March 14, 2014 | City of Belmont | City Manager’s

Weekly Contents

 Executive Summary  Opening and Unveiling of Update “Monument Park”  A Clear View for Belmont-Old County Rd Utilities Undergrounding District  Infrastructure Update  Public Works Weekly Maintenance Highlights  Liter on Lyall? Other Agency Reports

• Peninsula Corridor Contact us: Electrification

. State of the City – Mayor PW Facebook P&R Facebook PW Twitter Lieberman . Transportation Authority PD Twitter Nextdoor Seeks Community Volunteers T: 650-595-7408 E: [email protected] . “Get Healthy”-Bi-Annual Meeting

Click to receive Weekly Updates . Earth Day in the Park – April 19th

. Free Homeowner Workshop – Energy Upgrade . Transportation Authority Progress Report . Caltrain Notices In Every Issue Upcoming Events  Twin Pines Center Calendar March 18 th Planning Commission Meeting (Agenda) March 18th City Council Special Meeting (Agenda)  Belmont Public Library Calendar March 19th State of the City (see flyer below) March 25th City Council Meeting April 19th Earth Day in the Park (see flyer below)

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014 Executive Summary

Application Process for Filling City Council Vacancy At noon today the application period for the vacated Council seat closed. The City Council will now take steps to consider the process of ultimately appointing someone to the City Council term which runs until November 2015. The twelve applicants are as follows:

Thomas Sailers Michael Verdone David Bauer Michael Malekos Amanda Greco Joyce Montgomery Tom McCune Gladwyn d’Souza Charles Williams Lee Rosenduft Cathy Wright Gina Latimerlo

Here is a link to the Special Meeting agenda for Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 5:00 p.m. in Suite 360 of City Hall. The City Council will meet to discuss the next steps in the process. This meeting is open to the public but will not be televised.

Belmont Police Caution of an IRS Telephone Scam Belmont Police want to caution residents of an Internal Revenue Service telephone scam. A Recently a Belmont resident received a phone call from an individual who identified himself as calling from the IRS. He told her that she owed the IRS money and only had a limited time to pay or would be arrested. He instructed the victim to go to a store and purchase $3,000 worth of gift cards and call back with the card numbers. The victim did as she was instructed, but then became worried and called Belmont Police.

If you receive calls unexpectedly from anyone claiming to be from the IRS and threatening arrest, or other action including deportation or license revocation if you don't pay immediately, that is an indication that is not from the IRS. IRS agents do not ask taxpayers for confidential PIN numbers, passwords or access information to credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Anyone who owes taxes or has a payment issue should call the IRS directly at (800) 829-1040. If you feel you have been the victim of this or any other scam, contact Belmont Police at 650-595-7400.

Employment Opportunities

With the City of Belmont Parks and Recreation Department Recruitments are underway for Senior Recreation Leader, Senior Lifeguard and Lifeguard. Please visit CalOpps or contact Human Resources at (650) 595-7452 for more information.

The Parks and Recreation is also accepting applications for a Van Driver please contact the Human Resources Department for more information.

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014 Opening Day and Unveiling of “Monument Park” On Saturday, March 8th Belmont Redwood Shores Little League Association celebrated Opening Day of the 2014 youth baseball season. Players, parents and supporters gathered at the Marina Field to cheer on the kids as they paraded onto the field.

The League announced Belmont’s new “Monument Park” built by Parks and Recreation staff which is located adjacent to the field. Monument Park consists of two flag poles and a Monument in the center which displays the names of the players on last year’s historic All-Star team. The flag poles now fly the banners won by this squad.

Parks and Recreation staff also installed bicycle racks at the Sports Complex the week prior to the ceremony and it didn’t take long for them be used.

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014 A Clear View For Belmont – Old County Road Utilities Undergrounding District

On Tuesday March 11, 2014, the City Council approved the Third Amendment to the Old County Road Utilities Undergrounding District boundary. The parcels located within the boundary shown in the report are proposed to be included in an underground utility district with the purpose of converting electrical, phone, and cable services to an underground trench and removing the existing joint poles and overhead electrical lines. Through a program called “Rule 20A,” the California Public Utilities Commission requires Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to annually set aside funds for financing the undergrounding of overhead distribution facilities located on public streets and roads. The purpose of undergrounding the utilities is to improve aesthetics and remove exposure of the utilities to the uncertainty of weather or vehicle collisions. The Old County Road Utility Undergrounding Project is one of the steps towards creating a more aesthetic downtown village district by relocating existing overhead electrical and communication lines to an underground trench.

The project will consist of digging a trench within the travel lanes through the extent of the project limits and having the respective overhead utility companies re- route the utilities into the trench. Likewise, the individual service lines will also be installed underground, extending from the main trench to the individual properties within the District Boundary. It is the legal responsibility of the property owner to underground from the street to their house or business. However, the utility companies will perform this work at no cost to the property owner as long as the property owner signs an agreement to allow utility companies on to their property. Otherwise, property owners are required to perform this work at their own cost. Prior to PG&E performing this work, a “Permission to Enter Form” must be signed by the property owner. At the end of the project, the corresponding utility poles will then be removed, improving the appearance of the commercial/residential area of downtown along the Old County Road Corridor. Some parcels within the proposed District Boundary (such as at an apartment complex or a more recent subdivision) may already receive service from an underground source. There will be no change to these individual service lines.

There are four main phases of construction: 1. Trenching involves digging a trench within the travel lanes through the extent of the project limits and in each individual property to place conduits that will eventually house the new underground lines. Panel conversion requires the program contractor to prepare each electric meter panel to accept the new underground service. 2. Cabling and placement of equipment involves running utility lines through the newly placed underground conduits. Once cabling is complete, the new underground system will be energized for use. 3. Cutover involves taking residents off the old overhead system and converting them to the new underground system. 4. Removal involves taking down the overhead lines and utility poles. This portion of work happens at the end of construction.

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014 The amendment of the boundary map will now allow PG&E to complete their final design and right-of- way clearance. The construction of the project is tentatively scheduled to begin in the summer of 2015 which will take approximately 18 months to complete. The estimated construction cost is approximately $8 million. To date the credit allocated to the City is $5,177,105 including a negotiated transfer of $1.7 million Rule 20A funds from the City of Foster City to the City of Belmont. In addition, the Rule 20A typically allows borrowing of five years future allocation only. Although the estimated total construction cost exceeds the allocated credit plus the five years borrowing, the project is grandfathered before the 2011 work credit allocation changed. This means PG&E has agreed to complete the project even if the City must borrow out more than five years of future Rule 20A work credits.

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Infrastructure Update In the previous Manager’s Weekly Updates we have reported the start of work by an ad-hoc Council Committee reviewing the state of the City’s infrastructure needs. In the coming weeks we will provide the community with some background on the City’s infrastructure, what we are doing to maintain those infrastructure, and the needs to keep them in best shape possible. This week’s update is about the City’s storm water and water pollution control facilities, which is typically not a visible part of our infrastructure to our citizens, but none the less an important one.

City’s Storm Water and Water Pollution Control Facilities The City of Belmont’s storm water program can essentially be divided into three components: maintenance and operation of storm drainage infrastructure, storm water pollution prevention and Permit compliance, and street sweeping. The 1972 Clean Water Act established the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program to regulate the discharge of point source pollution into US waters. Until 1987, non-point source pollution from storm water runoff was largely unregulated. However, the 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act extended the NPDES permit program to storm water runoff, effectively prohibiting non-storm water discharges to municipal separate storm sewer systems, and implementing controls to reduce storm water pollution to the maximum extent practicable.

The NPDES Permit requires jurisdictions to implement programs and activities to reduce pollutants in storm water and urban runoff. Since the program was established in 1987, storm water regulations under the NPDES permit program have been significantly revised and expanded without any dedicated funding sources. The funding sources for the operations and maintenance of the City's drainage system, and compliance with the Federal and State water quality standards and mandates are primarily from NPDES storm drainage fees (which has not City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014 been adjusted since 1996, due to Proposition 218 provisions), sewer fees as it relates to reduction of storm water inflow and infiltration into our sewer system, and street sweeping through trash fees. The City has no dedicated funding source for storm drainage capital improvement projects.

The City has a total area of 4.6 square miles and four main drainage areas that convey storm water through the City: 1. The primary storm drainage conveyance through the City is Belmont Creek which conveys 60% of the City’s storm runoff. 2. Laurel Creek has a 0.78 square mile drainage area in the northwestern portion of the City and discharges to the City of San Mateo. 3. O’Neill Slough is located east of Highway 101 and is hydraulically connected to San Francisco Bay. 4. Island Park is east of the Highway 101 which drains to a lagoon that connects to Belmont Creek.

The City’s storm infrastructure consists of 28 miles of storm drain pipes and two storm pump stations. There are a number of areas in the City that do not have any storm drain pipes. The existing 28 miles of storm lines are made up of:

1. Corrugated Metal Pipe (CMP) [11,300 feet citywide, 2.1 miles] 2. Reinforced Concrete Pipe (RCP) [132,800 feet citywide, 14.3 miles] 3. High-Density Polyethylene Pipe (HDPE) and Polyvinyl Chloride Pipe (PVC) [61,526 feet citywide, 11.6 miles]

In 2009 the City completed a Storm drainage study which documented the existing City storm drainage system and identified drainage deficiencies. More detailed information can be found in the June 26, 2007 staff report to the City Council at the following link 2007 Sewer Rehabilitation Master Plan And Storm Drain Master Plan

The estimated costs to correct the deficiencies were estimated at $44 million. These costs were updated in late 2013 to an estimated $55.6 million as follows:

1. Repair and replacement of deficient pipe ($29.3million) 2. Installation of new storm pipes, where currently none exist, to help with storm and flooding issues ($20.2 million) 3. Installation of Curb & Gutter Improvements ( $3.3 million) 4. Improvements to Belmont Creek to convey a 100-year flood event ($2.8 million) The storm water forecast increases the City’s infrastructure backlog. Addressing infrastructure issues is one of the City’s highest priorities, but also presents a significant challenge given tight budgetary constraints and valid competing priorities. City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014

Public Works Weekly Maintenance Highlights Sewer Division • Jetted 4,977 feet of sewer main • Inspected and cleaned 11 sewer pump stations • The service truck (205) responded to 9 service calls • Videoed 4,252 feet of sewer main • Videoed 4 sewer lateral • Pulled pump #1 at the Ralston Ranch Pump Station and removed rags from the impellor • Backflow preventer installed at San Juan Pump Station • Completed asset assessment of the 11 sewer pump stations

Storm Division • Inspected and cleaned 2 storm pump stations • Swept 98 curb miles and collected 10.74 tons of debris during regular sweeping. • Twice weekly inspection of Water Dog Lake Trail including the V-ditch, the spillway, the dock, and emptying the trash cans • Monthly piezometer readings at Water Dog Lake Dam • A total of 8 trash cans emptied • Created and closed 450 service request/work orders for storm DIs cleaned • Cleaned and videoed storm drain inlet on Oak Tree Court • Fabricated and installed runoff control device for storm drain inlet on Mountain View

Traffic Operations • Weekly visual preventative maintenance of intersections • Visual inspection of lighted crosswalks • Trimmed vegetation to improve sight distance at 1 location • Fabricated 12 signs • Replaced 8 signs throughout city0 • Repaired 4 street lights • Painted over graffiti at Waterdog Spillway • Replaced yellow traffic signal light on Ralston @ Sixth • Straightened stop sign pole damaged by vehicle accident – Palmer @ Buena Vista • Built “Smart Relay” program for back-up float systems for pumping stations • Change out radio @ Ralston Ranch pumping station • Conduct pumping station assessments at Island Park, Hiller, North Road, San Juan & Naughton

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014 Streets Division • Marked out 22 locations for Underground service alerts • Saw-cut asphalt areas in preparation for re-paving • Dig out and Pave 15 tons of asphalt on Anita, Malcolm, North, Academy and the Corp yard • Disposed of 1 dump load of debris

Litter on Lyall? Say It’s Not So! In an ongoing effort to reduce litter onland, the Public Works Storm Maintenance Staff was hard at work once again, collecting deposited trash tossed out by passerby’s. The targeted area for this cleanup up activity was on Lyall Way between Ralston and Continentals. Crews removed 40 pounds of trash and recyclables on March 6th, collecting bottles, plastic products, convenient/fast food wrappers, and rounding it off with paper and aluminum cans.

Trash makes its way to the creek and storm drains via wind and rain, and will eventually make its way to the bay. If we all “see it, grab it, and bin it”, we can keep Belmont the beautiful town it is.

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014

Transportation Authority Seeks Community Volunteers

March 3, 2014

The San Mateo County Transportation Authority is soliciting applications for its Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC).

A 15-member volunteer group, the CAC acts in an advisory capacity to the Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors, providing valuable input on the projects and programs in the Transportation Expenditure Plan. That plan includes Caltrain improvements, highway and street projects, allocations to cities and the county for local undertakings, paratransit service for people with disabilities, and pedestrian and bike upgrades.

The committee meets the Tuesday before the first Thursday of the month at 4:30 p.m. in San Carlos. Members of the CAC must be residents of San Mateo County.

Interested persons can download an application or apply online at www.smcta.com/cac, or call 650-508-6223 for more information.

The deadline for submitting the application is April 4.

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014

Mark Your Calendars

Get Healthy Bi-Annual Meeting

March 17, 2014 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Silicon Valley Community Foundation 1300 South El Camino Real #100, San Mateo

Come learn how transportation solutions can build healthier, sustainable and more accessible communities. You’ll also hear about the Grand Boulevard Initiative and local development efforts to revitalize El Camino Real corridor from Daly City down to San Jose!

School Garden Recognition Program Event

May 3, 2014 East Palo Alto Charter School 1286 Runnymede St, East Palo Alto

On May 3, join the San Mateo County Food System Alliance and Get Healthy San Mateo County as they recognize school and afterschool programs that use garden as teaching tools. Special guest to be announced.

Latest News, Community Successes & Much More!

Stay connected with all things Get Healthy, 'Like' our Get Healthy Facebook page.

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014

NEWS

Media Contact: Christine Dunn, 650-508-6238

Transportation Authority Releases Progress Report

The San Mateo County Transportation Authority progress report “Making Progress: Transportation Solutions to Meet Tomorrow’s Needs” is now available for review and downloading on the agency’s website: www.smcta.com. The report gives a broad overview of the agency with a look back at the years since the reauthorized measure went into effect in 2009 and a look ahead to future projects and plans.

The reauthorized measure, which will be in force through 2033, includes funds for local street and road improvements, money for highway improvements that tackle the county’s worst traffic bottlenecks, local community shuttles, railroad/street grade separations, ferry service to South San Francisco and Redwood City, and a major infusion of tax dollars for pedestrian and bicycle projects. It also provides much needed operating and capital funds to Caltrain.

There has been a strong focus in the last five years on developing guidelines and best practices, including a five-year Strategic Plan, a Short-Range Highway Plan and the Shuttle Business Practices Guidebook. With this foundation in place, the TA has been able to conduct calls for projects in several program categories, including pedestrian and bicycles, local shuttles, highways and grade separations.

The report also includes a snap-shot of the future, with the TA continuing its vital role in providing critical funds to keep San Mateo County moving. Future projects include updating the Strategic Plan, funding the modernization of Caltrain and reducing traffic congestion on Highway 101.

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About the TA: Created to administer Measure A, San Mateo County’s ½ cent sales tax, the Transportation Authority provides funding for transportation and infrastructure improvement projects. In 2004, more than 75 percent of San Mateo County residents voted to reauthorize Measure A for an additional 25 years.

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014

NOTICE

Construction, Installation and Maintenance: March 15 to March 22, 2014

Construction

San Bruno Grade Separation Project

Day work will be performed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. This week, crews will continue work at the San Mateo and San Bruno bridges, ramps, stairwells, walls and elevators. Crews will also continue work at Posy Park.

Night work will occur this week from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. at the new elevated Caltrain transit station site that is being constructed between San Bruno and San Mateo avenues. Work includes trenching and installing drainage pipes.

The $155 million project will elevate the Caltrain tracks above three existing at-grade street crossings at San Bruno, San Mateo and Angus avenues. A new elevated Caltrain station between San Bruno and San Mateo avenues will replace the station at Sylvan Avenue. Work on this project will not disrupt Caltrain service.

For more information, please visit www.caltrain.com/sbgs, call the dedicated outreach line at 650.508.7726 or email [email protected].

San Mateo Bridges Replacement Project

Day work will be performed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. This week, crews will continue advanced site clearance work to remove trees, bushes and shrubs in preparation for construction on the San Mateo Bridges Replacement Project.

The $30 million project will replace the four aging rail bridges at Tilton, Monte Diablo, Santa Inez and Poplar avenues in San Mateo’s North Central Neighborhood. The bridges, which are more than 100 years old, need to be replaced to meet current state and federal seismic safety standards. Construction on the project is expected to begin later this summer and will last approximately two years.

For more information, please visit www.caltrain.com/smbridges, call the dedicated outreach line at 650.508.7726 or email [email protected].

Installation

Communications Based Overlay Signal System (CBOSS) Positive Train Control (PTC) Project

The CBOSS PTC Project is an advanced signal system that will equip the corridor and the trains with federally-mandated safety technology and will increase system capacity to help accommodate future ridership demand.

The project will monitor and, if necessary, control train movement in the event of human error. This will increase safety by:

• Eliminating the risk of train-to-train collisions.

• Reducing risk of potential derailments by enforcing speed limits. City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014 • Providing additional safety for railroad workers on the tracks.

• Improving grade crossing performance to reduce gate downtime and improve local traffic circulation.

The CBOSS PTC Project is also a key component of the Caltrain Modernization Program, which will electrify the Caltrain Corridor by 2019. An electrified Caltrain will be cleaner, quieter, and will upgrade the system to provide faster and/or more frequent service to more stations and more riders.

To implement the project, at various locations, Caltrain will be identifying utilities, digging a small trench and/or boring close to the tracks to install a fiber optic cable. In order to maintain daytime train service, Caltrain will be performing some of this work at night in the following cities:

Redwood City, Unincorporated San Mateo County, Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose Day work will occur March 17-21 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. to identify utility lines and pull inner-duct through existing conduit in the ground. Night work will occur March 16-20 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Crews will be boring and/ or digging a small trench to install conduit for a fiber optic cable. Neighbors may experience some minor installation noise during this time and lights will be used in the area to help provide visibility. Crews will work as quietly as possible.

For more information, please call the dedicated outreach line at 650.508.6499; visit the website at www.caltrain.com/CBOSSPTC or email [email protected].

Maintenance

Caltrain will perform routine maintenance at several locations next week. To avoid disruptions to service, the work will mainly take place Saturday through Friday from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. There will be some construction noise but crews will work as quietly as possible. For more information about this type of work, click here.

San Francisco Sunday, March 16, crews will weld and grind rail between the 4th and King streets rail yard and the 22nd Street station.

San Francisco to San Jose Saturday, March 15, to Friday, March 21, crews will power wash and perform janitorial work at Caltrain stations between the San Francisco and Tamien stations.

San Mateo Saturday, March 15, and Sunday, March 16, crews will close the grade crossing at 25th Avenue and Delaware Street to perform minor maintenance work on both railroad tracks.

Palo Alto to Sunnyvale Monday, March 17, to Thursday, March 20, crews will replace ties between the Palo Alto and Sunnyvale stations.

Sunnyvale Monday, March 17, to Friday, March 21, crews will remove and install new fencing along the center tracks at the Sunnyvale station.

Santa Clara to San Jose Sunday, March 16, crews will resurface rail between the Santa Clara and Tamien stations.

San Jose Sunday, March 16, crews will replace ties between the Diridon and Tamien stations. Monday, March 17, to Thursday, March 20, crews will weld and grind rail at the Diridon station. Monday, March 17, to Thursday, March 20, crews will resurface rail between the Diridon and Capitol stations.

### City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014 Twin Pines Community Center Calendar of Events

City Manager’s Weekly Update March 14, 2014 Belmont Public Library Calendar of Events