HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 6LAHECCMinutes170606-FINAL.doc 1
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Emergency Communications Committee Minutes
Tuesday, June 06, 2017, 7 – 9 p.m.
Council Chambers 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
Members Call Sign Attendance
Jim Abraham W6EB P
Dru Anderson, Co-Chair KG6LAD P
Bob Anderson KC6ZWG P
Jim Heintzelman KD6Y P
Ben H. L. Hu KK6HH P
Edwin R Jones, EC W7WPO E
Andrew Kirk WB6CLS P
Duncan MacMillan, Secretary KI6VMY E
Scott Overstreet, Co-Chair N6NXI P
Sam Wood K6MSR P
Council/Staff ------
Gary Waldeck, Council Liaison K6AIR P
Associate Members ------
Kjell Karlsson KD6BPP P
Neil Katin K2LL P
Bill Lattin KK6PCA P
Greg Olsen K6XM E
1.Roll Call: Co-chair Dru Anderson KG6LAD called the meeting to order @ 1900 hours. Attendance
(12): 8 members, and 2 associates at the beginning and 1 liaison, and 1 associate at a later time. A
quorum was established at 1900 hrs.
2.Notes & Minutes: Dru called attention to a small modification made by Scott N6NXI on the May’s draft
minutes. Upon a motion from Scott, duly seconded by Ben KK6HH, the May’s revised minutes were
approved by all present, except for the abstentions by Jim W6EB and Jim KD6Y due to their absence at
the May meeting.
3.Public comments from the floor:
a.Dru reported that the date of July’s meeting scheduled Independence Day, July 4, is canceled.
She checked with town’s clerk, who advised it was permissible to cancel the July meeting. The
next meeting, will be Tuesday, Aug. 1, @ 7 p.m.. There were no objections from members
present.
b.Election of ECC officers for the 2017/18 year, scheduled to be at the July’s meeting, will now be
conducted at the August meeting. Ben KK6HH has volunteered to stand for the secretary
position and Jim KD6Y may consider running for co-chair.
c.Dru expressed her appreciation to David WQ1K and others for the successful completion of the
updated ECC charter, which was acknowledged by the Council Liaison Gary Waldeck K6AIR,
in a reply memo, to be an outstanding job. Gary indicated that the revised Charter was scheduled
to be considered by the town’s council at its September meeting.
LAHECCMinutes170606-FINAL.doc 2
d.Dru reported she has invited Barry Stallard, SCCFD LAH CERT program manager, to attend an
ECC meeting to be introduced. He indicated he will plan on attending the August ECC meeting.
e.Neil K2LL stated that, because of clarified DSW regulations, CERT members should first check-
in before doing any zone damage survey for the town in an activation event. While CERT Recon
or Hams could check-in with radios, other CERT members need to first check-in in person. In
order to avoid potential traffic congestion at the ARK, he planned to select 4 quadrant check-in
locations in the town. He invited any feedback.
f. Neil mentioned that a county exercise, RDF (Radio Direction Finding) search and locate
practice would takes place on July 29. Scott chimed in that the exercise, referred to as a “Fox
hunt” would not only be a good learning exercise, but also would reward the participants with
lots of fun.
g.ECC member Bob KC6ZWG is a member of Purissima Hills Water District board, and he asked
ECC members and associates to inform him or Peter Evans AI6MV when a fire breaks out in the
LAH service area. In case of telephone failure, he or Peter would like to be informed via
Amateur radios. There are concerns that water pressure in some fire hydrants at times may be
insufficient when the water tank is not sufficiently full. At present, for normal use rate, the water
tank is not filled 100% all the time in order to avoid prolonged storage of water in the tank to
ensure that fresh water is consistently supplied to users.
4.Reports: .
a.LAH City Council Report: Mayor and ECC Liaison Gary Waldeck K6AIR reported that:
a.The attendance of June 4 town’s picnic was down slightly from previous years, but was
run smoothly.
b.He announced that the West Valley amateur radio club asked him to welcome all ECC
folk to join them at their location for the upcoming field day on June 24, 2017.
b.Emergency Coordinator Report: Ed Jones W7WPO was absent but had asked Dru to seek
volunteers to staff NCO duty for the July SPECS Monday nights. Here are the results:
a.For July 3 and 10: Andy WB6CLS will be NCO for the SPECS main net and Jim KD6Y,
for the 440 MHz one.
b.For July 17: Neil K2LL will be the NCO for both main and 440 MHz nets.
c.For July 24, and 31: Bob KC6ZWG will be NCO for both dates for the SPECS main net,
if no one else would volunteer for July 24. For the 440 MHz net, volunteers are needed
for both nights of July 24 and 31.
c.ARK antenna: Bill KK6PCA reported that all ECC radio gears have been moved to ARK from
the fire station, thanks to Duncan KI6VMY and Andy KI6MAF.
d.Member/associate sub-team activities: The next quarterly report will be given by Ben KK6HH
in the August meeting.
a.Dru reported that various keys inside the EOC are now labeled and will be placed in
locked box in the radio room. The first lock box was obtained but deemed too large, and
it also was defective. A second smaller lock box is being purchased by the town clerk.
b.Dru also reiterated that there are no instructions or stipulations as to how and who can
access the transfer switch room in Council Chambers. She will follow-up with the town
clerk.
c.Neil pointed out, in addition to the access issue, that there needs to be a plan to do cross-
training for the operation of the electric generator and transfer switch.
5.Old Business:
a.Status of Battery plan for W32s: Duncan will report at the August meeting.
LAHECCMinutes170606-FINAL.doc 3
b.Suggestion for the outreach for membership:
i.Scott suggested a joint exercise with CERT Recon at EOC. Bill KK6PCA concurred
enthusiastically, in particular for the next County exercise, scheduled August 19. Details
will be developed by Ed W7WPO, EC, when he returns.
ii.Neil K2LL proposed a general introduction/orientation of EOC with CERT Recon and he
would do the planning for the event, but he encouraged full participation of ECC. Dru
suggested that the date for the intro/orientation be in the mid- July.
c.Neil, who is SPECS vice president, reported that SPECS was considering changes in the monthly
Flea market operation as the profits for the operation has been declining over the years, while
expenses have increased. However, the central thorny issue is to find for a better venue in terms
of the cost and convenient location. Currently, it is held at the DeAnza south parking lot.
6.Dru distributed information about BAEARS Ham Cram, Sat., July 15, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., in Palo Alto. She
encouraged people to spread the word, to increase our ham-capable population.
7.New Business:
a.Update on 40m HF vertical antenna placement. Scott reported that David WQ1K had a
discussion with Patrick Walters, the general manager of water district, regarding the possibility
of locating an antenna at a water district site. More discussion will follow with David WQ1K,
Scott N6NXI, Jim W6EB, and Patrick.
8.Tech Talk:
a.Discussed more active assistance plans to Ed W7WPO for the Aug. 17 city participation in the
County exercise.
b.Bill KK6PCA will submit the recognition list of participants supporting the pathway run to the
secretary of ECC, Duncan, and to Ben KK6HH.
c.Dru will ensure that member Andy WB6CLS gets key access to the EOC.
d.Andy Kirk volunteered to join those assisting in the July 4 LAH town parade.
9.Adjourn 2100: It was moved by Bob KC6ZWG, seconded by Andy WB6CLS, approved by voice vote.
Respectfully submitted: Ben Hu KK6HH, acting secretary