News from City of Novato

Our Town
An E-Newsletter Connecting City and Community

Volume 1, Issue #3 September 30, 2010

Welcome to "Our Town,"
the City of Novato's E-Newsletter

You can also go to our website and request to receive other information. If you have comments or ideas for the "Our Town" E-Newsletter, please call 899-8900 or write to the City of Novato, "Our Town E-News," 75 Rowland Way, Room 200, Novato, CA 94945 or email city@cityofnovato.org.

Michael

Michael Frank

City Manager

Measure F Update

On July 27, the City Council unanimously voted approval to place a revenue measure on the November 2 ballot. While the Council acknowledged that it is a difficult time to bring forward a revenue measure with the state of the economy, the Council believed that a revenue measure is necessary in order to maintain current City services.

Specifically, City of Novato voters will be asked to consider a ½ cent sales tax to maintain vital City services during these difficult economic times. Funds generated by the measure cannot be taken by Sacramento. The ½ cent increase will end in five years.

The City has already cut more than $6.5 million, almost 20 percent of the budget. Over the past three years, the City has eliminated over 51 full-time equivalent staff positions, negotiated salary concessions with all employees, implemented cost savings, reduced services, and implemented efficiencies.

To ensure public accountability, there will be routine audits, an annual report and monitoring by a Citizen's Oversight Committee. The funding from the proposed sales tax measure will help the City maintain some of the priorities identified by the community, including:

Maintain rapid 911 emergency response times.
Restore senior services and keep the Margaret Todd Senior Center open.
Restore youth and teen crime prevention and gang intervention programs.
Maintain neighborhood police patrols
Maintain City parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields and courts.

For more information, visit the City's website or call (415) 899-8900.

Housing Element

On September 21, 2010, the City Council conducted a work study session on the Housing Element to provide policy guidance on housing policies to City staff and a City Manager Ad-Hoc Working Group that is now being formed. Over 100 people attended the meeting and there was over two hours of public comment. After considering the public's comments and extensively discussing housing issues, the City Council, by consensus, provided policy direction on eight specific topics to guide future work on the Housing Element.

The Council agreed in concept with these eight policy directives which are briefly summarized below:

Open and Participatory Process: Conduct an open and inclusive planning process that encourages all residents of Novato to participate and that insures all input will be considered before decisions are reached.
Legislative Advocacy: Increase the City's political involvement and activity in legislative advocacy regarding State and regional housing allocation processes, policies and requirements.
Housing Needs and Mix: Address the community's future housing needs by providing a mix of housing options to serve all socio-economic levels, household sizes, and age groups in the community.
Housing Density: Establish housing densities that are consistent with community-wide values, and reduce proposed affordable housing densities, especially when adjoining single family housing neighborhoods.
Housing: Integrated into Neighborhoods: Protect the character of existing neighborhoods by carefully considering the compatibility, density and design of new adjacent residential development.
Distribution of Housing Units: Disperse affordable housing sites throughout the City. Avoid overconcentration of affordable housing units in any area and revise the housing opportunity sites list accordingly.
Housing in Commercial Areas: Consider housing sites in Downtown/commercial areas while balancing needs for retail and commercial development.
Public Safety: Evaluate potential public safety impacts that might result from higher density housing.

The City Council discussed working toward modifying the number of housing units allocated to the City and reducing the affordable housing density of 30 units/acre.

Video of the entire work study session is available on the City's web site and may be accessed on the City website. The City Clerk's notes on the meeting are also available (close to the bottom of the page, highlighted in blue). The staff report is also available on the website.

City staff is continuing work on refining the public participation process for the Housing Element update. More information will be available on the proposed City Manager's Ad Hoc Working Group, including the composition and role. Staff is also working to finalize the agendas and schedule for public workshops, and this information should also be available in the next several weeks.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Dunn, Planning Manager at 493-4711 or HousingElement@cityofnovato.org.

Crimereports.com - How You Can Stay Informed

While we are fortunate to live in a safe community like Novato, some crime does occur throughout the community. We are pleased to remind the community about a web-based crime reporting software program, CrimeReports.com, that the Novato Police Department uses to map and monitor crime in town and which is available via the web to the public.

CrimeReports is a web-based communications service providing tools to bring a variety of information to you regarding crime citywide or in your neighborhood. You can review crime maps depicting crime that has occurred in the last 24 hours or you can review crime going back as far as six months. Crime can be searched by type, date or location and, there is also a tab which allows you find the location of registered sex offenders. Sign up at Crimereports.com for email or phone alerts and even download the free Crimereports iPhone app which has full access to all of the information and mapping available at CrimeReports.com.

Residents can also visit the Police Department at 909 Machin Avenue during business hours (Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.), to review the Press Log. The Log provides more detail than is available on Crimereports.com and includes a daily print out of all Calls for Service each day. The most recent 30 days of calls are kept in the Log. We also have a computer kiosk in the lobby that provides access to the City of Novato website, Crimereports.com and a link to Megan's Law website.

A third source of information is the Police Department's Annual Report which always includes information on Crime Statistics. The Annual Reports are also available online at the City of Novato website.

October is Domestic Violence Month

October is just a few weeks away and although Halloween tends to steal the limelight, October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As advocates for justice for victims o Domestic Violence Month

f domestic violence, the Novato Police Department continues to put domestic violence on the front burner of its crime prevention efforts.

Domestic violence can take many forms, including physical, verbal or emotional abuse, intimidation, denial of rights or sexual assault. The statistics are always staggering, almost one-third of all women murdered in this country are killed by a domestic partner. According to the Department of Justice, one in four U.S. women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime; one in six will be the victim of an attempted or actual rape; one in 12 will be stalked. Nearly 5.3 million acts of intimate-partner violence occur each year among U.S. women aged 18 and older, resulting in 2 million injuries and nearly 1,300 deaths.

The Novato Police Department
is committed to keep doing what we know makes a difference, such as coordinating domestic violence prevention programs, workshops that teach healthy dating relationships for teens, and we need to maintain partnerships and funding aimed at ensuring a coordinated community response to end domestic violence.

But, help is available. In Marin County, we have a long history of collaboration between victim advocacy groups, social service providers, prosecutors and law enforcement agencies and, we operate at an effective level of prevention, intervention and response to domestic violence. In Marin County, Marin Abused Women's Services reports that due to the coordinated community responses and education efforts, many victims are seeking help before it is too late.

Call 9-1-1 immediately, when you need help. You can also call:

Marin Abused Women's Services (MAWS):
(415) 924-6616 or
MAWS Men's Services: (415) 924-1070.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE.
Contact your local Crime Prevention Bureau and request a copy of their Domestic Violence Handbook, A Survivor's Guide

In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Marin Abused Women's Services (M.A.W.S) will be providing law enforcement agencies throughout Marin County with magnetic purple ribbons to display on department vehicles. Additionally, M.A.W.S. is sponsoring presentations and educational exhibits in memory of victims who lost their lives to domestic violence. Events are scheduled as follows:

October 5, 2010, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM,
Marin County Civic Center cafeteria, San Rafael
October 16, 2010, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM,
Toby's Feed Barn, Point Reyes
October 20, 2010, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM,
Canal Health and Wellness Center cafeteria
October 29, 2010, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM,
Day of the Dead event, MAWS office, San Rafael.

For more information call Novato Police Sergeant Keith Heiden at 899-7030. Always remember, IT'S YOUR RIGHT TO BE SAFE!

City Office Hours Change

With the reduction in City staffing due to drastic budget cuts, the City of Novato regretfully announced that it has been necessary to further reduce the hours that 75 Rowland

City offices are open to the public. All City administrative offices are now closed every Friday. The Police Department remains open on Fridays and City facilities such as the Margaret Todd Senior Center and the Gymnastics Center are also open every Friday.

Additionally, there are no afternoon public counter hours for the Community Development Department (Planning, Building, Code Enforcement) and the Engineering/Public Works Department. The Recreation counters at 75 Rowland Way and at the Hamilton Community Center have been permanently closed.

The City's main reception counter at 75 Rowland Way, #200, remains open Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Due to continued fiscal constraints, staffing at the City of Novato has been reduced over the past three years by 51 positions (approximately 20% of the total workforce). This reduction includes 19 positions that were eliminated for Fiscal Year 2010/11 which began on July 1st. Some of the closed Fridays will be staff furlough days and the others will be used by the City staff for training, interdepartmental projects, and for focused time on key City projects.

City office hours are available at the City's website or by calling 899-8900.

"Old-Timers" Visit to City Hall

Most long-time residents of Novato know that the City's symbol, the City Hall building at 901 Sherman Avenue, was formerly a Presbyterian Church, which was sold to the City a few years after its incorporation.

On August 27, 2010 a group of 20 long-time parishioners of the Church paid a visit to the recently renovated building which now houses the Council Chambers. The group was organized by Jo and Dick Crocker and included Sophia MacDonald, a member of the church for 56 years.

Mayor Jeanne MacLeamy, who spearheaded the renovation project, welcomed the visitors and made a brief presentation on the renovation project. The Mayor also answered questions about the project, many of which centered on how much reuse w Visiting City Hall

as made of original materials (the answer is that most of the original floors and wainscoting were reused). Many of the visitors reminisced on activities in which they had participated at the church and they all stated they that were proud that their former church building had been put to good use after they had outgrown it. The overall conclusion was that the renovation was a great success!

NIEP Week of Caring

On September 16, the Novato Independent Elders Program (NIEP) partnered with Chevron Oil Company for the "2010 Week of Caring." This is the seventh year that Chevron employees who reside in Novato have elected to partner with NIEP and help elderly residents with their overgrown yards.

The event is coordinated annually through the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin (CVNL). Once connected, Clay Freeberg from Chevron Corporation in San Ramon organizes a crew of fellow employees to help with the yard-work.

In addition to Clay, the crew included his wife Bertie, Terry Rearden, Will Gala, Mona Sabuco, Hollie Lama, Monica Harwood, and Jennifer Chow (a new volunteer this year). These eight Chevron employees were able to help nine frail, lower-income Novato Seniors with their yard-work. The group pulled weeds, raked leaves, and pruned overgrown bushes and hedges. Creekside Bakery and Cafe owners, Steve and Cynthia Jordan generously provided lunches for the hardworking crew.

We would like to thank all the volunteers for so generously giving their time. For more information on the NIEP, please contact
Carol Ann Moore at 899-8290 or cmoore@cityofnovato.org.

Bike Donation

On September 11, 2010, the Police Department hosted the
Novato Human Needs Center/Old Town Sports Bicycle Donation.

The event was a huge success and well attended.
Bike Donation The Novato Police Youth Explorers volunteered during the event assisting with set-up and clean-up as well as taking an active role by interacting with all of the bicycle recipients. Several comments were made by adults at the event saying how impressed they were with the Explorers' maturity and the overall interest they took in each of the children with their new bicycles. Traffic officer
Chris Andres gave bicycle safety presentations on the sidewalk in front of the Department.

The Novato Police Managers Association and the Novato Police Officers Association donated money towards the purchase of bicycle helmets. A total of 50 bikes were given away and the smiles on the faces of the new bike owners and the appreciation of their parents made for a very successful event.

The following note was received from Deanna Euritt, Executive Director of the Novato Human Needs Center. "I would also like to join Mike in thanking John and everyone at the Novato Police Department and Novato Police Officers Association for their wonderful support. This was a lovely way to connect our dedicated police department with families in our community"