What Does Kevin Do Besides Work?

This is my message to staff and all whose lives are busy, hectic, and stressful: Balance work, family, and the things you love to do!

When I am not at the office, some of my interests include boating, golf, travel, and spending time with my family and friends. I also enjoy catching a movie, going to a concert, or reading a good book. (City Staff Reports don't count!)

Movies
I recently watched About Time, Silver Linings Playbook and Inside Out. I enjoyed all of them! I love anything with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, but my favorite is Adam’s Rib. Since I am a big baseball fan, I loved The Natural, Bang the Drum Slowly, and A League of Their Own. If you love baseball too, check out Nine Innings from Ground Zero. It’s a great and intense documentary! And of course on Thanksgiving, my wife Loretta, daughters Jackie & Leslie, and I love to watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

Books
I recently read the Princes of Ireland and The Beauty and the Sorrow (which is a fantastic novel on World War I). And I have a fairly extensive library on all things John F. Kennedy.

Music
My favorite bands/musicians are the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, and Mark Knoppeler. My favorite opera is Puccini’s La Boheme.

So how about this month? How will you balance work with family and fun? Read a great book? Kick back to Sinatra? Catch a movie? (I love the Kabuki Theater in SF!) No matter what you do, spend that quality time with family and friends! And maintain that work, life balance.

Levee Project

Hello everyone, 

This post is to update you  on a challenging task Foster City shall be undertaking in the next coming years.

Let me open by stating as a City we are fine at this moment in regards to flood protection but we must move forward with a plan to address levee improvements, provide excellent analysis to our City Council for clear policy direction on the project, while engaging and educating all of our residents in Foster City on our plan to meet the challenges ahead.

Recently the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted a coastal flood hazard study.  Even though they have certified our levee since 1997,  this new study used a new methodology and has determined that roughly 85% of Foster City’s levee system does not meet FEMA requirements.

This means the levee will not retain accreditation status if action is not taken, placing the City in a flood zone designation that will require property owners with Federally-backed loans to obtain flood insurance and require owners selling properties in Foster City to disclose the flood zone designation as part of the sale, which could potentially lower property values.

Here are some important facts about what this means for us as a city:

·         If no action to update the levee is taken, Foster City will be placed in a flood zone designation area, and residents could be required to purchase flood insurance.

·         Flood insurance is estimated to be thousands of dollars annually.

·         The Levee project is being implemented to protect the city, and to avoid this zone designation shift.

·         The project focuses on the renovation of existing levees and construction of a new levee protection system that meets FEMA certification requirements.

·         Estimated Cost For the Project: Up to $75million.

·         Expected Completion Date: Mid- 2020.

·         The City will be hiring a financial consultant to assist with determining financing options for the project. 

·         The city plans to reinstall the levee pedway, and widen if possible, so that recreational uses are improved or at least maintained.

Please be aware this project is of the upmost importance as it is vital in keeping our housing and business property values high, avoiding new flood insurance costs, and protecting our homes and business from the chance of a natural disaster.

Please feel free to contact me, reach out to our Public Works office or share your thoughts here, so we can start a dialogue of our City's plans and issues, on the levee project. For more information go to http://www.fostercity.org/publicworks/lagoonandlevee/Levee-Protection-Planning.cfm.