HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 4LAHECC_FINAL_Minutes_20190604.docx 1
Emergency Communications Committee Minutes
Tuesday, June 4, 2019, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
LAH Council Chambers: 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
Members Call Sign Attendance
Dru Anderson, Co-Chair KG6LAD P
Eduardo Arias, Co-Chair KM6LSX P
Bob Anderson KC6ZWG P
Jim Heintzelman KD6Y A
Ben H. L. Hu, Secretary KK6HH P
Edwin R Jones W7WPO E
Terry Kearney KM6LTQ E
Andrew Kirk WB6CLS P
Scott Overstreet N6NXI P
Sam Wood K6MSR P
Council/Staff
Kavita Tankha,Council Liaison P
Associate Members
Robert Johnson KG6UWZ P
Kjell Karlsson KD6BPP P
Craig Miller WA6OXK P
Dave Stewart KJ6JQT P
Greg Olson K6XM P
Neil Katin, EC K2LL P
Duncan MacMillan KI6VMY P
CERT/Guests
J Logan, LAHCFD P
Capt. Denise Gluhan KM6IFY P
Marsha Hovey KG6CYV P
1.ECC call to Meeting: Co-Chairs Dru Anderson KG6LAD/Eduardo Arias KM6LSX.
(a)Roll Call: At 19:00 hours, Dru KG6LAD opened the meeting. Ben KK6HH took
the roll call: Attendance: 17 including 7 members, 1 Council Liaison, 6
associates and 3 guests. Kjell KD6BPP came at 19:54 hours, increasing the
attendance to 18.
(b)Minutes approved: There was one suggested change in the minutes. Scott
N6NXI moved to approve the May minutes with the revision, Andy WB6CLS
seconded, and all members present approved the revised minutes unanimously.
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2.Council Liaison Kavita Tankha Update
(a)ECC Co-Chairs Dru and Eduardo briefly summarized the presentation of their
Annual ECC Report on May 16 to the Town Council. The handouts of the
presentation had been emailed and paper copies were available at the meeting.
Kavita commented that the town Council suggested, in an evacuation situation,
the street names as well as zone # should be included in an announcement as
most LAH residents are familiar with the names of the street, but not necessarily
their zone number.
3.Public comments from the floor:
(a)Capt. Denise Gluhan KM6IFY, the new CERT coordinator, was invited to the
ECC meeting to introduce herself to the group. She stated that she had spent
many years as a fire fighter. For personal health reasons of longtime exposure
toxic materials, she had decided to retire from active fire-fighting assignment and
accept the position of CERT coordinator of LAHCFD. Under J. Logan, she is in
the process of setting objectives and plans for working on the Town/LAHCFD
emergency preparedness and improving volunteer participation. As an example,
she intends not only to recruit/train new CERT members but also to win back
inactive CERT members. She mentioned that her first stint of the new job was
an IC post of Los Altos Hills Pathways Run/Walk in May 2019. In that job, she
had to work with multiple authorities to resolve a parking problem that one of the
ECC volunteers encountered with neighbors at post (11) of the LAH Pathways
Run/Walk. She learned, after consulting all the appropriate officials and rules,
the parking at the post of the LAH Pathways Run/Walk in question would not be
permitted. The only exception is for the emergency fire-fighting vehicles. In the
future LAH Pathways Run/Walk, there would be no parking there and the radio
operators/equipment should be dropped off and picked up.
(b)Marsha Hovey KG6CYV distributed a draft of Volunteer Guidelines containing
information on DSW Photo ID, Training ID cards, as well as a procedure for
reporting injuries that occur during authorized deployment or pre-approved
training. A copy was provided for the City Clerk to include in the ECC log of
distributed materials. She also asked for input/suggestion on how to deal with
communications in case of an emergency power shut-down with duration of up
to 7 days by PG&E. There was discussion of generators and other possibilities.
4.Old Business
(a)Associate Dave Stewart KJ6JQT asked for volunteers from ECC to remove and
re-install the ECC radio equipment for the coming move of the CERT ARK
trailer, tentatively planned 6/20. Eduardo KM6LSX and Neil K2LL volunteered.
(b)Dave also asked ECC for a team for a plan to install a new antenna at certain
location/height to facilitate the radio communication between ARK and EOC as
well as ARK to CERT Recon team. For the technical task, Neil volunteered to
take the lead, with help from Scott N6NXI and ECC associate Bob Johnson
KG6UWZ. Capt. Gluhan KM6IFY said she would handle the administrative side
with help from the LAHCFD.
(c)Dru KG6LAD indicated that amateur radio volunteers are needed for
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participation and input to not only the joint Los Altos/Los Altos Hills scout
‘Jamboree on the Air” but also for input to the planned History Museum special
exhibition in the fall on Emergency Radio Volunteer history in the two
communities. The JOTA is planned for September 27, and a ham radio team is
setting up demonstrations and opportunities for scout participants. Dru is
seeking additional LAH ham participation.
5.Tech Talk:
(a)Antennae and Radios:
Scott N6NXI presented a very thorough insight into the subject of HT amplifiers
and the different type of antennae. He also fielded many questions from the
audience relative to antenna types, and operations.
6.New Business
(a)Dru KG6LAD reported that the Planning Commission, as a general policy, asks
the ECC to review any new or modified cell tower permit requests to identify any
emergency equipment issues or needs that could be addressed by the permit
request. The 2 current permit applications reviewed were 1) not of impact to
town emergency antenna operation, and 2) neither offered opportunities for
emergency radio equipment placement. Capt. Gluhan KM6IFY asked whether
some reciprocal benefits for the Town could be explored in some cases. Dru
noted that the town planning director is the contact for that consideration.
(b)Due to the lateness of the hour, all other items under “New Business” were
deferred until the next meeting.
7.Reminders: Please check online schedules for activities in the following:
(a)LAH town events: http://www.losaltoshills.ca.gov/calendar.aspx.
(b)County ARES/RACES courses & events:
http://www.scc-ares-races.org/aresraces.htm
(c)CERT activities:http://www.lahcfd.org/community-programs/public-classes
(d)EMERGENCY ALERTS:
1.LAH: http://www.losaltoshills.ca.gov/381/EMERGENCY-ALERTS
2.AlertSCC: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/alertscc/Pages/home.aspx
(e)ECC QRG (Quick Reference Guide):
(f)SPECS Monday Night Net information: www.Specsnet.org Northern SCC
emergency ham radio volunteer activities.
8. Adjourn: At 21:12, the meeting was adjourned on a motion made by Bob KC6ZWG,
seconded by Eduardo KM6LSX, and approved unanimously.
Respectfully submitted: Ben Hu KK6HH, Secretary