INFORMATION BY AND FOR THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS

May 15 - 19, 2023

WEEK #20

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City Manager’s Note

Hello Neighbors,

Hoping everyone had a delightful Mother's Day weekend. This time of year, we look forward to our graduations and promotions. I hope the longer days are used to make lifelong memories with your loved ones.

This past weekend the Town held its 21st Annual Pathways Run/Walk at Byrne Preserve. There were 500 registered runners, our staff, sponsors, and volunteers made it look easy. Pictures can be seen here

This week on Tuesday, the Sheriff's department held their monthly Coffee with the Sheriff. Be sure you mark your calendar for the third Tuesday of the month at 2:00pm. Join the conversation here from wherever you are.

On Wednesday we held our special Council meeting that would normally have been on Thursday, but was rescheduled a day earlier. The City Clerk prepares a helpful and abbreviated recap of the meeting if you want to get a quick overview of the meeting.

Mayor Swan and I followed by Vice Mayor Mok and Councilmember Schmidt visited the GreenWaste Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in San Jose on Thursday. This MRF is one of Northern California’s premier solid waste and recyclables processing facilities.

Also on Thursday, members of our staff attended the annual Municipal Management Association of Northern California (MMANC) Women’s Leadership Summit. The event gathered local government professionals for educational sessions, networking opportunities and uplifting conversations.

As a reminder, a draft of the Broadband Feasibility Study is available for public review. The draft study can be seen here. The study is tentatively scheduled to be heard next by the Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee at their upcoming regular meeting before being placed on the City Council agenda. Interested residents are encouraged to submit comments on the study at any of the upcoming public meetings, or email Cody Einfalt at ceinfalt@losaltoshills.ca.gov

1. Annual Pathways Run

The pathway run is a special event and would not be possible without the help of our amazing staff. We all want to thank them for their immeasurable commitment. We also and especially want to thank all our volunteers and committees that have worked on putting together this treasured event. And of course, this event wouldn't be possible without the 500+ attendees that have returned to celebrate the scenic beauty of the Hills.

2. Council Meeting Recap

This past Wednesday the City Council had their monthly meeting. They first appointed five new members to four of our standing committees. We discussed our proposed A/V improvements to the council chambers. We reviewed a potential contract for IT services. We announced our recent award of a $400,000 federal grant. I provided an update on our Residential Burglaries. The council decided to direct staff to make the pathway map available online - available here. The council directed staff to move forward with a pathway impact fee study. They also agreed to direct staff to apply for a state grant to advance an online Solar Panel Permitting System. The meeting adjourned at 9:21. Click here for a recap or go to the meeting archive to review the materials and watch the meeting

3. 2023 Women's Leadership Summit

This week our staff attended the annual Women’s Leadership Summit that gathered local government professionals for educational sessions, networking opportunities and uplifting conversations. This event is one of MMANC’s most popular events to propel the future leaders of government forward. The event highlighted various career decisions, experiences, challenges, and achievements women across the local government and public sector have taken on their road to pave their way to leadership and break barriers to make large impacts benefiting our region. I am proud that we had such a robust showing and will continue to urge our current and future leaders to attend.

4. GreenWaste MRF Visit

GreenWaste has established itself as Northern California’s premier solid waste and recyclables processor, having received the highly acclaimed Gold Excellence Award in the Recycling System category from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). The GreenWaste Materials Recovery Yard incorporates three distinct processing facilities, each designed to separate different types of materials. Mayor Swan, Vice Mayor Mok, and councilmember Schmidt visited this award winning facility.

This state-of-the-art facility utilizes optical, magnetic, and AI-powered autonomous sorting technology and can separate up to 85% of Los Altos Hills’ source-separated recyclables and up to 75% of organics from their municipal solid waste, material that most MRFs never capture and would otherwise go straight to landfills. 

5. Heritage House Update

Town staff were recently notified by the County Housing & Community Development staff that the Town was approved for $400,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the Heritage House Upgrade project. This is great news for the project; however, staff would need to expedite the project schedule since one of the grant requirements is to spend all funds by April 2024. Staff is planning to return to Council next month with a grant funding agreement for approval. Staff discussed the current preliminary concept plan for the Heritage House remodel with the History Committee at a special meeting, today at 3:00 pm and received unanimous support to move forward. They also formed an AdHoc Committee to work closely with the staff on design elements related to the fit and finish.

Sheriff's Report

Planning and Building

Job Opportunities

Public Works

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