|
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and family. My family kicked off the day with the Annual Marin Turkey Trot and wrapped it up with a delicious dinner with family.
As the holiday season unfolds, I want to express my gratitude for you and this wonderful community we live in. I am thankful for the trust you have placed in me as your County Supervisor.
There are many great, family friendly Holiday Happenings to look forward to in Novato this December. I want to share a few fun events my family and I will be enjoying -- and I hope to see you at one or more of them!
|
|
Enjoy performances, artisan treasures, crafts for kids, delicious holiday treats, and Santa!
On Saturday, December 2, SMART will host a special Toy Drive event on all trains. During the event, each adult passenger who brings a new, unwrapped toy to donate will ride free. Kids accompanied by an adult will also ride free that day. Donated toys will go to the Toys for Tots campaign.
And not to be missed that day - Santa Claus will be aboard the Holiday Express train for trips 5 and 6. Trip 5 departs southbound from the Sonoma County Airport Station at 9:32am, and trip 6 departs northbound from the Larkspur Station at 11:30am. Everyone is welcome to create holiday memories by snapping a picture with Santa!
Sunday, December 10
5:00pm
In front of Novato City Hall
Enjoy music, crafts, donuts, latkes, and a fire truck gelt drop!
|
|
|
Family fun at the Novato Turkey Trot
|
|
What an inspiration it was to attend Homeward Bound’s Veterans Day Community Breakfast, honoring our local military heroes and celebrating the creation of a new veteran's community in Novato that will provide 24 apartments for unhoused veterans.
Significant financial support for this new housing has come from the County, the City of Novato, state and federal budget allocations, the Marin Community Foundation, and other generous donors.
In the fall of 2017, the County adopted a Housing First approach to address chronic homelessness in Marin, recognizing that the solution to homelessness is a home. Since then, 691 people have been housed in permanent supportive housing and 104 of them were veterans.
The County, along with our tremendous partners, have been dedicated to ending veteran homelessness. Collective efforts have been impactful, and there are approximately 24 homeless veterans currently in Marin.
This new housing community at Homeward Bound will be completed in spring of 2024. With this housing, we can effectively end veteran homelessness in Marin and provide the support and stability that our veterans deserve!
I also had the privilege of attending the annual Veteran's Day Event in Marin at the Avenue of the Flags to honor those who have served. A big thank you to Rick Saber, a retired U.S. Navy and Civilian Aviator and the Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7816 in Novato, for the keynote message he provided to all in attendance.
|
|
Efforts on Binford Road continue. Our outreach teams are doing a great job connecting with people living on Binford to assess individual needs, sign people up for benefits they are eligible for, and get individuals waitlisted for housing opportunities.
Since our update last month, we have housed one additional person who was previously living on Binford Road, and an additional ten people are on a strong, identified pathway to housing.
To further enhance safety along the roadway, the Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance on November 28 to reduce the speed limit on Binford Road to 35 mph.
Additional mitigation measures are also underway: we began mobile pump out services to the RVs on Binford Road; we have increased the number of porta potties and hand washing stations available on-site; and next week we will be installing wind screens near the trash pick-up areas to help prevent debris from blowing into the wetlands.
Efforts to remove personal property stored in the public right-of-way and towing of abandoned and excess vehicles are ongoing.
At the August 22 Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, the BOS received an update on the Binford Road encampment with an associated plan to address the encampment. At that meeting I asked staff to come back to the BOS before the end of the year to provide an update on these efforts. This update is scheduled to come before the BOS on either December 12 or 19 (exact date is still TBD). Please double check the meeting agendas as we get closer to these dates to confirm the meeting date (agendas are posted the Thursday afternoon before the Tuesday meeting). I encourage your participation and comments at that meeting.
|
|
Earlier this year, the County launched a process known as Participatory Budgeting where community members decide how to spend part of the County’s budget. There is $2.5 million allotted to support racial equity initiatives in our underserved communities.
Community organizations developed proposals for consideration. The Marin County Office of Equity worked with the Participatory Budget Committee to identify 24 projects to advance to the Participatory Budget Community Ballot for voting.
Community voting is open! Please take a moment to vote and share your input on funding priorities. Ballots must be submitted by 5:00pm on December 29.
Each vote will help decide which projects will be funded. Anyone 14 or older who lives, works, owns a business, or attends school in Marin County is eligible to participate. Immigration status is not required to participate.
|
|
In June of this year, I received many compelling letters from a 4th/5th grade class at Olive Elementary School. Their letters expressed concern for wildlife on Olive Avenue. The students wished to raise awareness to drivers that this stretch of Olive Avenue, between Club Drive and Atherton Avenue, is a wildlife corridor.
Thanks to these students' efforts and advocacy, we have been able to highlight an important wildlife corridor on Olive Avenue by installing “Watch for Wildlife” signs to help alert drivers and protect wildlife that often traverse this roadway.
I had the opportunity to visit Olive Elementary yesterday and meet some of these students, and it was a great experience talking with them about local government and answering their thoughtful questions about civic engagement.
Thank you Olive Elementary for sharing your morning (and your great ideas!) with us.
|
|
As your Supervisor, I welcome and encourage you to connect, share your concerns, and your ideas. We want to hear from you! Please use the contact information below to reach out to the District 5 Team. A reply to this email doesn’t come directly to my office, and I’d like to respond to you in a timely manner.
**Please note, our email addresses have changed**
|
|
|
|
|
