Being Prepared...It's In Our Hands

Sometimes, it takes something happening to us to cause us to act. It's how we learn. Seeing what we could have done differently, or better. Taking the time to pause, while we have it, is where plans and thinking can change. When it comes to emergency preparedness, that exact exercise is the primary goal of the Annual Wildland Fire Emergency Evacuation Drill. This took place last Saturday, beginning at 8:15am at Station 81. Representatives from the Brisbane Office of Emergency Services (OES), Community Emergency Volunteers (CEVs), Brisbane Police, and Fire Depts. are pictured below getting the run-down of events by OES Director Randy Breault before the actual Drill took place at approximately 9:30am.

Brisbane residents from Sierra Point Rd., William McCarthy and Michelle Woodruff, were the first to arrive and get checked in at the Residential Assembly Point, located at the Brisbane Marina. CEV Dan Sorrentino is also shown providing important evacuation information.

In the event of an emergency, the CEVs will evaluate the state of the homes that are located within their designated areas. Please help them take better care of you and your neighborhood by filling out this Residential Survey Form and returning it to the Brisbane Fire Station (3445 Bayshore Blvd).

After the Drill, Teen Center staff John Harrison, Petro Fanourgiakis, Tony Myers, Dominque Bocanegra, and Teresa Reed got ready for the Teen Center Open House by firing up the grill. They're pictured below along with Brisbane Police Officers Abraham Sevilla and Dominic Javellana.

The purpose of hosting the Open House was to show off the newly-painted facility (which the staff took a week to do themselves) and what one could expect to see there...like the new air hockey table!

It's Memorial Day Weekend, with plenty to enjoy in Brisbane, starting tonight! A reminder about "Spring Thing", taking place at Mission Blue Center tonight from 6:30pm - 11:00pm. Come and support the BEST/PTO in their first-ever District-Wide Fundraiser Gala! Walk off that lobster dinner by visiting the Dog Park (just behind City Hall, with entrances on Park Place and Park Lane) or Crocker Park Recreation Trail (whose trailhead is located directly across the street from the Dog Park on Park Lane).

Lastly, if you have any questions you would like to submit to the City in regards to the Baylands EIR, take some time to do so over the long weekend! Once you have your questions, you can submit them to the City. Thanks in advance for your participation and feedback!

Taking Your Questions for the Forthcoming EIR

At last night's City Council meeting, Baylands landowners Universal Paragon Corporation presented an updated project description for the Baylands Specific Plan (yet to be submitted to the City for review). According to Mayor Clarke Conway, the "proposal presented by Universal Paragon Corporation presents many challenges and concerns" and will be "subject to extensive environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA]." Many good questions were raised by the public which will be addressed in the forthcoming Environmental Impact Report (EIR). In order to ensure the EIR process is as complete as possible, the City has set up an e-mail account to receive your questions. Within the next week, we will place a space on the City's website for submitting questions. In the meantime, please e-mail eir@ci.brisbane.ca.us and help make sure the EIR provides as much complete information as possible. We appreciate your participation in the public process!

Events Happening in Brisbane, and Beyond!

The City Council usually convenes every other week to discuss the City's business, but next week is an exception. Next Monday, May 24th, the City Council will be receiving an informational presentation from Brisbane Baylands landowner Universal Paragon Corporation (UPC) on their updated project description for the Baylands Specific Plan. It should be stated that no action will be taken Monday night by the City Council; the purpose of this special meeting is to just receive the presentation by UPC and take public comment.

The community has invested considerable time and energy on the process to date, which has been ongoing for more than 5 years and involved over 50 public meetings of various types, including community meetings, public workshops, stakeholder interviews, speaker presentations, open houses, City Council meetings, and various City board and commission meetings. Come to City Hall (50 Park Place) at 7:30PM and join your City Council and fellow community members in viewing the presentation and afterwards providing your input.

A reminder about tomorrow morning's Emergency Evacuation Drill at 9am. Should you hear a helicopter flying overhead, that would be CAL FIRE's chopper which has, in previous years, come on the scene to add to the simulation. For more information about the Drill, see the previous blog post, or click here.

Taking place directly after the Drill and debrief for the annual Wildland Fire Evacuation Drill will be an Open House at the Teen Center. Skate on over to the Teen Center (22 San Bruno Ave.) between noon and 4pm to check out the new and improved facility, and enjoy a fun day of food and activities.

Next Friday, May 28th, Mission Blue Center (475 Mission Blue Dr.) will be the site for Brisbane's BEST/PTO's very first, District-wide, "Spring Thing!"


For more information on this fun-filled evening, including ways to donate to the Brisbane School District, click here.

And last but not least, Brisbane Artist Beth Grossman - organizer for the Arts Evening of Sharing - has taken her show on the road.

Beth will be debuting her latest exhibit, "All the rest is commentary..." at the JCC in Manhattan. Congratulations to Beth on this achievement, and we wish her the best!

Fire Evacuation Drill This Saturday

If you haven't already seen it, you'll soon be receiving a signed memo from Mayor Clarke Conway notifying the community about this Saturday's Wildland Fire Evacuation Drill. This is actually the fourth time where North County Fire Authority (NCFA) and the Brisbane Office of Emergency Services have come together to simulate an ordered evacuation of an area in upper Brisbane. This year, Sierra Point Rd. (between Humboldt & San Benito Rd.) will be evacuated, although all residents of Brisbane are heavily encouraged to participate.

Why take the time, you may ask? Well a couple years ago, residents didn't have a chance to wait for the Evacuation Drill to come around the following weekend to see what an evacuation in town would look like. A little before 7:30pm on Sunday, June 22, 2008, a fire that would end up requiring 30 fire companies to come from all over the Penisula ignited on the northern side of San Bruno Mtn.

Homes on Trinity narrowly escaped the flames, with the blaze quickly licking up the steep pitches of Owl and Buckeye Canyons. Click here to read the rest of the story...and the reason why participating in a Drill likes this is so important! If you're interested in reading more about the 2008 fire on San Bruno Mtn., click here for the recap.

Starting at approximately 9am, Police will start the evacuation of Sierra Point Residents using loud speakers. Listen for the evacuation order and head to either the Sierra Point Yacht club (if you choose to evacuate by car, 500 Sierra Point Parkway), or to the Community Park (if you choose to evacuate on foot) where you will be checked in at a Residential Assembly Point.

And if you haven't done so already, all residents are encouraged to sign up for SMC Alert. SMC Alert is an alert notification system the City will use to immediately contact all those subscribed during an emergency situation. To sign up, click here.

We hope to see many Brisbane residents out and participating this Saturday! Should you have any questions before then, please contact our Director of Emergency Services, Randy Breault at (415) 508-2131 or Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal Frank Panacci at (650) 991-8138.

Great Feats

It was a beautiful sight in Brisbane yesterday, with bicyclists seen riding down Bayshore Blvd., Old County Rd., and then some over Tunnel Ave. Bridge towards Lagoon Rd., and then along Sierra Point Parkway. They were all participating in Bike to Work Day, which was again a fabulous success in Brisbane. 682 bicyclists passed through Brisbane's Energizer Stations...an increase of over 36% from the year before! These four bicyclists are on their way to the Energizer Station located at Tunnel Ave. & Lagoon Rd. (accompanied by a northbound Caltrain!).

Volunteers distributed goodie bags, snacks, and water to keep everyone hydrated and feeling good.

(L to R): Carlos Babcock, Community Advocacy Coordinator from the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Susan Maynard Sullivan, avid cyclist who bikes to work regularly, Mitch Bull, Executive Director from the Brisbane Chamber of Commerce, and Brisbane residents Nancy Lacsamana and Dee Sano volunteered their time at the event.

Thank you to all who helped to make the 16th Bike to Work Day such a great experience to all those who participated! May 2o11 draw even more participants!

And if you want to make biking a bigger part of your life, then take part in the Car-Free Challenge.

The Car-Free Challenge is a weeklong event from June 1-7 where people from California and around the country set and reach a personal low mileage goal. It raises the awareness of the need for better options for walking, biking, and public transportation and it also raises funds for TransForm, an award-winning nonprofit, to fight for world-class public transportation and walkable communities at the regional, state, and federal levels. Register by May 20th and you may be rewarded for going car-free or just driving less. For more information, click here.

May 16th-22nd is National Public Works Week, a celebration of the tens of thousands of men and women in North America who provide and maintain the infrastructure and services collectively known as public works. They are the ones responsible for ensuring your toilets flush, water comes out of your tap, your roads are sealed and safe for driving, trash receptacles are emptied, lawns and bushes are kept trim, and your kids have a safe walking route to school across Visitacion. Though their shirts are bright yellow, the service they provide is meant to be "invisible" - no news is good news to them! But in the coming week, let them know you recognize their great work and service to the community!

And last but not least, we wanted to make you aware of two events taking place at the Marina this weekend. On Saturday, May 15th from 8am-4pm, the Bay Area 02 Swap and Show is coming to Brisbane. This is the group's 10th year putting on the event, where BMW enthusiasts can come show their vintage BMW models and spectators can stroll along the grassy area at the Marina and share in the fun, enjoy some tacos, and the great weather!

If Saturday fun at the Marina wasn't enough, then come back on Sunday between 8am-4pm, where there will be a benefit car show for UCSF's Pediatric Epilepsy Center. The Sierra Point Yacht Club will also host an open house during those times. Both events are free and open to the public, so take advantage of all the great opportunities to enjoy Brisbane!

Minding the Future

May 3rd marked the start of the 2010 summer ozone seaon. During the summer months when ground-level ozone, or "smog," concentrations exceed federal health-based standards, the Bay Area Air District declares a Spare the Air Day, encouraging individuals to reduce their carbon emissions by such acts as carpooling and taking public transit. The Spare the Air Alert Status Box to the left will indicate each Spare the Air Day. You may also sign up to receive Spare the Air Smog Alerts sent to you via e-mail. Whatever method you choose, mind the environment, and spare the air, every day.

Another way you can mind the air, is by biking to work! And next Thursday, May 13th, thousands of Bay Area residents will be doing just that as they celebrate the 16th Annual Bike to Work Day. Brisbane will have two Energizer Stations, one at Tunnel Ave. & Lagoon Rd., the other across the way at Bayshore & Old County Rd. Click here to view a map of all the Bay Area Energizer Stations, where you can refuel and pick up other bike-friendly swag.

Starting on Monday, May 10th, the City will begin its annual weed abatement program. To ensure the continued safety of our City streets and public walkways, contractors will working throughout the month of May trimming and maintaining the weeds, shrubs, and trees along our City streets and public trails. To check the locations and maintenance dates, please click here.

Please get your Community Surveys in to City Hall as soon as possible. We've begun tabulating the responses and need to hear from as many residents as possible! The survey was mailed with your most recent water bill. If you need another copy mailed to you, please come to City Hall or e-mail Caroline at ccheng@ci.brisbane.ca.us to have one e-mailed to you.

Some Brisbane youths are getting their first chance to perform on stage before a live audience in BDW's Spring Performance, Kas Ka Ra, and they will be doing so before a SOLD OUT HOUSE. All four performances are now sold out...but look for more information in the coming months about their annual fundraising event...set to take place sometime this Fall. It's BDW's one fundraising event of the year, and by donating, you'll be minding the future of arts in Brisbane!

**Please see the previous post to see an update to the date of the Police Department's Town Hall Meeting.**

A Time to Gather

A reminder about tomorrow's Bike Safety Workshop taking place in the Community Center (bottom level of the Library - 250 Visitacion) at 7:00pm. A 90-min. interactive bicycle safety presentation will be presented by a certified bike instructor from the League of American Bicyclists. Register by email to victorino@smcl.org. And don't forget to show up on time to score one of 25 goody bags!

With summer rolling in, it's never too early to save dates on the calendar. Make sure you mark June 14th down for a Town Hall Meeting, hosted by the Brisbane Police Department. Come to the Community Meeting Room located at City Hall at 7:00pm that Monday to engage in conversations about traffic safety, parking issues in town, and any other concerns you'd like to raise with your BPD officers. This is an open, "round-table" discussion, so take advantage of it!

There's a City Council meeting taking place TONIGHT, and looking at the agenda, there is much to discuss. Come and be informed on what's going on in your City! And if you can't make it, remember that you can always tune in online on the City's website, where Ch. 27 is streaming 24/7. Click here to start watching now!