here - City of Millbrae

WINTER 2012
T H E
C I T Y
O F
M I L L B R A E,
C A L I F O R N I A
This newsletter is emailed to our residents on a semi-annual basis.
Print copies of the e-edition are available in City Hall and at the library.
To receive the newsletters by email, sign up at www.ci.millbrae.ca.us at the link “Sign Up for E-News.”
Police Services Consolidation to Save $1.5 Million a Year
s cities across the nation struggle to keep afloat financially
in these uncertain economic times, Millbrae has a track
record of thinking beyond traditional boundaries to
address our fiscal problems. Over the past eight years, we
have achieved considerable cost-savings from our pioneering
work in consolidating various public safety services, including
police dispatch, fire battalion chiefs, and others.
A
Building on our success, over the past year we examined the feasibility
of outsourcing our law enforcement service. Initially, we studied the
possibility of consolidating the police force with the City of San Bruno,
but the cost savings for San Bruno were insufficient.
The Millbrae City Council then directed staff to seek a proposal from
the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. After a staffing modification of
their initial proposal and two town hall meetings, staff provided another
report to council on November 15. Council then authorized staff to
move forward with the Sheriff’s Office.
On December 13, staff again presented a proposal to accept the service
contract with the Sheriff’s Office, which projected an annual savings of
approximately $1.5 million that increases over a five year period.
Council authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement with the
Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services. The transition is scheduled
to take place in March. Over the next two months, we will be working
with the Sheriff’s transition team to finalize various issues and prepare
for the consolidation.
Millbrae has saved about $350,000 annually by consolidating police
dispatch services with the County six years ago, while maintaining and
even exceeding service delivery. We look forward to even more significant
cost savings with the upcoming consolidation. Naturally, we anticipate
an initial period of adjustment but, upon evaluating calls for service
and staffing levels, we expect our quality of service to remain high.
In This Edition
■
Police Services Consolidation
to Save $1.5 Million a Year
■
Millbrae Welcomes Several
New Retail Businesses
■
City Council Considers a SingleUse Carryout Bag Ordinance
■
Millbrae Entryway Signs
Receive a Face-lift
■
Use a Rain Barrel, Get a Rebate
■
Free Water Conservation
Resources Available
■
Wastewater Treatment Plant
Renovation Nearly Complete
■
Serve on a City Commission or
Committee
■
Save the Date!
Millbrae Welcomes Several New Retail Businesses
O
ur thriving downtown
continues to attract
locals and visitors,
enhancing our quality
of life and providing
economic support to
the City. We are pleased to welcome
a number of new restaurants and
other businesses that have recently
opened within the El Camino Real
corridor: Boiling Bay Chinese
Restaurant, Sun’s Market, Champagne
Restaurant, Champagne Sushi,
J and J Bakery, Ginseng and Health
Food Co., Test Magic Learning Center,
and FSA Jiujitsu Martial Arts. They
are joined by several other new businesses within the City: Big Mouth
Burger, The Sandwich Spot, Dental
Ease, and Great Clips Hair Salons.
Safeway Supermarket, enlarging it
by almost two-thirds, to a total of
59,000 square feet. The new supermarket will increase the number of
on-site parking spaces to 181 spots
and provide new services such as a
bakery and coffee shop.
In addition, the Clarion Hotel near
San Francisco Airport is being remodeled to upgrade to Aloft Hotel, which
is scheduled to open in July 2012.
Another exciting development is the
plan to greatly expand the existing
Amid these new retail outlets, we bid
a fond farewell to three establishments
that have recently closed their doors
along the El Camino corridor in
Millbrae: Daland Nissan, Goodyear
Tires, and Millbrae Lumber.
City Council Considers a Single-Use Carryout Bag Ordinance
P
lastic or paper?
Neither! Single-use
carryout bags are the
bags used for groceries,
clothing, and other
purchased items from
stores. The bags are typically used
one time and then discarded. Some
of these bags may be reused for
garbage, dog waste, or for some other
purpose, or they may end up recycled.
The recycling rate for plastic bags is
actually very low and is estimated
to be approximately nine percent
(includes other types of plastic, like
film and wrap). Single-use carryout
plastic bags in particular tend to
become litter, which adversely affect
the local and marine environment.
A number of cities and counties
throughout California have implemented single-use carryout bag
ordinances in an effort to reduce the
amount of plastic and paper bags
used and discarded, and to encourage
the use of reusable shopping bags.
State legislation has been introduced,
although it has not been passed.
The Millbrae City Council took up
this topic at their October 11, 2011
meeting and again at the January 24,
2012 meeting to consider prohibiting
MILLBRAE CITY REPORT
the distribution of single-use carryout bags at all retail establishments
in Millbrae.
What does the proposed ordinance
mean for retail stores and residents?
The proposed ordinance would prohibit the distribution of single-use
plastic and free paper carryout bags
at retail establishments. This includes
grocery stores and supermarkets, convenience stores, drug stores, clothing
stores, and any other retail store that
distributes single-use carryout bags.
The ordinance would not apply to
protective types of bags, including
for meat, produce, bakery items, and
a few other items. Stores would be
allowed to distribute paper bags,
although the paper bags would be
required to contain a minimum of
40 percent post-consumer recycled
content and the stores must charge
a minimum of $0.10 for each pointof-sale paper bag. The stores would
retain the charge for the bags. The
bag charge would not apply to customers using the California Special
Supplemental Food Program for
Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
and customers participating in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP—formerly food
stamps). The requirements for the
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recycled content
and charge on
the paper bags
are included in
an effort to
reduce the
negative
impacts to the
environment
from any potential increased use of
paper bags and to help the stores
recover the cost of the paper bags.
Please keep in mind that the goal
of the proposed ordinance is to
encourage the use of reusable bags.
By bringing your own bag, you
would incur no charge.
In a local effort to reduce the use of
single-use carryout bags, the City has
distributed over 5,000 reusable cloth
shopping bags made from 100 percent
post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.
Don’t wait! Start now by just saying
NO to single-use carry out bags and
Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB)! You can
pick up a free reusable bag at City
Hall at the Public Works counter.
To learn if this Ordinance was adopted,
please visit the City’s website at
www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/sustainable
millbrae or call 259-2444.
WINTER 2012
Millbrae Entryway Signs Receive a Face-lift
M
illbrae’s entryway signs along Millbrae
Avenue have a familiar face, welcoming
guests and residents to our City. Located
along one of the main entrances to the
City at the corner of Millbrae Avenue and
Rollins Road, these signs are an important
focal point as drivers enter Millbrae.
The Parks division would like to thank the Community
Development Department for their support and funding
for this project.
We recently renovated the entryway signs so they better
reflect the pride we take in our City. The Millbrae Parks
Division, with assistance from the Public Works
Department, primed and painted the concrete walls,
removed trees and dilapidated landscape shrubs, and
added more desirable trees and drought tolerant plants.
We also improved the landscape lighting and irrigation
system, which were in dire need of renovation. Vibrant
fall colors added the final addition to the landscapes.
Use a Rain Barrel, Get a Rebate
A
rebate program is being
developed for the purchase and installation
of qualifying rainwater
barrels or cisterns.
Capturing rainwater
before it hits the ground reduces
pollutants that end up in our waterways. The pollutants come from
automobiles, car washing, pesticides,
fertilizers, litter, soap, and any other
material or chemical in the environment. Runoff occurs because impervious surfaces such as parking lots,
roads, buildings, pavement, and
compacted soil, do not allow water
to infiltrate into the ground. Once
urban water runoff enters the storm
drain it goes directly into the nearest
body of water, including creeks, and
in Millbrae it ends up in the Bay.
The storm drain system prevents
flooding by sending water runoff to
the Bay, but this water is not treated
and does not go through the wastewater treatment plant.
MILLBRAE CITY REPORT
Rain barrels are containers designed
to capture rainwater runoff from your
roof so you can use it for irrigation
or other non-potable applications.
Rain barrels are inexpensive, easy to
install and maintain, and well suited
to small-scale residential sites. They
typically range from 50 to 100 gallons,
and the water they collect is most
often used to water plants.
You can help protect our water
resources by installing a rain barrel
or cistern to collect and reuse the
rainwater. Rain barrels are generally
available at hardware stores and home
improvement centers such as Home
Depot, Orchard Supply Hardware,
and Sears, and via the internet. You
can check the status of this program
prior to purchasing a system by
e-mailing sreider@ci.millbrae.ca.us
or by calling 259-2444.
Learn more about saving water for the
garden by attending a free workshop
on February 16 from 7-9 p.m. at the
Millbrae Library. See the Save-the-Date
section of this newsletter for more
information.
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WINTER 2012
Free Water Conservation Resources Available
T
he City’s Water Resources
& Conservation Program is
here to help you conserve
water. Even though it is
the rainy season, we still
need to be mindful and
conserve water. We encourage you to
take advantage of the many resources
available to help reduce indoor and
outdoor water usage.
You can pick up the following free
water saving devices at City Hall:
showerheads (bring in your old one
for an exchange), shower timer, low
flow kitchen and bathroom faucet
aerators, lawn sprinkler gauge, and
toilet leak detection dye tablets.You
can also obtain a variety of water
conserving brochures and guides.
These items are available at the
Public Works counter at City Hall,
Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Rebates in the amount of $125 are
also available for qualifying high
efficiency clothes washers, and $100
for replacing pre-1992, 3.5 gallons
or greater per flush toilets with
qualifying Water Sense labeled high
efficiency toilets.
To learn about additional water conservation resources and workshops, visit
www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/waterconservation
or call 259-2348.
Wastewater Treatment Plant Renovation Nearly Complete
enovation work continues
on Millbrae’s aging Water
Pollution Control Plant.
The $30 million overhaul that began more
than two years ago is
about 80 percent finished.
R
The project will bring our 50-year-old
plant up to 21st century standards,
making quantum leaps in efficiency,
reliability, and technological advancements, and enabling us to meet our
pollution discharge requirements.
Since the contractor broke ground in
October 2009, we have completed
the new 1.2 million gallon flow
equalization tank, including the
“headworks” which are the pumps,
grinders, and screens that initially
process the incoming wastewater.
We have also completed the new
Operations Center located at the end
of the US 101 northbound off ramp.
All public works operations and maintenance supervisors and laboratory
staff have moved into the building.
The City held a ribbon-cutting
MILLBRAE CITY REPORT
ceremony in June 2011 to celebrate
these two significant milestones in
the largest project the City has ever
undertaken.
The contractor is now concentrating
on the third and final part of the
project: refurbishing the outdated
processing equipment within the
existing plant. They have successfully
installed a bypass system which will
enable the rehabilitation of our effluent pump station. They have also
installed foundation concrete piles
for the new thickener building and
effluent pump station. Work on the
treatment plant’s secondary system
has also commenced.
Millbrae City Councilmembers celebrate the completion of the new Operations
Center at the wastewater treatment plant.
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WINTER 2012
Serve on a City Commission or Committee
V
acancies currently exist on the following City Commissions and Committees:
■ Community Preservation
■ Parks and Recreation
■ Cultural Arts
■ Senior Advisory
■ Downtown Process
■ Sister Cities
Any Millbrae resident interested in serving on a Commission or Committee can download
an application from the website http://www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/index.aspx?page=149 or stop by
the City Clerk’s Office to pick one up.
save the date
Learn more about these events at www.ci.millbrae.ca.us
Upcoming Events
Free Sustainability Workshops
January 28
Senior Health Faire
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Millbrae Community Center
February 16
Saving Water for the Garden: Rainwater,
Graywater, and Conservation
January 29
Lunar New Year Celebration
April 19
Backyard Composting
Civic Center Plaza
May 17
Growing Your Own Organic & Sustainable Garden
Sustainability Events
All of the sustainability workshops are held at Millbrae’s
Library from 7-9 p.m., RSVP: 259-2339. To learn more, visit
www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/sustainablemillbrae. To learn about
additional water-wise workshops, please visit www.bawsca.org
and click on the link “Landscape Education Program.”
Compost Giveaway Event
To sign up for notification of the spring Compost Giveaway
Event, call 259-2444 or e-mail sreider@ci.millbrae.ca.us.
Arbor & Earth Day Event
Please view the City’s website calendar for details.
CITY OFFICIALS
Millbrae City Council
Marge Colapietro, Mayor
Gina Papan, Vice Mayor
Nadia V. Holober, Councilmember
Wayne Lee, Councilmember
Robert G. Gottschalk, Councilmember
HELPFUL MILLBRAE PHONE NUMBERS
Building Permits . . . . . . . . . . .259-2330
Business Licenses . . . . . . . . .259-2352
City Administration . . . . . . . .259-2334
City Clerk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259-2334
City Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259-2334
Code Enforcement . . . . . . . . .259-2440
Fire (Non-emergency) . . . . . .259-2400
Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259-2372
Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259-2334
Planning/Zoning . . . . . . . . . . .259-2341
Police (Non-emergency) . . . .259-2300
Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259-2360
Recycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259-2444
Sewer Back-ups . . . . . . . . . . .259-2374
Street Tree Trimming Permits . .259-2372
Water/Sewer Bills . . . . . . . . .259-2350
Vi s i t O u r We b s i t e a t w w w. c i . m i l l b ra e . c a . u s
MILLBRAE CITY REPORT
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WINTER 2012