FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
STAFF REPORT
1 AGENDA ITEM #5.c
MEETING DATE April 2, 2025
PREPARED FOR Mayor and Town Council
PREPARED BY Christine Foster, Deputy Town Clerk
SUBJECT Receive report on Councilmembers’ assignments, committees, and activities in March 2025.
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 Blash
March 3: Delivered meals to Fairfax seniors with Vivalon and Meals on Wheels.
March 4: Met with Fairfax Chamber of Commerce Representatives. Discussed upcoming Ross Valley Sanitary District roadwork on Broadway and other issues, including potential street closures for upcoming events.
March 5: Regular Fairfax Town Council Meeting. 1) Receive Fiscal Year 2024-25 Mid-Year Budget Review Report 2) Adopted a Resolution Accepting the Town of Fairfax Annual Progress Report on the General Plan and Housing Element for the Calendar Year 2024 3) Discussed and approved Town Council Goals for 2025-2026 with revisions.
March 6: Met with IJ Reporter re: overview of Fairfax issues.
March 6: Ross Valley Paramedic Authority (RVPA) Board Meeting. 1) Awarded audit contract to current auditors as they submitted the most responsive bid. 2) Authorized the Executive Officer to enter into an agreement on behalf of the Board to retain existing legal counsel at the new law firm Acevedo & Longfellow with the same existing terms. Ms.
Longfellow’s hourly rate is $280/hour. 3) Reviewed the charge of the Board’s Working Groups 1 & 2: Working Group 1’s deliverable is to recommend to the full Board the terms needed to strengthen the JPA through the implementation of centralized fiscal and other processes. The focus for Working Group 2 is to increase fiscal transparency and accountability. 4) Closed Session on the Lease Agreement with the Town of Ross for the ambulance station, which is scheduled to be rebuilt. (Mayor Blash is in Working Group 2).
March 10: Met with Town Manager, Building Official, Council Member Egger and local resident about launderette fumes and potential solutions.
2 March 12: Coffee with the Mayor and Town Manager and about 8 local residents to answer questions about town and just chat.
March 13: Met with local resident to discuss various issues including fire safety, dark sky ordinance, etc.
March 17: Met with Council Member Hellman, Town Manager Abrams, and Town Attorney Colson to discuss the possibility of a community forum on School Street Plaza.
March 19: Met with Council Member Hellman and a representative of the School Street Plaza team to request a community forum on this proposed project.
March 19: Met with Town Manager Abrams and Supervisor Colbert and his staff to discuss how Fairfax and the County can work together on various cross-jurisdictional issues.
March 20: Met with service providers and advocates about how Fairfax can enhance inclusivity and safety for all community members.
March 26: MCCMC (Marin County Council of Mayors and Council Members) meeting. Received and update from John Carroll, Marin County Superintendent of Schools, Marin County Office of Education. Voted on representatives to Marin County Homeless Policy Steering Committee
March 27: TAM (Transportation Authority of Marin) Board Meeting – TBD Met with Town Manager on March 4, 11, and 19 for general questions about Town business and agenda setting.
Vice Mayor Hellman
• 3/3 Transportation Authority of Marin new member orientation training. • 3/4 Station 21 Renovation project meeting with DPW Director, Town Manager, Fire Chief and architect.
• 3/15 Fairfax town council regular monthly meeting
• 3/11 Attended a portion of Ross Valley Sanitation Dept presentation to Chamber of Commerce on downtown project.
• 3/12 Ross Valley Fire Board meeting
• 3/13 Town of Ross regular council meeting to hear agenda item related to closure of RVF Station
18. • 3/18 Climate Action Committee meeting
• 3/19: Meeting with Mayor Ross Guehring representative for Mill Street (developers for School Street) wherein we pushed for a community information and input forum prior to completed application is submitted. Raised concerns we’ve heard thus far including significance of the Merwin mural to the town.
• 3/25: Board of Supervisors hosted Truth Act Forum with Sheriff Sardina reporting 2024 data. • 3/26 MCCMC regular monthly meeting. Speaker: John Carroll Superintendent, MCOE • 3/30 Town of Fairfax Electrification Fair
Multiple discussions with residents on misc issues and concerns including cannabis, e-bike ordinance, pavement needs, Fairfax Festival.
3 Councilmember Coler
1. March 4, 11, 18 – Met with Town Manager on various Council matters.
2. March 4 – Invited speaker (Zoom) for Conservation Biology course, Drexel University: “Pathways – Using Science to Achieve Environmental Benefits @ National, State, Regional & Local Government Levels.” Follow-up Zoom on 3/18 with an environmental science student on career options in California – she is graduating end of March and moving to San Diego.
3. March 5 – Town Council meeting.
4. March 2 – Ross Valley Fire Board meeting – the Board approved: Resolution No. 25-03 acknowledging receipt of report regarding the inspection compliance of certain State Fire Marshal Regulated occupancies. Fire departments are required to perform annual inspections of every building used as a public or private school, as well as all apartment houses, hotels, motels, and lodging houses for compliance with California Health and Safety Code Sections 13145 and 13146. 23 Schools were inspected (88.4%, the 3 outstanding were recently completed) and 136 Apts./ hotels etc. were inspected (100%). Recruitment for 3 FF/Paramedic to start soon; Lauren Houde was given a conditional offer for Administrative Assistant. State Fire Maps need to be adopted soon – Chief is working with jurisdictions. Authority provided to EO to sign disability retirements for two FF.
5. March 18 – Marin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) Budget Subcommittee meeting RE: developing FY 25/26 Budget & Fee Schedule – approved, Budget and Fee Schedule will come to the full Commission in April and June, respectively.
6. March 20 – Marin Wildfire (MWPA) Board meeting – The Board approved: revisions to Marin Wildfire Board of Directors’ Bylaws; Transition of Legal services, approved legal services agreement with Acevedo & Longfellow LLP (same attorneys, new firm – Coler raised concerns re: lack of insurance requirements and “letter agreement” rather than a full legal agreement – this was rectified due to my questions/concerns); the EO to sign a Task Order for the Greater Novato Shaded Fuel Break (GNSFB) for the Hanford contractor for $150,000 more (increasing cumulative project spend with this contractor to $785,000) to continue vegetation maintenance; awarding the FY 25 – FY 28 chipper service contract (not to exceed $4M) to Forster & Kroeger Landscape Maintenance & awarding a contract for FY 25 – FY 28 ($200K) to provide ad hoc chipper service to the Marin County Fire Department’s Fire Foundry; an increase of the Marin Wildfire tax levy based on the February CPI of 2.7%; several revised Marin Wildfire’s financial policies. Other info: Signups for the 2025 chipper season begin in March and pickups will begin in April running for six week-long rounds of pickups for each of five zone (a total of 30 weeks); there are currently 78 Firewise sites here in Marin, including more than 50,000 residents (Fire Safe Marin, FSM, holds monthly meetings for leaders, among other resources; FSM’s new Fix the Risk videos cover: 1) installing gutter guards; 2) replacing combustible wood gate attachments with non-combustible alternatives; 3) removing vegetation in Zone 0. Estimated revenue for FY 25/26 is $22.8M; also discussed the Governor’s State of Emergency Proclamation and how it may positively impact West Marin Coastal Zone work.
7. March 20 – MCE Clean Energy Board – Coler was added to the Ad Hoc Contracts Committee & Executive Committee. The Board approved the proposed FY 25/26 budget – highlights: projected net energy revenue of $826.7 million, reflecting a 5.6% increase over the prior year’s budget; higher renewable energy costs, $765.5 million (+11.1%) due to supply constraints, transmission limitations, and regulatory changes requiring increased procurement; City of Hercules enrollment, 4 adding 10,000 new customers and increasing load by 1.3%; $5 million for MCE Cares Credit, providing targeted cost relief for vulnerable residential and small commercial customers; transfer of up to $13 million from the Operating Reserve Fund to offset unexpected regulatory costs; a demand charge increase of approximately 4.4% for larger agricultural, commercial, and industrial customers (applies to less than 1% of the MCE Customer Base, <3,000. Also, Personnel investments to support expanded programs, $29.6M (offset by $4.1M in grants) – from 103 – 116 FTEs, with staffing costs 3.1% of the total budget; and $10.25 million for transmission software solutions, transferred from MCE Reserves (projected to yield up to $20 million in annual savings once implemented).
8. March 24 – Marin County Council of Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) Legislative Committee – The Committee voted to take positions on the following bills (Chair Fredericks to send letters):
Oppose – SB 79 (Weiner, makes transit agency lead agency for housing along transit), SB 677 (Weiner, eliminates local agency controls on certain proposed housing developments – ministerial approvals only), SB 445 ((Weiner, puts shot clocks on local agencies for transportation projects, high speed rail focus); Support – SB 346 (Durazo, TOT reporting and payments for Short Term Rentals), AB 846 (Connolly, streamlines wildfire vegetation work where there are endangered or threatened species), AB 262 (Caloza - support as long as funding provided – provides a new grants program for disasters to local, CBOs, and individuals where FEMA will not fund). Several others bill were put on the Watch list for the next meeting as it is early in the Session. 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. Coler requested and was approved to follow all wildfire bills as they fit within land use/housing and local control.
9. March 26 – Marin County Council of Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) monthly meeting – did not attend, vacation out of state.
10. March 27 – Community Media Center of Marin (CMCM) Board meeting – did not attend, vacation out of state. Working on a Property Management Agreement with the CMCM Board Building Subcommittee during the March.
Councilmember Egger
Attended the Fairfax Open Space Committee meeting on Tues. February 25th, 2025.
Mike Ardito, John Reed and I had visited the 3 open space sites that have signs made for them to find the best sign location., the one acre Jolly Hill Open Space site adjacent to the Bennett House, the one acre Gloria Duncan Creekside Preserve on Olema Drive and the 7 acre Frank Egger Redwood Preserve between Meadow Way and Canyon Road.
The Jolly Hill sign location was the easiest to figure out. The Gloria Duncan Preserve has 330 feet of Olema Road frontage. The Town has not implemented signage and uses. A number of neighbors at Village West and June Court have been using a portion of the Preserve. Uses include a trampoline with a 5 locked gate, a large hammock, sandbags and something covered with a tarp along the fence line adjoining Village West and then patio type uses you'd find in a backyard along the back of June Court properties.
The eastern end of the GD Preserve has a number of Redwood trees in a park-like setting. That is the suggested site for the main sign with a possible split rail fence along the Olema Rd. frontage.
The western end is more open and possibly conducive to some kind of children's recreational area since Village West has no area set aside for children's needs. The FOSC is looking at options. A second smaller sign on the western frontage makes sense.
The FE Preserve has access issues. The Marin Superior Court has restricted public access off of Meadow Way to Town employees for maintenance, a public viewing gathering in coordination with official public officials and public officials, like councilmembers, committee members and commissioners. There is access from Canyon Road Bridge when the water level in San Anselmo Creek drops and then access up off of Bolinas Road that is a steep trail down but very difficult to climb back out of. The large sign would be situated at the end of the dirt access road off of Meadow Way with a small split rail fence replacing the old wire fence and sign at that entry. It is suggested that a second small sign be located off of Bolinas Road. A Fairfax resident or public official would have to travel outside of Town Limits, quite a ways up Bolinas Road, and there's no real parking as the road along the upper portion is an old MMWD access road.
Thursday night, Feb 27, 2025 I attended the Ross Valley Flood Control District 9 meeting at Civic Center.
The only action was agreeing to spend a little under $3 million (already budgeted) for upgrades to the Corte Madera Concrete Creek Channel, raise the sidewalls, dig our salmon resting pools and remove the old wooden fish ladder in the Fall of 2026. That means two years of blocked salmon runs, this spawning season and the 2026 spawning season.
Boardmembers and the public asked a lot of questions about the removal of the concrete bridge in downtown San Anselmo and whether or not the $400,000 budget was enough for mitigating any creek water rise downstream. County Staff said they put $400,000 in as a placeholder as they await FEMA's recommendations over the removal of the downtown concrete bridge and possible mitigations. They expect a FEMA review by early June.
Unit 4 along SF Drake through much of Ross has no mitigation. Ross residents said they are left out. The FZ9 Tax ends in 2026-2027 and there seems to be consensus that it would not pass muster to be renewed.
I asked the question but did not get an answer: With San Anselmo pulling out of FZ9, is there any possibility that the remaining 3 cities/towns could face increased taxes for the project. The answer was County Counsel would have to answer that question. The next meeting will probably be called in mid July, this year.
Councilmember Ghiringhelli
Not received in time for publication.