Pt. San Pedro Rd. Coalition
Box 449
369 "B" Third Street
San Rafael, CA 94901

Medians Committee

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News

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POSTED
SUBJECT
March 10, 2010 Meeting to Improve the Medians on Point San Pedro Road
The next meeting of the Medians Committee of the Point San Pedro Road Coalition will be held at 7:00 pm, Monday March 15 in the Clubhouse at 39 Heritage Drive, San Rafael. For more information, contact Committee Chair R. Sterling Harwell using the Committee Contact Form.

The deteriorated condition of the Point San Pedro Road medians is obvious to all who live in or visit the area. The challenge of getting the medians landscaped in a time of City and County austerity is formidable, and we are organizing an all-volunteer effort to get the job done. Please come to our meeting to learn about what we are doing, and consider joining our effort.
October 6, 2009 An article in the Marin IJ describes an agreement between the San Rafael City Council and the Peacock Gap Homeowners Association. This pact puts the maintenance of the neighborhood's long-neglected medians and other landscaping in City hands with $80,000 of Association funding.
June 18, 2009 On June 4, four members of the Medians Committee met with Marin County District 1 Supervisor Susan Adams along with Ken Nordhoff (San Rafael City Manager), Damon Connolly (San Rafael Councilman), and Ron Paolini (County Parks & Open Space) to discuss the immediate problems on the medians along Pt. San Pedro Road.

John Lenser prepared a Powerpoint presentation that gave an overview of the Committee’s work to date, outlined the problems, and funding potential. Bernie Benson spoke as a citizen frustrated with the appearance of the medians and as one who has weed-wacked on a couple of occasions, Bonnie Marmor represented Pt. San Pedro Road Coalition, and Sandra Sellinger provided information that had been requested at a previous meeting with Supervisor Adams.

County Parks and Recreation presented a proposal received from a private contractor qualified to perform work on the medians for one-time general weed abatement and clean up on those medians that lie within the County.   Supervisor Adams indicated that she would likely be able to commit County funds under her discretion to cover the cost of this proposal for this initial effort, and she will look into whether County staff can help with some needed repairs that involve safety issues.

There a was a commitment by the City and County to work together with the community to find a solution and funding sources to deal with beautification and maintenance of the medians. Both Supervisor Adams and City Manager Ken Nordhoff agreed to have City and County staff members jointly attend quarterly meetings with our Median Committee for updates and to facilitate collaboration in improving the medians.
             
A discussion was had as to how private donations may be handled.  Since the Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, we should be able to collect tax-deductible contributions.  Further discussions about how to raise funds and allocate contributions will be the subject of future meetings.

June 17, 2009 Attached is the history of the Median Proposal (PDF) that was defeated by a vote of the East San Rafael property owners in April 1998. This proposal was a ballot measure under Proposition 218. The question before the voters (2,766 ballots were mailed the week of February 17, 1998) was whether to form a Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) for the purpose of beautifying the medians along Pt. San Pedro Road. 2,049 ballots were returned by April 6, 1998. A 50% voter approval requirement is needed under Proposition 218 special benefit districts. The assessment district was defeated by a vote of 60% against and 40% in favor.
January 22, 2009 The status of the medians along Pt. San Pedro Road was discussed in a meeting with Ken Nordoff, San Rafael City Manager. During that discussion, the history of median maintenance and the relationship between the City and County was reviewed as well as a past attempt to resolve funding for median upkeep via an "overlay tax district" that would raise funds from local residents. That attempt failed to pass a popular vote, and he discussed some of the reasons it failed at the time. Mr. Nordoff suggested a meeting between the Medians Committee, City representatives and County representatives would be beneficial to discuss alternative approaches and what was learned from that earlier approach. This suggestion will be brought to the Medians Committee for consideration.
LIBRARY Additional articles and reference materials can be found in the Medians Committee Library.