The Town Council held a special all-day meeting on Friday, March 21, to work on our Strategic Planning goals. The majority of the day was spent hearing presentations from each Department Manager on their accomplishments in the last year, as well as their department ideas for short, medium and long-range goals looking ahead twenty years.
The last several hours were reserved for review and reflection by the Town Councilmembers on the goals outlined, based upon the prioritized categories that were identified in the 2012 Strategic Planning sessions. Those categories were infrastructure, customer service, technology, community facilities, shared services, financial/budgetary priorities, Town processes and other. A report on the result of the Strategic Planning session will be presented at the Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Town Council meeting, beginning at 7 p.m.
The materials presented at the Strategic Planning are available at: http://www.townofsananselmo.org/index.aspx?NID=449. Scroll down to Special TC Meeting March 21, 2014.
Sales Tax
San Anselmo voters approved a one-half cent sales tax last November in order to repair potholes, repave roads, reduce traffic congestion, maintain and improve sidewalks/drainage/street medians, preserve public safety, and improve other general Town services, facilities, and infrastructure. The measure requires annual independent audits, mandatory public expenditure reports, and an independent citizens’ oversight committee. The sales tax became effective on Tuesday, April 1, 2014.
Green Waste
Marin Sanitary Service (MSS) is the Town’s hauler for waste, curbside recycling, and food scrap/yard waste collection. Weekly food scrap and yard waste services are available to all residential customers with a 64-gallon green rolling cart provided by Marin Sanitary. These rolling carts are designed for semi and fully automated collection by the drivers.
Semi and fully automated collection systems are designed to increase efficiency and safety in the collection process. The system allows a specialized tipper arm on the truck to lift and empty the carts. This means that the driver does not have to lift the heavy carts to get the waste emptied into the truck. When the cart is empty the driver can roll the empty cart back to the curb.
Currently, San Anselmo residents are allowed to set out five additional 32-gallon containers of yard waste each week, along with the 64-gallon green cart. This can equal up to a total of 224 gallons of green waste material.
However, there’s a problem. The 32-gallon cans that are purchased separately, and often are very heavy, have to be emptied manually. This increases the risk of injury to the drivers who must lift the heavy cans up and over the tipper arm and into the truck. In addition to that problem is the fact that customers often set out cans that are larger than 32 gallons and weigh well over the 60-pound maximum that drivers are allowed to lift. Over time, this manual lifting of overloaded cans has caused many driver injuries.
Marin Sanitary will no longer pick up overloaded or overweight cans, nor will they pick up more than the equivalent of seven 32-gallon cans. If you have green waste that is not picked up, here are your options:
• Lighten the cans and set them out the following week, keeping to the weight and volume limits (5 extra 32-gallon cans under 60 pounds)
• If you need all the extra materials collected, call Marin Sanitary and schedule an extra pick-up for which there is a charge of $8.57 per container.
• If customers have a lot of extra yard waste, they can rent a temporary 3-yard debris box for $99. If the yard waste is loose and not in plastic bags, it will be composted.
Another solution is to rent up to three additional green carts from Marin Sanitary for an additional $1.88 each per month. For more information, please call Marin Sanitary at (415) 456-2601.
Help Reduce Food Waste in San Anselmo
Zero Waste Marin wants to pass along a few tips to help San Anselmo residents make the most of their food and save money!
• Practice Smart Shopping—Check your pantry to see what you already have before going grocery shopping.
• Make a List—Make a grocery list and stick to it! Avoiding impulse buys will help save money.
• Buy What You Need—To keep fresh produce from spoiling, buy only enough to last a week.
• Prep Now, Enjoy Later—Prepare and store food items properly to reduce cooking prep time by half. Freeze your excess meat, sliced fruit and even bread in reusable containers to make them last longer.
• Increase the Life of Your Food—Move food that is likely to spoil soon to a designated “eat now” area in your pantry or fridge.
• Store Food Correctly—Not all fresh fruits and vegetables should go in the fridge! Apples, berries, grapes and oranges should be refrigerated while bananas, mangos and potatoes belong in a cool place in your kitchen.
Spring is a great time of year for us all to embrace new food waste reduction habits at home. Together, we can work together to keep Marin County beautiful and thriving. Zero Waste Marin works with cities and towns throughout Marin County to educate residents about reducing the amount of food waste that goes into our local landfills. For more information, visit www.ZeroWasteMarin.org.
San Anselmo News, published weekly on Fridays, is available at the San Anselmo Town Hall, Library, and on the Public Notice Bulletin Board. It is also available on the Town’s website, www.townofsananselmo.org, and by email subscription.