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Health & Fitness

San Rafael Snapshot - April 3, 2014

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Marinwood Fire Department Shared Services Agreement

At the upcoming City Council meeting on April 7 at 7 p.m., Fire Chief Gray will present a shared services agreement with Marinwood Fire Department to the City Council for their consideration. Similar to our agreement with the Larkspur Fire Department, this operational and structural agreement will provide more efficient and effective services.  Click here for the staff report.

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Progress on Measure E

The new transactions and use tax, approved under Measure E last November, went into effect earlier this week.  At their Monday night meeting, the City Council will consider a contract for a financial advisor to assist with debt and other facilities financing strategies to best utilize the portion of Measure E revenues that the City Council prioritized for major public safety facilities. The next step will be to identify and prioritize facility construction and improvements that will be pursued over the next few years. Click here for the staff report. Also at the April 7 meeting, the City Council will receive the final report from the Measure S Oversight Committee as well as recognize the members for their service. In addition, the City Council will seek applications to serve on the Measure E Oversight Committee. Applications will be available online or in the City Clerk’s Office after Monday. 

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Serve on a Board or Commission

Following Monday’s City Council meeting, applications will be available to serve on the Park and Recreation Commission (3 vacant seats), Planning Commission (2 vacant seats), the Design Review Board (1 vacant seat), as well as a new oversight committee for the Measure E expenditures. Serving on a board or commission is a very rewarding way to get involved in and serve your community. Click here to view current openings and to access the application forms.

Construction in San Rafael

You may notice a variety of construction projects currently underway in San Rafael. The Department of Public Works will be making roadway safety improvements on Fairhills Drive west of Twin Oaks Avenue from on Monday, April 7 through Friday, April 11. A full roadway closure will be in place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. For residents living at or north of 121 Fairhills Drive, a detour route using Valley View Avenue and Elizabeth Way will be in place. For more information, click here or call 485-3355.

In addition, Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) is in the process of installing more than three quarters of a mile of new water distribution pipeline in San Rafael, San Anselmo, and Fairfax as part of the district's capital improvement program, and to eliminate pipes with a high concentration of leaks. Work began on Monday, March 17 on H Street in San Rafael. The entire project should be completed by mid-July. The City has street paving projects planned for the affected streets, so MMWD scheduled the pipeline replacement projects to be completed first. Customers with questions about the project can contact MMWD at 945-1569.

SMART is also commencing work in San Rafael. Their work in the Downtown San Rafael area is scheduled to start on Monday, April 7 to begin preparing the right-of-way (ROW) for construction.  This work will include vegetation clearing and tree removal between Third Street and Pacheco Street, ahead of the April 15 start date for the bird nesting season. Click here for more SMART construction updates.

Create Defensible Space in the Wildland Urban Interface

While it’s raining this week, the San Rafael Fire Department wants to encourage everyone in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) to provide defensible space to be prepared for the wildfire season.  Defensible space is a buffer area of 100 feet around a structure where vegetation management has been conducted to reduce the potential for transfer of fire.  To determine if your property is in the WUI, you may go to the address list, or view a map to locate areas in the WUI.  The San Rafael Fire Department offers residents located within the WUI a free hazard assessment to identify risks and challenges to their homes and landscaping from wildfires.  Fill out a Fire Hazard Assessment Request Form to request an assessment.

It’s OK to Dial 9-1-1 from a Cell Phone in Marin County!

You can now safely call 9-1-1 from a cell phone and get quickly connected to help. In the past there was a slower referral system but due to technology changes with cell phones and the increased use of phones to call 9-1-1, the old rule to call our 7-digit emergency number when on a cell phone is outdated in Marin County. Now, when you call 9-1-1 from a cell phone we are able to get an approximate location within about 20 seconds in case you do not know where you are at. If you call on a 7-digit line we do not have this ability. 9-1-1 calls are the highest priority to answer; 7-digit lines are secondary. In an emergency, please call 9-1-1 rather than the 7-digit number.

EVENTS

Downtown Farmers Market Festival Starts Thursday, April 3

The Downtown Farmers Market Festival opens this year on Thursday, April 3 from 6 to 9 p.m.  Featuring fresh organic produce, flowers, arts and crafts and an international gift mart, there is also food, live music and family fun.  This is a great way to connect with friends, family and neighbors as well as support our Downtown shops and eateries.  For more information, visit www.sanrafaelmarket.org.

CERT Basic Training

Marin County’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be holding their next training session in San Rafael beginning on Thursday, April 10.  The CERT training is an 18-hour workshop that provides hands-on experience in basic first aid, incident command organization, light search and rescue, fire suppression and more in order to prepare citizens for a major emergency. The San Rafael CERT training will consist of three educational and fun classes; Thursday, April 10 from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, Saturday April 12 and Saturday April 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at San Rafael Fire Station 52. To register, please visit www.readymarin.org. We are also available to bring training to your neighborhood, just let us know. For additional information please call 485-3409 or email coordinator@marincountycert.org.

Home Brewing Made Easy

Can you follow a recipe? You too can home brew! Learn about home brewing from start to finish, ingredients and types of beers, and the process of fermentation. To finish it all off sample some “wort”—the non-alcoholic first stage of beer before it has fermented. Taught by Library Director and homebrewer Sarah Houghton, this event is April 9 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Downtown Library as part of One Book One Marin.

Earth Day Marin Festival

It’s time for the annual Earth Day Festival at Redwood High School in Larkspur. Join the City of San Rafael at the festival on Saturday, April 6 and take action on behalf of the planet! This fun, meaningful event is geared toward offering tangible actions anyone can take to live more sustainably and stop climate change. If you go, stop by the City of San Rafael’s “15 Seconds of Fame” booth and tell us about your most impressive water-saving tips. We’ll take your photo or video (your choice) and make you a star, while using them to help others find ways to conserve! Visit www.earthdaymarin.org for more details or to get involved.  

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