Happy Autumn to everyone in District 3 and the County. It has been a very busy period for the County
in the last couple of months and I wanted to update you on some of the issues and topics we are working
on.
Bring a kayak (come early to get the boats in the water) and be ready to push off from the Pasture at
about 9:30am for Aramburu Island. For more details, call my aide, Leslie Alden: 499-7331.
As you know, the mission that drives our work can best be summed up with one word: sustainability,
and fits well with the County’s Strategic Plan: “provide excellent services to ensure healthy, safe
and sustainable communities throughout Marin.” While this remains my purpose in my work here at the
County, our projects encompass a wide range of issues and perspectives.
Progress in “Counting Down to Zero Waste”
Upon my request earlier this year, the Board of Supervisors approved Marin County’s signing of the Urban
Environmental Accords, an international declaration from the United Nations. The Accords set clear
goals that communities can use to reduce ecological impacts: energy use, waste reduction, water
management, urban design, transportation, and environmental health.
By signing the Urban Environmental Accords, we signaled Marin’s ultimate goal of producing
“zero waste” by the year 2040, meaning that virtually everything we ‘discard’ will be reused,
recycled or composted. The County’s Community Development Agency (CDA) did careful research and
analysis of the available data, giving us confidence that this is an achievable policy goal worth pursuing.
One of the key elements of the Accords is the reduction of the waste that causes great environmental
harm in our waters, the ocean, and other biosystems. This damage is well documented in a film titled
“Our Synthetic Sea”, shown at our 4/18/06 zero waste workshop. Beyond the imperative to move toward
zero waste, the workshop was very helpful to me in providing a sense of timing for various waste
reduction efforts the County, towns and cities should explore to increase our rate of success.
Thanks to Bruce Baum, Ed Mainland and my Aide Maureen Parton for much hard work in setting up that
informative workshop.
Better yet, the Marin County Hazardous & Solid Waste Joint Powers Authority (this JPA includes the
cities and towns of Marin) is considering a resolution to achieve 80% diversion by 2012, and zero waste
for the County by 2025. This resolution is being considered at the October 25th Executive Committee
meeting.
Extended Producer Responsibility / Product Take-Back
Soon after the April workshop, I was successful in winning approval from the Solid Waste JPA (same as above)
to join efforts with our fellow Bay Area cities and counties in pursuing State legislation for “extended
producer responsibility” (EPR) or so-called “product take-back.” British Columbia, Washington State
and the European Union have “product take-back" laws that require manufacturers to be responsible for
the reuse, recycling or disposal of products and packaging at the end of the product’s useful life.
Rather than dumping the chore of disposal or recycling on local governments, we need to align the costs
and incentives with those who make the products, such that better re-use opportunities are designed in
from the beginning of the product’s life.
Our JPA has joined the Bay Area Product Stewardship Council to pursue State legislation supporting this
concept. The JPA’s resolution to support statewide legislation is also being considered by the Executive
Committee on October 25. I will be discussing the concept with Assemblyman Mark Leno (SF), and Jared
Huffman very soon.
Food Waste Composting
A second major step would be the creation of a food waste composting program collected at curbside along
with our regular recyclables and green waste. It is estimated that 7% - 10% of Marin County’s waste
stream is compostable food waste. Methane gas is created as food decomposes in the anaerobic environment
of a landfill, and methane is a bad actor as a green house gas, even worse than CO2. I have launched a
serious investigation of the feasibility of a curbside collection program for compostable food waste to
divert this stream to an aerobic process with a valuable material at the end: compost.
Staff from CDA’s Environmental Health Division, the Sustainability Team, the Solid Waste JPA, and
independent advisors will be working on this analysis for the next year. This major investigation will
mainly be housed at the Solid Waste JPA’s Citizen Task Force, which will begin working on the next Five
Year Plan for Diversion in January. Stay tuned….
Solid Waste Advisory Committee
I have also created a special committee to advise me on other good ideas for waste reduction. Our first
meeting will be at the Mill Valley Community Center on November 8 in the evening. Please contact Maureen
Parton for details: mparton@co.marin.ca.us.
In the meantime, you can do a great deal to divert your ‘discards’ from the landfill. Visit Marin Sanitary
Service’s website for a complete list of their recycling services, location and
tips: www.marinsanitary.com. Contact iReuse to find a new home for just about anything you can
imagine re-using, from saddles to office furniture (a big antique desk of mine now serves the executive of
the Sausalito Chamber of Commerce, thanks to some connecting of the dots by iReuse): www.ireuse.com.
ReNew Computers in San Rafael accepts all electronics for environmentally correct recycling on the first
Saturday of each month. Learn more at www.renewcomputers.com or call 457.8801 for more information.
And fall is a great time to start that backyard composting bin….
Watershed Approaches to Flood Control
With climate disruption, we face the stark reality of worsening downpours, high tides, and flooding events.
We are working across many different agencies to meet these challenges, and I’m working closely with the
City of Mill Valley and Flood Zone 3, as well as Supervisor Brown in Ross Valley, to coordinate County
involvement in this work.
We are pursuing a variety of improvements, from routine maintenance to better hillside guidelines for
“slowing, spreading and sinking” water before it hits our creeks as fast moving run-off. Some of
these efforts have already been launched in Tam Valley and in Sycamore Park in Mill Valley, but it
will take years for new ideas to work their way into our jurisdictions’ general plans and building codes.
We’ll keep you posted as we learn more about modern approaches to flood control, but we encourage you
to communicate with your town staff as well as the County about the need to pursue alternatives to
culverts, pipes and levees. A public watershed planning process will be launched this Winter in
Southern Marin.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Pilot Builds Momentum
The Bicycle Pilot Advisory Committee has been recruited by our Department of Public Works and will begin
studying potential projects and educational efforts this Fall. Thanks to the Richardson Bay Safe
Neighborhoods team and to Safe Routes to School, southern Marin will benefit from this fast start in
identifying potential projects to improve pedestrian safety, accessibility, and bicycle use in our
District. Be sure to get involved in these important efforts to get cars off our local roads!
Contact Maureen Parton for dates and times for these meetings: mparton@co.marin.ca.us
Muir Woods Shuttle Blows Away Expectations Again This Summer
With over 14,500 riders between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the Muir Woods Shuttle Pilot Program
continued to be extremely successful at reducing gridlock in Tam Valley and at the Monument. We will
soon evaluate service changes for the coming summer and will continue to study how best to design this
system for long term use. Permanent funding to continue operations in the years beyond this final
summer (’07) is a critical worry, so I will be working closely with the Park Service and our
Congresswoman to keep this great feature running after the ’07 season. Fingers crossed!
Deep thanks to the staffs of our Department of Public Works, GGNRA and the National Park Service, who
worked tirelessly over the summer to help the shuttles run smoothly to and from the Woods; to
Dave O’Conner who “markets by walking around” to local hotels; and to the Marin Visitors’ Bureau, who gave
us $10,000 of web and materials marketing to help build exposure for this non-car program.
The best news of all was that even though the Muir Woods shuttle has removed less than 10% of the cars
traveling through Tam Junction each summer day, people have nonetheless remarked that there has been an
improvement in the community’s quality of life. This tells me that we don’t have to be perfect in every
solution; we just need to be aggressive and get as many cars off our roads as possible. Each one will
make a difference in making our lives better.
Community Choice Aggregation Continues to Look Promising
Many communities want to increase the percentage of non-polluting, renewable energy that they use, and to
increase local control over rates and steady supply. Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) enables California
cities and counties to supply electricity to the customers within their borders by taking responsibility
for brokering, buying and even generating the electricity itself and setting the rates that customers pay.
(By the way, PG&E would still distribute the electricity and the gas that you use in the same manner that
they do now – and our bills would look the same, too.)
Using appropriate funding, investments in generation systems, and typical energy procurement approaches,
it continues to look like Marin can increase its share of renewable energy resources and save customers
money. Our target continues to be achieving 51% renewable energy sources within 10 years, which is more
than double the State target that PG&E is obligated to meet. This could also be a good way to stimulate
local business and reduce security risks from centralized utility power generation.
The County of Marin began its own investigation a year ago and this past June presented the Phase I
results to the electeds and staff representatives of virtually all the cities and towns in the County.
Since then, staff from the County Sustainability Team has provided custom presentations to individual
councils throughout the County.
The cities and towns of Marin have given the green light for the Board of Supervisors to launch Phase II
of the investigation. Expected to be approved by the Board of Supervisors in November, the Phase II
investigation will entail a much more detailed analysis of the financial feasibility of CCA here in Marin.
We will form an Energy Task Force with our city/town partners and embark on an intensive business planning
phase for the next nine months. Risks, costs, reliability, and financial and governance feasibility will
all be analyzed carefully. If the idea survives this scrutiny, it will be debated at every council in
the County later next year.
On-Going Wins for the Environment:
~ In August I won approval from the Board of Supervisors to support plug-in hybrid vehicles. We thus send
a strong signal to the marketplace that we want to procure these cars for our own fleet (we now have
numerous hybrid cars and run B20 biodiesel in our County trucks), support state and federal policies to
support this technology, and join other non-profits and governments in this effort. We are exploring
other incentives to increase market demand for these advantageous vehicles.
Ten years ago I served on the advisory board for a hybrid R&D firm, and learned that over 80% of all
car-trips in America are less than 20 miles. A huge portion of these trips could be all-electric, so a
car that could run on electricity for the first several miles, then switch to a hybrid engine, would
convert a huge number of our vehicle-miles to less polluting electric and then fuel efficient technology.
~ Marin County has completed its greenhouse gas reduction plan under its membership in the Climate
Protection Program, so should soon receive its 3 Star Award from the International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). We have articulated a strong across-the-board strategy for reducing
these dangerous gases. Efforts range from energy efficiency, to solar, to better land use policy.
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Report is so strong that I’ve asked our CDA whether the County’s efforts
could conceivably lead us to achieve a “fossil free” status, as an entire County, in the next few decades.
Their report will be delivered to the Board of Supervisors on November 14.
~ The County added a 204KW photovoltaic system to the roof of the Marin Center, and a 161KW system on our
building at 120 North Redwood Drive in San Rafael, this summer. Way to go!
~ I won approval for funding from the Board of Supervisors in the late Spring for us to partner with
California Youth Energy Services (CYES) for an innovative new program to reduce energy and build job
skills. CYES launched their youth energy auditing program this Summer in three communities in Marin
(Marin City and Southern Marin, the Canal area of San Rafael, and Novato). This program helps build job
skills for underserved young people, provides energy saving technologies to lower income households,
which results in a reduction in energy usage. Triple win. The young auditors will be honored in the
Board of Supervisors’ Chambers in November.
~ Our office is working with our community leaders in developing a couple of pilot programs for local
shuttles. We hope to get at least two pilot routes up and running for the ’07 Fall school semester.
I’ve been amazed how little funding is available, and how complicated the rules are, for developing such
a program, but persistence will pay in the long run.
Marin City Health Clinic to Open Next Month
My colleagues and I will soon evaluate the Marin City CSD’s business plan for a new health clinic at the
Manzanita Center in Marin City. With this evaluation comes a proposal for us to consider a $100,000
operating contract to launch operations for the coming year, a time to measure need and performance at
this location. Assuming that final arrangements for the funding, volunteers, and building are completed
as scheduled, the Marin City Health and Wellness Center will open on November 4.
If one individual could be singled out for gratitude, it would be Terrie Harris Green, Vice Chair of the
Marin City CSD, who has worked tirelessly to bring this clinic to the community. Many thanks also to
Larry Meredith, Frima Stewart and Bobby Wunch, of our Health & Human Services Department (HHS), for their
intensive support to the CSD leaders during the past 6 months of business planning, and to Kaiser
Healthcare for providing capital and furnishings. This clinic has been a dream long-nurtured in the
community, and many have contributed countless hours to make this dream come true.
HHS is also providing an outreach team for mental health, career and financial services, and nursing.
This team is already working at 101 Drake Avenue in Marin City, but may soon be able to join the other
health professionals at the new clinic. Many thanks again to HHS for their strong support of our
community.
Big Questions Coming for County Health Policy
With the recent dissolution agreement between the Health Care District Board and Sutter Health Corp.,
large questions emerge that our Board of Supervisors must confront regarding the public health system
of our County.
Sutter Health is investigating the feasibility of opening a major facility in Marin City, providing
surgical and other operations. While no formal proposal has reached the County, various community leaders
there are evaluating the financial and health related benefits this could bring locally. Even if
community acceptance is strong, however, Sutter will need to gain approval from the County, a process that
will take at least a year. Efficacy for the medical practitioners and system, implications for public
health and the County’s responsibilities for this critical policy area, tax and financial consequences for
County government, and various land use and environmental (CEQA type) issues must all be explored and
approved by County Staff and the Board of Supervisors.
While this will move quickly if a formal proposal is made (in governmental approval processes, a year is
considered very, very fast), these are huge questions for our Southern Marin and County-wide community.
While there could be advantages from a facility closer to our area, free of the northbound afternoon wall
of traffic on 101, there are other major questions for the existing medical community that must be
addressed. We are keenly aware that only one major health facility is financially feasible in central to
southern Marin, so approving this proposal would be tantamount to leaving behind the days of Marin General
Hospital (MGH) in Greenbrae, in favor of a new facility.
Meanwhile, the Health Care District Board must win back confidence from the Board of Supervisors and the
community about its ability to run a hospital, and every candidate for the Health Care District Board is
adamant that they want to do this. They too will need to gain local and county-wide approval for a bond
measure (for required earthquake work on MGH), prove that they are the best team to guarantee the
provision of public health services in the County, and that the medical community can function there at
MGH under the new management.
There is a vigorous campaign for three seats on the Board of the Health Care District, and its outcome is
critical for the future of these analyses and for health in our County, for years to come. I want the
District to make the strongest possible case it can to the public, and must honor my own responsibility
for the public health system here in Marin. I also am an aggressive advocate for medical excellence and
the needs of my District. The analysis of this choice will be a major focus of investigation for me and
my colleagues during the coming year.
Gateway Planning Committee is a Key Resource
From looking at local surgical centers to evaluating traffic in the gateway of Southern Marin, the
Gateway Planning Committee (GPC) in the Tam Valley area is a critical resource to me and County staff.
It is grappling with the draft Countywide Plan Update (our critical 20-year general plan, due for
adoption next Fall), and has served with distinction in debating concepts that deal with traffic,
housing, land use, building in our hills, the Bothin Marsh, and many other short- and long-term issues
for the gateway and Southern Marin.
I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all who routinely give their time to this Committee; it has
been a major commitment: Curry Eckelhoff, Kett Zegart, Gordon Bennett, Stan Barbarich, Steve Price,
Sharon Rushton, Linda Johnson, Martin Unversaw, and Kent Broyhill.
Communication
The Marin County web site (www.co.marin.ca) has an addition to the home page. The lower left quadrant hosts the new “G Channel”. Give it a click and see what’s available. You can watch BOS meetings live or you can review archived meetings. You can view a program on West Nile Virus, a 2 hour presentation on the Avian Flu Pandemic, a presentation about the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Blueprint Plan for the future of “Smart Growth” development in the 9 Bay Area Counties, or a webcast of our Community Choice Aggregation workshop.
We encourage your input. Send us emails from my website, or at any time to cmcglashan@co.marin.ca.us.
Cindy Roby
On Sunday, August 13th, our dear friend and colleague, Cindy Roby, suffered a brain aneurysm and underwent emergency surgery at Marin General Hospital to repair the damage. In October, Cindy transferred to a long term recovery center for needed care and treatment.
While her recovery is slow and difficult, Cindy ~ in true fashion ~ shows signs of improvement and her irrepressible spirit bursts forth frequently.
Cindy’s family appreciates all of our prayers and good wishes for her recovery. Cindy’s sons, Jay and Nick Roby, have set up a fund to benefit Cindy in her recovery from this unexpected turn. Cindy had planned to support herself in retirement through consulting, but now unable to work, her family can use our help over time. Please consider donating generously:
The Cindy Roby Fund, Westamerica Bank, 1 Harbor Drive, Sausalito, CA 94965
Thank You
Just about 2 years into my first term in office, I can say that I love working for you and feel good
about the progress we are making so far. We are making steady progress forward on local shuttles,
protecting nature, bike programs, accessibility, improved community services, energy policy, and projects
to improve quality of life in Marin.
Thanks to my Aides Maureen Parton, Leslie Alden and Cindy Roby, our office has been working hard to answer
critical District needs and to address bigger projects to help Marin move forward in its quest to serve as
a model for sustainability. Providing a model is critical to other communities less fortunate than ours.
I feel that this work is critical for our environment’s, our nation’s and our people’s long-term survival.
As always, I appreciate the commitment and ideas from so many active citizens I work with and for. Please
keep it coming!
--Charles
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