Speakers and Subjects at AVCA Meetings
2006 through the present

Date of Meeting Speaker(s) Subject
Jan. 9, 2012 Gerald De Young, President of Ruth and Going, Inc. Updates to Almaden Ranch Retail Center design
and new/updated EIR sections.
Dec. 12, 2011 Lt. Rob Millard, Southern Division of the
San Jose Police Department
Public safety in San Jose, particularly in Almaden Valley
Nov. 14, 2011 Jacky Morales-Ferrand, Assistant Director of Housing,
City of San Jose
Housing in San Jose, particularly affordable housing
Oct. 17, 2011 Jim Kuhl, resident in the Almaden Country Club neighborhood, and
Tom Victorine, Director of Operations, San Jose Water Company.
NOTE: Representative expected from T-Mobile did not attend.
The evening included a presentation by Jim Kuhl; the San Jose Water Company position explained by Tom Victorine; and discussion, questions, and answers amongst the speakers and community members.
Cell phone tower proposed by T-Mobile to be installed in the Almaden Country Club area.  It was learned only after the meeting that no T-Mobile representative attended the meeting because their permit application for the cell tower had been withdrawn.
Sept. 12, 2011 Brian Schmidt, Director, District 7, of the
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Santa Clara Valley Water District,
redistricting splits of Almaden Valley and mercury in local streams and lake
Aug. 8, 2011 Assemblyman Richard Gordon, 21st Calif. Assembly District The State Budget Crisis
July 11, 2011 Sam Pandey, AVCA Parks and Recreation Committee Chairman City and Neighborhood Issues
June 13, 2011 David Vossbrink, Communications Director of the Mineta San José International Airport; and
Meghan Horrigan, Director of Communications, Team San Jose
Coordinated mutual effort to promote the San Jose Airport and the San Jose Convention Center
May 10, 2011 Mike Wasserman, Santa Clara County Supervisor County Budget and other County Issues
Apr. 12, 2011 Dave Fadness, District 10's representative on the Envision San José 2040 General Plan Task Force; and
Michael Brilliot, Senior Planner, Planning Department, City of San Jose
Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan.
The details of General Plan 2040 will be released to the public in the late spring or summer of 2010 for review and comments.
Slide show about General Plan 2040
Slide show about General Plan with comments
Mar. 14, 2011 Gerald De Young, President of Ruth and Going, Inc.; and
Manual Pineda, Acting Deputy Director, Department of Transportation, City of San Jose; and
Dan Collen, Deputy Director, Infrastructure Development, County of Santa Clara Roads and Airports Department
Almaden Ranch Retail Center, proposed for 45 acres east of Almaden Expressway between Highway 85 and Safeway.  The speakers' topics included a description of the retail center, the project impacts on area traffic, options for new road connections across the Guadalupe River, the upcoming improvements to Almaden Expressway, and the possible impacts of the retail center on Almaden Expressway.
Article about the project.
Google map of the area
Feb. 14, 2011 no guest speaker AVCA business meeting only.
Jan. 10, 2011 San Jose Police Lt. George Beattie and Sergeant Jim Unland,
President and Vice President, respectively, of the San Jose
Police Officers' Association (SJPOA)
Their perspective on public safety issues and how public safety is affected
by the City of San Jose's continuing budget deficits (including a
question and answer period).
Dec. 13, 2010 Hans Larsen, Acting Director of San Jose's Department of Transportation State of San Jose's Transportation System (question and answer).
Nov. 12, 2010 Meredith Manning, Senior Planner with the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District Planning for the Public Use Alternatives for Mt. Umunhum.
Oct. 12, 2010 Chuck Reed, Mayor of San Jose Three major challenges facing San Jose now: balance budget, fiscal reforms, and facilitate job creation.
Sept. 13, 2010 Ira Ruskin, State Assembly A review of his time in office. Mr. Ruskin is terming out this year.
July 12, 2010 Mr. Balagso, head of San Jose's Parks & Recs. The impact of fiscal woes on his department's operations in general and for the Almaden parks specifically.
June 14, 2010 Harry Mavrogenes, San Jose Redevelopment Agency How the RDA works and copes during challenging financial times
May 10, 2010 Kim Walesh, Chief Strategist, City of San Jose Changing Forces, Changing City
Mar. 8, 2010 Chief Rob Davis, Chief of Police, City of San Jose Budget Cuts in the Police Department
Feb. 8, 2010 Pat Sausedo, Vice President of the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Public Policy and Communications
Jan. 11, 2010 Dolores Carr, Santa Clara County District Attorney Interaction and Affect of the Office of the District Attorney on the Almaden Valley
Dec. 14, 2009 Leslie Reynolds, San Jose Unified School District Board of Education President & Ann Jones, SJUSD Chief Business Officer Schools in the Almaden Valley area: SJUSD, private, and charter schools, school funding, Questions & Answers
Nov. 9, 2009 Thomas Ferguson (& Monica Delgado), San Jose Department of Transportation Maintenance Manager of Landscape, Trees, and Sweeping Service
Oct. 5, 2009 Don Gage, Santa Clara County Supervisor, representing Almaden Valley Budget, Parks, Transportation, Questions & Answers
Sept. 14, 2009 Nancy Pyle, District 10 City Councilmember, representing Almaden Valley San Jose Economy, Budget, Transportation
Aug. 10, 2009 Zoe Lofgren, Representative in US Congress, representing Almaden Valley US Economy, Climate Change, Health Care Legislation, Immigration, Questions & Answers
July 13, 2009 John Weiss, San Jose Assistant Development Director & Leland Wilcox, City Manager's office Diridon Station & planned developments in the area: BART extension, High Speed Rail, and a possible "major league" ballpark
June 8, 2009 Laurel Prevetti City of San Jose's Lang Range Plans
May 11, 2009 no guest speaker
April 13, 2009 Carol Lathrop, Sandy Mory, and Martha Beattie from League of Women Voters Propositions 1A through 1F on the upcoming ballot
March 9, 2009 no guest speaker
Feb. 9, 2009 Ira Ruskin, Member of the California State Assembly, representing Almaden Valley
&
Nancy Pyle, San Jose City Councilmember, representing Almaden Valley, & Emy Mendoza, Zero Waste Planner, San Jose Environmental Services Department
California budget, cuts to education, Questions & Answers


San Jose's Proposed Fees on Plastic and Paper Bags
Jan. 12, 2009 Kitty Monahan, member of the Citizen's Advisory Committee of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority & Bern Smith, South Bay Area Ridge Trails Council Staff Member East Bay, Mid Peninsula, and Santa Clara County park and trails systems (Kitty) & Bay Area Ridge Trail (Bern)
May-Dec. 2008 Minutes are missing on Web site  
April 14, 2008 Nancy Pyle, San Jose City Councilmember & Don Gage, Santa Clara County Supervisor SAVUR (South Almaden Valley Urban Reserve), Traffic on Graystone Lane, Boulder Ridge Event Tent request, Questions & Answers
March 10, 2008 Stan Ketchum, San Jose City Planner
&
Bill Shoe, Santa Clara County Planner
SAVUR (South Almaden Valley Urban Reserve), San Vicente Development

County planning for homes in Almaden county area.. if San Jose informed, etc.
Questions & Answers
Feb. 11, 2008 Dave Fadness, engineer, volunteer in San Jose planning
&
Jerry Strangis, real estate agent, lobbyist, owner of a real estate company
How to go about planning for a city's general plan, sustainable city

SAVUR development, Questions & Answers
Jan. 14, 2008 Beth Shafran-Nukai, Strong Neighborhoods Initiative Project San Jose's proposed Neighborhood Commission: mission, how members to be chosen, timeline
Dec. 10, 2007 no guest speaker  
May-Nov. 2007 Minutes are missing on Web site  
April 9, 2007 Don Gage, Santa Clara County Supervisor, representing Almaden Valley
&  Dan Collen, Santa Clara County, Deputy Director, County Roads
Don Gage:  Questions & Answers
&
Dan Collen:  Monitoring of Expressways
March 12, 2007 Rich Dressler, San Jose International Airport Public Information Officer
&  Joanne Sanfillippo, San Jose Airport Ombudsman
San Jose Airport's Expansion Plans
Feb. 12, 2007 Rene Cordero, Manager of Project Development, City of San Jose's Department of Transportation How to address project ideas along Camden Ave. and Trinidad Drive/Crown Blvd. corner
Jan. 8, 2007 Len Remilo, San Jose Department of Transportation, Traffic Management Division, Traffic Calming Questions & Answers about several areas in Almaden Valley, traffic calming, possible stop signs and U-turn permissions
Dec. 11, 2006 Don Gage, Santa Clara County Supervisor, responsible for Almaden Valley Mt. Umunhum, Coyote Valley, Quicksilver Park entrance, etc., Questions & Answers
Nov. 13, 2006 Michele Young, City of San Jose's Environmental Services Department Garbage collection, street sweeping. New trash collection companies.
Oct. 16, 2006 Judge Dolores Carr and Chief Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu Santa Clara Valley District Attorney Forum
Sept. 11, 2006 Sally Zarnowitz, San Jose Historic Preservation Officer How City Landmarks are determined and who may apply for landmark status
Aug. 14, 2006 Detective Robert Dillon, ICAC Task Force, Child Exploitation Detail Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC)
July 10, 2006 speaker cancelled too late to schedule another speaker  
June 12, 2006 Kim Bomar, Board Member of Stanford Campus Residential Leaseholders (SCRL) Santa Clara County Historical Preservation Ordinance
May 8, 2006 no guest speaker