Issues

HOT TOPICS

For the most up to date information on current issues, please visit my Hot Topics Page at my official County website, or to read my most recent District 5 County Newsletter.

Together we have been through several challenging years, due to the lingering effects of the recession and the resulting budget shortfalls counties and cities in California are experiencing. Marin is fortunate that we have acted prudently these past years, and are not in the dire circumstances some counties find themselves in. We have the highest bond rating of any county in California, and have taken significant steps to reduce our budget, decrease retiree healthcare costs and address pension reform while maintaining and improving vital services. 

I am on the Board’s Long Term Budget Restructuring Committee, which involves employee and community outreach.  I also know that it is imperative that we come up with new ways of doing business as a County while continuing to strive toward providing excellent services in an environment of continued State cuts to local governments. My goal is to ensure that we do the most important things well.

I ask you to please keep in touch with me with any suggestions or concerns you have. I always remind myself of Mother Teresa’s admonition: “Life is a challenge. Meet it!”

• Began construction on the Marin Sonoma Narrows project.Also secured funds to begin design for extending the carpool lane an additional 1.7 miles northward to just south of the Landfill Interchange as part of Phase One of the Narrows project.This northbound expansion will relieve congestion through Novato, and get us closer to completing the carpool lane through the entire corridor.

• Worked with Assemblyman Huffman for successful passage of AB1103, allowing for greater flexibility in meeting our housing goals and RHNA numbers. Specifically, AB1103 allows more options for counting conversion units towards RHNA numbers, such as foreclosed homes, Habitat for Humanity homes and second units. 

• Worked successfully as Vice Chair of the SMART Board to achieve independently vetted cost and revenue estimates and a rigorous project review of the largest public works project launched in the Bay Area since the start of Great Recession. These efforts resulted in the following steps this year to achieve SMART’s voter-approved mandate while living within its budget:

   
  • Began webcasting and online archiving of all meetings

     
  • Ordered train cars compliant with all Buy America standards, to be built in Illinois. These railcars will set new standards for safety and environmental efficiency, exceeding the FRA safety standard with the addition of Crash Energy Management technology and running with Tier 4 engines (the first passenger rail in the country to achieve this environmental milestone) – negotiated at a savings of $21 million below estimated costs. 

     
  • Secured $32 million for the project in additional regional funds, approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission with a specific statement from MTC that the project meets its Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy without a single additional unit of housing near any station. 

     
  • This funding ensures that SMART will extend to downtown San Rafael’s Transit Center in the First Phase, and as a result of its independent analysis of the project, MTC has, for the first time, designated SMART as a high priority project for state and federal funding grants. 

     
  • Approved the first major construction contract of $103 million, which brings a minimum of 900 jobs to our region, employs local subcontractors and saves the taxpayers more than $14 million over anticipated costs, while simultaneously restoring the Novato North Station and Novato Creek Bridge replacement (which will preserve service during heavy rains and will also improve flood control for several Novato neighborhoods) to the First Phase. 

     
  • This contract also extends the First Phase to the Guerneville Road station in north Santa Rosa, a major employment center with existing residential development, which boosts SMART’s numbers vis a vis MTC’s TOD policy even higher. 

     
  • This means Phase I will also serve the significant number of residents, students and employees who commute between this area and Marin, and in total, Phase I will now serve 80% of the potential riders along the full rail line. 

     
  • Secured the highest available bond rating and issued $191 million (with proceeds of $171 million) at an interest rate of 0.2%, to be held in escrow. Once the repeal issue is resolved, SMART is poised to immediately issue additional construction and systems contracts for the rail and multi-use path, bringing even more jobs. 

     
  • Achieved an agreement with the bus transit agencies in both Marin and Sonoma to work together to launch express bus connectors in coordinated scheduling with initial rail service, to directly serve the stations not part of Phase I (Larkspur in Marin, and Windsor, Healdsburg and Cloverdale in Sonoma). 

     
  • Sales tax revenues have begun outperforming our now-conservative estimates, with confirmed numbers from the State Board of Equalization reporting a 7% gain (year over year) for April – June 2011 and a 9% increase for July – September (SMART had budgeted for 5% growth as part of our fiscal review)  

• Adopted Pension Reform Policy Guidelines for Marin County, which includes support for the Governor’s 12-Point Pension Reform Plan, passed publicly by Board Resolution (see the Pension article in this newsletter for more details on Pension Reform).

• Raised the retirement age for new hires in all miscellaneous categories (6 bargaining units) to reduce County pension costs: negotiated new, lower cost 2% at 61 ¼ retirement tier.

• Worked successfully with the Novato Theater re-opening volunteers to meet the initial $750,000 fundraising goal, leveraging a pledge of $150,000 from the County Community Partnership Fund as a challenge grant to the community. This key milestone moves the effort to restore a much needed magnet to our downtown and local economy forward, but much work remains in the year ahead!

• Approved the Analysis of Impediments, a report on discrimination that still exists in Marin under federal fair housing law and an action plan to address these inequalities to ensure fair access to housing regardless of disability, race, family status, sexual preference, or other factors designated by Title VI.

• Worked as Vice Chair of the Marin Economic Forum to integrate economic data and analysis into the information available to policy makers, local government staff and the public. In addition to the forecast on the overall Marin economy, MEF issued the “2011 City of Novato Economic Report”, contracted by the City of Novato in partnership with the Forum.

   
  • A summary of this first-ever Novato economic report was presented to the Council at its October 25th meeting, and will be a topic of a scheduled Council work session in early 2012. The report is the result of the compilation and analysis of newly released data from the 2010 Census. It identifies key elements of and opportunities unique to the Novato economy, and will provide the basis for further economic development discussions with the City Council.

     
  • I encourage all to go online and view the video of the presentation and the report itself, which can be found online at: http://novato.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=548  

• Completed the Novato Needs Assessment to help guide transit planning for Novato over the next five years. The assessment evaluates transit services currently operating in and throughout Novato, identifies new and emerging mobility needs that fall outside the current menu of transit services, and crafts practical strategies for meeting these needs.

• Approved master plan for Stafford Lake Bike Park. The 17 acre bike park will provide a bicycle riding area for the public designed for riders of all ages and skill levels. Construction is expected to begin this year.

• Secured County support for a number of programs important to our community, including North Bay Children’s and Novato Youth Centers, Teen Alcohol Prevention, Novato Human Needs and Novato Independent Elders
   
• Continued progress on the County’s long-term budget restructuring. In addition to closing each year’s gap, we have reduced the structural deficit with cuts, innovations and working successfully with employee representation on health benefit and pension reforms.
   
• Announced a request for $100,000 in matching funds from the County Community Partners Fund to jump start the fundraising efforts of the new non-profit "Novato Theater", which is working to re-open the theater as part of an ongoing effort to revitalize Novato's downtown and local economic vitality.

• Successful completion and grand opening of the Alameda del Prado bike path project, closing a key gap in the North/South Bikeway.

• As an appointee of the Marin Board of Supervisors to the SMART Board of Directors, worked with SMART, the Marin BOS, Transportation Authority of Marin, and the Metroppolitan Transportation Commission to ensure phasing, bonding, and project plans are supported by an independently vetted financial plan, and secured a commitment from the SMART board that the Initial Operating Segment will include getting the train to downtown San Rafael.
  
  

• Supported and participated in the installation of the new Afghanistan-Iraq Memorial at the Civic Center, to honor the brave Marin County servicemembers who have lost their lives serving our country.
  
  
• Completed the feasibility study for the Stafford Lake Bike Park, and have begun the process for a master plan for the facility, with ample opportunity for public input.

• Preserved 16 acres of land, originally part of the Marin Country Club Estates Subdivision, to be added to Ignacio Valley Open Space, with 20 acres of additional land preserved through a conservation easement.

• Certified nine new Green Businesses in Novato.

• Successfully raised over $10,000 through a challenge grant to the community, to preserve Novato's Museum of the American Indian, the only museum on a native village site in the entire Bay Area.

• With the efforts of the Marin Community Clinics and Sutter Health's Access to Care Fund, launched the new Novato Dental Clinic to provide oral healthcare to under served children and adults.

• Celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Gnoss Field, our County-owned airport in Novato.

• Joined representatives throughout the county and region in the grand opening of the Cal Park Tunnel bike and pedestrian path.