Mornings with the Mayor: This Week Brings Big News for Danville Fire, Education

This week in Danville, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District will have some special guests, teachers will find out who will make the cut after the furlough agreement with their union and AT&T is pushing local resolutions against texting and driving.

All this news, and more, came up Friday when 20 people crowded into Father Nature's Restaurant at 7:30 a.m. to hear what's been happening in town and what is planned in the near future. 

Mayor Mike Doyle missed the monthly breakfast event because he was "not feeling well," but Town Manager Joe Calabrigo stepped in to moderate. 

Fire Chief Richard Price said an effort that's been three years in the making is nearing completion this week as officials from a national accreditation group will inspect district fire stations to see if they're up to snuff for the prestigious stamp of approval. 

Price said there are only six fire agencies in the state and 130 nationwide that have been accredited. Accreditation is based on quality of response, response times and hundreds of details about service and training. 

Price will be blogging about the visit throughout the week. (Monday, for example, those who were interested could follow the group's district afternoon tour over GPS on google maps.)

The officials will pore over dispatch and response records as well as verify the accuracy of all the information San Ramon has given them the past few years. Price said he previously had to field 250 questions about the district for the accreditation team.

What this means for Danville residents remains to be seen, but Patch will take a closer look at this issue later this week. There will be a public briefing at 11 a.m. Friday to hear the accreditation officials' report.

"There's been a lot of polishing of trucks and cleaning of stations," Price said. "I dropped off my uniform at the dry cleaner's this morning. It's a little bit of pins and needles for us." 

San Ramon Unified School District board member Ken Mintz talked about the recent furlough agreement and what it will mean for teachers and students. When he spoke Friday morning, an agreement had not yet been reached but decisions were made later in the day. 

Mintz, who is also the area manager for AT&T's External Affairs division, said the company has started a new effort to work with city councils to pass resolutions against texting and driving.

He handed Calabrigo an envelope containing the resolution for perusal at the next council meeting. Calabrigo said he didn't think getting such a resolution passed would pose many challenges. (It's already against state law to text while driving, but Mintz said AT&T wants to educate the public even more about the dangers of distracted driving.) See more on Patch on this issue soon. 

A representative from Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan's office attended the meeting to encourage Danville residents to attend a "Walk and Talk" with Buchanan and East Bay Regional Park Director Beverly Lane this past Saturday.

The walk, which started across from the Museum of the San Ramon Valley and followed the Iron Horse trail, was scheduled to last for an hour and a half and give residents a chance to talk with Buchanan about their concerns. 

Town Manager Calabrigo said the Town Council has a number of impending projects. It has been working to set up better emergency preparedness measures, including installing defibrillators in area teen centers.

On May 18, Calabrigo said, the council will hear bids from contractors who want to work on the Veterans Hall renovation project. It will decide who gets the job by June 1.

On June 8, the council will host its next study session regarding the General Plan. And the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program is working on various "traffic calming devices" all over town, including speed humps that have already been approved on Del Amigo Road behind San Ramon Valley High School.

There will be a study session Tuesday about the budget, to explore the "five-year picture," Calabrigo said. (Future study sessions will take place May 18 and May 25.) On June 15, there will be a public hearing for comments about the budgeting process.

This fiscal year, he added, there has been a 6.4 percent reduction in expenses. Next year, a 4.7 percent reduction is planned. 

"Council continues to be very careful about the way it handles dollars," Calabrigo said. He added that, compared to 20 years ago, the town spends less of its budget on staff, 36 percent now compared to 42 percent in 1990, even though the community's population has grown by 30 percent.

Calabrigo recognized the more than 200 volunteers who took part in the annual "Lend a Hand Day" to help seniors and others in need of assistance. He also said more than 250 people showed up at the May 1 farewell event for the Veterans Hall, which will be under construction for the foreseeable future.

The council will continue to work on its general plan.

Several other events coming up this month include a free health and fitness session for seniors on May 19 at Oak Hill Park and "Doggie Night on Hartz Avenue" on May 27. On May 30, the city will recognize Memorial Day and June 5 brings free CPR classes (register here).

Lt. Mark Williams attended the meeting in lieu of Danville police chief (who, Calabrigo said, was busy hosting his mother-in-law for Mother's Day weekend). Williams said Danville saw its first bank robbery in 20 months on April 28, but hoped "good video" from the crime would lead to an arrest.

Police were able to recover $30,000 in goods from a Radio Shack burglary on April 15, thanks to an alert early-morning witness. 

Regarding last week's burglary at a San Ramon residence, in which a woman was punched before the thieves fled, Williams said police had found more stolen property connected to the men who were arrested in the case.

After the meeting, local resident Ann Schoen said she always attends the monthly breakfasts with the mayor.

"It's a phenomenal way to be updated and knowledgeable about what's going on in Danville," she said. "And look at the access you get to people. The mayor, the police chief, the fire chief, someone from the school board. They're all in one room."