Town Council - Regular Meeting

OK, we are all here. Thank you for your patience, everyone. We had our Fairfax farmers market is in high gear and it creates a little bit of congestion. So parking. And such. We had some delays. So looks like we're all here. I'm calling to order the regular town council meeting for Fairfax. Today is Wednesday, June 3rd. And Christine, could you do a roll call, please?

Yes, Mayor. Council Member Blash. Here. Council Member Garangeli. Here. Council Member Kohler. Here. Vice Mayor Ager.

Here.

Mayor Hellman.

I'm here. And may I get an approval of the agenda? I'll make a motion to approve the agenda.

Second.

Are we? Okay. What about Pledge of Allegiance? Or is that? We will do that.

Okay.

Can we finalize the approval? We have a motion from Council Member Kohler to approve the agenda and a second from Council Member Garangeli. Council Member Blash? Aye. Council Member Garangeli? Aye.

Yes.

Council Member Kohler. Yes. Vice Mayor Ager. Aye.

Mayor Hellman. Yes. And as I mentioned, we had a closed session just prior to this, and I'm not clear because we didn't discuss it. Is there any reportable action? No, there's nothing to report. Okay. Thank you. And with that, let's stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

of the united states of america and to the republic which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all

The Fairfax Town Council acknowledges that we are located on the unseated ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok people of present-day Marin County. We honor with gratitude the land itself and all of its ancestors, past, present, and emerging. The meeting protocol, the mayor or presiding officer maintains order at the meeting. Council members share in this responsibility for modeling respectful professional conduct to effectively facilitate the meeting and encourage meaningful civic participation. All participants including council members, staff, members of the public, and remote attendees are expected to engage respectfully. Profane language, personal attacks, ridicule of character or motives, and discriminatory or harassing conduct are not permitted. These standards apply equally to all viewpoints and forms of participation. To ensure all voices can be heard, disruptive behavior, including shouting, repeated interruptions, clapping, et cetera, or other actions that interfere with the orderly conduct of the meeting is not permitted during public comment or during council deliberations. Applause is appropriate for ceremonial and celebratory items such as proclamations, recognition, or welcoming remarks. If you would please silence your electronic devices, we would appreciate it. The mayor or presiding officer may issue a reminder or a warning to address disruptions. Continued disrupted behavior will result in removal from the meeting consistent with applicable law and in a viewpoint neutral manner. We will adjourn no later than 11 p.m. At approximately 9.30 p.m., the council will review the agenda to determine which remaining items may be continued. Moving on to announcements. I'm hoping everybody in the community is aware we have a driveway evacuation drill. We've been communicating out on it. There'll be more communication about it. Hopefully you will participate. It is not intended to simulate a traffic evacuation. It is so that you can, Time yourself and how long it will take for you to get all of your go bag your pets your pet carrier all your You know valuable belongings etc and get out the door why the Citizens Disaster Council voted to do that was because of the tremendous resources that are required to have a destination based evacuation drill and the fact that our neighboring communities were not really interested in doing one with us and And to have an effective traffic evacuation drill, you really need 70 percent or more of the community to participate. So for those reasons, we voted on the council, the Citizens Disaster Council, to have a driveway drill. And I do hope you join us in participating. Did you want to say something? You're looking at me like you want to say something. OK, so there's a June 6th at 10 a.m. But if 10 a.m. doesn't work for you, you can do it at any time on June 6th. And I also wanted to mention we've been doing a lot of communication on the diseased sequoia trees, immense, gorgeous old tree in Doc Egger Park. And I know that it was a beloved tree for many of us. And it's really hard to see it go. And I wanted to recognize our town manager, Heather Abrams, for suggesting that we have a tree ceremony. We did that. It was actually. beautiful and quite emotional. And we had about 10, 12 people there. And I just really appreciate you knowing how much our community values these beautiful trees. So thank you, Heather. And finally, don't forget Fairfax Festival. I think it's the 46th annual is coming up. Not this weekend, but next weekend, right?

13th and 14th yes any other announcements from my colleagues yeah i just wanted to quickly announce that um since i'm the on the transportation authority of marin um that we have some transportation heroes in our community that have been honored in the last month and one of them is gwen fro who is a fairfax resident who received honors at a number of venues for her 21 years as the project manager of safe routes to school a project that actually originated in Fairfax and has become a nationwide movement due to its success. The people who started that were Wendy Callens, who still lives over in San Geronimo Valley, and Fairfax resident Deb Hubsmith. So Gwen is retiring from her position, I think, this month. And the other person that was recently honored is Michael Shindelis. He was honored by the Transportation Authority of Marin as Crossing Guard of the Year. And he sets a wonderful example of sustainability and active transportation. He rides his bike each day from Fairfax to his crossing guard post, which is outside of Fairfax. And beyond all his service to the community, he is also the proud father of two daughters. So I just wanted to highlight that we have residents doing amazing things all the time.

I'll second that. Anyone else? Okay. Thank you. Moving on to the town manager's report. Heather.

Thank you, Mayor. We have a number of exciting topics this meeting, so I'll be very brief. Also, we are anticipating another packed agenda for the July 1st meeting. As you know, this summer will be the season of projects downtown. And as you saw on the agenda, we'll be having presentations from the Ross Valley Sanitary District on their project downtown. as well as a brief update from Marin Water on their project on Bolinas Road. And I just want to put out there to the entire community, we appreciate your patience and planning ahead for some extra travel time. There will be inconveniences, but by fall, we hope that Fairfax will continue be significantly refreshed in the infrastructure area downtown. So that's wonderful. I also wanted to bring to everyone's attention, Marin Water is updating their urban water management plan. And that public hearing is at their board meeting on June 16th. we have i have heard from marin parks and open space that they will begin bridge work in cascade canyon sometime after august 1st we will put information about that in our newsletter as soon as we get it from them so i wanted to just make sure everyone was aware of that and the tree committee is meeting on june 22nd and they will be discussing updates to the tree ordinance so that's something that is very relevant for our tree loving community. Heather are those meetings held in this room? Held in this room yes and the agendas are available on our website under meetings.

And we'll also be discussing the Memorial Garden outside the Women's Club. Yes, that's right.

Yeah. Thank you. And last point, Fire Station 21 remodeling project is underway. Firefighters are now living temporarily in the community center and interior demolition is expected to begin next week. Thank you.

And one more item, the park signs, which we continue to get questions about, are here and they will be installed. As soon as we can. As soon as we can. So they are here. They are produced. They are in hand and they will be installed. Is it our team or staff installing or is it?

Sorry, our team will install most of them. The county has committed to install the ones on wall property. Got it.

Okay. Thank you so much. Moving on to future agenda items. Anyone?

I do. Mayor and Council, I've been trying to have downtown speed limits reduced as an agenda item for over a year now. Specifically, I can tell you my day job takes me to Marin's 11 cities and towns. And Sonoma County's nine cities and towns weekly, a number of those public agencies, cities, towns, and even unincorporated areas are lowering their speed limits in downtown areas from 25 to 20 miles per hour. Makes it safer for bicyclists, makes it safer for pedestrians, and just slows the traffic down.

So when you have raised this before, I want to acknowledge that. So I thought we were going to absorb that into the final BPAC presentation. Like we just heard an update, like with the survey, what have you, but it wasn't. That's what I recall. Yes, that's my recollection as well. And so can we confirm that they will include in scope a position or some recommendations related to this?

yes um we mentioned the the issue we we heard you and we mentioned the issue in the update and i will reconnect with staff that's working with the bpac to make sure that that issue is brought forward in the recommendations in the plan i testified before bpac on the specific streets that have to be reduced in speed the speed limits uh bolinas road from park road down to broadway

Park Road, the whole length. It's almost impossible. You can't pass a car out here on Park Road. We've got to reduce these speed limits. The... Broadway from the library down to Center, down to Pastore, that needs to be reduced to 20 miles per hour. Sir Francis Drake from St. Rita's, where there's a charter school, Ross Valley Charter School, down to the town limits, that needs to be reduced, too, because cars are just traveling too darn fast. And we've got this whole... number of vehicles headed, traveling to West Marin all the time for the recreation areas. You know, the county's not coming to our assistance. Nobody's coming to our assistance. We need to look at reducing speed limits to make our roads safer.

Thank you. And I want to say that I have raise this repeatedly as the liaison to the BPAC. The BPAC's aware they're on it. And I noticed that many people have said they want to make that part of the recommendation. So I think it will be included in the series of recommendations that the BPAC brings to the council as part of a package of pedestrian and cyclist safety measure. And they do mention that you came and they are appreciative of you presenting that.

Who can make a formal ask of the BPAC that this is included in whatever we see?

I have.

So we can hold you accountable that that will happen?

Well, yeah. Like I said, I have. Mayor? I will.

Thank you. Yes. We just had a presentation from the BPAC and that wasn't even mentioned. So I don't think everything that needs to be done, especially when it comes to safety, needs to wait for a report that that's going to come.

So I wanted to mention that was not the recommendations. That was the presentation of the findings of a survey of residents and outreach activities. So there will be recommendations that are being worked on actively right now that are being crafted out of resident input. So that is on its way. That was a preliminary presentation.

Right. And that's nice. That's nice. I would just recommend that if Frank has some streets that he wants to have reduced to 20, that he brings it in front of the council and maybe work with the chief and bring us something that we can vote on.

Frank, will you write up what you just spoke of and get that formally sent to the BPAC? And when is BPAC on the agenda? Is that August? Why don't we?

Yeah, I'll have to confirm, but I believe it was August or September. Okay.

Can I just confirm for people who don't know what BPAC stands for? It's the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Thank you. I mean, we're used to our acronyms, but not everybody is.

And by the way, that's not even cars. So Frank's talking about cars.

Yeah, but it relates to pedestrian safety and bicycle safety. So for people who don't know, the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee is made up of a group of local residents who are working on traffic and safety issues, particularly related to active transportation. They're working with our town staff, and they're also working with a consultant to come up with a formal plan that incorporates a number of elements that should ensure, to the best of our ability, greater pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

Okay. Any other future agenda items? I have one, but I want to hear from... Okay. We are, if you've been reading the manager or the council member reports, we have been, staff and I and former council member Bruce Ackerman have been talking about municipal microgrid. It's very interesting, very encouraged at the progress. And so I'm hoping to have an update for the council on on the August agenda. So I just wanted to name that. And I think we're ready to move on to open time for public expression.

Amir, just want to add something on that. For the microgrid, I spoke to Bruce Ackerman on Sunday, and I sent, they want to be part of the virtual power plant, which is part of MCA. Yeah. So I wrote the interim acting CEO and the woman in charge of that program and copied Bruce and so that they could meet in the near future. Okay. Hopefully we'll have better information.

Okay. It's good that you mentioned that because we don't want, we should probably now be brown act buddies on that. Yes. All right. So open time for public expression. This is the time for the public to address the council on matters not on the agenda. Each speaker is limited to two minutes. The council cannot take action or discuss items that are not on the agenda as restricted by state law. If there are more speakers after 30 minutes, open time will continue at the end of the agenda. If you are here to speak on anything not on the agenda, please step forward.

Hello, thank you. My name is Jeff Bolt, a member of the Fairfax Open Space Committee, and I am here to just thank the town council and all of the citizens of Fairfax for with all the trials and tribulations you guys have been through and what you guys have been through and somehow or another we've accomplished something this year that probably may be the only thing that has worldwide implications. And that is we proclaim the town of Fairfax. We proclaim that the northern spotted owl would be our official bird. And of course, they're federally protected and endangered and doing pretty darn well here in Marin. So Congratulations to you guys. Congratulations to the town. This leads me to the Fairfax Open Space Committee is very proud to announce that our swag has arrived and it will be available at the Fairfax Open Space Committee booth at the festival. We have hats available. We have the Northern Spotted Owl T-shirt in many different sizes and colors. You see that? Can the people at home see that? No? Good job, Jeff.

Okay, very pretty.

Kids are going to love it, and you're going to love it too. And also the Fairfax bumper sticker will be available at our booth, all at reasonable prices, all for a good cause. Thank you so much for doing that for the northern spotted owl. It is still the nesting season for the owl, so we want to remind everyone to keep quiet and do their best due diligence to – Help them fledge to reproduce. I talked with Wild Care today. They found a couple of fledglings that they rescued, one right here by the pavilion. Not a northern spotted owl. I think it was a great horned owl, but they are doing well. So keep up the good work. Let's stop shining your flashlights, riding your bikes in the woods at night, because that's the dinner time. And I hope I win the contest for the bell. Thank you.

I brought my notes to help me disorganize my thoughts so I can make some sort of nonsense. Few things. Fairfax Festival Parade is coming up. Be there. I have no idea what I'm going to do this year. Come and see. As for the seven-story building in downtown Fairfax, it was in the IJ again today. I know that it doesn't have a demolition permit yet or even probably doesn't have a building permit yet, but I just want to list off a few things about this lovely board building. It's not affordable. This building does not serve anybody that actually is from and is in town. You show me more than a handful of people that have lived here forever, work at the Good Earth, or most of the businesses in town that make over $50,000 a year, maybe $60,000. These buildings are made for people low income, under $120,000 a year. What does that have to do with serving our community? Almost nothing. This building does nothing to serve our infrastructure, build our infrastructure, build the fire department, has nothing to do with ladder trucks or getting anybody out of a disaster. These tall buildings don't do anything to help improve our roads or help traffic. It's like, tell me about public transportation. If anybody has to go anywhere, I mean, that doesn't work either. It's like I ride a bicycle because it's a whole lot more fun and it's a whole lot quicker. Any day on a bicycle is a good day. So I wonder what would happen to commute if all kinds of people's cars suddenly broke down in the roads on Sir Francis Drake and Center Boulevard and we had a major traffic jam and that happened a few times. What an inconvenience, but it might show like whoever that We've got traffic and it's a mess. We don't need seven story buildings, maybe four. And yeah, I'm harping on it. We can stop this. We're not victims. We're not powerless. But if we want to stop it, we have to act. We have to do it because nobody's going to do it for us. If we sit on our butts and don't get involved and don't get our bodies out there, this building will happen as it's planned. And it's up to us. Do we want to get involved? And I hope we have a really nice town and fun schools and education and actually take care of each other.

Good evening, Mayor, council members, staff, and fellow community members. Jody Timms, Cascade Drive. I want to speak briefly tonight about the mid-transition that we're in, moving away from non-renewables and toward electrification. This is happening across the world and obviously necessary for public health to address air pollution and climate changes that threaten all of us, human and non, every day. On April 15th, the Town Council adopted a resolution supporting the Bay Area District's zero-NOx appliance rules and regarding hot water heaters, Rule 9.6, meant to go into effect in January of 2027, but the district's board met in May to hear a recommendation from staff to delay that implementation until October 2027, so one year and five months from now, in order to put firmly in place and publicized two sets of exemptions, one for low-income homeowners and some small businesses, and a second exemption for homes needing major electrical upgrades and water heater relocation. These exemptions are expected to benefit up to 40% of those needing to switch water heaters only and upon replacement only. All five members of the Fairfax Climate Action Committee are grateful to the council for your resolution of support for this air district's policy, and we'll be writing a letter to them expressing our personal support as well. We'll be mentioning the need for additional rebates for the 60% of folks that might possibly need them, and we can't make this transition affordable without government help at the state and federal level. But we all can pressure the multibillion dollar and multinational oil and gas industry corporations who are ripping us off to back this transition. Rather than being angry at health experts and environmentalists, our emotions and actions need to be directed to those with more than enough means to help us all. Thank you and happy Pride.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Mark Bell, Fairfax. At the last meeting, the attorney was in violation of the meeting protocol, personal attacks, ridicule of character and motives of two members of the public who come here and spend a lot of time doing research. and have questions that they would like to get answered. They were subjected to have quite a disparaging monologue. So I thought that this was supposed to be applying to this code was applying to everyone. It doesn't seem to be the case. That doesn't sound like democracy to me. Another point I wanted to raise is that it seems like Measure J will succeed. And it seems like it would be a great time to give our public works crew raises so that they're not below the low income level in their salaries. None of them can come close to getting an apartment at School Street Plaza that development that we all want so much. And as far as the transference over to electrical, we know that there are problems already with the grid. But on the practical basis, I looked at my bill. I spent three times what I actually used for the transmission of the electricity to my house. So my bill was about $40. The transmission of the electricity was $127. So when you talk about adding electrical load, you're talking about a factor of...

Thank you.

Hello, counsel. To follow up on what Mark said, and I'll follow up what Sierra said. The comments made by your town attorney were towards Tom Greedberg and myself. And her false statement is saying the reason her budget for the PRAs is so high, because we give her these PRAs, that's because she will not answer that information. Even when I give the PRA to the police department, For things specifically to my property, which was produced the Attorney then filtered it through bbk and said quote unquote it'd be a chilling effect if we provided you information and gave me zero. Yet right afterwards, when a citizen here in this audience made a complaint about somebody else plastering signs on the street posts. costs in the town money to scrape them off and repaint them, our town manager contacts that person and says, please don't do that again. And here's the citizen that made the complaint against you. Again, trying to victimize us. I think as Socrates had said, when somebody does not have the information to support their argument and they're losing, they revert to slander. And that's how I see your attorney's actions. As for Sierra's comments, Building these large buildings is a result of our failed housing policies. They do not help a community. From the purchase, the construction, and the building, every aspect is securitized, which means that they're cut up like the little CDOs before 2008, and they're sold off into larger investment troughs or pools. When you do that, you can't lower your rents because they have an expectation for that return. If you want to help the community, You'd want to build smaller homes, what we'd call starter homes, because those smaller homes would allow someone to actually buy a home they could afford and build generational equity instead of being somebody that's tethered to an increasing rent the rest of their life. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Good evening. My name is Todd Greenberg. And I want to note for everybody that I wrote in well in advance of this meeting, and I asked for the rules of this meeting, but the mayor didn't respond. And the deputy town clerk responded saying, well, it's up to the mayor. It's at her discretion. The town clerk did not respond whatsoever. The town clerk, Linda Kenton, is MIA. She's not responding to people. How are residents that are concerned citizens supposed to know what's going on or get answers when staff and the mayor don't respond to them? I had 14 questions. None of them were answered. So my presentations tonight are handicapped. Maybe that's being done intentionally because I was slandered last meeting and I'd like a formal public apology. I'll settle for that. People are persecuted in Fairfax, and they're not provided with transparency. There was a famous Steven Soderbergh movie some time ago called Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Well, we've got videotape, but it seems to be edited here so that the full record isn't shown. That's illegal. It's illegal to have selective enforcement. It's illegal to practice viewpoint discrimination. All people are supposed to be heard. All people are supposed to be represented. If you cannot do that, if you cannot honorably and responsibly hold your office, I ask you to resign. And again, I ask for a formal apology in writing. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Devin Curtis, San Anselmo. A couple months ago, as many of you know, I wrote into the town council as well as a couple of Marin County housing people in the higher positions regarding the possibility of converting the, or for the conversion in the past of the Sherwood Oaks Apartments Complex to be credited to the Fairfax housing, you know, low-income housing arena numbers for this cycle. And I hadn't heard anything in the last couple of months. If there were any of those follow-up conversations, if you have a chance, I'd love to know tonight or if anyone can reach out my direction and find out if anything You know, worthy came from any discussions that may have happened. The reason why is that basically a year from now at this June meeting, we're going to be at the midpoint cycle or two months past the midpoint cycle of the arena six cycle between, you know, now in 2031. What happens is then the county will look at the progress reports, and if there's no progress on at least the low income or the two lowest income categories, then they may very well come down with some stricter policies for the towns that haven't met those numbers. If Shorewood Apartments does have the ability with an adjoining county border, as the Marin Council of Mayors had been there and part of that presentation had shown is possible, then I think that There's a little bit of an opportunity there for maybe even up to 78 or 80 units that Fairfax would be credited for, which make a whole lot of progress going forward. Thanks.

Thank you. Anyone else in the room wish to speak? Okay. Do we have any hands on Zoom? Okay. Closing open time. And moving on to the presentations. Our first presentation this evening, I know we have Marie Waters here. Thank you for being here with us. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense. We have a proclamation and recognition of declaring the first Friday in June to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day. This proclamation declares the first Friday in June to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the town of Fairfax to honor and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence. and to declare that we as a country must do more to end this public health crisis. Whereas every day, nearly 130 people in the United States are killed by gun violence and more than 200 are shot and wounded with an average of more than 19,000 gun homicides every year. And whereas people in the US are 26 times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high-income countries. And whereas in California, there are 3,314 gun deaths every year with a rate of seven deaths per 100,000 people. This is a crisis that costs the state $41.9 billion annually, of which $11 billion is paid by taxpayers. California has the seventh lowest rate of gun deaths in the US, whereas gun homicides and assaults are concentrated in cities with more than half of all gun homicides in the nation occurring in 42 cities. And whereas cities across the nation, including in Fairfax, are working to end the senseless violence with evidence based solutions. And whereas protecting public safety in the communities they serve is the mayor's highest responsibility. And whereas support for the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens goes hand in hand with keeping guns away from those who are a danger to themselves or others. And whereas mayors, council members and law enforcement officers in partnership with local violence intervention activists and resources know their communities best and are most and are the most familiar with local criminal activity and how to address it and our best position to understand how to keep their citizens safe. And whereas gun violence prevention is more important than ever as we see gun violence continue to impact communities across the country. And whereas in January 2013, Hadiya Pendleton was tragically shot and killed at the age of 15. And on June 5th, 2026, to recognize the 29th birthday of Hadiya Pendleton, who was born on June 2nd, 1997, people across the United States will recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Day and wear orange in tribute to Hadiya Pendleton and other victims of gun violence and the loved ones of those victims. And whereas the this idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya's friends, who asked their classmates to commemorate her life by wearing orange. They chose this color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods. And orange is a color that symbolizes the value of life, human life. And whereas anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear orange on Friday, June 5th, the first Friday in June 2026 to help raise awareness about gun violence. And whereas by wearing orange on June 5th, people across the United States will raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun violence victims and survivors. And whereas we renew our commitment to reduce gun violence and pledge to do all we can to keep firearms out of the hands of people who should not have access to them and encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our families and communities safe. Now it is therefore be it resolved that the town council of the town of Fairfax declares this first Friday in June, June 5th, 2026 to be national gun violence awareness day. We encourage all citizens to support their local communities efforts to prevent the tragic impacts of gun violence and to save lives. Thank you. And on on this topic, chief, would you mind sharing what we have in place as far as if anybody can retire their arms to police department? Could you just refresh the community on what folks can do?

Absolutely, Mayor. The Fairfax Police Department, we're happy to take in any surrendered firearms, if you like. Just bring it in. Don't bring it into the police station. Just out. Make an appointment. Call us. Call the dispatchers or make an appointment with Lieutenant Cade or any of the sergeants. And we'll set up an appointment either to pick it up from your house or an appointment to bring it in in a locked box. We'll also take ammo. And if there's any residents that would like a lock for their firearms, we hand them out for free at the lobby anytime, 24-7. Thank you.

Thank you so much. That's probably a good idea to put that out in the next newsletter just to remind the community. Okay. Did we have anything to, um, Christine, do we have to give her any to sign it? Okay. Okay. Thank you for being here. Yes. We're going to open public comment on this item now. Thank you for anyone wishing to speak.

Thank you mayor. What I want to bring to the attention of the council, I personally believe in our Second Amendment. I've had guns since I was a little kid, but I don't think there's any place for people to have automatic weapons or people to have weapons of mass destruction, of people that shouldn't carry guns have guns, which I Understand, we need to have stronger laws, but we have a bigger issue coming up the ghost guns and the ghost guns don't have a searchable way to figure out where that projectile came from, so I personally would like to see not elimination of our guns. but removal of all of our automatic weapons. They do not belong in the public's hands. And a severe penalty when people are creating guns that cannot be traced. And if you hear the argument of, oh, well, if I'm out hunting, I need to be able to shoot many rounds. Well, if the person is missing that target, they shouldn't be shooting. And there's no hunter in the world that would eat a piece of Swiss cheese because they needed an automatic weapon. So I encourage council to look at these things and our chief to enhance some of these laws without eliminating them, but to make it a better protection for the general public. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any hands raised? Okay. We'll close public comment on this item. Oh, okay. Thank you for being here. And we'll move on to the second presentation, which is Ross Valley Sanitation District presentation on the Fairfax Capacity and Creek Crossing Project. I'm sorry, I don't know your name.

No worries. Thank you.

My name is Phil Benedetti. Hi, welcome.

Cedar engineer with the Ross Valley Sanitary District. Thank you for inviting us here to talk about the upcoming project that we have planned for you tonight. I'm joined by several district board members. We have Pamela Meggs, Michael Borstein and Doug Kelly. And I'm also joined by our assistant general manager, Felicia Newhouse. Dave Kuntz, And our assistant engineer Giuliana photo burn Alice and tonight, the project that I am going to talk to you guys about that is upcoming is the Ross valley sanitary districts fairfax capacity and creek crossings project, this is our project number 957 again, my name is phil benedetti. Dave Kuntz, and. You guys. OK, great. All right. So just to give you an overview of what I'm going to talk about tonight briefly, I'll give you an introduction about the sanitary district and a lot of the background information related to why we're doing this project and going to talk about project specifics, what to expect during construction and the work that goes into. All of that in terms of coordination and things happening in the background as well in terms of environmental and cultural sensitivities. So the Ross Valley Sanitary District, we've been the sanitary district here in this drainage basin for the last 125 years. Hopefully we're no stranger to you guys. We clean your sewers. We operate and own the sewer system serving Fairfax, San Anselmo, unincorporated areas of Sleepy Hollow, Ross, Larkspur, Bonaire, Kent Field, Kent Woodlands, Oak Manor, and Greenbrae. We own and operate about 200 miles of collection system and 19 pump stations. And we transport all of that wastewater to the Central Marin Sanitation Agency located in San Rafael, California. So to give you guys an idea of just some background terminology and concepts, a big portion of why this work is happening is related to infiltration and inflow, what we call I&I. So when you have an old sewer main or a sewer pipe of any kind, It develops cracks. The joints are old and not sealed to groundwater intruding. There's also other mechanisms like roots that get into the pipes and then provide a path for water, rainwater, surface water to either flow in or infiltrate from the groundwater into a sewer main. And this adds to the flow that is in the sanitary sewer system. And That leads to the next slide, which during wet weather events, storms, flooding, things like that, we have issues with our hydraulic capacity in the sewer mains. So that hydraulic capacity is referring to the amount of water that a given size pipe can carry safely and effectively. If you exceed that capacity, so that diameter of that pipe, you end up with the sewer backing up. During large storm events, this can happen in somewhat, I don't want to say exciting ways, but it can come out of manholes, out of bathtubs, out of various locations that you wouldn't think. And it ends up in your streets, in your creeks, front yards, etc., So actually, sorry, if you could go back one slide. I did want to mention that as part of the district's 2021 infrastructure asset management plan, we call that our IAMP, we developed a hydraulic model based on a number of factors, including model storm events to model where we were hydraulically deficient within our system. Several portions of our system were identified on Spruce Road, Park Road, and Dominga Avenue. These were shown to be hydraulically deficient. That was also shown to be deficient on a trunk main, what we would call a very large diameter pipe. When a trunk is hydraulically deficient, the risk of an overflow or backup associated with the trunk is much more elevated than with a smaller diameter pipe. So naturally, the risk of overflow on an 18-inch diameter trunk within those streets is much higher. And this is exacerbated by issues related to climate change. We have larger peak storm events that can overwhelm our system much more rapidly and lead to the situation you see in the photo here. So the other portion of this being the capacity and creek crossings project, we are addressing a number of creek crossings. So this is an area where we have a pipe crossing a creek, whether that's exposed aerially like this, a creek can cross, sorry, we can cross a creek in a bridge. We can also cross a creek underneath it. In this image, you can see a suspended crossing. These are susceptible to impact damage from floating debris and scouring from abrasive materials within the creek. The pipe itself can trap debris and impact the function and flow of that creek as well during storm events leading to things like a flood. RBSD monitors the condition of all 300 of our creek crossings, and we assess the condition of those continuously. And where possible, we replace substandard pipes and realign where feasible. So realigning meaning moving them out from an exposed portion of the creek.

Are any of those 300 in Fairfax?

David Price- Yes, I I can't remember the exact number of how many creek crossings are in fairfax it was it was in the neighborhood it was less than 100 but. that they are not of this aerial nature that you'll see here. This is every single point where we have a sewer main that crosses what's been identified as a natural hydrologic feature. So that could be everything from a box hole underneath the street to larger storm drains, storm drain features, things like that. Most of them are not exposed like this. So construction methods of how do we get the pipe into the ground? Main method that we're looking at is open trench. This is pretty self-descriptive. You are excavating a trench. You are installing pipe bedding, compacting it, and then placing pipe in that at grade and at the correct slope and orientation and connecting the pipes efficiently, you're then backfilling and compacting that material that buries the pipe in a way that's safe and meets transportation standards. And the pavement is then restored in compliance with local construction standards. This is one of the main methods for installing new pipe where we don't have an existing sewer main. So then another construction method is pipe bursting. So this is a trenchless method of replacing existing sewer mains. We have a new flexible pipe that gets pulled through the existing pipe with the winch. You place the winch at one end of the pipe, you then feed a cable through it to the other, and you can see a conical bursting head in that image there, that little cone getting pulled through. Hopefully you can see that. And you turn the winch on and it pulls the new pipe through the existing pipe, bursting it in place. This reduces the need to excavate and open trenches I described in the last method. It's far less destructive. There's less lower carbon footprint, lower impact on noise and traffic, et cetera, for the community. But that's for replacing existing sewer mains only. We can't put a new sewer in the ground via pipe bursting unless there's already a pipe there. So the third method I wanted to talk about that we have in this project is going to be pilot tube guided boring. This is a trenchless method of installing new sewer. So this involves installing a launching and receiving shaft. You then insert a boring machine where you are drilling a new sewer line. The pilot tube is a smaller diameter and then you feed through an auger And that pilot tube allows you to set the grade precisely, which is needed for a gravity sewer system because everything needs to flow through and out of the pipe. A deviation of a few inches or more leaves you with holding debris that will settle out in the pipe and can lead to blockages, maintenance problems, that type of thing. The pipe is then fed into that launching shaft in small segments and is then jacked into place with that machine and then you are left with a new pipe without having to open trench that whole segment there so another method that I wanted to talk about tonight as well as horizontal directional drilling HDD so this is another trenchless method of installing a new sewer main you set up a drill rig at one end you drill a through and under a obstacle such as a creek. You then get to your receiving pit. This is a guided drilling head. They can change direction as they are moving and are able to hit a target that is several hundred feet away or more, in some instances thousands of feet. and they can hit a spot, an excavation that they've made that is relatively small, and they can hit it on target. So HDD is one great way of crossing a creek, but it leaves us with what we call a siphon, which is this belly in the pipe there. These require added maintenance, but it does keep added maintenance on the part of Ross Valley Sanitary District. We have many siphons within our district and they're on an elevated cleaning schedule and maintenance and observation schedule. But this method does let us get a sewer main across a creek, but it is under it and in a way that does not impact the riparian system at all. So to talk about today, I want to talk about the project goals for this construction project that we've planned. We are going to be improving the sanitary sewer system function in Fairfax, where we're going to be reducing the risk of those overflows that I was describing. This addresses those hydraulic deficiencies associated with that sewer system in multiple project locations, which I'll highlight as we go through what we're going to be doing. The project is required As part of a cease and desist order placed on Ross Valley Sanitary District in 2013 by the California State Water Resources Control Board to address these hydraulic deficiencies. So it also addresses the risk associated with four of the creek crossings that are in Fairfax and these all cross Fairfax Creek. This reduces the potential for odor complaints when we put new pipe into the ground we replace the manholes we replace the lower laterals that might be associated with this as well, which. Which all helps with odor control issues and it reduces the amount of maintenance that we need to perform on the sanitary sewer system so. What you see from that is a reduction in traffic to this area, a reduction in traffic downtown. Our service vehicles and trucks don't have to be parked, blocking various parts of town while we clean sewer mains. And it minimizes those impacts to businesses, residents, traffic, and public facilities during construction. This is also, I would say, you know, high on the list of our goals with executing the project. So leading up to the project that I'm going to describe for you guys, we did a project alternatives analysis. This was a lengthy process where we selected an alignment. So that is the horizontal and the vertical orientation of the pipes in physical space. We picked that alignment. from a list of alternatives. We evaluated those alternatives based on a few key criteria. The most important and heavily weighted was public impact. So you'll see tonight, the methods that we've selected, the locations of everything was chosen because it reduces the public impact the most, as well as keeps the cost to you all as rate payers lower. And it also ensures that we have safety, safe conditions for operation and maintenance. So bear in mind when we have a manhole, we have to have crews that will park and put traffic control and it needs to be in a safe location, things like that. And this selected alignment, it avoids Bolinas Road, digging on Bolinas Road and most of Park Road. And This is also the shortest route. It just so happens. So the least amount of pipe, the least amount of cost for you rate payers. And there's a copy of that whole alternatives analysis can be found on the webpage link that I've got in the presentation here. And also just as a point of information, this whole presentation is available on our website. at the project page for this particular project, you can download this presentation and view it and share it with anyone who is interested. Okay, so the current project that we are working on right now is to rehabilitate and install about 5,659 linear feet of sanitary sewer. The diameter of those pipes being installed ranges from six inches all the way up to 18 inches. The project includes about 2,300 feet of open trench, about 2,100 feet of pipe bursting, around 200 feet of HDD, horizontal directional drilling, 980 feet of guided boring and that method again was selected to reduce impacts during construction to downtown businesses and pedestrian traffic and automobile traffic. a traffic in general. Replacement of four creek crossings, as I described, we're going to be rehabilitating 23 sanitary sewer manholes. And then, as I mentioned before, the lower laterals will be replaced wherever they are associated with a main, a sewer main that is getting replaced. So that's also a benefit to the public as part of this project. So looking at the downtown portion of work, you'll see what I have up here is you can actually see this building on that map. But if you look, this is oriented north, south, east, west. So it's in its normal orientation. You can see it starting at the... Mike Sargeant, Most eastern edge there, you can see a section of open trench coming down from about Pacheco to before we get to the intersection with Bolinas road and you'll see the open trench sections are shown in red. And you can see that that stops right in front of about Perry's. And then we transition to a method of that trenchless guided boring that will be happening from about Perry's to Bank Street and then from Bank up to Merwin is what we're looking at there. I apologize that the street names are not super visible, but again, this is available on our website. If you'd like to go back, look at the map, and then you might have questions to ask me.

And where are the creek crossings on there?

So the creek crossing on this one, there's only one shown. And you can see the HDD method is selected, shown in a bright blue there. And you'll see Fairfax Creek kind of coming from the northwest corner of the drawing of the map. And it kind of trends down through the park. And where that intersects our proposed alignment there is shown in that cyan blue color. And we we are directional drilling underneath Fairfax Creek in that location. The other locations were selected to be open trenched. And that includes the section on Merwin, as well as going up park onto Spruce for a few feet as well.

So would you mind identifying that on the map so we can I'd like to see that the other three crossings on the map?

Yes. So this map, there are no other Creek.

Oh, I thought you said there was four.

Oh, there are four, but on the next map, there's only one on that map. And then there are three more on this one, which I will. which I will show. I'll do my best to point out where those are. So that was the downtown portion of work. We're now looking at a map showing what I'm calling the upstream sewer placement area. So there are two project areas, I guess, ways of looking at it. This map is showing where we're going to be Uh, our alignment is going to be working. We, uh, we have pipe bursting is shown in green now is another method as I described coming up Oak Manor Drive. Uh, or road, sorry. And then, uh, along West Bray, you can see those green lines showing pipe bursting. So trench, trenchless methods there where we cross the Creek, uh, in, um, the basically south middle section there if you see the the main yellow street coming down is sir francis drake where that gets closer to um where hawthorne is where the two where the two green lines converge uh You'll see Fairfax Creek is running along from, again, northwest to the southeast. And where that green line crosses, there is a creek crossing there. That is one of the aerial creek crossings. The aerial portion will not be pipe burst. It will be removed with a crane or by hand using winches and things. David Price- equipment like that an excavator could easily lifted in some locations, but that portion will be removed and replaced by hand on the existing support, so we won't be disturbing any of the riparian area or any of the existing. David Price- supports, we are then pipe bursting in either direction from that so that will be replaced trashlessly. If you're still in that location on Hawthorne is where we cross there is you head up West Bray Drive and then go into the side of the apartments there that that green line continues and crosses Fairfax Creek. Again, where it does a little chicane there around the West Bray area. We cross the creek there again. This is an aerial crossing similar to the other one and same method of replacement in that location. Then there is in the northwest portion there, you'll see a purple creek crossing there that's shown as guided boring. Right now we are planning to install a new creek crossing through there by Jack and Boar. So this is going to be taking an existing sewer main that sits in the creek bed. So it is exposed to damage from debris or abrasion from creek bed material hitting it. So we We before that becomes an issue we have decided to realign that sewer main and then we will be coming back in another project to remove the existing the the what will then be an abandoned sewer main at that point, but that is the fourth creek crossing there in the shown in purple. So, of course, the next question, hopefully, or one of the questions that I'm sure you're wondering is when does this happen? The first area of work that we're planning to address is going to be that first downtown zone there from Pacheco to Merwin. We're right now on track to begin construction on the 22nd of June is when I'm planning to issue notice to proceed to the contractor. And we are anticipating to be complete with that whole section of work before August. So by July 31st. The other portion of work that I've identified on the western side of that, on the left side of the map, you'll see that that work is to be complete before September 1st. This is to coordinate with the paving and storm drain project that the Town of Fairfax Public Works Department is installing on Park Road there. Yeah, so that's the downtown schedule. then this is uh the ongoing work is going to be on that upstream portion so during different stages of the project while they're working downtown for example and they have a boring subcontractor installing pipe via that method their other crews may be working on other parts that may include some of this work up here this this area of work is less time constrained. So the contractor is free to take care of that as they have time. So to talk about pavement restoration real quick, just to give you guys an idea of what the Ross Valley Sanitary District, how we address this, the uniform construction standards is of all cities, towns, and the county of Marin. This ensures consistency for construction and other improvements in the roadway. This includes what is known as a standard T-cut, This involves repairing a trench or any excavation. There is an asphalt plug that gets installed. You then come back and you grind a wider portion of that. And there's a little diagram in there, but essentially you end up with a T of asphalt where the top layer sits on top of the layer of asphalt before it. This prevents differential settlement and you end up with a nicer finished product. That patch is extended. a foot on either side of the excavation so if we were to cut a three foot wide trench you would get a foot on either side and then you would end up with a five foot wide uh asphalt patch that grind and uh that and then the overlay that goes into there is made in a way that it is completely flush with the surrounding asphalt so that you don't create any issues down the road with, as I said, differential settlement, but any bumps or anything like that. Using uniform construction standards, having a uniform set of standards ensures equal treatment of the public as well as public agencies, and this helps avoid potential gift of public fund concerns.

Can you be a little clearer about what the gift of public funds concerns are?

Sure. So public agencies in California, they were prohibited from making gifts of public funds. It's Article 16 of the California Constitution. Expenditures that provide gratuitous roadway rehabilitation that is unrelated to a sewer improvement may raise concerns of a gift of public funds.

Right. So you're not going to repave the entire road after you've done this. You're going to repave just the section that you need to repave because it was impacted by your work. Is that right?

That would be correct. We would work within the uniform construction standards and we work with the town department of public works to address issues. And we're always amenable to collaborating on additional pavement where we have a price that has been offered from a contractor. We're usually able to extend that unit cost and collaborate with local agencies. We do this all the time with town of San Anselmo. Ross where we already have paving equipment we have a price per ton of asphalt and if more paving work is desired in that location or adjacent to where we're already working we collaborate with those those local agencies and we've done plenty of extra paving uh in that it through that method

Sorry to interrupt. How many more slides do you have? Just time check. We've got a really full agenda this evening.

Yes. Yeah. Sorry. So two or three, I think.

Okay.

I'm almost finished. Okay.

Great.

So parklets, parking and traffic. So Big thing is no impacts to the existing parklets as planned as part of this project. Again, we selected those trenchless methods to avoid the need to remove parklets. We're working with the town department public works to get a traffic control plan that will help us route traffic through here safely and allow us to work quickly. The faster that we can work, the faster we're out of everyone's hair. And we want to do that in the safest manner possible, of course. I'll spare you my details for that. California Environmental Quality Act. We've done a lot of environmental work leading up to this. If you're familiar with CEQA, we've left no stone unturned. We've addressed many of the potential issues through mitigation measures. There's no expected significant impacts We conduct nesting bird surveys prior to construction and a complete copy of the initial study and mitigated negative declaration can be found on our website at the link that I've provided there. It has a full list of everything that we've done. addressing biological as well as cultural resources. We have biological and cultural resource monitors that will be present on the site to make sure that any sensitive materials or sensitive species that may be identified during construction, we have a whole set of, a whole playbook for how to deal with any issues like that that come up. uh last slide i believe uh so yeah we've been coordinating this project with the town of fairfax i believe since uh 2023 we've been targeting this summer to take care of this project uh targeting this summer 2026. it's been a pleasure working with the town uh department of public work staff to coordinate this project we've also had some outreach efforts with the fairfax chamber of commerce that have gone very well and we're going to have some more outreach with them to make sure that all the businesses are all their needs are addressed and um yes uh the project website is found here at the bottom this will have a copy of the presentation that i just gave you guys it will also have a real-time project updates when we complete work areas where we're at in that exact moment we'll all be updated on that project website and feel free to ask me any questions and my email was in the first slide and yeah obviously now i just want to ask uh christine if you can do a link from our website okay thank you it looks like council member gear and galley has a question yes um

Thank you for your very informative and lengthy presentation. Fairfax is, everyone knows, a very small town, and we already have one major project going on right now with the Water District. How can both of these projects be happening at the same time?

I would say that we are usually working on construction projects in conjunction with others that are happening in similar areas. I would say it's rare that I've ever had a construction project where there isn't one nearby. We all are targeting a summer work window so that... we can proceed in a safe manner. Digging, safety, excavation, safety needs to happen during dry weather for different types of work. I'm sure MMWD, they're no stranger to working around other projects. We are going to be coordinating directly with MMWD as well as the town. And we're we as again, as I mentioned, the project's been designed in a way to avoid the major areas of conflict in that Bolinas and Broadway intersection. But it I would say very well is is how we can we can have multiple projects.

I just have one more follow up. So there's only two main there's only. two well there's not only two but there's for francis drake but bolinas and broadway that's what we got they're both being worked on at the same time the way in my estimation it should have been coordinated was water district started their project that happens this year you guys should have done it next year because this is going to be in my i hope i'm wrong by the way but it seems like it's going to be a big problem for residents and merchants as well

I think we, I think these projects are really, really important and it is unfortunate that they're kind of coinciding from a timing perspective. I just want to ask, because Marin Waters has done a great job of responding to the community's concerns and they've got a good web page with, they developed frequently asked questions and so forth. So you might want to Um, consider that. And I guess I would just ask that you err on the side of over communication. Um, really appreciate you being here tonight, but I would say the majority of our community is not listening or watching. And so we really, really need to over communicate on. And when things change over communicate on changes, um, Certainly. Yeah.

Yeah. And I apologize. I did kind of glaze over some of my slides that I was planning to talk about notification and other coordination efforts that we've been undertaking and will be going through as we go into construction. But we will have two-week notices going out here by Monday, I believe we should have a two-week notice ready to send. And yes, thank you. We will take a closer look at our project website and make sure that we address all of the questions. We have a construction management consultant that is uh they're 20 you know every hour that we are working and they are there to help the public understand what's going on should they have questions and project signs you have somebody you have a phone number that somebody will answer the phone when there's a question or concern yes okay great and that's on the web that's on the project web page It will be on the project web page. It will also be located on the project signs that we need to put up as part of this that will, you know, for pedestrians that are walking by or anyone driving by can then see that as well as, yeah, we have a 24 hour service line. If there's a sewer related problem, of course. Yeah.

Okay. Councilman Beggar, you look like.

Thank you. If I may, this, this Ross Valley Senator district capacity increase. Yeah. Fairfax currently has about 3,600 living units in town, give or take a couple hundred units. The 2023 Fairfax General Plan amendments and housing element added seven downtown housing sites with up to 75 units per acre plus dead city bonuses and six housing sites on the periphery of downtown with up to 45 units per acre, not counting dead city bonuses. Should all 13 designated sites for ministerial approval one day be approved and developed, it will add about a 30% increase to units in Fairfax. And so I'm wondering if this study you're doing can handle a 30% increase in Fairfax residential units. Each unit that's built under this plan would generate about 7.2 vehicle trips per day. So just looking at School Street Plaza with 243 units, that's going to generate 1,750 trips per day. Should all 13 sites be developed, and I don't think they will, but should they be developed, it would add about 7,000 additional daily vehicle trips in downtown Fairfax. So will the sewer district's new capacity be able to handle that kind of growth in Fairfax? And then the last question is, how long will you actually be in the street along School Street Plaza and down Broadway down to Fairfax? And there's a number of businesses that really depend on summer business. You know, that's when they're doing the best time of the year other than just the holidays. And so I'm just wondering the impact on those businesses. Have you figured that out yet?

So I'll try and answer your questions in the order you asked them. So the relationship to the capacity, the model that we developed was based upon a steady state population. However, it addresses capacity. inflow and infiltration is the main reason and methodology for that model that was developed. That being said, there would likely be capacity, but it's all very site specific. These models are very complex because if you're talking about building a development that is unrelated to this area of work, Dave Kuntz, It that we have sewer system that that goes up Sir Francis Drake to number of the other spots in particular on school road, we should be able to absorb that capacity, but. Dave Kuntz, Whenever development is proposed, we evaluate that site specifically and any costs that are associated with you know. increasing capacity that would be required after we make our determination. That is usually borne by the developer to increase the capacity if it is needed. Additionally, we look at pump stations that are affected or tributary to a development and make sure that we have pumping capacity. So it all has to be evaluated carefully on a site-specific basis. to address the issue or the question about how long will we be on broadway from pacheco uh to paris we'll say on that open cut section there that portion of work i would expect to be two weeks or so three weeks but that would be a moving work area again um As a trenching operation moves, trenching operations move, generally speaking, unless there's some sort of a problem. But we're laying pipe and backfilling as we go. That work area is is is moving along. So that whole street is not going to be ripped open all at once. And then, you know, we put it back together again. In a couple weeks, it's very much a controlled work area. And that portion, is that the section that you were asking about?

Well, that was. So you're going to start at Pacheco and go up to Merwin? Go up Broadway?

Correct, yes. Usually when you're installing gravity sewer systems, you proceed from the lowest point and you head uphill. Because if you encounter obstructions, you need to be able to adjust grade going uphill. You cannot go down because that creates a sag. So that's why we would start at that location.

Okay. Thank you. We're going to open public comment now.

Thank you all. I appreciate it.

Thank you. A couple of things. Frank, it's not capacity enhancement for buildings. It's only about stormwater intrusion. Between Corte Madera, San Rafael, and Ross Valley Sanitary, we send about 9 million gallons of sewage to the Central Marine Sanitary Plant per day, average. On a high rain day, that's been as high as 120 million gallons. That's the problem we're addressing. OK, it's got nothing to I you and I don't want these big buildings, but we could double the population of Fairfax. That wouldn't bother us at all. It's the stormwater intrusion problem that we have. And secondly, we've already postponed this a year. We're under the cease and desist order, which we're trying to get out of. They want us to get this done. So that's why we're moving forward.

Hello, Mayor. Specifically, there's another aerial crossing. If you'd like to see it, I can show it to you sometime. In 1922, the Ross Valley Sanitary District brought a sewer line down Pacheco Avenue. That's the weir at the end of Pacheco. It bifurcated my property with a 14-inch sewer line. In 2017, there's a tree that failed and hit that sewer line. So the Ross Valley Sanitary District, Sanitation District came out. They had to support the pipe, which is approximately 14 feet above the creek. So it's a very large pipe. They then put in a welded plastic pipe of about 70 feet to cross the creek inside a 24-inch chase. Where the pipe comes across the creek, they made a 17 by 17 foot cube to allow seismic movement to make sure that in case it gets hit again or anything else, it's well supported. But we do have another very large aerial pipe crossing the creek. That current capacity, I was told years ago, was designed for 8,000 homes and it's sitting as an empty plenum bifurcating my property. It is a place where if there was development, we wouldn't need to rip up all these roads and pay for all these sewer pipes. Thank you. Oh, additionally, too, there is, and I was trying to look it up for you real quick, there is a secret provision that requires any local municipality to negotiate and go to faith with any developer for the purpose of producing and providing housing. So if, for instance, somebody built housing on the wall property or anywhere else, you will find that financial burden at the end of the day to be placed on the municipality to provide the utilities, including sewage.

Todd Greenberg, downtown Fairfax. I'd like to thank the RVSD people for the presentation and Councilman Ager for his pointing out capacity increase needs related to housing projects. He focused on traffic. I'm sort of interested in the number of new housing units created and Apparently it's 2.3 people on average per housing unit. So if there's a 30% increase in housing units, how much additional capacity is needed and who's paying for it? Unfunded mandates, gifts of public funds, that. I'm wondering, since we're trying to plan ahead here now and we're starting to take steps in the right direction, is it possible that for each housing project that is planned on each of the 13 development or opportunity sites, including School Street Plaza, that RVSD and MMWD and other utilities provide a report on what would be needed for the planned identified in the housing element future build. so that any developer coming into Fairfax would know this is what needs to be done, this is what the cost is, and the town of Fairfax wouldn't be coming up after the fact too late and obligating its citizens. I have some other questions. How were the capacity calculations determined? Were they population-based? What is the population capacity of the upgraded system? How will RVSD address areas of known settlement? What are the areas of unstable soil? Will RVSD use products like Caltrans uses, such as Eurotech? To what extent will RVSD share cost with MMWD?

Thank you. Are there any hands raised on Zoom?

There are two raised hands on Zoom. The first speaker is Mina followed by Chance. Mina, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Hi, this is Mina with the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce. Thank you for the presentation. It sounds kind of similar to what we talked about last year, so I appreciate that. I appreciate all the coordination that's being taken place, but from the Chamber's perspective, my main concern is that businesses may experience this as one continuous construction season, even though the projects are technically different and separate. I encourage the agencies to provide a simple, combined construction calendar showing anticipated work zones, parking impact, lane closures, and major milestones across all three projects that would help the businesses plan ahead. 72 hours is not enough time. I think I heard you say two weeks. That would be much better. And just to be very accurate with the timing would be really helpful because they're planning staffing and inventory and things like that. So we just want to be mindful of those things and to reduce confusion. Is it Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.? That was what I didn't hear. I'm also wondering how much parking will be affected and to ask everyone to be efficient and not block off more parking than is necessary. I really hope this is sinking in for the town council. We have to figure out some ways to support these businesses. This is a lot of disruption all at once. I understand the need for it. And we should consider shifting activity to the evenings to possibly offset the disruption. So I am available to brainstorm and come up with different ideas, but I do would like some help from the town and the different agencies to make this as efficient as possible. Thank you.

Next speaker. The next speaker is Chance. Chance, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Great, thank you so much. Good evening, council members. and Mayor and Vice Mayor Chance Catrano. I just wanted to call in to second basically everything that MENA and the Chamber of Commerce have shared as far as adequate notice and maybe overlapping calendars for all of the various disruptions that are going to be affecting our businesses downtown and just overall circulation downtown in the coming weeks and months. the other thing I wanted to share just because it's been brought up as far as, you know, overall capacity for the new infrastructure that's being laid, uh, just wanted to flag like a couple of weeks ago, uh, vice mayor Egger and myself attended, uh, a meeting with the County as it relates to the quarter minute, quarter minute Creek watershed and overall flooding. And, um, you know, we know that, uh, as climate conditions change over the coming decades, that precipitation events are going to be more varied and in fact more extreme. And those are projections that are forthcoming from the fifth climate assessment coming from the Newsom administration. And I just, you know, wholeheartedly recommend upgrading this infrastructure, upgrading all of our piping to sustain, you know, increased stormwater that's going to be coming from these more extreme precipitation events, because I think it's going to help mitigate a lot of the expected flooding and increased stormwater that we're going to foresee in the near and also distant future. And obviously, road upgrades are very valuable as well. So wholeheartedly supportive of all of the things that are coming our way as it relates to Ross Valley Sanitary District. So thanks for this presentation.

There are no more speakers on Zoom. Okay, closing public comment on this item.

Thank you for being here and we'll be sure to stay in touch. Moving on to the Marin Water presentation on the Bolinas Road Pipeline Replacement Project. As a reminder, we've heard a presentation from rainwater on this before this is really just going to be a short update with more detailed timing i know we had an event this week obviously that's put a hold on things and you can elaborate at your will but um just want to emphasize that this is not going to be a full-fledged redo we're just really going to hone in on the timeline which we've been really waiting for thank you

Correct. Thanks, Mayor. Thank you, Council Members, Alex and I, Engineering Director, Marin Water. Here with me this afternoon is Board Member Ranjit Kush, Public Informations Officer Adrian Mertens, and our Construction Manager, Mark Cazoray. So this evening, we had planned to provide a construction schedule update. However, with construction, it's fluid, things do come up, and an unexpected discovery did come up where we felt it was important to bring up and discuss with you this evening. So during yesterday's construction of our pipeline project, the contractor uncovered what were initially identified as possible human remains within the project area. So as a result, the work was immediately stopped and the Fairfax Police Department was contacted. And consistent with state requirements, the appropriate authorities were contacted, Marin County Coroner's Office and the Native American Heritage Commission were also notified as required and the review for consultation is currently underway. So Marin Water fully respects the significance of this process and is awaiting direction regarding the next steps before the project work can continue. So because the situation is still developing, we're really not able to give you a timeline. We gave a schedule that now is gonna be changing, but we will be communicating a revised schedule as we give more information to the town of Fairfax. So as we do recognize that the residents and businesses have been following this project closely and with much interest for the construction timing and schedule, But at the same time, discoveries of this nature do require careful and respectful handling, and we appreciate the community's patience while we move forward through this process. So Marin Water will remain in close communication with the town of Fairfax staff and will present new findings as they get developed, as we get more information with the town. So although we do not have a project schedule update that is long or valid at this point in time, we felt it was still necessary to be here to provide this update to the council and take any additional project related questions from a rainwater staff to follow up on.

So thank you. So there's no contingency planning because you just really didn't anticipate this. My understanding is you really haven't encountered this.

That is correct.

Okay. So this is very atypical.

Correct.

And so it's, and I don't know, I only know what you all have shared about this project, but it's not that you can just pick up somewhere down the line. It's not as simple as that.

Well, that's the hope, but we need direction from the folks having jurisdiction on guidance on where that would be, if that's an option.

Okay. From whom?

From the Native American Heritage Commission.

Okay. But it could be that it's not related to, we don't know yet, right? We don't know if it's customary walk related or not. And Chief, sorry to pull you into this. Who do we expect to hear? Who's doing the forensics?

there's a whole team involved in, in this communications right now. And there's an archeologist that came down from Chicago and there's going to be a team that's going to come down here within the next 48 hours. Okay. This morning.

Okay. But suffice to say, it will take weeks.

I'm hoping we have some update within 48 hours.

Oh, really? Okay.

All right. Mayor, if I may. Sure. The site is secure, and I just want to make that mention because we want to just encourage all of the community to be respectful of this site.

Yes. Thank you.

So I want to bring that up. Okay.

So is there anything else at this juncture? Do you want to, shall we invite you back or do we just publish the detailed project schedule when it's updated?

Once we develop an updated pub schedule, we can publish that. Okay. We'll be working closely with the town on that.

Well, I really appreciate you coming this evening and, um, And for your close, you know, communications that I know that our staff and your staff are in close contact. So any other questions from the dais?

Here I do.

Go ahead, Vice Mayor.

The last time MMWD was here, they gave a presentation about how this project was going to work, how it was going to come down Bolinas Road. And we were really concerned about downtown Fairfax and our businesses during the summer. What was interesting is that we were told it was going to come down Bolinas Road from Deer Park Villa to Broadway in a northbound lane. And so then the Thursday and the Friday that the Algonauts crews were out marking the street with white paint all over, they showed it crossing the UWO line and going on both sides of Blenis Road. So it looks like both sides of Blenis Road are going to be torn up now. Is there any possibility of adding to the kind of pavement work that you were planning since we're going to have both sides messed up?

That's a great question. We're following the pavement standards similar to what we just heard from the sanitary district. And the requirements for shifting the pipe to one side is to do with horizontal clearances to the sanitary sewer. So we have to maintain those. And obviously there's lots of infrastructure underground. So that's what required the shifting of the pipeline.

When I was on a senator district board, we were told we couldn't run a sewer line close to the water line. There had to be a, I think it was three feet or five feet distance between the two. How are you crossing the sewer lines seven times without impacting it?

You could cross it at a skewed angle, but we just can't run parallel to it within 10 feet.

So, again, the question on both sides of the road being torn up, is there any possibility of getting additional pavement done so it doesn't look like... Frank, we've asked this question.

I know, I know. It's the same answer every time. We've got to move forward with this agenda. I mean, we've got to proceed.

Okay, just last time when they were here, they said they were going down a northbound lane. Now they're going down the north and southbound lanes. It's seven times they've crossed.

Okay, thank you again for being here. We're gonna open public comment. Oh.

Hi, Todd Greenberg. I wanna commend MMWD and its representatives for having been generally an open book and being very responsive. I thank them for being here tonight. That being said, there's still some concerns, probably primarily resting with the town council and perhaps somewhat with staff. Approximately three months ago, I provided five copies each for each town council member to the town clerk and I sent them via email at her request subsequently and I provided a copy to the town attorney. 18-page report listing municipal best practices for pavement restoration in situations such as this, in advance of these projects. I've heard nothing from this town council, nothing back from staff. This involves public funds that should not have to be expended if the town council were paying attention to best practices that other municipalities are using. The municipal code needs to be updated. I pointed the town council in the right direction. It took me a lot of time to put together an 18-page report. Why is nothing being done? Why are Town of Fairfax funds being expended unnecessarily? And potentially even utilities funds being expended unnecessarily, which affects every rate payer at MMWD and RVSD, so much so that ultimately we get taxed more. Why can't we plan ahead? Why aren't you paying attention to the contributions made by citizens?

Thank you. Next speaker.

Hello again, Mayor. I'd just like to say that I very much appreciate the openness of the Water District and the Sewer District to come down here and explain to the general public so we have an opportunity to understand and hear this. I have worked, as I explained on one project, very closely with both districts on different projects, and I have found them to be very amenable to the needs at hand. I have found them to be very responsive, something that, in fairness, our council and our own PRAs could learn from, but I think we're very fortunate, and I have the same sentiment about our police department, so you should look at these as examples. Thank you.

Any hands? We have one raised hand on Zoom. Mina, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Hi, Mina from the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce again. I also have to commend Marin Water for all of their communication. They've been really great. Given the delay, can Marin Water clarify whether any of the work is now expected to extend into November or December? From the Chamber's perspective, that would be a significant concern. November and December are among the most important months of the year for many. Fairfax businesses and construction impacts during the holiday season could have outsized economic consequences. So if the schedule has shifted and might go in through November, December, I would encourage Rainwater in the Town to explore whether the downtown work can be completed before the holiday season. Um, and that's like starts, you know, in the middle of November or if necessary paused and resumed after the new year. Um, if that, and you know, just to any holiday season impacts can be minimized and careful scheduling, parking management, business communication, you know, thank you.

Thank you. There are no, we have one more raised hand on zoom chance. You are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Thank you. Um, yeah, I, I do want to, um, share my, uh, commendations for the Marin water team. I, you know, run a business downtown and we've received ample communications. So much appreciated on that front. I also want to, uh, give thanks to the Marin water team for, and to our police department for, uh, taking, um, Such due caution as it relates to what they've uncovered and the respect for the sort of tribal component of this. Yeah, very sensitive topic. I just wanted to give my appreciation for how sensitively all of these agencies are handling this situation and care that they're taking. unfortunately, that it's, you know, delaying the calendar that's already been presented, but totally understandable and totally supportive of how you all are approaching this. So thank you very much.

There's one more raised hand on Zoom. Ricky, Ricky, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Just a quick comment based on prior comments about timing. I would just point out that we have some of our hardest rain and hardest weather, often in early January, but this past year in 2025, we had a really, really intense December. So I would just say that... You know, when thinking about scheduling and how it's going to impact businesses and life and traffic flow and all the things is also to think about one of the likely times of the year that work would either be delayed due to weather or impacted by the kind of nature of the work dealing with pipes and drainage and whatever. So just just a comment on that. Thank you.

Great. Thank you. We have one more raised hand. If you want to speak on this topic, please raise your hand now. Is there any other hands besides the one?

We have one from Emily.

Okay. Emily is the last speaker.

Emily, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Yeah, this is, can you hear me? Yes. Thank you. I just wanted to thank Mina and the Town Chamber of Commerce for setting up a really great Zoom that unfortunately not a lot of business owners chimed in on, but it was very clear communication. And Mina has been doing such an amazing job to make sure that our businesses have been communicated with the impact that this is going to make. So that was a shout out to Mina and the Town Chamber of Commerce.

There are no more raised hands on Zoom. Thank you. OK, we're closing public comment on this item. Thank you again for coming. And we look forward to learning more very soon on this topic. Moving on to item number four on the regular agenda. We this is our fourth. This is our fourth hearing. On the fiscal year 2026-27 operating and capital improvement budget, I'm hoping this will be a swift item since this is our fourth item. review and opportunity to ask questions four times.

So, Mayor, I have a suggestion since we have seen this presentation three times that instead of going through the presentation again, because we have quite a packed agenda and there's a number of people waiting to talk. is that we don't do the presentation. I'm sure it's posted online. Yes, Christine? And we just ask questions. And the other thing I want to note, because we do have such a packed agenda, And I don't know if this is the right time to do it, but I'd like to move that we continue the short-term rental item to the July meeting, since it's really kind of an update, and maybe we'll have more of a finality. So I would like to move the short-term rental item to the July meeting.

Mayor? Yes. Yes. Hello there. There are a lot of people here, and we have... Herd number four for a long time. I agree with Barbara to move short-term rental. I also think we should move the residence petition up further

to number four so everyone who's here can see it now okay we're getting a little uh i don't disagree so just hang on we're getting a little uh murky and what we're doing here okay so um i'm hearing that we're gonna there's a recommendation to bypass the presentation i'm in favor of that it looks like we have three of us in favor of that um Michael, not to minimize your hard work, but we've heard it before. So I guess let me ask my colleagues, does anyone have any questions distinct from the last round of questions when we saw this presentation? Is there anything that you're still unclear on that you haven't had an opportunity to reach out to staff in advance?

I do.

Go ahead.

There was a couple of issues. One was I was asking about the possibility of a license plate reader for two of our patrol units. And, you know, not a Flock, but Motorola. And I was trying to get a handle on a price of a Motorola. Motorola is much different than Flock in it. It does not communicate with ICE if you don't want it to. You really could control that Motorola device. So I was just trying to get an idea. When there was a smash and grab at the bicycle shop downtown in Fair Anselm, that was a stolen car that came out of Kentfield. And I don't know if that car would have been detected by a license plate reader in Fairfax, but then it was dumped up the Fairfax lumber and set on fire. And so, I mean, that was a pretty serious crime. A license plate reader, you know, would have grabbed that plate and said stolen car from Kenfield. But anyway, it just seems to me it's an officer safety issue and it would help our our enforcement if we had say a license plate reader on a sergeant's vehicle and one of the patrol vehicles that's all but i i don't have a price on motoros i don't know what it would cost i think we've talked about this in the past um chief or heather do you want to just quickly address this because i know we've talked about this we chief hasn't been here so i don't know you know

No problem. So we have budget for that, and the chief is planning a presentation in the near future. We're targeting July 1 for that. Okay. Was that your only question?

Thank you. Okay. No, no, I didn't. Okay. Let's see. I've got a – oh, I had a question on the electric EV for the police department. And my question is, is that a vehicle that's used by multiple shifts, or is that just a vehicle that's going to be used by one officer? Right.

We currently have two EV vehicles right now for the police department. It's being used for investigations and also as administrative use. So it's used all the time in different times.

One of the problems that Central Marina is running into, they've had to buy five additional patrol units, EVs, because when an officer comes in after the shift... That's not in the budget.

There's no budget item for that.

Yeah, there's one new EV in the budget.

I know, but you're talking about five in another jersey.

No, no, I'm telling you what Central Marin has to do because if the EV is used for various shifts, they come in three shifts a day. Are we going to have to get an extra EV to be charged while the other one's out in the road? That's my question.

So currently our infrastructure here in Fairfax doesn't support EV use for patrol vehicles like the marked vehicles for daily patrol use. We currently use EVs for investigations or administrative use. So the one that's scheduled on the equipment budget later, hopefully if we can get it the later part of the year, is to replace an existing detective vehicle.

If you will come to the August presentation of the microgrid, we are, I'm not going to promise anything, but it is looking very promising that you will get your level three charger. So, sorry, was that what you were going to mention?

Yes, I appreciate that. And I just also wanted to add that our patrol vehicles are hybrids now. So we've gone away from the conventional gas fuels.

Okay. I don't want to talk about hypothetical. There's a budget in front of us that we're going to adopt or not adopt. So if you have questions about the black and white budget that's before you, I would really appreciate that. And if you want to have offline conversations about...

I'm just talking about this budget tonight. One, I read the report in one of our departments, the public works department, their contract has not been renewed yet. And so it's the one department that's the least amount paid in Fairfax. And I think we need to get that contract settled before we adopt a budget. I think we owe it to the Public Works Department to get their contract settled and get them a decent pay raise.

So I would say this. It's Don't agree You know typically and I don't know where we're going with negotiations But we often do negotiations for contracts and make them retroactive So it's not an issue and there may be a slight budget adjustment I just want to make a quick comment the chamber submitted additional information and We had already allocated $5,000 toward the chamber. I think Even if Measure J passes, we are not awash in money. We are just keeping pace with the cost of public services going up to a certain extent. But I would say this. I think there is some... What I saw... was basically paying for everything that the chamber does. And I don't think we're in that position, nor do I think other cities that provide some support to chambers pay for everything. And so I would just make a suggestion that increasing from the 5,000 to the 10,000 provides some subsidy, but really most chambers are responsible for raising funds and, you know, paying for their events, et cetera. So I would just suggest that we consider an additional $5,000 to make that $10,000.

That was my recommendation as well. The request was 24,000. I don't think anyone disputes the Chamber's doing really, really good work, really good community development, economic development work. But I don't know that it's, I don't believe that it's the responsibility of the Town with our very limited revenue streams to fully fund the Chamber. But I did want to ask Mike, have you made any progress on your endeavor?

Well, first of all, I want to agree with you and others that the chamber can be self-sufficient. I do think that disagreeing on this particular point with Barbara, I think that in lieu of The money, which, like I said, I think the Chamber should be self-sufficient and can be, It historically has been and can continue to be that way. I think that where the town could really help out is the red carpet type treatment when there are events that are bringing in people to the town to help the merchants, to help the town. We can't forget that the number two revenue source for the town is sales tax. So I would suggest... since we're mentioning these things, that the town work close with the chamber and make the nickel and dime and the other expenses that go along with having events, make that the contribution and not as much red carpet. I mean, more of a red carpet treatment. Less cash, more red carpet treatment. That's my suggestion.

Do you pro or oppose the 10K? Okay.

I'm not opposed to it, but I don't think it's necessary. I think it's better. I think the red carpet treatment is more.

So I think we do. I don't know what a red carpet treatment is, but what I do know is we provide a tremendous amount of support with overtime of police that we pay for. For public works and I think we already do that and I've brought that up at previous budget meetings Where we've talked about you know, the tremendous amount of support for example at the winter market I think we had people eight people from our police department on there's usually only two and Including our police chief was there. So I think we already do quite a lot of support on

you know which is income by the way i think it's another discussion but anyway the point i'm making is i agree that um i would agree to the 10 000 but i would say that more importantly than cash would be what i already mentioned so all right well bring it up at another meeting yeah

Okay, I think we have, it already sounds we have majority support on that. But if anyone else wants to make a comment, that would be great.

Yeah, I just want to say I am supportive of that. But I'm also would be really interested in, I'm watching as the chamber sort of fleshes out its request. And it's been really interesting. And, you know, I wouldn't mind at some point having another presentation, we have a little bit more clarity about how they could spend that money if they had $10,000. I always get those, it seems like we get them like a couple of hours before the meeting and I don't have time to delve into them in depth. So I would just appreciate that, like in the future having some point at which we can talk a little bit more with the chamber about their plans, but I am supportive and that's all I need to say.

Yes, if I may, I support the 10,000. I did have one more quick issue, and it was on our capital improvement program and the work, the slurry shield was going to be done. I had asked at a previous meeting about, it said we're going to slurry shield Sir Francis Drake Boulevard from Pastore to the town limits. And I asked if it was town limits on the western end and trying to figure out a western end or is it on the eastern end, but I never got an answer. Well, I see now it's on the eastern end. And the problem is that most of that, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard from Pastore to Oak Nolan, San Anselmo, is in San Anselmo town limits. It's on a Fairfax road.

Okay. I'm going to open public comment on this item. If you have a comment, please step forward. Please raise your hand on the Zoom.

I taught Greenberg following up on comments that I've made at prior meetings where only two budgets were presented. This budget, once again, talks about budget B being a worst case scenario. If measure J didn't pass on June 2nd, yesterday, it looks like it's going to pass a third of the votes have been counted. So this may be a moot point, except that the people of Fairfax have been misled by this town and these town reports. This happens frequently. Why? There is no need. This says that there would be 10% cuts if it didn't pass by June 2nd. That's false. It's been confirmed by the director of the CDTFA, Trista Gonzalez, that this measure could have passed or a measure without an increase and with a sunset date could have passed in November and there would have been no gap in tax collection. So this is a patently false statement. And I believe that the town used taxpayer dollars for ballot measure advocacy during all of these meetings multiple meetings misleading the public making them think that this had to be passed in june otherwise 1.3 million dollars would be lost when it could have been passed in november and if an extension had been passed in november $1 million of the $1.3 million would not be at risk and there would not have been a need for a 10% cut.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Frank Gomez. I am a board member of the Chamber of Commerce in San Anselmo. And I just want to say I'm watching from San Anselmo seeing what MENA is doing for Fairfax is such great work here. creating all these different events. I just feel, I know that you felt it was a little too much money that she's asking for, but I don't think it is. If you really think about how much tax revenue, if she's helping increase sales and sales tax, asking for a little bit more is actually beneficial because you can do more events and help drive more people to spend more money in Fairfax. Thank you.

Hi, Brenna Gubbins, President of Chamber of Commerce. And thank you so much, Frank, for what you just said about Mina. She has worked so hard and is doing incredible work. I want to say thank you for your support of the $10,000 that... That's great. But we, we really hope to build that and work with you guys moving forward and we will continue to bring great events and bring great community events to this town. Thanks.

To weigh in for the events like the Fairfax Festival, I think it's a great expense of our town resources to employ the police and the fire department to ensure a successful event. I think those are the type of events that bring notoriety to our community, appreciation, and build a community. So I think the council would be short-sighted if they did not provide the red carpet treatment but really help the Chamber of Commerce in these events because those are the events that will carry us through good times and bad. Thank you.

We have one raised hand on Zoom. Mina, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Hi, this is Mina. I really appreciate that the Council is considering the Chamber funding request seriously. Just for clarity, the request is not to fund the Chamber's entire operation. It's a targeted investment in economic vitality services and programs that the Chamber delivers on behalf of the community. We are fully able to support ourselves, but we want to grow it and make our work on our placemaking and be a regional draw. And we want businesses to succeed here. You know, the red carpet treatment that Mike was talking about, you know, we want entrepreneurs and property owners and community organizations to feel welcome and supported. And so if that means clear communication, coordinated permitting, predictable processes, business outreach, proactive support during construction, as we have been doing together, which I am very grateful for. You know, we should also be investing in these kinds of streamlined processes to help everyone. So thank you.

There are no more raised hands on Zoom.

Okay. We're going to close public comment. All right. So I'll entertain a motion to adopt this fiscal year. I just need to ask a question. Okay.

Go ahead. I'm not going to belabor this because I know people really want to talk about another issue, but I'm just curious about how much wiggle room there is in our chamber budget. Like I'm agreeing to the 10,000, but like I said, I feel like I have not heard enough from the chamber even to really assess some of their needs. So I'm hoping that in the future we will have a little bit more communication and we'll have more time to read the materials that they're submitting. I have been really curious and been looking at what other chambers are doing. So I'm just going to put that out there. And I just also wanted to say that I'm really hoping we are going to have more budget stability if Measure J passes so that we can actually plan efficiently and effectively for the coming years, rather being in the state of sort of agonized unsurety. And I did want to just say I really appreciate the staff For all of the work and being so responsive to our council member requests I know that you followed up on a number of requests from the last meeting concerning budgetary issues and I think that's really wonderful. So that's all I'm gonna say. Thank you.

I'd like to make a motion. Thank you to adopt the fiscal year 2026 2027 operating and capital improvement budget.

I'm gonna second that With the changes noted

With the changes noted regarding the chamber.

We have a motion from Council Member Kohler and a second from Council Member Blash. Council Member Blash. Yes. Council Member Garangeli.

I just need to make a notation here. I disagree with many of, not many, but a few major ways we run the town. I've mentioned it in almost every meeting. So I'm going to vote no against this budget because it does not reflect my personal way that I think the money should be spent in certain areas. Some areas, yes. Some areas, no. And so I can't – this budget's a big budget, and I'm going to vote no against it for the reason that I think if we manage the town a little bit differently – We'd have more money to do things that we need to do. So, no.

Council Member Kohler. Yes. Vice Mayor Ager.

No.

Mayor Hellman.

Yes.

Motion carries. Okay. And with that, I'd like to make a motion to continue Item 5, the short-term rentals, to the July meeting, please.

Second. Nope.

We have a motion from council member Kohler to continue item five, a short-term rental update in a second from council member Garangeli, council member Blash. Yes. Council member Garangeli.

Yes.

Council member Kohler. Yes. Vice mayor Ager. Aye. Mayor Hellman. Yes. Motion passes.

Okay. And then I, Janet, I can just, I am empowered to move seven above six. Okay. So we don't need to vote on that or anything. Okay. We're going to move the residence petition item seven to go next. Pursuant to town code section 2.08.090, a residence petition was received regarding a banner program. Do we have the petitioner present? Okay. You have five minutes, up to five minutes.

I just want to mention for some folks that are standing in the back, there are some chairs in the front. We want to make sure that we aren't in the way of the door. So thank you.

Madam Clerk, could you please cue the presentation?

I'm sorry, there's no presentation this evening.

There is a slide presentation I submitted.

It wasn't provided on Monday, which was very clearly.

The mayor. We're not debating this. Everybody knows.

Your five minutes begins now.

I would like to have my slide presentation shared with the council. And I want to make note for everybody that's here that there were many things that were not included publicly online that I submitted on a timely basis. Got to ask a question. Why does this happen? Why, when I submit things, do they not get included? My presentation has been handicapped. People have been misled by this town as to what I presented. I am being denied the ability to present what 35 people in this town wanted to present. I believe that's illegal. Once again, that's a minute taken up to correct the town errors on the record so that everybody else here understands that many people aren't being fairly treated here. So I don't have the slides here since you're denying those people even they were submitted. So I'm gonna say good evening, Mayor Hellman and council members. My name is Todd Greenberg, the petitioner for agenda item seven. I want to begin with the Fairfax Festival because this is the civic heart of this proposal. Fairfax Festival is when Fairfax presents itself most visibly to residents, families, musicians, artists, businesses, visitors, and community groups. The banners downtown during June help shape the public impression of the town. That is why this proposal asks Fairfax to think broadly and fairly about what these public displays say. The goal is simple. A June display that reflects the whole community that brings Fairfax together. Slide two, Fairfax Festival, when Fairfax comes together. Fairfax Festival brings the whole town together and draws many visitors into Fairfax. It showcases music, arts, business, family life, civic life, and the spirit of the town. Because June is such a visible month for Fairfax, the downtown banner program should not be narrow or accidental. It should be thoughtful, public, and representative. A fair June framework can continue pride recognition while also recognizing more of Fairfax's history, culture, observances, and shared values. That is what I mean by a fair June for Fairfax. Slide three that you're not presenting. One town message, many stories. The framework is one town message with many stories. It includes pride and broadens recognition. It is not about replacing pride despite what the town might have led you to believe. The submitted framework includes Pride LGBTQ Plus Inclusion, Juneteenth, African American Music Month, Caribbean American Heritage Month, National Immigrant Heritage Month, Coast Miwok Stewardship, Mexican and California History, Mexican American Heritage, and Fairfax's many cultural traditions. It also includes shared civic values, unity, peace, coexistence, mutual respect, and shared belonging. The point is not to create a competition between groups. The point is to create a coherent, civic message that says Fairfax is proudest when it's fair, inclusive, and welcoming to all. This proposal is about showing pride in Fairfax by recognizing more of Fairfax. Slide four that's not being presented, a practical banner framework. This is a practical framework, not a free-for-all. The idea is a coherent banner family, not a competition for pole space. Fairfax Festival banners could be placed on approximately half of the downtown poles with heritage and inclusion banners on alternating poles. That approach keeps the festival visible as a civic anchor while allowing the town to recognize pride, June observances, local history, cultural heritage, and shared community values. Final mock-ups would return before production. There were samples that the town's not showing you. Staff would review safety, poll hardware placement, et cetera. The key is that final decision remain public and town approved. Slide five that the town's not showing you. This slide shows an illustrative example of the alternative poll concept. The specific designs are not final. They are examples to help the council and public visualize the structure. The important point is that Fairfax banners remain visible while alternating heritage and inclusion banners can include pride, LGBTQ plus inclusion, Juneteenth, an African-American Music Month, Caribbean American Heritage Month, National Immigrant Heritage Month, Coast Miwok Stewardship, Mexican-California, Mexican-American Heritage, Fairfax Cultural Traditions, Unity, Peace, and Charity Longing. May I continue, given that I lost a minute? Final banner designs should come for public review and council approval before production. That public review step is important because it gives everyone a chance to see the final designs before they are installed. Slide six. The citizen petition also asks for a fair public town approved framework. The structure is straightforward. Petition framework, public review, council approval, and then June display.

You have 30 more seconds.

The petition requests alternating Fairfax Festival and Heritage Inclusion banners, a proclamation recognizing June 2026 as Fairfax Heritage and Inclusion Month, a public discussion of banner concepts and categories, public review of final mock-ups, and council approval before final display. This is not asking for an unreviewed or privately controlled display. It's asking for a transparent town process that gives the council and public a clear role before anything is produced or installed.

Thank you. We'll open public comment now on this item.

Good evening, Mayor, council members, and members of the public. My name is Frank Gomez. I'm a proud father of a lesbian daughter. I'm also honored to be here with my cousin Juanita Owens, a trailblazer in the LGBTQ community and in California history. In 1999, she became the first openly lesbian school board president in California. What makes her story even more remarkable is that she had dropped out of Galileo High School as a teenager because of anti-gay harassment. Despite that setback, she went on to attend San Francisco City College, San Francisco State University, and the University of San Francisco, earning a bachelor's degree, two master's degrees, and a PhD. Decades later, she returned to lead San Francisco's entire public school system and dedicated her service to making schools safer and more welcoming for the LGBTQ students. I share that story because this discussion is not about politics. It is about my family, it is about real people whose lives have been shaped by discrimination, perseverance, and the desire to be accepted for who they are. I've just heard Todd's proposal not to replace Pride Month, but to make it a Heritage Month. I believe that is the wrong message for our town. Pride Month does not erase anyone's heritage. It does not diminish the history of Fairfax or the contributions of those who have came before us. We can celebrate our history while also recognizing the struggles, achievements, and dignity of the LGBTQ people. These are not competing ideas. The rainbow flag is not a symbol of exclusion. It is a symbol of belonging. It tells people that they are welcome here, that they matter, and that they are part of our community. As a father, I want every young person who sees these flags to know that they do not have to hide who they are. I want them to know that their community sees them and supports them. My aunt's generation fought for visibility and acceptance. My daughter's generation should not have to fight the same battles all over again. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Hello, council. I do think that Todd was villainized here and restrict a presentation. Because when he first brought this to my attention, I did not hear anything about taking away or diminishing or removing pride. He brought a very reasonable request asking, hey, we should have a framework for bringing appreciation. And it's always been my understanding that pride is supposed to be inclusive. Todd, in my opinion, was trying to be very inclusive and bring forth many different communities so that all communities have an opportunity to be represented and be seen, not to exclude one over another, but to actually expand our community and bring that continuity by having so many people come back together and appreciate each other's cultural heritage, their difference, their preferences. But that's what makes up a community, not one of us, but all of us. So I think that... the anger online and the lack of the council allowing Todd to present something. So it was fairly represented and people understand was very short-sighted because if the interest here is to be inclusive, we don't want to exclude anybody. We don't want to say no pride or no Indian or no police, but it's a time to represent all the different groups that all make up the fabric of our community. Cause as a single thread, we cannot hold anything. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker. Good evening. My name is Susan Adams. I'm a Fairfax resident on Tamalpais Road. I wanted to make two comments. One is more of a procedural point. I believe that the petition demonstrates that everyone has a voice in the town to present a proposal and a matter for the town council's consideration, whether the number of people together are a small number of people or a large number of people. The idea in our democracy, one of our founding principles is that a minority vote, a minority voice has a chance. That's on the procedural point that I appreciate that there's been a petition presented to the town. But secondly, with respect to the proposal itself, If I understand it correctly, I oppose it strongly. Our American culture is composed of many cultures, many peoples. To understand and appreciate each of them, it is important to recognize them and give them a moment of attention. And I don't believe that, if I understand this correctly, that that opportunity is being granted to the many organizations and cultures in our community and our nation. If the proposal is a proposal that also includes the idea of an additional banner that represents the many components of our town as a community, that's fine. But I think negating the individual aspects of our culture then undermines the idea that we are a community of many, many people. And that should never be forgotten. Thank you.

Hi, I'm April Hughes, and I work in practice, and my daughter goes to school here also. I'm here today because more times than not, I am invisible. to the world. People don't sing, they don't hear me because of my speech, because of my gender, because of who I am. My family is also very unseen. My oldest is physically at risk daily because they're transgender. Our current president doesn't even admit that they exist. My youngest daughter, who is non-binary, has to argue daily with people that she is not she, she is not he, that they exist. And these are battles that we face daily. The only real time that I feel seen is in June when I can honestly be who I am, feel a bit more safe, and know that others do accept me and know me. Now, the world has a lot of people who are unseen. That's true. But throwing them all into the same month, the same banner, makes us all invisible again. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Good evening. I'm not going to be able to count.

You can raise that up. Okay.

I'm not going to be able to capture the complexity of why it is wrong, what this petition by Todd Greenberg being put forth is wrong, but I'm going to do my best. As the boyfriend of Archie's first out gay homecoming king, 2012, Fairfax has always been a somewhat welcoming place for me. I was the glee generation. I watched gay marriage become legal my sophomore year of high school. I was ridiculed by my peers. And yet my mom delivered lunches to gay men dying of AIDS in the 90s. What a remarkable and inspirational story that gay liberation has become and forever will be. To think that all of this hardship, death, joy, resistance experienced and enacted by millions and millions of Americans would not be celebrated is simply cruel. Todd Greenberg and his gang of boomers remind me of just how much work there still is left to do and how so many people have such little curiosity as to why people who might live on the margins might not feel celebrated by the American flag. I wish we lived in a world where people were aversive to this type of thinking. And even more, where they would be afraid to share such bigoted sentiment. But I do not live in a fantasy world. And on top of all of the other things queer and trans people and pretty much everyone else in the country now have to face, to also have to fight to keep the frickin' pride flag up is just plain stupid. I know this isn't a voting item, but the sentiment brought up by this petition was truly abhorrent. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening. I'm Leslie. I live at 41 West Bray. Keep the pride flags. I was driving through town today, and I saw the flags waving in the wind. They're so pretty. They're fun. They signify celebration, summer, freedom, life, all good things. That's how I feel looking at the flags. This proposal makes no sense. It's everything and it's nothing. What is not fun are targeted acts of bigotry, especially those disguised as something else. There's been an uptick in hate crimes aimed at the LGBTQ community across the country. Six transgender people have been murdered in the last two months. Suicide rates among LGBTQ youth is higher than the general population. We see hard-won rights being challenged and overturned in the courts. This is also a very personal issue for me. My daughter is transgender. She grew up in the Ross Valley school system. My sister is gay. I have countless friends and loved ones who are in the LGBTQ community. Each has suffered pain and trauma from bullying, discrimination, exclusion, or just unkindness. keep the pride flags. They remind us to aspire towards inclusion and kindness. They signal that Fairfax is a safe and embracing place.

Thank you.

I'm Michael Rosenthal, a longtime Fairfax resident. My wife and I are always delighted when June comes around and we see the flags flying. And they're just joyful. They're festive, which fits in perfectly with the Fairfax Festival. And I have to disagree with Todd. They are the perfect way to show off our town. They show tolerance and acceptance and everybody is welcome here. And it's a message that's not coming from Washington these days. So it's especially important that we stick with the flags. Thank you.

Hello, Brenna Gubbins again, a longtime resident here and business owner and Chamber of Commerce. I'm also on the Fairfax Festival Committee, and not once did anyone on the committee ever say anything about the pride flags, just so we're clear. Nobody is against it. I... I actually wrote a letter to you guys, so I'm sure you can read it in the minutes or notes or whatever it is. I'm a proud mother of a trans child. What this is, is just... It's the constant hate that this... community the lgbtq plus community has to face every day it's really upsetting um anyhow and just so you know that all ethnicities are part of the lgbtq plus community all races so nobody's excluded everyone so thank you and thank you for hearing this

Thank you.

Hi, Pete Gubbins, Miranda Oaks. First of all, Fairfax does a great job with the pride flags. It's beautiful, inclusive. It feels good. It's like the Christmas lights. Fairfax really does that well. Pride Month is global, national. It's at pro sports venues. It's everywhere. There's great reason to celebrate everything and everybody, and that's what Fairfax can do. But there is no reason to do it at home. One one group's expense so instead of undoing something that Fairfax does so well We maybe could figure out another way to celebrate all the other groups that need to be recognized But it's you know, it's It's a good feeling it's about love and acceptance and there's so much anger and tearing apart so choose to live in a town of love and not a town of hate. And the pride flags really make me feel that. So Fairfax, thank you. Do a good job.

Thank you.

Hi there. I don't have much prepared, but I just wanted to say that there's a reason that the pride flags and pride day exists in June. It is a commemoration of the Stonewall rebellion that happened where people stood up against persecution and the right to exist and be who they are. And the reason that it exists in June is to commemorate all of the people who've stood up and stood against persecution. So no amount of dilution or Twinkies is going to make people forget that. And I think that the flags up in any street in the United States is a call to arms for people to stand up and be themselves and stand against any other persecution. And that's pretty much it.

Thank you.

Any other speakers in the room?

Good evening, Council. My name is Edward Escobar. I'm here to speak plainly about something that should not be controversial in a town that prides itself on fairness and inclusion. I am Cuban and Puerto Rican. I come from communities that know what it feels like to be erased, minimized, or treated as an afterthought. And when a town's public messaging elevates one identity while leaving others entirely out, that is exactly how it lands, as erasure. even when the intentions are good. Let me be absolutely clear. This is not about replacing pride. Pride is a part of any community that believes in dignity and equality. But inclusion means also expanding the circle, not narrowing it. Inclusion means recognizing that Fairfax is made up of many stories. LGBTQ plus stories, black stories, immigrant stories, indigenous stories, Latino stories, Caribbean American stories like my own and so many more. The proposed concept that's before you is not radical, is not divisive. It is not competitive. It is coherent. It is fair. It is aligned with the values Fairfax claims to stand for. One town message, many stories. It includes pride in LGBTQ plus inclusion. It includes Juneteenth and African American Music Month. It includes Caribbean American Heritage Month. It includes National Immigrant Heritage Month. It includes Coast Miwok stewardship, Mexican and Californiano history. Mexican-American heritage and the cultural traditions that actually reflect the people who shape this town every day. This is not about who gets the spotlight, it's about whether the spotlight is big enough to illuminate everyone who belongs here. Fairfax is strongest when it is fair. Fairfax is proudest when it is inclusive. Fairfax is at its best when its civic message reflects the full truth of its people. Not just one chapter, but the whole story. One town, many stories, all respected, all visible, All valued. Thank you.

Mark Bell. I find it interesting that people looked at Todd's proposal and thought it was bigoted. So obviously the problem that's faced by the community is a lot more serious. than we see. I think back to the 70s when we had a gay disco where Pancho Villas is. They only went out of business because disco died, not because of anyone being gay or lesbian or whatever. I guess I feel sorry that these things still go on to the degree that we've experienced with the people who've come up here and spoken, that they get so emotionally, they're in the emotional front lines. Because I also understand what was behind Todd's idea, which was not a bigoted idea. We have November celebrating anything having to do with the history of the United States. We don't have Memorial Day flags, we don't have Labor Day flags, we don't have whatever. That's all like lumped into November. Maybe June does need to be more exclusively for the gay, lesbian, trans people, but maybe we should look at other months to do to incorporate Todd's idea. Like May, three years in a row, I've asked why Arab American History Month has never been proclaimed by the town council. We have Arabs living here as well. So maybe we can look at a different month.

My name is Twan No. And I'm here to stand up against hate. A few days ago we had a press conference because somebody who was in elected office said my enemies are the media and the Asians and we have always been silenced. I am an immigrant. I came to this country because we had no voice. I was living in fear as a child because I was afraid my younger brother would say something wrong and my whole family would be in labor camp. And that's something that unless you grow up in another place, in another country, and you don't have basic human rights, that you don't quite understand that fear growing up. So I'm here to speak up because it's just important. I remember walking down the Castro and being happy because I've never felt so accepted by a place where I could be who I am as a member of the LGBTQ community. But being an immigrant and not knowing the language when I came here and picking tomatoes as an underage child, along with other immigrant speakers, I also understand that other communities are marginalized and are not recognized that they're living in the shadow despite all the hard work for the little pay and being discriminated against because of where they were born and not having opportunities and just fighting for recognition. So I think What we should do, and I love the rainbow flag. I talked to the lady that cleans it and puts it up every year. I think we should keep it. But on Castro, I see the flag on each light pole on both sides. I say include the immigrants that are being targeted by ICE right now for opportunity. Include. We're big enough to bring everybody on board. Be diverse. Recognize all the diversity and marginalized folks, the Asians, everyone.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Laurie Kramer. I didn't plan to speak tonight, and this may go a little on the emotional side because this is very personal to me. I recall vividly 30 years ago seeing the rainbow flags on Castro Street for the first time and how moving it was. And I had just recently met my partner and got in the car the next day, drove to my parents and with great pride came out to my family. And it was just so fabulous and so moving to see those flags. And later I moved to Marin and raised two beautiful children that are very lovely adults. And I love Fairfax. It is my home and it has been for 20 some years. And I really like five years ago, I had this idea that wouldn't it be great for those coming through Fairfax at my favorite time of year for the festival, for the turn of summer, to look in Fairfax and see the sign of just beautiful rainbow and to see that this is a tolerant place for families like mine to be raised and supported and people of all different versions of, you know, gay, straight, bi, trans, all the different colors of fluid sexuality to have a place that they felt supported and knew that this was a safe place and a place that supported them and supported diversity, supported races, everything. It's just such an incredible, welcoming place. So after lots of conversations and lots of proposals, thankfully was able to donate the flags to the town. I spent hours sewing them, amending them. Every year I take them home, I clean them, I prepare them and hand them back to Rudy. And every day that they go up, I just count down the days and once they're hung, it's just like moving as it was 30 years ago when I saw them for the first time in the Castro and that it's here in my home of Fairfax that I love so much. I hope that we can continue and find other ways to represent all the other amazing causes that we have to support. So thank you.

Thank you.

it's all confusing and it's all confused and there's a difference between nations and nationalities and ethnicities and peoples and sexuality and I don't know quite how to verbalize it I missed a lot of the meetings but It's confusing. It's confusing. We mix a lot of things up and we talk about, or Mark talks about, you know, Arab American week and this week and that week and nationalities and those things are a little bit different than just humanity and our whole beings and sexuality and everything else. And it's, they're a little bit different. They just are. And yes, we need to get over all our stupid bigoted messed up nationalities and we're one people on one planet and we're basically devouring the natural systems that support all of us and all our bullshit about money and stuff and colors and races. It's like, You know what I'm saying and you know what I mean. At least I hope you do. And we can fight over all this shit or we can support each other and take care of ourselves and take care of each other and build community. And how do we build community? How do we build each other up and how do we have some fun? Do we rip things apart? Do we shred each other? Do we go out and buy a new Tesla and electrify this? I don't know. Can we take care of what we have and... be satisfied? Can we like love each other and be kind? Um, it's confusing. It's confusing. And I'm confused and I'm confusing. Um, these people tell me I'm confusing. Um, And, you know, I will say, last thing in terms of like painting the sidewalks and whatever, build community. Let people get together and paint the frigging sidewalks and build things together and ourselves rather than paying somebody else to do it. And that's building community.

Thank you, Sarah. Are there any other speakers in the room?

Hi, I'm Miranda Katz. I've lived in Fairfax for over 20 years. I came here tonight afraid there weren't going to be a lot of other people, so I'm really glad you're all here. And I came to speak for the people that can't show up. I'm here to speak for the people that can't show up, the people that are afraid, the people that are not out, the people that are working hard right now to make their lives. They can't all come and speak, so I'm here to speak for them. Thank you for being a town that welcomes us. There are so many people that have told me how much these flags mean to them. I have flags out in front of my house 365 days a year for the last seven years. And they will continue to fly. And we all should have them up in our houses and in our businesses and on our streets. So for everyone who's here, there's at least 20 people who are afraid to be here. So I'm standing here for them. And I want to say thank you. And please protect that feeling of Fairfax being a welcoming place. Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any hands raised on the Zoom?

We have five raised hands on Zoom. Six. The first speaker is Kathy, followed by Chance. Kathy, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Hi, good evening. Kathy Flores, Fairfax. I personally do not support dispersing rainbow flags among other flags throughout the town during the month. A month of June. In my view, it should be one or the other. I raised this concern several years ago, and my perspective remains unchanged. While I support Fairtrack's commitment to inclusion and have no objection to the display of the rainbow flags, I believe the current number of flags displayed on the polls throughout town for the entire month is excessive. In my opinion... One rainbow flag per block would be sufficient and would still clearly demonstrate the community support for and commitment to inclusiveness. A few years ago, these flags replaced the Fairfax Festival flags, which traditionally were installed shortly before the festival and removed afterwards. If Fairfax chooses to display the LGBTQ plus flags throughout the town, I believe we should also explore ways to recognize and honor the founders and early residents whose efforts helped build Fairfax into the community it is today. Their contributions are an important part of our town's history and deserve acknowledgement as well. I am proud of Fairfax welcoming and inclusive spirit. My hope is that we can celebrate both the diversity of our current community and the people whose vision, hard work and dedication help establish this wonderful town. Thank you.

Thank you. The next speaker is Chance, followed by Jody. Chance, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Thank you very much. Thank you for hearing me, Counsel. You know, when I saw this petition, I can't say that I was surprised, but I was disappointed. For those who are listening in the room, for those online or watching the recording, For context, I should add that this isn't the first time this petitioner has brought something like this, albeit this is an attempt to be seemingly more inclusive. It's something that has been brought up for years now, both with the Pride flags during Pride Month, but also with the crosswalk that was established during Pride Month several years ago. This petitioner and presumably signatories that supported this petition, have for years been attempting to find the appropriate angle to undermine the celebration of Pride Month and the welcoming that it promotes, the belonging that it promotes,

We lost you chance. He just dropped off. Okay. He can hop back on. You want to get the next speaker?

The next speaker is Jody followed by the community congressional church. Jody, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Good morning. Good morning. Good evening, council members. I just want to say as a bisexual woman for over 50 years, I absolutely love our rainbow flags. They have tremendous meaning to me personally. Our country, as we all are being reminded, was founded 250 years ago as a pluralistic nation. And in the name of inclusivity and freedom of expression, those of us who are part of the LGBTQ Plus movement, we invite all Fairfax community members to join us under the rainbow flags throughout town in celebration of everyone's right to express your love of self and your love of other, any other, during this month of June. I was reminded Sunday by a wise gay woman of when the government of Turkey banned gay rights, thousands and thousands of citizens throughout that country marched in the streets carrying the rainbow flags. Instead of supporting an authoritarian and inhumane government and fighting against the freedom of sexual expression, we in America welcome everyone's individual and collective freedom. Let's celebrate together under those gorgeous rainbow flags. Thank you so much. Thank you.

The next speaker is the community congressional church followed by Wendy community congressional church. You're unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Thank you so much. My name is actually Reverend Jess Schein and I serve as the lead minister of Community Congregational Church. Thank you, Council, for letting me share with you this evening. I actually want to first say thank you to Mr. Greenberg for the free publicity about our upcoming Drag Brunch. By the way, this is the second Drag Brunch that our congregation has hosted. Last year we raised money for the Marin LGBTQ Center. I also want to say thank you to all the people who support human decency and the rights of LGBTQ people in particular. It is unfortunate, though, that Mr. Greenberg wants to sideline Pride and LGBTQ plus individuals. It's unfortunate, I say, because of all the materials posted on the beloved posts of Fairfax, Mr. Greenberg chose to single out the drag branch that we are hosting to build inclusive community. Your message tonight, Mr. Greenberg, sounds great, but where I come from, we call it a pig dressed in pearls. It is rooted in what appears to be an attempt to silence the LGBTQ community. And I'd encourage you to find any of the other 11 months that you might want to consider for your version of heritage. Also, if you're so concerned about light posts, why don't you grab a paintbrush and ask the town for a can of paint? It's part of our civic duty and opportunity in giving back. I do find it fascinating that one group wants to tell a minority how to be inclusive. Now, as a clergy person, I'd encourage you, if you do want inclusivity, to consider how you are living and working and spending your dollars in ways that elevate inclusion to the people you've named besides leaving them behind the counters when they serve you. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker. The next speaker is Wendy, followed by Ricky. Wendy, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Hi there. Can you hear me? Yes. Thank you. My name is Wendy and I just have something simple to say. I find it. unbelievably disgusting that this is even something that needs to be dealt with tonight in Fairfax, especially amidst so much that's so disturbing in our world. I find I came into town today, tonight, and was filled with a sense of beauty seeing all the flags. I absolutely love them. And I think they need to stay. And I was full of joy and pride and happiness when I saw them in town tonight. And it's that simple. It's really disturbing that this is even needing to be discussed at all. Thank you.

The next speaker is Ricky, followed by PJ. Ricky, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Thank you. You know, I only got wind of this a few days ago when a member of LGBTQ, a close friend and colleague of mine, said, hey, what's going on over in Fairfax? And, you know, I find the petitioners disingenuous. I'm in line with Chance and Wendy. And this is just, you know. is a difficult very difficult time to be um in this country right now the things that are going on in the national and the world stage and that here in fairfax place that is thought to be at least at least a a post 60s semi-progressive positive place and to have this kind of um thinly veiled aggression is it's just, you know, this isn't Idaho, this isn't Mississippi. And this is unnecessary. And to create this, you know, where's the pavilion? Where are the petitioners pavilion at the at the festival to celebrate all these cultures they say that they're standing up for? It's just ridiculous. And it's very offensive, and it's very disturbing, and it's wasting time and energy and continuing to foment acrimony in this town. And it's really, really disappointing. Do better. Do better.

The next speaker is PJ, followed by Kay. PJ, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Thank you, Jay. For Fairfax, I am glad that chance called in. I wanted to primarily focus on the fact that we all know this is disingenuous. It's, you know, I'm glad that the community of Fairfax is seeing through this, and I think We don't want Fairfax to suffer the same sort of difficulties that the rest of the country is facing because of the Supreme Court's adoption of ideas like discriminatory intent. you got to show it express expressly instead of just discriminatory impact, which is what this is. But here we, I mean, we even have the discriminatory intent as well. Um, you know, I remember very specifically the June, 2023 town council meeting when, uh, the mayor, which was then chance to Toronto, um, introduced the town's proclamation for LGBTQ plus Pride Month. And he spoke about the shocking amount of emails he received from community members about the pride flags and the crosswalk and calling for their removal, calling for toning down pride in the town and saying things like this is not the type of thing Fairfax should be celebrating. Maybe people are a little bit more aware that it's despicable to say something like that. But just because you're not saying it doesn't mean that people are going to forget where this type of idea comes from. Thanks.

The next speaker is Kay, followed by Richard. Kay, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Hi, I just really quick, I wrote in so you can read what I wrote, but I just want to thank Chance for calling this out what it is. And I love the analogy of a pig dressed in pearls. I just want to take this opportunity to thank you. Thank you, everybody, for showing up tonight. Thank you, everybody, for the outpouring of emails to continue to support pride in our community. I have to say I'm really proud of us. So thank you.

The next speaker is Richard. Richard, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Good evening, Council. This is Rick Hamer, downtown Fairfax. I support how the town is currently addressing Pride and the Rainbow approach, and I don't think that the town should take any action on this petition whatsoever, short of dismissing it and moving on and letting it pass. Thank you.

We have one more raised hand. Buford, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Hello?

Yes, we can hear you.

Okay, I think that the pride flag should stay up. I have a bunch of family that is gay that lives in Fairfax, and they feel very appreciated seeing the flags up in town, and I think they should stay just the way they are. Okay.

There are no more raised hands on Zoom.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you for everyone. Oh, sure.

Go ahead. I want to say a couple things and I want to read very briefly a couple things that were sent in to us. While I support Mr. Greenberg's right to free speech and others' right to free speech, I find this to be Terrible. And I think it's a masterpiece of gaslighting to hide what appears to be homophobia and potentially bigotry. But I want to read something that came in from Kay, and I'm saying her name because she posted on Nextdoor as well as on Facebook. She just called in. A group of residents has asked the town council to stop celebrating Pride Month and remove the rainbow flags from Fairfax. Instead, they want June to become a heritage month, celebrating the people who founded Fairfax, focusing primarily on white settlers. This proposal raises some important questions. LGBTQ plus people are not a race or nationality. There are neighbors, family members, friends, coworkers, and community members of every race, ethnicity, culture, and background. Pride Month is not about replacing anyone's heritage. It's about recognizing a group of people who have faced discrimination and exclusion simply for who they are. It's also worth remembering that history is complex. Ironically, black people were not named in the list of races to celebrate. If we are going to celebrate our past, we should do so honestly, acknowledging all who contributed to our community, including those who have too often been left out of the story. When LGBTQ plus people no longer face discrimination, harassment, bullying, and unequal treatment, perhaps we can have a conversation about whether those symbols are still needed. Until then, they remain an important reminder that our community values inclusion, acceptance, and dignity for all. The rainbow flags flying in Fairfax send a simple message. You belong here. I'm sorry, I'm going to cry. You're welcome here. Please do not consider this resident petition and continue to celebrate June as Pride Month. I want to say I grew up in the 60s and 70s, and most of my friends were gay. And I had the straightest parents in the world, but they loved all my friends. Several of those people died during the AIDS crisis. Some of those people are still alive and still my friends and new friends. I'm happy that Lori brought those pride flags and donated them and spends her time every year cleaning them up, and they're so beautiful. But I just want to say another resident wrote in, and I'm not going to say her name, and she referred to a famous quote about the Holocaust. First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. I just want to say, one thing that has been done by this petition, we've gotten something like 40 or 50 emails against and in support of keeping the pride flags. And we have maybe three or four people saying, let's do this heritage month. One of the things that's happened through this is there's some unification. People came forward who I know probably not everybody wants to reveal who they are. And I think a nice lady stood up and so she's speaking for people who are afraid to come. So I want to thank people for coming tonight, and I'm happy to see our pride flags flying. Thank you.

so anyway thank you council member color council member blush would you like to speak yeah and i think uh i see other council members do i mean i just want to see that i when i look at the rainbow flag first i want to thank lori for making those flags and for coming and speaking tonight um it was like a really beautiful gift to fairfax and she went through a very careful process of bringing that and getting it sponsored and going through parks and rec um really really grateful to her for bringing you know, some beauty and some joy and some thoughtfulness to our streets and For me when I look at those flags, I think that It's a symbol of welcome and inclusion It's about recognizing people in the fullness and authentic fullness and if that authenticity of their being and it's really about all of us I think seeing that someone else exists doesn't make me feel excluded. I know as a member of the LGBT community myself, you know, we're all increasingly concerned about the attacks on our community and the attempts to erase our existence. I mean, the Trump administration tried to take the rainbow flags off of the Stonewall National Monument where the gay pride liberation movement started. So, you know, things are... are scary for a lot of us. We don't know what's coming next. It's a frightening time when we most need support from our community. Internationally, the flags are striking a chord as a symbol of resistance to authoritarian rule and protection of the right to self-expression and bodily autonomy. Somebody mentioned Turkey. I also want to mention last year, Hungary tried to ban the gay pride parade. 100,000 people showed up waving those flags, many of them not gay, because they understood what it was about. We had so many beautiful comments from people both online and in the room tonight. I want to read one from one person who did not speak tonight. And he says, Pride Month exists for a reason. It commemorates the long struggles for equality, visibility, and safety for LGBTQ plus people. Flying the pride flag for one month each year is not about elevating one group above others. It is about recognizing a community that has historically faced exclusion, discrimination, and at times of violence. Yes, even here in Marin. For many LGBTQ plus residents, especially young people, seeing pride flags around town has become a simple but meaningful reminder that they belong. It tells teens questioning their identity that they are welcome in Fairfax. It tells families like mine that we are part of the civic fabric of this community. It tells visitors that Fairfax strives to be a place where people can live openly and authentically. Removing those flags would not create more inclusion. It would remove a visible expression of it. So I do want to say in recognizing some of the folks that spoke, I would love us to do more. I do want to remind us that we had a racial equity and social justice committee that was looking at inclusion. And that committee was shut down by some people who are in this room tonight claiming that they want to see more diversity. So I just want to put that out there. I was on that committee. It was really quite striking. And we were frequently told that we were not experiencing prejudice in Fairfax, that we had basically nothing to talk about. I did want to mention that there are 11 other months in the year. Somebody mentioned in a letter to us that February 1931 was when Fairfax incorporated. That might be a great time to focus on some Fairfax history. um i do like the idea of having some fairfax festival banners with the current logo i think that would be lovely i don't want them to replace the um pride banners but i think that would be a lovely inclusion as somebody mentioned there are two sides to the polls i'd also like to see us actually get the little crossbar that goes at the bottom of flags and banners so they don't get all ripped up and shredded um that would be lovely i know that's money um I do want to also note that suggestions like this come with a, if we move forward in this, which I don't think we're going to, come with a budget. And I've heard the person bringing the petition complain about the budget being spent on frivolous things. So I just want to keep that in mind. And just close on saying that we're in really dark times right now where civil rights, free speech, and our very right to freely express who we are and who we love and who we choose to love are under attack. So we need to stand strong for Fairfax values. And I think that we can expand that embrace and think about many other communities that we want to celebrate, but I don't think we need to do that. I'm not willing to do that by subverting Pride Month in the name of pseudo-inclusivity.

Mayor? Yes. All righty. Okay. So... I think everybody in Fairfax loves everybody. And I think that we have a great community that accepts everybody. In my own world, we all know, I'm sure everyone knows many, many, many associates or our children, our grandchildren. who are gay or in the pride community. I know my own world also, my own life, my business life. We have been awarded an award for having the most, or not the most maybe, but acceptance and acceptance of gay weddings at Deer Park Villa. So we've had all kinds of celebrations there. Luckily, I'm in the entertainment business. Everyone knows in the entertainment business that there's great talent out there, and we have a lot of... We just had a burlesque show. It was a gay burlesque show. It was at Max. It will be one this month. So I think people in their own ways are constantly... respectful and caring about others. And I'm going to make a proposal that I'd like to see us entertained down the road that, and I had in my mind, so the Fairfax Festival is the second weekend of the month and i would think that in pride month in june that on the fourth weekend possibly i don't think it should be another month but um we have a pride parade and i think that's a better way let's say in place of the flags i'm saying first of all i also don't think Todd's a bigot, by the way. But I also think that a pride parade would unify the town. Maybe that does. Maybe one big pride weekend is better. Maybe we do add more flags, like Lizelle said. So the point I'm making is that everybody... We don't need to make anyone the billion here. There's a lot of people who care about this community. And so I hope that we put on the calendar that we talk about it. Maybe there's some people out there that want to be on the committee and we put in a pride parade next year at the end of June. Thank you.

Thank you for that, Mike. And just to be clear, so there's no misconstrued many of your comments. It's not in lieu. You're, you're, proposal for a parade is not in lieu of the flags.

No, I want to see the...

I said you might include...

I said you might include other flags like Lizelle mentioned and Todd mentioned.

Her name's Liesel.

Liesel. And... And... But... And, of course, the pride flags. But I'm saying, and I actually kind of thought I'd get a better, you know, more enthusiasm over it. Nobody here wants to see a pride parade. I think a pride parade would bring the people together and we could celebrate it. Don't have to go to San Francisco necessarily. We can have our own parade right here. Thank you.

All right. Okay. I have a few comments. Frank, did you want to say anything?

yes i could have for me and you can finish it up you know historically um fairfax has welcomed gay lesbian and trans people this is nothing new around here at all um many of our business owners in the 60s and the 70s and the 80s would have loved to have had the flags, the rainbow flags flying during the month of June. Nobody thought of it back in the 60s around here, 70s or 80s. Fairfax parents lost a lot of children during the AIDS epidemic. So we've been touched by the whole community. And so... I love to see the flags go up every year during the festival. We used to have old festival flags. They were kind of, I don't know, kind of silly flags. They were various colors and stuff. But when the rainbow flags went up during the festival, it was bright and happy and really put Fairfax out there. So I just want to say that. Let the mayor finish it up.

Thank you. I really appreciate everyone who spoke and who wrote in. And Lori, what you did with those flags is such an extraordinary act of love of community. So incredibly inspiring to me. and when you drive through town in the morning and you see the, I mean, the, the quality of the flags are so high. I mean, the, the, the light that comes through is just so beautiful. And, um, for me, um, the, the flag symbolizes so much, um, the struggles, the fight, And the queer joy, which there's just nothing better. I'm very proud to be the mother of two children who identify as gay and non-binary. And I've learned as their mother, I've learned so much from about inclusivity. And I don't really think the work of inclusivity is ever done. And I'm just so proud to live here and see those flags. And as I said, it represents so much, so much vibrancy, so much joy and the history of the struggle. And we're not going back. Those flags will always fly. And I guess I just want to thank the community for stepping forward. It's really important that you stay engaged and we hope you'll stay engaged on matters that are this important. So thank you so much. We're going to move on. Yeah, we can take a break. That's a great idea. Five minute break.

I know.

I'm just, hey, can we get some council members back on the dais, please? Otherwise, we're going to start taking action and move this thing along.

Well, there's three of us here. I'd like to make a motion to waive the 10 o'clock rule.

All in favor?

I'm going to second that. I'm seconding that.

Okay. All in favor? All in favor? I'm not kidding. I'm going home at 10.

Okay. So can we do all in favor? Frank made a motion to waive the 10 o'clock rule.

Okay. We have one more regular agenda item, which is number six. And then we have consent. And I am... Let's get started. I have a big day tomorrow. Frank, you might need to take over this meeting at a certain point, just so you know.

Did you have any...

Okay. Item number... Six, this is a donation for Sky Ranch Knoll Fairfax in the Bald Hill Preserve. We are considering a request from the Fairfax Open Space Committee for the council to authorize a donation of $75,000 to Marin Open Space Trust for their acquisition of Sky Ranch Knoll in Fairfax and adopt a resolution making findings as appropriate.

Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to note this fits within the town's current budget. And you said everything that I was about to say. So I'm going to turn it over to Council Member Kohler.

Yeah, thank you. So a couple of things. I just want to point out that I don't know what I was thinking, but I made a little bit of an error. The total donation is $75,000, which is clear. But when I wrote the fiscal impact as well as the resolution, I made a mistake. It's supposed to be $50,000 from the town's Measure A open space and parks funds. Those are county monies we get. and then $25,000 from the undesignated balance funds that are in Fund 73 open space. So that adds up to $75,000. Just to make this quick, because we need to move on. So the Bald Hill Preserve is an amazing open space preserve that's largely in San Anselmo, but some in Ross and some in Fairfax. There's a piece of property that has been wanted for many years. It used to be owned by an NFL player. And... many years people have been trying to acquire it to finish the bald hill preserve and it was purchased by some folks ultimately it became available And Marin Open Space Trust has been able to negotiate a below market price for the property. I want to say that the sand in this property is wholly in Fairfax. It will complete the ball tail preserve, but it's all in Fairfax. We're not being asked to own it. It will become a big part of the ball tail preserve. and so we won't have to maintain it or do any other restoration work. San Anselmo Open Space Committee has already dedicated $800,000 towards the purchase. They were given a bequest from somebody who passed away, and... uh jonathan braun who's the co-chair of the san anselmo open space committee was the committee were welcomed the idea of spending 800 000 on this property so we have a very small piece of the puzzle here and fosk has made a recommendation that we donate 75 000 And this is within the budget. So right now, within our budget, under the Measure A work plan, we have $68,000 towards open space acquisition. I want to remind folks those are county funds. And so we want to take $50,000 from that fund. And then in the open space budget... Fund 73, there is about $51,000 in what's called the undesignated funds that can be used for acquisition. So the idea is to take $25,000 from that amount. And just so you know where those undesignated funds come from, they come from FOSC raising money through their swag, some of which Jeff Bolt showed, some of their fundraisers, those kinds of things. So this one is an easy one. And the idea that most has, it should be taken in by the county to the Bald Hill Preserve. They're working out some of those details, but we don't have to own it. We don't have to maintain it. And what we've been pigeonholing money in our measure, a parks fund is for open space acquisition, as well as some of the other worthy causes. So with that, anybody have any questions on the council dais?

I've had my questions taken care of in advance.

You want to comment? No. Let's just take out the comments.

I think we have Michael Reeves here from the Open Space Committee. Thank you, Michael. You can turn on the button. Just want to mention that Susan Pascal-Borin, who is the chair, unfortunately caught a bug. And so she's not able to come tonight. But Michael, welcome. Thank you for joining us.

Oh, thank you very much, Council Member Kohler. Michael Reeves, member of the Fairfax Open Space Committee, and I'm delighted to be here. I'll keep it brief. The virtues of that property and conserving it are very well detailed in the material that was presented and what Council Member Kohler has indicated. As a committee, we are excited to be a funding partner in this acquisition opportunity, and we want to, the committee would like to thank the town officials and the Measure A committee members for agreeing to forward a recommendation to commit a considerable chunk of that Proposition A money towards this acquisition, as well as the funds that are available through the committee's fund balance as well. So thank you for that. Also, of course, want to give appreciation to the Marin Open Space Trust and their efforts to acquire this property. And Council Member Kohler, as you were giving some sense of the background of this, Land acquisition opportunities often have a long history to them. It takes sometimes many years or even longer for those opportunities to come to fruition. And what it usually takes is someone or some group of people to keep their eye on the ball and to keep tabs on the property and the ins and outs and the vicissitudes of ownership and what goes on there. And just keep your eye on that so when the opportunity does arise, you're ready to act. And most has done a... Fantastic job with that. In particular, I'll call out Jonathan Braun, who has always had his eye on that ball, on that prize. And so we're here tonight with an opportunity to support that effort. So thank you.

Thank you. Appreciate that very much.

Was it the property owned by Jamie Williams?

It was.

Oh.

Any other folks in the room or online wish to speak?

Staying with some of the related other things that were spoken about earlier tonight. I've heard many stories that Jamie Williams as a black man was discriminated against here in Fairfax and had a really hard time building what was meant to be his dream house. that lots of people came up and spoke against him. And what you didn't give me time for earlier was that this is African American Music Month and Caribbean American Heritage Month.

All right, let's keep it to the topic of the open space acquisition. Thank you.

That's the point.

Thank you. Any folks online?

Yeah, Jonathan. We have Jonathan online. Jonathan, you are unmuted. You may now unmute yourself.

Yeah, good evening, everybody. This is Jonathan Braun. And as was mentioned, I'm the co-chair of the Santa Soma Open Space Committee and vice chair of Marin Open Space Trust. And, you know, I think everything's been covered very well by the staff report and the comments previously. I would just add that the vision for the green belt on Bald Hill and on the Bald Hill Ridge originated in the 1980s with the Santa Soma Open Space Committee open space plan for San Anselmo. And here it is over 40 years later. And now we have the chance to complete the final puzzle piece. The five other previous acquisitions, every one of them was unique and had their own challenges and they all have a big backstory. But we're really excited and hopeful that we'll be able to complete this final purchase and complete the vision for the Greenbelt on the Bald Hill Ridge. And we're very appreciative to Fairfax for your support and the work of the Open Space Committee. We've now established quite a legacy of cooperation between our committees in San Anselmo and most in Fairfax. So in advance of your vote, I thank you for your support in the hopes that you will support the resolution and help us complete the The balls are preserved. Thank you.

There are no more speakers on Zoom.

Okay, we'll close the public comment. Thank you, Jonathan.

I have a question for Jonathan.

Go ahead.

I'm very interested in this. So back in around, I don't know, 2002 or so, I was on the council and Jamie Williams was the gentleman that owned the property. Am I mistaken? Is that right, Jonathan? Do you know?

That's correct. That's correct.

And I remember that you can only access it from San Anselmo. And this room was filled back in the day before Zoom calls. And one person after another came up objecting to Jamie Williams living there. And people were saying such things like, I'm going to have to lock my car up. Because Jamie Williams' friends are people he's associated with. So we literally drove a wonderful black family out of Fairfax because of that property. He wanted to buy the property. Joe Montana owned it previously. And he sold it to Jamie Williams, his tight end. And long story short, I got to know Jamie just a little bit. and his wife just a little bit. She spoke at many meetings. And I don't know. It feels like a little bit of a stand. I'm glad we're getting the property, but I know that back story, that everyone's got a back story. It was really a sad moment for Fairfax when we gave the Williams family such a hard time for wanting to live on that property and that's that's what happened and i i did not know that that until i just figured it out right here right now and i think that's kind of a sad statement um glad we got the fan the property but that was a very for me personally that was not a good moment for fairfax thank you what year was that mike i gotta say it's between 2000 it was i think my second term 2000 to 2004. I can't quite remember.

Oh, so like 20 years ago? Not that long ago.

Well, I'm just telling you when it was. Wow. It could have been the first term. I don't know. I think it was the second term in 2000. And this place was packed. I mean, meeting after meeting after meeting. And they kept denying him. Oh, you can't put your property here. You can't do this. And he just said, you know what? I'm going... I think... I'm not sure if he really went back to Texas, but he just said... This town doesn't want our family here. So we left. I was ashamed of our town at the time.

All right. Interesting history. Frank, you have a comment?

Quickly. Sure. I was on the council when it was defeated. I think it might have been a split vote. But the issue was a development proposed for a Fairfax property with no legal access from Fairfax. And the access was coming from San Anselmo. And so that meant police, fire, et cetera, responding to an emergency at that address, if it was developed, would have to go into San Anselmo, go up Cedar, go up the hill, take a long time to get there. And it was turned down by Fairfax Town Council. After that, I wrote an ordinance, my author of the ordinance, that said if, in fact, you're going to develop a piece of property in Fairfax, you need direct vehicle access from the town of Fairfax. If you can't leave Fairfax, go to another community, and then come back into Fairfax, that development has to have legal access from the town of Fairfax. It was written. I've got a copy of the ordinance at home, and it's since disappeared from the town code, so I don't know where it went. But if we go back to the minutes from back in those days, we can find out what happened to it. Anyway, thank you. So at least now it's going to be in the open space of perpetuity, and the owners are getting a fair price for it, so thank you.

And so with that, I want to thank everyone. Just to also mention there's still fundraising going on, and I believe Christine put a link from our open space page to most, which is what we do with the wall property, so we wouldn't have to transfer funds if people donate specifically for that. So I want to make a motion, but I want to make sure we make the correction to approve... the resolution of the town council of the town of Fairfax to donate $75,000 to the Marin Open Space Trust, most solely for the acquisition of Sky Ranch Knoll in Fairfax, with a change to the second-to-the-last whereas, which would say the town will contribute a total of $75,000 and it would say 50 000 to be taken from the town's measure a open space and parks funds right now it says 45 fund 23 etc so just making that one change and then it goes on to say in 25 000 from the undesignated balance funds okay i'll second that we have a motion from council member kohler and a second from council member blasch council member blasch

Yes. Council Member Ghirangeli. Yes. Council Member Kohler.

Yes.

Thank you.

Vice Mayor Ager. Aye. Mayor Hellman.

Yes.

Motion passes. Thank you.

Very exciting. Thank you for staying this late and for your comment. Thank you, Jonathan. Congratulations.

Where's my agenda?

Okay. I know. We're on consent. The council can approve all items in one action. Alternatively, any council or staff member can remove items for separate discussion and voting. Public comments or consent items are taken collectively, not item by item. During this period, speakers may address any item on the consent calendar with each speaker allotted two minutes. I presume you're going to want to pull something.

Yes, I would like to, yeah. And it's not the financial statement.

Okay, what do you...

It would be item F. That's the award of the independent auditing services for fiscal year. And I think, you know, we had talked about changing auditors.

Just for now, just say what you want to pull. That's all I want to know.

Then number... G, Fire Station 21, Red Cloud. That's a $31,000. And I, Facilities Condition Assessment. And M, Piper Lane Neighbors. four items.

Okay. I would actually like to continue the facilities condition assessment. I think that's, if you're going to pull it, it's going to be too long. I am not staying very much longer. No.

Okay.

As it is. Okay.

Yeah. Let's get, can we continue that one?

Is that okay to continue the, the facilities condition? Do you need a motion for that? Yes. Yes, please.

I'll make a motion to continue the facilities condition assessment until the July meeting.

Second.

We have a motion from Councilmember Kohler and a second from Vice Mayor Egger to continue item 8. I, the Facilities Conditions Assessment. Council Member Blash? Yes. Council Member Gierengelli? Yes. Council Member Kohler? Yes. Vice Mayor Ager?

Aye.

Mayor Hellman? Yes.

Okay. Does anyone else want to pull anything? We have F, G, and M being pulled. No. Mike? No? No. Okay. um i am gonna ask that we do uh the fire station one first anyone can we can i move things out of sequence janet without okay so i'm gonna put g first let's talk about the red cloud um item g then we'll do f and then we'll do m and will you be okay if i leave do we take the meeting on after Item F. Will you manage the meeting if I leave after item G? Yes. Okay.

Great. Do you want to take public comment on the rest of the consent calendar and vote on it? Not right now.

Okay. Okay. Let's start with item G, Fire Station 21, Red Cloud. This is an adopted resolution. Hello. Hello. Adopt a resolution ratifying an agreement with Red Cloud approving and authorizing the town manager to execute a First Amendment to the agreement with Red Cloud for a fire station alerting system and pay a total agreement amount not to exceed $33,624.76. This resolution is not expanding the program.

total project cost which remains estimated at 1.6 million dollars um i don't see kristin here heather you're going to take this um yes mayor kristin is available on zoom okay and um so while christine pulls kristin up oh you've got her okay i'll just let her um go ahead thank you kristin i know it's late

Oh, okay. Let's ask questions so you don't have to give a presentation. Frank, what is your question?

I'm asking, did it go to bid? It's a $31,000 project, and I don't remember talking about Red Cloud in a previous meeting.

The Red Cloud contract, it didn't go to bid. This is for the alerting system in the fire station. So someone calls 911, the fire department gets alerted. This is the speakers and the lights inside the building that go off. So the firefighters know they need to leave. It's a very specialized contractor that So it's a sole source because it's specialized work and it all works in conjunction with the fire department's radio system.

Mayor, if I may add, this is the existing contractor that's in the fire station now and also in the temporary quarters. And so this is to... deal with the station when they go back. So the first $12,000, which was under my spending authority was to equip the temporary quarters. And this additional 21,000 is to address the station when they move back. And all of that is under the $50,000 estimate that we got from the cost estimator when we built the $1.6 million estimate total.

So the only reason this is before us is because of your authorization level of spending. There is no exceeding budget. It's not coming in over what we thought. It's only on the agenda tonight because you only have spending authority of $25,000.

That's absolutely correct. And as we've seen with other parts of this project, we anticipate that we'll be coming back to the council on several occasions to progress the project because it's a larger project and the council has made a decision to keep the town manager spending authority considerably lower than other jurisdictions it's the lowest in the county yes um so you get that visibility but on the flip side you have to hear you know all of the items and your time is very limited and valuable does anyone else need clarification before we take public comment okay opening public comment on this closing public comment on the oh is there anyone zoom

Okay, closing public comment on this. Okay, I'll entertain a motion.

I'll make a motion to adopt the resolution ratifying the agreement with Red Cloud, approving and authorizing the town manager to execute a First Amendment to the agreement with Red Cloud. Stop breathing on me for the fire station alerting. No, alerting system and pay a total agreement amount not to exceed $33,624.76. The resolution is not expanding the total project cost, which remains estimated at $1.6 million.

I'll second. We have a motion from Council Member Kohler and a second from Council Member Blasch. Council Member Blasch? Yes. Council Member Ghirangeli?

Yeah.

Council Member Kohler? Yes. Vice Mayor Agar? Mayor Hellman?

Yes. And with that, I am going to depart and

my colleague vice no we are not done vice mayor egger is going to take it from here okay quickly we'll uh there's one more item here um the piper lay neighbors and this is just some a common a recognition uh item i we continued that's the facilities

You wanted that one.

Did you want to speak regarding the auditor? Right. We didn't do the audit yet.

Yeah, but why don't we do the Piper Lane neighbors since you started it? Okay. Let's do that fast.

Let's get that one out of the way. So we're going to jump down to item M, Piper Lane neighbors. And it's a proclamation recognizing neighbors for the purchase of the Piper Lane parcel that happens to connect to the wall property. And The group of neighbors put the funds together and purchased the property. And I guess they thought maybe Fairfax would take ownership. So have we actually actually taken a vote on whether or not we're going to take ownership or or I'm not sure where it stands? Is it is it?

so western what's western something alliance has um they own the property and they've deed restricted it and we're not interested in taking the property because of the condition of the property It has potential landslides on it. Oh, okay.

Who's going to own it?

So Western Regional Alliance owns it. Oh. And that's what's in the resolution. And they have deed restricted the property. So we're good.

Okay. I just thought we should commend the neighbors for coming together and gathering with us.

That's exactly what it is. Yeah. I mean, it's great. They did a great job.

Okay. Okay. Thank you.

you want to open its public comment oh let's see if there is any public comment on it uh good evening town council members uh first of all i'd like to thank the town council for putting piper lane preserve proclamation on the consent calendar i think it's great news and it's another win for fairfax The parcel is a very steep northern facing hillside, directly abuts the wall property, like Frank said, serves as a wildlife corridor into the wild property, and even the northern spotted owl has been recorded there. The parcel's 45 to 60 degree slope angle is very steep and has difficult accessibility, and those two factors have uniquely protected it this entire time. This is a great example of Fairfax citizens banded together to save a parcel in its current state with a very time-limited opportunity and there was some development pressure. Kristen and Paul Wilson rallied local Piper Lane homeowners to explain the finances of acquiring the parcel and also the tax advantages of transferring it to a non-profit conservancy, in this case it was the Western Alliance for Nature. More importantly, it also demonstrates that there are situations where towns for a variety of reasons cannot acquire a parcel that should be protected, but its citizens can band together to purchase that parcel and transfer it to a 501c3 so it can be conserved in perpetuity. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

With that, I'd make a motion to approve the proclamation and again thank the Piper Lane neighbors as well as Western Alliance for Nature.

Second. Kolar Garangeli. Move. Second. Can we say all those in favor signify by saying aye? Sure. Aye. Aye. Aye. Okay. And one absent. Thank you.

One birthday party.

Next, we're going to talk quickly about the awarding the contract for independent auditing. We had had Mazin Associates now for 11 years, and we talked about moving on and finding another auditor. And so staff has worked up put out RFP and came up with three alternatives. Mays, one from Arizona, I can't remember the name, and then this, what are they?

Badawi, I believe is what it's called. Badawi.

Do you want to give a quick little statement on it? We're going to do it quickly.

Sure, I'll give it a try. So you're right, the council had decided that they wanted staff to put out an RFP for potentially switching auditors. We put out the RFP on our website. We sent it to various auditing firms. Michael, as the finance director, answered questions from firms before they proposed. And then we met as the finance committee and reviewed the three proposals that did come in. Typically, the finance committee includes the mayor, vice mayor, the finance director, treasurer, town manager, and deputy clerk. And so it just so happened that the mayor and vice mayor were both unable to attend any of the days that were available. And we are on a deadline because we'd like to keep the audit schedule. And so we went ahead and met with their permission and discussed all three proposals. The lowest proposal was from the third firm, which you mentioned. They are almost exclusively in. In Arizona, they do have a few California clients who are more special purpose, not a full service city. So we did not consider that a real match for the town. And then this firm, Bedali, was the second lowest. And then Mays and Associates that we have familiarity with. And so the committee recommended Badawi and we checked references, both with finance directors and city managers, and they got excellent recommendations. So we feel comfortable recommending that you authorize me to execute a contract so that they can get started this month and we can still be on our audit schedule.

Great, yes. I noticed the third firm, they do mostly school districts and colleges and universities, not a lot of cities.

No, and I think we use Badawi and Associates for LAFCO, and so I think it's a good move, and thank you.

Are you going to make a motion?

Yeah, so I would just say I think it's a good move. We saved some money.

Yeah, we'll get you up here.

So do your public comment.

Hi, Todd Greenberg. Given that this council has noted prior financial statement errors, number of them, and errors in the prior audit, I find it amazing that a decision would be made basically with one alternative that's being represented as viable for a new auditor. And I'm curious... why there isn't a more rigorous and public discussion of the merits, why there isn't a staff report of the merits of the different auditors that are being proposed. And I'm really curious why the College of Marins auditor wasn't solicited to take a look here because as I understand it, they do a pretty darn good job and they're working in the area. There ought to be five to 10 different auditing proposals and the public ought to get a chance to review them because the town's own finance director has admitted that we've had operating deficits and we've been drawing down our reserves and he's admitted that there's errors. I think there ought to be more proposals and the public should get to address this as a separate agenda item when there's more than one person in the room. I'd ask you to expedite this and have staff put in a bigger effort and solicit more proposals and have it as a public agenda item. Thank you.

So there's no one online so I make a motion to that we authorize the town manager to execute a professional services agreement with the dowry and associates certified public counts for independent auditing services for fiscal years ending June 30th 2026 through June 30th 2030 with 2 optional one-year extensions at the town manager's discretion.

Okay, I'll second it. We have a motion from Council Member Kohler and a second from Council Member Blash. Council Member Blash? Yes. Council Member Garangeli?

No.

Council Member Kohler? Yes. Vice Mayor Egger? No.

I just want to make a quick statement. We asked staff to do an RFP and get us some options, and that's been done. Other than the town council deciding to do the RFP ourselves, I think that we've done what we need to do. One thing I would hope that we're going to have the auditor come to a meeting and actually make the audit presentation right here in person rather than a Zoom meeting where It's kind of hard to ask a question,

They actually have come in person to the RVPA meeting. So I wonder if that's possible. But yeah, they have for us anyway.

Well, back in the day, we always had the auditor show up at the meeting and make the presentation.

Can we move on to consent?

Yes. The next person. I just want to. Hi.

Hi. Hi, Mike. Thank you.

I think we've now, we don't have anything else pulled, right? So can we just.

No. Back to the consent calendar. Any comments on the consent calendar? I'm sorry. The balance? Yes. Please, come on.

Earlier this evening, I was disenfranchised and I was presented, I was prevented from giving A presentation that I worked on for quite some time and not all the presentation was given to the public in the meeting record until I brought in an issue that demanded a cure and correct. And then it was added to the meeting record. in the comments section, which nobody would read. I got skewered this evening and it related to item K LGBTQ plus pride month. There are all kinds of other June celebrations that are not being honored. It's PTSD awareness month. It's men's health month. It's All kinds of other celebrations.

We're on a consent calendar.

K is LGBTQ plus pride month. There's a proclamation here. I'm in favor of the proclamation, but I'd ask you... You're right. I would ask you if you're going to give a proclamation for one particular group and there are universally recognized other groups that also celebrate... in June that you do so equally, because otherwise you're treating all kinds of groups unfairly in Fairfax. Thank you.

Thank you.

So I'll make a motion to approve the rest of the consent calendar, which is A, B, C, D, E. And H, stop. And J, K, and is that an L? K, L. That's it.

Is there a second?

I'll second it.

Blasch?

We have a motion from Council Member Kohler and a second from Council Member Blasch. Council Member Blasch? Yes. Council Member Garangeli? Yes. Council Member Kohler?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Egger?

Aye.

Ready to adjourn.

It says council reports and comments. I think we've seen the reports are in here. So we're under adjournment to recognize John Cook and Judge Faye Diopal who have passed. Oh, and Manny Beretta. That funeral was yesterday.

And John Cook's Saturday at 10 o'clock at the Community Church. Jennifer Rink's husband.

Thank you.