A Fiscally Responsible Approach to Maintaining Park Infrastructure

Foster City boasts 24 parks and over 200 acres of park and open space, which has a value of approximately $93 million.  Foster City has the luxury of being situated on San Francisco Bay Trail, a planned 500-mile walking and cycling path around the entire San Francisco Bay running through all nine Bay Area counties, 47 cities, and across the region’s seven toll bridges.  Foster City has invested in its parks infrastructure which has brought increased property values, enhanced quality of life, and social connection to our community.

The Parks and Recreation Department maintains a schedule of regular infrastructure maintenance related projects.  For example, play structures are scheduled for replacement every 15 years and courts are scheduled for resurfacing approximately every eight years.  This scheduling ensures the infrastructure in which the City has invested is properly maintained to provide for the excellent space the Parks and Recreation Department is committed to providing to this community.

In addition to regularly scheduled maintenance, the Parks and Recreation Department also works to evolve the Park System to reflect the social landscape.  Our parks provide the space where residents create community, finding opportunities to connect.  The Parks and Recreation Department will bring new park elements to the community over the years as landscape is converted to drought tolerant alternatives (as recently completed at Boat Park), play structures are replaced (as recently completed at Catamaran Park), and new recreational trends emerge (as the City plans for tennis courts resurfacing projects to include pickleball). 

Capital Improvement Projects come in many forms, most of which require multiple levels of City Council authorization.  As an example, the City was fortunate to receive community input on a recent project to convert lawn to drought tolerant alternatives and add picnic areas and bocce ball courts in Leo Ryan Park (CIP 655).  The City is excited to have achieved a conceptual design that meets the interests of park users that participate in activities located in this area of the park.

In the midst of the design stages of CIP 655, a new project, located on the same site emerged; the study to build a new Recreation Center will take place in the coming months.  And while the study to build a new Recreation Center and the associated delay in CIP 655, understandably brings disappointment to this invested segment of the community, the City is very excited to undergo a process to possibly add to our legacy and tradition of excellence to build a new Recreation Center which will take our community through the next 50 years.  There will be many opportunities for the public to provide input into the study to build a new Recreation Center.  The Recreation Center belongs to the residents of Foster City, so get ready and plan to participate in this dynamic moment of City history.

Home Town Pride

Foster City is a community to be proud of. A city rich with wonderful people and families, beautiful parks and waterways. A city that is safe, diverse and thriving. A city that is changing and making efforts to meet the challenges as well as the opportunities that change brings.

I am proud to serve as City Manager of Foster City! Proud of what I believe is one of the nicest cities in our state and nation. I state this with dignity and respect of other cities in our great state, but I believe Foster City is a special town.

We reached out to hear what you are saying about home town pride, and here are some of the responses and a quick video promoting home town pride.

So lets continue to nurture, care and demonstrate home town pride for Foster City. It is a good place to be!

Happy Mother's Day Moms!

I know my mother Lana reads my blog so... Happy Mother's Day, Mom (now I don't have to send a card)! Just kidding, a Mother's Day greeting will arrive via mail by Sunday, May 8th, Mother's Day.

 

Some say that a mother, more than any other, affect the moral and spiritual part of a child's character. In such, we recognize that mothers have such a  great influence on today's and future generations.

 

So enjoy this Mother's Day and celebrate with beautiful memories of your mother, or if you are blessed enough to still have your mother in your life, give her a call, write her a note, or send her your blog! 

Foster City Celebrates Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

What a great day today where we had employees of our city bring their daughters and sons to our place of work with the City of Foster City. A wonderful and cool opportunity to see a whole new side of parents and children as they explore a special day together.

I fondly recall bringing both my daughters to my workplace as well as going to work with my dad, which was really a thrill as he was a football and baseball coach so work was at a ballgame!

This morning I spent time with 11 great kids:
Natalie B.
Reese C.
Rayhaan D.
Gavino F.
Jake G.
Jax L.
Aiden C.
Kyle O.
Jack S.
Kurt S.
Lucia T.

And their parents:
Brandon B.
Frank F.
Garrett G.
Jennifer L.
Vivian M.
Tiffany O.
Kurt S.
Martin T.

We were reminded of the part we play as parents, guardians and role models, inspiring generations to come by sharing the work you love with the children you love. The children will dream about this day for years to come and look back upon it with fond memories.

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!