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Halloween Pumpkin Carving and Pizza Party Pics

11/3/2019

 
Despite the power outage (or maybe with help from it?), we had our best turnout ever at our annual Halloween event this year. Thanks to our event volunteers and everyone who came out and showed off their awesome costumes. Halloween went off as usual in 2019 in Bret Harte—a reminder that we remain one of the best neighborhoods in town for over-the-top trick or treating! (If you have any pics you can add, please send them to jeff@swenerton.com).

Notes from the FSRN Power Shutoff Neighborhood Meeting (7/11/19)

7/27/2019

 

On Thursday, July 11, 2019, the FSRN hosted an open meeting at San Rafael City Hall to discuss preparation for public safety power shutoffs. As you likely have heard, PG&E monitors weather conditions during fire seasons and plans to preemptively shut down electrical power to circuits in areas of high fire risk. San Rafael and Marin County Fire and OES officials helped address the concerns and needs for these outages from being prepared at home to the protocol for the city services. Speakers included San Rafael Fire Chief Chris Gray, San Rafael Emergency Manager Quinn Gardner, Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber, Marin County Emergency Manager Tom Jordan, and Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods Vice President Richard Bernstein. Mayor Gary Phillips and Supervisor Dennis Rodoni also attended.

RESOURCES

​You can view the meeting video by clicking here.

You can access the informational handouts from the meeting here, as well as PG&E information about their PSPS Program.

PG&E is holding a forum on Tuesday, July 30 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in San Rafael, located at 101 McInnis Parkway. Learn more about this meeting here.

Sign up for AlertMarin by clicking here.

Sign up for Nixle notifications by texting 888-777 or clicking this link: http://www.nixle.com/

Notes from June 17th, 2019 BHCA General Meeting

6/21/2019

 


Greetings, neighbors! Thank you to everyone who turned out at the meeting. If you couldn't make it, please come next time. Here's what we discussed.

 Join the BHCA. We encourage all of you to please sign up to become a BHCA member! Dues for a family are only $25 annually (open to anyone in the neighborhood, renters and homeowners alike). We currently have approximately 50 households that pay dues each year, and we need at least 10 more to cover expenses. We're working on the website to include a payment mechanism, in the meantime you can visit the Join the BHCApage for more information.

Subscribe to the Email List. We also encourage all of you to subscribe to the BHCA email list, so you won’t miss any important information. Subscribe here.

Upcoming Events.
Contact the event host if you'd like to sign up to volunteer. We are always in need of event volunteers, please consider helping out at an event or two.
  1. National Night Out (Molly Blauvelt, tomollytoo@gmail.com) Tuesday, August 6 at 7:00 p.m.
  2. Non-Labor Day Picnic (Betsy Swenerton, betsyswen@gmail.com) Sunday, September 8 at 4:00 p.m.
  3. Halloween Pumpkin Carving (Betsy Swenerton, betsyswen@gmail.com) Sunday, October 27 at 3:00 p.m.
  4. Pre-Trick or Treat Pizza Party (Betsy Swenerton, betsyswen@gmail.com) Thursday, October 31 at 6:00 p.m.
  5. Easter in the Park (Betsy Swenerton, betsyswen@gmail.com) Saturday, April 11 at 10:00 p.m.
BHCA Block Captain Sign-up. Help out with events by volunteering to be a block captain on your street (or another street) today! Contact Betsy Swenerton, betsyswen@gmail.comto volunteer.

Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods (FedSRN). 
Consider joining the FedSRN (www.fedsrn.org, $10/year). There are two Bret Harte residents on the Fed SRN Steering Committee, Jim Draper (City Liaison for BHCA), and Betsy Swenerton. Monthly General Meetings are open to all:
  1. Thursday, July 11 – PG&E PSPS Power Outages, including speakers from County, City of San Rafael and San Rafael Fire. 7:00 p.m. at BioMarin, 770 Lindaro Street.
  2. Thursday, September 5 – Sea Level Rise and Impacts on San Rafael Neighborhoods, including speakers from County Flood Control and City of San Rafael. 7:00 p.m. at BioMarin, 770 Lindaro Street.

New Vegetation Management Program. 
We are looking for neighbors to spearhead a neighborhood vegetation management program. Please contact Molly at tomollytoo@gmail.comfor more information.

Join the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). 
Be prepared in case of disaster and help your neighbors (and yourself) before first responders can arrive. Next San Rafael CERT Class is September 5, 7 & 14. Learn more at https://readymarin.org/cert/.

Upper Irwin Project. 
The repairs at Upper Irwin St. are proceeding well. All the retaining walls are completed. Paving and drainage work on the roadway will follow. work is expected to be completed and Irwin St. reopened by the second week of July.

Park Updates. 
PG&E has not yet hooked up our park bathroom. The City is trying to replace the toilet with a larger one, which requires retrofitting the prefab unit…in the meantime, please use the toilet gently.

Gas Pipeline Upgrades. 
PG&E is expected to begin work this week to replace the gas pipelines on Woodland between Picnic and Bungalow, and on Billou Street. The Billou St. gas project may require digging up the service lines to homes. please direct your questions and concerns to the City and the Dept. of Public Works. This work may be disruptive, so please be patient and drive safely.

SMART Train. 
SMART will begin testing their tracks from August into December, which will include testing the horns, and the 2nd and 3rd St. crossings. I hope you have a chance to check out the new multi-use pathway and bike paths!

​Offramp Construction. 
Caltrans will begin work to upgrade the NB Central San Rafael Offramp from the freeway, at Irwin St. this Fall. The agency is warning that it will impact traffic downtown for more than a year.

The Grand Opening of San Rafael Fire Station 52

5/20/2019

 
Representatives from the BHCA attended the opening of Station 52 on Monday, March 13th. Bret Harte resident Willie Walker, who lives on DuBois, was recognized as one of the original firemen at the station when it opened in 1957 (See photo).
Picture
(L-R): SRPD Captain Starnes, Community Services Officer Lynette Starnes, Peggy Walker, Bill Walker, SRPD Chief Diana Bishop and Bob Alten of Alten Construction (they built the station).
​Wildfire Prevention Direct Assistance
AmeriCorps NCCC has partnered with the City of San Rafael to directly help low-income, elderly, and disabled homeowners reduce the wildfire risk around their home. In doing so, they will help create a more resilient and fire-safe San Rafael. We anticipate that this free need-based service to qualified homeowners will occur between late April and mid-June 2019. LEARN MORE

Letter From the President

5/6/2019

 
Our newly renovated park was filled with eager little ones, colorful eggs and a welcoming bunny for our annual Easter gathering, which was a fun success. Many thanks to Betsy and her family and her amazing crew: Max, Miles, Aliya, Kyan, Thomas, Jenny, Holly, Eric, and Jeff for put together a wonderful Easter in our renovated park! MANY many thanks to Mark and Betsy for making our new bathroom and toilet ready for the big event!! 

If you see or experience any problems with the toilet or our new bathroom, please contact Dept. of Public Works at: 415 485-3355 during business hours. or go online at cityofsanrafael.org and "report a problem" .

Look for tile-painting workshops for neighborhood kids this summer, hosted by Molly Blauvelt and Patti McKay. We plan to beautify our new bathroom with colorful tiles. 

If you have extra bounty to share from your garden or fruit trees, please contact Nigel or Chris Brown, who are putting together a wonderful new program: Bret Harte Bounty, to share extra fruit and veggies with elder neighbors who'd appreciate a hand and a visit, and others with need and interest: BrownIsTurningGreen@gmail.com. Thank you, Chris, Nigel, David and Sarah for your generous efforts!

The slide repair on Upper Irwin is progressing well, despite delays because of heavy rains this winter. The last retaining wall is being built right now, then Irwin Street itself will be finished and reopened. Latest reports from the City say it will be completed in June (or before July 4th).

Beware: PGE will be moving back into our neighborhood in June to put more new pipes into our streets, on Woodland: Lovell to Irwin, and Billou St. and perhaps other neighborhood streets. Please contact Dept. of Public Works with your concerns and questions. Hopefully maps of closed streets will be provided this time around...

The SMART train's multi-use pathway will be OPEN soon from the tunnel to Rice Lane. It will boast lighting and new fencing. The City is looking for funding to complete this pathway all the along W. Francisco to 2nd St. 

PLEASE NOTE: 2nd Street at the transit center will be completely CLOSED the weekend of June 1 - 2 while SMART pulls the double train tracks across 2nd and makes the connection to W. Francisco tracks.

And then 3rd Street at the transit center will be completely CLOSED the next weekend of June 8-9 while SMART pulls the double train tracks across that section.

The SMART train will begin a testing period, with horns, from August - Dec. and then the train will be fully running to Larkspur by the end of 2019: exciting!

If you aren't already, please do consider becoming a dues paying and supporting member of BHCA, join in our neighborhood email chain for the latest updates, and support our wonderful neighborhood events and projects!

Thank you,
Molly Blauvelt

Lomita Park-Bret Harte Meeting Summary and Next Steps (March 2, 2019)

3/2/2019

 
by Katie Rice, Marin County Supervisor (District 2)

Hello Lomita Park and Bret Hart neighbors,
 
Thanks to all of you who attended/participated in our recent meeting, including Deputy Contreras! As I said at the meeting, I am continually impressed and inspired by your community spirit, constructive participation, and general willingness to be involved.  Bravo and thank you! It really is a pleasure working with your community.
 
See below for a summary of discussion at our meeting.  Included are highlights plus links/contact info when more information is needed.  If you have questions or further issues/concerns to discuss, please feel free to get in touch with me/my office.  
 
Homeless/Encampments
  • Sheriff consistently on lookout for homeless/homeless encampments;
    • when on public property, Sheriff will work toward moving them along if setting up encampment (Sheriff usually allows time for him/her to collect belongings and also provides information on services/shelters available locally).
    • if on private property, Sheriff has to (and will) work with private property owner to get access and then take steps (as above) to move person along.
  • County is currently developing a clearly defined protocol/process for clean-up of homeless encampments as issue requires multiple agencies (Sheriff, DPW, Health and Human services). The County is working closely with City of San Rafael and CHP/Caltrans on this issue, particularly per Lomita Park area given multijurisdictional nature of community.
  • For now, if you see that an encampment has been established, please contact Sheriff (415-479-2311) and our office (415-473-7351). While Sheriff is in the area frequently, they might not spot campers if hidden. Huge thanks to Ron Sieg, Theo, Jack Fulton and others who worked hard to clean up the latest encampment!
  • Currently, an encampment exists under the freeway on Cal Trans property – Sheriff has alerted CHP (who works with Caltrans) so they will address, and continue to monitor the area; new fencing from Smart Train could be helpful in keeping this area free of homeless campers.
  • Vegetation management is important to increase visibility in areas where campers might congregate – request made for County to clear brambles on county parcel across from Northern Star Auto (previous site of encampment).
  • Sheriff to check out reported homeless encampments in between properties on Orange street.
 
Homelessness more generally:
County with a coalition comprised of service and housing providers, city and county departments, business and philanthropic community is making progress on homeless issue in the past year with the adoption of a coordinated/collaborative approach and adoption of a Housing First model. Over the past 18 months, 110 of Marin’s most vulnerable/chronically homeless, many who for years have lived on the streets, surviving on temporary shelter and daily services and in many cases rotating in and out of jail and/or hospital emergency services, are in stable housing and receiving the services they need to maintain their health and housing.  Visit https://housingfirst.marinhhs.org/housing-first to learn more.
 
Traffic Calming/Safety
County DPW has several projects/studies in the works toward traffic calming/safety in Lomita Park area. Thanks so much to Richard and Kathy Brew for bringing these issues to our attention:
 
Woodland/Auburn Intersection North (across from Northern Star Auto):
  • Short-term – County to look at extending existing no parking zone to enhance sight distance/potential parking restrictions north of intersection on west side of road (across Woodland from Northern Star Auto).
  • Longer -term – County to put crosswalk + pedestrian-activated flashing beacon at intersection on potential/future project list (note addition of recent Smart crossing for pedestrians on east side of Woodland); No funding available at this time. Improvements will also need to meet ADA requirements.
    • Intersection would not qualify for stop sign given the low traffic volumes on Auburn as compared to Woodland.
Woodland/Auburn intersection South (by Montessori school)
  • County to conduct traffic study to see if stop sign on Woodland (or other improvements) is warranted – will look at traffic counts and pedestrian travel (rush hour best time).  Will happen spring or summer since pedestrian travel may increase during the warmer months and extended daylight hours.
Auburn Street
  • County to go through process of having Auburn certified as a residence district, allowing for CHP to enforce with radar.
  • Residents urged to trim vegetation where necessary to allow for more room for pedestrians.
  • Striping could be potential traffic calming improvement when road is up for paving
 
5G Communications
  • Marin now among coalition of public agencies joining court action against FCC ruling for deployment.
  • Board of Supervisors subcommittee working with County Counsel and Community Development Agency to identify potential amendments to the County’s policies and regulations to ensure that County retains maximum regulatory control over new wireless telecommunications facilities, such as 5G, within the limits of federal law.
  • Public workshop early February to get community input.
  • See recent press release and website for more information and take a minute to fill out the 5G survey (open until March 31).
 
Fire Safety/Prevention
Throughout the County, the fire agencies and communities have mobilized around fire prevention and disaster preparedness including defensible space, vegetation management, resident evacuation and emergency planning, highlighted by exponential growth of Firewise neighborhoods in Marin and expansion of fuel reduction projects in public open space lands.
 
Each of the above mark progress addressing some of our most challenging community issues that I will continue to put my energy and attention towards further gains, with focus in the coming year on wildfire prevention, specifically driving forward a county-wide wildfire prevention and disaster preparedness effort.
 
Given that wildfire knows no boundaries, while many individual jurisdictions and neighborhoods across the county are making progress at the local level, it is imperative that communities across Marin work together to improve our collective ability to prevent, contain, and if necessary recover from wildfire or other natural disaster.
 
Reflecting this imperative, a cross-jurisdictional, multi-agency effort is underway to develop and implement a county-wide, coordinated strategy on wildfire prevention and disaster preparedness. This planning work is being led by city and county management and fire chiefs from across the county, and is being informed by the “Lesson’s Learned” report prepared by a countywide taskforce following the 2017 North Bay wildfires, and the Marin County Community Wild Fire Protection Plan, a science based assessment of Marin’s wildfire threat that identifies and prioritizes areas for fuel reduction and actions that should be taken across communities to reduce structural ignitability. Both these documents and more information on what you can do as a homeowner and to participate in broader community efforts are available at www.firesafemarin.org.  Lomita Park/Bret Harte should consider becoming a Firewise community.  Meanwhile, I will check status on Cal Park being included in San Rafael Fire program in the works and if new codes would apply. 
 
Other
  • County road crew to make road improvements on Auburn and remove sawhorses when weather improves.
  • County reviewing Restricted Parking signs on Auburn/Woodland where No Dumping/Parking signs have been added to post by private property owner (could be potentially confusing and need 7-foot high clearance).
  • County will paint over graffiti on retaining wall/other when tagging or obscene.
  • Smart Train work basically done in Woodland area; San Rafael working with SMART to ensure that quiet zone is extended thought the reminder of San Rafael and hope to have in place sometime during testing phase and before revenue service beings sometime in 2020; quite zone doesn’t apply to crossing arms.
 
Contacts for Complaints/Concerns
  • Sheriff 415-479-2311 (non-emergency)
  • CHP (under overpass) 707-551-4100 (for real-time events); 415-924-1100 (Monday-Friday 8am-5pm for ongoing traffic complaint)
  • City of San Rafael (bike path) 415-485-3000
  • Emergency 911
  • Katie Rice 415-473-7825; krice@marincounty.org
  • Nancy Vernon 415-473-7351; nvernon@marincounty.org
 
Katie
 
Katie Rice │District 2
Marin County Supervisor 
3501 Civic Center Drive, Suite 329
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 473.7825
 
 
 
Nancy Vernon │Aide
Office of Supervisor Katie Rice
3501 Civic Center Drive, Suite 329
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 473.7351
 

 
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In Memory of Bruce Scott

2/24/2015

 
Bruce Scott died February 24th, 2015 of complications from his 12 year battle with Parkinson’s disease. Bruce was 80 years old.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sue, three children Jessie, Bridget and her husband Paul and their children Kieran and Fiona, and John, with his wife Lucy and by their children Isabella and Olivia.

Bruce and Sue and their Children moved to San Rafael in 1973. There he was active in the Boy Scouts and the Bret Harte community, where he wrote the "Bret Harte Beat" newsletter for thirteen years.  Bruce and Sue hosted many BHCA meetings at their home near the park. He was elected to the San Rafael School Board, serving eight years, and served on the San Rafael city planning commission for eight years.

For those wishing to remember Bruce with a gesture, please make a donation to the Marin Abused Women’s Service (www.maws.org) which Bruce supported quietly over the years. A service will be held in June.
Picture
Bruce at the 2002 Non Labor-Day Picnic.
Picture
Bruce, in earlier days.
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