Plans to put up new traffic signals on Campbell Avenue have been given the green light.

On July 20, the Campbell City Council approved a signalization project at the corner of Campbell and Victor avenues and authorized a call for bids.

In 2002, Campbell was awarded $200,000 from the Federal Hazard Elimination Safety grant program to install a traffic signal at Harriet and McCoy avenues, but the overwhelming majority of residents in the neighborhood opposed the installation.

In November 2002, after the city explored the possibility of shifting the grant money to other projects, it approved the reallocation of the federal money to the installation of a traffic light at Campbell and Victor avenues.

Although residents living along Campbell and Victor avenues expressed concern about traffic diversion onto Victor and trouble getting out of their driveways if a traffic light was installed, Campbell Traffic Engineer Matthew Jue said traffic studies indicate that traffic diversion onto Victor Avenue will be "less than significant" and that driveway access from Campbell Avenue will continue to be safe.

Contract bidding opens Aug. 19 and will be awarded on Sept. 21. Construction is anticipated to begin October 2004 and finish by May 2005.

Filing period is just several weeks away

It's still four months from Election Day 2004, but those interested in running for the two seats opening up on Campbell City Council need to get on the ball. The filing period to apply opened on July 12 and is scheduled to end on Aug. 6.

However, said Campbell City Clerk Anne Bybee, the period will probably be extended another five days to Aug. 11, because sitting Councilman Matthew Dean most likely will not run in this election. When an incumbent doesn't file by the deadline, the filing period automatically gets extended for nonincumbents, she said.

To date, only incumbent Mayor Donald Burr has filed to run for a second term. Four other individuals have pulled papers—George Doorley, Tim Mason, Joseph Hernandez and David Grunwald—and have until Aug. 6 to decide if they are going to run.

In a related development, the Campbell City Council voted on July 6 to subsidize the cost of printing the candidate statements on the election pamphlet.

Previously, the fee for including a 200-word statement ranged from about $200 to $400. But this year, because of increases in state printing costs, the fee went up to about $1,300.

The Campbell City Council, however, said that to keep the election from being cost-prohibitive, it would charge candidates a flat fee of $300 and subsidize the rest of the cost.

New equipment may be added to the park

Saratoga's loss is Campbell's gain. On July 20, the Campbell City Council authorized City Manager Bernard Strojny to buy mobile skate-park equipment from the city of Saratoga for $500.

Saratoga purchased the equipment for $20,000 in February 2002 for its planned mobile skate-park program, but it never generated enough interest.

The loss of interest in the park, as well as the difficulty of moving and setting up the heavy equipment from one area to another, prompted Saratoga to discontinue its program.

If Campbell purchases the equipment, it will implement the equipment in its existing Campbell Community Center skate park. As a condition of the sale agreement, Saratoga required that it be released of all liability from use of the equipment at the Campbell Skate Park.

City approves the
purchase of tasers

The Campbell City Council on July 20 voted to approve an amendment to the city budget to fund the purchase of 23 new tasers, or stun guns, approximately $20,000, for the Campbell Police Department.

The city will draw about $10,000 from existing California Law Enforcement Equipment Funds to help pay for the purchase. Another $10,000 will come from the Association of Bay Area Governments.

The decision came as no shock to the Campbell Police Department, with the general trend in the law-enforcement community moving away from impact weapons like batons.

The use of the tasers will be regulated by the police department's use-of-force policy, whose goal is to employ the least amount of force necessary on law violators while minimizing the risk of injury to police officers, a staff report said. Once issued, the stun guns will broaden the range of force options available to police officers.

Storefront program
increases its limits

The Campbell Redevelopment Agency Board voted unanimously on July 20 to beef up its Storefront Improvement Program. The board originally approved the program in 1997 as a means to help enhance the appearance of downtown by providing matching funds to downtown property and business owners who wish to make significant upgrades to their storefronts. The program hadn't been updated since its inception.

When it was originally approved, the maximum matching grant per property was $10,000. The update increases the maximum amount to $20,000. It also adds a matching $20,000 loan component to the program.

"The original limits didn't reflect the escalating cost of construction materials and labor," Redevelopment Agency Director Kirk Heinrichs said.

Increased competition to attract retail businesses also played a major part in the decision to amend the original limits, he said.