The Richardson’s Bay Regional Agency has finally held its first public meeting since Sausalito withdrew from the organization at the end of June. A July meeting was cancelled due to lack of a quorum. Another meeting scheduled for August 10 was also cancelled. The agency held a closed session on September 1 to discuss hiring a new Executive Director, and announced their decision at the September 14 meeting.
FHA Governmental Relations Chair Teddie Hathaway attended that meeting, and here’s her report:
In a meeting at the Belvedere City Hall, the RBRA introduced the new part-time Executive Director. She is Beth Pollard, former town administrator for San Anselmo, City Manager of Albany, and interim City Manager of Belvedere. She has been given a two-year term with an option for a third.
Alden Bevington, the spokesperson for the Richardson’s Bay Special Anchorage Association (RBSAA), which now has 501(c)(3) status, said at last count there were 180 vessels in the bay; 103 are live-aboards with 120 people living on them. Twenty new boats arrived over the summer and 60 left or were disposed of. The current effort of the RBSAA is to see that the existing boats are seaworthy and that the ground tackle is intact and safe.
Harbor Master Bill Price reported that the RBRA has basically been out of money since April, so right now he is not abating any boats, but they have applied for several grants. He indicated, when asked, that the water quality in the Gates Coop area has significantly improved.
The meeting was surprisingly short, and there was refreshingly little contention. Three speakers from Belvedere acknowledged that although Mr. Bevington is working to insure the safety of the existing boats, they are tired of having their properties crashed into by drifting anchor-out vessels.