Town Council Meeting Notes and Central Marin Police Authority Update

Town Council Meeting Notes 

At the meeting of Tuesday, January 28, the Town Council took the following actions:

• Appointed Jon Elam and Eric Cutter to the Flood Committee.  Congratulations Jon and Eric and thanks for volunteering your time.
• Approved the rate increase requested by Marin Sanitary Service of 5.52%, effective January 1, 2014.  An independent rate review was conducted by Hilton Farnkopf consultants.  The rate increase will raise the cost of one 32-gallon can from $31.95 per month to $33.71 per month, an increase of $1.76 per month.  All other service rates will increase by 5.52% as well.
• Reviewed the results of the program to encourage customers to rent additional 64-gallon green carts for extra green waste.  Customers were asked to refrain voluntarily from utilizing random cans for green waste, as they are often overloaded and difficult for drivers to lift manually.  The lifting motion has increased the company’s workers compensation injuries and they are trying to reduce the risk to their workers.  Green cart rentals have increased by 161 carts in the last six months.  The topic of green carts will be addressed again at the meeting of Tuesday, February 25, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
• Received the report from the Library Director regarding the renewal of the current Library parcel tax of $49 that is set to expire June 30, 2015.  Library Director Linda Kenton presented the Council with a number of alternative proposals for a June 2014 parcel tax election.  For reference, the staff report is located at: http://www.townofsananselmo.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3915. Public input on this item would be most appreciated.  Please email Linda Kenton at lkenton@townofsananselmo.org with your thoughts. This item will be on the agenda of Tuesday, February 11, for a decision on the timing and amount of the new tax. 
• Approved the resolution making changes mid-year to the 2013-14 Adopted Budget.
• Appointed Town Council representatives to various assignments, as follows:

• •   Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) General Assembly   – Kelly. Alternate: Greene
• •   Capital Program Monitoring Committee – McInerney and Wright
• •   Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) - Upper Ross   Valley – Coleman
• •   Central Marin Police Authority Council – Wright and McInerney.    Alternate: Kelly
• •   Chamber of Commerce liaison – Kelly
• •   Downtown Merchants liaison – Coleman
• •   Economic Development Committee – Coleman and Wright
• •   Flood Committee – Wright and McInerney
• •   Flood Control District Zone 9 Advisory Board – McInerney
• •   Homeless Policy Steering Committee – Coleman
• •   League of California Cities, North Bay – Coleman  
  •   Marin Energy Authority – Greene;  Alternate: McInerney
• •   Marin Telecommunications JPA – Coleman; Alternate: Greene
• •   MCCMC JPA Oversight Committee – Coleman
• •   Marin Emergency Radio Authority (MERA) – Coleman; 1st    Alternate: Stutsman; 2nd Alternate: Kelly
• •   MCCMC Legislative Committee – Kelly; Alternate: Greene
• •   Ross Valley Fire Board – McInerney and Kelly; Alternate:   Greene
• •   Ross Valley School District liaison – Wright
• •   Safe Routes to Schools – Wright; Alternate: Coleman
• •   Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM): Greene; Alternate:   McInerney

http://www.townofsananselmo.org/index.aspx?NID=449

Central Marin Police Authority Update

At the CMPA meeting of Thursday, January 16, the Police Councilmembers received a year-end report from Police Chief Todd Cusimano.

The Chief presented statistics from the first year of the combined Central Marin Police Authority, formerly Twin Cities and San Anselmo Police Departments. 

·         Improved Services -  Response times in the jurisdiction have improved by a minute.  The most serious crimes, such as robbery, assaults, thefts, etc., have decreased 28% overall compared to the averages calculated for the last full decade.

·         Dispatch Center – The dispatch center fielded an average of 23.7 9-1-1 calls per day and an average of 164 non-emergency calls per day.

·         Patrol Division – Officers were dispatched to 20,537 calls for service from citizens in 2013, and proactively initiated an additional 14,231 incidents, which included traffic enforcement stops, residential and business checks and foot patrols, for a total of 34,768 incidents.

·         Traffic Unit – Traffic Officers are involved in several community safety programs such as the “Smart Start Program” educating teens on responsible driving habits, the “Street Smarts Program” aimed at traffic calming measures, the “Safe Routes to School Program” addressing school transportation issues, the “Avoid the 13 Program” targeting motorists driving under the influence, and the “Click-It or Ticket” seatbelt safety campaign.  The Traffic Unit had 9,960 traffic-related calls for service, including issuing 1,842 citations, giving 2,944 warnings to motorists and writing 228 collision reports.

·         Investigations Unit – This unit is responsible for investigating all felony crimes and serious misdemeanor offenses.  They work closely with other law enforcement agencies in the County and Bay Area to assist and solve cases.  In 2013, the unit investigated approximately 1,000 cases.

Chief Cusimano also outlined the Authority’s 2014 goals, which include improving traffic and parking safety, updating several ordinances, reducing the safety hazards associated with homeless encampments, disaster preparedness and implementing additional support services for youth.

The full PowerPoint presentation with more detailed statistics is available at http://www.townofsananselmo.org/DocumentCenter/View/2680.

San Anselmo News, published weekly on Fridays, is available at the San Anselmo Town Hall, Library, and on the Public Notice Bulletin Board. It is also available on the Town’s website, www.townofsananselmo.org, and by email subscription.