Outlook
Meadow Way - we still need a replacement bridge
From Jane Knowles <[email protected]>
Date Wed 6/4/2025 2:35 PM
To Fairfax Town Council <[email protected]> 52 Meadow Way
Fairfax CA 94930
June 4 2025
To the Council
I (and I believe almost every one else who lives on Meadow Way) will be very grateful if you approve transferring the contract from CIC to MGE Engineering and increase the Contract Amount as detailed in the agenda for this meeting, in order to go ahead with the Meadow Way Bridge replacement.
Replacing the old bridge is obviously no less necessary than it was last time it was discussed by the council.
Thank you for all you do for the Town,
Yours
Jane Knowles
Outlook
Item 2 of the Fairfax Town Council Meeting on June 4, 2025 From PJ Feffer <[email protected]>
Date Wed 6/4/2025 3:01 PM
To Fairfax Town Council <[email protected]> Cc Christine Foster <[email protected]>
Hello Councilmembers,
I am writing specifically to comment on the proposal to adopt a Resolution Setting the Utility User Tax for Fiscal Year 2025-26 to be 5%.
First, I very much support increasing the rate from 4 to 5%. The Town certainly needs more revenue so that it can increase staffing and funding for public works projects (e.g. road repair, other infrastructure improvements). The increase for the Utility User Tax seems extremely modest and reasonable. It is essentially a local sales tax on charges for electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications services, and those charges are a fraction of the broader set of property taxes paid by property owners.
Despite the deceptive and misleading well-funded fearmongering campaigns during the last few elections in the Town, there is no "tax tsunami!" Quite the opposite has become true. One need only look at the Tax Assessor records to see. The Tax Rate Records are publicly available at: https://www.marincounty.gov/departments/finance/property-tax/property-tax-auditorcontroller/property-tax-rate-books. In addition to the Statewide Prop 13 1% base rate For Tax Year 2024 - 2025, 0.1998% is the Town's voter approved rate.
For Tax Year 2019 - 2020, 0.2370% was the Town's voter approved rate.
For Tax Year 2014 - 2015, 0.2404% was the Town's voter approved rate.
There seems to be a consensus that we need to improve the Town's municipal service capacity and public works. I can't fathom how anyone could think any increased revenues would be best spent on adding a police office to that department. Just based on risk to people and property, surely spending to mitigate fire and flood damage massively outweighs what damage could be prevented/recovered by adding one officer. There are myriad ways the money could be better spent. Please increase the revenues, please do not allocate more of the Towns incredibly meagre budget to Police staffing.
Philip Feffer
Fairfax Resident
Outlook
Challenges to School Street Plaza application
From Sandy Handsher <[email protected]>
Date Wed 6/4/2025 2:58 PM
To Fairfax Town Council <[email protected]> Cc Heather Abrams <[email protected]>
To the Fairfax Town Council members, Town Manager Heather Abrams :
I am a 38 year Fairfax resident. I understand the issues regarding the School Street Plaza project, as well as state housing mandates. We are all in this together, even though it doesn’t seem so. I know that no one, including all the members of the Fairfax Town Council wants the project applied for by the builder.
Like others, I’ve been researching and looking for possible ways the Council can legally deny the application, especially the ministerial designation. I understand the possible paths for stopping the ministerial plan others have outlined to you:
* Does the builder’s plan unlawfully take over School Street? * Has a fire evacuation hazard been assessed by the builders? * Will the builders pay for access fees outside of the proposed building? * Is the main access to the project going to block access and parking for activities unrelated to living in the SSP building?
* Can the proposed parking garage be assessed/challenged for safety? * Is it realistic to propose that in the case of a wildfire residents of the SSP would shelter in place? * Can the Town Council challenge the builders’ plan to have commercial space in addition to living spaces? Others can argue those issues better than I.
The one thing I keep thinking about is the proposed number of units for “lower income” units in the project.
The builders’ original plan was for 175 units with 41 “lower income” units. That’s 23.5% of the total units being lower income.
Yet, when the builders grabbed the opportunity to increase to 350 (kept at 234), they did not also increase the number of below market units to match their original percentage of 23.5%. Instead, they kept the same number of low income units
(41), but now that number constitutes only 16.8% of the total number of units.
The builder obtains the authority to increase the number of units because of their proposed 23.5% of lower income units.
I am wondering if they can be challenged on that basis.
Sincerely,
Sandy Handsher
Outlook
Taxes
From William Appelt <[email protected]>
Date Sat 5/31/2025 6:21 AM
To Christine Foster <[email protected]>
Consider whether taxes are being spent wisely especially on infrastructure. Defined in our minds as roads and utility functions that enable our moving from place to place without difficulty. Addressed in the latest newsletter are bridges and maintenance especially over Fairfax creek and upstream tributaries.
Other expenses should not be borrowed from essentials like these. Priorities should be wisely decided.
Sent from my iPhone