On August 31, Lieutenant Raffaello “Ralph” Pata retired after 34 years of service to the City of San Rafael. Ralph was born and raised in San Rafael, attending St. Raphael’s School and San Rafael High School. He began his service to the City as a dispatcher for the San Rafael Fire Department. Two years later,...
Our 3D printers at both the Downtown and Pickleweed libraries are working hard everyday, printing out adorable and practical things. We also have Oculus Go and Vive virtual reality systems. With Vive, you can experience painting in 3D using Tilt Brush, an immersive painting program. Come by and check them out! On Wednesday afternoons at...
Over the past several meetings, the City Council has discussed and approved several employee labor agreements with various bargaining groups. At Monday night’s meeting, the City Council will discuss a proposed employee labor agreement with the San Rafael Firefighters’ Association (SRFA), which represents 67 employees in the San Rafael Fire Department, including safety and non-safety...
Kaiser Permanente has proposed to convert an existing, 148,000 square-foot office building at 1650 Los Gamos Drive to medical office uses, as well as the construction of a new 433‐space, three-level parking structure. The current regulations do not allow medical office uses, so Kaiser has requested a rezoning and permit amendment. This project is consistent...
70% of people experiencing chronic homelessness in Marin report having some type of psychiatric or emotional challenge. In Part 1 of this three-part series, we looked at what Serious Mental Illness (SMI) is. In Part 2, we looked at how the state hospital system was created. In this final part, we'll look at what happened after...
The construction team continues to show results at our Essential Facilities projects. At Fire Station #52, with the training tower complete, the contractor has refocused its resources for the interior build out of the main building, exterior facade, and the on-site and off-site utilities. Bay Cities Paving & Grading, a subcontractor to Alten, will continue to...
Over the last several months PG&E has been working on a vital natural gas main that travels through the Bret Harte neighborhood and feeds most of southern Marin. After the San Bruno pipeline explosion, PG&E thoroughly evaluated gas lines throughout the state and identified this one as one needing replacing – as the system has...
Progress on the SMART Larkspur extension construction continues to move rapidly with the Francisco Blvd. West realignment and Phase-1 of the Multi-Use Path (from Rice Street to Andersen Drive). The Contractor has placed the aggregate base and is now installing curb & gutter on the north end. Construction of the Multi Use Path-Phase 1 is...
In San Rafael, our community is susceptible to human-caused and natural disasters including earthquakes, wild land fires, floods, and other large-scale emergencies we cannot predict. When large scale emergencies occur law, fire, and emergency medical services will be overwhelmed with priority calls and our City employees will serve as Disaster Service Workers. Government agencies and disaster organizations cannot...
Cheryl Lentini was appointed to the San Rafael Design Review Board in June 2009 and has served on the Design Review Board for nine years. Cheryl’s participation on the Design Review Board will forever be known for her keen ability to understand the multitude General Plan policies, review criteria, and guidelines affecting project design, and...
Public Works and contractors have been hard at work answering sidewalk repair inquiries and final inspection scheduling all throughout late July and August. Thank you to all applicants that have arranged for the final inspection required with their preferred contractor before the deadline. Do not be alarmed if contractors are slow to respond, doubling of...
Arts Organizations Come Together and Celebrate Latinx Arts and Culture The newly designated Downtown San Rafael Arts District, located along Fourth Street in San Rafael, officially launches this Fall with an exciting array of arts programming centered around the shared theme of Latinx. Latinx is inspired by national movements such as Spanish Heritage month and National...
70% of people experiencing chronic homelessness in Marin report having some type of psychiatric or emotional challenge. In Part 1 of this three-part series, we looked at what Serious Mental Illness (SMI) is. In Part 2, we'll look at how SMI has been treated over time. Supernatural Origins For thousands of years mental illness...
Project Update: At Fire Station #57, the contractor has completed most of the concrete masonry block walls for the Fire Station building. The structural steel was delivered at the end of July and the contractor quickly mobilized an erection crew and got the steel installed in only four days. Steel erection for the second floor...
Project Update: During the month of July, Alten Construction continued MEP rough-in and framing at the Main Building. Fire roofing was completed. Exterior roofing/sheathing commenced. Drywall tape/finish occurred at the Classroom, as well as TPO roofing. The concrete decking for the Training Tower was completed while finishes commenced. Work began for the on-site/off-site utilities and storm drain. PROJECT...
During the month of July, Alten Construction continued with the forming of the shotcrete forms (walls) for the remaining perimeter of the basement including the apparatus bay. Major coordination of the shotcrete walls took place, setting doors, waterproofing, water stoppers, electrical conduits and electrical boxes, rebar, dowel templates MEP penetrations and screed wire. Once completion of the shotcrete forms...
San Rafael Mayor Gary Phillips has authorized the flag of the United States to be lowered to half-staff in honor of the passing of Senator John McCain. The U.S. flag will remain at half-staff until the date of Senator McCain's internment.
DPW has started its annual review and repair of several storm water pumps. This year we are removing a total of three pumps for repair or possible replacement. In order to review and determine if the unit need repair, the entire pump is removed and shipped to the contractor’s yard where it is dismantled and...
The SMART Larkspur extension construction work continues with the Francisco Blvd. West realignment and Phase-1 of the Multi-Use Path (from Rice Street to Andersen Drive). The Francisco Blvd West realignment is moving forward at a fast pace. The subcontractor, Ghilotti Brothers Construction, is not wasting any time with construction. The work includes environmental mitigation of...
In early August Public Works staff reported that a portion of Francisco Blvd. West and Andersen Drive was scheduled to be resurfaced starting on August 9, 2018. The approach included grinding the roadway on Friday night and performing the resurfacing on Monday night. SMART’s contractor was required to secure an encroachment permit from Caltrans the...
City Staff from the Community Development Department and the Public Works Department met with representatives from the San Rafael City School District last week to discuss the construction work occurring on various school campuses. Glenwood Elementary School: The school district is started construction of a new gym and multi-purpose rooms on the campus. Construction started...
On Monday, August 20th, the City’s contractor, Ghilotti Bros, began construction at the intersection of 5th/G Street. The first order of work includes removing an old storm drain culvert dating back to 1928. The Contractor removed the pipe and installed a new storm drain pipe across the east leg of the intersection. Over the next...
Last year as part of a larger effort to improve pedestrian safety, the City developed an evaluation and prioritization process to score and rank uncontrolled pedestrian crossings. An uncontrolled pedestrian crossing is where the sidewalks or designated walkways intersect a roadway at a location where there is no traffic control (i.e. traffic signal, STOP sign). ...
On August 16, 2018, the Ghilotti Bros. ground and paved (using 80 tons of hot mix asphalt) the end of Clayton Street which had deteriorated beyond a less intensive treatment. This is small piece of road heavily impacted the residents in the neighboring area. After voicing their opinions about the dilapidated asphalt, DPW was able...
One of the public's biggest frustrations related to homelessness is encountering clearly mentally ill individuals living on the street. 44 million Americans - housed and unhoused - experience mental illness every year. Many are medicated or otherwise not outwardly symptomatic, but at times some can sadly display strange, unsettling, or disruptive behavior. This is particularly evident when people are homeless. ...
In early 2017, the Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge was launched as a collaborative research and design project to initiate innovative solutions brought on by climate change. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, this Bay Area adaptation design competition focuses specifically on sea level rise. The competition was set-up to select ten site areas in...
The first day for students in the San Rafael City Schools District and the Dixie School District is next Thursday, August 23. You may see an increase in traffic congestion around the City--and it won’t be just commuters trying to get to work; you’ll likely see parents dropping off their students, school buses driving through...
Also on Monday, the City’s Community Development Director will give a brief presentation on various housing topics: state-mandated housing laws; current City housing policies and regulations; the City’s current housing stock, including our affordable housing inventory; accessory dwelling units; current housing development activity; short-term residential rentals; and the current rental housing market. This report will...
This year, San Rafael, similar to many parts of the Western United States, is in the midst of an unusually long and high-risk fire season as a result of several recent years of drought, high levels of extremely dry vegetation, and elevated summer temperatures. We currently staff two open space rangers and a comprehensive vegetation...
On Monday evening, the City Council will consider a response to the recently released Grand Jury report, Yellow School Bus for Traffic Congestion Relief. In their report, the Grand Jury examined yellow school bus (YSB) programs in Marin County and found that these programs were developed in a varied district-by-district approach that lacks coordination and consistent funding that...
