City Council Weekly Digest TO: MENLO PARK CITY COUNCIL Friday FROM: Alex D. McIntyre, City Manager April 11, 2014 ITEMS INCLUDED: ATTACHMENTS: Summer Activity Guide Information to be Released Washington Post article April 21st mentioning Menlo Park’s “Nutty the Squirrel” Menlo Park Police Department Appoints New K-9 Handler SF Bay Restoration Authority Brochure and Supporters List $565,000 Approved for Menlo Park Projects under Measure A Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Letter to C/CAG re: Circulation Element 4/17 Workshop on FAA Proposed Changes to NorCal Compliance with Complete Airspace and Draft Environmental Assessment Report Streets Act of 2008 4/23 Meeting Regarding Changes to the National Flood SF Creek JPA Flood insurance Insurance Program (NFIP) meeting flyer 4/23 Public Hearing for West Bay Sanitary District’s Menlo Park Construction Proposed Sewer Service Fee Increase News Update 04/11/2014 Update on Menlo Park’s OBAG/Complete Streets City Council Only: Eligibility Invitation to 4/24 Pacific Union Office Opening Potential Solar on Five City Buildings and Electric Invitation to 4/24 Redwood Vehicle Charging Stations Coming Soon! City Health Center Event Invitation to 4/30 Youth Potential Regional Ballot Measure to Fund Bay Community Service Annual Restoration Luncheon Invitation to 5/7 HEART C/CAG Public Opinion Mail Survey for Potential Storm Opening Doors Event Water Funding Initiative Council Digest – April 11, 2014 Summer Activity Guide Information to be Released April 21st The much anticipated Summer Activity Guide will be mailed to residents and available to the public starting on Monday, April 21st. Registration will open for Menlo Park residents on Monday, April 28th and for non- residents on Monday, May 5th. Menlo Park Police Department Appoints New K-9 Handler Please join us in congratulating Officer Allen Swanson, an 8-Year veteran of the Menlo Park Police Department, upon his selection to be the latest MPPD K-9 handler! Officer Swanson has been a dedicated K-9 unit assistant since joining the department in 2006, helping with locating and securing K-9 training sites and serving as a training decoy – a critical role in a working dog’s ongoing certification. His new partner, Nerro Ajaxova Uranie (Nerro for short), is an 11 month old German Shepherd who arrived from the Czech Republic just last month. After a K-9 is selected and paired with a handler, together they complete a rigorous 4-week training program. Both the K-9 and its handler train together for a minimum of 16 hours per month for each discipline (patrol, narcotics, etc), as assigned. Jason Chang of CS Bio Company Inc., a valuable community partner and supporter of the Menlo Park Police K-9 unit, has previously provided use of his building as a K-9 training site. Upon hearing of the need for a new dog following the January 2014 retirement of MPPD’s K-9 Gert, he immediately stepped up to cover the costs for Nerro. The average price for a police K-9 is $8,500, with K-9 Handler School adding $3,000. Officer Swanson and Nerro began K-9 Handler School on March 24, 2014. Both are eager to complete their training, get POST-certified, and then hit the streets later this month. Congratulations Officer Swanson and Nerro!!! $565,000 Approved for Menlo Park Projects under Measure A Bicycle and Pedestrian Program The San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA) Board of Directors approved approximately $565,000 in funding for the two projects submitted by the City of Menlo Park under the Measure A “Bicycle and Pedestrian Program” for FY2014-15. These projects included: (1) the Haven Avenue Bicycle and Pedestrian Streetscape Project ($170,000) and (2) the Menlo Park-East Palo Alto Connectivity Project ($395,000). The TA funds will be utilized for construction of both projects, with local match provided via in-kind staff time for project design and management. The Haven Avenue Streetscape Project will also leverage improvements to be constructed by the St. Anton Residential Project on Haven Avenue. The Menlo Park-East Palo Alto Connectivity Project is a collaborative effort, submitted jointly by Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. As a next step, the City will facilitate design review at an upcoming Bicycle Commission meeting to solicit feedback on the detailed design concepts before moving forward with the projects. Residents within each project area will be provided notice of the grant awards and improvements in advance of the Bicycle Commission meeting. In total, the SMCTA approved $5.8M in funding allocations for 11 projects under the Measure A Bicycle and Pedestrian Program. Fifteen jurisdictions submitted 23 applications totaling $9.3M. Page 2 Council Digest – April 11, 2014 4/17 Workshop on FAA Proposed Changes to NorCal Airspace and Draft Environmental Assessment Report The FAA is proposing changes to the NorCal metropolitan airspace (metroplex) that it feels would optimize aircraft arrival and departure routes at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Oakland International Airport (OAK), Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) and Sacramento International Airport (SMF). The project involves changes in aircraft flight routes, flight altitudes in certain areas, and optimized standard arrival/departure instrument procedures, serving air traffic flows into and out of airports in Northern California. The proposed action does not require any ground disturbance or increase the number of aircraft operations within area. The FAA has prepared an Environmental Assessment to document the potential environmental effects associated with this proposal. A copy of the document can be downloaded from the website below or viewed at selected public libraries. The FAA invites the public to attend public information workshops where representatives from the FAA and its consultant team will be available to answer questions about the project. The workshops will be open-house format and participants can attend anytime. The public is also invited to comment by mail or email. Written comments will be accepted by the FAA until Thursday, April 24, 2014. Although several are scheduled in Northern California, the closest workshop for Menlo Park residents is on April 17, 2014, at the San Mateo Public Library, 55 W 3rd Avenue, San Mateo, CA, between 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. The workshop is open-house format and participants can attend anytime. For more information please visit: http://oapmenvironmental.com/norcal_metroplex/norcal_introduction.html 4/23 Meeting Regarding Changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) The San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (JPA) invites residents an informational meeting regarding the latest changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and flood insurance rates. A new law approved in 2012 and recently modified makes significant changes to flood insurance rates and policies that affect residents and businesses in the FEMA-designated floodplain. Edie Lohmann, NFIP Flood Insurance Specialist, will present information on the latest legislative changes, how they affect your insurance, and answer questions about flood insurance, elevation certificates, and related topics. The meeting is on Wednesday, April 23rd, at 7:00 p.m. in the Palo Alto City Council Chambers. 4/23 Public Hearing for West Bay Sanitary District’s Proposed Sewer Service Fee Increase The West Bay Sanitary District board of directors will conduct a public hearing on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in the District Board Room at 500 Laurel Street, Menlo Park, CA. The District’s sewer system is aging and in order to meet the District’s goal of providing safe, reliable service to its customers, the District proposes a sewer service rate change effective July 1, 2014, through the annual property tax bill beginning in November 2014. The annual sewer service charge would increase from $820 per single family residence to $893 per year. The increased charges are required to fund needed maintenance to the sewer system and to the South Bayside System Authority regional wastewater treatment plant. The District’s goal is to proactively replace the entire 200-mile sewer system before it reaches the end of its useful life, and currently more than half of the District’s sewer lines are in excess of 50 years old. Residents are encouraged to attend the public hearing in person or submit their comments to West Bay Sanitary District directly, prior to the April 23rd hearing. Comments should be submitted in writing, identifying the property owner, be signed by the property owner, and include the property address and assessor’s parcel number (APN). Page 3 Council Digest – April 11, 2014 Update on Menlo Park’s OBAG/Complete Streets Eligibility The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) establishes criteria to determine an agency’s eligibility for the regional One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) Program. In 2013, MTC issued a call for projects under the first funding cycle of the OBAG program, which required applicants to have an adopted Housing Element and Complete Streets Policy before the funding application deadline. In anticipation of MTC’s second OBAG cycle upcoming in early 2015, MTC has indicated that applicants must demonstrate compliance with the 2008 Complete Streets Act. The Complete Streets Act requires a City’s next update to its Circulation Element include consideration of Complete Streets concepts, which encourage safe and efficient multi-modal transportation options for all users of the transportation network. In order for the City of Menlo Park to maintain eligibility for future OBAG cycles, staff reviewed the policy language in the City’s current (1994) Circulation Element. The document has strong policy support for Complete Streets, including comprehensive goals, policies and implementation programs supporting transit, walking, bicycling and transportation demand management – as well as those to manage vehicle traffic and congestion. Per this review, staff issued a letter summarizing how the City’s current Circulation Element policies comply with the Complete Streets Act for OBAG eligibility and submitted it to San Mateo City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG) staff for their records to verify Menlo Park’s eligibility.