Marin Recovers, SFD Learning Session, Upgrade the Drake

County of Marin, California sent this bulletin at 08/14/2020 02:52 PM PDT
Supervisor Katie Rice 

August 14, 2020

Marin Recovers, SFD Learning Session, Upgrade the Drake

Marin Recovers

Outdoor Personal Services

Based on local COVID data which is showing that our infection rate is flattening and hospitalizations are on a downward trend, Marin County Public Health will allow for the reopening of some personal care services offered outdoors. Nail salons, massage therapy, esthetic services, cosmetology and skin care services can reopen outdoors effective immediately. Indoor and outdoor services for tattooing, piercing and electrolysis must remain closed because of Marin’s status on the State of California’s County Monitoring List as are most California counties.

Read the press release to find out more about personal care services that can be offered in outdoor settings. Hotels and Short Term Rentals are slated to open following County reopening guidelines on August 24 – the County’s public health officer will make a final decision on Aug. 21 and will approve the move only if Marin’s countywide incidence remains below 200 cases per 100,000 residents for the prior two weeks. And go to Marin Recovers website for a full list of allowed businesses and activities under the local health order and as allowed by the state.

Schools

On August 3, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released detailed criteria for public, private, independent and parochial schools to apply for a waiver of the state’s distance learning mandate announced on July 17. The waiver is only available for schools serving kindergarten through 6th grade and requires approval by the local Public Health Officer. Grades 7th and up, including higher education institutions are not allowed to offer in-person instruction at this time and will begin the school year with distance learning only.

To apply for the waiver, schools must demonstrate that they have implemented plans to follow the revised Marin County Public Health guidelines for schools, submit the School Site-Specific Protection Plan, consult with stakeholders including parents, school staff, and community organizations, and publish reopening plans on the school website.

CDHP recommends that to be considered for a waiver, a county must first bring its 14-day case rate below 200 per 100,000. As of August 4, Marin County’s rate was 195.56 per 100,000 cases.

Read the full news release to find out more about what criteria needs to be met for a waiver of the state’s distance learning mandate.

SFD Learning Session/History Lesson – Monday, August 17

As a next step in the discussion around renaming of Sir Francis Drake Blvd, community members are invited to join a zoom learning session/history lesson on August 17 at 6 pm. The session will be moderated by Chantel Walker, the Marin County Free Library’s assistant director and will feature current and historic perspectives from:

  • Tribal Vice Chair Lorelle Ross, Cultural Resources Specialist Matthew Johnson, and Tribal Heritage Preservation Officer Buffy McQuillen, all the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo);
  • Dr. Jordan Lieser, Dominican University of California, and;
  • Dewey Livingston, Author and Historian, who has spent 35 years researching and telling stories of Marin’s past.

Options for viewing/participating as follows:

Please view the press release for more information about how to view, how to ask questions during the event, information about panelists and more. You can also visit the Marin County Free Library’s Drake Boulevard History Resources page. Video of the session will later be placed on the library’s website.

Upgrade the Drake Update

The Upgrade the Drake project is now underway after a June 2020 start and is currently on schedule. While the project was slated for night work, the lighter traffic allowed the construction to shift to day work (3:30pm to midnight) and shift again to 7am to 5:30pm. This new daytime schedule will continue through early fall, then may shift back to night work as traffic increases and project needs shift. The County is monitoring traffic closely.

Work is currently underway between Oak Avenue and Corte Comoda on Sir Francis Drake. A new staggered crosswalk at Ash Ave is going in now with a signalized pedestrian crosswalk and curb realignment continues median islands for the lengthening of turn pockets and addition of acceleration lanes. In addition, the metal guard rail is being removed and replaced with the new post and cable fencing. Note that the Rosy Path will be closed due to sidewalk construction on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard through the end of August so please plan accordingly.

MMWD pipeline work continues and Ross Valley Sanitary District has completed a new sewer main with additional capacity across SFD at the Laurel Grove Intersection. RVSD is replacing nearly 8000 linear feet of the old watermain in the corridor in order to prevent incidents like the recent break (at SFD/Laurel Grove) from occurring in the future.

The County will send notifications for any upcoming traffic and please note that the project is prioritizing the completion of school routes to ensure safety getting to and from school when students go back in person. There will be no full closures of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard during construction. However, the construction team anticipates partial lane closures and traffic delays throughout the process.

For more information and to stay up to date, please visit the project website and sign up for updates. If you have a concern or question, call 415-688-7613 or email info@upgradethedrake.com. Thanks for your understanding, and please plan your trips through the project area ahead of time.

 

Contact Info:

Supervisor Katie Rice

415-473-7825

krice@marincounty.org

www.facebook.com/D2KatieRice

 

District 2 Aides:

Nancy Vernon

415-473-7351

nvernon@marincounty.org

 

Jen Gauna

415-473-6159

jgauna@marincounty.org