City Manager Weekly Update - May 27, 2016
New Agenda Report Format
With the assistance of City Clerk/Assistant to the City Manager Jon Maginot, we are updating the format of City Council agenda reports. The goal is to provide greater focus to the policy issue(s) that need to be addressed by the City Council. It is our hope that this will also assist community members engage staff and Council by providing a brief summary and purpose statement that individuals can address when they provide written or oral testimony. After the next agenda is posted, please let us know your thoughts on the new format.
Downtown Buildings Committee (DBC) Report
Community Development Director Jon Biggs has prepared a summary of the actions/direction provided by the City Council with regards to the DBC report.
FY 2016/17 Budget
Based on direction from the City Council regarding the prioritization of the design of the First Street Streetscape (Main Street to San Antonio Road), staff is preparing possible changes to the FY 2016/17 Budget and Capital Improvement Plan. Any necessary changes will be included in the Budget discussions scheduled for June 14, 2016.
Valet Café Rides
The City is excited to introduce a pilot program called Valet Café Rides. On Saturday, June 11, 2016 between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., the City will host free valet bike stations in front of several downtown businesses. The bike valet stations will be supervised by volunteers who will keep an eye on the bikes so cyclists can patron businesses worry-free. So if you’re out for a ride, stop and enjoy all of the great amenities downtown merchants have to offer. Stations will be located in front of Red Berry Coffee, Voyageur de Temps, Starbucks and Bumble.
Assistant City Manager
Los Altos Student Appointed to Air Force Academy by Congressmember Eshoo
The United States Air Force Academy will welcome Los Altos High School and Greystone Preparatory School graduate Dylan Zorn to the class of 2020. Mr. Zorn successfully completed a stringent selection process in order to obtain a congressional nomination and an offer of appointment from the academies’ admission offices. Selection criteria included excellence in academics, athletic abilities and demonstration of strong leadership characteristics necessary to lead the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. Mr. Zorn will represent the appointment of the 18th Congressional District at the Air Force Academy located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Staff from the City of Los Altos was honored to attend the appointment ceremony and reception that was held at Moffett Federal Airfield in Hanger 4, home to the 129th Rescue Wing.
Aircraft Noise Highlights
The Los Altos community, Councilmember and Select Committee alternate member Jean Mordo and City staff are hard at work in efforts to involve local communities and noise groups in meetings to discuss the recently released (May 16, 2016) Federal Aviation Administration Initiative feasibility study to address noise concerns of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco Counties that was compiled at the request of Congressmembers Eshoo, Farr and Speier.
Upcoming Community Meetings on Aircraft Noise
- 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. Hosted by Los Altos Hills Vice Chair and Select Committee member Gary Waldeck.
- UPDATE 6/3/16 - The Saturday, June 11, 2016 meeting in Los Altos has been CANCELLED
The purpose of each meeting is to provide an update on current activities and actions being taken to curb the aircraft noise problem. The agendas include 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 impacted communities. The Select Committee was appointed by Congressmembers Eshoo, Farr and Speier and is comprised of elected officials from many the affected jurisdictions. Additional information on the Select Committee is available on Congressmember Eschoo’s website.
Working session of the Select Committee, noise groups and community members will be held on:
- Wednesday, June 15, 2016 – 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. – Location: San Mateo County (exact location TBD)
- Wednesday, June 29, 2016 – 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. – Location: Santa Clara County (exact location TBD)
For more information regarding this topic including presentation materials provided at past community meetings and information about how you can get involved in the aircraft noise discussions, visit the City website.
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
The City Council was pleased to recognize the Los Altos CERT group for recently receiving the CADRE (Collaborating Agencies Disaster Relief Effort) 2016 Excellence in Preparedness Award for its outstanding contributions to community preparedness and whole community resiliency. This award is a great example of our community's dedication to volunteerism and the collaboration between Los Altos CERT, the Los Altos Police Department and Santa Clara County Fire Department. For more information about emergency preparedness in Los Altos, visit the City website.
CERT Refresher Training
Santa Clara County Fire Department (SCCFD) Community Education Services staff hosted a meeting on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, to determine training priorities and CERT needs based on the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) CERT curriculum. The meeting objective was to prioritize key components to build a CERT Refresher program to be offered by SCCFD to CERT volunteers. SCCFD offers currently offers training for community volunteers interested in becoming CERT certified; this additional CERT program will offer refresher training to those already certified.
SCCFD also offers a half day program in Personal Emergency Preparedness (PEP) at convenient to reach City facility locations. PEP class information is available online at losaltosca.gov/PEP.
Community Development
Mixed Use Project Downtown Nears Completion
The mixed-use development at 86 Third Street, which includes 20 residential condominium units, five office units and one level of underground parking, is nearing completion. Much of the building and site work has now been completed, with the landscaping, street trees and final architectural details, including several large metal trellis elements, currently being installed. New trees include seven Chinese Pistache trees along Third Street, nine Crape Myrtle trees along the perimeter of Parking Plaza 8 and a 36-inch box specimen Deodar Cedar tree on the southwest corner of the project adjacent to Parking Plaza 8. Occupancy of the residential units should begin in the next month and tenant improvements for the offices have begun. Of the five office units, one will be occupied by an insurance broker, another will be occupied by a dermatologist and three will be combined and occupied by a dental office. If everything goes according to plan, the exterior of the building and the residential portion of the project should be completed within the next two months.
Loyola Corners Specific Plan
A Community Conversation regarding the Loyola Corners Specific Plan was held on Thursday, May 26, 2016 at Tom’s Depot in the heart of Loyola Corners. The event provided an opportunity for the community to share their thoughts and hear other’s ideas about how the City could best update the Specific Plan for the commercial district. The feedback gathered will be provided to the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) and City Council for consideration as the process to update the Specific Plan moves forward. The next steps in the update process include an environmental assessment, economic development study and drafting of an updated plan, which will be reviewed by the PTC and Council later this summer.
State May Remove Local Control for Affordable Housing Projects
The City is monitoring efforts currently underway in Sacramento to pass legislation that would supersede the City’s permit requirements for affordable housing projects. The efforts, which are a component of the State’s budget process, would limit the City’s ability to have affordable housing projects come before the Planning and Transportation Commission and City Council for approval. This would result in the loss of some local control and opportunities for the public participate in the review of these projects. As more information becomes available, staff will be evaluating the impact of this legislation on Los Altos.
Police
Congratulations to DARE Graduates
This week, we celebrated the final group of 2016 DARE program graduates, who received their certificates and special awards for exemplary work throughout the program. DARE is a National Program, originally geared toward teaching children how to resist drugs and violence. In 2009 the DARE curriculum evolved, adding a component to instruct kids on how make safe and responsible choices, covering a variety of topics including how to deal with peer pressure, effective listening, developing “Help Networks,” responsible use of the Internet and recognizing and reporting bullying and cyber bullying.
Over a 10 week period, 5th and 6th grade children are given the tools to assess and make proper decisions in any area of their lives by exercising the DARE decision-making model (DDMM):
Define: What’s the problem, Challenge or Opportunity.
Assess: What are your choices and what are the consequences of each choice.
Respond: Make a choice based on the facts and information you’ve gathered.
Evaluate: Review your decision. Did you make the right choice?
Special thanks to Agent Ryan Langone for his dedication to this effective and engaging program, which he has taught to nearly 250 students from local students. The Police Department would also like to thank the staff, parents, and students of St. Simon, St. Nicholas, Montclaire Elementary, and Los Altos Christian Schools for allowing us to participate in this essential learning environment.
Community Emergency Preparedness
The Police Department, in collaboration with other City officials, has been working closely with community stakeholders to utilize community emergency preparedness funds to establish a cache of emergency supplies, as well as a storage container, strategically located for use by trained emergency volunteers. This project is progressing on schedule and expected to be complete early this summer.
Cover Your K-9 Fundraiser
Officer Julie Tannock and her K-9 partner Lord attended the Cover Your K9 fundraiser, graciously hosted by the Enchanté Boutique Hotel, this past weekend. Cover Your K-9 is a non-profit organization that helps keep law enforcement K-9s safe with bullet proof vests, trauma kits, heat alarms for patrol cars, and a retired K-9 Emergency Medical Fund for Law Enforcement K-9s in Northern California. Officer Tannock has been involved with the organization for several years. The weekend event yielded more than $4,000 in donations. Congratulations to Officer Tannock, K-9 Lord, the Cover Your K-9 organization and Enchanté Boutique Hotel for their valiant efforts to keep our Police and Sheriff K-9s safe.
Public Works
Capital Improvement Project Update
The Engineering Division has issued several bids for upcoming Capital Improvement Projects (CIP).
- Parking Plaza Driveway Approach: The project, funded by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, will make improvements to bring driveways in Plaza North and Plaza South in Downtown Los Altos up to current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
- Annual Concrete Repair: The project will make concrete repairs throughout the City to address the highest priority damaged sidewalks and curbs. Over 200 locations will be addressed through this year’s project.
- Annual Slurry Seal Project: The project will provide slurry seal as a pavement preventative maintenance application to 44 street segments citywide.
Maintenance Highlights
The Sewer team completed this month’s preventive maintenance sewer cleaning ahead of schedule. The Facilities team completed a tennis court lighting retrofit at Montclaire Tennis Courts; converting to new energy efficient LED lighting. The Parks team aerated the turf in the parks and sports fields and the Streets team continues to perform crack sealing of streets throughout the City as part of the Pavement Management Program.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Meeting
This month’s BPAC meeting was held on Wednesday, May 25, 2016. Among the topics discussed were the conceptual designs for bicycle/pedestrian improvements on Carmel Terrace. Residents were invited to the meeting to provide their input. Further discussion with the residents, the BPAC and the possibility of a joint BPAC/Planning and Transportation Commission meeting was suggested and will be evaluated by staff.
Bicycle/Pedestrian Education and Outreach
City staff and BPAC members held a booth at the Farmer’s Market on Thursday, May 26, 2016 to gather feedback from residents regarding Bicycle/Pedestrian education and outreach. Suggested Routes to School maps and flyers for the new Police Department YES program were handed out. Approximately 20 comments were collected. We will host another booth on June 2, 2016.
Recreation & Community Services
Dinner and Music on the Patio
The Recreation & Community Services Senior Program is hosting a Dinner on the Patio event Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. Adults age 21+ are welcome to join us for an evening of dinner and music under the stars! Chef Lamont Perriman will demonstrate the evening’s dishes while Rick Ferguson and Friends perform jazz classics you know and love. The menu for the evening will be Mediterranean summer salad, entre choice of thyme roasted chicken, apricot glazed salmon or spiced tofu mushroom & kale steaks. Sides will include rosemary mashed potatoes and spiced lemon asparagus, with apple crisp and almond infused ice cream for dessert. Wine, lemonade, tea and coffee will also be served.
The event will be hosted at Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Avenue. The cost is $50.00 with Senior Membership, $60.00 for all others. Reservations are suggested by Friday, June 3, 2016, as seating is limited. Come in to the Hillview Community Center, Room 10 for more information or to register. Please indicate your entree choice at time of registration.
Filoli Afternoon Tea and Tour
On Thursday, May 26, 2016, the Los Altos Recreation & Community Services Senior Program took a guided tour through a Georgian country house which is known as one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century. The tour explored a spectacular 16–acre English Renaissance garden followed by Afternoon Tea; a lovely tradition which included delicious sandwiches, seasonal salads, scones with fresh lemon curd and pastries. The next Senior Program tour will be a Candle Making and Wine Tasting event on Tuesday, June 14, 2016. Visit the Hillview Community Center, Room 10 for more information or call (650) 947-2797.
Congratulations to Our Preschool Graduates
Staff in the Los Altos Tiny Tots program have been preparing for next week’s graduation events! Over the course of the year we have watched our preschool children grow in so many ways. We are thankful for each of our participants and their parents for providing us the opportunity to teach and guide these terrific kids. Please join us in congratulating our upcoming graduates!
