The Boys of Summer

I know a lot of people who long to hear these 3 precious words... Let's Play Ball! (My wife would argue that they are "I Love You," but hey, it's baseball season and the boys of summer are back!)

The excitement of walking into the ballpark, embraced by the brilliant colors of the ball field, uniforms, flags; fans enjoying that hot dog, peanuts, soda or a cold beer and of course watching your beloved SF Giants (or your own favorite team).

Dreams and hopes are always high in April for every baseball fan, and the Giants seem posed for a pretty good year.

The 3 keys for a return to the World Series stage in 2016 are probably the mantra for any good team:

• Stay Healthy
• Everyone in the lineup and on the roster makes a contribution to becoming "Champions"
• Win the 1 run games. Have success in environments that you should find victory, go out and win the day!

I hope to see you at the ballpark. It is a great place to be seen. A group of Foster City employees, family and friends will be rooting for the Giants versus the Dodgers on June 12. Stop by and say hi and LET'S GO GIANTS!

Farewell and Good Luck to Chief Martell! Welcome to a New Era with Police Chief Joe Pierucci!

On Wednesday, March 30^th the Police Department and City held a Change of Command and Badge Pinning Ceremony and celebrated the stellar career of retiring Police Chief Matt Martell.

 

I share my comments from both the Change of Command Ceremony and Matt’s retirement celebration:

 

Change of Command

 

It is my honor to be part of such a great and important tradition of the Foster City Police Department with the Change of Command and Badge Pinning.

 

In recognizing the past…

 

Chief Martell, thank you for your phenomenal service. Your contribution to the City and Police Department will remain relevant and your efforts in creating excellence in the organization will stand as a foundation as we enter a new era of leadership and change of command.

Matt, congratulations and I look forward to celebrating your milestone later this afternoon.

 

Honoring our future…

 

As your City Manager, I am excited as we look to our future era of excellence and commitment in the Foster City Police Department. There is no doubt that with these dedicated, passionate, phenomenal, and brave officers, who we recognize today, the police team will remain champions of law enforcement well into our future. Chief Pierucci, Captain Ticas, Lieutenant Sandri, Sergeant Tidwell, Corporal Beck, congratulations and best of luck as we work together to continue to make Foster City a great place to live, work, and play!

 

Matt’s Retirement Celebration

 

Matt’s achievements as Police Chief, Executive Team Member, and as an officer in the Foster City Police Department for 25 years have been significant.

 

Matt is always first to credit team, recognizing our organization’s culture on the importance of team efforts. Inspired efforts, traditions of excellence, and phenomenal service absolutely require great teams, but great teams demand outstanding leadership and special individual performances. Matt has provided those exceptional individual performances as our Police Chief, colleague, and friend.

 

Matt, we wish you well as you set sail for a new horizon in your life. Your contributions to our organization and the Police Department have been far reaching and memorable. You have positioned us well to manage the challenges of the future. The praise you receive this afternoon is well deserved and I wish you nothing but the best of luck and good blessings for your future endeavors.

 

Matt, it has been an honor and a privilege to work with you; I will miss your presence with our team. I know we will meet again to reflect on time gone by and new adventures, good luck and Godspeed!

Be Phenomenal

As your City Manager I believe we have one of the most dedicated staffs in the business of delivering excellent government service. A staff of committed public employees who strive for excellence, demonstrate daily team work and, most importantly, understand serving the public in the best manner possible.

I see department by department employees who work hard to be great, have open and engaged conversations with team members and the public, employees who remain relentless in incremental improvements. I state this with pride, employees with a champion's attitude for a world champion community here in Foster City.

At a recent City Management meeting I asked each City department to provide an overview of why they believe their department is "phenomenal." I share those thoughts with you below.

As we come upon the weekend, have a happy St. Patrick's Day and go out and do something phenomenal!

Economic Development Strategy for a Bright Future

The fiscal health of a City is closely linked to a healthy and strong business community.  Foster City is very fortunate that its local economy has continued to recover and gain momentum since the global recession that began in 2006. Growth in the technology, research & development, bio-medical and life science sectors remain strong for the City. And because these sectors will remain strong for the foreseeable future, a 2nd tier economic model that provides business to business support to these sectors is becoming stronger. To maintain that momentum, the City must be strategic about planning for activities that preserve property values, retain and expand our existing businesses, attract new businesses, and support the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce and all our economic development stakeholders.

On January 25, 2016, the City Council held a Special City Council where they identified five priority areas that they would like staff to focus on for the next year.  The priority areas include land use, traffic and circulation, infrastructure, economic development, and quality schools.  Ad hoc subcommittees, composed of no more than two City Councilmembers and key City staff, have been established for each priority area and will meet throughout the next year to develop work plans to address some of our key challenges.

The Economic Development Ad Hoc Subcommittee, comprised of Vice Mayor Charlie Bronitsky and Councilmember Sam Hindi, met for the first time on February 16, 2016 to discuss the next phase of economic development planning for the City.  Over the next several months the ad hoc subcommittee and City staff will work with the business community stakeholders to establish strategies, policies and programs that will contribute to the City’s future economic health.

On March 15, 2016, the City will be hosting its first Economic Development Business Roundtable meeting.  The meeting will begin at 8:30 am – 12 Noon in the Lagoon Room of the Community Center (1000 E. Hillsdale Blvd).  The purpose of the meeting is to engage with the business community about the economic climate of our City, get their input on important issues, and to share City Council’s vision for moving economic development planning forward.

I am excited about the possibilities of an even stronger Foster City.  With the guidance of our City Council, the experience and expertise of City staff, and the input and support of the business community stakeholders, I am certain we can develop an economic development plan to lead us into the next phase of excellence.

Communication is key! Let us know what you think.

Bill Gates stated, “I’m a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other and how they can achieve the kind of freedom that they are interested in.”

 

This month, City staff has launched two brand new communications tools for the Foster City community, through which I hope we can learn from each other and freely communicate on items that are important to our community!

 

The first is Foster City Access, the official City app! With this app, community members can report non-emergency issues like potholes, street light issues, codes violations, park maintenance, and more. By adding location and pictures the community can help the City respond to reports quickly. You can track the status of your reports as well as those submitted by other community members. The app also houses information and links to the City calendar, news, and City services.

 

The free download of Foster City Access is available in the Apple App store and Android Google Play, and issues can be reported and tracked at http://www.seeclickfix.com/foster-city. Here is a video that explains the app featuring our Mayor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGRaDLfcHNw.

 

The second is a new e-newsletter, Foster City Current. We know that the City releases a lot of information. With the many projects, events, and press releases, we wanted to create an easy and fun way to see the information that matters most to community members. When you subscribe, this monthly e-newsletter will come to your inbox with the highlights of what is happening in the City in the upcoming month.

 

Along with these tools, City staff is utilizing Foster City Forum to gain further feedback on the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan that is being updated for 2015. If you want to review the draft of the Safety Element, offer feedback, or learn about hazard mitigation, visit the Foster City Forum and join the conversation.

 

As the City Council and the City staff identify priorities for 2016, we realize that transparency and engagement are key to good governance. We hope that these tools will be as helpful to community members as they are for City staff and City Council.

The Foster City Police Department has released its Annual Crime Report and Traffic Report for 2015. I am happy to share that Foster City continues to maintain low rates of both crime and traffic injuries in 2015.

The number of traffic collisions decreased from 2014, and a very small amount of those collisions involved pedestrians or bicyclists. No collisions resulted in fatalities, and if injuries resulted, most were categorized as minor injuries.

Foster City Police Department worked in a number of ways to enhance the safety of motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Officers took part in a number of safety campaigns including Operation Click It or Ticket, Distracted Driving Month, and San Mateo County Saturation Traffic Enforcement Program (S.T.E.P.) among others. Police also conducted focused traffic patrol near schools and high traffic areas during commute times. The efforts made by the Foster City Police Department have resulted in Foster City continuing to maintain a trend of high traffic safety.

Foster City Police Department works tirelessly towards their mission of “Excellent Service, every call, every contact, every day.” FCPD works with a number of agencies and Task Forces to identify crime trends and deter these activities in Foster City. While there has been a steady increase in residential burglaries throughout the country, Foster City managed to hold this increase to a minimum in 2015. Despite these rises, there was a decrease in auto burglaries by 17% from 2014, and the total property crime rate in 2015 decreased by almost 7%.

Looking at the 2015 reports, I am pleased to say that Foster City Police Department is committed to providing the highest quality of policing by utilizing all available resources, crime prevention efforts, and maintaining a technologically progressive outlook. In fact, their efforts have been recognized year after year. In 2016, Foster City has again been included in a list of the 100 safest Cities in the United States, according to Location Inc., a national residential and commercial data tracking company.  In the another report, Foster City has been recognized as the 16th safest city in the State of California, according to BackgroundChecks.org, a site devoted to public safety and open government.

Foster City continues to be one of the safest neighborhoods thanks in large part to Foster City Police Department, City government, and residents working together to ensure Foster City is a safe place to live, work, and play in 2016 and beyond.

A New Year in Foster City