Town Council Meeting Notes, Carts for Green Waste and Composting, Memorial Day Community BBQ

Town Council Meeting Notes At the meeting of Tuesday, May 14, the Town Council took the following actions: • Administered the oath of office to newly-appointed Councilmember Liz Dahlgren. Congratulations Liz! • Presented the Quality of Life Silver Award to Shirley Paradiso for volunteering as a receptionist at Town Hall for 25 years. Thank you, Shirley, for your dedication and effort. • Approved the downtown event application for the Ice Cream Social volunteer recognition event to be held at Robson Harrington House and Park on Sunday, June 30, 2013, from 1 to 3 p.m. • Announced the expiration of terms on Planning Commission, Open Space Committee, Arts Commission and Board of Review and directed staff to advertise and solicit applications. • Approved the resolution reaffirming and memorializing the guidelines for the Open Space Committee. • Approved the resolution authorizing the Bay Area Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (BAIRWMP) grant program. • Received the report from the Financial Advisory Committee. The Committee reviewed the Town’s revenues and expenditures and reported that the Town has done a good job reducing expenditures through public safety consolidations and pension reform. The Committee recommended to the Council that they consider a sales tax ballot measure to address outstanding infrastructure needs in Town streets and storm drains. • Approved the Marin Sanitary Service rate increase request of .22%, to be effective June 1, 2013, and approved the requested change in policy for green carts. More on this below. • Received report on the Plan Bay Area and Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for Plan Bay Area and concurred with the comment letters prepared by the Transportation Authority of Marin. • Approved the response to Grand Jury report “Marin on Fire – Redux” dated March 25, 2013. • Acknowledged plans for the Bolinas Avenue Safety Improvements funded through the Town of Ross Safe Paths to Schools grant, managed by Town staff. • Appointed members to represent the Council on various committees, filling current vacancies, as follows: 1. Chamber of Commerce liaison – Liz Dahlgren 2. Marin Energy Authority, Alternate – Tom McInerney 3. Marin Telecommunications JPA, Member – Kay Coleman 4. Marin Emergency Radio Authority (MERA), Kay Coleman, 1st Alternate Debra Stutsman, 2nd Alternate Liz Dahlgren 5. MCCMC Legislative Committee, Alternate – Tom McInerney 6. Ross Valley School District liaison, Member - Liz Dahlgren 7. Safe Routes to School, Representative – Jeff Kroot, Alternate – Liz Dahlgren 8. Transportation Authority of Marin, Alternate – Tom McInerney The staff reports for the above items can be found at http://www.townofsananselmo.org/index.aspx?NID=449. Carts for Green Waste and Composting The Town’s contract with Marin Sanitary allows customers to place the equivalent of seven 32-gallon cans (224 gallons) of yard/food waste at the curb each week. For most customers, this is one 64-gallon rolling green cart provided by Marin Sanitary, plus up to five 32-gallon cans that we, as customers, may have on hand at home. These extra cans are not on wheels and cannot be emptied via the semi-automatic removal system on the trucks. The use of these extra cans, which are often fully loaded and very heavy, has created a workers compensation problem for the company, due to the many injuries that have occurred with their workers lifting the heavy cans. Marin Sanitary has proposed to continue with the 224 gallons of green waste, but asked to amend the Town’s contract to provide that customers who want to utilize the full amount of green waste request additional green carts for a rental fee, currently set at $1.78/month. Customers could request an additional three green carts, to get up to and actually exceed, the current 224 gallons. The Council approved Marin Sanitary’s request at the meeting of Tuesday, May 14. The Council was concerned that this may be a big change for some customers and thus negotiated with Marin Sanitary to delay the effective date of the green cart conversion for three months, or September 1. This will give the Town and Marin Sanitary an opportunity to ensure that all customers are aware of the change and able to make arrangements for additional green carts, if desired. If you have any questions about this change, please call Debra Stutsman at 258-4652. Memorial Day Community BBQ The American Legion Post 179 and Women’s Auxiliary will be hosting a free Memorial Day Community Barbecue at the Log Cabin on Monday, May 27, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. It is open to the public and a great way to connect and support veterans from all generations. The American Legion is also conducting a fundraising campaign to get some of the structural issues fixed that exist with the 78 year old cabin. For more information, please call the Log Cabin at 456-0834. San Anselmo News, published weekly on Fridays, is available at the San Anselmo Town Hall, Library, on the Public Notice Bulletin Board. It is also available on the Town’s website, www.townofsananselmo.org, and by email subscription.