1 CITY OF MILL VALLEY
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
ACTION MINUTES
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
26 CORTE MADERA AVENUE, MILL VALLEY
November 6, 2023
5:30 P.M.
Mayor Urban Carmel – Present
Vice Mayor Stephen Burke – Absent
Councilmember Max Perrey – Present
Councilmember Caroline Joachim – Present
Councilmember Jim Wickham – Present
City Staff Present: City Manager Cusimano; City Attorney Khalsa; Community Engagement Liaison Terrell; and City Clerk Politzer
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Carmel called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. and noted Vice Mayor Burke was absent.
ACTION OUT OF CLOSED SESSION
None.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA ORDER
Agenda_231106
It was MOVED by Councilmember Wickham and SECONDED by Councilmember Perrey to approve the agenda order. The Motion was carried unanimously by a 4-0-1 vote.
PRESENTATIONS
1. Presentation of the Annual Report from Mill Valley’s Representative on the Marin County Commission on Aging.
Item 1_No Written Material_231106
Kristi Denton Cohen, Mill Valley’s representative to the Marin County Commission on Aging, provided a presentation and presented the annual report. Topics included what the Commission on Aging has been doing; the importance of taking care of caregivers in the community; advocating for and educating about different ways aging can be made better. She said a fact sheet was being written for towns and cities on the role of commissioners, how they are appointed, time 2 requirements, etc., that will be available to the Planning Commission at the end of the month.
Lastly, Ms. Cohen was asked to represent the Planning Commission on Volunteer Organization for Active Disasters (VOAD).
Councilmembers asked questions of Kristi Denton Cohen and provided comments.
Mayor Carmel opened Public Open Time.
Speakers: None.
Communications (via eComment): None.
Mayor Carmel closed Public Open Time.
2. Presentation and Consideration of a Resolution to Declare the Week of November 12-18, 2023 as “United Against Hate Week” in the City of Mill Valley.
Item 2_United Against Hate Week Resolution 2023_231106
Item 2_Public Communication No. 1_231108
Community Engagement Liaison Terrell provided a presentation on Mill Valley’s second United Against Hate Week, and outlined upcoming events. Topics included history of UAHW and what it is; an upcoming Celebration of Kindness event at the community center; events at the Mill Valley Library during UAHW; and free webinars and other events.
Councilmember Perrey read the Resolution declaring November 12-18 as United Against Hate Week in Mill Valley into the meeting’s public record.
Mayor Carmel opened Public Open Time.
Speakers: None.
Communications (via eComment): None.
Mayor Carmel closed Public Open Time.
Councilmembers thanked City staff for their efforts in drafting the resolution, and Mayor Carmel for his efforts.
It was MOVED by Councilmember Wickham and SECONDED by Councilmember Joachim to pass the resolution. The Motion was carried unanimously by a 4-0 vote.
CONSENT CALENDAR
3. Consideration of the Adoption of the Regular City Council Meeting Schedule for 2024. 3 Recommended Action: Adopt the proposed schedule.
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4. Consideration of a Resolution Approving Free Holiday Parking at Meter Zones.
Recommended Action: Adopt Resolution No. 23-____.
Item 4_Holiday Parking Resolution 2023_231106
5. Consideration of a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Agreement with Wood Rodgers Inc. (Wood Rodgers), for the Preliminary Engineering Phase of the East Blithedale Avenue Roadside Barrier Upgrade Project for an Amount Not to Exceed $50,000.
Recommended Action: Adopt Resolution No. 23-____.
Item 5_East Blithedale Avenue Roadside Barrier Upgrade Project Resolution_231106 City Manager Cusimano provided an amendment to Item #4 of the Consent Calendar, Consideration of a Resolution Approving Free Holiday Parking at Meter Zones, saying the staff report for the item references the dates the City waives parking fees, but does not list the actual 11 federal holidays for the year. The amendment to the resolution lists the federal holidays and adds them to the resolution.
Mayor Carmel asked if any Councilmember or member of the public wished to pull Items #3-5 from the Consent Calendar. There were no requests.
It was MOVED by Councilmember Perrey and SECONDED by Councilmember Wickham to adopt the Consent Calendar Items #3-5, as amended by the City Manager. The Motion was carried unanimously by a 4-0 vote.
COUNCIL/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS AND COUNCIL LIAISON REPORTS Councilmember Wickham announced that he had an RBRA meeting the following Thursday.
Councilmember Joachim, a member of the Legislative Committee, said that Governor Newsom signed almost every housing law that was presented to him, and that legislators are currently in recess until January 3rd, although some Assembly members were hosting informal forums. She noted the IRS had extended the tax filing deadline to November 16th, so they would not know what the revenue for the State would be until later in January, or if there would be a shortfall.
Councilmember Joachim said Southern Marin CERT was active in October with the Great California Shakeout; and they are working with ReadyMarin.org on an event at the community center in March 2024 called Ready 94941. The Essential Marin Neighborhood Response Group hosts a forum on home insurance and wildfires on their YouTube channel.
Councilmember Perrey encouraged the public and his fellow Councilmembers to follow along with the Mill Valley School District’s process on Measure G with respect to the middle school 4 rebuild. He and Vice Mayor Burke serve as liaisons to the school board and would be meeting with them the following day. He noted that the Bay Wave, the sea level rise informal planning group with members from each of the cities on the bay plus the County, at their last meeting previewed a new planning tool for County and City staff for planning evacuations, parking, traffic flow, businesses, etc., when it comes to sea level rise.
Mayor Carmel said Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) had begun working on a countywide transportation plan for 2050 to focus their efforts over the next 30+ years and set targets. Leading topics of interest are transportation to and from school and mass transit, with interest in more investment into highways being very low. The previous week’s third Community Chat was well attended with lively discussion. Mayor Carmel and City Manager Cusimano will be attending HOA meetings at Scott Highland and Kite Hill to meet the neighborhoods. Mayor Carmel will be a host and dance partner at the Senior Prom at the Redwood retirement community the following Friday. At their November 20th meeting the City Council will hear an appeal regarding the Tree House (Bank of America building). The Council’s December 4th meeting will be the last of the year and primarily focused on the infrastructure plan. The Blue-Ribbon Committee looking at infrastructure held its third meeting the previous week, with the fourth infrastructure meeting happening the following Wednesday to look at infrastructure, the amount of investment money needed, upcoming projects, funding the projects, and when to do them. He encouraged the public to attend the meetings and participate in the process. Mayor Carmel and Vice Mayor Burke will hold quarterly police oversight meetings with the Police Chief Navarro and City Manager Cusimano to go over crime statistics. The understaffed countywide mobile crisis unit will have three positions added, so it will become a true 24/7 service starting in January 2024. Also, the County is close to getting a statistician to analyze data and work across all 12 jurisdictions. There are four open positions for two police officers and two cadets. The E-Bike Ordinance was implemented this academic year for two months, and there have been 40 citations so far. Novato is discussing a e-bike ordinance similar to Mill Valley’s.
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
City Manager Cusimano gave a report/update on the following topics:
• Praised the Mill Valley Police Department and the leadership Chief Navarro and his team has taken in piloting the RIPA data early on; bringing in an analyst; ensuring the County has mental health resources, such as SAFE teams and extra support in Southern Marin; and moving the E-Bike Ordinance forward.
• Employee of the Quarter announcements will be made at the next City Council meeting, where City Manager Cusimano will give an overview. He reported that two Employee of the Quarter employees are Wendy Aquilino, Records Specialist with the Police Department, and Recreation Supervisor Molly Given, and that Human Resources Manager Seth Allingham would be taking the lead on the Employee of the Quarter program. • The 500 Miller Avenue project is moving forward. Of the two buildings, Building B is the retail, which is smaller, and Building A is residential, and larger. Framing on Building B is nearing completion and should be fully enclosed by the end of the year when interior improvements will begin. The framing for Building A will begin in December 2023 and should be completed by March 2024 when interior improvements will begin. The project 5 is a month behind schedule, but they should be able to catch up as long as the weather holds, with completion anticipated for December 2024 to the beginning of January 2025. • The City is meeting with the Mill Valley Middle School the following week to look at temporary school sites, which he will bring it back to the Council as an information item before the end of the year, and he hoped the Council would assign him two Council liaisons to move it forward.
PUBLIC OPEN TIME
Mayor Carmel opened Public Open Time.
Speakers: None.
Communications (via eComment): None.
Mayor Carmel closed Public Open Time.
OLD BUSINESS
6. Consideration of the Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Municipal Service Tax (MST) Annual Report.
Recommended Action: Receive report.
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City Manager Cusimano presented the FY 2022/2023 Municipal Service Tax Annual Report.
This tax runs through July 2027, and was passed for fire prevention and street rehabilitation services.
• Street Rehabilitation: In 2023 the MST generated $1.8 million and expended $906,000, but there was an additional $1.3 million that was encumbered at the end of the summer on projects listed on pages 2-3, so the City spent approximately $2.2 million within a 14- month period specific to the streets listed on pages 2-4. • Fire Prevention: The Fire Department removed 647 tons of fire fuel from Mill Valley, a 20-ton increase, and a 10% increase in the number of streets and work done from the prior year. Mill Valley’s fire staff and Southern Marin Fire’s staff will meet every two weeks to aid in communication and planning.
Mayor Carmel said they have four years until the MST expires, so having another five-year plan makes sense so they can have it ready to go at the beginning of the next paving season, and everyone can see what the next five years looks like.
Councilmember Wickham said the last fire access improvement was done in 2020 before the pandemic. There are five locations the Fire Department had identified, and now that the Mill Valley Fire Department has consolidated with Southern Marin Fire, he didn’t want them to loose site of those improvements. He added that when they started MST, it was $200K for vegetation and went to maybe $500K after the big fire, so he totally supported reducing that amount and putting it back onto the streets.
6 Councilmember Perrey said with regard to improving communications with Southern Marin Fire that it would be helpful for at least the City Council to have a list of Who’s Who at Southern Marin Fire and who they want Mill Valley to direct the public to.
COUNCIL REQUESTS AND IDEAS FOR DISCUSSION
Mayor Carmel suggested doing an annual City Council retreat in the second or third week of January each year, because he thought the new mayor would want to sit down with the Council in January, some of which might be newly elected, and have an orientation and set a plan. He recommended the 2024 retreat be held in January or February and held at the Ralston White conference center. Mayor Carmel also requested Councilmembers let City Manager Cusimano and City Clerk Politzer know if they are going to miss a meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
It was MOVED by Councilmember Joachim and SECONDED by Councilmember Perrey to adjourn the November 6, 2023 City Council meeting. The Motion was carried unanimously by a 4-0 vote.
The Council ADJOURNED at 6:43 p.m. to the next Regular City Council meeting to be held on Monday, November 20, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. in the Mill Valley City Council Chambers.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE MILL
VALLEY CITY COUNCIL ON OCTOBER 6, 2025
___________________________
Stephen Burke, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Risa De Ferrari, City Clerk