PSC 11-14-2013 CUPERTINO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, NovembET 14, 2013, 7:00 p.m.
Cupertino City Hall, Conference Room A
I. CALL TO ORDER
Commissioner Huang called to order the regular meeting of the Cupertino Public Safety Commission
at approximately 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, November 14, 2013 in the Cupertino City Hall, Conference
Room A, located at 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertiro, California 95014.
II. ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present: Andy Huang
Robert McCoy
Nina Daruwalla (late)
Lily Lim
Commissioners Absent: Daniel Nguyen
Staff Present: Captain Ken Binder, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office
Acting Battalion Chien Dennis Lollie, Santa Clara County Fire Department
Ken Ericksen, City of Cupertino Citizen Corps Coordinator
Staff Absent: None
Others Present: Jerry Tallinger, CERT member, observer
Steve Hill, CERT & CARES member, observer
Isabel Rodriguez, CERT member, observer
Shailee Samar, Montag Vista High School senior, club co-president
Rizwanulla Mohammed, Monta Vista High School student, club co-president
Matt Bordoni, Cupertino resident, observer
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
There are two Oral Communications to discuss. First, Commissioner McCoy reports a trend he describes
as disturbing, in which citizens are not being alerted to missing persons. He cites recent examples that
he learned of only through the Facebook page of the Sheriff's Office. Commissioner Huang states he will
discuss this further under CAS news. Captain B rder interjects that there is a difference in notification
parameters between missing at-risk individuals vs. voluntarily missing persons.
Commissioner Huang presents the second communication. He informs the PSC that in the Oak Valley
neighborhood there has been a serious increase in parking issues. Visitors to Rancho San Antonio Park
often spillover, especially since a new entrance is open on Sycamore. The speeding problem has
likewise increased, and the neighborhood will consider applying for a permit-only parking zone. The
formal process includes a neighborhood vote garnering a two-thirds majority, application fee of
$1,069.00 so that Public Works may do a traffic study, official recommendation to the City Council, and
then a successful Council vote to approve a new parking permit zone.
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IV. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
There are no Written Communications to discuss at this regular meeting.
V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. October 10, 2013
ACTION: YES
VOTE: YES
MOTION: McCoy SECONDED: Lim 3 to 0
Commissioner McCoy motioned to approve the minutes of October 10, 2013, including the following
correction; Commissioner Lim seconded the motion; votes taken, all in favor to approve the minutes
of October 10, 2013 with one correction.
Pg 1: Commissioner Nguyen called to order...
VI. OLD BUSINESS
1. Discussion of Walk/Bike/Carpool (WBC)to School project, ongoing (Nguyen/Lim)
Commissioner Huang reports that Faria School's new principal is still considering the WBC program
information. In addition, the contact at Lawson school plans to submit an application next month.
Commissioner Huang asks that all commissioners update the contact information for their assigned
schools.
a. Monta Vista High School
ACTION: YES
VOTE: YES
MOTION: Daruwalla SECONDED: McCoy 4 to 0
Commissioner Daruwalla motions to approve the Walk One Week event grant for Monta Vista High
School in the amount of$1,500.00; Commissioner McCoy seconds the motion; votes taken, all in
favor to approve a grant of$1,500.00 for the Monta Vista High School W.O.W. event.
Commissioner Huang introduces the Monta Vista High School students, noting that they submitted
their grant application before their recent event but he chose not to call an emergency PSC meeting
to vote on their application. Club co-presiden-s Shailee Samar and Rizwanulla Mohammed present
information on the recent Walk One Week event at Monta Vista High School, which they completely
re-imagined in an effort to combat the well-established problem of traffic surrounding the school.
First, they evaluated student concerns, includ rg being tired, thinking walking is not cool, and making
studying a priority over walking. Second, they evaluated parent concerns, including the costs of both
their driving time and gasoline (estimated by them to be around $25.00/hour), and the stress of
dealing with traffic. Then they brainstormed how to motivate students to walk to school, noting that
students are passionate about the clubs they are involved in and are excited about competitions
between class levels. They decided to ask parents to donate one dollar for each mile their child
walks to or from school for that week to the stident's favorite club on campus. The students
responded with great enthusiasm, and 14 clubs all worked together for the first time. There was
excellent support from the PTSA, student government, principal, staff and even the city council.
They promoted the event through all available outlets, using large banners in the parking lots,
posters all over school, and flyers distributed to each student in class. They posted info on the school
website, and the principal sent an email to everyone encouraging participation. For incentives,
besides the donation money for clubs, they provided breakfast and hot chocolate for the walkers in
the morning, and promised all club participants would be able to attend a movie together as a social
reward if the event was successful.
After the event, they surveyed between 150 and 200 people, finding that 40% changed their
transportation habits that week. The clubs loved the event as a fundraiser, and the principal has
noticed an increase in carpooling since then. In evaluating why this new W.O.W. event was so
successful, they indicate the sense of unity it created across the school and the well thought-out
incentives. Usually, such events are organized by the PTA or another isolated group, but getting
everyone involved and on the same page made all the difference.
Moving forward, Shailee states that they are inspired to create a Walk One Week Event Kit for other
schools, to help replicate this success. It will include instructions for organizing the event, list the
benefits, cite examples of sponsorship level and include examples of announcements for
promotional purposes. She also suggests hos:ing monthly meetings with other schools to help guide
them through the process as a sort of outreach and trying to raise more funds through community
organizations promising to match donation levels. A goal is to have all the local high schools hosting
a walking event by April, to raise perhaps $15.000-$20,000. After a recent presentation for the Teen
Commission, Shailee reports the commissioner from Cupertino High School expressed interest in
replicating the event at her school.
The expenses for this event include food, ban iers, and the pending group movie incentive which
would serve as a firm reinforcement of their scic:cessful efforts. The PTA granted them $500.00, and
preliminary numbers suggest at least$1,OOO.O0 was raised through parent donations for miles
walked, so the grant application request of$1,500.00 could be viewed as a matching grant.
Commissioner McCoy asks how many students participated and Shailee estimates 700 based on the
breakfasts given, but they are still waiting for some students to turn in their flyers showing miles
walked and money donated. Commissioner H fang adds that he has heard of parents being more
willing to allow kids to walk to school than bikE!to school because they perceive the kids are more
careful when walking as opposed to ignoring traffic laws while biking. Commissioner Huang
emphasizes that although the PSC has passed a motion to approve the requested grant, the club
must submit receipts for everything in order to receive the grant money.
2. Boltage Program progress/updates (NguyE:n/Lim)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: YES
MOTION: Daruwalla SECONDED: Lim 4 to 0
Commissioner Daruwalla motions to approve a $500.00 grant for Kennedy Middle School's first three
phases of the WBC program this school yeer 2013-2014; Commissioner Lim seconds the motion;
votes taken, all in favor to approve a $500.00 grant for Kennedy.
Commissioner Lim submits a grant application from Kennedy Middle School in the amount of
$500.00, similar to their other grants over the last three years, to cover incentives or prizes for their
planned events to promote the Boltage program.
Commissioner Lim inquires whether the previously approved payment was sent to Boltage for
Kennedy's annual operating cost. Captain Binder confirms he submitted the information and
approval to the Accounting Department, but does not know if payment is complete. He agrees to find
out.
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3. Report on Surveys to Schools (Nguyen)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
Captain Binder reports that not all schools have returned the surveys. When all are collected, he will
email Commissioner Nguyen to pick them up.
4. Discuss participation in the Alert SCC Program and the CAS Program (Huang)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
Commissioner Huang first addresses Commissioner McCoy's concern over missing person
notifications. He met with Rick Kitson and learned there is a new City Attorney reviewing the
proposed policy and patience is required. Captain Binder then addresses a specific recent event,
indicating that the Sheriff's Office quickly tracked the missing person outside of Cupertino through
cell phone GPS. Since she left voluntarily and was no longer in Cupertino, no large citizen level
search notification was needed. He re-iterates the difference between missing at-risk and voluntarily
leaving. He also states that the first response in any missing person case is through the Sheriff's
Office Search & Rescue Team, which is highly trained and uses specialized equipment and canines
in the searches. They search likely destinations and paths taken. If an at-risk person is still missing
the next day, then citizen volunteers may be requested to assist if needed.
An observer interjects that his wife has been calling the Sheriff's Office to ask for basic search and
rescue training for the CERT members. Captain Binder answers that the basics should have been
covered in their initial training, and both the Sheriff's Office and the Fire Department are evaluating
ways they might be able to utilize the Citizen corps, but for most events it is simply not indicated.
Commissioner McCoy expresses concern over block leaders receiving notifications and information
messages through CAS before CERT members. Mr. Ericksen offers to check into this, to find out if
certain groups are receiving messages earlier than others or if it is just perception. He states that 27
messages have gone out this year through CAS, and he will check the timestamps, but notes the
possibility that maybe some people sent out Mails to certain groups. He explains that the Cupertino
Volunteer Portal populates the CAS database, which currently has 560 people registered.
Mr. Ericksen then discusses the recent exercise drill that tested the CAS system for an emergency.
The premise was how to respond if the Dam were to break and inundate the 2500 houses below with
water. Many details came to light that need to be corrected, but participation was good and the drill
was successful. One thing the city staff really liked is how they paralleled the CAS messages on AM
1670, so people could tune in to catch the information again. Commissioner McCoy suggests also
paralleling messages on the bottom ticker tape of the city's TV channel.
Commissioner Huang mentions the possibility of organizing a large-scale sign-up drive next year,
getting volunteers to go door-to-door to increase CAS registration. Commissioner Daruwalla
suggests utilizing individual information cards, as she does at real estate open houses, which allow
people to fill it out and place in a locked box so that they do not worry about their confidential
information sitting open on a list or in a binder.
5. Discuss CERT items relevant to the PSC (I\AcCoy)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
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There was a search activation drill on October 14, and 26 people showed up to help in a good
amount of time..Commissioner McCoy asks Mr. Ericksen about the relevant city organizational
structure. Mr. Ericksen explains that since the city reorganization, CERT, CARES and MRC are three
groups under the Citizen Corps umbrella, which is currently under the Office of Emergency Services
directed by Julia Lamy. The OES then falls under the Department of Parks and Recreation led by
Carol Atwood.
6. Discuss Pulse Points App (McCoy)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
Acting Battalion Chief Lollie mentions that he ias heard there is a lot of progress on the Pulse Points
App project, and there may be test data sent very soon. Captain Binder concurs, adding that the
whole County is coming on board — not just the City of Cupertino. As soon as the Board gives official
approval, then everything else should be near y ready.
VII. NEW BUSINESS (Huang)
1. Emergency Services impacted by growth 0 the City
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
Acting Battalion Chief Lollie offers that he heard the PSC's concerns about the Apple project are
being addressed, regarding emergency access and the impact of increased population on
emergency services.
VIII. REPORTS
1. Santa Clara County Fire Department
Acting Battalion Chief Lollie distributes the October Fire Report. Fire loss was very low, just
$1,000.00 related to a vehicle fire. Response times remained average, but calls for service increased
to 329, up from 291 in September. He also notes that the Fire Department responded to more
vehicle accidents in October, totaling 24.
Commissioner Daruwalla tells the PSC about her Fire Department ride-along. It was exhausting and
eye-opening, but all staff she encountered were helpful and outstanding. She commends the Fire
Department for what difficult and important work they perform. Acting B.C. Lollie then mentions the
Leadership 95014 class currently in session, and the demonstrations/tour the Fire Department
hosted for the class. He believes it helped broaden the students' perspective of and empathy for the
daily lives and duties of firefighters. Captain Binder agrees that the Fire Department presentation
was spectacular and spurred the Sheriffs Office to pull out all the stops for their own
demonstrations/tour at the following class.
Commissioner Huang asks again about the performance of Rural Metro during bankruptcy, and
Acting B.C. Lollie again commends them for maintaining good service during hardship. The Fire
Department has not noticed any problems while working with them. Captain Binder adds that there is
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money being spent towards rig maintenanCE! and establishing better wages to retain valuable
employees, so the situation is improving.
2. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office
Captain Binder reviews the October report, indicating that response times were fantastic. There were
7 Priority One calls for service averaging 3.9 minutes, 384 Priority Two calls averaging 6.5 minutes
and 397 Priority Three calls averaging 12.5 minutes. In selected crime statistics, residential
burglaries dropped to 10, commercial burglaries totaled 8 and vehicle burglaries jumped sharply to
23. The burglars appear to be targeting rental vehicles in which travelers leave their laptops, and
they still seem to target the Vallco and Elephant Bar areas. Commissioner McCoy asks if drugs are
often related, and Captain Binder confirms that around 80% of property crimes are related to illegal
drugs. Continuing with crime statistics, there were two robberies, 4 simple assaults, and no sexual
assaults. Auto thefts dropped to 2, ID theft drepped to 8 and domestic violence cases increased to 6.
In combined traffic and patrol citation statistics, moving citations increased dramatically to 504,
speeding citations increased to 178 and other citations rose to 550. There were 11 DUI arrests, 46
accidents with only property damage, 12 injury accidents and no DUI accidents. Commissioner
Daruwalla remarks at how traffic in general has greatly increased, and Captain Binder agrees that
this time of year between September and December always seems to bring more traffic.
Acting B.C. Lollie expresses caution to anyone walking their pets after dark, due to recent wildlife
sightings. He personally saw three large co),otes out hunting one evening near the fire station at
Seagull and Cox Ave. Commissioner McCoy adds that grey foxes were seen near his own building at
Stevens Creek and De Anza. The Game Wardens determined the foxes came out of the nearby
creek bed searching for dog food or cat food.
3. Commission Reports
ACTION: N/A
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
There is no report on other Commissions at tl-i:; regular meeting.
IX. FUTURE AGENDA FOR NEXT REGULAR MEETING
1. Walk/Bike/Carpool to School Project, ongoing
2. Boltage Program progress/updates
3. Discuss progress on participation in AlertSCC and CAS Programs
4. Discuss CERT items relevant to the PSC.
5. School Surveys update.
X. ADJOURNMENT
This regular meeting adjourned at 9:04 p.m.
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XI. NEXT MEETING
The next regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
SUBMITTED BY:
Jennifer Roth
Executive Assistant
West Valley Patrol Division
Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff
November 21, 2013
APPROVED BY:
--,R C 12J IZI 3
Andy Huang, Commission Chair Date
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