New Beginnings

December 26, 2018

I hope you all are having a great holiday season and are able to relax and enjoy time with your family and friends. As we approach the year-end, we reflect on the year gone by and get ready for a new year, which brings hope for fresh beginnings.

The last couple of weeks marked starting my role as a City Councilmember and assuming the responsibilities to serve our community. I am thankful for the warm welcome and support as I begin this new phase. I have started the learning process and am building the knowledge base necessary for the work ahead.

Foster City, with a population of approximately 34,000 residents runs on a General Fund budget of approximately $44 million. Foster City continues to rank as one of the top 50 cities in the nation in regards to safety and is the envy of many cities in the Bay Area. Foster City is a full-service city which means that the City manages Police, Fire, and all utilities (water, sewer, storm drain facilities). Fortunately, the City is proactive in the maintenance of infrastructure, and is developing master plans for infrastructure to create a vision for the next 20 years, which also develops the funding needs to meet this vision as the City reaches its 50th birthday. In addition, a central lagoon, which many see as a leisure amenity with waterfront activities that many community members enjoy, also serves as storm drain detention during the rainy season. Further, we are fortunate to have companies like Gilead, Visa, Zoox, and Qualys, to name a few, that provide diversified services to the nation and bring various revenues to the City. Foster City is definitely unique compared to other cities in the Bay Area.

Our great foundation and valuable assets coupled with careful and methodical planning and execution will ensure a bright future for our city. Our key initiatives for 2019 include progressing with the Levee Project with delivery on time and on budget, the Wastewater Treatment Plan delivery, creating a plan to address City pension liabilities, and developing a strategy for the possible Recreation Center reconstruction. We are conducting a City Council Vision and Policy Summit on February 4, 2019, which will finalize our priorities and key initiatives for the upcoming year.

We heard loud and clear from our residents that traffic is the number one reason of frustration for them and we must do something to address it, especially the cut-through traffic. Last week the City Council approved the Traffic Relief Pilot Program. The pilot program would prohibit left-turns on East Hillsdale Boulevard in the eastbound direction at Edgewater Boulevard and Shell Boulevard. A number of cut-through traffic from non-Foster City residents cross through Foster City from Highway 101 heading to Highway 92 in the eastbound direction, during the peak evening hours from 4 PM to 7 PM. It is believed that the prohibition of left turns would discourage cut-through traffic. While this may not be a perfect program, it allows us the opportunity to test and learn. We must continue to try to find solutions for the six surrounding communities that will be disenfranchised with this no left turn policy. The pilot program traffic conditions will be observed during implementation and staff will provide a summary of the observations to the City Council for direction moving forward.

Knocking on doors and speaking directly with the residents was the most rewarding part of the elections and campaign for me. It allowed me to get a broader perspective and views of our residents and understand first hand, their thoughts and concerns. For me, the voice of our residents will serve as a powerful tool to use my voice and my vote in the City Council and will be instrumental in helping me make the right decisions for our City. I would like to continue the engagement and dialogue with all of you and am open to hearing all views and perspectives. I represent and serve all residents and the entire community. I look forward to hearing from you. You can email me at rawasthi@fostercity.org. I will be hosting a coffee meet and greet at Penelope’s on every Friday at 9:30 AM. Let’s chat about our future.

Thanks again for your support and your trust and confidence in me. I am extremely excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to my contributions in shaping the vision and future of Foster City with you.