City of Belmont
Home MenuBelmont Weekly Update, December 17, 2021
CalendarCouncil and Commission Agendas found here |
2021 Onward: Our Path to Resilience2021 was another extraordinarily challenging year, which started with a cautious reemergence into a world still churning from the effects of a pandemic. Despite the uncertainty and changes of living with COVID-19, the Belmont community continued to rise to the challenge in 2021. As the City wraps up this noteworthy year, it’s an ideal time to review and assess our many accomplishments and progress. Under the City Council's continued calm and deliberate leadership to move “Onward”, Belmont worked to manage the effects of the pandemic on our community, and all the while addressing our strategic plan focus areas: infrastructure and mobility, economic development and housing, fiscal and organizational stability, public safety, and quality of life. City of Belmont staff and the community never wavered as we all continued to navigate many of the same challenges from 2020 and other obstacles. I could not be more proud of Belmont. Despite these challenging times, the Council affirmed its belief in the power of shared knowledge with information sharing and community engagement as a priority. Over 700 residents participated in “Your Voice, Your Belmont” survey with feedback that has been vital to our priority setting in maintaining the City’s financial stability and essential services. The community told us that they value the quality of life that the City of Belmont provides and that maintaining the current level of public works, public safety, and other essential City services is important to them. We are listening and will continue to work to maintain the quality of life you expect and deserve. What will 2022 bring? Only time will tell but suffice it to say that 2021 was an active and interesting year by any measurable standard. The City continued to serve Belmont residents, and each other with grace and distinction while valuing our diversity. For that, I am eternally grateful and excited to share this look back at what we accomplished together in 2021. We thank the City Council, Belmont community, and City staff for the continued support to provide the best services possible! Please take a moment to see some highlights of the amazing work accomplished by #TeamBelmont in and around our community over the course of 2021. Yours gratefully, |
The Belmont City Council Elects Mayor and Vice MayorAt the December 14th Council meeting, the City Council selected Julia Mates to serve as the Mayor, and Tom McCune to serve as Vice Mayor for 2022. Mayor Mates was sworn into her new position by her husband and children, and will serve as the first Chinese-Jewish woman on the Belmont City Council. Mayor Mates thanked the Council and Belmont constituents for their inclusiveness and vowed to continue representing Team Belmont. “Serving the residents of Belmont is the greatest honor and privilege of my life and I am excited to now step up the position of Mayor to lead the community I love for the next year,” said Mates. Congratulations Mayor Mates. A special presentation of the Beautiful Belmont and community service awards was made to individuals and homes. Those honored were nominated by their neighbors and friend. |
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Caring for Belmont - Community Service and Beautiful Belmont AwardsCongratulations to Ulla Foehr and David Baker, recipients of Belmont’s 5th annual Community Service Award! The City of Belmont’s Community Service Award is designed to recognize Belmont residents who have made significant impacts on the quality of life in Belmont. Ulla Foehr Ulla’s nomination highlighted her selfless leadership and relentless commitment to the Belmont community, particularly through her long-term volunteerism in the Carlmont Academic Foundation, PTA, Parks & Recreation Commission, and School Force. Ulla leads a board of volunteers with poise, grace and complete responsibility and accountability. She was responsible for leading fundraising efforts in the midst of the pandemic to raise an all-time high of $950K for the foundation. Ulla is a true civic leader, giving of her time tirelessly, and is always looking at the big picture of what will best serve our students and the entire community. Her contributions, vision and diplomacy as a community builder makes Ulla more than deserving of this award. David Baker David is also another recipient of our Community Service Award this year, as he sets the example on how to quietly have a huge impact on our neighborhoods. David’s nomination highlighted him a role model, as he has volunteered numerous hours cleaning up graffiti and signs to make our community more aesthetically pleasing. In October, David hosted his Jack-o-Bot 3000 where he distributed King Size candy bars without touch in order to help make Halloween a fun and enjoyable experience for kids and families during a difficult pandemic year. David can always be seen in the Central neighborhood, somehow giving back to our community and cleaning up our neighborhoods. His commitment to volunteerism, cooperation, and hard work in service to Belmont has more than earned him this year’s recognition. |
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2021 Residential Beautiful Belmont AwardsThe Beautiful Belmont Awards recognition program is designed to acknowledge individuals, businesses, and community groups who have enhanced the community by making significant exterior improvements to their Belmont properties. Eligible improvements include the enhancement, upgrading, reconstruction, or replacement of a property, making it more visually appealing as well as enriching the surrounding neighborhood or district. Nominations may be submitted by anyone, including the property owner, at any time throughout the year. A big congratulations to this year’s 4 residential award recipients! See this year’s winners here |
Is Santa Coming to your Neighborhood?The 2nd annual Santa Parade is back again! Join us on December 19th from 5-7pm for this year's Santa Parade. Brought to you by Santa's helpers at the Belmont PD. Santa is touring Belmont and will travel around the city to see all of our incredible Belmont residents. To track Santa during the parade, follow Belmont PD on Twitter. @BelmontCaPD |
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Transition to District ElectionsThe City of Belmont is transitioning from at-large elections to by-district elections.The City of Belmont will transition from at-large elections to district elections by November of 2022. This process will require participation from the public to create election districts that are balanced in size and protect the interest of the communities within those districts. U.S. Census Bureau Data from 2020, the most recent census, will be used during this process to ensure equal representation by each elected official. The change will bring the city into compliance with the California Voting Rights Act with the creation of four election districts, and a directly elected Mayor-at-Large. On July 30, 2021 the City received a letter from Kevin Shenkman, of the law firm Shenkman & Hughes, alleging that the City's at-large election system violated the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA) on behalf of Southwest Voter Registration Education Project alleging violation of California Voting Rights Act demanding the city change to its at-large method of electing councilmembers. The CVRA, which was passed in 2002, prohibits at-large elections when it can be shown that they impair the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of their choice or to influence elections in a significant way. The law was passed in part due to a lack of success by plaintiffs utilizing the CVRA's federal counterpart, the Federal Voting Rights Act, to show that "racially polarizing voting" exists in the jurisdiction; they do not need to show any intent of voters or City officials to discriminate against the underrepresented class. They also do not need to prove that changing to district elections would increase representation on the elected body in question. Starting in January 2022 the City will be holding public hearings and workshops for community input. We encourage you to participate in this process. Due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the City will be holding a series of hybrid virtual and outdoor public meetings to invite the community to provide feedback, share community interests and suggestions for district lines in the City of Belmont. The purpose of these hearings is to invite the community into the transition process, answer questions, and give the public an opportunity to raise concerns and provide feedback. The public is invited to provide input regarding their community of interest, the composition of the districts, the criteria to be used when determining the composition of districts, and other factors that should go into the drawing of maps of single-member voting districts. An online tool will be made available that will enable the public to craft their own maps defining their community of interest, and their preferred district boundaries. The City will reach out to local media and other communication tools to publicize the districting process. The city and staff will make a good faith effort to notify community groups of various kinds about the districting process. Public hearings will be provided in applicable languages if residents submit a request in advance. The City will notify the public about districting hearings, post maps online before adoption, and create a dedicated web page for all relevant information about the districting process. To request accommodations related to participation in the meeting, to receive additional information about by-district elections, or to ask questions, interested persons may contact cclerk@belmont.gov Telephone: (650) 595-7414. |
Recent Storm Updates |
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Public Works Operations crews spent much of the week cleaning up after the most recent round of storms. Thankfully, very little flooding was reported as crews have been proactive in maintaining the City’s storm drains, culverts and creek mouths. There was, however, a large tree on Davey Glen that could not withstand the onslaught and decided to lay down on Tuesday the 14th (pictured here). Crews made quick work of clearing the roadway and sidewalk, ensuring the public’s safety. |
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Weathering Upcoming Storms See below sandbag stations positioned in the City. All stations have empty bags stowed away in the trash cans as shown. |
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The New Senate Bill 1383 Mandatory Organics Commercial Recycling Goes Into Effect January 2022In a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, SB 1383 was created to reduce organic waste disposal and rescue at least 20% of disposed edible food for human consumption. Compliance with SB 1383 regulations is not only a State requirement for all customers, but also an effective way to address climate change. |
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Community Partners |
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The national honor comes from the professional publication Library Journal (LJ), who every year scores U.S. public libraries on its LJ Index of Public Library Service. The award acknowledges our success and commitment to serving our community through transformative experiences and is a testament to our efforts in designing programs and services that enrich and uplift those we serve. Read more here . |
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