January 4, 2004
Dear Friend;
Happy New Year! Hope you had a wonderful holiday!
You're Invited
You are cordially invited to attend "A New Year's Conversation About Burlingame" on Saturday, January 10, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Lane Room at the main Burlingame Public Library. (Please enter by side door.) I am inviting a select number of "involved" citizens to brainstorm about ideas for improving Burlingame, then figure out how to begin making things happen. Copenhagen has kindly offered to provide pastries, and there will be coffee. Please RSVP to me via my website or by calling me at 650-347-3576. (Spaces are limited.)
Power to the People
On Monday, January 5, Burlingamers Unwilling to Live with Blackouts (BULB) and PG&E will report to the Burlingame City Council on progress in improving power reliability during 2003. The two reports are the first item on the agenda for the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in Burlingame City Hall.
PG&E says it has spent more than $2.4 million on upgrading circuits in Burlingame, yet residents reported sporadic outages during November and December, even on bright, sunny days. And the blackout that affected 120,000 residents in San Francisco before Christmas was not reassuring. Here's an article in the weekend edition of the San Mateo County Times that tells more:
http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11268~1868597,00.phpl
I encourage you to continue reporting outages-even those that last one second-on this Web site at www.terrynagel.com. (Just click on the "BULB" page.) If you want to get an idea of the outages that have been reported since September, you can see the complete list here:
http://www.terrynagel.com/main.php?Page=392
Water Pressure
Have you been experiencing light water pressure? Don't be concerned. The Public Works Department reports that the problem is due to work on upgrading the city's water and sewer systems.
Progress So Far
A number of people have asked if anything has changed in the city since I was elected in November. Well, it's early yet, but I'm happy to report:
- Mayor Rosalie O'Mahony has reinstated City Council study sessions. During the campaign, I said I missed these opportunities to hear the council debate major issues outside of the time constraints of normal council meetings. The first study session will be about Safeway's environmental impact report and will be scheduled in late January.
- At my suggestion, the City Council agreed to add public hearings to the process for determining how to honor individuals when naming city fields and facilities.
- Mayor O'Mahony has invited me to serve with her on the Budget Committee to determine the city's budget for 2004-2005. I'll also be serving as Burlingame's delegate to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), on the Airport Round Table, on the Emergency Services Council and on the Fire Advanced Life Support Joint Powers Authority (which regulates ambulances).
- Instead of just listing all the parties and meetings I've gone to during the "Council Reports" portion of City Council members, I am reporting on what I've learned at the meetings that I think may be useful to other council members and the public.
- After I urged the council to support San Mateo Council Member Sue Lempert's suggestion to move the annual Progress Seminar from Monterey to San Mateo County, Mayor O'Mahony circulated a petition to that effect that Burlingame Council members signed. Elected officials from throughout San Mateo County travel to Monterey every year to discuss long-range planning over a three-day weekend. I think the meeting should be held in San Mateo County-preferably Burlingame-so that we could keep the tax dollars here. I believe it is too late to move the meeting this year (it occurs in April), but I will see if we can make this switch in 2005.
Have ideas or suggestions? Send me an email or give me a call. I'd love to hear from you.
Phone: 650-347-3576