Wolff resigns as town manager, investigation into closed sessions stalls

Corte Madera's government changed hands this week with the news, made official at a marathon September 1 meeting, that Town Manager Adam Wolff is out. Council voted 4-1 (Beckman opposed) to accept his resignation and appoint Adam Politzer as Interim Town Manager effective September 23, approving Politzer's employment agreement in the same motion. Wolff addressed the Council and community, thanking them for support during his tenure and endorsing Politzer as his successor.

Before that vote, Council approved a Second Amendment to Wolff's own employment agreement 4-0-1 (Beckman abstaining), granting him nine months of severance if terminated without cause, up to nine months of continued health benefits, and a $2,500 lump-sum payment covering attorney's fees from negotiating the deal. Town Attorney Richard Pio Roda gave the legally required oral summary of the compensation changes and called the arrangement a negotiated settlement.

What didn't get resolved: a resolution to hire A.W. Blan Workplace Legal Services for an independent investigation into closed-session matters from May 20 and August 11, 2026 — plus a Brown Act waiver letting attendees discuss those sessions with the investigator — stalled after a motion to extend the meeting to 10:30 p.m. failed 3-2 (Andrews and Ravasio opposed), one vote short of the unanimity required. The $10,000-to-$12,000 item got no public comment before the gavel fell, even though nine residents, including Brenda Brown, Judith Creasy, Tracy Lauterman and David Macpherson, had already spoken earlier in the evening on closed-session matters.

A separate closed session held before the public meeting covered anticipated litigation — which Pio Roda clarified was a code enforcement matter unrelated to employment — and the Town Manager's performance evaluation, on which Council reported no reportable action but said direction was given to staff, with more details expected later. The investigation item now carries over to a future meeting, unresolved.

Families plead to reinstate recreation programs for disabled adults

Ahead of Monday's Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, the Town was flooded with letters and emails after word spread that REC Inc. programs for adults with developmental disabilities had been postponed or cancelled. The affected activities — the Third Friday Dance, Fourth Friday Party Events, and basketball and game nights — have run at the Community Center for more than three decades, commenters said, and at least one event was cancelled with no notice at all.

“These 6 boys came and saw me on Monday this week to let me know they showed up for the September dance and that clients were there too, but that everyone was just standing around outside because the lights were off and the doors were locked at the community center. No one was notified that the event was cancelled and they still haven't received any information regarding what is happening.”— Sally Jaeger, Marin Catholic High School Campus Ministry

The letters described real distress. Karen Emery wrote that she and her 21-year-old son Leon were "distraught" at word the dances were ending, while Diane Panagotacos said she was "shocked" to learn programs for her son Jason had been postponed. Participant Michaela Baird put it starkly: losing the Third Friday Dance and Fourth Friday Party would mean losing one of the only places she sees old friends and mingles with local students outside sports games.

Nancy Dow Moody, president and CEO of Lifehouse, urged the Town to reinstate the programs and to lean on outgoing staff member Erin Duggan's institutional knowledge as the recreation department hands them to new staff. Monday's published agenda carries no formal action item on REC Inc., so it is unclear whether commissioners will respond directly — but the volume and pain in the public comment puts real pressure on staff to explain what happened and what comes next.

Bike group warns Caltrans crosswalk design puts pedestrians at risk

Walk Bike Marin's Tamalpais Drive committee, WTB-TAM, followed up in writing on public comment its leaders gave at the September 15 Town Council meeting, laying out specific objections to Caltrans's 95%-design plans for the Tamalpais Drive/Highway 101 interchange project. The letter, from Planning Director Matthew Hartzell and President Patrick Seidler, zeroes in on the new crosswalk that would connect pedestrians and transit riders to the relocated southbound bus stop across the onramp.

“This project is something Corte Madera will live with for the next 50 years. It is essential that we get it right now and do not build something we regret.”— Matthew Hartzell and Patrick Seidler, WTB-TAM

The group flags three concrete safety problems: signal phasing that lets vehicles entering the onramp and pedestrians crossing it get a green light at the same time, crosswalk geometry so skewed that drivers and walkers have poor sightlines to each other, and a sweeping 150-foot curb radius the letter says invites cars to swing into the onramp at speed right through the crossing.

WTB-TAM wants the Town to invite Caltrans to present its latest designs at an upcoming Council meeting so officials and residents can weigh in before anything is finalized. Proposed fixes include a NO RIGHT TURN blankout sign or red arrow, a pedestrian-activated "PEDS IN X-WALK" lighted sign, reorienting the crosswalk to a 90-degree angle against the onramp, and tightening the curb radius. The group notes that many workers at the Town's two big shopping centers commute by bus, and the stop in question is, in its words, one of the most-used in the county.