From: Barbara McVeigh
Sent: Tuesday, September 6, 2022 4:07 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Hight time for answers
It’s high time to stand by our working class Latino community who have paid a hard price living here on working class wages. High time also to look at history and provide some reconciliation for the wars of the 1980s, including genocide, against the Mayan Indigenous communities of Guatemala under Reagan.
Reagan stands as a statue in Washington DC representing the State of California. It is time bold political leaders call this out and demand Reagan be removed and replaced by one who represents far better values. It’s an insult to us all.
Barbara McVeigh
From: C Parrish <
Sent: Tuesday, September 6, 2022 4:34 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: public comment 9/6/22 Enforcement of: no Skateboarding on 1500 block of 4th St.
I am a citizen of the community in the West End of downtown San Rafael off 4th St., I am a single parent of a household and also have a home business license. I am requesting that there be signs placed on both sides of the 1500 block of 4th St. from F St. to Shaver St. that prohibits skateboarding.
In the past year as a resident of downtown 4th St. I have had experienced 3 violent attacks:
1. My apartment was broken into while I was home with my minor child who was attending school by Zoom. This violent perpetrator was later apprehended again in a separate case, just two and a half weeks ago after a 5 hour manhunt.
2. Last fall I was assaulted with great bodily injury, shot at with a firearm, and nearly run over while I was walking my dog in front of my apartment. One of the weapons used was the metal underside, the wheels and trucks of a skateboard. I have still not recovered from this and I am in constant pain.
3. A week and a half ago I was assaulted again after parking my car after bringing home laundry from the laundromat.
All three people who assaulted me were unhoused individuals. The reason why I am telling you this is that each time the SRPD came to my aid. I do not believe in anyone getting fired from their job, but I do believe in ongoing training and reassignment.
My request is that there be added signs to both sides the 1500 block of 4th St. from F St. to Shaver St. and enforcement of no skateboarding on this block of 4th St. I do not want to hear the constant sound that reminds me of my assault from last year.
In my neighborhood the 1500 block of 4th St. on Friday August 26th, 2022, a mob of young drunk white male 20-25 skateboarders jumped and badly beat up a Hispanic man who was going home with his beer. Again I ask for the enforcement of no skateboarding on 4th St.
Sincerely,
Capella Parrish
From: Ngọc “Tiffany” Phương Thi
Sent: Tuesday, September 6, 2022 4:16 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment 09/06/2022
I’m sorry that this is a couple minutes late, but I didn’t know if I would be participating virtually or in-person and some last minute changes came up. So sorry again! Full Speech:
Good evening city council members. My name is Tiffany Pham, I am currently a senior in high school and today, I want to talk about the inequality in Canal compared to other parts of Marin County. The canal is home to around 12,213 residents, and it is also a home for me and my family. It is also one of the most densely populated areas to live in. Near the Canal, we have the SmartTrain which most people are familiar with. The train was promised to start running in 2010 with 70 miles of rails, but instead it overshot the predicted date and started in 2017 with only 45 miles of rails. That’s 7 years late and 35% shorter than promised.
Plus it went over the predicted amount it took to build which was 450 million dollars to 691 million dollars. The annual projected operating cost was around 17 million dollars, but according to the SmartTrains budget reports for the years 2020 and 2021, it was well over 20 million dollars. 18% over budget.
The taxpayers in Marin and Sonoma counties are also paying 30 million dollars or more per year until Measure Q expires which won’t be until 8 more years. The additional costs and other funding for the project equates to well over the 500 million dollars it took to build it.
Instead, it totals around 1.5 billion dollars. This amount of money could’ve been used to improve parts of Marin like the Canal, to help fund public schools that are seriously underfunded and in need of resources, and to provide deescalation training for public officers. Areas like the Canal have many issues such as overcrowding that are long overdue to be solved, and the money that was put into the SmartTrain could help solve these problems. As our elected officials in service of the entire San Rafael community, I ask that you all can think about how the city manages its budget and prioritize areas that need the money more than others. That is true equity. Thank you for your time.
Tiffany Ngọc Phạm / Ngọc Phương Thi (she, her, hers)
Marin Academy ’23
San Rafael, CA