Each year, fires occurring during the holiday season injure 2,600 individuals and cause over $930 million in damage. This video demonstrates how fast a live, cut Christmas tree can become fully engulfed in flames. Check out these tips from the United States Fire Administration to help ensure a safe and happy holiday. Also, if you have a Christmas tree,...
As a special holiday season treat, the Marin County Free Library (MCFL) and San Rafael Public Library have partnered to create a temporary pop-up library space at the Northgate Mall. The location opened on December 7. Working with Merlone Geier Partners (the new mall owners) and MCFL Director Sara Jones, our Library staff arranged to occupy an empty space in...
Also on Monday’s City Council meeting agenda is a rate adjustment proposal for 2019 for Marin Sanitary Service to provide refuse, recycling, and composting for ratepayers in San Rafael. The proposed rate adjustment would increase rates by 9.39% over 2018 levels for all ratepayers. This increase includes adjustments based on an agreed-upon rate setting methodology...
TGIF! On December 15th, starting at 7:00 am, we will be covering the following areas: Terra Linda – The H’s (Holly, Hickory, Hibiscus, Hyacinth), Tanbark Terrace, Tamarack and Trellis Gerstle Park – C & D Street Sun Valley – H St., Harcourt, Center, Fifth Avenue We’ll get to as many of the surrounding streets as...
City Hall and all non-essential City facilities will be closed closed from Monday, December 24, 2018 through Tuesday, January 1, 2019, with the exception of the following: Police and Fire Departments: Police and fire operations will remain in effect 24/7. Community Services: Community centers and the Falkirk Cultural Center will be closed, with the exception of...
Last week our Parks Maintenance visited the 32 Sidewalk Repair Program locations where trees have been identified as needing removal. The majority of these locations were trees in the Right of Way (located between the sidewalk and the street) but five of the properties involved trees on private property. See diagram below: As a reminder,...
Reasons for Hope Robert was chronically homeless in Downtown San Rafael for 30 years. He is now one of the 100+ people who have been housed through our community’s new strategy for ending chronic homelessness. Check out his story. Challenges Remain While stories like Robert's are proof that our new strategy to...
Weekly Synopsis The NWS predicts chances of isolated showers north of Santa Cruz today and tomorrow with a drying trend into Wednesday. However, for the San Rafael area there isn’t much rain predicted until late Friday when a front moves through the area. Then, we may expect a wet weekend containing light showers. Peak tides...
Due to extreme fire danger, all open space areas in the City of San Rafael were closed on November 16, 2018. On Friday, December 7, 2018, the open space areas were reopened due to low fire danger. Regardless, fire danger in open space remains a real threat, and you can help the San Rafael Fire...
Temporary location through December is collaborative effort As a special holiday season treat, the Marin County Free Library (MCFL) and San Rafael Public Library have partnered to create a temporary pop-up library space at the Northgate mall in San Rafael. The location planned a soft opening to start at noon December 7. Working with Merlone...
Thanksgiving weekend brought the City of San Rafael its first good storm of 2018 with 3.5 inches of rain over a 3-day period. Public Works crews performed an on-site emergency pump repair at Kerner Pump in-between Storms. The Streets pump crew removed, repaired and reinstalled the pump within a five-hour period. Just in time for...
During mid-November, the contractor installed 27’ deep pile foundations on each side of the San Rafael Canal. While the pounding of concrete generated a lot of noise, the work was done in about 12 working hours split up over three days. The next step is for the contractor to construct the bridge abutments on top...
With a lot of large projects happening in our hustling and bustling downtown, the folks in the Traffic Engineering and Land Development Division are working hard to continue coordinating with all the general contractors, subconsultants, and agencies that have their hands in everything from water to sewer to sidewalk repair to pavement restoration. Our inspectors...
The SMART Larkspur Extension construction work on the Francisco Blvd. West realignment and Phase-1 of the Multi-Use Path (from Rice Street to Andersen Drive) continues to move forward with the bulk of the work at the new Rice Drive and Francisco Blvd West intersection and rail crossing. Underground drainage facilities and preliminary grading have been...
It’s been busy at the Public Safety Center site! In the last three weeks, the contractor had two extremely successful concrete pours. A total of over 1,000 cubic yards of concrete was placed by crews of up to 50 workers including truck drivers, concrete pump operators, concrete installers, finishers, and the construction management team. This...
The City’s contractor, M3 Integrated Services, has been working on grading the hillside and installing the underground utilities. This project will continue through the winter. The contractor has been winterizing the site before every rain.
The City’s contractor, McNabb Construction, has demolished the existing Arbor at Bret Harte Park and intends to begin trenching for the sewer line once the weather clears up. The shade structure should be installed by the end of the year and the long-awaited restroom should be placed and completed by the end of January.
The City’s contractor, Hillside Drilling, has completed the retaining wall and has placed erosion control measures. They should be 100% complete with the slide repair by the end of the year.
The City’s contractor, Valentine Corporation, has completed the first two retaining walls and is now forming the first cast in drilled hole (CIDH) retaining wall on the slope. They have also started demolition of Gleniare Drive in hopes of completing the lower phase of the project before the end of the year.
Construction at the following six addresses is anticipated to begin December 17, weather dependent: 102 Eye Street 110 Center Street 132 Center Street 27 Harcourt St 3 Pine Street 30 Center Street Van Midde and Son Concrete will email property owners a few days prior to commencement of work. Construction on average is anticipated to...
Weekly Synopsis Dry and seasonably cool weather is forecast through this afternoon. Unsettled weather conditions return late tonight into Tuesday as a storm system approaches the central California coast. This is a lighter storm with a predicted total of about 0.65” Monday-Tuesday and then about a 0.25” Wednesday-Thursday. Dry conditions are expected to return by...
In the fall of 2018, the State of California announced a one-time, state-wide funding opportunity called the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP). This funding opportunity supports homeless-related services and capital projects. The State allocated approximately $4.8 million to Marin County. The Homeless Policy Steering Committee (Marin County’s local Continuum of Care) who is required to determine the...
At Monday’s meeting, the City Council will be recognizing one of our distinguished former Board/Commission members, Mr. Eric Holm. Eric had served on the ADA Access Advisory Committee from 2009 to 2018 and on the Park and Recreation Commission from 2010 to 2018. As a member of the ADA Access Advisory Committee, Eric assisted in the City’s efforts to create a...
Also on Monday’s City Council meeting agenda is a proposed ordinance relating to rental discrimination based on the source of the income that a prospective rental tenant receives, such as a Housing Choice Voucher or a Veterans Affairs Supporting Housing Voucher. You may remember that this item was initially discussed at the October 1, 2018 meeting,...
On September 26, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a ruling geared toward speeding up deployment of small cell wireless facilities in the public right-of-way. Small cell wireless facilities are designed to accommodate 5G technology. This ruling, which goes into effect in mid-January 2019, sets forth additional limitations on state and local government regulation of small...
Are you looking for an opportunity to make a charitable contribution to families in need this holiday season? The Santa Cop program, which provides toys and clothing to families in need, is in full-swing--and we need your help! How can you contribute? Well, there are toy drives across the City where you can drop off an unwrapped toy for...
With the beginning of the winter storm season fast approaching, we strongly encourage you to take time to prepare for upcoming storms, which can have adverse impacts to the community--such as flooding, debris, downed power lines, and more. Visit our website to learn more about how you can protect yourself, your family, and your community in the...
Today at the San Rafael Transit Center, Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) construction begins in preparation for SMART's rail extension to Larkspur. Transit users can now see construction fencing and staging areas within the Transit Center. Work will progress over the coming weeks and include the construction of a new temporary boarding platform near Platform C at...
As of 11/29, the City has received signed agreements from 183 property owners in San Rafael for sidewalk construction work. We are excited that the first year of the program will be making a visible impact on sidewalks in San Rafael, with 22,453 square feet of sidewalk slated to be replaced, representing over a mile of new sidewalk...
On Thursday, November 29, 2018 our contractor for the Grand Avenue Pedestrian Bridge project is planning on installing temporary K-rail (a concrete barrier used to separate or redirect traffic) on the existing bridge. The contractor will have flaggers and signage for traffic control while the K-rail is being placed. Work begins at 9:00 pm and...
