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PSC 10-08-2015CUPERTINO 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 TI1ursday, 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: Staff Absent: Others Present: III. REPORTS Captain Rick Sung, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chief J olm Justice, Santa Clara County Fire Department Battalion Chief Wally Fink, Santa Clara County Fire Department John Mumy and daughter Ashley, Cupertino residents 1. Santa Clara County Fire Department Deputy Chief John 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 persom1el 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 Tallinger provided a more useful view of the data. Safe Routes plans to put bam1ers 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 begin 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 t11.at 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 in 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 J erbic' 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 (WBC) project (All), the Boltage program (Tallinger), and Surveys to Schools (Tallinger) ACTION: YES VOTE: NO MOTION:N/A 5 SECONDED: NIA 0 to 0 Commissioner Tallinger met with Deputy Bond today about the next WBC event the week of October 26 for three days, same as in 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 inform 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 in 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 in 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 0 to 0 SECONDED: N/A 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 PulsePoints logo because it may insinuate that they 6 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 Sung 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 t11e appointed liaisons to the Bicycle-Pedestrian Commission and Library Commission starting in November. Commissioner Cascone will become the Library Commission liaison and Commissioner Tall:inger 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: NIA 7 0 to 0 Commissioner Deshpande from the TICC has produced a flyer for the planned talk, titled "Protecting Yourself Online," scheduled for October 13, 2015 from 4:00-5:00pm. Speakers will include Detective Guzman from the Sheriff's Office and two others, taking 15 minutes each. Commissioner J erbic 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 Next door as well. Commissioner McCoy requests that Commissioner J erbic 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. 8 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.rn. SUBMITTED BY: . ] ennif er Roth Executive Assistant West Valley Patrol Division Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff October 14, 2015 APPROVED BY: Date 9