Millbrae: Reading between the lines

Goood morning, DJ readers!

Does anyone have current information re: the county contract with Millbrae to provide police services in Millbrae? With respect to, "Now all the taxpayers of San Mateo County are paying for police services in Millbrae,"... where does that money come from? Millbrae has budgeted $9.5 million dollars this year for police operating expenditures. That's an 18% increase over last year. The major difference between the two budgets seems to be the addition of two deputies to patrol Millbrae. So, is "Now all the taxpayers of San Mateo County are paying for police services in Millbrae," an accurate statement? IDK

Good afternoon, Michael

During last month’s controversy surrounding the county’s proposal to purchase the La Quinta Inn in Millbrae, I contacted the Board of Supervisors about the Project Homekey purchase in Redwood Shores. With the Board’s vote looming on September 12, I was hoping to get information about the Redwood Shores conversion and determine whether the county’s experience in Redwood Shores might be applicable to the Millbrae proposal. I have contacted the Board re: other issues in the past and I have received replies within a day or two.

However, this time… nothing. Now, I don’t want to see a county bureaucrat behind every tree, but why the delay in answering questions about Project Homekey staffing, documented intervention by staff and law enforcement, and general oversight?

The Board voted to approve the project at its September 12 meeting even though there was a clear majority of persons at that meeting who opposed the project. Two days later, September 14, I sent my questions to the Board again. I received a response the next day that said my questions had been forwarded to the county’s Department of Housing. Hmmm… if that’s the proper response, why didn’t I receive that response in August?

Another week goes by, then the county’s Department of Housing responds thanking me for my questions. According to the county, there were some “hiccups” during the Redwood Shores transition, but the county is now looking at hiring an analyst and consultant to monitor Project Homekey sites. Gosh… with strong opposition to the way the county has shoehorned supportive housing into local hotels over the past couple of years… don’t you think monitoring those sites would have been part of the county’s program from the get-go?

I’m confident nearly everyone who participated in the debate about the La Quinta Inn believes like you and I do that we need supportive housing. The question then becomes… how do we help those folks who are homeless?

Michael… I don’t know anyone who has read every comment about this issue, but it appeared Millbrae residents were very concerned about public safety issues. You wrote that ungrateful Millbrae residents have been “complaining about the lost [sic] of Hotel Tax revenue…” I disagree. I feel their complaints were more about their voices being ignored. It kinda looks like four of the five Board of Supervisors members had made up their minds well before the September 12 meeting. That’s my take on what really happened in Millbrae.