San Mateo Park

NEED AN ISLAND GETAWAY?

It's Yours for Volunteering…

We need lots of volunteers: one for every island in the Park. Look at the island near you.  It is not getting the maintenance or attention it used to.  And much as we continue to lobby for our share of the City's service budget, it’s a fact of life that the Parks Department has less money to spend everywhere in San Mateo.  So we have ongoing needs for volunteers, people who live in the Park, to monitor our islands.

 If you agree to "adopt" the island nearest you, we'll ask you to submit a brief "work request" when you see something that you believe should be taken care of by the Parks Department.  We'll review, prioritize and coordinate these requests with the Parks Dept. supervisor responsible for this neighborhood, and try to see that our needs are being addressed as expeditiously as possible.  If your island is irrigated and has new trees that need water, we'll establish a water allocation and ask you to organize your neighbors to do the watering.  You might take the initiative and organize an annual "island getaway" to do a little cleanup and (why not?) have a picnic while you're there!  It's not a lot, but it makes a difference.

With the right spirit and a small commitment of time, this job can be fun.  And we will get the most out of the City's maintenance service in the Park, as well as improve our islands' appearances, if we have a watchful core of volunteers.  Don't let "your" island be an orphan!  To volunteer, call Sue Lloyd at 347-6871. 

Orphan Islands Need Park Volunteers
A few Island Representatives are still needed.  The work is not arduous and it helps keep the neighborhood looking good if there is someone looking out for an island.  Call Board member, Sue Lloyd, at 347-6871 for further information.

Illegal Dumping on Our Islands
From time to time, people illegally dump soil and chippings on our islands.  We think this is done by gardeners or others working on construction/landscaping projects who want to avoid the fees for proper disposal.  We suspect it is done during the night.  Please keep a look out for these people and try to get their license plate number, or you can call the police.  These dumpings have caused an enormous amount of extra work for the City Parks Dept., which we could better use on much needed maintenance and improvement projects for our islands.  Also, too much mulch that often is of poor quality can be bad for the trees’ roots.

What Does an Island Rep Do?

In general, an Island Rep is a representative of the San Mateo Park Association who looks out for the physical welfare of a specific island within San Mateo Park that is owned by the City and an adjacent landscaped area on which the City has a right of way. City-owned property includes: the 62 landscaped "islands" scattered throughout the streets, the sidewalk right of way areas which range in width from 8 feet to 12 feet from the street curb edge inward to the homeowners' lot, and the majority of landscaping materials on them.

Current Island Reps and Orphan Islands