Montara Fog

What is wrong with the leadership in Half Moon Bay?

They’ve been on the losing end of every major controversy on the Coastside (and there were plenty of them) for at least the past ten years. Just in the past months four of the five city council members threw their weight to oppose the fire board recall, making robo calls, working their magic. They lost in a landslide.

Weeks ago they voted to spend $100,000 on a study to address “vacant buildings downtown and the loss of successful startups” with Mayor Kowalczyk bemoaning the lack of what amounts to a brand identity for Half Moon Bay.

And yet they allow another out-of-town owned major fast food restaurant chain to open in one of the most visible locations in town, a Taco Bell in a plaza that already has a well regarded Mexican restaurant, Happy Taco.

The future, for both Happy Taco and perhaps for Half Moon Bay, is not hard to see.

From a a reader…if you have family or friends in Montara please circulate this notice.

White Shepherd found on Alamo (near Sunshine Valley Rd) in Montara on May 15th.  He is described as  approx between 2-4 yrs old, unneutered male, no collar, thin and seemingly sweet.

He is being temporarily fostered in Montara by Stacey.  Her contact numbers are 728-7955 or cell 222-6113.

Time is of the essence in getting him back home since she cannot foster him much longer.

[The Half Moon Bay Review article by Mark Noack notes that the altercation began with a verbal arguement follwed by the throwing of pine cones at the assailant's car, a Suzuki Samurai.]

PRESS RELEASE

Montara, CA- On Saturday afternoon, May 4th at approximately 4:00 in the afternoon, two boys aged 13 and 14 were playing in the basketball courts at Farallone View School at 3rd/Le Conte Avenues in the coastside community of Montara. They were approached by two older males who made some derogatory remarks at the boys. The boys responded to the older males at which time the young boys were chased into a wooded area in the Rancho Corral De Tierra Preserve area which is just north of the school. The victims attempted to hide from the suspects however they were discovered. The suspects beat the boys with their fists and then stole a watch, cell phone and one of the victim’s tennis shoes. The suspects then ran from the area and left in a vehicle described as a grey Suzuki Samurai. The investigation led to the identity of one of the suspects; Austin Krieger of Moss Beach. Krieger was contacted on Thursday evening (05/09/2013) and arrested. The Suzuki Samurai believed to have been driven by Krieger was also located. Evidence linked to this case was also located and recovered in Krieger’s residence.

The second suspect in this assault and robbery has not yet been identified. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help from the Coastside Community in identifying him. That individual is encouraged to turn himself in to the Sheriff’s Office. If you have additional information about this assault or the identity of the second suspect, please call Sergeant Linda Gibbons at 650-363-4063 or via e-mail lgibbons@smcgov.org or Deputy Andy Hui via e-mail at ahui@smcgov.org You may also remain anonymous by calling the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 1-800-547-2700.

[Sorry for the last minute notice--I only just learned of this event --Darin]

PRESS RELEASE

SAN MATEO, CA – Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) will hold a town hall meeting on Saturday, May 11, 2013 to give new constituents of the 14th Congressional District in Half Moon Bay the opportunity to ask questions about any topic on their minds, including the economy, health care, and veterans issues.

Who:
Congresswoman Jackie Speier

What:
Town Hall Meeting

Where:
Half Moon Bay Library
620 Correas Street
Half Moon Bay

When:
Saturday, May 11, 2013
1:00 am – 2:30 pm

PRESS RELEASE

The Cabrillo Unified School District is pleased to announce the appointment of a Principal assigned to Alvin S. Hatch Elementary School. On May 9, 2013, the Cabrillo Unified School District Governing Board approved the recommendation to appoint Will Flores for this position. Currently, Flores is a principal at Vose Elementary School in Beaverton, Oregon.

Flores earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Modern Languages: Spanish Literature/Linguistics from Southern Oregon University and a Master of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Instruction: Bilingual Education, also from Southern Oregon University. Flores has an extensive background as a teacher, trainer, and principal in Spanish/English immersion programs. This experience makes him an ideal selection for Hatch, which houses the Districts K-5 immersion program. He will relocate to the area with his wife, who is a dual language teacher, and their daughter who is pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health.

In the selection process, a diverse group of parents, teachers, classified staff, and administrators chose a slate of five candidates to interview. The committee selected three finalists for the district administrative team to interview and determine the best candidate. Besides oral interviews, an extensive review of past employment histories for all candidates was performed.

Prior to the selection of the initial candidates, a group of Hatch parents and employees provided extensive input into what they were looking for in their next principal. Among the key characteristics was the ability to work effectively with staff and parents to strengthen school-wide community.

Being new to the district, Flores plans to integrate himself into the culture of the school and community as soon as possible. He plans on visiting the school prior to the end of the school year, and will begin his principalship at Hatch in July.

“It is an honor to have been selected by the Cabrillo Unified School District to be the next Principal of Hatch Elementary”, responded Flores upon learning of his appointment. “I am delighted to be offered this opportunity and I am looking forward to working with such an outstanding learning community.”

“I am passionate about teaching and learning, and will continue to build upon the excellent achievements already gained. I look forward to working closely with the staff, parents, and the wider community in Half Moon Bay. My aim is to empower teachers and staff to work collaboratively in teams so that our students can be successful in achieving to their fullest potential. I will be wholly committed in supporting and ensuring student growth and success, and on leading Hatch Elementary to become an even brighter star.”

We bought our house here in Montara nine years ago. The former owners had two large dogs. We still have a “doggie door” in the deck door. Our neighbor to the right has a dog. Our neighbor to the left has a dog. Our neighbor in back has a dog as does our neighbor across the street.

This situation is typical in Montara. There are lots of dogs here, more dogs per capita, I think, than anywhere else I’ve ever lived.

I don’t have a dog but I want one. My wife wants one. So do my two daughters. But I hesitate.

Montara is surrounded by beautiful open space. Montara Mountain to one side, the ocean to the other. It’s paradise in many ways. It’s rural, somewhat remote, a place where they haven’t yet bothered to put up stop signs at many of the four-way intersections. People are friendly. It would be great to have a dog here, perhaps a perfect place for a dog.

But I don’t have a dog and I might not get one. The problem? To paraphrase Coleridge, we have parks, parks, every where but no place to walk the dog. We are surrounded by land recently acquired by the federal government which seems intent on prohibiting dogs, and if they do allow them entry dogs must be on a short leash at all times. Dog owners, from families who for generations have walked their dogs on the trails surrounding the town, are appalled.

Dog owners need that land open to their dogs. They have no alternatives. There are no dog runs, no off-leash areas anywhere within miles. There are no county parks, no city parks (since we are unincorporated), and the state beach has restrictive dog rules. Even most of our backyards are too small for dogs since Montara was developed on “substandard” lot sizes back in the days when they dreamed of turning us into another Daly City.

There are more opportunities to walk your dog in Manhattan–one of the densest population areas of the country–than in small, rural Montara. Manhattan, counting just the official New York City properties, boasts twenty-nine dog runs (some quite elaborate) and four off-leash areas. One of these off-leash areas is Central Park itself which allows dogs off-leash on most of its 850 acres. Within the park, the Central Park Conservancy (the administrator of the park) has identified twenty-three areas popular with dog walkers.

It’s hard to believe that Manhattan is more dog-friendly than Montara but there it is. We have zero dog runs, zero off-leash areas. Zero legal opportunities to walk dogs on dirt trails or grass, to play Frisbee or catch with a stick, zero opportunities to let dogs be dogs.

What a shame. I want a dog. But I can’t have one because I’ve got nowhere to walk it.

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Link: New York City’s Dog-friendly Areas

Link: Central Park (Manhattan) dog walker guide

Mother humpbacks are migrating now, coming close to the shore with their slower babies, hiding from the sharks. Here are a few pictures from the past few days–I hope you enjoy the images.

What’s the most secretive government body on the Coastside? I used to think it was the school board. When I first moved here no one seemed to attend their meetings–despite having the largest budget of any local agency–and no one seemed to know what was going on.

But then I realized I was wrong. The most secretive government body on the coast isn’t the school board, it’s the harbor Commission. Why? Because most citizens don’t know it exists. Their meeting agendas must have been posted only at the harbor office because I never saw one in my daily routine. Their meetings weren’t televised or videotaped. The web page was archaic. Few of the board members were local.

They were, to all but a few activists and stakeholders, invisible.

That’s changing, in large part to the efforts of newly elected commissioner Sabrina Brennan. Even before her election she pushed for having the meetings televised and for making more information available to the public in a timely way. As part of that effort she has arranged for Montara Fog to have access to the videos filmed by Pacifica Community Television so they can be published here, to widen the audience for these important documents.

There are many issues now before and coming before the Harbor District commissioners that impact our lives. These videos will help to provide the foundation for greater public awareness of and participation in the decision-making on these issues.

Below is the first “catch-up” post for the videos, with nine videos covering the period from January to April of this year. Future videos will be published as they become available.

A review of compensation practices among nine governing bodies that serve the Coastside shows that the San Mateo County Harbor District, which is responsible for both Oyster Point Marina and PIllar Point Harbor, offers its commissioners pay and benefits that dwarf those of any other district.

Typically, local government boards pay their governing members a token stipend of one hundred dollars per meeting with no other benefits beyond limited expense reimbursement (in the cases where members are required to travel on government business).

For example, the Coastside Fire Protection District, a local government agency with a multi-million dollar budget and several dozen emergency personnel under its contract with Cal Fire, pays directors one hundred dollars a meeting with a maximum payment of $400 a month–a maximum that, to my knowledge, hasn’t been reached in at least five years, if ever. In 2011, a time period with an unusually high number of meetings, the total annual expense per director was $1600.

The Midcoast Community Council ranks as the least compensated local governing body. MCC directors receive “zero zip nada–not even gas mileage reimbursement” according to council member Lisa Ketchum. According to Ketchum, however, the county does offer members the courtesy of free parking in the county parking structure in Redwood City if they are visiting on official MCC business.

The Half Moon Bay City Council pays its members three hundred dollars on a monthly basis with no health or retirement benefits.

In what is perhaps the most innovative compensation arrangement on the coast, the Cabrillo Unified School Board doesn’t pay its board members or offer them paid benefits. But it does allow them, at the full cost of the premiums, to buy health insurance in the school employee health and welfare program. This appears to offer members a significant benefit (if they have no other coverage) while not incurring any costs for the school district.

Dwarfing all other agencies serving the Coastside, the San Mateo County Harbor District offers its commissioners generous and extensive pay, health and retirement plans. Each commissioner receives an automatic stipend of six hundred dollars per month, whether they attend meetings or not. Total cost this fiscal year? $36,000.

The members of the commission enjoy the benefits of the $42,801 allotted to health insurance this fiscal year, covering the five members. Commissioners are also covered by workers compensation insurance ($2400 in the current year) and receive the benefits of an “Employment Assistance Program,” budgeted at $542.

Retirees from the commission can rely on financial support from the commission. Although it is not clear whether the insurance offered by the Harbor District is available to new members or just to the two longest serving members and their families (who are grandfathered in) and the retirees, the District has set aside nearly $20,000 a year to cover these expenses.

And it goes on and on. Meetings, travel, and training run $8300. Mileage reimbursement? $400. Employee appreciation dinner? $3750.

All told, the compensation of the commissioners at the Harbor District appears to not only be larger than the costs of the other eight governing bodies combined, it appears to cost twice as much as all eight other districts combined–even before you add in the nearly $20,000 for the retired commissioners.

The Harbor District commissioners will be meeting to discuss their budget on Wednesday, May 1st and again on June 5th, both meetings at 7:00 pm at the Comfort Inn on Highway One. They will also soon be appointing a new member to replace to the late Leo Padreddii, who passed away two weeks ago.

Chart from “San Mateo County Harbor District Board of Harbor Commissioners Meeting Minutes, April 3, 2013,” page 53.

(Article sources–From interviews plus these online resources, where you can read about some of the details of reimbursement and the like):

Coastside County Water District Code of Conduct

Coastside Fire Protection District Board Policies and Bylaws

Cabrillo Unified School District Board Bylaws

Granada Sanitary District 2012-2013 Budget

Half Moon Bay City Council Municipal Code

Midcoast Community Council draft Bylaws

Montara Water and Sewer District MWSD Code

San Mateo County Harbor District: No information published online.

Sewer Authority Midcoast: No information published online.