FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
STAFF REPORT
1 AGENDA ITEM #7
MEETING DATE November 6, 2024
PREPARED FOR Mayor and Town Council
PREPARED BY Christine Foster, Deputy Town Clerk
SUBJECT Receive report on Councilmembers’ assignments, committees, and activities in October.
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
1. October 1 – Agenda setting mtg for Oct 16 Council mtg with Vice Mayor Blash, Town Staff (Abrams, Foster & Coleson)
2. October 1, 8, 18 & 29 -Met with Town Manager on various Council matters.
3. October 1 & 8 – CMCM Building Subcommittee mtg with commercial real estate broker.
4. October 1 – Mayor Ribbon Cutting at The Longevity Collective, Chamber ED Minna Kim participated in the event with the owners Joe & Brianna Drimmer, Council members and community members.
5. October 2 – Met with neighbors at the Baywood Court neighborhood with DPW Director Loren Umbertis & Fire reps to discuss red curb painting in areas and safety issues with re: responder ability to access the homes. Other traffic issues were also discussed esp. for Lansdale Station road.
6. October 4 – Age Friendly mtg – final planning for 90+ Celebration (23 participants and there are 43 people 90+ who will receive certificates total) on Oct 19 & viewing of 10th anniversary video.
7. October 5 – Fairfax San Anselmo Children’s Center celebration.
8. October 9 -Mayor at the Farmers Market with TM Abrams & Chief Tabaranza 4:30-6pm.
9. October 10 – Marin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) – The Commission approved/discussed: revisions/updates to the Personnel Handbook; format for Municipal Service Reviews/Sphere of Influence studies; Shared cost agreement with Tiburon Fire & the City of Belvedere to issue an RFP for financial feasibility/impacts of Belvedere annexation into Tiburon Fire; updating Govn’t Code re: lot line adjustments.
10. October 14 – Ribbon Cutting at the Wall Property – about 100 people attended including several members of Graton Rancheria to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day with the Wall Property ribbon cutting.
2 11. October 22 – Agenda setting meeting for Nov 6 Council mtg with Vice Mayor Blash, Town Manager, Town Attorney & Deputy Town Clerk.
12. October 23 – Chaired the Fairfax Disaster Council – debrief of the September 28 evacuation drill.
Lessons learned - if Mayor next year convenes and holds another drill can build on success and improve next drill.
13. October 23 – Marin County Council of Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) monthly meeting hosted by Belvedere & Tiburon – Guest speakers were: Gary Naja-Riese, Director, Homelessness & Coordinated Care for County of Marin, will provide an update on countywide efforts to support and address Homelessness in Marin & Rick Wells, Marin Builders Assoc., will present a brief history of housing in Marin and what Marin Builders has been doing to work with municipalities to support builders and community members.
14. October 24 – MCE Clean Energy Board retreat held in Pittsburg, home of Shanelle Scales-Preston, MCE Chair.
15. October – Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority Board meeting – no meeting was held, next meeting will be held in November.
16. October 28 – Marin County Council of Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) Legislative Committee. Assemblymember Damon Connolly participated. Update on status of his bills: AB 1778 was passed – Marin County re: e-bikes; AN 2897 – expand the definition of Community Land Trusts to allow other uses in addition; AB 2968 – requires wildfire evac. to be included in school evacuation plans in high & very high wildfire severity zones; AB ? – makes Beaver restoration plans permanent in State Law; AB 1790 – strengthens sexual harassment programs for State Universities.
Other Dpet of Finance released Oct/Nov budget projections $4.1B higher than in June report, stay tuned will not change budget deficits projected. 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.
17. October 28 – Chamber of Commerce meeting – with Chamber ED Minna Kim & two Chamber CoPresidents – Janabai Owens, Solstice Mercantile, and Brenna Gubbins, Live Water and Town staff (Abrams, Foster) & Mayor Coler.
Vice Mayor Blash
10/01 – Spoke at length with Novato Council Member about Novato ordinances and encampment resolution strategies and community engagement strategies 10/02 – Spoke with Homeless Service provider about coordinated entry and homeless services in Marin
10/03 – Spoke with Marin County Whole Person Care/Homelessness Division Director about coordinated entry and homeless services in Marin
3 10/03 – Spoke with executive staff at Homeward Bound about coordinated entry and homeless services in Marin
10/05 – Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center Party.
10/07 – Ross Valley Paramedic Authority Special Meeting. We discussed the purchase of ambulance equipment (approved), and a number of items regarding the deployment study for ambulance station placement. The study is now behind schedule due to data issues. Ross representatives are unhappy because the delay is likely to impede their ability to build their new campus in a timely fashion.
Ross representatives are also concerned about the subcommittee that is working to oversee and guide the consultants’ efforts and would like the issue to be brought to the full board from now on for transparency. The board voted to move the issue to the full board for discussion, and to allocate additional funds to finish the study. The results should be available at an early November meeting. 10/08 – Spoke with resident about his concerns about the homeless encampment and desire for an anti-camping ban
10/08 – Spoke with legal expert about anti-camping ordinances in Marin 10/10 – Attended the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative annual Friendraiser at the Key Room at Homeward Bound’s Novato campus. The featured speaker was Paul Fordham of Homeward Bound.
10/10 – Spoke with Council Member Cutrano about new information on encampment resolution strategies.
10/16 – Regular Town Council Meeting.
10/17 – Spoke with executive staff at Homeward Bound, and Council Member Cutrano, about shelter and housing programs.
10/18 – Spoke with member of Downtown Streets Team about homeless outreach, shelters, and San Rafael’s sanctioned encampment
10/22 – Met with Chamber of Commerce representative about perceptions about homeless impact on downtown businesses
10/22 – Meeting with Council Member Cutrano and staff re: encampment 10/22 – Agenda Setting Meeting
10/22 – Met with Mill Valley Council member on citizen engagement activities 10/23 – Disaster Council Meeting, debrief on evacuation drill 10/24 – TAM Board meeting – participated as an alternate. The board discussed an update from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on Plan Bay Area 2050 and Transit 2050, Marin Sonoma Coordinated Transit Service Plan (how do we coordinate GG Transit with the SmartTrain service and other vendors in this post-pandemic landscape?), and the Golden Gate Ferry Larkspur Expansion and Parking Study. We approved the Measure AA Expenditure Plan Review Process and Schedule (the renewal had built in a requirement to periodically review spending allocations to fit changing circumstances), and Regional Measure 3 North Bay Transit Access Improvement Projects Funding 10/25 – MCCMC meeting in Belvedere (Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers) with keynote speaker, Gary Naja-Riese, Director, Homelessness & Whole Person Care, who spoke about the County’s collaborative relationship with Marin jurisdictions to address homelessness 10/25 – MCCMC meeting in Belvedere (Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers) with keynote speaker, Gary Naja-Riese, Director, Homelessness & Whole Person Care, who spoke about the County’s collaborative relationship with Marin jurisdictions to address homelessness 10/26 – Phone meeting with Town Attorney to discuss encampment resolution strategies 10/27 – Met with local resident about homelessness, encampment, and possible strategies. 10/28 – Spoke with Community Action Marin representative about services provided to our encampment
10/29 – Met with Chief Tabaranza and Town Manager Abrams about resident complaints about the unhoused, and assumed unhoused, residents of Fairfax. 4 10/31 – Fairfax Halloween
10/1, 8, 15, 22, 29 – Met with Town Manager Abrams on various Town-related issues Councilmember Ackerman
10/7 Meet with Loren, engineering consultant and dcbel representative re Pavilion 10/8 Attend dcbel demonstration and bidirectional expert gathering in San Bruno 10/9 Marin/Sonoma Mosquito & Vector Control board meeting 10/11 Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative symposium on land use 10/14 Wall Property ribbon cutting!!!
10/15 Fairfax Climate Action Committee (CAC) regular meeting 10/16 MarinCAN Climate Leadership Forum (presented)
10/16 Town Council Meeting
10/18 Film showing of Purple Mountains at Women's Club, hosted by CAC 10/23 Meet with Bridget Wipfler, our new Climate Coordinator 10/23 Marin County Council of Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) monthly meeting Councilmember Hellman
Not received in time for publication.
Councilmember Cutrano
Not received in time for publication.