City Manager Weekly Update - June 3, 2016
Assistant City Manager
Upcoming Community Meetings on Aircraft Noise
There will be a Community Meeting on aircraft noise this Saturday, June 4, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Town of Los Altos Hills Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022. The meeting will be hosted by Los Altos Hills Vice Chair and Select Committee member Gary Waldeck. The purpose of this meeting is to update the public on actions to curb the jet noise problem. The agenda includes discussion of feedback from the Select Committee's May 25, 2016 meeting in Santa Cruz, CA, the technical advisory review meeting held May 26, 2016, and findings of aviation consultants hired by the city of Palo Alto and other affected communities. The Select Committee was appointed by Congressmembers Eshoo, Farr and Speier and is comprised of elected officials from many the affected localities. Additional information on the Select Committee is available on Congressmember Eshoo’s website.
REMINDER: The meeting scheduled on Saturday, June 11, 2016 has been CANCELLED. This decision follows recognition of the numerous community meetings on aircraft noise held in Los Altos in May and the various meetings scheduled in June.
Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority (BCJPIA) Receives Re-accreditation with Excellence
The City of Los Altos is a member of BCJPIA (Authority), an association created in 1986 to provide cost-effective, fiscally sound liability, property, and other lines of coverage for its twenty-one member agencies. The Authority has met all of the high professional standards established by the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities (CAJPA) in the areas of governance, finance, claims control, safety and loss prevention, excess coverage, and risk management. CAJPA's accreditation process requires reviews by independent consultants in all of these areas including the areas of accounting, claims adjusting, and actuarial analysis. The Authority is proud to have held the highest designation possible since June 28, 1999: "Accredited with Excellence." The award plaque was received on June 2, 2016, and is proudly on display in Los Altos City Hall.
The City is proud to be a member of the Authority and to have staff serve as a member of the Authority’s Executive Committee and as Chairperson on the Safety and Loss Prevention Committee. Los Altos is one of two agencies that scored 100% for best practices over the last two years as a member in the Authority.
Community Development
A New Inspector
The City will soon welcome a new inspector to the Building Division. Veronica Tinoco will join the City in June as a Building Inspector, and the Building Division will once again have a full complement of inspectors. Veronica is presently with the City of Palo Alto, where she serves as a permit technician. She has a great deal of customer service experience and is knowledgeable in a full array of Building Division functions. The Building Division staff is looking forward to her starting and will be ready to show her around Los Altos and introduce her to the homeowners and contractors she will be working with on a daily basis. Welcome, Veronica!
A Better Way
In addition to the lumber, building a house requires nearly a forest of paper. There are the plans, construction details, engineering calculations, and permits, among other things, that must be kept and at the ready for review during the course of the construction project. In addition, tracking the approvals, conditions, and inspections that are a key component of every development project is important in order to ensure a project is built as approved. The members of the Community Development Department are assisted by software that helps them manage all the paperwork and key steps needed over the course of a development project. As our current permit tracking is becoming dated and unsupported, staff has started evaluating new software that will provide a better way to manage and track development projects as they move through the review process. It is expected that the new software will allow projects to be managed more efficiently and provide benefits to the community, such as being able to submit permit applications online.
Police
New Traffic Signs Downtown
The Police Department is responding to ongoing reports of illegal U-turns and drivers crossing over double solid yellow lines on Main Street downtown. Officers have been enforcing this law as well as others while providing ongoing traffic enforcement in the area. In addition, the Police Department and Maintenance crews have coordinated the installation of new traffic signs on Main Street, which alert drivers that they are prohibited from crossing double solid yellow lines. Many drivers who have been cited for this infraction have stated there were not aware of the law. These new signs will reinforce the law while following the 3 E’s of traffic safety; Engineering, Education and Enforcement.
Congratulations to the Class of 2016
Los Altos Police Officers will be attending the Los Altos High School graduation ceremony this afternoon to ensure the safety of the event and all its attendees. Congratulations to each of the graduates and their families! As graduation celebrations are being planned, we also want to take this opportunity to share some safety tips for parents and teens:
Graduation Safety Tips For Parents:
- Require adult supervision at every celebration your child attends and gather contact numbers for the supervising adult, and accompanying friends, at the event.
- Know who will be driving your child to and from the party.
- Remind your child that, under any circumstance, you will be there to pick them up or help them.
- Ask questions and keep in contact with your child while they are out.
- Set a curfew and give your child rules that they must follow.
- Have an itinerary for the day/night events.
- Have a phone tree in place for emergencies.
Graduation Safety Tips For Graduates:
- Be responsible.
- Never drink and drive! Or get in the car with anyone under the influence.
- Wear your seatbelt.
- Do not text and drive.
- Remember you can always say “no” and you do not have to do anything you do not want to do.
- Watch out for your friends and have them do the same for you.
- Update your parents if your plans change.
- Never be afraid to call 9-1-1 - we’re here whenever you need us.
Underage Drinking
Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about the dangers of underage drinking. Underage drinkers are more likely to involve themselves in unsafe behavior and become a victim of a crime due to vulnerability. Alcohol impairs judgment, affects physical coordination, and may result in poor decision-making, such as driving under the influence or getting into a vehicle with someone else who has been drinking.
Curfew
Parents and young people are also reminded that the City’s curfew law will be enforced for those under the age of 18, between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. (LAMC 7.20.010 - Loitering by minors). Our experience has shown us that children who are on the street after curfew are more likely to become victims of violent crime, and are also more likely to become involved in criminal behavior. We are reminding parents that it is important to know where their children are at all times, and to ensure they get home safely before curfew.
Public Works
Grant Park Community Center Exterior Painting
Engineering also issued a bid for the Grant Park Community Center Exterior Painting (CF-01008). The project will patch, repair and re-paint the exterior walls, doors and trim of the Grant Park Community Center multipurpose room and classroom buildings.
Annual Street Striping
Engineering issued a bid for the Annual Street Striping Project (TS-01003). The project will refresh roadway striping and pavement markings throughout the City. Visibility of pavement markings is important in preventing traffic accidents.
Google Fiber
Earlier this week, City staff spoke with Jenna Wandres from Google Fiber to explore the possibility of expansion of Google Fiber into the City of Los Altos. Jenna is Google’s Project Expansion lead for the Bay Area. Currently, Google is focusing its expansion efforts only in the cities they have announced; Bay Area cities include Mountain View, San Francisco and San Jose. Google Fiber has a five-step approach to its expansion process. The steps include exploration, design, construction, sign up, and installation. Once each city’s installation is complete, Google seeks to possibly expand its operations to surrounding communities and uses Kansas City as an example of these efforts.
Google Fiber’s partnership with the City of Mountain View is reaching completion of the exploration and design steps and soon hopes to transition into construction. No timeline was provided for an estimated completion date. There may be opportunities in the future to build off of the Mountain View network to provide Google Fiber to the City of Los Altos. Staff will check back with Google Fiber over the upcoming months for updates on the projects.
Recreation & Community Services
Speaker Series
The City of Los Altos Parks and Recreation Commission will present another event in their speaker series on Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. in Hillview Community Center Room 12. The event will feature Dr. Anne Ferguson, Ph.D., MBA, who is the Founder and Executive Director of Bay Area Older Adults (BOA), a nonprofit organization that promotes the health and wellness of older adults in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her presentation will cover a variety of outdoors activities for older adults in Los Altos parks, other local parks and gardens, as well as organizations that offer outdoor activities for Santa Clara County residents. Admission is free!
Coffee and Music on the Patio
The Senior Program will be offering complimentary Coffee and Music on The Patio on Friday, June 10, 2016 from 10:00 a.m.to 12:00 p.m. Take a break from a class or activities to enjoy coffee and refreshments with your friends and colleagues on the Hillview Community Center Senior Program patio! Young musicians will drop-in to play their instrument of choice from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Summer Activity Guide
If you haven’t already received your Summer 2016 Activity Guide in the mail, keep an eye out because it should arrive any day now! The initial distribution of the Summer 2016 Activity Guide has been completed. This includes in-home mailing and providing copies to all City facilities and several parks. Distribution also includes all public and private elementary and junior high schools in Los Altos, and Los Altos realtor offices. Follow up distribution will continue throughout the Summer. We hope you’ll take advantage of some our amazing course offerings for youth, adults and seniors!
Summer Concert Series
Recreation & Community Services staff are working to get the word out about the upcoming Summer Concert series. Ads have been placed in the Los Altos Town Crier and posters are being distributed to all City facilities, several parks and all seven Los Altos shopping districts. The first concert of the series will take place on Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at Grant Park featuring The Houserockers.
Volunteers Needed
The Recreation & Community Services Department is assisting the Los Altos Community Foundation in finding volunteers for the 15th Annual Glorious Fourth Celebration at Shoup Park. The event will be held on Monday, July 4, 2016 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Our Volunteer Coordinator, Barbara Smith is reaching out to all active volunteers in the Department’s database and has publicized the recruitment along with regular active volunteer recruitments which include:
- City Hall Lunch Relief - Thursdays
- Senior Center Front Desk Receptionist
- Senior Center Friday Luncheons, Dinner & Music on the Patio and Summer BBQs
- Various group opportunities
Our Volunteer Coordinator is also working to provide volunteers to serve as “Bike Valets” for the Valet Café Ride event which is sponsored by Economic Development Manager, Jennifer Quinn. The event will take place on Saturday, June 11, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Valet stations will be located in front of Starbucks, Bumble, Voyageur du Temps and Red Berry Coffee.
If interested in any of these volunteer opportunities, please contact Barbara Smith at (650) 947-2897 or bsmith@losaltosca.gov.
