From: Penny Proctor
To: Council, City; City Mgr; Parks; Administrative Services Subject: Eleanor FY 2026 Restroom - Thank You!!
Date: Monday, June 17, 2024 10:55:41 AM
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> Dear Members of the City Council, Finance Committee, and City Staff, >
> Thank you all so very much for the recommendation that a restroom be added to Eleanor Pardee Park in FY 2026! Wonderful! It is desperately needed, and we are grateful. >
> Penny Proctor
> Community Gardener
> Greer Road
From: Ann Balin
To: Council, City
Subject: Funding for Palo Alto Fire Stations
Date: Sunday, June 16, 2024 3:41:32 PM
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Dear Mayor Stone, Vice-Mayor Lauing, & Council Members, It was my neighbor and former President of the College Terrace Residents’ Association now Treasurer, James Cook, who walking in the neighborhood observed smoke coming from a house in upper College Terrace on Bowdoin Street. He ran up to the home and helped an elderly resident out to safety. He was the first responder not the Hanover Street Station.
Stanford responded but the Hanover Street Station was hamstrung because the station is not fully staffed. This station serves the hills, Foothills Park and the flats. How can fires be put out if there are only two fire personnel available? There MUST be three fire fighters in order for the fire engine to legally leave the station to combat fires.
Again, how can this station’s fire fighters go west to put out fires when there are not personnel to board a fire truck? The Diablo Winds (North Winds) are blowing and Palo Alto needs to have our fire stations fully staffed.
You the council need to step up and authorize funding to keep residents safe. This is not solely a College Terrace issue. Stanford Research Park and CPI are known for hazardous chemicals that would require an immediate response from our Palo Alto fire stations including Stanford. There have been hazardous leaks from CPI that have impacted residents in Barron Park.
The council needs to have ALL of our fire stations fully staffed.
Therefore address this timely issue by providing necessary funding to enable firefighters to perform their duty to safely support residents.
Respectfully,
Ann Lafargue Balin
From: Margaret Heath
To: Council, City
Subject: Hanover Fire House staffing
Date: Sunday, June 16, 2024 3:00:58 PM
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Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members.
I am writing to urge you to provide the resources to fully staff the Hanover Fire House 24 hours. It should go without saying that the number one responsibility of a city is the safety of the citizens. Especially as minutes and seconds can make all the difference as to how serious a fire becomes, especially in older homes without sprinkler systems.
I was dismayed to learn recently an attic fire in upper College Terrace spread to become a more serious fire because of the extra minutes it took the Stanford Fire Department to arrive.
And could have been fatal but for the quick thinking of a nearby resident who fortunately noticed the fire and was able to get an elderly disabled person out of the house before the fire trucks arrived.
Especially as of all the Fire Stations in Palo Alto Hanover is the only firehouse with direct access to Page Mill Road leading directly into the foothills. We all know that only a few years ago the Santa Cruz mountain fires were only just stopped at Skyline short of the upper boundary of Foothill Park.
Unfortunately, we also know that wildfires are becoming more frequent and the fire season much longer. It may only be a matter of time before another fire jumps Skyline. Or a fire starts in the Palo Alto foothills, as it did when nine houses burned on Page Mill and Arastradero in the mid 1990's before it was brought under control. And that was with a fully staffed Hanover Fire Station. Since then many more houses have been built up and down Page Mill Road.
Of all your budget priorities, I urge you to put the safety of your city residents before all other responsibilities. Prioritize the immediate 24 hour staffing of the Hanover Fire Station, along with round the clock staffing for all the other Palo Alto fire stations.
Sincerely,
Margaret Heath
2140 Cornell Street
From: Shannon Griscom
To: Council, City
Cc: Shannon Close Griscom
Subject: Bathroom at Eleanor Pardew Park
Date: Saturday, June 15, 2024 7:44:55 AM
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Dear Council Members: as you consider bathrooms at the various parks, please know that Eleanor Park is a very large area, including the public gardens. Many generations use the park, with no bathroom facilities. As a result, parents take their children behind bushes and trees to relieve themselves. The Council is overdue in making sure that all of who use the park can use a bathroom. In this wealthy community, it is shocking not to have bathrooms at all of the parks. I have lived in Palo Alto since 1965, paying taxes, and firmly ask that you provide these services.
Sincerely,
Shannon Close Griscom
815 Melville Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
508-237-1883