< 7 Newsgrams the need for affordable housing by the county’s expanding senior population.” After the film studio proposal was withdrawn last month, county officials clamored for Lucas to change his mind—a pro-Lucas rally was staged at the Civic Center and county supervisors all but guaranteed the project would clear regulatory hurdles. But Lucas said the decision was final. County officials sounded cautious in their response to the latest development regarding the possible low-income development. “I’m looking forward to learning about Mr. Lucas’ latest vision for his property in conjunction with the foundation,” said Supervisor Susan Adams, who represents the Lucas Valley area.“As with any development, we’re ready to hear more and work together on this.” Affordable housing has been a hot-button issue in the county, as important state funds are tied to communities meeting state-mandated affordable housing numbers. But, as happened last year in Novato, some community members have vociferously opposed lowercost housing in their neighborhoods, saying—incorrectly, according to most studies—that affordable housing raises crime. Peters, on the other hand, describes affordable housing as “often the linchpin for family and financial stability.” Lucasfilm public relations director Lynne Hale says the company is “delighted” Marin Community Foundation is taking the reins in the search for a suitable developer of the land. “The foundation has had a solid track record for over 25 years of helping in the development, rehabilitation and restoration of over 2,600 affordable homes in Marin,” says Hale.
Ross write-in candidates: ‘Well, somebody’s gotta do it...’ Ross may not be a hotbed of political activity—but it appears it will at least have enough willing volunteers to field a five-member town council. Ross found itself in a bit of a political pickle in March when the candidate filing period ended, and no one—not even the two incumbents whose seats were up—wanted to run for three open seats on the Town Council. In the meantime, Ross Mayor Carla Small issued a statement imploring residents to answer the call to community service. Since then, five residents have tempered their non-enthusiasm for higher office and agreed to be write-in candidates on the June 5 ballot: Elizabeth Brekhus, Barbara Call, Kathleen Hoertkorn, P. Beach Kuhl and Jed Nelson. Learn more about the somewhat-willing candidates at a forum on May 22 at 7pm in the Barn Theatre at the Marin Art and Garden Center. Marin has sobering news for alcopops Marin officials are hoping to put the lid on a popular source of underage drinking, as the Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted 4-0, with Susan Adams absent, to adopt a resolution to support “Alcopop-Free Zones” and encourage local alcohol retailers to stop marketing and selling the controversial products. Bill Daniels, of United Markets, and Andy Bacich, of Sun Valley Market, have already pledged not to stock the fruity tasting hooch. Alcopops are pre-mixed malt-liquor beverages with high sugar, fruity flavors and colorful packaging—critics of such brands as Bacardi Breezer, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Zima XXX say they’re deliberately marketed toward youth and are frequently consumed by underage drinkers. The resolution, brought to the board at the request of Supervisors Steve Kinsey and Judy Arnold, would recognize underage drinking as an “epidemic” and define alcopops as “youth oriented” malt beverages that are “marketed in a way that encourages underage youth to drink them.” If adopted, the resolution would declare that the Board of Supervisors “supports the establishment of an Alcopop-Free Zone” in Marin and ask retailers to voluntarily stop buying, stocking, selling and marketing the drinks. According to statistics compiled by county staff, about one-third of girls ages 12 to 18 and one-fifth of boys that age have tried alcopops. Grant funds flow into Marshall septic project Marshall residents are flushed with gratitude this week after news of a hefty Clean Water Act grant came down the pipeline. A $750,000 grant through the state Water Resources Control Board will fund half the cost of adding 20 homes and Tony’s Seafood Restaurant to the Marshall Wastewater Project—a 14-year-old plan to create a fully functioning septic system for more than 50 homes along the “Marshall Mile” in West Marin. The project stems from a 1998 controversy when area oyster beds were found to be polluted with human waste—an investigation identified nearby Marshall homes as the likely source. Soon after, the Wastewater Project was launched, grants were sought to finance the septic system and Marshall residents voted to assess themselves for the balance. The first portion of the project was completed in 2008, serving 32 homes; the grant moneys awarded this week will go toward completing “phase 2” of the project. Marin County Environmental Health Director Becky Ng credits Marshall residents with wiping away their stains on the environment. “It was quite a leap of faith for the community to vote almost unanimously for the assessment,” says Ng.“This project is the next logical step in our efforts to both address water quality pollution and help property owners with the high cost of fixing septic systems, and we are delighted with this news.” The county expects to field bids and launch construction in 2013.
< 7 Media Center SOS PEG programming. (Service providers also pay a 5 percent fee to member agencies of the MTA joint powers agency. That fee adds a boost to the bottom line and is the subject of a debate about whether MTA members should kick some of their 5 percent to PEG programming, which is taking a 50 percent hit in the next few years.) When the MTA decided to move its agreement with Comcast to a state franchise agreement, it meant PEG in Marin would receive that 1 percent of gross revenue. But Comcast said it would withhold all PEG payments until Marin paid off the $3.1 million. The MTA disagreed, saying that would violate DIVCA. Comcast countered that asking it to pass on the entire 1 percent without withholding what was owed was unfair because the company would have to add another charge to customer bills to collect the money owed. And that would create an unlevel playing field because AT&T, now in the Marin market, would not be under the same structure. In his annual report to the MTA in April, Michael Eisenmenger, executive director of the Community Media Center, wrote, “We project that by the end of the 2012/13 fiscal year, the balances available in both our operating account ($50,921) and our capital account ($359,801) will be insufficient to allow continued operations for more than a scant couple of months.” Unless something changed the outlook, he wrote, the center’s board would be forced to “make hard decisions to lay off staff and suspend operations and to take actions to collect and preserve valuable... equipment, leasehold improvements, and other assets.” The settlement with Comcast changed the outlook. But only by half. Comcast is now funneling half of the PEG fee it collects until it recoups its front money, which is now about $1.6 million. Under the settlement agreement, that should be paid off by 2017—sooner, if Comcast increases its gross revenue, meaning that instead of about $625,000 a year in PEG franchise fees, only $312,500 will be available for PEG. (AT&T has its own agreement with the MTA for the full 1 percent fee, but a small number of customers resulted in only about $45,000 generated for PEG programming last year.) “We still can’t downsize any more,” says Eisenmenger. “We started with a very austere budget, and we stuck to that to extend the time necessary to get all this sorted out. We can’t get any smaller. The good news is we’re not going to close next year. The bad news is that the next five years will still be challenging. We will be operating with a zero-growth budget. We’ll still have to make up a lot of a deficit through different revenue-generating projects. We’re hoping the cities and the MTA will offer some support over that time.” At the end of the period, when Comcast
has received its full payback, the entire 1 percent will go toward PEG programming as stipulated in DIVCA. But, says Eisenmenger, even that is still a paltry amount given the possibilities and promises of PEG. And the Comcast settlement deal will leave the media center with little to no reserves. The media center has been outfitting town halls with video equipment and airing meetings on the government side of PEG. Larkspur, San Anselmo, Ross and Fairfax are next on the get-wired list. The media center generates some revenue from the installations. But backers of PEG would like to see Marin towns and the county move more aggressively to hire the media center on a fee-for-service basis. Fairfax has agreed to do that. Promoting fee-for-service among the members of the MTA “is necessary and proper,” says Fairfax Councilman Larry Bragman. He serves on both the MTA and media center boards, which gives him an interesting perspective. The media center and PEG are “are important functions to pursue and to fund,” says Bragman, “and truthfully, compared to [projects like] resurfacing a road,” the financial impact is minimal. The 10 MTA member agencies could cover the amount Comcast is withholding, about $35,600 a year, for the few years until Comcast receives its payback. And, says Bragman, the amount members would need to cover actually would be even smaller because the media center already has begun generating about $130,000 a year in fees for service, bringing the amount the members would need to cover down to about $22,600 a year until 2017—sooner if Comcast recoups its money faster. “We’re talking about more than broadcasting public meetings,” says Bragman. “We’re talking about education, public safety and public health. As this thing grows, it’s got infinite potential. And I think information technology is an area of economic and community growth that we need to pursue. And we ignore it at our own peril.” Bruce Baum was among the staunch advocates who lobbied heavily in support of the media center and PEG programming in the county and who viewed, and continue to view, PEG programming and the media center as a valuable democratic tool. He says fee-for-service and other revenue streams always were part of the vision, necessary to keep the center and PEG alive after Comcast’s initial infusion of cash. The original backers always thought the MTA members should step up and hire the media center for services, as Fairfax is doing. But there hasn’t exactly been a rush to hire, at least not yet, which disturbs Baum. He notes that in 2003 Comcast contributed $1.6 million to MTA members from a 5 percent fee in place before DIVCA and the 1 percent PEG-dedicated fee. In 2011, says Baum, the total from MAY 11- MAY 17, 2012 PACIFIC SUN 9