Saturday, September 19, 2020
David P. Donery, Town Manager

Town Council to Discuss Racial Equity on Tuesday

At their meeting on Tuesday, September 22nd, the Town Council will discuss racial equity in San Anselmo and consider actions the Town could take to address the issue. The staff report for this item can be found on the agenda link HERE:

Draft Ordinance Review - Potential Prohibition of Gas-Powered Landscape Equipment

Also on Tuesday night, the Town Council will review a draft ordinance prohibiting the use of certain gas-powered, two-cycle landscaping equipment in San Anselmo and provide policy direction to staff.

Other items of the agenda include:

Approval of a Tentative Side Letter Agreement with the Service Employees International Union, Local 1021 (SEIU) Regarding Reduction-in-Pay and Employee Furlough Day for Fiscal Year 2020-2021.
Receive a report from the Chief of Police regarding commercial burglaries in San Anselmo

The agenda and packet materials are located here: https://sananselmo-ca.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=1&event_id=506

In order to join the meeting at 7 PM on September 22, 2020, please click the following link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81783766131

Or Telephone: +1 669 900 6833

Webinar ID: 817 8376 6131

NOTICE - Pavement Work on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. at Butterfield Road - September 28th & 29th, 9am to 3pm

Drivers should expect delays at this location during these times

The Town has hired contractor Maggiora & Ghilotti to perform pavement patching on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard between Butterfield Road and San Anselmo Avenue on Monday and Tuesday, September 28th and 29th. Work hours will be between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, with one lane open in each direction throughout the project. This work is being done to address the deteriorating condition of the roadway in several areas, and to prepare this stretch for a slurry seal project later this fall. Traffic control staff will be on-site during this project to help keep traffic flowing as best it can. Thank you for your patience while we complete this important project.

Mask Poster Competition Winners Announced!

Winning entries will be displayed on mask trees on Friday 9/18 for all to view.

Age-Friendly San Anselmo and the Parks and Recreation team would like to thank all participants who submitted creative and colorful poster ideas for the Fall Mask Poster contest encouraging residents and visitors to wear masks to protect others during the pandemic. Winners will be called, and awards will be delivered to their home upon arrangement. Come see all the winning artwork hanging from the mask trees on Friday 9/18 in Imagination Park and the new Creekside on the Ave Park!

The winners of the certificate signed by Mayor Ford Greene and a gift certificate to Gelato Classico are:

Serafina Gaspari Age 9
Sarit Gaspari Age 5
Samantha Gaspari Age 12
Ariella Abta Age 9
Violet Abta Age 11
Mia Delmis Grade 7
Stella Matson. Kindergarten
Eleanor Jade Kolek. Grade 4
Samantha Anderson. Grade 6

2020 Census

Accurate count determines federal funding, representation for local residents

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic repercussions of the virus, more Marin County residents find themselves in need of public assistance. One way to make sure funds are available from those increasingly important sources is to fill out the 2020 U.S. Census. An accurate count of the local population has direct ties to the federal support available to the residents most in need.

The census is a once-a-decade population count of everyone living in the United States. Results determine how many dollars are devoted to school lunches, Medicaid, CalFresh food assistance, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and many other programs. Undercounting on the census not only leads to less money for those programs but can lead to the loss of a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Local census workers, called enumerators, are actively working in Marin’s neighborhoods now and may knock on doors to log census responses and verify addresses, even if a resident has already responded. Enumerators are following physical distance guidelines and face covering protocols to ensure safety and are easily identifiable by wearing the census logo and an identification badge. Residents can also self-respond to the census at my2020census.gov.

The official U.S. government headcount was labeled as the “first digital census” whereby households had the option of responding online, by mail, or by phone and will end on September 30. In addition to the online option, the census can be done by phone in English (844-330-2020) or Spanish (844-468-2020). A new North Bay census questionnaire assistance phone number has been set up as well at 707-757-6504 to help answer questions about completing the census. Respondents are to include everyone living in a household, whether they are related or not.

Most questions about the local census efforts are answered on MarinCensus2020.organd www.census.gov.

COMMUNITY WILDFIRE SAFETY EDUCATION WEBINARS

Living With Fire in Marin is a wildfire preparedness education program developed by FIRESafe MARIN in conjunction with the Marin County Fire Chiefs Association, Marin County Fire Prevention Officers Association, Marin Master Gardeners (UCCE), and wildfire and home hardening experts.

In 2020, all Living With Fire programs are being delivered online, presented in a 60-minute webinar format. The monthly webinars will be posted online, and can be viewed live, with live participant Q&A.

Leading experts in wildfire preparedness, defensible space and landscaping, home hardening and building science, and evacuation preparedness will cover a new topic each month.

On August 25th, FIRESafe MARIN featured a webinar titled:

Evacuation & Warnings – How To Survive a Wildfire
Speakers: Battalion Chief Todd Lando (Central Marin FD); Dr. Shannamar Dewey (Camp Fire Evacuee & Survivor)

Over 1,000 people have viewed this webinar, which includes important information about how to prepare for, and survive a wildfire event. This is available for viewing at the following link: Evacuation & Warning WEBINAR.

Art On The Avenue

The San Anselmo Arts Commission is sponsoring the vacant storefront art exhibit at 538 San Anselmo Avenue. Featured artists are Helen Steele and Sunila Bajracharya.

Stop by to check it out! Please visit the commission's Website to see what else they are up too.

A Note from the Library

You may have heard that changes are coming as Marin County eases restrictions on businesses and activities. Public libraries in Marin are currently working together through the MARINet consortium to establish protocols that will help protect the health and safety of library staff as well as our patrons as we move to a different level of service. These protocols, which will take several weeks to put into place, also need to be approved by Marin Recovers.

Services provided could include modified browsing, access to public computers, and picking up of holds, depending on the specific library, but will not include full access to services or extended time in the building. Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for more specific information. In the meantime, curbside service will continue in the same manner.

Slow Streets

The Slow Streets program is intended to support safe, essential physical activity by creating more space for social distancing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This program discourages residents and visitors from driving on all “Slow Streets” unless they are necessary to reach your final destination.

The Town of San Anselmo is responding to the increased demand for pedestrian street usage during COVID-19 pandemic by implementing a concept of "Slow Streets" throughout the Town where appropriate. Many cities around California and other states are adopting similar approaches, aimed at increasing the usability of the streets for pedestrians with social distancing in mind. There are many different approaches to this concept, many of which are aimed at reducing and slowing down vehicular traffic on neighborhood streets so that they are not used as shortcuts or detours.

Additional information on the subject, as well as some examples of other cities' slow streets programs are below:

Participating Streets

Caleta Ave
Sycamore Ave

Reporting Shelter-in-Place Violations

To expedite the process for resolving business violations of the Shelter-in-Place (SIP) Public Health Orders, each jurisdiction has set-up a way to report these violations, instead of being triaged by the County. This will allow cities and towns to respond faster to the complaints.

To report a business violation in San Anselmo, please email SIPviolations@townofsananselmo.org and include the following information:

Business name
Address
As much detail as possible regarding the perceived health order violation

Register to Vote

Whether a Marin County resident has just turned 18 years old, just relocated to the county, or has decided to participate fully in the democratic process, the Marin County Elections Department is encouraging people to register to vote.

The eighth annual National Voter Registration Day is September 22, and the November 3 General Election is just weeks away. After October 19, residents wishing to vote in the November election will be required to register and vote in the Elections Department at the Marin County Civic Center or at their polling place.

Learn more about key changes for November’s election because of COVID-19 and new state laws. That includes a statewide order that each active registered voter receive a vote-by-mail ballot in the mail. There are several local ballot measures and open seats for elected positions in Marin.

Can’t wait to register? Find the online voter registration form at www.sos.ca.gov.

Organic Waste Program for 2020

Residents of incorporated San Anselmo can opt to receive a second or third green waste cart as part of their basic bundled service package with Marin Sanitary Service (MSS). Customers who want the third green waste cart must make the request by December 31, 2020 to be able to have the third cart as part of their basic bundled service. After that date, customers will be entitled to two green waste carts as part of the bundled service, and will be able to rent additional carts (up to 4).

In summary, customers who have secured up to three (3) total green waste carts before December 31, 2020, will keep this secured level of service at no additional cost until the customer terminates service with the Marin Sanitary Service. This change is part of the new program for the collection of organic waste (food and yard waste). Beginning in 2020, Marin Sanitary will no longer collect organic waste from customer-owned cans. You will be receiving more information from MSS and the Town throughout 2020 on this program change.

It is important to note that these changes are for customers in the incorporated town of San Anselmo. This does not apply to customers who may have a San Anselmo address but reside in unincorporated Marin County, such as residents of Sleepy Hollow.

For additional information, click here.

Town Hall Office Hours

Town Hall will be reopening for in-person services. Permits, Planning and Business Licenses will be available from 8:30 am - 12 pm Monday through Thursdays.
Social distancing and masks will be required while in the building.

Saturday, September 19, 2020 David P. Donery, Town Manager