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Redwood City E-News
Building a Great Community Together
 Issue #45 ~ May, 2007
(Back to index of all issues)
IN THIS ISSUE:
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Redwood City Signs U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement
The City Council of Redwood City has unanimously authorized Mayor Barbara Pierce to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. This action adds Redwood City to nearly 500 other cities nationwide, representing more than 50 million Americans, whose  mayors have signed this historic Agreement, and commits Redwood City to taking deliberate action to combat global warming.
Redwood City has already been taking a number of specific actions over the last few years to reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas “footprint” of the City’s own operation, including:
- retrofitting traffic lights
- converting incandescent light fixtures
- replacing machinery with more energy-efficient equipment
- introducing substantial water conservation programs and a recycled water project
- supporting widespread tree-plantings
- replacing fleet vehicles with hybrid models
- incorporating a “green” philosophy in its Planning function, and more.
With this Agreement, Redwood City will next investigate various levels of activity aimed not only at further reducing its own carbon emissions, but also at helping the community at-large to do their part at the household and neighborhood level. The Sierra Club Cool Cities Campaign is assisting the City in these efforts.
City staff will be presenting options for various levels of climate protection activity to the City Council as part of its budget deliberations in the coming months. These activity levels may range from, at a minimum, the City continuing to do all it can to reduce the carbon footprint of its own operations, to a more widespread community information effort.
 What can YOU do in your owh home to combat greenhouse gasses? Take the Carbon Dioxide Emissions Pledge! Look here for lots of ideas!
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Arson Awareness Week is May 6 - 12
This year’s United States Fire Administration (USFA) Arson Awareness Week theme is "Vehicle Arson: Who Pays for this Crime?"
 The Redwood City Fire Department is taking this opportunity to remind the community that the incidence of vehicle arson is a very real and very serious issue. According to 2004 data, 36,000 intentionally set vehicle fires occurred nationwide that year, an increase of 18 percent from the previous year. Vehicle arson accounted for $165 million in property damage, an increase of 25 percent from the previous year, and accounted for 29 percent of all arson fires. In fact arson is the second-highest cause of all vehicle fires.
The reasons for vehicle arson are many: it’s not only auto thieves trying to destroy evidence, but also people trying to get out of costly auto payments, insurance fraud, and other illegal arson activities. The loser in all this is the driving public, who ultimately pays for it in their rising insurance premiums, which increase for everyone when crimes like this are committed.
The community is urged to visit www.usfa.dhs.gov for information on vehicle arson and other fire safety issues
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"Give a PAL a Ride" Motorcycle Ride Fundraiser for Redwood City PAL
The Redwood City Police Activities League (PAL) is proud to announce the 3 rd Annual Motorcycle Poker Run fundraiser - “Give a PAL a Ride” benefits youth in Redwood City by helping to fund PAL programs including the computer lab, karate and dance programs,  after school tutoring, sports, and boxing programs.
The motorcycle run will be held on Sunday, May 6th 2006, starting at the PAL community center, 3399 Bay Road. Registration begins at 9 am, and this scenic and fun police-escorted motorcycle ride starts 10:30 am after complementary coffee and donuts.
This is a great opportunity to ride along with police motorcycle officers through the scenic coast of San Mateo County, ending back in Redwood City at Redwood General Tires, 1630 Broadway, for a firefighter-style lunch. Up to 150-200 motorcycles are expected to participate on this great 100-mile ride that raises funds for PAL. For the $30 entry fee all participants receive morning coffee and donuts, a special Ride T-shirt, a Ride pin, and BBQ lunch – and the knowledge that they’ve done something great by helping our local PAL.
More information and advance registration is available by contacting Chris Rasmussen, PAL Executive Director, at 650-556-1650 extension 11. This event is presented with the generous sponsorship of Redwood General Tire, Walschon Fire Protection, Loral Landscaping, Norcal Waste, Seaport Industries, John Plane Construction, Provident Credit Union, Grove Construction, Universal Development, Towne Ford, Wells Fargo Bank, Kohlweiss Auto Supply, Arlen Ness Motorcycles, and Ferrari Electricians.
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Celebrate National Historic Preservation Month
“Making Preservation Work" is the theme of the National Historic  Preservation Month celebration, sponsored nationally by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and locally by the City of Redwood City Historic Resources Advisory Committee.
In Redwood City, the event will be observed with a Mayor’s proclamation, a tour of the 1859 Historic Union Cemetery, a walking tour of some of Redwood City’s remarkable historic sites, and a field trip for 7th graders to downtown buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Union Cemetery tour – Saturday, May 5th, 2 pm; meet at the cemetery on Woodside Road west of El Camino Real.
- Historic Walking Tour - Sunday, May 6th, 10:30 am; meet in front of the historic Lathrop House, 627 Hamilton Street for this 1.5-hour tour including sites where Wyatt Earp occasionally came for a drink, where President Hoover once slept, where an 1875 Wells Fargo Express office operated, Redwood City’s first new car showroom salon and auto repair garage, 1896’s finest theater on the peninsula, former homes of prominent pioneer citizens, and more.
- School field trips - May 23, 24, 29, and 30; 800 7 th graders from Redwood City School District will see the restored 1863 Lathrop House, the old County Courthouse (now the San Mateo County History Museum), and the historic Fox Theater.
The celebration of National Historic Preservation Month is made possible by the generous sponsorship of a number of individuals, businesses, and community organizations: John Anagnostou and Michael Monte of the Fox and Little Fox; the Port of Redwood City; Bob’s Courthouse Coffee Shop; San Mateo County Historical Association; Watry Design Group; Redwood City Heritage Association; Attorney Michael Bursak; Dee Eva; Redwood City Civic Cultural Commission (pending); and the Redwood City Optimist Club.
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Save the Date: June 7th "Create-a-Smile" Fundraiser for Abigail Mendoza
Abigail Mendoza is a 6 year old Redwood City girl with an inoperable cancerous brain tumor. Despite heavy treatments of radiation and chemotherapy, doctors have advised the family that there is little hope for recovery. Her mother is on a non-paid leave of absence from work in order to make daily trips to the hospital for treatments. Her father is working long hours of overtime and extra shifts at work to make ends meet, leaving him precious little time to spend with young Abigail.
The Mendoza family is in a less-than fortunate financial situation already, and the Redwood City Firefighters Association's "Create- A-Smile" foundation is working to help keep this family together during their search for a miracle.
Please save the date: Thursday, June 7th 2007, 5:30 pm, for a very special fundraising dinner and auction to help offset some of the family’s expenses, and give Abigail’s father the opportunity to spend more time with his very sick daughter. This special event will take place at A Tavola Restaurant and the adjacent City Center Plaza, located at 1041 Middlefield Road. Live music, wonderful food, and silent and live auctions will all help in providing much-needed funds to the Mendoza family. It’s an incredible opportunity for the Redwood City community to come together and help some of their fellow community members in need.
Create-A-Smile is gratefully accepting donations of funds and auction items to help the family, and to make this event a great success. Volunteers who wish to participate in the planning and implementation of the Mendoza fundraiser are also welcome. To donate or volunteer, contact Justin Velasquez, Redwood City Fire Department, at 650-868-4270.
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City Manager Ed Everett Announces Retirement
Ed Everett, long-time City Manager of Redwood City, has announced his retirement from the City, which will be effective in September, 2007. The City Council is expected to immediately begin a search for Everett’s replacement.
Everett has spent 34 years in public service, including nearly 15 years as city manager of Redwood City – an amazingly lengthy tenure in the world of city management where the chief executive serves at the will of the city council. His tenure is a testament to his strong leadership, creativity, tenacity, loyalty, and ability to inspire and motivate an entire organization.
When asked about his accomplishments in Redwood City, Everett notes three key areas of which he is most proud, all related to building things:
- Building a new downtown and other key facilities;
- Building the organization of Redwood City’s staff; and
- Building a great community.
Among the public facilities that have been built under Everett’s leadership are: the new Fair Oaks branch library; two new fire stations; Red Morton and Sandpiper Community Centers; a new City Hall; completion of the police station; the renovation of Schaberg branch library and the start of the new Redwood Shores branch library; major new affordable housing on Rollins Road, Civic Center Plaza, and Villa Montgomery on El Camino Real; and of course the many new elements of Redwood City’s downtown including the On-Broadway retail-cinema project, the Courthouse Square, Theatre Way, and the Post Office Paseo now under construction.
Everett notes that, beyond the importance of building buildings, he has an even greater sense of pride in his successful efforts in building an award-winning, values-driven, caring, and world-class organization, comprised of the employees of the City of Redwood City who work every day on behalf of the community.
Ed Everett’s true passion, one which has permeated throughout the entire organization and has been his strong focus for the last five years, is the concept of “building a great community, together;” which is, in fact, the Council-adopted core purpose of Redwood City. He has often noted that a city’s provision of libraries, police and fire service, water and sewer service, and parks and recreation are all crucially important to a community – but providing those services is not enough. To really be a community, the people who live, work, and play here must join together, engage with each other and with the city itself, and thereby be partners in making the community a better place for everyone.
In Ed's words, "There is no building of a great city without building a great community, together" – and that “community building” element has been passionately and enthusiastically pursued by Everett for his entire career.
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Impending Drought Points to Need for Water Conservation
 The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), which supplies water to 2.4 million Bay Area customers including all of Redwood City, is concerned about possible first year drought conditions, following what is, so far, the fourth-driest winter on record. The agency is urging all Bay Area water customers to curtail water use now, in order to help avoid possible deeper water consumption limits or even mandatory water rationing later in the year.
Redwood City provides many programs to make it easy for every  household and business to do their part in reducing water use:
- FREE Toilet Replacement Program
- High Efficiency Clothes Washer Rebate
- FREE “Smart Home” Water-Use House Calls and Water Conservation Kits
- Water Use Allocation Program
- Free Pre-Rinse Spray Nozzle
- Large Landscape Irrigation Program
Details of these water-saving programs are available by calling Redwood City’s Water Conservation Hotline at 780-7436, or visiting the City's water conservation web page.
Redwood City is also about to start the tap running on its recycled water program that’s been under construction - and which couldn’t come at a better time, as we’re faced with the real possibility of an imminent drought. For landscape irrigation and industrial uses, the recycled water program is expected to save 300 acre feet (about 100 million gallons) annually, and up to 900 acre feet (294 million gallons) annually when fully operational. More information on Redwood City’s recycled water project is available at www.redwoodcity.org/water.
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Water Rates to be Restructured; Water & Sewer Rate Increases Proposed
Simplified Rate Structure
A new less-complicated and more conventional rate structure for your water usage bills will be implemented as of August 27th, 2007.
Up until now, Redwood City’s water rates have been based on a  “variable usage” rate. Under that structure, wherever your total usage was, all of your water beyond the first 10 units (1 unit = 748 gallons) was charged at the rate for that total usage level. In other words, if your total water use went just one unit into a higher price bracket, then all the water you used above 10 units got charged at that higher rate. The new structure simplifies the calculation of your water bill, into a more conventional set of incremental rates.
Proposed Rate Increases
~ Water
During last year’s rate adjustment, the City indicated that water rate increases would be occurring each year for the next few years. So,
concurrent with this simplified water rate structure, the City is considering a slight rate increase: the monthly basic service charge, which is currently $14.25 per month, is proposed to increase by 9.5%, to $15.60 in order to pay for increases in the fixed costs of providing water to the community.
The monthly "consumption rates" (the amount you pay per unit of water used) are proposed to increase by approximately 12% to pay for the purchase and distribution of wholesale water, capital improvements to the water system, and our
water conservation and recycled water programs.
~ Sewer
The monthly Basic Service Charge for residential customers is proposed to increase from the current $33 to a new rate of $35.66 (an increase of $2.66 per month – or about 8%).
 Commercial sewer rates vary based on the type of business. Those with so-called “higher strength” wastewater, such as restaurants, pay a higher “usage charge” per unit (1 unit = 100 cubic feet = 748 gallons). Commercial sewer bills are calculated based on metered water use,
with a minimum charge equal to the residential Basic Service Charge, (which is proposed to increase to $35.66).
Over the past 10 years, commercial usage rates have only increased by about 8% (less than 1% per year), putting the City’s commercial sewer rates among the lowest in the region. The City needs to realign commercial rates with the cost of service, and this will result in an initial sewer charge increase of between 8% and 20% for most businesses, with smaller increases in subsequent years. However some customers, such as restaurants, will face substantially larger initial rate
increases as their rates are brought back up to levels that reflect the cost of service.
For more detail on these proposed increases, read the articles in the May-June issue of "Our Water Supply" newsletter.
There will be a public hearing on the proposed water rate and sewer rate increases on July 9th, 2007 at 7 pm at City Hall. If approved by the City Council, the new rates will be effective on August 27th, 2007, and all bills generated on or after that date will be impacted by the new rates for the full billing period. Because of our bi-monthly billing cycle, for some customers the new rates will apply to water or sewer services used as of June 27th.
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Emergency Preparedness for Family and Home
In the event of a major disaster, you can be sure that the staff of the City of Redwood City is doing all it can to ensure the public safety, and is working hard to restore services and return our community to normal.
But remember, disaster can strike quickly and without warning. It can force you to evacuate your neighborhood or confine you to your home, and your family may be without basic services like water, gas,  electricity, and telephones, or access to stores and other services for several hours or days. While public safety personnel will be on the scene after a disaster, they cannot reach everyone right away.
Therefore, the best way to make your family and your home safe is to be prepared before disaster strikes.
The Redwood City Fire Department urges everyone to be responsible for their own and their family's safety and emergency preparedness by taking the time now to plan for such a situation.
Visit the Fire Department's Disaster Preparedness page for lots of great information on how you can prepare and make sure your family and home are safe.
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