FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE May 6, 2026
PREPARED FOR Mayor and Town Council
PREPARED BY Christine Foster, Assistant to the Town manager/Deputy Town Clerk SUBJECT Receive report on Councilmembers’ assignments, committees, and activities in April 2026.
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
April 2: Fairfax Fiscal Yr 26-27 all day planning session at Women’s Club.
April 3: MCCMC bylaw revision subcommittee meeting.
April 8: Attended community update forum for Fairfax San Anselmo Children’s Center on the topic of the upcoming renovation plans.
April 10: MCCMC bylaw revision subcommittee meeting.
April 13: Fairfax Citizen’s Disaster Committee: Discussed options for evacuation drill (driveway drill v.
Townwide with named destination). Neighboring communities (SA, SH) are not interested in partnering on a community-wide drill. A local successful Fairfax drill in 2024 included over 200 participating residents which is 2-3% of the residents yet the cost and resources of marketing and operating a drill is too much. Over 70% participation is recommended by RVF to be considered a worthwhile evacuation (drill) simulation. Council voted to do a driveway drill and get creative on communications to reach residents.
April 19 Attended and spoke at community memorial for Sienna Katz , Olive Koren, Josalyn Osborn and Ada Kepley at Log Cabin.
April 21: Fire Station 21 project team meeting.
April 21: Discussion with COM on becoming a long-term site for hosting MCCMC meetings for 2027.
April 22:MCCMC Marin County Council Members and Mayors Council regular monthly meeting.
Presentation from Derek Johnson, County Executive and Marin Community Foundation on federal funding risk analysis.
April 26: Attended as representative for Fairfax at 4th Annual Marin Youth Town Hall.
April 27: Met with DPW, Town Manager, Councilmember Blash and Ashley Fullerton of Grassroots landscape to ideate a scope to update the surrounding landscape of Women’s Club - using Measure A funds. The vision is to include a permanent memorial site for Sienna Katz, Olive Koren, Josalyn Osborn and Ada Kepley.
April 27: JEPA (Ross Valley Yellow Bus Transportation Services Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement Joint Committee) meeting.
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Action taken: Unanimous vote for Option 1: One way pass increases to $700; reduced pass price increases to $85. Fairfax contribution for upcoming fiscal year is~$41K.
Vice Mayor Egger
The Ross Valley Flood Control Zone 9 Advisory Board did not meet in April. We opted to approve Staff recommendations to pause future projects over FEMA's "no-rise" rule and come up with an exit strategy with the expectation that the Special Tax will not be re-approved in 2027. Since there's not much in "on the ground improvements", critics have repeatedly asked for an accounting of how much in tax dollars, grants and staff time has been spent to date. Estimates run as high as $80,000,000. The Fish Ladder below the Ross Post Office was promised to be removed years ago but is still in place. The County, not the Flood Zone #9 Advisory Board, is holding 2 hearings on Corte Madera Creek and Flood Zone #9, the 1st is Thursday, May 7th at Marin Catholic High School at 6:30 and the 2nd is May 20th at the Marin Art & Garden Center at 6:30 in Ross. More to come.
Fairfax Open Space Committee: Met Tues., April 28th. They voted to approve the recommendation from the Graton Rancheria for naming on the Wall property, Liile Yomi, which means the High up Place.
They discussed the Elliott Nature Preserve and the impact of visitors, including bicyclists riding at night, on Northern Spotted Owl nesting and fledging. There are no signs designating hours of operation at either the end of Canyon Rd. or Cascade Dr. Night time visitors passing through are creating Owl & neighborhood issues.
Marinda neighbors have reported issues with professional dog walkers, dogs off-leash issues and bicyclists riding to fast on the Wall property.
They discussed the purchase of the Sky Ranch Knoll, the 7-acre property that was proposed for a large house years ago but rejected over access issues. The San Anselmo Open Space Committee is running a fundraiser effort on May 2nd at 6:30 at the Episcopal Church in Ross to cover a shortage in available funds to purchase the property which is in Fairfax above the former Sky Ranch stables.
With issues of Scotch Broom and obnoxious weeds, they included compliance with Fairfax's ban on the use of pesticides on the Commons.
Their next meeting will be May 26th, the day after Memorial Day.
The Bike-Pedestrian Advisory Committee report will be on the May 6th Town Council meeting. I had testified before the Committee asking that speed limits be reduced on our downtown roadways from 25mph to 20mph, including S.F. Drake Blvd from Westerly Town Limits to Pastori, Broadway between the Library & Pastori and Bolinas Road where we have a lot of bicycles and pedestrian use. We need crosswalks added to Bolinas Road at Sherman & Mono Alley where pedestrians constantly cross Bolinas Road, especially with the coming Farmers' Mkt. and Fairfax Festival. My day job takes me to Marin's 11
cities & towns and Sonoma County's 9 cities & towns weekly. People are driving too darn fast and as a result. I see 20mph signs popping up in downtowns everywhere. State Legislation has allowed San Francisco to install Speed Enforcement Cameras and they have noticeably reduced accidents and pedestrian deaths. Lowering speed limits and enforcement works.
Councilmember Coler
1. April 1 – Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) Virtual Conference.
2. April 2 – Town Council Budget Workshop.
3. April 2 – MWPA Executive Committee meeting – did not attend due to conflict with Council Budget Workshop. Met with Alternate on Ex Com on March 30 to discuss my view of key item – 26/27 Workplan for discussion at Ex Com.
4. April 3 – MCE Contract zoom mtg – meeting for Executive Comm. Chair Coler and Vice Chair Darling to review one unredacted contract which contains confidential material.
5. April 6 – MCE Clean Energy Executive Committee mtg – The Committee approved: Master Scheduling Coordinator Agreement with Customized Energy Solutions for CAISO Scheduling Services - The scope of the proposed agreement includes the following: 1. Load forecasting 2. Storage bidding optimization; 3. Load and resource scheduling; 4. Settlements and reporting; 5. Portfolio management and congestion hedging; 6. Preparing for new resources to come online; 7. Scheduling MCE’s virtual power plant resources – start date is August 2026 (limited scope with full scope Feb 2027); 3/2/26 Minutes; and draft 4/16/26 Board agenda. Closed session was also held re: Public Employee Evaluation.
6. April 14, 21, 28 - Meeting with Town Manager on various Council matters.
7. April 8 – Ross Valley Fire Board – meeting was canceled in April.
8. April 9 – Marin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) meeting – the Commission:
accepted the FY 24/25 Audit (clean opinion) and authorized the FY 25/26 audit with Davis Farr for $10,920; received a presentation on the draft Novato Regional Services Review and Sphere of Influence update (public comments must be submitted by May 15, public hearing will be at the June LAFCO mtg); approved the draft proposed Operating Budget for FY 26/27 with 4% COLA for staff (final budget adoption will be June); received an update on CALAFCO related matters. Closed session on Public Employee Performance Evaluation.
9. April 15 – Town Council meeting.
10. April 16 - Marin Wildfire (MWPA) Board meeting & premeeting (Mar 18)- The Board approved:
4th Amendment to the Executive Officer At-Will Agreement – his salary is now $223,863 (the EO’s performance evaluation was prior conducted by the Executive Committee); an amendment to a Task Order for 7 San Rafael CORE veg mgt projects not to exceed $575,000 (expands the scope from 4-7 projects). Highlights of MWPA workplan implementation - the Chipper Program began the first week of April with strong demand and spaces filling up. Each of six rounds of chipping serve Marin Wildfire’s zones in the following order: 1) Novato 2) West Marin 3) Southern Marin 4) Central Marin 5) San Rafael; the 2025/26 Grant Program continues to distribute grants and work on developing next year’s program.
Marin Wildfire will be losing its Grants Specialist this year, so staff is working with member agencies to adapt the FY2026-27 program to accommodate this change. Specifically, San Rafael and Novato have expressed interest in managing their own grant allocation. The Marin Defensible Space Alliance (MDSA) which includes Central Marin, West Marin, and Southern Marin may either choose to use MDSA inspectors to manage grant distribution for these three zones or work with Marin Wildfire to replace the outgoing full time Grants Specialist with a half-time Grants Specialist to manage distribution of grants for the MDSA service area; Work completed or underway in Coastal Marin includes: • Seahaven in Inverness • Wharf-Altura neighborhood in Bolinas • Eucalyptus thinning in Bolinas • Panoramic / State Parks; Seadrift HOA, Calle Del Mar, Dipsea Road, Highlands neighborhood, and NPS fire roads in Stinson Beach • State Route 1 (non-federal), Muir Beach Trail, Terwilliger property (hazardous/dead roadside tree removal and some understory thinning), State Route 1 (adjacent to the roadway on National Park Service
lands) in Muir Beach: Broom - Staff worked with member agencies, land management agencies, and other partners to host a “broom summit” to share experiences and lessons learned around management of French broom and other species of broom. Removal of this invasive, non-native shrub comprises a large part of fuel reduction work funded through Measure C. The Board received: an update on JPA- wide proposals for FY 26/27 (no vote until May which will be combined with the CORE and Local projects); a brief overview of Fire Safe Marin outreach efforts for MWPA.
11. April 16 – MCE Clean Energy Board mtg – The Board provided the 2025 Charles F. McGlashen Advocacy award to: The Utility Reform Network - Kevin Bailey, Constance Slider Pierre, Adria Tinnin • North Marin Community Services - Maria Albuja-Pavon • Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley • Benicia Community and Sustainability Commission - Richard Fleming. The Board approved: Board of Directors Voting Shares Update (done yearly, based on proportionate share of energy usage; Fairfax is
1.47%); a resolution delegating Energy Procurement Authority to the CEO and Technical Committee Chair for 1-10 year energy contracts of less than or equal to $100M AND The CEO would be authorized to approve contracts or amendments with delivery periods having a cumulative total of less than or equal to 5 years, as well as contracts or amendments with a notional value less than or equal to $65 million AND the CEO would continue to have authority to execute amendments to existing contracts, regardless of the contract’s notional value or 1 Notional Value = unit cost x volume. term, which improve the provisions of the contract to MCE’s benefit without increasing the contract’s notional value and the authority to execute transactions in emergency or critical needs situations, as defined. The Reso would also dissolve the Interim Advisory Committee – This item and the resolution was not voted on, it was moved for further discussion at the upcoming Procurement Workshop and for revisions – possibly to be discussed again at the May Board meeting. Closed session was held re: 1) Employee Performance Evaluation, and 2) Anticipated Litigation.
12. April 17 – Special Town Council mtg RE: Formula Business Moratorium Extension.
13. April 22 - Marin County Council of Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) monthly meeting – Held at the MWPA offices in San Rafael, there were two presentations in addition to the Business items: Derek Johnson – Executive Officer, County of Marin (his planned presentation at the March meeting was postponed to April); Jason Blau, Chief Strategy Officer, Marin Community Foundation, will provide a presentation on Assessing Federal Funding Risk in Marin: Implications and Strategy.
14. April 23 – Community Media Center of Marin Board mtg -
15. April 24- Age Friendly Fairfax mtg.
16. April 25 – Margie Burke Speech Contest- Judge – held at Ross School annually for middle schoolers from all over Marin County.
17. April 27 – Community Media Center of Marin – meeting with ED Eisenmenger and Sue Buske of the Buske Group https://thebuskegroup.com/ re: Coler to provide advice on other PEG centers transitioning to oversight to other agencies rather than the traditional (As Chair, Coler led the dissolution of the Marin Telecommunications Agency and transfer to oversight by MGSA).
April 27 - Marin County Council of Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) Legislative Committee – the April meeting was canceled. 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.
Councilmember Blash
1. 04/02: Fairfax Town Council Budget Workshop. Discussed Town Budget and potential impacts of loss of sales tax revenue.
2. 04/09: Met with Town Manager.
3. 04/08: Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center Construction Update Meeting.
4. 04/15: Town Council Meeting. Special closed session related to Meadow Way Bridge Replacement Project. Reviewed updated draft budget. Approved bridge preventative maintenance program. Updated ADU/JADU ordinance.
5. 04/13: Met with Town Manager.
6. 04/17: Ross Valley Safe Routes to School Task Force Meeting. a. Discussed the Marin County School Access Safety Action Plan Update. which identified 24 priority areas countywide for deeper safety assessments. One priority area was Sir Francis Drake Boulevard from Azalea Avenue to Pacheco Avenue (Fairfax). Observations and community feedback about these locations will be used to develop site-specific recommendations for locations in coordination with the jurisdictions. b. Discussed 15 MPH Zones around schools. Schools have been notified and are providing feedback until the end of April. One site is near Manor School (Oak Manor Drive) in unincorporated Fairfax. Speed limit reduction would occur within 500 feet of the school.
Implementation is expected in summer 2026.
c. Fairfax Update. With San Anselmo’s help, Fairfax is getting ready to put a slurry seal project out to bid. Some of the streets involved are part of the bike spine and suggested route to Manor. The town will use Safe Pathways funding for a sharrow refresh after the slurry seal.
7. 04/17: Tot Lot Ribbon Cutting. Celebrated the opening of the new Tot Lot at Peri Park.
8. 04/17: Fairfax Special Town Council Meeting. Extended formula business moratorium.
9. 04/20: Special Ross Valley Paramedic Authority Meeting. a. Voted to place renewal of the Paramedic Authority parcel tax on the November ballot.
Discussed federal policy and fiscal environment changes that may impact the ability of the JPA to provide ambulance and paramedic services. This will come before every council in the Ross Valley.
b. Amended and restated joint powers authority agreement and voted to recommend approval by members’ governing bodies. The JPA has restructured for greater transparency, fairness, and efficiency. This will come before every council in the Ross Valley.
10. 04/21: Met with Town Manager.
11. 04/22-24: Attended the CalCities Leadership Summit and Lobbying Day in Sacramento. a. Accompanied other local town leaders to lobby our state representatives to support legislation that will help local jurisdictions.
b. Attended several roundtables with other elected officials on topics such as building relationships for an effective city council, highlighting successes and communicating wins to the public, and maintaining personal and mental health in public leadership. c. Attended several informal networking meetings and caucus luncheon. d. Attended sessions on Tackling Misinformation, the California State Budget, New Grants and Economic Development, AI Applications in Local Government, and more.
12. 04/27: Met with Landscaper re: Women’s Club Garden and Memorial. Discussed potential upgrades to the building and the grounds and the potential to create a memorial for the Fairfax girls who were lost to us a year ago. (Grant funding is available for these purposes).
13. 04/28: Met with Town Manager.
Councilmember Ghiringhelli
There is no requirement to give a Town Council Report.
I attend all meetings and lend my 55 years of experience working and running businesses in Fairfax and beyond, to the town and the council.
My history of helping to employ hundreds of great people, building local businesses from scratch, improving existing local businesses and infrastructure, and caring for the Fairfax community is what I bring.
My perspective on the town that I grew up in, and generations before me built, is unique to this council.
I will continue to do my best for the town, to help it maintain its small town character, charm, and history.
I am available by text or phone, and I hold downtown meetings with constituents at various local businesses on a daily basis.