More on San Anselmo's Survey Results

At the meeting of Tuesday, May 8, the Town Council reviewed the results of our community survey.    

Listed below are the top ten priorities for the Town as selected by the 303 residents who responded to the survey.  The number in parenthesis indicates how many votes each item received. 

1. Explore strategies for increasing funding for road maintenance and drainage improvements to ensure that Town infrastructure is in good condition (202)
2. Work with Ross Valley Watershed program on detention facilities, improvements at Memorial Park and other flood protection strategies.  (140)
3. Develop community facilities master plan to ensure best use of Town community facilities. (121)  
4. Explore sharing staff with other jurisdictions. (119)
5. Consider blocking off a portion of San Anselmo Avenue during certain events to encourage shopping, biking and socializing.  (105)
6. Create a budget advisory committee composed of one or two Councilmembers and citizens to review the Town’s financial position and make resource allocation/budget recommendations. (103)
7. Work with Transportation Authority of Marin to clarify solutions to safety and speed issues on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. (102)
8. Adopt a program for median upgrades and maintenance, including Drake and Red Hill medians. (96)
9. Consider Isabel Cook Community Center remodel for Recreation offices and programming space downstairs (88)
10. Increase code enforcement of ugly vacant buildings and illegal signs. (88) 

The Town Council reviewed the results of the survey at the meeting and expressed unanimous support for the top goal of exploring strategies for increasing funding for road maintenance and drainage improvements.

The members also agreed that solving the Town’s flooding problems is a top priority, and one that is moving forward quite well with the Ross Valley Watershed group.  Our own Flood Committee will be involved in ensuring that projects in San Anselmo are well publicized and receive plenty of public input. 

There was also strong support for forming a budget subcommittee that would review the Town’s financial position and make budget recommendations.  The Councilmembers also included in this category a review of the Town’s pension program, ideas for saving money, and ideas for increasing funding for roads, drainage and median upgrades.

Councilmembers agreed that much work is already underway regarding sharing staff with other jurisdictions, per Council direction, such as the inclusion of Ross in the Ross Valley Fire Department and sharing services with the Twin Cities Police Department.  Council encouraged staff to continue with those efforts.

Several of the priorities dealt with our community facilities, including initiating a master planning process and remodeling the Isabel Cook Complex to improve our Recreation facilities.  Councilmembers agreed that our community infrastructure is very important. 

It was also clear in the survey that people are concerned about the economic viability of the Town’s businesses.   Residents love the downtown area and all the local events that create a wonderful sense of community. 

The Council directed staff to do the following: 

1. Report back to the Town Council with a proposed structure for a Budget Advisory Committee, made up of members of the community.  The Committee should have a clear charge, scope of work and a defined timeframe in which the work will be done.   
2. Work with the Economic Development Subcommittee to re-examine the makeup of the group to include residents, real estate professionals, developers, etc.  Find out what types of businesses our residents would like to see in town and work to encourage more local events.
3. Work with community groups to identify strategies for improving utilization of our community facilities, such as through a master planning process, for Robson Harrington House and Park and the Isabel Cook Complex.

Thank you sincerely to all who took the time to complete the survey.  The top ten priorities are extremely valuable information for Council and staff as we move forward into another fiscal year.  In addition, the many comments we received are most welcome and are being taken very seriously.