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CONSENT AGENDA. From the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors regular meeting on Tuesday, December 9th, 2025 at 9:00am, as a hybrid meeting with remote comment.
Agenda. Staff Report for Item #45: “Adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the agreement with Action Towing to provide auto towing and storage services, extending the term for an additional six months through June 30, 2026, and increasing the amount by $50,000 to an amount not to exceed $249,000.”
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Kenneth Binder, Sheriff
Subject: Amendment to the Agreement with Action Towing for auto towing and storage services
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the agreement with Action Towing to provide auto towing and storage services, extending the term for an additional six months through June 30, 2026, and increasing the amount by $50,000 to an amount not to exceed $249,000.
BACKGROUND
In January 2022, the Sheriff’s Office entered into an agreement with Action Towing for auto towing and storage services for seized vehicles held for evidence related to criminal investigations. This allowed for removal of vehicles at the San Francisco International Airport and in San Carlos, Half Moon Bay, and Millbrae through June 2023. Amendments to the agreement increased the contract amount from $90,000 to $199,000 and extended the term through December 2025, allowing for continued service to include the San Mateo County Coastside.
There has been a noticeable increase in the number of RVs along the San Mateo County Coastside. Many of these vehicles are inoperable, do not meet basic living standards, and improperly discharge contaminated water into streets, storm drains, and nearby waterways. The growing presence has created an increasing need for the removal, storage, and potential disposal of RVs. However, these vehicles are significantly more costly to tow, store, and dispose of due to their size, weight, and the hazardous materials they often contain.
DISCUSSION
The agreement with Action Towing expires December 31, 2025. An amendment to extend the term for an additional six months, through June 30, 2026, and increase the amount by $50,000 to an amount not to exceed $249,000 will ensure continuity of services and allow the Sheriff’s Office sufficient time to complete a Request for Proposals (RFP). Additionally, a revised scope of services will include up to 90 days storage for RVs that were occupied at the time of towing, allowing occupants sufficient time to retrieve personal belongings.
The County Attorney has reviewed and approved the amendment and resolution as to form.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE
| Measure | FY 2025-26 Estimated |
| Percentage of vehicles vetted for removal that are towed | 75% |
COMMUNITY IMPACT
Approval of this amendment will support the continued removal, storage, and appropriate disposal of inoperable and substandard vehicles, including RVs, along the San Mateo County Coastside. These efforts will enhance public health and safety, reduce environmental contamination, and improve quality of life in affected communities. The provision of extended storage for occupied RVs demonstrates a compassionate approach by providing occupants with adequate time to retrieve personal belongings
FISCAL IMPACT
The term of the amended agreement is January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2026. This amendment extends the term for an additional six months and increases the contract amount by $50,000 to an amount not to exceed $249,000. The cost of this increase will be funded by the County Executive’s Office.
Author: mdrag
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I still crab out of HMB. I used to live there, too. Offshore. In a fully operational boat. For almost twenty years I worked in the fisheries. Between catching and processing I have handled over a million pounds of seafood. I was a phone call and twenty minutes away if a boat came in at two AM. I also crabbed for 18 years every winter. I was a wharf rat: always scavenging for a job in the harbor when I wasn’t fishing: splicing ropes, processing fish, sanding and varnishing… And when I wasn’t working I was among friends. We spent our money in the local eateries, pubs, groceries, and shops. I drank more than I do now back then, and almost everyone in labor smoked pot. I was no exception. I lived in a world that came almost straight out of the pages of Cannery Row. I knew it, too. All of us who lived in the outer harbor knew we had it good. Our regular employers issued us a key to the harbor showers and laundry. We did not tolerate thieves. Drug addicts did not last long either, but it was always a show and a mess we would all pitch in to clean up. We had a sense of community.
Gradually things began to change. The old harbormaster who had been a local commercial fisherman was replaced by the harbor commission with someone no one had ever heard of. Someone in politics was quoted in the papers saying there were drugs in the outer harbor. There were a bunch of hard working autistic people who smoked pot and drank beer out there, but hard drugs don’t work with the lifestyle. Time went by. It became more difficult to obtain a key to the showers and the coin operated laundry facility. The nice showers got remodeled into a cinderblock affair with no bench or hooks and a brushed concrete floor. Eventually they got painted. A divider was never installed. We brought plastic chairs in so we could put our clothes somewhere and sit down to put on our socks. Eventually this, too would be deemed too civilized for us and unsightly for the rest.
Time went by. The term “anchor out” got imported from Richardson Bay. Rents were imposed on using your own mooring tackle on the seafloor on federal waters. This was against the laws set forth by the department of boating and waterways. None of us could afford a lawyer. The powers that be that wanted us gone for the sake of “progress” knew this. Then paying rent did not include access to showers, parking, or laundry anymore. Being in these facilities was now trespassing. Meanwhile the tourists got a beautifully remodeled bathroom and defecated outside the toilet every day and trashed the rest of it. The oppression settled like a woolen blanket. Many of us, formerly proud, employed, and respected members of our community fell to homelessness when they lost their boats. The rent kept us from buying new chain. Maintaining our boats. It kept increasing as job opportunities decreased. Boats broke loose in winter storms as a result. One year was particularly bad. We were labelled as irresponsible now. And addicts. New ordinances were written. My wife and I prepared our boat and left for Santa Cruz.
Being treated like a respectable human being again was a shock.
I have a growing boat mechanic business now that pays the bills and my wife and I still spend summers anchored offshore. The showers are lovely.
Thank you Joshua for that honest history.