Administrative Services

Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Plan

At the June 15 ^th regular meeting, City Council reviewed and approved the FY2018-19 Operating Budget and 5-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for FY2019-23. The Operating Budget highlights over $41M in revenue and continued commitments to fund current CIP projects and our upcoming new Community Center. The approved 5-year CIP plan and Operating Budget can be viewed online.

Assistant City Manager

Free Compost for Los Altos Residents

The City of Los Altos has partnered with Mission Trail Waste Systems to provide free compost to Los Altos residents. The self-service station is located at the City’s Maintenance Services Center at 707 Fremont Avenue and is open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Please follow the signage inside the Maintenance Services Center to minimize impact to daily operations. Residents may fill up to four large garbage-type bags or approximately two-yards if filling a truck bed. The City encourages residents to take advantage of the free compost for their home gardens as it is made available.

News Station Highlights City’s Cigarette Butt Recycling Program

In mid-May, the City of Los Altos installed cigarette butt recycling receptacles throughout the parking plazas in the downtown triangle. The City will collect the cigarette waste and send it to Terracycle, where it will be recycled and turned into plastic pellets which can be used to make products such as shipping pallets, ashtrays and plastic lumber. The innovative program sparked the interest of NBC Bay Area news, which ran a story highlighting the program in late May. Los Altos officials hope the program will encourage smokers to dispose of their waste appropriately, rather than littering by throwing them on the ground. Los Altos is proud to participate in this innovative recycling program, as it supports the City’s commitment to reducing waste while keeping our beautiful downtown clean and healthy.

Los Altos PREPARES Hosts Educational Events

Emergency Preparedness volunteers from Los Altos and neighboring cities met on June 12 ^th for the quarterly Los Altos PREPARES Inspiration Session. At these sessions, volunteers connect with one another while also participating in information-sharing or training to help them in their roles as Block Action Team Leaders, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members, or amateur radio emergency communications service. About 40 people turned out to hear Pam Perdue from PG&E talk about utility safety. She shared some basic tips that we can all remember:

On June 13, Los Altos hosted a CERT Refresh class with Santa Clara County Fire Department. The class reviewed information on conducting damage assessments of neighborhoods after an earthquake and maintaining personal safety. This training helps our CERT volunteers prepare to help residents after an earthquake, as they can better assess the situation and the safety of entering a home to search for victims. If you’re interested in volunteering as a CERT, sign up today for the annual CERT Academy training class held in Los Altos beginning Sept 11th. The class provides 21-hours of training on emergency preparedness, first aid, search and rescue and other skills so that you’re better able to prepare your family and help your neighbors. This is the only Academy hosted in Los Altos; training is held in other cities throughout the year. Classes will be held at Hillview Community Center on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with a final class exercise and graduation on Saturday, September 29.

City Clerk

Last Day to Apply for the North County Library Authority Library Redevelopment Task Force

Applications for the North County Library Authority (NCLA) Library Redevelopment Task Force are due by the end of the day today, Friday, June 15. Interviews are tentatively scheduled during the week of June 18. Applications can be picked up at Los Altos City Hall (1 N San Antonio Road) or com pleted online. The mission of the Task Force is to hold public meetings to gather community input and provide a recommendation to the NCLA Board on options for redevelopment of the Main Library. Applications are open to residents of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. For more information, call 650-947-2720.

Community Development

City Council and Planning Commission Study Session

On June 12, the City Council and Planning Commission held a study session to review and discuss proposed changes to the City’s parking regulations. The Planning Commission has spent a significant amount of time reviewing the recommendations of the former City-Wide Parking Committee and has developed recommendations on numerous changes to the City’s parking rules. Following the study session, Council directed staff to return with draft ordinances that introduce the proposed amendments to Chapter 14.74, Off-Street Parking and Loading, of Title 14, Zoning of the Los Altos Municipal Code. The proposed amendments accomplish, among other things:

For more information, view the Staff Report from the June 12 meeting.

Downtown Vision

Staff provided the Los Altos Community Coalition, a community group, with an update on the Downtown Vision. There were many good questions raised about how the Vision Plan will be used in the future and next steps in the process. The Downtown Vision Plan is slated to return to the City Council at its meeting on August 28, 2018.

New Economic Development Coordinator

The City’s new Economic Development Coordinator will begin his tenure with the City of Los Altos next Monday, June 18. Anthony Carnesecca joins us from the City of Santa Clara’s Energy Department. His customer service experience and enthusiasm will serve him well in his new role here with the City.

Police

Law Enforcement Torch Run

On Thursday, June 14, Chief Galea, Officers and staff from the Los Altos Police Department put on their running shoes in support of a worthy cause. The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics began in 1981 and is intended to raise money and awareness for the athletes participating in the Special Olympics. Known as Guardians of the Flame, law enforcement members and Special Olympics athletes carry the “Flame of Hope” into Opening Ceremonies of local competitions. There are over 97,000 law enforcement members that carry the “Flame of Hope” annually. The flame symbolizes courage and celebration of diversity uniting communities around the globe. Mountain View Police passed the torch to Los Altos Police, who carried the Flame of Hope down El Camino Real to a team from Palo Alto Police. We wish all the athletes the best as they compete in the 2018 Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games at UC Davis beginning on June 22!

Public Works

Los Altos & CUSD Meeting

On June 14, Public Works staff and Council Members Jan Pepper and Lynette Lee Eng attended a City of Los Altos and Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) Collaborative Meeting. Staff presented updates regarding upcoming crosswalk and intersection improvement projects and the Homestead Corridor Safe Route to School improvement project. Crosswalk and intersection improvement projects are the safe routes to school projects identified in the City's Capital Improvement Plan.

Homestead Corridor Safe Route to School

Supervisor Simitian's office proposed a one-time allocation of $100,000 funding to develop a multi-jurisdictional conceptual plan of additional on-street safety improvements to the Safe Route to School on the Homestead Road Corridor. Students from south Los Altos and northwest Cupertino use Homestead Road to travel to Cupertino Middle School and Homestead High School. The conceptual plan would serve as the basis for subsequent multi-jurisdiction applications for state and federal funding to implement identified on-street improvements. The City strongly supports this effort and will work collaboratively with neighboring jurisdictions and County staff. 

Fats, Oils and Grease Program RFP

This week, the City received 2 proposals from consultants to conduct future inspections as part of the Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) program. During FOG inspections, the consultant will check to ensure proper plumbing, grease traps/ interceptors and operational practices are in place to keep grease out of the sewer system. The FOG Program is necessary to fulfill requirements of regional and state permits associated with both the City’s stormwater and sanitary sewer systems. This program helps minimize FOG from entering into the sewer system by educating food service establishment staff on best management practices to help prevent sewer back-ups and ensure compliance with the City's Municipal Code. There are over 100 food service facilities located within City limits which discharge to the sewer system.

Sewer System Repairs Project

The Sewer System Repairs project consists of rehabilitation of six sanitary sewer segments. Three segments are located in the South Plaza parking area of downtown and three are located in residential areas along Eleanor Avenue and Annette Lane. All sewer line replacements in the South Plaza are now complete, pending surface restoration. This week, the City’s contractor began mobilizing and saw cutting on Eleanor Avenue in preparation for the sewer repairs at that location, which will begin next week using a trenchless construction method (pipe reaming).

Tennis Court Resurfacing Project Complete

Residents are encouraged to grab a racket, a can of tennis balls and check out the newly resurfaced tennis courts at McKenzie and Montclaire Parks. The courts have been crack sealed, resurfaced and are now available for public play! City crews plan to resurface the tennis courts at Marymeade Park and the basketball court at Grant Park in early fall 2018.

Recreation & Community Services

Summer Concerts Start this Saturday!

Our 16 ^th Annual Summer Concert Series kicks off with the Peninsula Symphony this Saturday, June 16th at Hillview Park at 6 p.m. We hope you will gather with friends, family and neighbors to enjoy many shows this summer. The full summer concert lineup is noted below. Aside from our first concert this weekend, Summer Concerts are held on Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and rotate between Hillview Park and Grant Park.

Reminders

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.

Upcoming Open Office Hours

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Grant Park Community Center, Room 3

1575 Holt Avenue, Los Altos

Friday, July 6, 2018

3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Hillview Community Center, Room 2

Thursday, July 19, 2018

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Grant Park Community Center, Room 3

Sunday, August 5, 2018

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Hillview Community Center, Room 2