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PSC 02-09-06 CUPEI\TINO MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CUPERTINO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION February 9, 2006 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Commissioners Absent: Staff Present: Jay Cena, Hugh Riddell, Nina Daruwalla Charles Caldwell, Barry Chang Glenn Goepfert, Assistant Director of Public Works Others Present: Dan Dunlap, Santa Clara County Fire Department Captain John Hirokawa, Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department Ron Miller, Cupertino Library Commission ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Kevin Wang, a Cupertino resident, inquired about a burglary that took place in the city. Chairperson Riddell invited Mr. Wang to stay and listen to the portion of the agenda regarding residential burglaries. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS - None The commissioners discussed the current vacancies and the particulars involved III term completion. APPROVAL OF MINUTES June 9, 2005, regular meeting December 8,2005, regular meeting The approval of minutes was continued to a later date due to lack of quorum. OLD BUSINESS 1. Library Commission request for an outdoor telephone at the library The commissioners commented on the approval of an outdoor telephone and indicated that they were pleased to receive support from the City Council for the installation of the phone. NEW BUSINESS 2. New Commission members and Election of Officers. The Commissioners continued this item to a later date. 3. Residential Burglaries - Commission partnering with Sheriff to conduct community Forums The Commissioners discussed residential burglaries under the Santa Clara County Sheriff report portion of the agenda. 4. Commission meeting schedule - frequency of meetings Assistant Director Glenn Goepfert commented on the possibility of the commission returning to a monthly schedule and he also reviewed the Brown Act meeting requirements. The Commissioners continued this item to a later date. 5. Traffic/transportation items . SR2S - Garden Gate . Radar speed signs . Pedestrian countdown signal heads Assistant Director Glenn Goepfert provided a recap on the Safe Routes to School program and indicated that the city has applied for grant funding for the Garden Gate project area. Goepfert stated that the application is pending approval from the State. The commissioners discussed measures to improve the possibility of achieving future grant funding if the current application is denied. The commissioners appointed Nina Daruwalla and Jay Cena as liaisons to work with city staff on the Safe Routes to School program application process with the goal of expediting the passage of the grant funding. Hugh Riddell addressed his concerns regarding the pedestrian countdown signal heads at De Anza and Stevens Creek Boulevards. Riddell did not believe that there was adequate time for the residents to get safely across the intersection. Glenn Goepfert explained that the countdown at this intersection included a 5 second head start, 30 seconds of clear time, and a few seconds of yellow and red time, totaling approximately 38 seconds. He also explained that there was limited ability to add time to a split without throwing off the system. Discussion followed regarding possible solutions to this issue, such as installing a safety island in the intersection or varying the cycle lengths for pedestrian movement. Glenn Goepfert agreed to obtain the timing patterns for the commission to review. Glenn Goepfert updated the commission on the status of the radar speed signs. He indicated that city staff has to draft a policy for installing the new signs. The commissioners agreed to consult with staff in regards to the timing and acquisition of the hardware. 6. CRS - Rehabilitation center in Cupertino Jay Cena discussed the possibility of a drug rehabilitation facility being located on Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino. The commission addressed their concerns regarding the possible public safety impacts and decided to obtain more information from the City Clerk regarding the City Councils' authorization of this facility. REPORTS Santa Clara Countv Fire District Battalion Chief Dan Dunlap distributed the monthly report and indicated that there weren't any significant events to report other than an increase in call volume. Dunlap extended an invitation to the commissioners to conduct a future meeting at the Seven Springs Station. Santa Clara County Sheriff Captain John Hirokawa reviewed the sheriff report in regards to response time goals categorized by priority. He also reviewed the report in relation to crimes such as robberies, burglaries, auto theft, vandalism, and assaults. Captain Hirokawa overviewed the patrol unit enforcement statistics for moving, speeding, and accidents, and he also reviewed the traffic unit numbers. Hirokawa stated that residential burglaries were down compared to last year, auto burglaries were up, and arm robberies were up significantly in the last three to four weeks. The commissioners discussed ways in which to get the word out on the burglaries. Captain Hirokawa indicated that two members of the community were willing to donate funds to put up a reward on Fugitive Watch for information leading to the arrests of the person(s) responsible for the dinnertime burglaries. He also mentioned that local newspapers would be contacted in order to advertise the need for reward donations. Commissioner Nina Daruwalla provided Captain Hirokawa with a contact source in order to acquire additional funds for the reward. Captain Hirokawa also talked about the distribution of a citywide mailer to alert residents and to refer them to the web site with safety tips. Further discussion involved the review of the property damage reports, which showed an increase of incidences this year as compared to last. Captain Hirokawa explained some possible contributing factors, such as adverse weather conditions or the consistency of accident reporting. Commissioner's Reports The Commissioners had a discussion about the Mayor's breakfast meeting, in which all commissioners were encouraged contact the City Council if they felt the need to return to a monthly meeting schedule. The commissioners also discussed the Mayors' interest in individual commissioners reports and that they were grateful to have support at the City Council level. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS . New Commission members and Election of Officers . Commission meeting schedule - frequency of meetings . Approval of minutes June 9, 2005, regular meeting December 8, 2005, regular meeting . Meeting date at the Seven Springs Fire Station ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. ~13..f!5J~/1 Karen B. Guerin Administrative Assistant