Council Considers Smart Meters, Master Fees

Master Fees

The Fairfax Town Council for the next twelve months on Sept. 7. Only a few fees were changed from last year. The significant change was the banner installation fee was reduced from $456 to $250. Other fee changes include: basic sign permit fee was raised from $88 to $100 and variance fees were raised to reflect actual costs. Residents and businesses can review the entire master fee schedule at the town’s home page with a link to the Finance Department.

Smart Meters

This item put on the agenda by Mayor Bragman was a discussion and request to delegate authority to the town to register residents on PG&E’s SmartMeter Opt-Out List. After some discussion by the council it was agreed to direct staff to collect emails that residents can volunteer to send the town so that the town has a record of the customer’s request to PG&E to opt-out.

The overall matter of whether is being handled through the California Public Utilities Commission. PG&E, in a letter from their Attorney written a few weeks ago, states that there will be no installation until next calendar year and there will be notice to the town before any such installations occur. Please be aware that PG&E is replacing old meters with Smart Meters in Fairfax, because PG&E does not manufacture the analog meters anymore. 

Other actions taken at the Fairfax Town Council Sept. 7, 2011 meeting:

• Appointed Merrell Maschino to serve another three year term on the Volunteer Board.
• Appointed Jonathan Bornstein to serve a three year term on the Design Review Board.
• Approved Town Council minutes from the July 13and July 27 meetings with changes requested by Mayor Bragman;
• Accepted the monthly financial report for June 2011.
• Adopted a resolution proclaiming September 2011 as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
• Adopted a resolution to extend the Marin County Abandoned Vehicle Authority Vehicle Registration Fee until April 2022.
• Adopted a resolution setting the living wage pursuant to the annual review requirements of Section 8.56.020 of the Town Code. 
• Adopted a resolution approving the Police Department Plan to allocate funds for the Citizens Option for Public Safety (COPS) program.
• Heard a presentation from a Marin General Hospital spokesperson Jon Friedenberg regarding the future plans for upgrading the hospital campus to meet seismic requirements. 
• Adopted a resolution approving criteria that was crafted by the Open Space Committee when evaluating potential open space properties to be purchased by the Town.

Other notes and announcements:

• Chipper Days scheduled for clearing the weekend of Sept. 10 and 11; removal and chipping on Monday, Sept. 12, in the Scenic/Tamalpais, Deer Park and Cascade neighborhoods
• Fairfax Food Pantry – Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon at the
• Vacancy on the Fairfax Youth Commission for Ross Valley youth between 14 and 19 years of age
• Town Picnic sponsored by the Volunteers for Fairfax on Sunday, Sept. 18, noon to 5 p.m.
• Workshop on SmartMeter Opt-Out options at the California Public Utilities Commission, Sept. 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 505 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco 

The next Town Council meeting will be Oct. 5, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the Women’s Club.