September 20, 2021
The City of Mill Valley commits to act and encourage community action towards eliminating racial disparities, both inside government and in the community. The City Council has identified Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives as their top priority, and staff provides regular updates to the City Council and community on activities in Mill Valley and around Marin County on a regular basis.
Work Plan Update Schedule:
The City continues to follow a regular schedule of updates on the DEI Work Plan to Council and the community. Follow the progress on the City’s DEI Tracking Tool.
- The Library’s plan to eliminate late fees will be on Council's October 4 Agenda.
- At their meeting on October 18, Council will receive an update on items under the purview of the Police Department, along with a DEI update from the Fire Department.
- At their meeting on November 15, Council will receive an update on items under the purview of the City Manager Department, Human Resources, Recreation, Arts, and Library.
City Manager
New Website
City Staff from all departments are currently building the new City of Mill Valley website, and recently participated in training that included information on how to meet website requirements established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508l, and using the highest code-based content standards. Stay tuned for the website launch in early October.
DEI Core Team
The City’s DEI Core Team, which is made up of representatives from all City Departments, met in-person for the first time since starting their monthly meetings in April. They participated in a full-day off-site retreat with several other staff-led committees, where they reviewed their mission, purpose and strategy, engaged in collaboration and networking across departments, and focused on creating effective action plans and accountabilities for future work.
Planning & Building
Affordable Housing at 1 Hamilton
At their meeting tonight, the City Council will receive a staff report on recommended next steps to build affordable rental housing on the northern portion of 1 Hamilton Drive. Council will consider a resolution declaring the property "exempt surplus" land pursuant, consider selecting EAH Housing to partner with the City and Mill Valley community to build new affordable homes and consider a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and draft an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement to establish terms of the housing partnership with EAH Housing.
View the Meeting Agenda | Read the Staff Report
Participate:
- In Person: The City Council meeting will take place on Monday, September 20, 2021 at 6:30 pm. The meeting will take place at City Hall, 26 Corte Madera Avenue.
Staff is anticipating a potentially high volume of community interest for this City Council meeting regarding the discussion of affordable housing at 1 Hamilton Drive. In order to comply with the County of Marin and State of California’s COVID-19 protocols, please register your in-person attendance for the City Council Meeting. - Virtual: Visit the City's Webcasting page to view the meeting via webcast. Comments are welcome before or during the City Council meeting. Ahead of the meeting (before 4:00 pm on the day of the meeting), please email the City Council at cityclerk@cityofmillvalley.org. For comments after 4:00 pm and during the meeting, please visit our eComment program webpage for more information
Housing Element Workshop #1
The City of Mill Valley is kicking off its Housing Element Update and invites you to to discuss housing opportunities for the Mill Valley community today and in the future.
Register to attend the virtual online workshop on September 23rd from 6:30 to 8:00pm. Can't attend the workshop? Participate online after the meeting by visiting the Housing Element Homepage between September 24-October 2, 2021
For more information: Sign up for e-mail notifications about the project. Contact Danielle Staude, Senior Planner at dstaude@cityofmillvalley.org
Public Works
Public Works Summer Internship
At their September 16 meeting, Parks and Recreation Commissioners received an update on the 2021 Public Works Internship program. The program aimed to attract youth from the local area to provide them with an opportunity to gain meaningful work with a paid internship. Public Works staff recruited two interns from local high schools to participate in the program. During their 3 week internship, they conducted weed abatement, field management, Golf Course maintenance, street painting, sign installation, and sewer maintenance. Overall it was a positive experience and DPW looks forward to running the program again next year.
Recreation & Arts
At the Parks and Recreation meeting on September 16:
- Commissioners received and discussed the Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan and Priority Projects FY 21-23, which includes adding adaptive play structures or elements to existing play structures for children with disabilities.
- Director McGrew updated the Commission on the progress of the partnership between Play Marin And SOMA Aquatics in providing free lessons for the children of Marin City. The program, which started in late spring, has grown to 19 participants.
Police
- On September 4, 2021, MVPD participated in “Soulful Saturday” in Marin City. PD had a table where informational flyers on the open positions of Community Services Officer and Police Cadet were distributed.
- The MVFREE Police working group has been invited to attend our POST Principle Policing course on September 21, 2021, which will be attended by the police department’s administration team. PD and MVFREE have a scheduled meeting at the end of this month to continue to meet to work on our initiatives.
Other Community Partners
County of Marin: Speaker Series Goal is Fostering Understanding
Building Bridges Beyond Bias begins online September 22
A four-part online series starting in September is designed for Marin County residents from all backgrounds to learn more about each other and to foster social connections and understanding, and not only confront biases but explore beyond them.
The free series is called Building Bridges Beyond Bias, and it’s presented by the Marin County Free Library (MCFL) and Age Forward Marin. The first 90-minute session is set for 6:30 p.m. September 22 and will feature Laura Eberly of Mountaintop Coaching & Consulting. Future speakers in the coming weeks are: Alejandro Lara of Canal Alliance; Tahirah Dean of Legal Aid of Marin; and Dr. Jason Lau of Sonoma State University and the Marin Child Care Commission.
Learn more about the Building Bridges Beyond Bias Series
Learn more about the City of Mill Valley DEI Initiatives