01/26/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The City Council briefly discussed the letter that had been sent by City Manager Maureen Cassingham to Friends identifying the code violations at Westwind Barn that related to the living quarters. Jones reminded Council that staff had been directed by Council to perform the inspection and proceed accordingly. Cassingham explained that a licensed/insured contractor had been hired by the Friends and would be meeting with the Town's Building Official to address the life and safety issues at the Barn's living quarters that had been identified by the Town's consulting building inspector. No one would be permitted to live at the Barn until the violations were corrected. City Attorney Mattas discussed the Council's options to consider the potential expenditures related to the Barn repairs. He noted that they could, if necessary, call a Special meeting with a twenty-four hour notice or they could entertain a motion to add an urgency item to tonight's agenda because the issue had come to the attention of the Council after the meeting agenda had been posted. Mattas advised Council that the life/safety aspect of the violations had been addressed and the urgency factor would be based on the timing of the re-occupancy of the living quarters. Jones suggested that the City Manager could address the interim costs with her signature authority of $5,000 and if necessary, additional associated costs could be considered at the next Council meeting. Council concurred that the interim issues could be addressed by the staff. Councilmember Mordo reported that he had attended the Emergency Communications Committee and the Emergency Preparedness Committee meetings. He suggested that it would be appropriate for the role of the two committees to be better defined and the membership be advised of their charges. Mordo reported on his attendance at the City of Los Altos meeting of CERT trained volunteers and hams that had been organized by Police Chief Lacey to discuss the formation of a broader emergency group that would supplement the efforts of First Responders. The proposal included the creation of neighborhood shelters and coordinated neighborhood safety volunteers. Mordo suggested that a similar program be started in Los Altos Hills. He noted that the program was not being funded by the City of Los Altos but supported by grants garnered by Lacey. Mordo recommended that a first step would be to convene a meeting with Council, staff, and members of the Emergency Preparedness Committee and Emergency Communications Committee to discuss the current status of the Los Altos Hills emergency response and the designated roles of everyone and open the debate of whether it would be appropriate to move in the same direction as the City of Los Altos. Mordo explained that the City of Los Altos was entertaining the idea of employing a full-time emergency co-coordinator and suggested that the Town could possibly share the position. OPENED PUBLIC COMMENT Dru Anderson, Emergency Communications Committee Chair, reported that she had also attended the meeting called by Chief Lacey. She acknowledged the efforts of City Manager Cassingham and Public Safety Officer Steven Garcia to establish the Town's 11 City Council Meeting Minutes January 26,2006