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PSC 01-13-05 CUPErQ1NO MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CUPERTINO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION January 13, 2005 The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Commissioners Absent: Staff Present: Charles Caldwell, Hugh Riddell, Jay Cena, Nolan Chen Barry Chang (arrived 7:10 p.m.) Glenn Goepfert, Assistant Director of Public Works ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS - None. REPORTS Santa Clara County Fire District - Battalion Chief Charlie Anderson reviewed the activity log for November, 2004 and reported was one significant fire at an apartment complex on Lucille. He stated that, currently, the Department is going through the assessment process for becoming an accredited fire department. OLD BUSINESS I. General Plan Public Hearings - Set Date for Public Safety Commission Attendance City Planner Ciddy Wordell stated that the revision of the General Plan has been on-going for over three years. Last year, the General Plan Task Force was formed and spent several months making recommendations. These recommendations are contained in the elements of the draft General Plan that the commissioners are reviewing. The commissions are being asked to filter through the draft to see if anything needs to be added or changed prior to the document being sent to the City Council. She urged the commissioners to attend or send a delegate to the Planning Commission's public hearing on February 22. In response to a question of who to contact for more information, Ms. Wordell stated that questions may be directed to the Assistant Director of herself. Comm. Cena asked what expectations the Task Force has of the Commission. Ms. Wordell informed him that if the Commission felt anything in the document was not going in the same direction ofthe Commission as far as policies, that they request a change or to add information to the element. I Asst. Director Goepfert suggested that the Commission appoint a member or two to come up with or coordinate questions and another to attend the public hearing at the Planning Commission level and any Council meetings. By consensus, the Commission agreed to review the health and safety element of the General Plan prior to their February lOth meeting and consolidate all questions and input. It was moved and seconded that a Commission representative attend the Planning Commission meeting on March 8 at 6:45 p.m. to discuss the health and safety element of the General Plan. The motion was adopted unanimously. The representative will be selected at the February meeting. Ms. Wordell informed the commissioners that there is General Plan information on the City's website should anyone desire to review other elements. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - By consensus, the September 9 and November 18 regular meeting minutes were approved as submitted. The December 9 minutes were amended to add the following to paragraph 2 of Manta Vista High Traffic Task Force: Commissioner Chang asked Asst. Principal of Monta Vista High, Bryan Emmert, to consider improvements, including covering of the bicycle storage facilities and increasing the size. The amended minutes were approved with Comm. Cena abstaining. NEW BUSINESS 2. Election of Commission Chair and Vice-Chair Comm. Chang moved to elect Hugh Riddell as Chair. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Comm. Chang moved to elect Jay Cena as Vice Chair. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The commissioners agreed that Chairperson Chen did an outstanding job this past year and thanked him for his service. 3. Monta Vista High PTA - Consider appointing Commission member to attend January 25, 2005, meeting. Chair Chen stated that, at the December 9 meeting, Comm. Riddell was appointed to attend the January 25 meeting. Comm. Riddell invited all commissioners to attend the meeting if they desired. He stated he has been to Monta Vista High several times recently, and on two occasions, no one from the school was in the parking lot monitoring traffic. He felt the 2 commission should apply some pressure to the school administration and encourage them to take on some of the responsibility for keeping traffic from backing up into the street. Comm. Cena stated he would attend the Garden Gate Elementary PT A meeting in February to brief them on Street Smarts. Asst. Director Goepfert stated that he just received a mini-tape from Linda Crabill with the City's logo; he will make copies so that materials can be used. 4. Consideration of Consolidation of Public Safety and Bicycle Pedestrian Commissions Asst. Director Goepfert gave a brief overview of a draft City Council report on the subject. He stated that the loss of a position in the Transportation Division makes it difficult to have staff support for the two commissions and that the interests of the two commissions have converged to a point where they have many issues in common. When asked what percentage of the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission's time is spent on non- safety issues, Asst. Director Goepfert stated that at least half of their time is spent on traffic safety issues. The other portion of their time is spent on promoting trails or facilities for pedestrians and bicycles. He used the Mary A venue Bridge as an example of a facility that has a big safety component. Also, while they do not take up police and fire issues, traffic enforcement to the benefit of pedestrian and bicycle safety does come up. While it may tend to make agendas longer, a combined commission would be more efficient and a number of the shared interests could be discussed at one time. When asked what the name of the commission might be, Asst. Director Goepfert stated it might be The Bicycle Pedestrian and Public Safety Commission. Concern was expressed about the length of the meetings of such a large commission. Comm. Cena said that he thinks there is some crossover, but he would like a better understanding of what the combination would entail. Chair Chen asked if conducting meetings on another schedule, such as every other month, had been considered. Asst. Director Goepfert stated that in the past, some commissions and committees have met quarterly or meetings have been held only when there is business to discuss. Comm. Chang feels that the Public Safety Commission deals with a much bigger scope than pedestrians and bicycles; he cited earthquakes, the recent tsunami, and the mudslide in southern California. Asst. Director Goepfert stated that those things that the Public Safety Commission can actually take or recommend action on are limited. Chair Chen stated that last year, the Commission laid out their goals; perhaps it is time to focus more on disaster preparedness. He suggested the Commission could meet less often. Asst. Director Goepfert stated that this issue was being placed on the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission and Public Safety Commission's agendas to get comments regarding the pros and cons of consolidating the commissions. It is also an opportunity to get alternatives, such as meeting less often. The commissioners do not feel that creating a single, lO-person commission would be efficient. Comm. Cena asked about the correlation between staffing issues' and the commissions. Asst. Director Goepfert explained that he is responsible for covering both commissions and any work generated from the meetings, including requests for information and investigating any issues. Since the two commissions have common interests, staff would be able to focus more on 3 working with just one commission. If the commissions were combined, all of the shared issues could be discussed at one time. Not only would this be more efficient, but there would also be a more diverse point of view presented. He stated that the reason the Public Safety Commission was assigned to him last year was because their stated interest changed over to traffic. He suggested that if their interests are not primarily traffic, then his function as staff liaison may change. Comm. Cena suggested that the groups could remain separate, but meet together every other month. For example, there could be a meeting every month, but if the focus of one particular meeting was bike-ped safety, the Public Safety Commissioners would not attend. The agenda could be set so that it would be primarily loaded with one group's issues. In response to a question, Asst. Director Goepfert replied that staff is looking for ideas, recommendations, alternatives and the commissioners' feelings about the consolidation. Comm. Caldwell stated the he feels the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission is an advocacy group, while Public Safety Commission is an investigative group. Asst. Director Goepfert stated that other than the Planning Commission that actually sets administrative law, the commissions are advisory to the City Council. He asked if the Commission is likely to make recommendations based upon what comes out of their meetings. Comm. Cena stated that Public Safety Commission has gone to Council on several items this year, including flooding and rural and semi-rural designations for streets and neighborhoods. Comm. Riddell stated that, in the past, the Commission worked with Marsha Hovey to set up arcs for emergencies. He stated that this took up a fair amount of meeting time and had nothing to do with bike-ped. He said that if the City wants to consolidate the commissions, they should change the name and not use a combined name, because it sends a message. One of the commissions could become secondary if a combination is used. He does want the community to lose the input the Commission makes on public safety issues. He feels a reorganizing or restructuring of the commissions is necessary if they are consolidated. Asst. Director Goepfert stated that the Commission may want to think in terms of goal- setting. It may help in identifying both convergences and diverging interests. Comm. Caldwell stated then when he joined the Commission, their interests were more technical than those of the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission. He feels the community would be short- changed if the Public Safety Commission did not continue their investigations. Comm. Chang reiterated that the Public Safety Commission deals with a much bigger scope than the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission. In the advent of a disaster, the Public Safety Commission will make suggestions for coordination and communications. Chair Chen stated that one of their goals is to make sure the City is prepared for potential disasters. He would not want something to happen and have the citizens question the City's response. Comm. Riddell would like the Commission to take the lead role in getting some of the school districts to talk with each other. In one district, schools approach the idea of disasters in different ways. The Commission may want to assist in coordinating activities between the schools and the districts. 4 When asked about a timetable for consolidation, Asst. Director Goepfert stated there is none. Comm. Cena asked if there would be joint discussion with the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission or if their comments would be reported back to the Commission. Asst. Director Goepfert stated he would report back to them at the next meeting. Asst. Director Goepfert stated that as far as setting goals, he felt the Commission should focus on dealing with the schools and disaster response. He felt that setting out divergent goals from the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission would help separate the commissions. At the same time, he feels there is an advantage to having differing points of view on similar issues in one room, as it prevents those involved from becoming myopic. Comm. Cena stated he would like to look at the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission's goals. He felt this might help the Public Safety Commission with brainstorming and setting their goals. Asst. Director Goepfert informed him that there are both bicycle and pedestrian guidelines and capital improvements projects that have resulted from these guidelines. Discussion followed regarding public safety issues and setting goals for the coming year. The commissioners will discuss this further at their February meeting and form a recommendation. REPORTS Commissioner's Reports - Comm. Cena stated that he spoke with Cupertino School Resource Officers about the program and received a favorable response. He would like to have Linda Crabill assist him in one large presentation for a number of PTAs. Discussion followed regarding the best way to roll out the program with limited resources. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Items for the next agenda include: goals for 2005, reports from the PTA meetings, General Plan review and comments, and feedback from the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission regarding consolidation of the two commissions. Comm. Cena reminded the Commission that there had been discussion at a previous meeting of holding the February meeting at the new substation. He was concerned about the length of the meeting given the upcoming agenda items. By consensus, it was agreed that the meeting should begin at 6:30 p.m. so that the commissioners have a chance to tour the substation prior to conducting regular business. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. (1u (,/b¡11LuL Carol Shepherd Administrative Assistant 5