I’ve been quite busy addressing Covid-19 here in San Anselmo and engaging in county-level efforts to deal with the pandemic. And with the start of school quickly approaching, uncertainty is hard on families and the youngest members of our community; I wish the best to everyone as we all try to make good decisions and choices for our families. We remain at our local public school distance learning, while working actively to find safe opportunities for our daughter to have social connections in this unprecedented start to the school year.
Marin Economic Recovery
Since the advent of the pandemic and shelter-in-place, I’ve been extremely active with the re-opening and recovery process here in Marin County and San Anselmo. I was appointed to the Marin Recovers Steering Committee. This county-level group is responsible for guiding and communicating the County’s re-opening plan in response to Covid-19. I was also appointed to the steering committee of Marin Economic Recovery Task Force, which is aimed at helping our Marin County’s economy weather this pandemic by focusing on our small businesses. I also Co-Chair Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers’Ad-Hoc Economic Recovery Committee.
We are facing extremely challenging times and San Anselmo’s economic vitality is intimately tied to the economy of Marin County. I maintain my optimistic outlook and am honored to contribute to the overall effort of re-opening and recovery.
We have much work ahead of us, speaking of which…
San Anselmo “On the Avenue”
Have you heard about San Anselmo’s “On the Avenue” program? You can read about the evolving program here. It is an attempt to balance a number of competing concerns and reasons for street closures. Touching on a few: 1) social distancing is a challenge on our narrow sidewalks, 2) the closed streets are an opportunity for our restaurants to remain viable while remaining in compliance with State and County edicts concerning limitations on indoor dining, 3) many people are reluctant to engage in indoor commerce, so, closing the streets provides an opportunity for businesses to leverage the closed avenue, and finally 4) the vast majority of residents who I’ve heard from are excited about it.
However, there was mixed reaction among our retailers and the program has been dialed back, mainly with fewer closure hours.