PSC 10-08-2015 (2)_revised 8/10/23CUPERTINO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, October 8, 2015, 6:00 p.m.
Cupertino City Hall, Conference Room A
I. CALL TO ORDER
Commissioner McCoy called to order this regular meeting of the Cupertino Public Safety
Commission at approximately 6:04 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, 2015 in the Cupertino City
Hall, Conference Room A, located at 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California 95014.
II. ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present: Robert McCoy
Andy Huang
Gerald Tallinger
Mike Jerbic
Commissioners Absent: Bob Cascone
Staff Present: Captain Rick Sung, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office
Staff Absent: Deputy Chief John Justice, Santa Clara County Fire Department
Battalion Chief Wally Fink, Santa Clara County Fire Department
Others Present: John Mumy and daughter Ashley, Cupertino residents
III. REPORTS
1. Santa Clara County Fire Department
Deputy Chief Jolm Justice and Battalion Chief Wally Fink reviewed the Fire Report, noting
the average response times have held to the set standard and there was minimal monetary
loss. The one dollar loss was for a shed fire. It was a slow month for Fire in Cupertino but
they sent a strike team to the Pacheco Pass, Butte and Valley fires. We also sent an engine to
the State of Washington. California has been so burdened with fires that they received help
from neighboring states and the National Guard. Commissioner McCoy confirms that D.C.
Justice plans to attend monthly and states that a name plate should be made for him.
2. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office
Captain Sung reports that response times for the month of September included 5 Priority
One Calls for Service averaging 3.86 minutes, 357 Priority Two Calls averaging 7.06
minutes, and 410 Priority Three Calls averaging 11.02 minutes. There were 16 residential
burglaries which has slowed significantly from earlier in the year, due in large part to
deputies focusing more of these type of crimes, and to the specialized Burglary Suppression
Teams that work all over the City. Arrests are being made on a near daily basis.
Commissioner Jerbic asks if the criminals are actually being taken to jail or just cited.
Captain Sung clarifies, saying that possession of a controlled substance was previously
arrestable but now is only citable. However, suspects may still be arrested if found under
the influence of a controlled substance. Additionally, many suspects are being arrested for
possession of stolen property or because there are warrants for their arrest. The deputies are
working hard every day. In other selected crimes, commercial and vehicle burglaries are
down, but identity theft has increased considerably. Citations are down a little due to the
heavy focus on property crime suspects right now. Captain Sung then informs the
commission about a recent incident that yielded four arrests, and a special operation
involving human trafficking and prostitution that yielded ten arrests. Commissioner Huang
mentions feedback from residents that their concern over residential burglaries has reduced
significantly because of all the hard work deputies have done in combating it.
3. Commission Reports
Commissioner Tallinger reports that the budget for Lincoln Elementary School from the
school district is only $200.00, so the library personnel have moved their focus to online
books and bulk deals, but are not well versed in what options are available. He attended a
Safety Presentation given by the SROs at Regnart Elementary School, and found it to be
excellent, geared well towards little kids. He also saw a unique program where students get
cards with numbers around the outside and receive hole -punches for each time they walk
or bike to school, culminating in an ice cream or pizza party. Safe Routes to School may
start promoting this type of program. Also, Safe Routes to School evaluated the Bicycle -
Pedestrian data and didn't get much out of it, so Commissioner Tallunger provided a more
useful view of the data. Safe Routes plans to put banners on schools to promote "Cupertino
Walk and Roll." Parents and schools both seem enthused so far.
Commissioner Jerbic attended the Mayor's Meeting, with only 6 commissions represented.
Teen Commission is taking over Walk -One -Week, continuing the Sounds of the City
program, and considering a volunteer SAT Prep Course. Housing Commission reviewed
the 2015 Homeless Census that shows around 73 homeless in Cupertino, only 23 of which
are sheltered, but the total is down from 112 in 2013..The Mayor showed interest in BMP
housing projects, the next one being on Stevens Creek. Commissioner McCoy adds that
there used to be a State law requiring BMP housing, but it is now voluntary. The Mayor
2
lamented not receiving enough votes needed for the Cell Tower, and asked that the PSC
help Council Members understand the need for emergency communication infrastructure.
The Council will begun looking at the Non -conforming Development Project, starting the
new process in November. The Mayor is also spearheading the municipal energy
consortium called Community Choice Energy, in order to unite many bay area cities to
create a municipal energy source for electric energy and establish competition with PG&E.
The purpose is to offer a greener, more sustainable and less expensive option, since most
municipal energy options across California have fees 20-30% lower than PG&E.
IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
1. John Mumy communicates that he felt Captain Sung insulted him at the last PSC Meeting
by referring to his expression of concern as venting. He believes that he is owed an apology,
and states that he has heard similar insults from a member of the commission towards other
community members. He is curious what this commission is all about because he now
views it as just another government dog and pony show. He recalls how Captain Sung
suggested he submit a Vacation Check Request when he plans to be away; but he states he
didn't bother because he didn't think the Sheriff's Office would do anything. He recently
saw a bicyclist go straight through a red light in front of a deputy. The deputy pulled him
over but only gave him a warning, and Mr. Mumy knows that this bicyclist is a repeat
offender. He reiterates that he thinks Captain Sung's comment to him was inappropriate,
and asks everyone to excuse his venting. Chair McCoy states briefly that the PSC welcomes
all input from the public, and that its purpose is to advise the City Council on issues related
to public safety. They pass along public concerns to the Council, and make sure that the Fire
Department and Sheriff's Office remain consistent in meeting response times. They also
work on assigned projects. Captain Sung declines the opportunity to reply.
2. ACTION: YES
VOTE: YES
MOTION: HUANG SECONDED: TALLINGER 4 to 0
Commissioner Huang motioned to approve the following official position on the approved
cellular tower located at City Hall; Commissioner Tallinger seconded the motion; votes
taken, all in favor to approve the following official position on the installation of a co -
located cellular tower at City Hall:
"To enhance overall public safety, the Public Safety Commission supports a co -
located cell tower at City Hall, which would improve public safety by providing and
enhancing cell communication commonly used by fire, sheriff, first responders and
the Emergency Operations Center."
Rick Kitson gives a presentation on a proposal before the City Council, consistent with a
Council Study Session in July 2013, regarding the communications issue in the area of City
3
Hall. City Council had directed City Staff to renew a proposal for a stealth tree -pole
designed cell tower similar to the tree -pole at The Forum which sits right out front. The
AT&T and Verizon carriers are co -locatable on the same pole, covering 75-80% of all local
phone users and our public safety agencies. A few events prompted the Study session. One
was the Stevens wildfire in August 2007 that put Cupertino EOC to the test and highlighted
the lack of necessary cellular coverage needed to operate basic emergency communications
devices. The City installed a couple repeaters at City Hall, but that didn't improve actual
coverage because the original signal they repeated was insufficient. Another key event was
the major shooting incident four years ago, when as SWAT Teams began to mobilize, it
became obvious there was still no working communications coverage at Cupertino EOC so
they went about their operation and never returned. Council members kept calling in for
information, but it always went straight to voicemail and messages weren't discovered until
cell phones were back in range. The Council at the time began discussions with AT&T.
Cellular coverage is an important tool needed for public safety, and for communication
with the community.
Rick Kitson continues, stating the City conducts a survey every two years of randomly
dialed resident numbers, asking questions to get community feedback on various issues.
Consistently, the vast majority of residents would rather have good coverage, but the
residents that don't find coverage important are much more passionate and vocal at City
Council Meetings. Commissioner Jerbic adds that even when coverage is good, the network
may get so saturated that there is no bandwidth left for data, making the problem two-
dimensional in both strength and capacity, and Cupertino has problems with both. Mr.
Kitson confirms that effective coverage is currently shrinking, according to the Verizon
Wireless attorney, as more people use multiple devices. One major concern for some
residents is the perceived radio frequency exposure from a nearby cellular tower; however,
related cancer literature all references exposure from handheld devices and not towers.
Established science indicates that cell towers are not demonstrated to be an ionizing
technology, which is a requisite feature to cause cancer, but cell devices are in fact
demonstrated to be so. In fact, the fewer cell towers there are, the more energy you are
exposed to from your cell phone because it is working extra hard to reach a further away
antenna. Therefore, the aesthetic concerns are more legitimate than the safety concerns, but
safety concerns normally drive the conversation. A movement exists to remove cell towers
from high schools, but the science doesn't back up their safety concerns. The TICC
conducted their own survey in 2007, and 100% of comments left on that survey were
complaints about poor coverage and not enough cell towers. Other nearby cities have put nn
cell towers without making aesthetics a big issue — they are just interested in the needed
coverage. In fact, there are a number of HOAs in Cupertino that have offered to have a cell
tower installed on their property, since carriers do pay monthly fees to property owners for
space rental. On Tuesday, the tower was approved and the appeal was denied. The lease
agreement is the next step, but the height of the tower will be the next basis for argument.
However, it is best to co -locate the carriers on one tower even if it increases the height by
4
ten feet, instead of installing multiple towers. As an agendized item, the PSC is allowed to
take a position on the issue presented. After further discussion they decide on an official
statement.
V. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
There are no written communications to discuss at this regular meeting.
VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. September 10, 2015
ACTION: YES
VOTE: YES
MOTION: HUANG SECONDED: JERBIC 4 to 0
Commissioner Huang motioned to approve the minutes of September 10, 2015, as amended
below showing a reversal of strike through to the previous Minutes of July 29, 2015;
Commissioner Jerbic seconded the motion; votes taken, all in favor to approve the minutes
of September 10, 2015 with the following amendment which partially reverses a strike
through to Page 6, VIII. in the Minutes of July 29, 2015:
Page 3, VI. 1. (Approval of Minutes from July '29, 2015) "c. Page 6, VIII.
Commissioner Jerbic goes through his PowerPoint presentation and
accompanying narrative. The commissioners discuss different points [Chair
McCoy states that the GIS mapping of accident history is an excellent product to
have come out of the collected research, and Commissioner Tallinger commends
the work done by the graduate students that assisted Commissioner Jerbic. The
commissioners determine that these items are or will be addressed by either the
Bicycle -Pedestrian Commission or the new Safe Routes to Schools Task Force, or
perhaps the Public Works Department. The commissioners decide not to move
forward with Commissioner Jerbic's presentation before City Council, and to
pursue this topic no further unless specifically directed.]"
VII. OLD BUSINESS
1. Discussion of Walk/Bike/Carpool to School (WBQ project (All), the Boltage program
(Tallinger), and Surveys to Schools (Tallinger)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
il
Commissioner Tallunger met with Deputy Bond today about the next WBC event the week
of October 26 for three days, same as un the past. There is an endorsement from the CSDU
Board of Education for the new Safe Routes to School program. Commissioner Tallinger
introduces a nationally used form that he will use for the upcoming WBC event, and that
Safe Routes to School will continue to use. First a letter will go out to Principals on October
13 to ilnform schools of the event starting October 26, with a copy of the last Survey results.
On October 21, the SROs will distribute a second letter with the new forms. Completed
forms will be collected by the SROs from the schools the first week of November.
Commissioner Tallinger shows the PSC slides he has created with WBC survey information
and they discuss adjustments.
Commissioner Tallinger discusses what he has worked on regarding Boltage, and suggests
replacing the batteries un the Boltage equipment because the current batteries charge very
slowly and have been sitting in storage almost depleted. There is also a possibility the
Sprint wireless cards will have to be reactivated for a fee un order to capture the existing
data. Commissioner Jerbic points out that they still need to formulate a demonstration plan,
especially because there may be costs associated. Commissioner McCoy interjects his
concern that it sounds like the PSC is still going to be very involved in Boltage which
requires a lot of time, when it is a transportation issue and is being transferred out. He
suggests getting the Bicycle -Pedestrian Commission involved immediately and not waiting
until the end of the year, and Commissioner Huang adds that it would be prudent to
involve them in decisions about the WBC budget that they will be inheriting.
2. Discuss participation in the Alert SCC Program, the CAS Program, and the Pulse Points
App (Huang/McCoy)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A
0to0
Commissioner Huang updated the sign-up status where AlertSCC has the most Cupertino
residents signed up, followed by Nextdoor, Twitter, CAS, and then Facebook. He is proud
that there are more people signed up to CAS than Facebook, but would like to catch up to
the number of Twitter followers. He notes that the cancelation of the annual Fourth of July
Celebration was significant as it has been the largest sign-up opportunity. Commissioner
Jerbic requests a one slide print out explaining CAS for the cyber seminar he'll be working
at next week.
Commissioner Huang updated the CAS/PulsePoint promotion item acquisition status as
Director Kitson advised the removal of PulsePoh-its logo because it may insinuate that they
0
contributed funding. He also inquired about QR codes, but it was not possible due to
insufficient printing room.
Commissioner Huang mention he was awarded a Merit Award by the Fire Department for
his volunteering effort on locating the most county/city AED for PulsePoint, fire prevention
translation for Chinese radio, and amateur radio for fire stations.
VIII. NEW BUSINESS
1. Discuss the Transition to the Bicycle -Pedestrian Commission of the Walk/Bike/Carpool
to School (WBC) project, the Boltage program and Surveys to Schools
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
Captain Stung opens discussion on how to transition the WBC, Boltage and Survey to
Schools projects to the Bicycle -Pedestrian Commission. They discuss how the Brown Act
rules impact that transition, and propose that Commissioner Tallinger will need to become
the liaison to the Bicycle -Pedestrian Commission, in place of Commissioner Cascone, so
that communication is legal.
The Public Safety Commissioners decide upon the following Action Items:
1) Target date for transferring WBC and Boltage to the Bicycle -Pedestrian Commission is
December 31, 2015. Owner: Commissioner Tallinger
2) Permanently rotate the appointed liaisons to the Bicycle -Pedestrian Commission and
Library Commission starting in November. Commissioner Cascone will become the
Library Commission liaison and Commissioner Tallinger will become the Bicycle -
Pedestrian Commission liaison. Owner: Commissioner McCoy
3) Commissioner Tallinger will continue analyzing the WBC survey data for Fall 2015.
The report function will transfer jointly to the Bicycle -Pedestrian Commission, as part
of the transfer in 1). Owner: Commissioner Tallinger
4) Develop the complete budget for reinstating the Boltage systems by the November
meeting, including any cell data reinstatement, battery replacement cost and startup
costs. Owner: Commissioner Tallinger
2. Discuss the PSC-TICC Joint Project on Cyber Security (Jerbic)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
7
Commissioner Deshpande from the TICC has produced a flyer for the planned talk, titled
"Protecting Yourself Online," scheduled for October 13, 2015 from 4:00-5:OOpm. Speakers
will include Detective Guzman from the Sheriff's Office and two others, taking 15 minutes
each. Commissioner Jerbic will highlight the CAS system, passing out cards for it. There
will also be an interactive question and answer panel between the audience and speakers.
Flyers will be distributed to the Senior Center and various communities within Cupertino,
and it is listed in the Cupertino Scene publication. Captain Sung offers to post it on
Nextdoor as well. Commissioner McCoy requests that Commissioner Jerbic announce that
residents are always welcome to come to the commission meetings and provide oral
communication.
3. Introduction of Fire Deputy Chief John Justice
Deputy Chief Justice states that the Fire Department would like to establish a greater level
of communication with the Public Safety officials in Cupertino. He has no agenda, but
would like to offer more voice of the Fire Department when residents have questions or
concerns about fire related topics, such as wildfires which remain a possibility even though
not frequent in this area. -
Commissioner McCoy states that he would like the PSC to direct their focus more towards
crime prevention and fire prevention efforts. D.C. Justice inquires about commission
directives in the by-laws; Captain Sung explains that it is very broad and they are able to
work on anything related to public safety. Commissioner Jerbic mentions the upcoming
Super bowl 50 event and wonders if any public safety issues surrounding that should be
addressed. Commissioner Tallinger poses a question to D.C. Justice, asking what is the Fire
Department's largest obstacle regarding public fire education. Commissioner Jerbic states
he is interested in identifying what residents should be most concerned about, what issues
pose the biggest safety risk for Cupertino residents. Commissioner Huang says he would
like to cross train the CARES, CERT, and MRC teams. He also suggests that commissioners
should get more involved with block leaders, attending block parties and spreading safety
messages.
D.C. Justice mentions that the Fire Department has been asked by the City to help shape the
structure of CERT volunteers. He states the groundwork needs to be better laid, spelling out
the parameters of when and how volunteers can be utilized. He talks about how fire
personnel receive training that is nationally standardized, making it easier to deploy
resources anywhere. Commissioner Huang points out that Cupertino CERT is unique, with
City -specific forms, and he would like training to be aligned with Santa Clara County ICS
training.
0
Captain Sung requests that each commissioner send him three ideas for topics of interest
before the next meeting so it can be agendized and discussed then. There will be a limit of
10 minutes per person.
IX. FUTURE AGENDA FOR NEXT REGULAR MEETING
1. Discuss Reports from County Fire, County Sheriff's Office and Commission Liaisons.
2. Discuss transferring the Walk/Bike/Carpool to School Project, the Boltage > Dero Project,
and Survey to Schools to the Bicycle/Pedestrian Commission.
3. Discuss promotion plans for CAS, AlertSCC and the Pulse Points App.
a. Discuss how to align public safety outreach and established County materials
(Cascone)
4. Discuss the PSC-TICC Joint Project on Cyber Security
5. Discuss new possible topics of interest
X. ADJOURNMENT
This regular meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
XI. NEXT MEETING
The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 6:00 p.m.
SUBMITTED BY:
Jennifer Rotli
Executive Assistant
West Valley Patrol Division
Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff
October 14, 2015
APPROVED BY:
LKl IN \\I11-1\�S
Robert McCoy, Coin on Chair Date