The Burlingame Voice

Friends with Benefits - Part 10 Sheriffs and Gina Papan

The San Mateo Mercury Times has a piece on the sheriff's deputies newest deal

The salaries of San Mateo County sheriff's deputies are at least 7 percent higher than those of deputies in eight other Bay Area counties, and they'll receive a 3 percent bump in 2015 thanks to the Board of Supervisors.

San Mateo County supervisors approved an agreement with the 352-member Deputy Sheriff's Association without discussion at their April 12 meeting. The agreement was listed on a "consent agenda," which contains items deemed so routine that supervisors approve them in one motion.

The five-year contract states that the public safety officers will always receive 1 percent more than the highest of the nine Bay Area counties. The prior contract also gave them a minimum annual increase of 3 percent.

The Times/News also has a piece on the supervisor race that ends on Tuesday titled "Hopefuls pump in cash".  It's not on the website yet so I can't link to it, but it does have this little tidbit

Papan has raised $172,516 in her campaign, including $20,874 left from her 2008 state Assembly run and a $25,000 loan to herself.  According to an independent expenditure report filed Thursday, she also received a $37,000 doneation from the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff's Association Political Action Committee.

The final reports on who raised what from whom will be very interesting.  It is funny how some candidates focus on their opponents who are spending their own money!

At What Cost Housing?

One has to take government studies, and especially their forecasts, with a grain or two of salt.  None more so than what is put out regularly by ABAG and its associated groups.  The Daily Post and the Daily Journal are highlighting a recent report that notes  22,000 jobs have disappeared from San Mateo County since 2007.  I love how the Post lays out its front pages.  Right next to the lost jobs headline is one that reads "Demand for 12,000 new homes criticized".  You might skim the page and think the 12,000 new homes are for the County, but that is the 25 year forecast just for Palo Alto.

These forecasts are regular occurrences.  Unfortunately we can't ignore them because as the Post notes

...the city (meaning Palo Alto) will have to start building or suffer the consequences.  The consequences could include losing the ability to get state funds to improve transit, water and sewer lines, and, ironically, build affordable housing.

All this gets one thinking "What is Burlingame's state-mandated number?"  You can view the report from One Bay Area here.  It predicts we will gain 4,823 jobs and suggests/mandates that we add housing for 6,184 households!   One local expert notes

keep in mind the projections are unconstrained; that is, they do not take into account any restrictions at the local level that would prevent the projected growth (e.g. infrastructure capacity, available land, other factors).

So, as the Post article concludes--there are carrots and sticks that the State has at its disposal to force cities to grow like this.  Neither can overcome the biggest stick of all--the local economy. 

 

Plan Your Summer in B'game

It still barely feels like Spring out there, but you need to get out your calendar and plan your summer activities in our beloved little burg.  Here are some of the key dates to keep in mind:

May 15  --   Green Street Fair  (City lot J)

June 11 and 12   --   Art in the Park

July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31  --  Sunday afternoon Music in the Park (Salsa, Classic Rock and Blues, Rock and Soul, Country, and Classic Rock) five Sundays in a row

August 13-14   --  Artzfest (aka Art on the Avenew)

August 19, September 9 and 23  --   Friday night Movies in the Park

See, you don't really have to Go Anywhere!

Safeway Part 66 - Roof Ramp

At least one Safeway project is flying along, even as Millbrae apparently makes B'game look downright business-friendly!  Here's the roof ramp that will lead up to the rooftop parking.  Good thing we will have rooftop space because the at-grade space is shrinking as construction progresses.

 

Friends with Benefits - Part 9 San Mateo Acts

The Daily Journal is reporting that

Top officials in San Mateo are giving up some benefits in an effort to curb the city’s escalating pension and health insurance costs.

The city manager, police and fire chiefs and other top officials have agreed to pay a portion of their own retirement pension and health insurance benefit costs to save the city roughly $160,000 a year.

We've looked at this from a global perspective here and you can work your way back with the embedded links for more detail.

Hotel Rate$ on the Ri$e

There is a piece in today's Wall Street Journal Bay Area section that note:

In a sign of how the Bay Area's economic recovery has been stronger than in some other parts of California, hotel rates are rising in San Francisco while they stagnate in the Central Valley and Sacramento, according to PKF Consulting.  San Francisco's average room rate in February was $176 a night, up 20% from the previous year.

That's encouraging news for B'game since our hotel rates track somewhat with SF's and because the 12% TOT rises with room rates (as long as they don't surpress overall demand).  Local room rates still haven't recovered to what they were pre-9/11 but they are trending up.

High-Cost Rail - Part 51 "A Fool's Errand"

ESG have stepped up and finally started on the path most common sense observers have known for quite some time.  Here is the essence of Anna Eshoo, Joe Simitian and Rich Gordon's joint announcement of this morning

To that end:
• We explicitly reject the notion of high-speed rail running from San Jose to San Francisco on an elevated structure or “viaduct”; and we call on the High-Speed Rail Authority to eliminate further consideration of an aerial option;

• We fully expect that high-speed rail running from San Jose to San Francisco can and should remain within the existing CalTrain right of way; and,

• Third and finally, consistent with a project of this more limited scope, the Authority should abandon its preparation of an EIR (Environmental Impact Report) for a phased project of larger dimensions over a 25 year timeframe. Continuing to plan for a project of this scope in the face of limited funding and growing community resistance is a fool’s errand; and is particularly ill-advised when predicated on ridership projections that are less than credible.

ESG still can't bring themselves to ditch the whole idea as one Giant Fool's Errand, but this is a start.  So one wonders where Jackie Speier, Leland Yee and Jerry Hill are.  Why isn't this a six party announcement instead of just three?

Prom Night in B'game

Local limo and bus traffic was at its peak tonight as BHS Prom Night rolled around again.  As we slide into Spring, with STAR testing this week and cap and gown packages arriving at home, the final college decisions for seniors approach.  Our kids take up a huge amount of our attention for years and when the little birds approach their departure from the nest, the parents' thoughts tend to wander back to '73 or '76 or maybe '79 when it was their turn.  I'm betting we didn't look quite this good

 
But we do have our fun, too.  The After Tax Day party at Behan's was well-attended since local favs, Morty J and the Slipstream were playing at the local's locale.  You have til Monday to send the IRS your federal return or extension, so party away on Saturday for the fiddler must be paid on Monday.

 

Fire Merger?

The Daily Journal is reporting on the on-going issue of more cities join Central County Fire:

Burlingame and Hillsborough merged fire department to form Central County in 2004. Under the proposal, Burlingame could close its fire station on Hillside Drive and Millbrae could close its station on Crestview Drive and the two could be replaced with a new station located between the two locations, Dennis Haag, fire chief for Millbrae and San Bruno, wrote in staff reports.

Under the consolidation, the four-city department would have a $25.1 million annual budget with Central County Fire cities covering 50 percent, San Bruno contributing 30 percent and Millbrae putting in 20 percent. Such an arrangement would save an estimated $546,000 for Burlingame, $375,000 for Millbrae, $364,000 for Hillsborough and $230,000 for San Bruno. These savings assume salary and benefits would be paid at the level offered by Central County, Haag wrote.

Of course, the devil is in the details--response times, crew sizes, land acquisition costs, voting rights, different pay scales among existing staff, and on and on.  There more to this than meets the eye.

Broadway Overpass Progress

The SM Daily Journal is reporting on the latest step in the upgrade of the B'way overpass

Studies found the out-of-date interchange to be complicated, which causes congestion. Design and engineering is still under way. In addition, property acquisition is still necessary.

Up to four privately owned commercial or industrial properties, including the 76 station at 1200 Bayshore Highway, could be acquired to create the project, according to the environmental documents. In addition, 71 trees will be removed during construction. However, the plan calls for reforestation at an equal or greater rate.

Burlingame is responsible for $8 million of the $75 million project cost. An increase in the hotel tax, passed by voters in 2009, was campaigned as a way to help cover the costs. Last year, Burlingame put aside $500,000 and has planned to put $800,000 aside next, said City Manager Jim Nantell.

The list at the end of the piece notes there would be

construction of a new Broadway pedestrian/bicycle overcrossing south of the existing Broadway interchange; the reconstruction of the Peninsula Avenue overcrossing to provide sufficient clearance between the columns for the proposed auxiliary lanes

Which is a little confusing since both structures are quite new.  We'll see