Serving You On More Than the Marin Board of Supervisors: Read Details Here

County of Marin, California sent this bulletin at 03/06/2015 12:00 PM PST

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Not Just the Board of Supervisors:
Update on Kate Sears’ Service on Various Other Boards and Commissions

As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I serve on various other boards and commissions, including SMART, Marin Clean Energy (MCE), San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, Marin Transit, and the Marin Telecommunications Agency. Each of these agencies make decisions that affect our lives in different ways – by addressing transportation needs, planning for sea level rise, developing local renewable energy, and enhancing media coverage to ensure government transparency.

Here’s a quick look at key issues for these various agencies in 2014 and 2015.

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District took a number of actions in 2014 that benefit Marin County residents. After a successful nine-month demonstration project, the District approved making the Larkspur Ferry feeder shuttle from the Ross Valley (a.k.a “The Wave”) permanent. Building on the popularity of The Wave, an additional ferry shuttle route was created to connect the Smith Ranch Park and Ride lot with the Larkspur Ferry terminal on a nine-month demonstration basis. Larkspur ferry schedules also were enhanced with the addition of another evening ferry trip from San Francisco and schedule adjustments so that a ferry now departs every half hour from San Francisco to Larkspur from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm on weekdays. The highlight of 2014 was the District Board of Director’s approval of a funding plan for the $76 million construction of a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge. As stated in the staff report: “after considerable thought, reflection and soul searching, and attentive consideration to the range of views expressed by members of the public, many of whom have testified as to the impact of suicide on their lives, and in consideration of the fact that 46 people died in 2013 by jumping off of the Bridge, it is staff’s opinion that construction of the suicide deterrent simply is the right thing to do at this time.”

The link to the full staff report is here 2015 got off to a exciting start for the Bridge District with the installation of the moveable median barrier to prevent head-on collisions on the Golden Gate Bridge. For the first time in its history, the Bridge was closed for 52 hours so the installation could be completed. The Golden Gate Bridge with the barrier installed and no cars on the roadway was an extraordinary sight. More contentious is the District’s proposal to rehabilitate its passenger boarding system at the Sausalito ferry terminal by installing a new 150-foot long by 53-feet wide concrete float, a new 90-foot long by 19-foot wide steel gangway, and a new 96-foot long by 25-foot wide pole-supported concrete pier that will extend from the existing land side pier. In response to strong resident concern, the District has agreed to participate in a Sausalito City Council approved public review process. Key dates in that process include:

March 6: Concept Plans will be available for public review in the Sausalito Library and the Administration Department at City Hall

March 11: Joint Study Session of Historic Landmarks Board and Planning Commission

April 1: 1st Joint Hearing of Historic Landmarks Board and Planning Commission

April 15: 2nd Joint Hearing of Historic Landmarks Board and Planning Commission

All meetings will begin at 6:30pm in the Sausalito Council Chambers at City Hall. Check the City of Sausalito website for further information and updates.

Looking ahead in 2015, the District plans to provide real time bus arrival information for riders and to work with SMART to integrate bus, ferry and rail service so transit connections are as seamless as possible once SMART begins operations in late 2016.

Marin Clean Energy

Marin Clean Energy (MCE), California’s first Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program, was founded in 2008 and began supplying renewable energy to customers in 2010. MCE is a public, not-for-profit electricity provider that gives customers the choice of having 50% (Light Green program) to 100% (Deep Green program) of their electricity supplied from clean, renewable sources such as solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal and hydroelectric at competitive rates.

MCE expands! As of 2014, MCE served over 125,000 customers in Marin County, unincorporated Napa County and the Cities of Richmond and San Pablo. Benicia and El Cerrito also have joined MCE and will begin receiving service in the first half of 2015.

Perhaps the most significant achievement of 2014 was the defeat of AB 2145, legislation that would have made it nearly impossible for new CCAs to form and would have strictly limited the ability of new communities to join existing agencies like MCE.

MCE was honored to receive Breath California’s 2014 Clean Air Award and the Association of Bay Area Governments’ Preserving and Protecting the Environment Award for greenhouse gas reductions.

In the spring of 2015, MCE will launch a 100% local solar program, “Local Sol”, which will allow up to 200 charter customers to purchase energy sourced from a new solar farm currently being developed in Novato. MCE plans to build nine new solar projects in MCE’s service area through its Feed-in-Tariff program and local renewable development fund. As chair of the MCE Board, I am particularly excited about the opportunity to develop local renewable energy in the years ahead by building MCE-owned, locally sourced power.

Marin Transit

Marin Transit celebrated its 50th Anniversary with customer appreciation and employee recognition events throughout the week of October 20th. With a $32.5 million budget, 11 staffers and 280 drivers, Marin Transit carries more than 3.5 million passengers each year on fixed-route bus, community shuttle, special needs and rural transportation services.

2014 marked Marin Transit’s ninth season of providing Muir Woods Shuttle service. During the 2014 season, which ran from Saturday, March 29, to Sunday, October 26, approximately 102,950 one-way passenger trips were made on the Shuttle, a 33% increase compared to 2013. The Shuttle, truly the “little bus that could”, takes over 18% of all visitors to Muir Woods, reducing car trips that otherwise would have been made on our highways and local roads.

Marin Transit is collaborating with the Transportation Authority of Marin and the Marin County Office of Education to assess countywide school transportation needs and services, and options for future improvements.

Recent studies show that 21-27% of morning commute traffic countywide is comprised of parents driving their children to school. Marin Transit’s study will provide a forum for organizations within the County currently involved in student transportation to work cooperatively to provide the most effective options to meet specific student and school site needs. The end result will be an action plan to increase bus transportation offerings, make them more efficient, and improve coordination.

In December 2014, the Marin Transit Board approved seed money for the City of Sausalito, in collaboration with Sausalito Village and other community partners, to initiate an innovative on-demand volunteer driver program. The program will provide a way for Sausalito residents, especially those residing in the hills, to access downtown Sausalito and connections with public transit.

SMART

Highway 101 is the only significant transportation infrastructure connecting Marin and Sonoma. In 2011, traffic congestion in Marin increased by 43% and in Sonoma by 44% over the previous year. Today, more than 75% of commuters in the North Bay travel either within or between Marin and Sonoma to get to work. Measure Q, adopted by voters in 2008, authorized a new quarter-cent sales tax for the construction, operation and maintenance of the SMART (Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit) project. SMART will provide an important transit alternative when it begins rail passenger service in late 2016.

On February 2, 2015, we learned that based on recommendation from the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the President’s FY 2016 budget recommends $20 million to complete construction of the SMART rail to Larkspur. Assuming these funds remain in the budget when it is approved by the U.S. Congress, SMART will have the funds necessary to bring the rail line to Larkspur. This is a huge piece of the integrated financial plan allowing SMART to realize its role as a truly regional mode of transportation connecting the ferry in Marin to the airport in Sonoma.

SMART staff and contractors were busy in 2014, rebuilding 36.5 miles of the 43 miles of track (85% complete) from the Sonoma County airport to downtown San Rafael, constructing 2 of 4 passing sidings (50% complete), reconstructing 50 out of 70 grade crossings (71% completed), and securing all permits so SMART’s environmental mitigation project – restoration of marshes at the 56-acre Mira Monte Marina property -- can begin. The team also rehabilitated 16 bridges, replaced 10 more, and will replace the last bridge (Haystack Bridge) in 2015.

There is more exciting activity ahead in 2015, including completing the Operations and Maintenance Facility and building at least seven permitted bicycle/pedestrian pathways. Seven sets of train car vehicles are scheduled to arrive from Spring to Fall of 2015 and vehicle and systems testing will begin. Development of service and fare schedules, and operating plans and policies is underway and will continue in 2015.

SMART also will continue to work with cities, counties and transit agencies, including Marin Transit and the Golden Gate Bridge District, on station designs for the San Rafael Transit Center, Civic Center, Hamilton and Atherton stations, and to maximize transit service and coordination.

If you are curious about the details of SMART’s finances, the 2014 Strategic Plan provides revised estimates of revenues and expenditures for SMART’s capital and operating costs, as well as the current financial plan for building and operating SMART through the expiration of the Measure Q tax in 2029.

San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission

First, a bit of history. Between 1850 and 1960 an average of four square miles of San Francisco Bay were filled each year. Alarmed by that process, in 1961, Bay Area residents formed the Save San Francisco Bay Association, now called Save the Bay, which urged the passage in 1965 of state legislation--the McAteer-Petris Act--to establish the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) as a temporary state agency. BCDC became a permanent agency in 1969 and its authority was expanded in 1977 to include special protection of the Suisun Marsh.

At its inception, BCDC was charged with preparing a plan for the long-term use of the Bay and regulating development in and around the Bay while the plan was being prepared. The San Francisco Bay Plan, completed in January 1969, includes policies on issues critical to the wise use of the Bay and maps designated shoreline areas that should be reserved for water-related purposes like ports, industry, public recreation, airports, and wildlife refuges. The Bay Plan was most recently amended in October 2011 to address sea level rise. You may read about the new BCDC sea level rise policies in this helpful factsheet.

Through its Adapting to Rising Tides project, BCDC is working with Bay Area communities to increase their preparedness and resilience to sea level rise and storm events while protecting critical ecosystem and community services. The Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) project, initially focused on a portion of the Alameda County shoreline from Emeryville to Union City, is a collaborative planning effort that addresses two questions:

  • How will climate change impacts of sea level rise and storm events affect the future of Bay Area communities, infrastructure, ecosystems and economy? 
  • What strategies can we pursue, both locally and regionally, to reduce and manage these risks?

The ART project has stimulated similar work in San Mateo and Contra Costa counties, San Francisco, Benicia, and here in Marin where I launched a Southern Marin Sea Level Rise Pilot Project in 2013. The November 1, 2014 Living With Water community workshop for the Southern Marin project is viewable here. See and hear what your neighbors offered as possible mitigation and adaptation strategies to address sea level rise.

In 2015, BCDC will continue working on plans to amend permitting requirements to more directly and transparently account for the impact of the combination of rising sea levels, storm surge, and King Tides on projects proposed along the Bay shoreline.

BCDC also has created a Bay Fill Policies Working Group to determine whether and how to amend current BCDC Bay fill laws and policies to accommodate potential sea level rise adaptation needs while ensuring Bay protection and maximum feasible public access. Working Group meetings are open to the public and an Advisory Group of individuals and organizations is being created to maximize input into this process. For more information, please visit the Bay Fill Policies Working Group meeting page on the BCDC website.

Marin Telecommunications Agency

The Marin Telecommunications Agency (MTA) is a joint powers authority formed in 1998 that administers the Comcast cable franchise agreement for member cities, towns and Marin County, and develops policy related to telecommunications services in Marin, including cable, broadband and related services.

In 2014, MTA and the County of Marin partnered with Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties to establish the North Bay North Coast Broadband Coalition and received California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) funding for two years for broadband planning and adoption. The Marin Broadband Task Force is working to help expand broadband into un-served and underserved areas in West Marin and to increase adoption in Marin generally.

MTA funded the Community Media Center of Marin (CMCM) to install video cameras, recording and transmission equipment in San Anselmo and Larkspur City Council chambers in 2014 so government meetings can be cable cast by Marin TV on the government channel (Comcast channel 27, AT&T U-verse channel 99-Marin). These cities join Mill Valley, Sausalito, Fairfax, San Rafael, County of Marin and other government agencies that provide transparency by having their meetings video recorded and cable cast on the local government channels.

MTA also monitors and provides input regarding regulatory proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), U.S. Congress, CPUC, and the California State Legislature regarding CATV, wireless antenna citing rules, network neutrality, Internet Protocol (IP) Transition, new 911 requirements, and other telecommunication issues.

Stay Tuned and Sign Up for Future Updates

This information should give you a sense of the many programs, projects and initiatives that I am helping shape and monitor on behalf of the southern Marin community. If you have questions or thoughts, I’m interested in hearing from you. Write to me at ksears@marincounty.org or sign up here for my District Three news for periodic updates and for information about meetings you may wish to attend.

Democracy is an “all in” proposition; we benefit from keeping ourselves informed and being open to the suggestions and ideas of others. Thanks for taking the time to read this and share it with your friends and neighbors.