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Community Interest<br />
City Celebrates Toddler Playground, Adult Lounge<br />
Spanning the generations, <strong>Redwood</strong> City celebrated both the grand reopening<br />
of the Fair Oaks Community Center toddler playground and the inauguration<br />
of its new adult activity center lounge.<br />
<strong>The</strong> new playground was completely redesigned with a new sand area,<br />
a wider area for tricycles, more play space and new play equipment. <strong>The</strong><br />
playground is overseen and operated by the <strong>Redwood</strong> City Child Development<br />
Program and funded with <strong>Redwood</strong> City capital improvement funds.<br />
<strong>The</strong> adult lounge was created by converting several units of offices into<br />
a large space with a “living room” feel for older adults. It contains lounge<br />
chairs and sofas, tables for reading or games, brand-new bookshelves stocked<br />
with books, new lighting, artwork on the walls and plants. <strong>The</strong> lounge<br />
is a partnership between the city, nonprofit Rebuilding Together, Roche<br />
Molecular Systems, Supple Homes Inc., Peninsula Family Service — which<br />
operates the Fair Oaks Adult Activity Center — and a private donor.<br />
<strong>The</strong> ribbon cutting featured County Supervisor Don Horsley and <strong>Redwood</strong><br />
City Vice Mayor Alicia Aguirre, along with adults and toddlers.<br />
<strong>Redwood</strong> City Hires New HR Head<br />
<strong>Redwood</strong> City has hired Rebecca Burnside as its new human resources<br />
director, filling the vacancy left when Bob Bell was appointed city manager.<br />
Burnside, who most recently served as director of human resources and<br />
risk management for Foster City, begins with <strong>Redwood</strong> City Aug. 22. She<br />
will earn an annual salary of $179,724.<br />
Bell lauded Burnside, who he said has a wide range of experience, talent and<br />
knowledge. “I know she’ll excel as a crucial member of our executive team,” Bell<br />
said in a prepared statement. Burnside called <strong>Redwood</strong> City “a great fit for me.”<br />
Burnside has a law degree from Tulane Law School and a Bachelor of Science<br />
in general management/industrial relations from the University of Minnesota.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Human Resources Department handles recruitment, organization and employee<br />
development, benefits administration, workers’ compensation, performance<br />
management and personnel systems management among other functions.<br />
City Hires Community Development Director<br />
<strong>Redwood</strong> City has hired a community development director to oversee<br />
several key functions, helping officials manage land use and balance<br />
increased service demands with dwindling resources.<br />
Bill Ekern most recently served as director of special projects/project<br />
management for the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and has more than 25<br />
years of experience in city management. Ekern’s first day was Aug. 1 and he<br />
will earn $185,000 annually plus benefits.<br />
City Manager Bob Bell lauded Ekern’s experience and said officials are<br />
“thrilled” to have him join the city. Ekern returned the accolades, calling<br />
<strong>Redwood</strong> City “an unprecedented opportunity for me,” in a prepared statement.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Community Development Department includes planning, housing,<br />
redevelopment, building, engineering and transportation. Ekern’s role will be<br />
managing development and land use matters. He will also work with the City<br />
Council and Planning Commission, said city spokesman Malcolm Smith.<br />
Although the city created Ekern’s position, it also moved two director jobs<br />
back to division manager level. One department head, Ekern, will be better<br />
able to oversee and coordinate the functions of different divisions involved in<br />
the same projects and initiatives, Smith said.<br />
Ekern has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California<br />
at Davis and a master’s degree in public administration from San Jose State University.<br />
More Street Work Planned for <strong>Redwood</strong> City<br />
Motorists in <strong>Redwood</strong> City should prepare for slowed traffic, detours, parking<br />
restrictions and even a little bit of dust as the city embarks on a slew of<br />
neighborhood street improvements through the rest of summer.<br />
<strong>The</strong> city recently announced grant-funded resurfacing projects on<br />
Veterans Boulevard and East Bayshore Road. This second set of preventive<br />
maintenance is scheduled to begin mid-July and run through September.<br />
If possible, drivers should consider alternative routes to minimize or avoid<br />
traffic delays. <strong>The</strong>y should also expect periodic lane closures, detours and<br />
periods during which no vehicles are allowed. Work hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4<br />
p.m., with streets typically reopened by 5 p.m.<br />
While the city will try to minimize the impact, some inconvenience is<br />
unavoidable, spokesman Malcolm Smith said in a prepared statement.<br />
<strong>The</strong> work consists of two phases, preparation and either slurry seal or<br />
overlay. Where slurry seal is used, streets may be closed up to four hours to<br />
let the sand and oil mixture dry. During that time, residents are urged to keep<br />
cars, children and pets away as the material can be difficult to remove from<br />
rugs, clothing and fur.<br />
A 2-inch layer of new asphalt laid on top of the existing road will also<br />
require traffic controls.<br />
Streets scheduled for slurry seal are: Blomquist Street from Maple Street<br />
to Seaport Boulevard, Broadway from Hopkins Avenue to El Camino Real,<br />
Broadway from Woodside Road to Charter Street, Canyon Road (off-street<br />
parking areas only), Charter Street from Middlefield Road to Broadway,<br />
Chesapeake Drive from Seaport Boulevard to Saginaw Drive, Galveston<br />
Drive from Pendescot Drive to Chesapeake Drive, Hudson Street from<br />
Whipple Avenue to Woodside Road, James Avenue from St. Francis Street<br />
to Sequoia Station, Maple Street from Highway 101 to Blomquist Street,<br />
Marlin Court from end to end, Marlin Drive from Marlin Court to <strong>Redwood</strong><br />
Shores Parkway, Marshall Street from Arguello to Main streets, Middlefield<br />
Road from Woodside Road to Pacific Avenue, Pendescot Drive from Saginaw<br />
Drive to the cul-de-sac, <strong>Redwood</strong> Avenue from Fairview Avenue to Hudson<br />
Street, Saginaw Drive from Chesapeake Drive to the cul-de-sac, Seaport<br />
Boulevard from Highway 101 to Seaport Court, Seaport Boulevard (two-lane<br />
section) from Seaport Court to the end, Seaport Boulevard (four-lane section)<br />
from Seaport Court to Pacific Shores Center, and Valota Road from Jefferson<br />
Avenue to Woodside Road.<br />
Streets scheduled for overlay work are: Broadway from Chestnut Street<br />
to Woodside Road, Connecticut Drive from Carson Street to Massachusetts<br />
Avenue, East Bayshore Boulevard from Whipple Avenue to Bair Island Road,<br />
Kentfield Avenue from <strong>Redwood</strong> Avenue to Woodside Road, Laurel Street<br />
from El Camino Real to Hancock Street, McGarvey Avenue from Farm Hill<br />
Boulevard to Roosevelt Avenue, and Westgate Street from Hopkins Avenue to<br />
Alameda de las Pulgas.<br />
Moulton Named New Housing Head<br />
Both the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and the Housing<br />
Endowment and Regional Trust have named Mark Moulton their new executive director.<br />
<strong>The</strong> two San Mateo County housing groups share staff but have separate<br />
boards of directors. HEART raises money from public and private sources to<br />
meet housing needs. <strong>The</strong> Housing Leadership Council works to increase the<br />
housing supply at all levels of affordability.<br />
Moulton is the founding executive director of <strong>Redwood</strong> City–based Living<br />
City Partners, which builds affordable multi-unit housing for low-income<br />
families, and served more than 10 years as the founding executive director at<br />
Peninsula Habitat for Humanity. While there, the organization grew to a staff<br />
of 15 with a $3.5 million annual budget.<br />
Moulton also volunteers with the Nonprofit Center of San Mateo County,<br />
Sustainable San Mateo County and Concentric Media. He helped found the<br />
Housing Leadership Council in 2001, serving as a past board president and<br />
fund development committee chair.<br />
“[Moulton] combines a deep knowledge of fund development, community<br />
outreach and alliance building with a passion for building affordable housing<br />
for San Mateo County’s young families, workforce and seniors,” said County<br />
Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson, HEART board chair, in a prepared statement.<br />
Andrea Papanastassiou and Melissa Platte, co-chairs of the Housing<br />
Leadership Council, echoed the sentiment and said Moulton will add strength<br />
and growth to their organization.<br />
Moulton fills the vacancy left when Chris Mohr left the position after eight<br />
years to relocate his family to Pennsylvania.<br />
(continues on page 19)<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Spectrum</strong> 13