HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 16
Minutes: Town of Los Altos Hills
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
Monday, April 16, 2007 @ 7:00 PM, Council Chambers
1. Roll call:
Member Call Sign Attended Absent
Bob Anderson, Vice Chairman KC6ZWG P
Bob Hall KF6DHX P
David Gilmour WQ1K E
David Pratt K6LWT P
Dru Anderson, Chairman KG6LAD P
Jim Abraham W6EB E
Maynard Stevenson W7MVT P
Rick Ellinger KJ6NU P
Sam Wood K6MSR P
Scott Overstreet N6NXI E
Robert "Smitty" Smithwick W6CS P
Al Whaley N6RPR P
Ray Egan W6FQY E
Edwin R Jones, Secretary W7WPO P
Lynn McLeod KG6YIT P
Terry Smith K7YNO E
Jerry Tomanek KI6BYL P
Gary Waldeck K6AIR P
Associate Members Call Sign
Peter Berman K6PJB
Bob Lisbonne KG6HOD
Ed Radlo AJ6V
Bob Fenwick K6GX
Other Hams present
Andy Kirk WB6CLS P
Council Liaison
Jean Mordo Ki6AXE
1) March minutes accepted: Moved: Bob Anderson. Second: Jerry Tomanek
2) Dru Anderson welcomed Steve Garcia, Los Altos Hills Public Safety Officer to the
meeting. Steve then led an extensive discussion of the plans for the town picnic. There
will be six tables devoted to disaster preparedness. Groups represented will be:
Emergency Communications Committee, CERTS, Emergency Preparedness Committee,
Fire District and Red Cross. A twenty foot long banner will be used as a skirt on the
tables. The function of the ECC presentation will be to explain our roll to the residents
and to recruit additional volunteers. The suggestion was made of a drawing for a free
ticket to a amateur radio license training class.
3) At the April meeting, it was decided that the town staff take the lead in the negotiations
regarding the repeater antenna at the La Cresta water tank. Steve Garcia reported on the
success of those negotiations. An agreement appears to have been reached with an
increase in the antenna height and the plan to hire a more qualified antenna contractor.
The water company is doing an engineering study of the safety of the tower in regard to
the water tank. Steve assured the committee that the project was moving forward.
4) Dru Anderson announced that she has requested an increased committee budget to
support additional training sessions and related training materials.
5) Al Whaley volunteered to do the SPECS check-in this evening.
6) Rick Ellinger expressed concerns about the increasing layers of requirements for
volunteers. He said the complexity of the requirements makes it difficult for even the
dedicated volunteers to qualify.
7) The drill Saturday, April 21, is for MACs, Mutual Aid Communicators, and will involve
dispatching volunteers to a mythical city for response and training.
8) Al Whaley demonstrated a CERTS equipment carrying pack that might be of interest to
the committee. Its benefit is that it is designed to be packed in an organized manner,
rather than a jumble by a open bag or back pack. The committee was going to pursue
best prices for group order.
9) Sam Wood pointed out to the group that the new NI Metal Hydrate rechargeable batteries
have advantages that are of interest to our group.
10) Adjourned at 8:50; moved by Bob Anderson, seconded by Al Whaley.
Respectfully submitted,
Edwin Jones
LAHECC Secretary