CITY OF SAN MATEO
City Council Special Meeting
February 3, 2025
5:30 PM
City Hall Council Chamber
Entrance is on O’Farrell Street
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Robert Newsom Jr.
Adam Loraine
Nicole Fernandez
Danielle Cwirko-Godycki
Lisa Diaz Nash
AMENDED AGENDA
THIS MEETING CAN BE ATTENDED IN PERSON OR REMOTE BY JOINING ZOOM – SEE CODES BELOW.
PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED BOTH IN PERSON AND REMOTEL Y.
SEE END OF AGENDA FOR OPTIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING.
To join via Zoom – click here:
February 3, 2025
To join via telephone: (408) 638-0968
Webinar ID: 850 7595 2315 Passcode: 411099
Agenda Amended on January 31, 2025
CALL TO ORDER
Roll Call
AB 2449 Requests and Consideration for Meeting Participation by Teleconference due to Just Cause or Emergency Circumstances
CLOSED SESSION
The public will have an opportunity to comment before the consideration of this item. Following the meeting a report of action from Closed Session will be provided if required.
1. Conference with Labor Negotiators (Government Code Section 54957.6) City designated representatives: Yumi Maeda, Karen Huang, Abby Veeser, Aracelia Esparza and Stacey Cue Employee Organizations: San Mateo City Employees Association, Police Sergeants’ Association
OLD BUSINESS
The public will have an opportunity to comment during the consideration of this item.
2. Wet Weather Preparations — Update
Receive an update on the City’s wet weather preparations and storm response activities.
CEQA: This informational update to the City Council relating to the City’s wet weather preparation update is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
ADJOURNMENT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AGENDAS:
Agendas and material are posted on the City’s website on the Friday preceding each Council Meeting and can be viewed on the City's website at
www.cityofsanmateo.org
. Any supplemental material distributed to the Council after the posting of the agenda will be made part of the official record.
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WATCHING A MEETING ON TV:
City Council meetings are broadcast live on Comcast/channel 27, Wave/channel 26, or AT&T/channel 99.
For transmission problems during the broadcast, please call (650) 522-7099. For all other broadcast comments, call (650) 522-7040, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
WATCHING A MEETING ON A COMPUTER:
There are three ways to stream.
1) Public Meeting Portal
www.cityofsanmateo.org/publicmeetings
2) City YouTube channel and stream it on YouTube:
http://youtube.com/CityofSanMateo
3) Watch TV live stream:
https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/193/Channel-San-Mateo-Live-Stream
PUBLIC COMMENTS/REQUEST TO SPEAK
Prior to the Meeting
Send comments to:
[email protected]
until 4 p.m. the day of the meeting.
During the meeting
By Zoom:
Click the link at the top of the agenda and you’ll be added to the meeting. All attendees are muted by default. When the item of interest is open for consideration, select the “Raise Your Hand” icon and you will be called on at the appropriate time.
By telephone:
Call (408) 638-0968 and enter the conference ID found at the top of the meeting agenda. When the item of interest is open for consideration, select *9 to raise your hand. When called upon, press *6 to unmute, state your name and provide your comments.
In Person:
At the meeting complete a “Request to Speak” form, submit a request at the speaker kiosk or scan the QR code.
ACCESSIBILITY:
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, those with disabilities requiring special accommodations to participate in this meeting may contact the City Clerk’s Office at (650) 522-7040 or [email protected]
. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will
enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting.
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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 2 Section Name: OLD BUSINESS Account Number: 10-4679 File ID: 25-9577 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: February 03, 2025
SUBJECT:
Wet Weather Preparations — Update
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive an update on the City’s wet weather preparations and storm response activities.
BACKGROUND:
Staff has previously updated Council on wet weather preparation activities at the August 21, 2023, September 6, 2023; November 6, 2023; February 20, 2024; September 3, 2024; and November 18, 2024, Council meetings. The following sections update Council on recent preparatory actions and storm response activities, as well as additional actions staff have been implementing that have not been covered in previous presentations. For more information on past efforts related to the actions below, refer to the agenda reports for the previous presentations. Note that the categorization and lettering/numbering of the following items correlates to how they were originally presented at the August 21, 2023, meeting. Items with updates are shown in bold for ease of review.
Immediate-Term Actions (No Additional Resources Required) A. Additional Marina Lagoon Pump Station pump vibration analysis at summer lagoon levels a. This action is complete.
B.Develop Marina Lagoon Alternatives Analysis for Pumping Below 95 feet a.Staff met with Ad-hoc Lagoon Committee on November 7, 2024, to further discuss alternatives for pumping below 95 feet for a dock maintenance period and potential additional flood storage capacity.
After the meeting, committee representatives helped poll Lagoon residents on dock maintenance timing options, feedback for which generally supported a potential future dock maintenance period in November as opposed to the historic mid-January to mid-February timeframe, which is a challenging time due to winter rains and creek flows requiring regular pump operation to maintain low levels.
Additional feedback regarding the possibility of a reduced frequency of a dock maintenance period (e.g. every 3 or 5 years, rather than every year), is being gathered from Lagoon residents.
C. Install debris rack at 4000 Pacific Boulevard Pump Station a. This action is complete.
D. Provide data on City’s website for Marina Lagoon levels and pumps running a. This action is complete.
E. Implement additional safety systems for trash rack cleaning at Marina Lagoon Pump Station a. This action is complete.
F. Develop a Request for Proposals (RFP) to update the 2004 Storm Drain Master Plan and develop a prioritized implementation strategy
a. This action is complete.
G. Inspect and clean all City-owned trash capture devices
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a. This is an annual action item that is complete and ongoing as needed.
H. Inspect and clean all City-owned trash racks
a. This is an annual action item that is complete and ongoing before and after storm events I. Inspect and clean all storm pump station wet wells
a. This is an annual action item that is complete and ongoing.
J. Prepare traffic control/closures and stage materials for roads with known flooding concerns a. This is an annual action item and complete. Materials, including water walls and signs, are staged in key locations. A mobile trailer containing road closure materials/signage is ready for deployment, as needed.
K. Coordinate with Office of Emergency Services (OES) on wet weather planning and training a. This action is ongoing.
L. Work with community on Marina Lagoon Pump Station Standard Operating Procedures a. This action is complete.
M. Establish a Marina Lagoon Resident Flood Watch communication program a. This action is ongoing.
N. Coordinate improved public outreach and messaging on emergency preparations a. This action is ongoing. The City will continue to share safety messaging and emergency preparedness actions via City digital and print communication platforms. Staff are also working with OES on notification procedures in the event of an emergency and encourage residents to sign up for SMC Alerts and Nixle.
Immediate-Term Actions
1.Perform maintenance on all five (5) diesel engines, upgrade wiring, programming, and alarms, and purchase a spare pump lubricator system at Marina Lagoon Pump Station a. Engine maintenance is nearly complete. All five engines have been fully rehabilitated. The oil leak on Engine 5 was repaired the week of January 13, 2025.
2.Deploy up to four (4) sandbag stations throughout the City for upcoming rainy season, with focus on areas with history of flooding, and coordinate with community volunteers for filling bags, monitoring stations a. Staff initially deployed (3) sandbag locations: 1) the Anchor Road parking lot near the Bay Trail; 2) the parking lot at the City’s Corporation Yard; and 3) the parking lot of Beresford Park. Staff was successful in securing a 4th location in the North Central neighborhood at the Turnbull preschool parking lot on San Mateo Foster City School District (District) property at the corner of Humboldt Street and Indian Avenue.
The first three sites are open 24/7, while the North Central site is only open weekdays during the day and the station will likely need to be closed down in the next month or two as the District needs the space for upcoming facility construction activities.
3.Inspect and clean all catch basins before rainy season and recurring cleaning at hot spots throughout rainy season
a. This is now an annual maintenance action and ongoing. Two (2) maintenance staff, funded through the Stormwater Fee, are providing full-time M-F cleaning of catch basin. Additional crews are working after hours and weekend shifts. Currently, staff have cleaned over 4,100 of roughly 6,000 catch basins, covering all storm drains located east of Alameda de las Pulgas. Crews are now focusing efforts on the western hill portions of the City.
Short-Term Actions
4.Localized lagoon maintenance dredging under existing permit a.This action is ongoing. Moffatt & Nichol is preparing the design package for anticipated construction in Summer 2025. Review of lagoon bathymetric data has been completed and preparation of a Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) is underway. The SAP must be approved by the Dredged Material Management Office (DMMO). Construction cannot begin without DMMO approval and must occur between April 15 and October 15, in the dry season. Ideally construction will occur in Summer 2025 but potentially will need to occur in Summer 2026 if DMMO approval is delayed.
5. Localized, small-scale drainage improvements
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b. This action is complete. Five (5) locations have been repaired this season. Additional funding through the Stormwater Fee is being allocated to perform investigations on other locations next season.
6.Camera monitoring of priority creeks/trash racks
a. This action is ongoing. Procurement of cameras is complete and pending delivery. Three cameras have been installed in total, with one camera at the Coyote Point Storm Pump Station, and two cameras at the 42nd Avenue undercrossing. Three cameras have been installed to monitor the Marina Lagoon Pump Station, and two cameras will be installed to monitor San Mateo Creek at Gateway Park and near Arroyo Court and one to monitor the south end of the Marina Lagoon.
7. LiDAR aerial survey (Ground surface, creeks, and lagoon bathymetric) a. This action is complete.
Mid-Term Actions
8.Storm Drain Master Plan update
a. This action is ongoing. Current tasks include evaluation of field data, initial storm (hydrologic and hydraulic) model development, and condition assessments of pump stations and other storm infrastructure.
9.Marina Lagoon Dredging: Design, environmental, and permitting a. This action is ongoing. Staff discussed the City’s dredging needs with staff at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and shared historic sediment sampling data for review. EPA staff indicated historic sampling data do indicate challenges regarding pollutant levels that will limit disposal of dredged material but suggested there may be other feasible and less costly placement options than landfill disposal, including reuse as buried foundation material in restoration projects, such as the Montezuma Wetland Restoration Project or the South Bay Salt Ponds Project. EPA staff provided City staff with contacts at relevant restoration projects and other agencies, such as the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, State Coastal Conservancy, and San Francisco Estuary Partnership that staff will be following up with. Staff anticipates including initial funding to advance longer-term dredging activities as part of the five-year capital improvement budget that will come before Council in April.
Additional Activities
Staff will be collaborating with OneShoreline on a countywide effort to help agencies participate in the Community Rating System, a voluntary program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that provides tiered rate reduction benefits for residential flood insurance policies as agencies implement increased flood control management measures. OneShoreline’s support will help staff evaluate options for the City to reduce the financial burden on property owners remaining in FEMA flood hazard zones within the City limits. Since the start of the 2024-25 wet season in October 2024, staff have held twice-weekly Wet Weather Action Committee check-ins, made up of representatives from OES, the Public Works, Parks & Recreation, Community Development Departments, as well as the City Manager’s Office, when rain is actively forecasted. This meeting allows staff to briefly discuss the weather forecast and to be proactive in making decisions ahead of poor weather conditions.
BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no budget impact associated with this informational update.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This informational update to the City Council relating to the City’s wet weather preparation update is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
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ATTACHMENTS
None
STAFF CONTACT
Matt Fabry, Director of Public Works
[email protected]
650 522 7309
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