Concerts in the Park Starting this Friday!

It hasn't felt very much like summer lately, partially due to the cool weather, but mostly because...there haven't been any concerts in the park yet!

Well that is about to change. Starting Friday, July 30th, from 6pm - 9pm, we invite you to join us as we kick off the summer concerts series with the California Cowboys, who are being welcomed back to sing their hearts out in Brisbane!

Gary, Robert, Cary, and Hal have performed all over the United States and Canada, and will likely leave you stomping your feet along to their original songs. To read and see more, check out their website, http://www.californiacowboys.com/.

And if you're coming to the concert this Friday, you may want to CONSIDER BIKING TO THE CONCERT. This Friday’s event is being billed as “Bike to the Concert”, with there being several activities and prizes offered to those who bike to the park. For instance,

- 50 bike bags, filled with safety tips and useful accessories from the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance, will be given to the first 50 families in attendance. Current and future shuttle riders are also encouraged to visit the Alliance table.

- Free bike tune-ups and a safety check will be conducted by the Sports Basement. Take this opportunity to get your bike seat adjusted, and the bike brake and gears checked.

- Free Bike Rodeo for Kids! Children under 15 can take a short bike/trike and helmet safety test – plus a chance to win additional prizes!

This Friday will definitely be T-G-I-F for Brisbane bicyclists, and for fans of the California Cowboys! See you there!

Take a look below for the line-up of concerts coming to the Community Park, and the sponsors who made it all possible. We thank you immensely for your generous donations!

What's Happening In and Around Brisbane

A reminder that tomorrow, Saturday the 24th, marks two important events. One, the community workshop to redesign the Bayshore Caltrain station is taking place at the Community Center in Brisbane starting at 10am. The other, the first week of the Cow Palace Farmers' Market, beginning at 9am and going through 1pm. Treat yourself to fresh, quality produce, seafood, dry pastas, baked goods, and premium hot foods. And if you want to go to both events, you could get there right when the farmers' market opens at 9am and come back for lunch. There will also be 3 food trucks present, with lots to nibble on at the vendor stalls. See the previous week's post to read more about both events.

It's summertime, and what says it, or smells like it, more than BBQ? Growing Green Hands, a non-profit organization based in Brisbane is hosting a picnic in the Community Park next Wednesday, July 28th, from 6pm - 8pm. Growing Green Hands is simply a mentoring program and they are looking for individuals who are interested in mentoring and empowering the many youth that have expressed interest in having a mentor. They will also be hosting their first annual Community Building Family Day on Saturday, August 21st from 11am - 4pm, in the parking lot of the 23 Club (where more BBQ will be served!). The cost for the afternoon is $10. Please contact Donna Wolfe, Director of Development for Growing Green Hands, at (650) 291-2593 is you have any questions about the event.

The LED street light replacement project for the lights in town has been completed. Thank you for your patience as work was being completed during the last 2 weeks. Check out this 3 and 1/2 minute video to see just what goes into retrofitting an HPSV bulb to be LED.

Public Works will continue to review the installed lights during nighttime hours to ensure they were properly installed and aligned. Because LEDS provide a much more focused light pattern, it is important to ensure the new bulbs were installed level to prevent light “migration” to unintended areas. Again, if you have any concerns regarding the light distribution from an LED streetlight, please call the project hotline at (415) 508-2148.

Stocking up, and Taking Stock

It's apparent that some Brisbane residents are beginning to gear up for this year's City-Wide Yard Sale, taking place from 8:30am - 3:00pm. Check out this previous blog post for more information...and make sure that on the day-of, you stop by the Community Park for a Brisbane Lions Club-hosted BBQ, especially after you've worked up an appetite from all the browsing and treasure-finding!

Please join city staff, along with representatives from the City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, Association of Bay Area Governments, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for a...
The workshop will be taking place in Brisbane, next Saturday, July 24th, from 10am - 12pm at the Community Center (250 Visitacion Ave.).

The agencies mentioned above are seeking input to ensure that the station serves the community's needs and vision for the future. Specifically,

1. What are the best ways to make the station easier to use, especially by foot and by bike?
2. What are the most effective ways to connect Caltrain and the new proposed transit services?
3. What would make transit a more attractive travel option in this area?
4. What would make the station a highly visible, attractive community asset?

So please come out for this very important community workshop. Your voice matters.

For more information, visit www.sfcta.org/bayshore or call Chester Fung, San Francisco County Transportation Authority, at (415) 522-4804.

Lastly, we wanted to inform the community that a farmers' market will also be coming to the Cow Palace next Saturday and continue weekly through October 16th. See below for details:

At the market, there will be approximately 50 vendors selling only California-grown produce, dry goods such as pasta, and baked goods that you can nibble on right on the spot. There will be plenty of parking, so take advantage of a farmers' market being only 1.6 miles away from town and stock up on some of California's finest, tree-ripened, just-picked, produce!

Brisbane Swears in a New Police Chief

It's likely that you've heard by now (either first-hand or through the grapevine) that Brisbane has a new Police Chief. Lisa Macias was sworn in Tuesday night as Brisbane's first female Police Chief (she's also only the second female Police Chief out of San Mateo County's total 21 jurisdictions - that's 20 cities and the county). Former Chief Tom Hitchcock was back to perform the actual swearing-in ceremony. From the pictures that follow, it's obvious these two worked incredibly well together and treated one another with the utmost respect.


It's also obvious that Lisa has a very large support base within the Brisbane community and beyond, as people were spilling out of the Community Meeting Room and into the lobby area, where it was standing room only.


The new Chief then took a few moments to address the Community, her fellow officers as well as City Hall staff, and the City Council, rotating the podium 90 degrees so that she could see everyone.


After each of the Councilmembers present expressed their congratulations to Lisa, the festivities ensued at the Public Works/Planning area within City Hall. Many individuals who grew up with Lisa in Brisbane came to congratulate their long-time friend on her most recent achievement.

Lisa, we applaud you on your new role as Police Chief and know there will be many more successes in your future!

The City Council meeting that followed Lisa's swearing-in ceremony was the last one before the Council's Summer Recess. Meetings will resume on Monday, September 13th. If you're not currently receiving electronic City Council Agendas & Minutes, please send an e-mail to cityhall@ci.brisbane.ca.us to be added to the City's Public Meeting Notification E-Mail List. You will also see blog updates come through as new entries are posted.

A final note about the slurry seal project, which is now in its final stages. New traffic striping began yesterday and will continue through July 13th. We hope you enjoy driving on Brisbane's newly-resurfaced roadways!

Happy Independence Day!

The Community Pool will be closed this Sunday, July 4th, in observance of Independence Day. However, the pool will re-open in time for Adult Lap Swim, 6:30am Monday morning and maintain regular Summer Hours.

Please note: Fireworks are Illegal in Brisbane. This includes "safe and sane" fireworks, which can be purchased in San Bruno and Pacifica. So be aware, violators - those who light sparklers, ground spinners, snappers, caps, etc. - will be cited. Enjoy the fireworks elsewhere, or from afar.

We hope that you have a safe and Happy July 4th celebration. On Tuesday, July 6th, we'll be extending that celebratory atmosphere one more day, with the swearing-in ceremony and recognition of Brisbane's new Police Chief, Lisa Macias. A reception will follow immediately after. So come down to City Hall at 6:30pm Tuesday night, join the festivities, and congratulate Lisa! We'll see you there.

Public Works Project Updates

Today marked the third day of slurry sealing, with most of the roadways slated to be resurfaced in Central Brisbane, completed today. The rest of the scheduled roadways will receive their resurfacing work next Tuesday after the July 4th holiday, with the last day of slurry sealing taking place on Saturday, July 10th. On that day, Old County Rd. and Visitacion Ave. will be resurfaced and sealed, starting at around 7:00am and continuing to approximately 7:00pm. A single lane of traffic will be in effect for the entire day. Please exercise caution when driving though the construction site.

Also, we wanted to inform the community that a Project Hotline has been set up for the upcoming LED Street Light Replacement Project, scheduled to start on July 6th and continue for several weeks. No streets will be closed for this project, but please use caution if you see any traffic control set up around the contractor's vehicle. If you have any inquiries about the project after reading the Project Information Sheet, please call (415) 508-2148 to leave a message and your call will be returned as quickly as possible.

Brisbane: A Starry, Well-Lighted Place

It's not just during the Holidays that the stars shine in Brisbane. Last night, one shone especially brightly. That was retiring Brisbane Police Chief, Tom Hitchcock. Many folks from all over the County came to Brisbane to wish Tom a joyous and happy retirement, including Colma Police Chief Bob Lotti (congratulating Tom below) and Capt. Mark Hanlon, from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

After many words of praise from his colleagues, including Brisbane City Manager Clay Holstine, and Tom's acceptance of plaques from Senator Leland Yee's office and Assemblymember Jerry Hill's office, as well as from the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and SMC Sheriff's Office, Tom approached the podium to address his City Council (bringing his winning personality and sense of humor with him).

Each of the Councilmembers along with Mayor Conway recounted their fondness of working with Tom, how he has built the Police Department into the community-oriented agency it is today, and how he exemplified true care for the Brisbane community as the City's Police Chief.

This may be the end of Tom's tenure as Police Chief, but his leadership and management style will still be seen in Brisbane. Not only will Tom be brought back for assistance on special projects, but he has prepared Commander Lisa Macias to be able to step into the role of Police Chief. She starts in her new position on July 5, 2010. The City congratulates Tom on his 39 years dedicated to public safety, 22 of them having been with the City of Brisbane!

In addition to Brisbane's stars shining especially brightly, its street lights will soon be, too. Starting next Tuesday, July 6th, the streets of Brisbane will be on their way to becoming better illuminated, thanks to the retrofit of approximately 400 “cobra head” street lights in Brisbane from High-pressure sodium vapor (HPSV) to LED.

Funding for the project has been secured through a 1% loan offered through the California Energy Commission, which the City will be paying back through energy savings. The annual energy and maintenance savings generated by moving from HPSVs to LEDs amounts to approximately $14,000 and $11,000, respectively. $14,000 will be used annually to pay off the loan amount, with $11,000 in savings going towards the City’s general fund. The 1% loan will be supplemented with a $25,000 Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) and nearly $29,000 in PG&E rebates. The loan will be completely paid off in 15 years.

The retrofit will include nearly all of the streetlights in Brisbane, as well as a portion of those located in the Sierra Point Shared Use Parking Lot. The decorative lights on Visitacion and those in the Northeast Ridge will not be replaced at this time. Retrofitting Brisbane street lights helps reduce the community’s ecological footprint, with street lights representing over a third of the City’s energy consumption. This is a prime example of a win-win-win change. Not only do we reduce our energy consumption and save our community money, but we also provide increased lighting quality to our community.

For more information on the LED Street Light Project, please click here to be taken to the project's Information Sheet.