General Meeting Recap - November 9th 2023

At our November General meeting, newly installed Mayor (and our own District 1 City Councilmember) Lisa Diaz Nash, spoke about the Council’s 2024 priorities. She sorted these into initiatives aimed at keeping San Mateans safe, and initiatives that make our city a happy place to live. She emphasized transparency and accountability for Council operations and encouraged constituents to communicate our priorities, questions or concerns with her at: ldiaznash@cityofsanmateo.org

Storm water management and flood protection is one of the safety priorities of the City. Mayor Diaz Nash outlined measures Public Works is taking in preparation for this winter’s storms. After 50 years of deferred maintenance, the City’s flood protection infrastructure requires substantial capital investment. Lisa discussed and supported the ballot initiative (recently mailed to property owners) that would attach a monthly parcel fee, in perpetuity, dedicated exclusively to storm water management.

An informative and constructive “Point / Counterpoint” discussion followed with Park neighbor, former San Mateo Mayor, and former State Senator, Jerry Hill. Both Lisa and Jerry agree that substantial infrastructure repair and upgrades are urgently needed. They disagree on the Ballot measure’s imposition of a dedicated property tax that would fund the work.

For details about Jerry Hill’s argument please refer to the San Mateo Daily Journal article using the red QR Code at left in the photo. For City information on the Ballot initiative scan the green QR Code at right in the photo.

Ballots must be received (not postmarked) at City Hall by 5pm on December 17!

Finally, Police Chief Barberini and his two Lieutenants, Lt. Glen Teixeria (who oversees our neighborhood) and Lt. Shannon Hagan (who oversees all neighborhood patrol functions) affirmed that we live in an extraordinarily safe neighborhood. They reported that household burglaries, which dropped significantly during Covid, have not rebounded (scan the QR Code in attached Heat Map for details). Meanwhile, organized retail crime is up significantly and is affecting Hillsdale and Bridgepoint shopping areas in ways never before observed.