CC MIN 2014-05-05 Special Town Hall

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I Dr. Bell also introduced Stan Maupin, Deputy Fire Chief and Audrey Ramberg, Assistant City Manager. Mayor Gee invited each Council Member to comment. Council Member Howard thanked the Mayor for his vision and staff for the work. She was very pleased with the turn out. She announced that the Mayor's beautification awards nomination period is open now and she encouraged all to apply and the deadline is the end of May. Council Member Bain said that he appreciated everybody's comments and he values how Redwood Shores is such an engaged community. He would like for future meetings to have a more logical flow for the meeting but he is pleased. Council Member Aguirre thanked the Mayor and everyone for being here and for showcasing our City and she values the presence of all here tonight. Council Member Pierce shared her joy in seeing people engaged tonight and she announced an event at the Union Cemetery and she invited all to attend. She also announced that the summer concerts are coming up and she is looking for ways to raise funds. Council Member Seybert thanked the public for the comments and he added that being an engaged community is a good thing. He also thanked staff and the Boards, Commissions and Committees applicants who do the heavy lifting. With regards to the Silicon Valley Clean Water, he wants the community to hear that the process is nowhere close to a decision. He said that Redwood City will not ignore the infrastructure maintenance issue but will address these needs and face them. Vice Mayor Foust thanked all those present and it reminds her of a journey that started in 1999 when she started her journey that led to volunteerism, Planning Commission and then City Council. She wanted to mention four items: the San Francisco Restoration Authority is entertaining the idea of a 9 dollar parcel tax in the nine counties in the Bay Area for restoration projects in publicly held lands; secondly she sits on the San Mateo County Transportation Authority and they manage the '/Z cent tax; she also serves on the 2X2X2 and these are meetings that include two Redwood City Council Members, two Belmont Redwood Shores School District, and two Members of the Belmont Council and they share opportunities are discuss leveraging; she also spoke about the Stanford DA (Development Agreement) and the public benefits such as the entrepreneurship camp and the Speakers Series and the Stanford Executive programs. She added that Redwood City has a fund to offer scholarships to off-set the cost. She said this is a very unique set of benefits that the community needs to take advantage and participate. Mayor Gee wanted to share that what SamTrans did earlier this year was disruptive to the residents, cutting a particular route that impacted the Shores, and he is acknowledging everyone' patience and dedication. He is glad that issue has been addressed. He said that public transit ridership is up and so there is a lot of work being SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION/TOWN HALL May 5, 2014 MEETING MINUTES PAGE 5 MINUTE BOOK NO. 65 Page No. 146