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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 18 1 Town of Los Altos Hills Community Relations Committee Meeting Minutes Tuesday, January 18, 2005 Bullis School Multipurpose Room 1. Roll Call The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM by Chairman, Roy Woolsey. Present: Chairman, Roy Woolsey. Members, Ron Knapp, Karen Emerzian, Patty Woolsey, Colette Cranston, Roger Burnell. Youth Commissioner, Wei Wei Liu. Visitor, Ken Clifford. 2. Review of Prior Committee Minutes Minutes of the last meeting were approved as distributed. 3. Welcoming of Town Newcomers Patty Woolsey delivered 40 mailing labels to Town Hall since the last Committee meeting for mailing of the newcomer welcoming letter. The flier describing the Town website, finalized in the last Committee meeting, was delivered to Town Hall for printing on Town letterhead and inclusion in newcomer welcoming packets. The description of the planning process as distributed to Committee members was provided to Town Hall for inclusion on the web page. Patty reported that contact information currently in the Handbook supplement will be placed on the web site shortly, and then the supplement will be retired. 4. Los Altos Hills Town Newsletter The Committee reviewed the December newsletter and unanimously agreed that it was an excellent production, outstanding as always. The artistic tiles illustrated in the donor wall article hopefully do not discourage those less artistic residents in Town from contributing to the donor wall project. It was suggested that future articles on the Bullis Charter School should make clear that the school is a public school, currently located outside of town boundaries, but which the founders want to have located within town. Contributors such as Lee Garverick of the BCS article should be identified as to organization or affiliation. Roy Woolsey reported that a call for articles was distributed early this month, including to school districts, and reviewed Duffy Price’s list of proposed articles for the March Newsletter. Proposed articles include a description of Relay for Life, the new Local Energy Savings Solutions initiative, utility undergrounding pilot project, conservation easement donation, school siting update, and the Town Picnic. It was suggested that an annual feature of the Newsletter could be an article that recognizes winners of the volunteer service award who reside in Town. 5. Relay for Life Ken Clifford was introduced to the Committee. He described the Relay for Life that will be held at Los Altos High school on June 25 and 26, 2005. It is the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society, raising funds to be used for research, education, and transportation of cancer victims. It is a community event, where teams are formed to walk around the high school track for 24 hours. Each team member is asked to raise $100. Last year was the first year for the event in Los Altos, and $240,000 was raised by 38 teams involving over 700 people. Last year the Los Altos town staff formed a team, and 2 the public works entered a team. The fire department did an excellent team. There was relatively little involvement by Los Altos Hills. Ken is working to improve participation by Los Altos Hills, and is arranging for the town staff to enter a team. Ken would like the Community Relations Committee to put a team together. The Committee thanked Ken for his presentation, and agreed that this matter should be on the agenda for the next Committee meeting, when hopefully all members will be in attendance and a decision can be made. 6. Report on Westwind Barn Lighting Event Roy Woolsey reported that Duffy Price brought cider and supplies to Westwind Barn on December 5, and that she and Linda Swan served between four and five gallons of cider for the two hour period of the event. Colette Cranston said the event was smaller than that last year, with on the order of one hundred people in attendance. Duffy submitted a receipt for her expenses; unused cider was served at the caroling event. 7. Report on Caroling Event Duffy Price and Roy and Patty Woolsey served approximately two gallons of cider to approximately 45 people at the December 15 caroling event. Linda Seidel served glog. Wei Wei Liu arranged for several members of the Los Altos High School band to provide musical accompaniment to the caroling. Scott Vanderlip arranged for the Brownie troop to provide cookies, and he led the group to some of the neighboring houses for caroling. Scott had contacted the residents in advance, and several served cookies to the participants, and one served about a gallon of hot cider, which reduced the amount of cider that the Committee served. 8. Review of Newcomer Welcoming Reception The Committee reviewed the final report on the Newcomer Welcoming Reception. Karen Emerzian recommended inclusion of the shrimp and cashews that were purchased from Trader Joes. Roy Woolsey will confirm the quantities of these items and modify the report accordingly. The Committee thought it might be a good idea to combine a Newcomer Welcoming Reception with a new Town Hall dedication function. Newcomers for the past two years might be sent a special mailing inviting their attendance, and they could be given special nametags, which say something like “Say hi to me, I’m a newcomer.” It was noted that the agenda for the Thursday Council meeting includes the presentation of a Certificate of Appreciation to Kelly Porter. City Clerk Karen Jost confirmed that this certificate is in appreciation of the Porters opening their home for the Newcomer Reception. 9. Initial Planning for Town Picnic Roy Woolsey reported that he spoke with Art Marshall of the Fire Department last week, and that Art said he and the other firefighters would be delighted to provide another barbecue for the Town Picnic on Sunday afternoon, June 5. Roy reported that City Manager Maureen Cassingham wrote a letter to the Little League last August reserving the fields for this date. Roy had an e-mail exchange with Jerry Rosenblum of Ye Olde Towne Band, and the band is happy to perform for the picnic on the same terms as last year – a $500 donation and complementary meals for band members. The Committee agreed that Ye Olde Towne Band should perform at the picnic, and Roy will confirm arrangements with the band. Karen Emerzian noted that last year a number of band member’s spouses and family also were served meals, and it was agreed that Roy would emphasize to Jerry that complementary meals are for those who perform in the band, and Roy should ask for a count of complementary meal tickets in advance. Entertainment at the picnic was discussed at great length, including the matter of how much repetition vs. variety there should be in the entertainment from one year to the next. Roger Burnell will 3 investigate a couple of entertainers other than David Wilson who performed at three of the past four picnics, and report his findings at the next meeting. Roger will also investigate the cost and feasibility of bringing a portable ride to the picnic. Other alternatives for entertainment could include pony rides, a petting zoo, a Buss Barn performance, and/or a dunk tank. Ron Knapp will look into the possibility of a photographer taking photos at the picnic, which could be downloaded from the Internet after the picnic. Committee members will think about whether the Lionel model trains, which were at the last two picnics, should be invited to return this year. A final decision on entertainment should be made at the next Committee meeting. The draft picnic proposal was reviewed, and it was approved by the Committee as presented. Roy Woolsey can present the proposal to Council at a meeting in March (as he will be out of town for the February council meetings). Roy noted the problem of a canopy and two tables being added to the rental list for the 2004 picnic at the last moment at the request of the Donor Wall Committee; the rental company quoted about $240 for the addition, but invoiced for over $700, and this matter was not resolved the last time Roy looked into the problem. Roy circulated draft press release information for the picnic, including an announcement for he Parks and Recreation Activity Guide as well as a draft Newsletter article. The Committee noted two corrections for the Activity Guide: “burgers” should be spelled correctly and the last sentence of the third paragraph should be revised to read, “Many large canopies will be provided, so that neither rain nor hot weather cancel the picnic!” Roy will see that these corrections are passed along to Jimmy Forbis at Town Hall. Roger Burnell offered several editorial corrections to the proposed Newsletter article. Roy will pass the corrected article on to the Fire Department for comment, and then to Duffy Price for the Newsletter. Roy noted that neither Duffy Price nor Barbara Lamparter will be available to help with this year’s picnic; Ron Knapp said he would read last year’s report relative to soft drinks with a view to possibly handling all beverages for the Picnic. 10. New Town Hall Time Capsule Roy Woolsey read Duffy Price’s list of items on the proposed Time Capsule for the New Town Hall. The Committee agreed that a copy of the 2004 Town Picnic report would be a good contribution from the Committee for the Time Capsule. It was suggested that the report be laminated to help with its preservation. 11. Public Education in Los Altos Hills Roger Burnell summarized the charter of the Public Education Committee, including studying the tenor of the Town on the matter of public education, providing recommendations to Council for bringing public education back to Town, and providing recommendations on education in general. Roger noted that these charges are being fulfilled, but they have no effect on mediation. He is working through mediation to reunite the two communities. Since the last Community Relations Committee meeting, Chair Roy Woolsey appointed Roger as Committee representative to lead these mediation efforts. The effort is time-critical, given that venue decisions need to be made very soon for the next school year. The Committee agreed that Roger’s work was extremely important, and very consistent with the charter of the Community Relations Commttee. Karen Emerzian moved, seconded by Ron Knapp, that the Committee appoint Roger Burnell as the representative of the Community Relations Committee to work to bring together the relevant parties and interests towards resolving the current conflicts relative to public education in town. After some discussion, the motion passed unanimously. Roger then reported on his recent mediation activities, including “shuttle diplomacy.” He is working on agreements that meet the common goals and objectives of the parties. Ron Knapp asked if their were any legal issues relating to Roger’s efforts or the Committees endorsement thereof. Roger said this had already been discussed with City Manager Maureen Cassingham, who received the reading from the City Attorney that Roger’s activities would not cause any legal problem. Roy Woolsey was encouraged to confirm this with the City Manager. 4 12. Other/Special Events Which the Committee Might Organize Roy Woolsey reported on brief communications he had with Mayor Pro Tem Kerr and with Duffy Price relative to the Community Relations Committee’s involvement in a ceremony/event to dedicate the New Town Hall. The Committee agreed that it would be happy to help with an event to dedicate the New Town Hall, if the New Town Hall Committee and Council would like that help. The Committee would be happy to make the dedication event also serve as a Newcomer Reception, if agreed to by the New Town Hall Committee and Council. Perhaps a joint meeting between the New Town Hall Committee and the Community Relations Committee should be held. The Committee continued from the last meeting its discussion of other or special events which the Committee might organize. Roy Woolsey summarized the earlier discussions, noting that the Committee felt it might be good to focus on events centered around Foothill College. The Committee discussed two alternatives: (1) The Committee might organize a community event around a summer program/show at Foothill College. Some shows and musicals are exceptionally well done. Refreshments would be served. (2) A Los Altos Hills talent show could be considered, at the beautiful Smithwick Theater. Members of the community could audition for the show. An event committee or producer would be needed for the event. Committee members will think about these alternatives, and when they might be scheduled, and discuss them further next month. 13. Additional Items or Contributions from Committee Members At the request of Duffy Price, Roy Woolsey reported that there will be a phonathon for the Donor wall on February 16 and 17. Councilmembers will participate, and there will be no council meeting on February 17. Participants will meet at a local realty company at 5:30 PM for orientation, and then phoning will take place from 6 PM to 9 PM. Residents will be able to purchase tiles during the phonathon. Anyone interested in helping should e-mail Duffy. The Committee thought it would be a good idea to not call residents who have already donated. Roy Woolsey also announced that there would be an Open Space Forum on February 6 at Beth Am. Colette Cranston described the event in more detail, noting that Lois Crozier Hogle will be presented with the Stegner Award for Environmental Stewardship for her donation of a large conservation easement. 14. Date for Next Meeting and Adjournment The next Committee meeting will be held at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, February 15, 2005. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM. Minutes prepared by Roy Woolsey, January 25, 2005