Community Forum: Waymo Self-Driving Cars

Waymo, formerly the Google self-driving car project, has been developing this technology since 2009. Now, hear from the Waymo local policy and technical teams about their test program, the application to the DMV for a driverless testing permit, and other insights on what’s next for Waymo at a community forum at the Grant Park Community Center (1575 Holt Avenue) on Wednesday, October 17 from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. The presentation will include question and answer and a Waymo vehicle on display. For more information, visit  waymo.com.

Assistant City Manager

Get Ready to ShakeOut

Each October, the Great California Shakeout provides us an opportunity to consider an earthquake’s potential impacts and prepare for the safety, survival and recovery of ourselves, family and co-workers. You are invited to practice how to Drop, Cover, and Hold On at 10:18 a.m. on October 18th during  Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills. Additionally, the Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Services provides the following emergency planning resources and tools which can be applied to both home and work environments:

The time we invest in being prepared today will pay off tomorrow in the event of an earthquake or other disaster. For more earthquake preparedness tips, visit  http://bit.ly/earthquakeprepare.

Emergency Preparedness Volunteers Strengthen Their Skills

The City’s amateur radio emergency communications operators, Block Action Team leaders (BATs), and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members met on October 6 ^th to hold a disaster response drill in 2 locations in the City. Simulating response to an earthquake, teams walked around the neighborhood, assessed damage and injuries, planned search and rescue and medical treatment activities, and radioed data back to the command center and to the Emergency Operations Center. 

Vince Martinez, Regional Preparedness Liaison from FEMA Region 9, visited both drill sites to observe the volunteers at work. Jeff Walker, CERT program specialist from Santa Clara County Fire Department, observed one of the drill sites and provided feedback to the teams. Engines 75 and 76 from our local Los Altos fire stations visited the drill sites and talked with the volunteers about how their work connects to the Fire Department’s efforts during a disaster event. And, Los Altos Police officers visited to thank and encourage the volunteers. 

Through periodic drills, our emergency preparedness volunteers rehearse working as a team, practice their response skills, and check their gear. Many thanks to our BATs, CERTs, and Amateur Radio Emergency Service teams for their efforts to make sure that Los Altos PREPARES!

Volunteer “Victims” Needed for Emergency Preparedness Drill

Volunteers are needed to serve as “victims” in a County-wide emergency preparedness drill on Saturday, October 27 at Moffett Field. There are two sessions and you may select either session or participate in both. The first session starts at 8 a.m. and the second at 11:50 a.m.; both last about three hours.

Community Emergency Response Team members will conduct search and rescue, triage and treatment—and we need “victims” for them to practice on! Volunteers must be 18+ and have a government-issued photo ID. Please join us for this easy and fun way to help our community with emergency preparedness and get a peek at how community volunteers will respond and help victims after an earthquake. For more details or to register as a volunteer, click here.

City Clerk

Critical Shortage of Election Officers

With just 25 days until Election Day, the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters’ Office is facing a critical shortage of workers to serve at the 849 polling places throughout the County. Over 1,000 Election Officers are still needed, including more than 100 bilingual volunteers. English-only volunteers are also needed. Election Officers perform fundamental functions such as checking in voters, providing a ballot, collecting the ballot and making sure that it is returned to the ROV for counting and tallying.

Election Officers earn a stipend of up to $200 for volunteering at the polls. Eligible residents who would like to participate in the democratic process are encouraged to contact the Registrar of Voters’ Office immediately. Election Officers must be citizens who are registered to vote, legal permanent residents, or high school students aged 16 years or older with permission from both a parent and principal, and a minimum GPA of 2.5. Experience is not necessary; all training is provided. To volunteer to be an Election Officer, sign up online under the “Volunteer” tab at www.sccvote.org or call (408) 918-9140.

City Council Open Office Hours

Visit Open Office Hours and personally connect with Los Altos City Council members. At each event, one City Council member will be available to the public for a two-hour period to answer questions, receive input and discuss topics of interest to community members. All are welcome.

Friday, October 19, 2018

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Grant Park Community Center, Room 3

1575 Holt Avenue, Los Altos

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Grant Park Community Center, Room 3

1575 Holt Avenue, Los Altos

Community Development

Learning About Latest State Legislation

Economic Development Coordinator Anthony Carnesecca visited Los Altos Rotary as a guest of Chamber of Commerce President Pat Kapp. During this lunchtime meeting, Anthony met with various community leaders and had the opportunity to hear Silicon Valley Leadership Group President and CEO Carl Guardino discuss current legislation aimed at addressing transportation and affordable housing, two of the most pressing issues facing this area.

Illuminated Evenings

At the October 9 ^th City Council meeting, Council approved a request to provide the Los Altos Village Association with funds to purchase LED light strands for the trees along Main Street, State Street and the parking plazas in downtown Los Altos. The current lights are incandescent, which require replacement annually. The new, energy-efficient LED lights will better illuminate our community pathways and will save money, as they require less frequent replacement. Please keep an eye out for these new light strands in the coming months as you stroll through our beautiful downtown.

Police

National Walk to School Day

Officers were invited to attend festivities at Almond and Montclaire Elementary Schools on National Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 10. Motorcycle Officers monitored traffic around both schools while Officers on bicycles provided a safe escort as students made their way to campus. Walk to School Day is intended to encourage safe walking and biking for children and youth. In addition to the benefits of increased physical activity, when families decide to lace up their sneakers or strap on their bike helmets to get to school instead of riding in a car, they help reduce the amount of air pollutants emitted by automobiles.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Academy

Congratulations to recent graduates of the Los Altos CERT Academy! Graduates include eleven Los Altos residents and a total of thirty-one individuals from across the County. CERT members prepare, organize and work together as a team to help the City’s disaster response efforts. Los Altos CERTs strengthen neighborhood resiliency and work collaboratively with city staff, Block Action Team leaders and amateur radio emergency services to be ready when needed.

The new CERT Academy graduates completed 21-hours of training taught by Santa Clara County Fire Department. They learned skills in emergency preparedness and response, search and rescue, triage, basic medical treatment, and more. Police Chief Andy Galea and Captain Scott McCrossin joined special guests Dana Reed (Director, Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Services) and Suwanna Kerdkaew, (Deputy Director, County Communications Center, Santa Clara County Fire Department) in thanking the graduates for volunteering. Each emphasized the CERT’s vital role partnering with law enforcement and fire services to help the community in the event of a disaster.

For more information on the CERT program, visit losaltosca.gov/cert. The next CERT Academy hosted in Los Altos will be October 2019, with another in Los Altos Hills in March 2019.

Public Works

Construction Projects in Civic Center

Sewer Improvements - Structural Reach Replacement: This week, the City’s contractor began preparations for pipe replacement on San Antonio Road. This segment, located on the civic center campus, runs between the Library and City Hall to a manhole in the street on San Antonio Road near the intersection of West Edith Avenue and Main Street. The contractor is currently performing pipe replacement using trenchless method on the San Antonio Road segment. The apricot trees will not be impacted by this project.

 

Los Altos Youth Center Playground: Crews continue work on the replacement of the playground equipment outside the Los Altos Youth Center (LAYC). The project includes new playground structures, swings, play panels and playground surfacing. The park is expected to reopen in late October. Residents may wish to consider utilizing the Whistle Stop playground by the Hillview Community Center as a nearby alternative.

 

School Route Improvement Projects

The City of Los Altos has retained a construction contractor, Sposeto Engineering, Inc., for performing crosswalk and intersection improvement projects at five locations listed below. The intent of these crosswalk improvements is to provide ADA compliant ramps, high visibility crosswalk markings, and various enhancements along school routes: 

All affected schools have been notified. The contractor will provide notices to nearby residents prior to the start of work. These notices will provide additional information regarding traffic control and/or no-parking zones related to the work. If you have any questions about this project, contact Engineering Services Manager Aruna Bodduna at (650) 947-2780 or abodduna@losaltosca.gov.

Stormwater Pollution Prevention Workshop – Building Demolition

Engineering staff attended a regional workshop focused on developing a program for addressing an important source of stormwater pollution, PCBs in old building materials. Starting in July 2019, new requirements are planned for full demolition of certain types of structures that may contain PCBs. The upcoming new requirements are part of a regional strategy to address PCBs, which can pose health risks to those who consume fish from the San Francisco Bay. 

 

Annual Sewer Service Charge Posted on Property Tax Bill

The County of Santa Clara Tax Collector has mailed tax bills to property owners for Fiscal Year 2018/19. Residents are encouraged to review their bill when received. If you have a question on a posted sewer charge, please see the additional information at the link below. Information concerning the sewer appeals process for those with a qualifying condition is also available online. The deadline to file an appeal is December 31, 2018. For more information, visit the Annual Sewer Service Charge webpage.

Downtown Street Cleaning

This week, maintenance crews have been pressure washing downtown streets during the evening hours after most businesses close. Crews will return early Saturday morning to complete the work.

Recreation & Community Services

Halloween Window Painting

Downtown Los Altos will soon be decked out in spooky, silly and creative Halloween window paintings! Local students in grades 4-12 participating in the City’s 55 ^th Annual Halloween Window Painting Contest will be painting storefront windows in downtown Los Altos on Thursday, October 18 ^th, Friday, October 19 ^th and Saturday, October 20 ^th. Parks and Recreation Commissioners will select the contest winners on Sunday, October 21 ^st. Good luck to all the talented artists! Also, special thanks go out to the Los Altos Village Association and each of the stores and restaurants that are participating this year. We truly appreciate the support of our local business owners who help keep this holiday tradition alive in Los Altos!

Hillview Senior Program

Tuesday, October 16: The Health Insurance Counseling Program (HICAP) will meet at 10 a.m. in Senior Program Room 10.

Grant Senior Program

Wednesday, October 17: Syndee Journal from Waymo (self-driving cars) will share information about the company and its application to the DMV for driverless testing. This presentation will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room between 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Questions about Senior programming can be directed to Senior program staff at (650) 947-2797.

Reminders

Pumpkin Carving with a Cop

Mark your calendar for Saturday, October 27 and join Los Altos Police for our 3 ^rd annual Pumpkin Carving with a Cop! This year’s event will be held at the Los Altos Youth Center from 3 to 5 p.m. Los Altos Police Officers will be carving pumpkins alongside fellow jack o’ lantern enthusiasts during this fun, FREE, family-friendly event. Participants are asked to bring their own pumpkins and to RSVP. We will provide carving tools, snacks and refreshments. We hope to see you there!

Halloween Movie in the Park

The Los Altos Parks & Recreation Commission is pleased to present “Twas A Week Before Halloween Movie Night.” This free event will take place on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at Grant Park located at 1575 Holt Avenue. The following movies will be shown on an outdoor screen:

Bring a chair, blanket, or jacket and join us for this fun, family-friendly Halloween double feature.