City Manager Weekly Update - December 16, 2016

City Clerk

City Council Election
On November 8th, the City conducted an election for three seats on the City Council. The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters has counted those ballots cast in the election. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors implemented a pilot program for this election in which ballots would be re-counted automatically if an election fell within certain parameters. Ten races total, including the Los Altos City Council election, met the threshold and the Registrar of Voters has been recounting the ballots cast in those elections. Due to the high number of races involved, the recount has taken longer than expected. As such, it was determined by members of the City Council that the most prudent course of action would be to delay the City Council reorganization meeting scheduled for December 13th until after the final outcome is determined. The Registrar of Voters has indicated that results of the recount will begin to be released the week of December 19th, but has not stated when the Los Altos results will be available.

Fiscal Year 2015/16 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
The City’s independent auditor, Maze and Associates, has completed the audit of the City’s financial statements and provided their auditor reports for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2016. The City’s financial statements have been prepared in the form of a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The CAFR may be reviewed online.

Vote for Your Favorite Artistic Bicycle Rack Design Submission
Don’t forget to vote for your favorite artistic bicycle rack design submissions! You may view each of the submissions and vote for your top four favorites right from your computer, smart phone or tablet.

Assistant City Manager

Preparation Underway for Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) Power in Los Altos
SVCE, a newly formed non-profit agency, will be purchasing and delivering electric power to Los Altos residents and commercial establishments that is greener, cleaner and 100% carbon-free at rates below PG&E. PG&E will continue to deliver the electricity over existing power lines as well as administer monthly bills and provide customer service.

In spring 2017, residents and businesses can choose between SVCE’s cleaner, greener electricity options. GreenStart will be automatically delivered as the default power to homes and businesses and is 100% greenhouse gas free with 50% renewable energy and 50% hydroelectric energy. The opt-up choice is GreenPrime and is 3-15% above GreenStart costs. GreenPrime is 100% greenhouse gas free with 100% renewable energy. With either option, SVCE electricity rates to users will remain the same until at least January 2019.

Because SVCE is a non-profit agency, revenues will be reinvested to develop more local energy sources. These investments will create local jobs and foster economic development. Silicon Valley already has local solar installations and has great potential to develop additional local solar and wind energy. SVCE will develop local programs which may include buying solar power from customers and offering new energy efficiency services. SVCE will be completely funded by program revenue and not by taxes or city or county general funds.

Next steps for SVCE

Launch SVCE services
Finalize energy service contracts
Ramp-up operations and communications to the public
Set electricity rates and send notices to users
Commence service for customers

Meanwhile, stay tuned for weekly news about SVCE in the City Managers Weekly Update.

Community Development

Building Code Changes
As another reminder, the effective date of the new 2016 California Building Codes is January 1, 2017. Applications submitted to the Building Division after January 1, 2017 must comply with the new 2016 California Building Codes.

Draeger’s Market Renovation Moves Closer to a Start
Draeger’s Market at 342 First Street, which was approved for a renovation and expansion in July of 2015, is in the process of submitting for its building permit. The owner is seeking a phased approach to the project in order to keep the store open for business during construction, but a schedule for the project has not yet been shared with the City.

Downtown Vision Webpage Taking Shape
City staff and the consultant team held a meeting this week on the development of a webpage for the Downtown Vision effort. The intent of the webpage is to provide the community with a convenient location where information and updates on the Downtown Vision effort can be found. In addition, the website will provide the community with a venue where it can participate and provide input and ideas on the Downtown’s future. The webpage is expected to go live in early January of 2017.

Police

Promotional Ceremony
On December 15, a ceremony was held at the Los Altos Youth Center to honor the department’s recent hires and promotions. Officer Christopher Robinson was sworn in as our newest Police Officer. He joins us from the San Francisco Police Department and has also served in the U.S. Navy. Amanda Pitman has worked for the City for eleven years as a Communications Officer and tactical dispatcher. Amanda was recently selected as our new Community Service Officer and will be in charge of Crime Prevention and Code Enforcement.

Darren Michalek was promoted to the rank of Police Agent. He has sixteen years of police experience, including time with BART Police and the San Jose Police Department. Liz Checke achieved the rank of Police Sergeant. With over seventeen years in law enforcement at San Jose and Los Altos, Liz has worked a variety of assignments including the Homicide Unit and Traffic Investigations. Steve Spillman was promoted to the rank of Sergeant as well. Steve has over eighteen years of experience, and was recently selected for the department’s SWAT team.

Also honored and sworn in was the new Chief of Police, Andy Galea. He has worked in Law Enforcement for thirty eight years and has worked in too many units to name! Chief Galea served as the Captain of Operations for the Los Altos Police Department for the past seven years and has been responsible for Patrol, Traffic, Investigations, Code Enforcement, Crime Prevention, School Resource, Canine, SWAT and the Reserves.

The Los Altos Police Department would like to thank all the City employees, families, friends, and colleagues who came out to support us at the ceremony. Also, we wish Tuck Younis all the best in his retirement. He has served the community as Chief for nine years with integrity and professionalism. Thank you for all you have done for the Police Department and the City of Los Altos.

Public Works

Downtown Sidewalk Power Washing
A contractor was retained to power wash sidewalks in the downtown core area. The work will be performed at night beginning at 10:00 p.m. for approximately 4 hours and it is anticipated the work will take five to seven nights to complete, weather permitting. Recycled water will be used and the wastewater will be collected. The contractor started on State Street from First Street towards San Antonio Road this week and plans to resume work as soon as weather allows.

Preparing for the Storm
With a significant storm predicted for this week, crews from different groups of our Maintenance Services Division worked together to prepare for the storm. Activities included checking equipment for storm response, removing dead trees, cleaning drain inlets, and preparing more flood prone buildings. For tips on how you can best prepare for the stormy season, view our storm prep tips.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements Updates
Engineering staff has been working on several pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects which are in various stages of completion. These projects include: