Mayor's Weekly (Jan 27 - Feb 2)

On my Mind
This past week I went back to school—high school that is.  On Friday, I was invited to go back to my old high school (Novato High) to speak to the AVID class.  AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination and is a college preparatory program currently offered as elective classes at NUSD high schools, Hill Middle School, San Jose Middle School and Hamilton.  The students were very engaged and after telling them a little bit about myself and my story, they were also quite inquisitive.  I soon discovered the sobering fact that the majority of the students in the class were actually born in the same year that I graduated from Novato High.  During my short talk I encouraged the students to differentiate themselves, be willing to take risks, accumulate mentors, and to find something they love.  Some of the questions the students wanted to know included “What does a City Council/Mayor do?”, “What was the largest obstacle I have had to overcome?”, and “How does someone get to be Mayor?”.  Great questions from some great students.  Thank you Mr. Searle for inviting me to speak to the class.

Around Town
City Council Hears Presentation from the Novato Theatre Group – At our Council Meeting this past Tuesday night, we heard a presentation which included a video about the Downtown Novato Threater.  Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBk6CdCTOW0

Marin History in Bel Marin Keys – This past week I had the privilege to dedicate the Craemer Family Collections and Research Facility of the Marin History Museum.  The Marin History Museum’s flagship headquarters and exhibit space is at the Boyd Gate House in downtown San Rafael, but their collections facility has been in Novato for some time and they just recently relocated to a new location.  It is great to have so much history in Novato with this facility as well as the Novato History Museum, the Hamilton Field Museum, the Space Station Museum, and the Marin Museum of the American Indian.

Homeless Policymaker Subcommittee - On Wednesday evening, I attended my first meeting of the Homeless Policymaker Subcommittee which includes 1 councilmember from each city in Marin.  We will be meeting every other month over the course of the year.  For our first meeting, we heard from Jason Satterfield, Marin County’s Homeless Policy Analyst.  Jason shared about "Home for All" - Marin County's 10 Year Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.  You can read the full plan here.

The Week Ahead
Monday:
City Council Closed Session – 5:30PM

Planning Commission Meeting – 7:00PM

Tuesday:
City Council Meeting – 6:30PM

Wednesday:
Design Review Commission Meeting – 7:30PM