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State Senator Yee leads census outreach effort in Millbrae

Mar 12th, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
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State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Mateo/San Francisco) visited the shops of downtown Millbrae to support his 2010 census outreach effort. Joined by representatives of the 2010 U.S Census Bureau and Millbrae council member Marge Colapietro, Senator Yee walked the downtown area to inform local shops and constituents of the upcoming Census.

The entourage included members of Senator Yee’s staff, representatives of Millbrae, members of the local press and local citizens.

Before the walk, Senator Yee held a brief press conference at Nan Hai Books on Broadway Avenue to speak to the importance of the Census. Federal funding relies on an accurate Census count and spoke to the need of an accurate count, especially from those in the minority communities who may avoid taking the Census.

“Many of the minority communities fear that by providing information to the Census takers that it is in fact going to immigration and other officials within the federal government,” said Yee. “I know for a fact that is absolutely not true.”

Millbrae city council member Marge Colapietro also spoke to the crowd regarding the significance of an accurate Census count. “We depend greatly on that accurate census to be able to maintain our communities.” said Colapietro.

Colapietro also said that the Millbrae city council has been using their meetings as a way of helping promote the census.

“Any way you can help is important.” said Colapietro.

At each shop. participants discussed the importance of the census to our communities and how participation will impact federal funding over the next ten years.

“The success of the Census is essential in determining the resources allocated by the federal government for a broad range of services provided by the federal, state and local governments for all residents of California,” said Yee.

Check out the video of the event.

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San Bruno Park School District Board to move forward with teacher layoffs

Mar 11th, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
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During a well attended board meeting at Crestmoor school last night, the San Bruno Park school district board unanimously voted to move forward with proposed teacher layoffs in order to meet its budget shortfall. The board, driven by a deadline of March 15th, will be issuing letters of intent to the affected staff. The district is required to maintain fiscal solvency and must reduce expenditures by $3.3 million for the 2010-2011 school year.

The San Bruno Park School district has been affected by the Governor’s proposed budget cuts to class size reduction spending. Other programs such as art, reading and library services also look to be cut.

During the board meeting, board trustee Skip Henderson said he simply “doesn’t trust the state” to make the right choice for education. “Who knows what the state’s May revisions will hold?” asked Henderson. All board members indicated that making these cuts were something they didn’t want to do, but ultimately they are responsible for maintaining the district’s fiscal solvency.

The board is looking into all options in order to keep classroom sizes to a minimum and fund programs. Funding for twenty four FTE’s as well as the districts Library Media Aids are in jeopardy. As a result the board is considering applying for an exception to the State Allocation Board to release $29 million in funds earmarked for capital expenditures such as the Parkside intermediate school renovation.

Although the letters of intent will be issued by March 15th, the affected staff will not officially be let go by the district until May 15th. Until that time, all citizens are encouraged to contact their elected representatives. The Governor’s proposition 98 plan for 2010-2011 purposefully reneges on a statutorily agreed maintenance factor payment of $9.9 billion to California schools. The Governor is also proposing to eliminate the sales tax and fuel on replace it with an excise tax. Both measures serve to lower the general fund and result in lower minimum guarantees for schools.

Patrick Flynn, President of the San Bruno Education Foundation, spoke to the board and said the foundation’s goal is to help raise $109,000 to retain library media aide services for the upcoming year. Without the media aides, students will not have access to any of the services the library’s provide, including books and computer labs.

The board is conducting a study session on Wednesday, March 18th to discuss viable options for keeping teachers and services. The meeting will be held at the school district office on 500 Acacia. For more information, contact the SBPSD at (650) 624-3100.

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San Bruno City Council roundup – March 09, 2010

Mar 10th, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
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Last night’s city council meeting was held at the San Bruno Senior Center on Crystal Springs Road and was moderately attended.

Restaurants recognized for early adoption of sustainable food packaging

The city council recognized several food service establishments for their early adoption of the City’s sustainable food packaging ordinance, which takes effect on April 1, 2010. Representatives from Carrot’s Coffee and Tea on San Mateo Avenue, Don Pico’s/Rib Shack on El Camino Real and the Holiday Inn Express were present to accept their certificates. Each delivered positive feedback regarding the program. Concerns had been cost and quality of the food packaging material but reported that quality material from credible vendors was available. Each reported positive feedback from the community.

San Bruno and Millbrae Enter into Shared Police Chief Services Agreement

Last night the San Bruno City Council authorized the city manager to execute an agreement for shared police chief services between the cities of San Bruno and Millbrae. San Bruno’s Neil Telford, chief of police since 2006 and a member of the San Bruno police force since 1982, will act as police chief for both cities as part of a long term police service consolidation goal.

Chief Telford will dedicate his time between the two cities evenly and will be paid by San Bruno with Millbrae making reimbursement payments for services. Chief Telford remains an employee of San Bruno subject to the direction of the Millbrae city manager.

San Bruno and Millbrae, who already share consolidated fire services, plan to use this as a study to see how consolidation of police services can work. As part of the City Council’s conduct of business, the council voted to execute an agreement with Danville-based consultants Municipal Resource Group to analyze law enforcement services, draft a report and develop a consolidation implementation plan. This effort is to be shared by both cities.

During the City Council meeting, city manager Connie Jackson stated that the sharing effort would “intend to look at options up to and including full consolidation of both departments.”

Officials have said that a merger would reduce the number of management positions within the police force and lower other costs. The move comes as both cities budget shortfalls in the next fiscal year.

Public Hearing Introducing Amended Chapters to the San Bruno Municipal Code.

A public hearing was held to introduce an ordinance to the city of San Bruno amending chapters of the San Bruno Municipal Code. The amendments were part of an effort to help the city introduce design expectations before architectural review and introduce code revisions to support design guidelines. With support from the architectural review committee, residential design guidelines were implemented in three categories: guideline compliance, parking requirements for new small houses and front yard paving and landscaping.

Green Fleet Initiative

San Bruno city vehicles are responsible for 17% of the city’s overall gas emissions. As a result, the cities Green Fleet Initiative was developed to look at alternative technologies to reduce overall emissions from the city’s fleet. The initiative offers a four step strategy: Reduction of the fleet size, fuel efficient and emission reduction, alternative technologies and equipment upgrades. The fleet currently uses two hybrid vehicles and a diesel vehicle. Three low speed electric vehicles are used for limited services.

The San Bruno Police Department fleet is responsible for the majority of the city’s fleet emissions. Unfortunately, green technology in regards to police services vehicles has been slow to develop.

Recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Commission to install Synthetic Grass Field at Lion’s Field

The city parks and recreation commission has researched and developed plans to build an all-purpose synthetic field at the Lion’s Field property. Lion’s Field, located at the end of first avenue, was chosen for the effort because of the location, size and proximity to private residences. The synthetic field would serve as a mult-purpose field for the various leagues that already use the facility. It would also be used as a soccer field and potentially could absorb the 1300 or so athletes of the AYSO leagues should the city lose the Crestmoor site.

Concerns for the project were cost, funding, parking and restroom capacity. The parks commission proposed to spend $200,000 in park in-lieu fees to conduct design and geo-tech analysis. The council did not make an official decision on the recommendation, but gave the committee direction to draw up the paperwork for the project.

Miscellaneous Items

  • The council authorized an application for the California Department of Transportation Section 190 Funds in the amount of $10 million for the construction of the San Bruno Grade Separation Project.
  • The council received an annual report from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee.
  • The council adopted resolution to approve the amendment of the city council agenda format.
  • The city deliberated in closed door sessions to consult with legal council regarding it’s waste water issues with the California Regional Water Quality Control Board and the independent watchdog group Baykeeper.
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Sacramento Legislators Join San Bruno to Protest Budget Cuts to Public Education

Mar 5th, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
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San Mateo county parents, teachers and students joined together to protest the proposed budget cuts to public education. In San Bruno, hundreds lined up along El Camino Real with handmade signs and heartfelt cheers in an effort  to let California legislators know that further cuts to public education would not be acceptable.

After the protest, the crowd gathered at Sister Cities plaza next to San Bruno City Hall to hear a presentation that included local students, San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane, State Assemblyman Jerry Hill and representatives for State Senator Leland Yee.

The message: today’s rallies are only the first step in protecting education. Jerry Hill, California assemblyman representing the 19th district, spoke directly to the crowd urging them to continue the fight to Capitol Hill in Sacramento. Dan Lieberman, Representing State Senator Yee, seconded the notion that the public must continue to push California legislators to stop education funding cuts. “Education will lead California back out of this economic slump and back into the good days,” said to Mr. Lieberman.

San Bruno, home to the San Bruno Park School District, stands to lose 22 teachers if the budget cuts go into effect. With no districts hiring, these teachers have little hope of finding other positions within the state. The cuts will result in larger classroom sizes and reduced services.

The district is trying to tacke a shortfall of up to $3.2 million through possible revenue increases and potential cuts, according to Superintendent David Hutt.

 A video of the presentation can be found HERE.

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Saving the Crestmoor Site: Waging the War Beyond the 7-11 Committee

Mar 3rd, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
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Last night the San Mateo Union High School district’s 7-11 committee held a public hearing in the little theater at Hillsdale high school in San Mateo. The third public hearing held by the committee and the first in San Mateo, the hearing presented a interesting perspective on the public view of the 7-11 committee and its scope. The residents of San Mateo, much like the residents of San Bruno, feel that the Hillsdale high land is a boon to the local community and should be preserved for a multitude of reasons. And much like the citizens of San Bruno, the attendees from San Mateo struggled to get their heads wrapped around the razor thin scope of the committee. It is becoming clear that the fight to save Crestmoor will not be waged with the 7-11 committee. Instead, the real chance to save the Crestmoor site lies with the SMUHSD board of trustees.

Much like the previous two public hearings held in San Bruno, the San Mateo hearing was filled with passionate pleas from local citizens regarding the use of the 3 acres of land currently under review by the committee. There were many similarities between the two communities; much like the Crestmoor site, the use of land is a boon to the community in several ways. And much like the citizens of San Bruno, the folks from San Mateo did not fully understand the scope of the committee’s charge. 

The scope of the committee’s charge simply does not allow them to factor those considerations into their decision, no matter how sympathetic the individuals of the committee may be. The number one charge of the committee is reviewing enrollment figures to determine the amount of surplus space and real property within the district only. The other committee charges have served as a secondary considerations, including the charge to determine the ‘limits of tolerance’ related to the use of the surplus properties.

The committee’s main charge has been met and all other decisions are in the hands of the governing board. According to the committee’s finding, excess capacity within the district is at 5002 spaces and Peninsula high school has 250 students. Based on this simple criteria, the committee has little choice but to declare the Crestmoor site as surplus.

The committee is expected to present its findings to the governing board of the San Mateo Union High School District in May. Once the presentation has been made, it will be up to the governing board to drill down on all other aspects of the surplus sites. That includes student relocation, service relocation, neighborhood impact, “limits of tolerance” and zoning regulations under local jurisdiction. The committee will make a recommendation that the students of Peninsula High School be moved to a centralized location, but the governing board will make the decision of when and where to move the students. The committee “desires to give the governing board the flexibility and direction in choosing a method of disposition for these properties” and recommends the surplus sites be “developed to their highest and best use in accordance with permits and zoning regulations as permitted by the governing jurisdiction”. In other words, the governing board will decide exactly how and when to dispose of the surplus properties.

It is with the governing board that the real battle to save the Crestmoor site will be waged. All the issues that have been voiced by the community to the 7-11 committee must continue as the governing board makes its decision to dispose of the land. All of the neighborhood, student and environmental impacts as well as the “limits of tolerance” must be brought directly to the board. That may very well be the only way to save the Crestmoor site.

It is clear that the 7-11 committee will make a recommendation to declare the Crestmoor (and Hillsdale) sites as surplus. It is also clear that given the limited scope and charge of the committee, they have done what they were commissioned to do. The decision to dispose of the site will ultimately be left up to the governing board of the SMUHSD. Much like the citizens of San Bruno, the citizens of San Mateo are coming to understand the committee’s limited scope. They should realize, as San Bruno has, that the only recourse now lies with the Governing Board. Ultimately, the war to save the Crestmoor site will be fought with the SMUHSD governing board. The battles to save Crestmoor will be waged at the upcoming governing board meetings. Unless the concerned citizens of both cities continue to fight the battles with the board, the Crestmoor and Hillsdale sites may very well be lost.

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Saving Our Schools: Holding Elected Officials Accountable

Mar 2nd, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
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State Senator Leland Yee reached out to the San Bruno Views today to impart some helpful hints on how to fight the cuts to education that are on the table as part of the Governor’s 2010-2011 budget. In a previous post I pointed out that Senator Yee was a fan of education in California and sees education as a long term investment, not as an easy target for continued cuts in order to bridge a budget shortfall. In brief conversation, State Senator Yee pointed out that despite his efforts to continue to support a well funded education system, holding our elected officials accountable for their budget votes was a key way to help save our California schools.  

Here in San Mateo County, we are represented by two state senators and two assemblymen. State Senator Yee represents the 8th district which encompasses the western half of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County. The county is also part of the 11th district, which encompasses the southern portion of the county and is represented by State Senator Joe Simitian (D). In the State Assembly San Mateo county is part of the 19th district and the 21st district. Assemblyman Jerry Hill represents the 19th district which includes most of San Mateo county from Daly City to San Carlos. From San Carlos southward is part of the 21st district which includes 13 cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. The 21st district is represented by Assemblyman Ira Ruskin (D).

These four elected officials are San Mateo County’s voice in the Sacramento Legislature. As concerned citizens, parents, students and teachers we need to let them know we will be watching their votes closely and holding them accountable should they decide to cut education funding further. They need to know that when it comes to education funding, further cuts will not be acceptable. They need to know the enough is enough.

The Views will be partnering with Senator Yee’s Chief of Staff to receive updates on the votes of all San Mateo County officials. Both State Senator’s and Assemblymen’s information is listed below. If you are concerned about the proposed cuts that threaten to compromise California’s education system even further, please take a moment to let your representatives know. Let them know that you do not approve. Let them know that the budget can wait until this is resolved. Most importantly, let them know that your vote will be greatly influenced by their position on education funding.

State Senator Joe Simitian
State Capitol, Room 2080
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4011
Fax: (916) 323-4529

State Senator Leland Yee
State Capitol, Room 4074
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4008

State Assemblyman Jerry Hill
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0019
Tel: (916) 319-2019
Fax: (916) 319-2119

State Assemblyman Ira Ruskin
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0021
Tel: (916) 319-2021
Fax: (916) 319-2121

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State Senator Leland Yee Joins the Fight For California’s Schools

Mar 1st, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
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California schools continue to bear the brunt of budget cuts under the Schwarzenegger administration. California’s schools rank at the very bottom of all 50 states in staff-to-student ratios and nearly last in the nation in per-pupil spending. In fact, California is ranked 47th in the nation in per student spending for grades k-9 with the state spending $7571 for each pupil, $2400 below the national average. Libraries, arts, music, sports, advanced placement and other essential programs have been virtually eliminated. Its worth mentioning here that while California’s public schools make up 40 percent of the state budget, they have been subject to 60 percent of the cuts. As a result, schools have lost more the 20,000 teachers and administrators as well as more than 10,000 critical school site support staff. Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget for 2010-2011 would include another $2.5 billion cut to schools equating to over $2500 less per student in California. While the concerned parents of California lament over the current state of education, it would seem that at least one legislator is on their side.

Last week, state senator Leland Yee, representing the 8th district of the California state senate, voted against potential cuts to California schools when he voted “no” on AB 8x 5, a measure that included up to $2.5 Billion in deferments to education. Yee is also insisting that the ‘gas tax swap’ provide a guarantee to proposition 98 voter approved minimum funding for education. According to Senator Yee, “If the Governor and his Republican colleagues are going to say taxes are off the table, then Democrats should say cuts to education are off the table.  We need to stand by our principles and protect students and teachers.” Yee went on to say that “for every dollar we invest in a student’s education, the California economy receives three dollars in return on investment and that we need to find a way to increase funding or the state will suffer dire, long term consequences.”

It’s good to see Senator Yee fighting for education. Senator Yee was in San Francisco last week and participated in a town hall meeting with a coalition of parents and city organizations to stand up for education. Even the president of the California Federation of Teachers commends Yee on his ability to stand up to the budget cuts and say ’enough is enough’.  On March 4th’s day of action, the parents and students of California’s schools will join together to let California’s legislators know that continued cuts to education spending is a short term band-aid with toxic long term consequences. With Senator Yee’s support, California’s concerned parents hope that Sacramento sees the light before it is too late.

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March 4, 2010: Save Our Schools NOW!

Feb 26th, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
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School districts across California are under siege from the current round of Sacramento budgeting efforts. As per the usual when it comes to state legislators, cutting school funding is an easy way for them to bridge the budget shortfalls. Every year more money is drained from the already struggling school districts and teachers are once again issued pink slips. It’s bad enough that the high rollers in Sacramento have cut physical education, music, art and sports programs. Now they are increasing classroom sizes and laying off teachers.  It’s time to quash the school of thought that it’s acceptable to cut from the schools year in and year out. It’s time to let the fatcats in Sacramento know that enough is enough. 

As part of a collective effort of the San Bruno Park School District PTA/PTO’s, there is a campaign afoot to help save our shools. That campaign, known as a “Day of Action” throughout the state and “Save Our Schools Now!” here in San Bruno, begins this week and continues until the final protest on March 04. As part of the campaign all citizens are encouraged to sign the following letters of support and forward them to Senators Boxer and Feinstein:

Letter to Senator Boxer

Letter to Senator Feinstein

 Other initiaves as part of the effort include:

  • Students, parents and teachers are invited to wear black armbands throughout the next week. This show of solidarity is meant to get people talking about the issues at hand beyond the schools.
  • Demonstrations are currently planned before schools with more in the works after school. The schools are working to draw together to get good press coverage and draw attention to the cause. Talks are in the works to use the Recreation center on March 1rst to make signs for a full top to bottom protest on San Bruno avenue on March 4th.
  • There is an effort to organize a group to go to the Civic Center rally at 5pm on March 4th. The color selected for the rally is red, so be sure to dress in red from head to toe if planning to attend.

For those who are not aware, the Budget Advisory Committee is meeting on March 2nd from 6:30-7:30PM at the district office on Acacia avenue. Each PTA was given a voting membership in the committee so it is imperative that each PTA have a representative attending. The meeting is open to the public and while voting is limited the committee, community members can speak to the board and have their voices heard.

It’s time to stop the yearly school budget cuts. It’s time to let Sacramento know that its no longer acceptable to take from the schools to meet the budget shortfalls. It’s time to take action and save our schools NOW!

Other representative contact information is listed below.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
California 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2841 
300 South Spring Street, Suite 167
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone: (213) 897-0322

State Senator Leland Yee
4074 State Capitol,
California 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4008
400 South El Camino Real, Suite 630
San Mateo, CA 94402
Phone: (650) 340-8840

State Assemblyman Gerald Hill
4146 State Capitol,
California 94249-0019
Phone: (916) 319-2019
1528 South El Camino Real, Suite 302
San Mateo, CA 94402
Phone: (650) 349-1900

Senator Diane Feisntein
331 Hart Senate Office Building,
District of Columbia 20510-0504
Phone: (202) 224-3841
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 393-0707

Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
District of Columbia 20510-0505
Phone: (202) 224-3553
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: (415) 403-0100

Representative Jackie Speier
211 Cannon House Office Building
District of Columbia 20515-0512
Phone: (202) 225-3531
400 South El Camino Real, Suite 410
San Mateo, CA 94402
Phone: (650) 342-0300

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San Bruno’s Waste Water Woes Continue

Feb 25th, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
1 comment

By now it’s now secret that the city of San Bruno is experiencing issues with the current waste water infrastructure. Last week the California Regional Water Quality Control Board threatened the city with a $630,000 fine for spilling nearly 1.9 million gallons of sewage into the Bay and the Pacific Ocean.  On Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed in federal court by the advocacy group San Francisco Baykeeper. Although the city has an aggressive plan to address the issues over the next ten years, the lawsuit could lead to hefty fines that the city can not afford and will detract from the city’s ability to fix the issues in a timely manner. Based on the Baykeeper’s litigation against other cities along the bay, the lawsuit is seen as a mechanism to get the city to address the issues and improve waste water operations.

The issues for the city regarding it’s waste water infrastructure are really beginning to pile up. The California Regional Water Quality Control Board is scheduled to hold a meeting on May 12 to discuss the possible $630,000 in fines that the city may incur. According to water board spokeswoman Lila Tang, “The board’s fines are payable to the state, but local governments often settle such cases with funding for local and regional environmental projects and sewage system improvements.” While it is not clear at this time how the propose fines from the Water Quality Control Board will affect the city, it is clear that San Bruno’s waste water spills are gaining attention. The advocacy group San Francisco Baykeeper this week filed a suit in U.S. district court seeking an order to force San Bruno to stop the leaks. The suit asks that the city be fined as much as $40,000 for each day the city has violated clean water rules from December 2004 to January 2009. The suit implicates San Bruno to at least 58 spills over the past five years. At $40,000 a pop the suit could be asking for as much as $2.32 million dollars in fines.

Sadly, this was somewhat expected. Millbrae councilman Daniel Quigg, speaking at the North San Mateo County Association of Realtors last week, indicated that the San Francisco Baykeeper had already filed suit against Millbrae and that other lawsuits against cities all over the bay area were anticipated. In a written statement Tuesday, City Manager Connie Jackson said that San Bruno has established an aggressive program to upgrade and rehabilitate its aging sewer system, which is 50 to 100 years old. The city plans to spend $64 million over the next 10 years in upgrades. The city’s 13,000 ratepayers will cover the cost of the projects through higher fees.

“Baykeeper’s lawsuit against the city of San Bruno takes money away from an already tight budget,” Jackson said.

San Bruno understands that it needs to address the waste water issues. The California Regional Water Quality Control Board understands San Bruno needs to address the waste water issues. The San Francisco Baykeeper is a reputable advocacy group concerned with keeping the bay clean. However, will slapping a cash strapped city with nearly $2.5 million in fines and penalties help the situation or exacerbate it? According to the press release from the San Francisco Baykeeper the lawsuit aims ”to compel the City to undertake an aggressive inspection and repair program to dramatically reduce it’s sewage spills.” Additionally, the San Franicsco Baykeeper recently settled a suit filed in December against the city of San Carlos. As part of the same press release, ”The pollution watchdog group sued the city in December after investigations revealed that San Carlos spills thousands of gallons of raw sewage from its sewer lines every year in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.” To this end, an agreement was worked out between the City of San Carlos and the Baykeeper to make substantial improvements to sewage operations.

It appears that the Baykeeper is using the lawsuit as a means of enforcing the City into making improvements to it’s waste water infrastructure. It is the goal of the organization to get cities to agree to comprehensive operations, maintenance, repairs and upgrades and to enable a long term solution to their sewage spills. The City of San Bruno has established an aggressive program to upgrade the sewer system and will most likely work with the Baykeeper to reach an agreement to make these improvements. If an agreement can be reached between the City and the San Francisco Baykeeper then the lawsuit may not be seen as such a dramatic issue, but rather a way for the two entities to work together and reach a common goal.

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San Bruno City Council Meeting Roundup – February 23, 2010

Feb 24th, 2010
by Joseph Capote.
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This meeting highlighted two key areas of focus for the council: The budget shortfall for fiscal year 2009-10 and the current waste water issues. Tonight’s meeting was sandwiched in between a city council study session aimed at reviewing budget strategies and a closed session with legal council regarding litigation against the city. The meeting was short and was sparsely attended.

By now it’s no secret that the city has been hit with a complaint for administrative civil liability filed by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region. Although it’s not clear exactly how much the city would have to pay, San Bruno could by liable for a fine in upwards of $630,000, not including legal and administrative costs. The water board will make a final decision with a hearing to consider the fines scheduled for May 12. According to water board spokeswoman Lila Tang, “The board’s fines are payable to the state, but local governments often settle such cases with funding for local and regional environmental projects and sewage system improvements.” Last night’s meeting between the city council and its legal staff presumably centered around the discussion of these issues as well as the city’s options.

Prior to the meeting, the council held a study session to review expenditure reductions and other budget strategies to address the 1.3 million dollar reveune shortfall for the city’s fiscal year 2009-10 general fund operating budget. This study session was the second of two exhaustive sessions in which the city looked for ways to bridge the budget gap. During tonight’s meeting, the city council passed resolution on the following action items as an immediate response to the budget shortfall issues:

  • $150,000 reduced out of line items in the current budget.
  • $175,000 was gained thanks to the projected increase in the recreation program revenues.
  • $300,000 use of development impact fees.
  • $200,000 repayment of portion of redevelopment agency loans.
  • $207,000 repayment of portion of redevelopment agency loans.
  • $298,800 of of general reserve fund to cover remaining shortfall.

Also discussed during the council study sessions and reiterated during tonight’s meeting were the possible structured organization changes and reduction of positions within the city’s workforce. The council acknowledged that the city may have to make tough decisions with regards to personnel in light of the current revenue and budget problems for this fiscal year and next. No decisions have been made so far regarding current city staff and it is not clear how much the city plans to save by cutting salaries. However, during the consent calendar the council adopted resolution position descriptions and salary ranges for at least six new positions within the city, almost all for management positions.  The city is also anticipating another shortfall in fiscal year 2010-11 somewhere between $1.3 to $1.5 million and its not clear how much any staff cuts will offset these new positions.

The city adopted and approved resolution authorizing the purchase of an electric sewage grinder for the Crestwood sewer lift station at a cost of $63,232. The Crestwood lift station, which produces the highest flow in the system, requires 250 man hours of maintenance per year as solid objects in the system cause damage to the pumps. The grinder will be used to grind up solid objects as they enter the station but before the reach the pumps. The grinder is expected to save man hours and extend the overall life of the pumps. The city also adopted resolution to cover the cost increase for two new pump stations. The cost increase of $180,000 is necessary as the project was originally budgeted for two pump stations but was decoupled into two projects at one point.

Lastly, the council received a report from the Culture and Arts commission. The commission has commissioned a recognition sculpture for San Bruno city park. The commission will review models by the end of February with a design for acceptance expected by April. The sculpture will cost roughly $50,000 and will come out of the current $68,516 public art fund balance. The commision also reported on money savings derived from the purchase of equipment for movie night in the park and the sale of snacks by non-profit groups before and after movies.

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