Tiburon Launches $100,000 Cost-Share Pilot for Failing Private Drainage

Tiburon will now help pay to fix private drainage pipes that threaten public roads, a first for the town heading into what staff called an El Niño winter. The Town Council approved a 12-month pilot that reimburses up to half of eligible repairs. It also heard that its pond-site park now carries a $2.9M price tag and that some recent downtown flooding still has no clear cause.

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• $100,000 drainage pilot approved: up to 50% reimbursement, capped at $25,000 per project
• Resident's stalled shared-pipe dispute shows the limits of incentives when neighbors won't pay
• Pond-site park estimated at $2,912,335, and the council flags early-2027 funding talks
• Bel Air play area nearly finished; Cypress Hollow scaled down to about $1.2M
• Beach Road containment boxes held during 8-foot tides but work only in dry weather
• Payroll moves to finance through a cost-neutral staffing change, approved 4-0

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Town Opens Its Wallet for Private Pipes

The basics: Many Tiburon storm drains and culverts sit on private land. Owners are responsible for maintaining them, and the town has no inventory of them. When they fail, the damage can spill onto public roads and neighboring properties.

Why it matters: The new Drainage Assistance Pilot Program is the town's first financial incentive to get those repairs done before storms hit. Until now, the town's main option has been enforcement after something breaks.

Where things stand: Patrick Kerslake, Public Works Operations and Technology Manager, presented the program. It is modeled on a County of Marin program and funded with $100,000 from the Streets and Drainage Reserve Fund through a FY2027 budget amendment. The program covers:

• Who can apply: property owners, homeowners associations and neighbors applying jointly
• What it pays: reimbursement of up to 50% of eligible repairs, capped at $25,000
• Conditions: a public-benefit test, a six-step process and hold-harmless agreements approved by the town attorney
• Emergency work: reimbursable under set conditions
• Evaluation: staff will track metrics and return with a recommendation before the pilot ends

Mayor Welner pressed staff on eligibility. "We want to make sure that the projects that get approved for this limited pilot program would be those that have significant impact on the public," said Jon Welner, Mayor. Kerslake agreed that a project limited to a single property, with no demonstrated public benefit, would not qualify.

Town Attorney Benjamin Stock explained why the town is trying incentives. "Nuisance abatement is not necessarily the most useful tool when you're in a position of going after someone after the fact," said Benjamin Stock, Town Attorney. He added that abatement remains available but cannot be promised by contract.

When Neighbors Won't Pay

The other side: The only public commenter showed where the pilot may fall short. Daniel First, a Hillary Drive resident, described a failing line on an easement between Hillary Drive and Hawthorne that ties into the public storm drain. Two neighbors will not pay, and a third disputes how costs should be split. "We are at a total impasse and cannot move forward unless the town or some other entity gets involved," said First, a public commenter. Citing El Niño risk, he asked the town to manage the effort as it did with utility undergrounding, or at least to send a letter urging repairs.

Stock said enforcement against holdouts is routine, if difficult. "And it's hard, but cities do it all the time," he said. One councilmember suggested a toolkit for residents facing similar disputes. Another went further: "We might want to consider sort of paying for an assessment engineer to at least give a 40,000-foot opinion on what the right division of costs is," said a councilmember.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The council approved the pilot by roll call. Another councilmember called it "an excellent program," citing protection of public infrastructure. Homeowners and HOAs with failing shared culverts gain a partial funding source. Public Works gains a tool to head off road damage. Multi-owner disputes like First's remain unresolved, and the council flagged them for possible follow-up.

• Vote: For: 5 (Fredericks, Ryan, Thier, Nikfar, Welner), Against: 0, Absent: 0. Councilmember Holli Thier was recorded absent on the two earlier votes, and no arrival was announced, so the official minutes should confirm the final tally.

What's next: The pilot runs 12 months. Staff will report back with evaluation results and a recommendation before it ends.

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Parks Push Hits a $2.9M Question

Why it matters: The parks program carries out the town's Parks and Recreation and Open Space Master Plan, a top priority for Mayor Welner. "One of the 3 priorities that I announced at the beginning of this year was to really make an impact and a change with regard to what we have going on with the parks," he said. Several projects return to the council for 100% plan approval in early 2027.

Where things stand: Staff traced the timeline from the January 2025 master plan through council direction on final design in March 2026. Status by site:

• Bel Air: W.R. Ford won the $812,363 construction contract. Work began Oct. 5 and should finish by early December, weather permitting.
• Cypress Hollow: scaled from a $2.3M concept to about $1.2M. The plan now focuses on ADA access and on rebuilding the three existing play structures within their current footprint. A community survey closes Nov. 9, and the Parks, Open Space and Trails (POST) Commission reviews the findings in December.
• Belveron Mini Park: design is on hold at POST's direction because of low resident enthusiasm. A two-phase plan is in place.

The big-ticket site: The Richardson Bay Sanitary District (RBSD) pond park came in at $2,912,335 at 60% plans. "No, the cost has always been between $2.5 million and $3.5 million," said David Ishu, town staff. Staff said the cost is unlikely to drop below $2.5M. Asked whether the project could be broken into phases for bidding, Ishu said no: "The design is really integrated." A separate PEI design project will address cyclist routes.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The council took no vote and gave positive feedback. POST's new fundraising subcommittee will work with Parents for Parks, and council members urged residents to donate. "This is something that touches every part of the community, every age from young to not so young," said Isaac Nikfar, Vice Mayor.

What's next: Council members said decisions on long-term funding and donor recognition must come early in 2027. "Pretty soon in 2027, we need to have discussions on the council about funding finances, like long-term planning and how this fits within it," said a councilmember.

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Flood Defenses Hold, for Now

Why it matters: Tiburon remains under an emergency condition ahead of El Niño storms. Staff conceded that some recent flooding remains unexplained. "We had flooding about 3 Sundays ago that surprised everybody," said Greg Chanis, Town Manager.

Where things stand: Kerslake reported that plywood containment boxes around Beach Road inlets held back water during tides of about 8 feet. "The one caveat is this is something that works during dry weather," he said.

Other preparations include:

• About 5,000 empty sandbags staged for residents
• Smoke testing on Beach Road at low tide on Friday, Nov. 6
• Rehabilitation of about 10 storm drain lines
• Vegetation removal in the railroad marsh
• Weekly coordination among Tiburon, Belvedere and the fire district
• A warm Emergency Operations Center and a newly filled Public Works vacancy

In response to questions from Vice Mayor Nikfar, staff described coordination with Marin County Flood Control Zone 4 and flap gates on low-lying outfalls. Staff also said the town's 2008 storm drain master plan is being updated through field mobile devices.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Downtown businesses and Beach Road–area residents have partial, weather-dependent protection. The source of recent flooding is still under investigation.

What's next: Staff will give another flood update at the next meeting.

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Payroll Shifts to Finance at No Added Cost

The council adopted a resolution converting a vacant HR/payroll technician position into a principal/senior accountant in the administrative services department. The change followed a review by Rogers Anderson Malody and Scott, the accounting firm the town hired in July 2026 to help with accounting and audits. The firm's review prompted moving payroll out of HR to strengthen internal controls.

"We're not asking for any new FTEs as part of this recommendation. Nor are we asking for a budget amendment," said Chanis. There were no council questions and no public comment.

• Vote: For: 4 (Fredericks, Ryan, Nikfar, Welner), Against: 0, Absent: 1 (Thier)

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Minor Items

• Consent calendar adopted with no items pulled. For: 4 (Fredericks, Ryan, Nikfar, Welner), Against: 0, Absent: 1 (Thier).
• No speakers came forward during public comment on non-agenda items.

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Looking Ahead

A councilmember invited residents to the Diwali Tiburon celebration at Zilinski Park on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m.