A Message from Mayor Eli Beckman | |
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Dear friends and neighbors,
It's been a blast of a month, with a number of fantastic community events including the grand opening of our new Town Hall and a fun-filled Fourth of July. I want to extend a huge thanks to everyone who came together at these events to celebrate with the community—it's been a true reminder of Corte Madera's spirit, and the honor of welcoming residents into our new public building is something I'll never forget. Read on for new updates on a number of important topics, including new pickleball courts and coming infrastructure improvements.
If you want to know more or discuss an issue not mentioned here, please reach out! You can email me at ebeckman@cortemadera.gov, call or text me at (415) 737-5020, and follow my Facebook page for more regular updates. It's an honor to serve you!
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Land Use 🏠🌳
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We're making it easier to renovate or raise your home. I voted to streamline our design review regulations to make it easier for residents, local businesses, and builders to get their projects done. We're making the process of building or renovating in Corte Madera more transparent and user-friendly through a mix of cleaning up confusing rules, and common-sense policy improvements. One example: if you live in the flood zone and want to raise your home to protect against sea level rise, we're exempting your project from design review, saving you weeks or months of time and money. More info here.
Parks & Recreation ⛹️⚽️
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New pickleball courts coming to Town Park. Over the last couple of years, we did extensive public outreach to learn what Corte Madera residents want from their Parks & Rec department. The top priority came through loud and clear—pickleball!—and I'm glad to say that we are delivering on that priority less than a year after adopting our Parks & Rec master plan. We voted to approve a $350,000 contract for new, dedicated pickleball courts at Town Park, which will allow more residents and visitors to enjoy this popular pastime while also reducing wait times on our tennis courts. We're aiming to have the new courts open before the end of the summer, so get ready to grab your paddles and join in the fun! Learn more here.
Climate & Environment 🌎🌱
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Changes coming to our green building rules. In 2022, Corte Madera took a major step forward in the fight against climate change and adopted an ordinance that required new buildings to be all-electric. Unfortunately, months later, a federal court issued a misguided decision undoing that progress. But we didn't give up: we adapted, instead adopting green building rules for remodels. Our new rules are designed to give homeowners and builders flexibility in how they make their homes more energy efficient (read: lower energy bills and lower carbon footprint), with going all-electric just one of many options. Most importantly, our Planning and Building staff will be available to assist residents or contractors in successfully completing their projects. More info here.
Traffic & Infrastructure 🚍🚲
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Important sewer repairs coming to Madera Gardens. We approved a $3.8 million project to fix old and deficient sewer lines, in order to prevent water from getting into the sewer pipes and sewage from leaking out. We'll also be making improvements to the gutters and storm drain system, to address issues with stagnant water. When all this under-road work is finished, the neighborhood will get freshly paved roads, and we'll be contributing Town funds to assist homeowners who are required to repair their private sewer laterals due to this project. Learn more here.
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Meadowsweet sewer repairs successfully completed. In recent months, you probably noticed the major work happening on the sewer mains under Meadowsweet and Tamalpais. The good news is that we fixed a critical piece of our sewer infrastructure; the better news is that it's finished! This $3 million project involved replacing old and damaged sewer lines under two major streets. Best of all, this project came in $160,000 under budget. I want to thank everyone for their patience with the disruption and traffic delays that were an unfortunate but unavoidable part of this work. More info here.
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Garbage rates are increasing by 7.4%. This may not be the most glamorous topic, but it’s an important one that affects us all, as we’ve seen our waste collection fees steadily climb in recent years. Under the terms of our 18 year old contract with Mill Valley Refuse Service, they have the right to raise their rates for certain reasons like state regulations or market conditions. The Town hires an independent auditor to review their rate increases, but if they're found to be justified, we are obligated to pay, guaranteeing them a profit margin of around 10%. As any businessperson will tell you, a private company being guaranteed a profit is not a normal thing, and I've been very candid about my serious concerns with the structure of this contract.
While there have been years where Mill Valley Refuse has not requested a rate increase, this year, they asked for an increase of about 7.8%. After working with our auditor, we approved a rate increase of just under 7.4%, primarily owing to changes in the recycling market and their increasing labor costs. For residential customers, this means an extra $3.49 per month for a 32-gallon can and $2.96 per month for a 20-gallon can.
I want to be clear: Mill Valley Refuse is a respected, local family-owned business that's always honored the terms of our contract—but as we approach the sunset of this contract in 2026, I believe it’s crucial to explore options that will allow us to address issues like cost and level of service, including revising our contract terms and requesting competitive bids from other waste haulers. Although it’s too soon to determine the best path forward, it’s clear that a thorough review of our waste management is overdue, and I’m committed to working with my colleagues and Town staff to explore these possibilities and ensure we get the best value for Corte Madera's residents and businesses.
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Events & Info 📅📣
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Summer Concert Series is back! Come rock summer Sunday evenings away, courtesy of the Corte Madera Community Foundation. Check the lineup here.
- Date: every Sunday through August
- Time: 5 - 6:30 PM
- Where: Menke Park
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Next Town Council meeting is August 20. Highlighted topics include labor contracts and our new storm drain master plan.
- Date: Tuesday, August 20
- Time: 6:30 PM
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Where: in person at 300 Tamalpais Drive, or via zoom.
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