funded by member contributions at the following percentages:
Town of San Anselmo 40.53%, Town of Fairfax 23.30%, Town of Ross 23.37%, Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District 12.80%. The total proposed General Fund operating budget for FY 2022-2023 is $12,688,316 which includes $12,333,310 for the General Fund and a fund transfer of $355,006 for the Vehicle/SCBA Fund.The Board also reviewed a Request For Proposals (RFP) for services to study potential future governance models for the Department.
In August 2018, the RVFD entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Marin County Fire Department (MCFD) The Ross Valley Fire Department has used the services provided by MCFD for “Fire Chief” and other command/leadership. The MOU between RVFD and MCFD terminates on August 1, 2023. The MOU won’t be renewed. Instead, the 6 Department is using the opportunity to study a path forward for governance and leadership, ensuring the long-term sustainability of Fire and Emergency Services. • Special Town Council Meeting - Review of Housing Element opportunity sites and approval of expanded EMC (Housing element consultant) contract
• All Day Marin County-wide Forum on Homelessness - Delivered opening welcome remarks on behalf of the Marin cities and towns. The purpose of the forum was to convene service providers/case managers/Homeless outreach team, elected officials and County staff working in the Homeless sector to envision a path forward. Representatives from the national Built for Zero campaign (of which Marin is a member) took part in facilitating the forum and the “keynote” presentation was from Sam Tsemberis, who founded Housing First in New York City in the 1990s. ‘Ending homelessness in Marin County’ is dependent on collaboration. Past ‘Housing ‘First’ strategies have not included the direct input and involvement of the cities and towns. Cities and towns are now involved. Given the complexities of working with individuals who are experiencing homelessness and especially those living with severe mental illness, it is vital to utilize a person by person approach. The general principle of Inclusion versus segregation is foundational in a ‘Housing First’ model. Success in staying housed once a placement is made is dependent on developing trust and ongoing case management and support.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) - Met with Heather Abrams, Lorena Barrera and Vice Mayor Cutrano regarding strategies, policies and timeline for implementation Ie: DEI training for all staff, electeds and boards and commissions, Equity Action Plan, and Community survey options.
• Attended the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority(MWPA)/Firesafe Marin ‘Ember Stomp’ event
COMMUNITY SERVICES POLICY COMMITTEE
HIGHLIGHTS
Thursday, April 28, 2022
ATTENDANCE
Members: Wanda Williams (Chair); Jaques Casillas (Vice Chair); Adele Andrade Stadler; Debbie Baker; Daniel Bobadilla; Kimberly Calvin; Ruben Chavez; Sara Cowell; Minnie Diallo; Christine Engel; Brad Farmer; Lucy Garcia; Peter Garcia; Debra Garnes; Stephanie Hellman; Jay Ingram; Dan Kalmick; Alison Kerr; Eric Knight; Lydia Kou; James Kyriaco; Christina Lee; Rich Lozano; Gloria Ma’ae; Peggy McQuaid; Bridgette Moore; Liz Morris; Mark Nagales; Kim Nguyen; Maria Nunez; Ariel Pe; Michael Ponce; Todd Rigby; Nat Rojanasathira; David Ruderman; Amanda Saltray; Jesse Sandoval; David Shapiro; Debby Stegura; Elizabeth Talbot; Denise Thomas; Holly Tillman; Bill Uphoff; Wanda Williams; Curtis Yakimow; Frank Yokoyama; Brianne Zorn
League Partners: Kevin McKusker
Staff: Caroline Cirrincione, Legislative Affairs, Lobbyist I. Welcome and Introductions
Melanie Perron, Deputy Executive Director, Advocacy and Public Affairs, League of California Cities, welcomed everyone to the second policy committee meeting of the year and thanked members for their service to all California cities.
She explained that policy committees are vitally important and directly connected to Cal Cities' core mission of advocating for the common interests of cities.
Ms. Perron also covered Cal Cities 2022 budget asks, which call on lawmakers to allocate $1.6 billion for programs that achieve shared city and state goals and reimburse cities for state unfunded mandates.
Chair Williams, and Vice Chair Casillas, welcomed committee members and provided an introduction.
II. Public Comment
Chair Williams asked if there was any public comment. There was no public comment.
III. General Briefing
In accordance with the customary practice of convening all policy committee members for a general briefing prior to the start of policy committee meetings, the Cal Cities advocacy team compiled a General Briefing Document, which includes the latest on legislative and budgetary matters affecting cities.
IV. U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Presentation Helene Schneider, Regional Coordinator for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), presented the work USICH is doing to ensure a coordinated federal response to homelessness. Ms. Schneider provided an overview of homelessness in the United States and funding and resources available to local governments that can be leveraged to address this crisis.
Additionally, she previewed the new federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, which should be released in the summer of 2022. Ms. Schneider explained that this plan will create a roadmap for federal, state, and local action.
Following her presentation, committee members asked a series of questions about the work USICH is doing and were given the opportunity to share how their communities are tackling homelessness.
V. California Interagency Council on Homelessness Presentation Courtney Tacker, Director of Local Initiatives for the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH), presented how California's state agencies work together to address homelessness. This included an overview of Cal ICH's action plan for preventing and ending homelessness and state resources available to local governments, including funding.
Following the meeting, Ms. Tacker shared a series of resources, which were covered in her presentation. These included:
• California Blueprint - Homelessness Stakeholder Webinar – YouTube • Putting the Funding Pieces Together: Guide to Strategic Uses of New and Recent State and Federal Funds to Prevent and End homelessness (ca.gov)
• Letter from Executive Officer to Council Members (ca.gov) • CoC Points of Contact (ca.gov)
VI. Legislative Agenda
To provide context to the proposed policy statement for consideration, Cal Cities staff began with an overview of the pending behavioral health legislative package and the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court proposal. These proposals are a top priority of the Legislature this year and are related to Cal Cities 2022 action agenda, which seeks to secure increased funding and resources to prevent homelessness and assist individuals experiencing homelessness.
Cal Cities staff explained that historically, Cal Cities has not engaged on issues related to behavioral health because of the role counties play in providing these services. In light of this, Cal Cities lacks existing policy that directs staff's engagement on these issues. Cal Cities staff then provided an overview of the proposed behavioral health policy statement and opened the floor to discussion and questions.
Committee members raised concerns about the housing requirements included in the CARE Court proposal and the role of cities in providing those housing options. Members also emphasized how tackling homelessness and behavioral health issues can vary between larger cities and smaller cities. Ultimately, a committee member suggested changing the proposed policy statement to include "infrastrcture" highlighting the lack of housing and available treatment facilities currently online. With that addition, the proposed statement reads:
Behavioral Health:
Cal Cities supports additional funding and resources to expand access to behavioral health services, including efforts to assist California's homeless population, especially those individuals experiencing mental health and substance use disorders. This includes, but is not limited to, supporting counties in expanding community-based care settings to provide for prevention, intervention, treatment, infrastructure, and recovery systems.
A motion was made to approve the proposed policy, which passed 30-2.
VII. Legislative Update
Cal Cities staff provided an update on the bills with positions in the community services portfolio. These measures included issues related to children's camps, early learning, literacy, seniors and aging, homelessness, outdoor access, and more. Staff explained that if the Cal Cities Board of Directors approves the proposed policy statement, there would be a host of new bill positions on issues related to behavioral health discussed at the next meeting. In the meantime, a list of the Cal Cities community service position bills can be found here.
VIII. Adjourn
Chair Williams thanked the committee for their hard work and said some closing remarks. Chair Williams then adjourned the meeting.
Next Virtual Meeting: Thursday, June 9, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.