Here’s a link to the Parks and Rec Committee Meeting Agenda

It’s item 4 under unfinished business.

Recology
spoke about the new trash containers, we should all have them soon. If you don’t like the sizes you’ve got you can call and get different ones. Starting in January we’ll be able to put food scraps in the green composting bin, but until then we have to put them in the trash.

News from the Police Department
Ted Gonzalez gave us his regular update and I am happy to say it was brief. He said there were no very big incidents. He reminded us that, as the holidays approach we should be careful about leaving things in our cars. He also reminded us not to leave laptop computers anywhere in our cars, even the trunk.

Fencing at King Park
Sheila Canzian, the director of Parks and Rec, came to speak to us about the fencing at King Park. This was the hottest issue at the meeting with a number of our
neighbors expressing:

dislike of the size , placement, and general appearance of the fencing

concern that reservations of the field by organized groups limit use of it for neighborhood kids and adults

organized groups trash the field which requires longer closure of the field for reseeding

timing of the closure of the field (from March through the end of July this year) is badly timed for community use and way too long

there should have been prior discussion with the community

Director Canzian and several Parks and Rec staff members responded

assuring us that closure will be from January through March this year

they will respond to requests from the community to lower the number of field reservations for next year

they would be open to blocking out time for community use

they are looking at ways to open up the field more, while keeping a permanent fence in place to save the cost of getting temporary fencing each year

They also said that they are making efforts to improve the overall quality of the playfield and acknowledged that in the past it has been poorly maintained.

North Central Residents are invited to discuss various alternatives to the current fencing at the next Parks and Rec Commission Meeting.

I found out in separate conversation after the meeting that the new chained goal posts are due to liability issues, and that parks in San Mateo all have chained goal posts.

High Speed Rail
Several speakers from Community Coalition on High Speed Rail (CC-HSR) spoke to us about the history and ongoing process of building high speed rail in California. They urged us to get involved and find out what we can do to voice our opinions. They urged to write to our elected representatives, to join their group or others active on this issue. Larry Patterson from the City of San Mateo attended.

The City of San Mateo is holding informational open door sessions on High Speed Rail on October 28th.

From: David Norris
Sent: Thu, September 30, 2010 3:37:15 PM
Subject: Press Release / Community Alert – Bank Robbery – Suspect Photo Attached

This ‘Press Release / Community Information’ is being sent to you by The Public Information Office of the San Mateo Police Department. We at the SMPD take pride in alerting our community partners about activities and current events relevant to neighborhood incidents.

PRESS RELEASE – COMMUNITY ALERT
CITY of SAN MATEO POLICE DEPARTMENT
200 Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, CA 94403
http://www.cityofsanmateo.org

Bank Robbery

Suspect Photo Attached

Wednesday, September 29th, 3pm –
San Mateo Police Department officers and on-duty detectives responded to a reported Bank Alarm at the California Bank and Trust located at 1690 S. El Camino Real. Bank employees confirmed that a bank robbery had occurred. No weapons were seen, and none of the staff or customers were injured. The suspect fled the scene prior to police arrival with an undisclosed amount of cash. SMPD Officers and detectives secured the scene and conducted an extensive search for the suspect. The suspect was not located.

SMPD continues to investigate this case and pursue all leads. In addition, we are asking for the community’s assistance in helping to identify and locate the suspect in this case.

The suspect in this case is described as a White Male in his 30s or 40s, about 5’10 in height with a medium build. The suspect was last seen wearing a dark ball cap bearing a “UCLA” logo, an olive-drab jacket, and a white t-shirt with a distinctive-looking logo in black. A photo of the suspect is depicted below (HTML) and attached.

If you have any information about this suspect or this case, please contact SMPD at any of these numbers:

SMPD Investigations – 650-522-7650 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 650-522-7650 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Secret Witness Line – 650-522-7676 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 650-522-7676 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Text Anonymously – 650-262-3473
Email Anonymously – sanmateo@tipnow.org

In San Mateo there are two sites:

Coyote Point Park:

Meet at Coyote Point Park – 1701 Coyote Point Dr., San Mateo.
Hwy 101N: Take Peninsula Ave exit, Turn right at the signal then turn left at the next signal, Peninsula Avenue. Drive forward into the park.
Hwy 101S: Take Poplar St. Exit. Proceed forward to signal, turn right at Humbolt St. Drive to signal at Peninsula Ave. turn right. Continue forward through two signals into the park.

Saturday, September 25, 2010 – 9am to noon

Site Captain: San Mateo County Department of Parks
Email: pollutionprevetion@co.sanmateo.ca.us

Ryder Park:

Saturday, September 25, 2010 — 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

From Hwy 101, take 3rd Ave East, follow signs to parking. BBQ, Entertainment, Prizes! Wear old work clothes and bring gloves if you can (however, disposable gloves and garbage bags are provided).
Site Captain: Roxanne Murray, City of San Mateo
Contact number: (650) 522-7346
Email: RMurray@cityofsanmateo.org

For more info and other locations

Article San Mateo Daily Journal about North Central and HSR

The Public Works Commission will be decided which alternatives to move forward with studying. The final decision will be made next May.

City of San Mateo: Public Works Commission Meeting Agenda for September 8, 2010

09/08/10 Agenda
Pedestrian Master Plan Update
Poplar Avenue – Identification of Project Options Based on Adopted Goals and Objectives

Here’s an email regarding a question about using the new bins

Dear Block Leaders,

Hope you had a great holiday weekend! Just a couple of updates for you. As you know, delivery of the new carts began in San Mateo last week. We’re about halfway through the city – and hopefully some of you have the new carts already!

One of the questions that Recology’s customer service representatives have been getting from residents who got the new carts is what should they do with food scraps. If you notice, the lid of the black Garbage cart lists “Food Scraps and & Food Soiled Paper” as a “NO.” This is to encourage people to compost their food scraps in the green Compost Cart. However, since the food scraps can’t be put in the Compost cart until January 2011, residents may continue to put food scraps in the black Garbage cart until then. You can even put them in the Garbage cart after January, but we encourage everyone to compost. If you could pass this along to your neighbors, we would greatly appreciate it!

Also, we have launched our Facebook page, and the focus of it right now is to get the word out about the new services. You can link to our Facebook page by going to our website at http://www.RethinkWaste.org or by this link: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/San-Carlos-CA/RethinkWaste/102448196475939?ref=ts

We’ll be posting pictures and other updates regularly on the site.

As always, please contact Cathy or myself if we can help with anything.

Best,
Monica

______________________________________________
Monica G. Devincenzi
Recycling Outreach & Sustainability Manager
RethinkWaste
610 Elm Street #202
San Carlos, CA 94070
Phone: 650.802.3509 650.802.3509
Fax: 650.802.3501
www.rethinkwaste.org

Coming Soon to a Curb Near You!