Special to the Town Crier
Recently elected town council members Toni Casey and Steve Finn are addressing the subject of putting utility lines underground, an element of their campaign platform last year.
The Los Altos Hills Town Council moved forward Feb. 18 in establishing a Utility and Information Systems Committee to look at the feasibility of such an undertaking, among other issues.
The eight-member group would consist of two subcommittees, utilities and infrastructure, and applied/integrated information technologies, which would work together. The group would study, make recommendations and develop policies for technological improvements in utilities and integrated information systems.
Among its specific goals, according to a proposal drafted by Finn and Casey, is the creation of a long-range plan "to beautify the natural rural character of the town by exploring options of undergrounding utilities where feasible."
The committee would also create a long-range plan to improve systems for communicating with town residents. This includes the possibility of televising council meetings, and fax and e-mail notices directly to residents, Casey said.
Interface between existing cable, water, telephone and power utilities, the council and residents will be part of the committee's role, along with tracking new technological innovations and their implementation costs.
The council plans to interview potential committee members at its March 18 meeting.
Residents with comments or concerns about their cable television service may address the town council at 6 p.m. at the March 4 or March 18 council meetings. The council will also accept written, fax or e-mail comments. Sun Country Cable will make a presentation to the council at its March 18 meeting.
At its Feb. 18 meeting, the council unanimously agreed to accept Dezahara Way as a public street without requiring the street's residents to perform pavement repairs. Documents from the 1966 subdivision approval and from council meetings in 1987 indicated the town's intent to accept the street as public, but the necessary papers were never completed, City Manager Jeff Peterson said.
The council also directed staff to draft a condition of approval applicable to future remodel and construction projects requiring that, when demolition occurs, materials will be recycled whenever feasible.