FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
STAFF REPORT
1 AGENDA ITEM #7
MEETING DATE May 1, 2024
PREPARED FOR Mayor and Town Council
PREPARED BY Christine Foster, Deputy Town Clerk
SUBJECT Receive report on Councilmembers’ assignments, committees, and activities in April.
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 Coler
April 4 – Countywide Priority Setting Committee (PSC) Workshop – the PSC makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) on allocations of HUD $$ (and some State $$) to non-profits. The workshop was an opportunity for applicants to further outline their requests. The monies are very limited – this year for the entire County there is: CDBG (HUD) ~$1.6M, HOME (HUD) $705K, and PHLA (State) $1.2M. The funds are allocated BTW Housing, Capital and Public Services by specified formulas. The PSC is made up of electeds from each of the cities/towns/County and community reps from planning areas. The workshop was intended to review all applications – in mid-May the PSC will make its final recommendations to the BOS.
April 8 – Wall Property Meeting - with State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) staff, MOST reps (Long, Knowles) and Councilmember Cutrano regarding potential SCC grant logistics. Follow-up meeting held on April 11 (included those from the April 8 meeting and also included County staff (Korten, Somers) and MOST rep Braun). SCC staff will be recommending that the SCC Board award an acquisition funding grant of up to $500K at their meeting in June. Another follow-up meeting was also held on April 19 – discussion of legal documents for accepting grants from SCC and also the County.
April 8 – Attended PARC Commission meeting to discuss my idea as Mayor to have PARC develop a process for having a “Mayor for the Day” which includes the selection of a Middle-Schooler from White Hill School. When selected, the youth would spend part of the day with the Mayor and also run the 1st part of a Town Council meeting (Fall 2024).
April 9, 19, 22, 30 – met with Town Manager on Council matters.
April 11 – Marin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) meeting – The Commission held a closed session on the EO performance evaluation and discussion of labor negotiations. The Commission adopted the proposed Operating Budget for FY 24/25; approved the LAFCo Legislative Committee recommendations to support two bills sponsored by CALAFCO; and received the EO report.
April 15 – Agenda setting mtg with the Vice Mayor and Town Staff for the May 1st mtg.
April 16 – Wall Property meeting with Miller Pacific rep, Councilmember Cutrano, Town Manager Abrams and Public Works Director Umbertis – regarding due diligence matters.
April 18 – Marin LAFCo meeting with EO Fried and Vice Chair Rodoni re: personnel matters. Rodoni/Coler (Chair) are the negotiators.
2 April 18– Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA) – April 18 mtg canceled; MWPA did not hold a Board meeting in April.
April 18 – MCE Clean Energy – April 18 mtg canceled; MCE did not hold a Board meeting in April.
April 20 – Earth Day – attended event in the park hosted by the Fairfax Climate Action Committee.
April 22 – Marin County Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) Legislative Committee meeting – Lobbyist Kyra Ross reports that the Chair of the Assembly e-Bike Committee will not allow statewide bills, all bills must be limited to a local area only (AB 1778 was thus amended to be a pilot for Marin County only). For this reason, the Committee voted to put the following bills on the Watch list: AB-1773 (Dixon) Vehicles:
electronic bicycles (inc. boardwalks in areas local agencies can prohibit); AB-2234 (Boerner) Vehicles:
electronic bicycles (creates a diversion program for those that get citations which on an e-bike). The Committee voted last month to oppose SB 937 (Weiner) but now put it on Watch until next month as amendments are in process. The Committee approved sending oppose letters for: SB-1164 (Newman) Property taxation: new construction exclusion: accessory dwelling units (exemption from property tax reassessment for ADU construction until 15 years have passed or when the property changes hands); AB-2561 (McKinnor): Local public employees; vacant positions (if vacancy rates exceed 10% for 90 days, must develop plan to fill all vacant positions within the subsequent 180 days inc. meet and confer). 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. April 22 – Fairfax Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting - with Mayor, Town Manager, Deputy Town Clerk and reps from the Chamber – ED Minna Kim and others.
April 25 – MCCMC monthly meeting by Zoom – did not attend due to vacation.
April 26– Community Media Center of Marin (CMCM) Board meeting – did not attend due to vacation.
April 30 – Housing Element Subcommittee meeting re: Land Use Element update with Town staff, Dyett & Bhatia rep and Councilmember Cutrano.
Vice Mayor Blash
04/01 – Homeless Subcommittee: Met with Council Member Cutrano to discuss next steps 04/02 - Met with Town Manager re: various topics
04/03 - Town Council Meeting: Main topics: 80 Crest Road Appeal, Citizen Petition on Homeless Encampment
04/09 - Met with Town Manager re: various topics
04/15 - Agenda Setting Meeting: Met with Mayor Coler, TM Heather Abrams, TA Janet Colson, and TC Christine Foster to discuss upcoming agenda.
04/16 - Met with Town Manager re: various topics
04/19 - Ross Valley Safe Routes to School Task Force: Discussed SRT2S Communications strategy, ebikes and concern over child safety; Wade Thomas School Walk Audit; and possible improvements to bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure in Fairfax. E-bikes: 10-25% of bikes on local campuses are e-bikes.
There is excessive injury to youth due to e-bike crashes from some of the more powerful bikes and efforts to regulate or ban the use of these bikes in the under-16 population. What can local councils do? 1) letters of support for Damon Connelly’s AB 1778, which would prohibit riders under 16 from operating a class 2 electric bicycle in Marin, and 2) Adopt an ordinance similar to Mill Valley’s ordinance, which regulates e-bike use for youth 16 and under. Fairfax’s Public Works Director, Loren Umbertis, is looking at possible improvements to bike ways utilized by students, including adding plastic bollards to some bike lanes on SFD, a buffer for bikes turning on Broadway and Bolinas, possibly some traffic calming measures near Fairfax Lumber.
3 04/19 - Met with Town Manager re: financials
04/20 - Earth Day in Fairfax: Tabled with Council Member Ackerman on Town initiatives concerning sustainability, landscape preservation and habitat restoration, etc. 04/23 - Homelessness Subcommittee: Met with Council Member Cutrano, Town Manager Abrams, and Gary Naja-Riese, Director, Homelessness & Whole Person Care · County of Marin We discussed the following key topics: Marin County received $18 million to resolve homeless encampments; however, the funding is reserved for large encampments and was earmarked for three projects in Novato, San Rafael, and Bolinas. Fairfax’s encampment is too small to qualify. The number of people at the Fairfax encampment has stayed stable or decreased. The County cannot provide hotel vouchers for the current campers as these vouchers are reserved for special circumstances. However, we discussed some new opportunities that have just emerged and will share more information at a later date.
04/24 - MCCMC (Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers) Meeting (via Zoom). Various reports. Announcement of a subcommittee on Affordable And Workforce Housing Formed By Marin County Board Of Supervisors. Call for applications/nominations from one large and one small city/town. Various member reports.
04/24 - Virtual Fair Housing Conference: Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California’s annual conference. Attended parts of this online conference. The conference addressed strategies for advancing fair housing and racial equity, with topics such as the use of fair housing laws to address emerging corporate practices negatively
impacting tenants; tech equity and responsible AI in the fair housing context, and addressing the impact of residential segregation.
04/25 - Transportation Authority of Marin Board of Commissioners Meeting: Observed (as an alternate) 04/28 - Marin County Youth Town Hall: spoke as a panelist. This is the second year of this event for high school and college students to interface with political leaders from their own towns and cities. It includes mayors and vice mayors of Marin cities. The Youth Town hall consists of a discussion followed by a Q&A session.
04/30 - Met with Town Manager re: various topics
Councilmember Ackerman
Not received in time for publication.
Councilmember Hellman
4/3 Fairfax town council regular meeting.
4/10 Ross Valley Fire Department board meeting.
4/11 Peace proclamation / Ceasefire resolution subcommittee meeting with San Rafael councilmember Rachel Kertz of BANJO.
4/15 JEPA -absence due to personal calendar conflict. Approved restructure White Hill PM Service: Am only service on SFD.
Limit yellow bus service to select stops in PM only: Butterfield, Memorial Park, San Anselmo Hub, Red Hill. Remove service to RVC. No change for Hidden Valley service. Next year the contribution increases by 4%.
4/19 Peace proclamation / Ceasefire resolution subcommittee meeting. 4/22 Peace proclamation / Ceasefire resolution subcommittee meeting with Bruce Raful, Marc Levine/ADL re Fairfax.
4/24 MCCMC Regular monthly meeting via zoom. State Senator McGuire presented.
Councilmember Cutrano
March
3/6/24—Special Meeting of the Fairfax Town Council. Find the agenda packet here. 4 3/6/24—Regular Meeting of the Fairfax Town Council. Find the agenda packet here. 3/8/24—Meeting with Bill Keene, board member of Access4Bikes, regarding bike access and alterations to the Wall Property and Access4Bikes interests in the future of the Wall Property. 3/8/24—Town of Fairfax & County of Marin Bolinas Road Rehabilitation Monthly Check-in Meeting. 3/14/24—Meeting with Mayor Coler to discuss the options for ownership and long-term stewardship of the Wall Property.
3/14/24—Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers (MCCMC) Homelessness Subcommittee Meeting on a countywide shallow rent subsidy pilot program with Vice Mayor Blash; San Rafael Asst. City Manager John Stefanski; Marin County Director of Whole Person Care and Homelessness, Gary Naja-Riese; St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin’s Chief Program Offier, Meredith Parnell; Front Porch Communites and Services’ Director of Strategy for Home Match, Luke Barnesmoore; San Rafael City Councilmember Rachel Kertz; Corte Madera Town Councilmember Fred Cassisa; Mill Valley City Councilmember Caroline Joachim.
3/19/24—Climate, Housing, and Transportation in California Webinar hosted by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley. Webinar recording and slide deck can be found here 3/19/24—Meeting with Mayor Coler, Kevin Knowles of Conservation Land Group, and representatives of Marin Open Space Trust, Bill Long and Jonathan Braun to evaluate Wall Property acquisition timeline, funding, and MOST’s relationship with the current owners. 3/20/24—Safe Streets for All: Technologies for Tracking Near-Misses Webinar hosted by Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at John Hopkins University. The Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) awarded $895 million to 620 communities for safety projects and strategies. Many of these winning proposals incorporated new technologies for assessing safety challenges. This webinar investigated how cities across the country are using SS4A funding to deploy new data capture technologies including cameras, drones, and LiDAR to detect near-misses and other high-risk incidents, and predictive analysis tools to inform street design and transportation planning. Specifically, this webinar identified the most important technologies cities and towns should consider to advance Vision Zero and similar road safety commitments, how cities have successfully incorporated road safety technologies into their Planning and Demonstration proposals, and what technologies are eligible for funding through SS4A grant. Webinar recording can be found here.
3/21/24—The Confluence of Water, Energy, and Climate webinar hosted by BayREN. This Regional Forum explored the relationships between water and energy resources as well as some of the programs and strategies local governments can use to improve water and energy conservation—and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Webinar recording can be found here. 3/26/24—Meeting with Marin County Supervisor Mary Sackett regarding e-bike safety data collection; Assm. Damon Connolly’s e-bike safety legislation, AB 1778; strategies to improve collection of data pertaining to bicycle, e-bike, and pedestrian travel in Fairfax, the Ross Valley, and the County of Marin; and the current status of Marin Climate Action Network (“Marin CAN”). 3/26/24—Regular Fairfax Open Space Committee meeting. Find the agenda here. 3/27/24—Housing Element Subcommittee meeting to review the Town’s Land Use Element with Mayor Barbara Coler, Town Manager Heather Abrams, Town Planning Director Jeff Beiswenger, and Andrew Hill from Dyett & Bhatia Urban & Regional Planners.
3/27/24—Meeting with Peggy Day and Bobbi Simpson of the community-initiative, DarkSky West Marin to learn about their efforts in West Marin, the Dark Sky amendments the Town of Fairfax approved during the Housing Element Process, and other possible Dark Sky policies the Town of Fairfax can adopt to compliment the policies in West Marin.
3/27/24—Meeting with Mayor Coler, Town Manager Abrams, Public Works Director Umbertis, Marin County Supervisor Katie Rice, Marin County Parks staff Max Korten and Carl Somers, Bill Long and Jonathan Braun of Marin Open Space Trust, and Kevin Knowles of Conservation Land Group to discuss:
due-diligence efforts to date; pursuit of geotechnical report from Miller Pacific that would include recommendations, mitigation prioritization, and associated cost estimates; and scope of support from 5 the Marin County Open Space District (for example, financial support for acquisition as well as support for long-term stewardship).
3/27/24—Marin Emergency Radio Authority Regular March Governing Board meeting. Find the agenda packet here.
3/28/24—Hike on the Wall Property with representatives from the California Coastal Conservancy, Bill Long of Marin Open Space Trust, Kevin Knowles of Conservation Land Group, and Jack Judkins of the Fairfax Open Space Committee (FOSC) to discuss MOST’s campaign to acquire the property as public open space.
3/28/24—Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) Regular Board Meeting. Find the agenda packet here. Find the agenda supplement here.
3/29/24—Fairfax Town Council Annual Goal Setting Retreat. Find the agenda here. 4/2/24—Meeting with Vice Mayor Blash, Town Manager Abrams, and Marin County Director of Whole Person Care and Homelessness Gary Naja-Riese, to receive a status report on the Marin County’s outreach teams in Fairfax, updates to Marin County’s data dashboard, evaluation of strategies for additional County and Town collaboration, and efforts to collaborate with West Marin Little League representatives.
April
4/3/24—Closed Session of the Fairfax Town Council.
4/3/24—Special Meeting of the Fairfax Town Council. Find the agenda packet here. 4/3/24—Regular Meeting of the Fairfax Town Council. Find the agenda packet here. 4/8/24—Meeting with Mayor Coler, Bill Long and Jonathan Braun of Marin Open Space Trust, and Kevin Knowles of Conservation Land Group, and representatives from the California Coastal Conservancy to review the required information and proposed timeline associated with a Coastal Conservancy grant of approximately $500,000 for the acquisition of the Wall Property for public open space. 4/8/24—Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) Admin, Projects, and Planning (APP) Executive Committee Meeting. Find the agenda packet here.
4/8/24—Meeting with Rabbi Moshe Berkowitz of Chabad of West Marin to discuss the proposed IsraelPalestine Peace Proclamation in Fairfax. 4/9/24—Review of PG&E’s 2023 Draft Outage Report with Town Manager Abrams and Mark van Gorder, Government and Community Partnerships representative for Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Company.
We provided feedback to improve PG&E’s summary of service reliability for their upcoming outage report to the Town Council and the community. We followed up with Mr. van Gorder regarding coordination with residents on Berry Trail. We alerted Mr. van Gorder of the need to coordinate with the County and the Town on the future rehabilitation of Fairfax-Bolinas Road. We also discussed ongoing evaluation of slumping roadway at Bolinas Road and Mono Ave.
4/9/24—Meeting with Town Manager Abrams to discuss: 1) certification of the Town’s Housing Element for the sixth RHNA cycle; 2) the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) award of money for electric vehicle fleet charging infrastructure to the Town of Fairfax (administered via the Transportation Authority of Marin); 3) the timeline for the Town’s proposed Dark Sky ordinance for residential lighting; 4) the Department of Public Works internal policies regarding street light replacement; 5) a Gun Violence Awareness Month Proclamation for the June Council meeting; 6) status of the Road and Street Bond survey; 7) status report regarding Chance’s ongoing research and discussions with Berry Trail residents regarding the ownership right-of-way.
4/9/24—Meeting with Max Korten, Director of the Marin County Open Space District, to confirm the County will be able to submit a letter of support for the Coastal Conservancy grant and to receive creek conservation and restoration signage templates for split rail fencing at Peri Park. 4/10/24—Ross Valley Fire Department Board of Directors Regular April Meeting. Quick updates: 1) First Chipper Day is April 29th; 2) Defensible Space inspectors are scheduled to conduct inspections in Fairfax in the months of May and July/August. Find the agenda packet here. 4/10/24—Closed Session of the Ross Valley Fire Department Board of Directors. 6 4/11/24—Meeting with Councilmember Stephanie Hellman and Bay Area Network of Jewish Officials (BANJO) co-founder, Councilmember Rachel Kertz, to discuss the proposed Israel-Palestine Peace Proclamation in Fairfax.
4/11/24—Meeting with Mayor Coler, Marin County Parks staff Max Korten and Carl Somers, Bill Long and Jonathan Braun of Marin Open Space Trust, and Kevin Knowles of Conservation Land Group, and California Coastal Conservancy staff to discuss the purpose statement for the proposed Coastal Conservancy grant request, current project budget, timeline and next steps. 4/12/24—Meeting with Town Manager Abrams and Public Works Director Umbertis to evaluate upcoming grant opportunities for street and road maintenance and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and to discuss the proposed Fairfax Open Space Committee project to evaluate the health of the Town’s steps, lanes and paths.
4/16/24—Meeting with Mayor Barbara Coler, Town Manager Abrams, Public Works Director Umbertis, and representatives from Miller Pacific to review the draft geotechnical report for the Wall Property. 4/16/24—Meeting with Wendi Kallins and Gwen Froh of Safe Routes to Schools to receive an update on e-bike safety, the efficacy of e-bike training at White Hill, and to receive feedback on Chance’s proposal to better coordinate efforts around the County to improve the competitiveness of grant proposals for state and regional active transportation and safe pathways to schools grant funding programs. 4/17/24—Correspondence with Congressman Jared Huffman’s District Director, Jenny Callaway, to discuss the community’s campaign to acquire the Wall Property for public open space and to secure a letter of support for the California Coastal Conservancy grant proposal. 4/18/24—Meeting with Assemblymember Damon Connolly to discuss the community’s campaign to acquire the Wall Property for public open space and to secure a letter of support for the California Coastal Conservancy grant proposal.
4/18/24—Presentation at the California League of Cities “City Leaders Summit” entitled “Small Town, Big Aspirations: Leveraging Interagency Collaborations to Address Complex Infrastructure Challenges” where I had the opportunity to share our effort to make the Fairfax-Bolinas a regional and federal priority for Marin. Between 125 and 150 elected officials from across the state of California attended my talk. Find the conference agenda here.
4/18/24—Meeting with Marin County Legislative Analyst, Talia Smith, to receive updates on our efforts to secure federal funding for Fairfax-Bolinas Road and to evaluate Chance’s proposal to create a shared service agreement between the County and all interested cities and towns to share a contract for a grant writer in the County to help coordinate and provided technical support on grant proposals. 4/19/24—Meeting with Councilmember Stephanie Hellman to review various municipal resolutions, proclamations, and statements regarding ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and determine the next steps for the proposed Israel-Palestine Peace Proclamation in Fairfax. 4/19/24—Ross Valley School District Safe Routes to School (SR2S) Task Force Meeting. Find the meeting notes here.
4/19/24—Meeting with Leelee Thomas and Jillian Zeiger from Marin County’s Community Development Agency regarding the opportunity to have the Town Council receive a presentation regarding the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) Affordable Housing Bond, review of the three Town-approved Zoning packages and final inventory of opportunity sites in the Housing Element, and the effectiveness of the Town’s tenant protections for residents at Lanai Apartments. 4/19/24—Meeting with Town Manager Abrams to review the recently completed audit and discuss the draft FY24-25 Town budget.
4/19/24—Meeting with Town Manager Abrams and Councilmember Bruce Ackerman regarding the next steps to find a resolution with Spruce Road residents and Fairfax Lumber. 4/20/24—Fairfax Earth Day event in Bolinas Park sponsored by the Fairfax Climate Action Committee. 4/22/24—Meeting with Councilmember Bruce Ackerman and neighbors on Spruce Road regarding ongoing issues with dust and noise at Fairfax Lumber.
7 4/22/24—Meeting with Bruce Raful and former Assemblymember Marc Levine (now the Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League) to discuss the proposed Israel-Palestine Peace Proclamation in Fairfax.
4/22/24—Meeting with representatives of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to provide an update on the community’s efforts to acquire the Wall Property as public open space. 4/23/24—Meeting with Jonathan Braun of Marin Open Space Trust (MOST) to discuss MOST’s attempt to receive an extension with the owners of the Wall Property, to give all public agencies more time to complete their due diligence on the property.
4/23/24— Meeting with Vice Mayor Blash, Town Manager Abrams, and Marin County Director of Whole Person Care and Homelessness Gary Naja-Riese, to receive a status report on the Marin County’s outreach teams in Fairfax, information on the state Encampment Resolution funds (the Town of Fairfax was ineligible), updates to the data dashboard (approx. 3 residents unhoused in the encampment near the Pavilion),
4/23/24—Meeting with Max Korten, Director of the Marin County Open Space to share updates on the community’s campaign to acquire the Wall Property as public open space. 4/23/24—Regular Fairfax Open Space Committee meeting. Find the agenda here. 4/24/24—Meeting with representatives of the California Coastal Conservancy to provide updates on the community’s efforts to acquire the Wall Property as public open space and to clarify the California Department of Finance request to freeze all one-time state general fund requests and its implications for the proposed grant funding for the Wall Property from the Coastal Conservancy. 4/24/24—Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers (MCCMC) Regular Meeting with guest speakers: Nancy Whelan of Marin Transit and State Senate President Mike McGuire. Find the agenda packet here.
4/25/24—Meeting with former Marin County Supervisor and founder of CivicKnit, Steve Kinsey, to discuss the Countywide Transportation Plan and brainstorm strategies to increase Fairfax, Ross Valley, and Marin County’s competitiveness in regional and statewide active transportation grant processes. 4/25/24—Town of Fairfax & County of Marin Bolinas Road Rehabilitation Monthly Check-in Meeting. 4/25/24—Meeting with Public Works Director Umbertis and representatives from the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) to review upcoming grant opportunities and evaluate the competitiveness of bicycle and pedestrian safety projects in Fairfax.
4/25/24—Meeting with Marin County Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters to solicit feedback on Chance’s proposal to create a shared service agreement between the County and all interested cities and towns to share a contract for a grant writer in the County to help coordinate and provide technical support on grant proposals for Marin jurisdictions.
4/25/24—Transportation Authority of Marin’s (TAM) Countywide Transportation Plan (CTP) Board Workshop. Find the workshop agenda packet here.
4/25/24—Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) Regular Board of Commissioners Meeting. Find the agenda packet here.
4/30/24—Housing Element Subcommittee meeting to review the Town’s Land Use Element with Mayor Barbara Coler, Town Manager Heather Abrams, Town Planning Director Jeff Beiswenger, and Andrew Hill from Dyett & Bhatia Urban & Regional Planners.