Marinwood takes on $650,000 more Debt at the CSD special meeting 5/24/2021.

The lack of seriousness by the CSD Board in committing a large debt obligations for the most expensive Maintenance Shed in Marin County history is appalling.  The Marinwood CSD board president, Bill Shea seems giddy with delight that no members of the public were present for this meeting.  

 This is money NOT being spent on maintenance, pool restoration ,  mobility access, etc.  

Marinwood CSD Park and Rec Commission 5/25/2021

The Marinwood Maintenance Fence will cost $377,000 and the CSD will make YOU pay for it!

 The Marinwood CSD has committed to building the MOST EXPENSIVE MAINTENANCE SHED in Marin County history designed by a former CSD Politician. Among the extravagances is the $377k IPE fence to house landscaping equipment.  Why the huge cost? They say it is important to have a beautiful structure instead of hiding it behind a standard cedar fence.  IPE fencing costs TEN times the cost of a standard cedar fence.  

This ridiculously gold plating of our maintenance shed will come at a huge cost to the Marinwood CSD.  Our pool needs reconditioning,  maintenance needs have been ignored , basic items like park benches and accessible walkways have been ignored.  

Oh, but did I tell you this shed will have an apartment inside?.....

The CSD needs an immediate investigation of its business practices and political shenanigans.  

=============

Information about fencing: https://www.royal-woodwork-gta.ca/why-ipe-or-cedar-are-the-best-choices-for-your-home-fence/ 

 

Why Ipe or Cedar Are the Best Choices for Your Home Fence

Wood fence installation projects are demanding. You need to know which wood species to get for starters let alone making sure the fence is properly installed. And then it’s all about keeping the new fence for years to come without worrying about its maintenance every now and then, or safety concerns. Although wooden fence installation is a different chapter, the project begins by choosing the right wood species. And there is a reason why ipe and cedar are two great choices.

The reasons for choosing an ipe fence

Let’s just say that ipe is hardwood and thus extremely durable. Another good reason for ipe fence installation is its natural resistance to elements. Thus, it hardly needs maintenance. It won’t decay or rot. It’s resilient and ages beautifully. No matter what the weather conditions, ipe will remain strong and actually last for many decades. This will compensate for its rather high price. And this is actually the only drawback when it comes to installing a wooden ipe fence.

Since ipe is a hardwood, it is also hard to work on. So, if you decide to get ipe, find a fence builder with expertise in this species.

Why cedar fences are also a great option

There are several types of cedar woods. One of the most popular one is red cedar. With red cedar fence installation, you get an average priced product that will last for years. It’s beautiful and resistant to insect infestation, moisture, and rot. But it will need some maintenance.

Cedar is resistant to insects due to its natural oils. Since it’s resilient, it has a long lifespan. And this compensates for the maintenance requirements. Another great advantage of cedar wood is that it won’t shrink or warp. And that’s very important for the condition of the fence since you don’t want it to sag in a few years.

Although the part over ground won’t rot, the part placed underground might rot. And that’s the disadvantage of wooden cedar fences. But you can mix and match wood species to get the best combination for long-lasting results. For example, you can use pine for the fence posts. Pine stands well underground but is not ideal for the slats since it might crack and shrink.

Believe or not, cedar emits a nice odor too. It has a very pleasing natural scent and that counts as an extra advantage.

Ipe or cedar fences?

So, which one should you choose for your home wooden fence? It’s really difficult to say since both wood species are marvelous. Each has its own pros and cons, so it actually depends on how much you want to spend today.

• Cedar fences are very popular because they last long and have a friendly cost too.
• Ipe fences cost more. But nothing really compares with the elegance of this type of wood.

The best way to decide is to get in touch with your local fence contractor and get more information and perhaps suggestions for the fence in your home. After all, not all homes have the same style. But be sure that both cedar and ipe fences look great to all homes.

Editor's note: IPE = $17.00 per board foot.  Cedar= $1.70 per board foot.  Both are durable woods. 

Marinwood CSD 5/11/2021 Marinwood CSD approves MOST EXPENSIVE MAINTENANCE SHED in Marin County history!

This is a long meeting on 5/11/2021 but demonstrates how the Marinwood CSD is wasting millions of dollars on the Marinwood Maintenance Shed and the future financial health of our district.  Citizens concerns were never addressed and the board ignored all practical problems with parking, loading materials and sensitive habitat. . Instead they hired a former CSD Board member as architect behind a closed door.  It is an egregious abuse of power and community trust. Numerous ethics and possibly political corruption laws were violated.    The original project was estimated to cost $100k utilizing standard designs commonly found in virtually every other park in Marin County.  The Marinwood CSD gave the architect a blank check to pursue his creative vision.  New board members were intimidated in approving the project by claims of "looming cost increases"  and never addressing practical alternatives.  Several former Marinwood CSD board members and their friends in the community will directly profit from THE MOST EXPENSIVE CAPITAL PROJECT in the last twenty years.  Our local democracy is virtually non existent.  Citizens must demand accountability and if laws were broken, those responsible should be held accountable.  

The history of this project and the board meetings are on fully documented on videotape.  Remember, what just happened the next time when the board seeks a new tax or bond for "budget shortfalls".

Secret Architect hired in Feb 2018 for $12,000 all inclusive price.

  Marinwood CSD general manager Eric Dreikosen reports hiring an architect for $12,000 for all inclusive price for a maintenance shed proposal but fails to reveal that it is former Marinwood CSD director, Bill Hansell .  Dreikosen was hired by the CSD board that included Bill Hansell in 2015 .  The total budget cost of the project has not been revealed and the architects fees have exceeded the $12,000 before reaching site plan approval stage. Another architect with decades of experience with public works projects, bid $13,800 for the ENTIRE PROJECT including site plan review (fixed price $2800), construction oversight and architects fee of 8% based on $100,000 construction cost.  He lost the bid. The CSD  has attacked critics as spreading "misinformation" yet hides its plans and budgets.  You be the judge how well they handle the public's business.  This clip is from the February 13, 2018 Marinwood CSD board meeting.

"Public Outreach?" asks Planner. Jeff Naylor shuts down discussion in 2018.

 

At the Jan 27, 2020 Marin Planning Commission meeting, commissioner asks about the public outreach. Jeff Naylor's famous response in September 2018 to a petition of 200 residents tells the real story of "public outreach" Still there has been no meeting. The project budget is secret and the architect, a former CSD politician has estimated billing 500% of the initial estimates BEFORE the plan has been approved. Hansell Design has a highly unusual "unlimited billing" fee arrangement with NO PERFORMANCE provisions. While CSD Director, Bill Hansell hired current manager Eric Dreikosen at double his previous compensation despite NO EXPERIENCE in managing a CSD. This is small town corruption on display enabled by the entire CSD board.

The Multimillion Dollar Shed is Missing Area for Loading/Unloading Landscaping Materials and Vehicle Movement.

 

The proposed Marinwood Maintenance Compound won't have a grassy area in front.

This area must be used for loading/unloading of landscape materials.

The Marinwood CSD maintenance crew generates big piles of landscaping debris and trash each week. They store this in the large open area next to the horse shoe pits in Marinwood Park to allow the convenient loading/dumping of material.  

Large piles of landscaping waste and trash is stored in the open at the Maintenance shed

A bucket loading operation requires much space as you can see in this video.   Generally, the dump trailer is loaded from the side into the center of the trailer. The operator must do this to balance the load for safety.  This means the bucket loader requires a large area for scooping material and turning.

The truck and trailer must be parked perpendicular to the bucket loader.  

 

In the site plan of the proposed Maintenance Facility below, you can see that the only area where this operation can take place is IN FRONT of the Maintenance Facility.  The architect has drawn a walking path in this area to deceive the planning department.  There is NO ROOM inside the walled maintenance compound to perform a mechanized loading operation.

Our Ford F250 is 22 feet long.and the dump trailer is approximately 20 feet long including tongue.

This means that 42 feet of space will be required for the truck/trailer and an additional 40' to 60' feet to the side will be required for the bucket loader and material. This will occupy all the area between the maintenance building and Miller Creek.

Proposed Maintenance Facility with old facility overlay in brown

This drawing shows the footprint of the proposed Maintenance Bldg and the old building footprint in brown. The brown box on the left is the area the architect calls open storage. In fact the entire area from the current building to the horse shoe pit is used for landscaping debris, parking and tool storage.  Clearly there is no area suitable for loading and unloading material within the proposed Maintenance Building above. The architect shows this area as green space and a walking path but it will not happen. It will be used for parking and storage of debris and landscaping materials. The is no alternative.

What happened to the access road that the architect showed in previous drawings?  It has disappeared.  This is highly deceptive.  The architect must show where essential activities will take place on the building site. Safety vehicles and pedestrians must pass through this area.

The drawings do not show the true impact to the stream conservation area and Marinwood Park.

The proposed Marinwood CSD Maintenance Facility is simply too big and inefficient,  harms the environment and occupies land that should be used for recreational purposes as intended.

The Multi Million Dollar Maintenance Shed won't allow our Vehicles to Turn Around

 

The Marinwood Drive Through Maintenance facility is a bust

The Marinwood "Drive Through" Maintenance Facility now before the Marin County Planning board is completely unworkable for the maintenance department and our service vehicles.  The video below shows why. Our maintenance department has a 2018 Ford F250 truck that is 22 feet long and a 16' dump trailer. Just like the truck in the short video, our F250 needs 51.9 feet to turn around .   

This means that our truck will be on the edge of Miller Creek stream bank every time it needs to turn around, rain or shine. More likely it will drive to the meadow to turn around and destroy this lovely area too.

In 2007, a catastrophic flood destroyed the stream bank below the current maintenance facility to prevent it from being lost.  If you look at the eastern edge of the maintenance shed, you will see the edge of the stream bank.

While the proposed maintenance facility is further away from the current garage area, it is still far too close to the stream bank where flooding occurs.  It is COMPLETELY within the restricted area under the 2007 Stream Conservation Ordinance.

This would be bad news for the CSD but fortunately,  Irv Schwartz, noted Marin Civil Engineer and former CSD Director came up with the best solution in 2017 called "Option 3".  It is a conventional maintenance facility design that is long and narrow and is situated next to the fence line.  It is the same size as the McInnis Park facility or about ONE THIRD the size and cost of the proposed Marinwood Park facility.

Option #3 is the "environmentally preferred" option for our next maintenance facility.

Tell the Marinwood CSD/ Marin County to stop wasting money on a maintenance compound that will destroy our park.  Design a new facility based on Option Three. 

Marinwood CSD Meeting 5/11/2021

Should Marinwood CSD save MILLIONS OF DOLLARS with a GREEN CERTIFIED Maintenance Facility?

 

 

Marinwood CSD Fire Commission 5/4/2021 (audio only first half)

Marinwood Parks and Rec Commission Meeting 4/17/2021