A Publication of the Emerald Hills Homeowners Association
P.O. Box 620449 Woodside, CA 94062

12 January 2007

Curious about the K-8 public schools in our area? Having a hard time understanding what to look for in a school for your child? Debating public school versus private school? Unclear about your options? If so, you won’t want to miss this upcoming community event.

The EHHA is pleased to host a public school parent panel on Thursday, January 18th at 7 p.m. at Clifford Elementary. Parents with children at Emerald Hills’ public schools will speak frankly about their and their child’s experiences in our K-8th grade public schools. The facilitated discussion will feature parents whose children are currently at Roy Cloud, Clifford and John Gill, in addition to the three popular magnet schools: North Star Academy (gifted and talented), Adelante (Spanish immersion program) and Orion (parent participatory school).

This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from your neighbors about our school choices as well as meet other parents with young children. There will be plenty of time for Q&A and socializing!

Date: Thursday, January 18th, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Clifford Elementary Auditorium, 225 Clifford Ave., RWC

Webmaster note: The topic "Emerald Hills Schools" has been created on the EH Forums, at http://www.emeraldhills.org/forums/, to help us connect (before and after the panel discussion) around this important topic

During this past fall, the EHHA Sewer Task Force met to identify possible opportunities to reduce sewer rates. Their work included a joint meeting with homeowners from other San Mateo County Sewer Districts, meetings with officials from the cities of Redwood City and San Carlos, and a meeting with Neil Cullen, director of San Mateo County Public Works.

During this process the Task Force members learned that our high sewer rates are related to:
- the age of our sewer system,
- the high fees paid by the County to RWC and San Carlos for the use of their lines to transport sewage from the hills to the wastewater treatment facility, and
- the limited number of people in our two service districts (Zone 1, the W. Summit area, and Zone 2, most of EH) who share the costs.

Although there are costly new state requirements to control overflows in the sewer lines, many jurisdictions are able to implement them without doubling sewer rates, as was proposed in San Mateo County.

The Task Force has identified three options that may reduce rates.
- The County could reduce next year’s sewer charges, based on its ability to inspect and repair only a portion of the district’s lines in one year.
- RWC could take over the system (at least for Zone 2) to spread costs over a larger population. RWC has requested a systems analysis to determine if this is feasible.
- The County could re-negotiate with RWC and San Carlos to reduce the contract rates for the use of their sewer lines to the wastewater treatment plant.

The Task Force will continue to work with City and County officials to keep our sewer rates reasonable. Our thanks to Cheryl McGovern and Steve Hill (EHHA Board Members) and to Doug Finlay and Alisa Greene-MacAvoy for taking on this project that is so important to Emerald Hills Homeowners.

It’s wonderful to have the Emerald Market open to service our shopping needs. But the market is much more than just a new pretty face. The Aho family purchased the property and opened its doors last November. They bring to the market a unique desire to be part of, and give back to, the local community. In fact, many of the Aho family members live in Emerald Hills or nearby Redwood City.

In the two short months that it’s been open, the Emerald Market has sponsored two charity events. The first was a fundraiser BBQ for Saint Matthias Church with all proceeds donated back to the church. The second was a BBQ with live music for the Rotary Club. This time the market donated 2 used cars to the Rotary Club to be given back to the community. In addition, the Market is hosting tours of the market for local preschoolers.

The Emerald Market’s plans are to do one BBQ fundraiser a month. Next up will be Saturday BBQs for local schools. Contact Chris Dabit, Assistant General Manager at 568-6000 if you have a group that is interested in a BBQ fundraiser.

In December, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors announced that Farhad Mortazahi of the Planning Staff will be reviewing all EH projects that require Design Review. Mr. Mortazahi has been the Design Review administrator for over 5 years. The Supervisors are taking applications for a new community representative and two architect positions, and they hope to fill all three positions this spring. The Design Review Committee reviews plans for new homes, major remodels and building additions to see that they are compliant with the community standards. San Mateo County has established many Design Review committees to serve communities in the unincorporated areas.

Applications for the community representative or the architect positions may be submitted to Supervisor Rich Gordon; for more details contact his aide, Jeremy Dennis at 650-288-6261. The community member does not need to have any specific design training, but must be familiar with the community.