Teen commission shows off new website

By GEORGE MOORE

A light agenda resulted in a brief city council meeting Feb. 4 for Cupertino city officials and staff. The teen commission showed off its new website, a fiscal report was given on the state of the city's coffers, and approval of a bingo permit ensured that "Bingo" will soon be heard throughout at the Senior Center.

Maurice Noone, chairman of the teen commission, got things started with a presentation of a new website, which he said was launched to improve relations and communication with the teen community. The website's name is "Teens 'N Tino," and was created by Marc Auerbach, with help from city staff.

Content for the site, provided by the commissioners, includes information on teen events and volunteer opportunities and links to other schools the website is running a poll to determine what Cupertino teens need most in the community. Results from the website as of Feb. 5 showed a new skatepark, teen center and job/volunteer opportunities trailing "more places to shop" by a wide margin.

Noone said the site also features a community forum where youth can input their thoughts or ideas, which would be reviewed and posted.

Councilwoman Sandra James said she was impressed by how quickly the site launched and thought it would greatly benefit the commission. Vice Mayor Michael Chang commended the teen commission and thanked Auerbach for his help in its development.

Carol Atwood, director of administrative services, presented the annual revenue and expenditure report as of the end of January. Atwood said cash to cash analysis of this year versus last year shows the city is experiencing a shortfall of approximately $350,000 in revenue based on what has been received.

"But the good news is expenditures are $1.4 million less than what was projected," Atwood said, adding that the expenditure savings is usually plus $350,000.

"I'm not alarmed at the situation with the revenues, but we are going to watch them carefully--primarily because our sales tax was down $750,000," she said.

The top 100 companies within Cupertino have stayed fairly stable during the recession, but the small businesses have been hit hard, she added. But compared to neighboring cities, Cupertino's 16 percent drop in sales tax revenue was one of the lowest. According to Atwood, Mountain View dropped 31 percent, Los Altos 23 percent, Palo Alto 26 percent and Santa Clara County 21 percent.

Mayor Richard Lowenthal attended the teen commission meeting held earlier in the evening, and updated the council on the "We Value Youth" program. A Cornerstone Project poll revealed that youth felt unappreciated in the community, and efforts are being made to bring about a change in that attitude. Lowenthal said since discussions about the issue began, there have been at least 100 volunteers in the community asking how they can get involved. Lowenthal said it was not yet decided whether the program should be part of the teen commission or a separate entity.

Lowenthal said discussions at a recent meeting of all neighboring cities' mayors focused on an effort to make Highway 85 quieter. Cities have joined forces and are working with the Valley Transit Authority to try to achieve this.

"I'm sure there are a lot of people who would welcome some results," Lowenthal said.

Other business resulted in a unanimous approval of a bingo permit for the Cupertino Senior Center Coordinating Council. A study session of the city's budget was set for March 4, and the Stevens Creek Trail session will be March 18. The next council meeting will be March 4 due to the cancellation of its Feb. 18 meeting.

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