PSC 7-13-23CUPERTINO PUBLIC SAFETY
COMMISSION MEETING
MINUTES
Thursday, July 13, 2023, 6:00 p.m.
City Hall, 10300 Torre Avenue
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Shan called to order this meeting of the Cupertino Public Safety
Commission at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present:
Commissioners Absent:
Chair Eric Shan
Rohan Pandit (arrived 6:09 pm)
Bobby Toda
Vice Chair Tiffany Wang
Lakshminarasimha Ankireddipally
Staff Present:
Captain Neil Valenzuela, Santa Clara County Sheriff's
Office
Sergeant Sean Flores, Santa Clara County Sheriff's
Office
Deputy Chief Hector Estrada, Santa Clara County Fire
Department
Thomas Chin, City of Cupertino Emergency Manager
Meredith Albert, Emergency Management Analyst
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1.Subject: Minutes from May 11, 2023
Recommended Action: Approve minutes from May 11, 2023
Commissioner Toda motioned to approve the minutes; Vice Chair
Wang seconded the motion; Ayes: Wang, Shan, Toda. Noes: None.
Abstain: None. Absent: Ankireddipally, Pandit (arrived at 6:09 p.m.)
POSTPONEMENTS
None
ORAL COMMUNICATION
None
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
None
OLD BUSINESS
2.Subject: Public Safety Education and Outreach: 2023 Public Safety Forum
Recommended Action: Receive an update on the Public Safety Forum
Presenter: Thomas Chin
Thomas Chin provided an update on the 2023 Public Safety Forum planning
process. Potential topics, presenters, and table presentations for the 2023
Public Safety Forum were discussed, including winners of the City of
Cupertino-sponsored High School Cybersecurity Science Fair. Chair Shan
suggested inviting representatives from credit rating agencies to speak at the
forum about protecting residents from identity theft.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions and Thomas Chin answered.
3.Subject: Block Leader and Citizen Corps Program Review
Recommended Action: Receive Presentation on Block Leader and Citizen
Corps outreach efforts
Presenter: Meredith Albert
Meredith Albert reviewed current Block Leader and Citizen Corps activities.
Meredith Albert described the CalVolunteers grant awarded to the City for
the expansion of the Block Leader Program. Commissioners asked clarifying
questions and Meredith Albert answered.
NEW BUSINESS
None
STAFF AND COMMISSION REPORTS
4.Subject: Report by the Santa Clara County Fire District
Recommended Action: Receive Report by the Santa Clara County Fire District
liaison
Presenter: Deputy Chief Hector Estrada
Deputy Fire Chief Estrada delivered the May and June 2023 Santa Clara
County Fire Department reports. Incident response was reviewed for each
month and compared with last year. Reports for the months of May and June
showed average response times during both months remained consistently
around four minutes. Community education and risk reduction activities were
summarized. Deputy Chief Estrada indicated that SCCFD concluded
scheduled inspections of properties in located in the Wildland Urban Interface
(WUI) for the year. Deputy Chief Estrada reviewed SCCFD supporting
updates to the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), including
supporting Cupertino’s updates to the City Annex to this plan.
Deputy Chief Estrada answered clarifying questions from the commissioners
present specifically focused on the CWPP, and outreach to the community
regarding updates.
5.Subject: Report by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office
Recommended Action: Receive report by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's
Office liaison
Presenter: Captain Neil Valenzuela
Captain Valenzuela reviewed crime reports from May and June. Captain
Valenzuela introduced Sergeant Sean Flores, a shift supervisor with the
West Valley Patrol Division that includes Cupertino. Captain Valenzuela
indicated that commercial burglaries rose during May and June, while the
number of residential burglaries remained consistent with previous
months. Captain Valenzuela indicated that the agency is pursuing a grant
to fund a retail protection task force. This task force would increase the
law enforcement presence at retail stores to mitigate commercial
burglaries. Captain Valenzuela referenced a recent increase in injury
accidents in Cupertino along De Anza Road near the Apple campus.
Injury accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians or bicyclists have
increased in recent months.
Captain Valenzuela answered clarifying questions from the commissioners
present. Captain Valenzuela indicated that deputies will be focusing on
encouraging pedestrians to use crosswalks, as well as enforcing
pedestrians’ and bicyclists’ right-of-way where appropriate.
6.Subject: Report by the City of Cupertino
Recommended Action: Receive a report by the City of Cupertino staff liaison
Presenter: Meredith Albert
Meredith Albert reviewed the Citizen Corps program activities at recent City
events including the Fourth of July event. Meredith Albert addressed the
REACH program (Raising Emergency Awareness of Community Hazards),
which is currently being used to share information about extreme heat.
Meredith Albert reviewed the current plans being reviewed and revised by the
City. These include the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (also addressed
by Item 4, above, the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP),
the Safety Element of the City General Plan, and the City Emergency
Operations Plan (EOP). Meredith Albert described opportunities for public
input on these plans, specifically highlighting the public comment periods
scheduled for both the CWPP and MJHMP. Meredith Albert encouraged
commissioners to promote participation in the planning process within the
community. Meredith Albert indicated that the City plans to hire a contractor
to provide emergency operations center staff training, and to work on updates
to the EOP.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions. Commissioner Toda asked about
the Cupertino Amateur Radio Emergency Service (CARES) effort to encourage
community engagement with the ARK radio network, which serves as an
emergency communications platform for the City CARES program. The
CARES program is encouraging community members to practice interfacing
regularly with the ARK radio network using GMRS and FRS radios.
7.Subject: Commissioner’s Reports
Recommended Action: Receive Commissioners' reports
Chair Shan reported on topics raised at the June Mayor’s meeting, including the
Public Safety Forum and the Cybersecurity event. Commissioner Pandit
attended the July meeting. Commissioner Toda will attend the August 9, 2023,
Mayor’s meeting and Commissioner Wang will attend the September 13, 2023,
Mayor’s meeting.
FUTURE AGENDA SETTING
Vice Chair Wang requested a follow-up report from the Sheriff’s Office on the
Sheriff’s Office teen academy at a future meeting. The Sheriff’s Office provided
a presentation describing plans for this academy earlier this year.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Shan adjourned the Public Safety Commission meeting at 7:34 p.m.
SUBMITTED BY:
Thomas Chin
Staff Liaison to the Public Safety
Commission
Emergency Services Coordinator
City of Cupertino
Approval date
APPROVED BY:
Thomas Chin, Staff Liaison Date
October 23, 2023