Town forum is going to address residents' concerns about Y2K

By Steve Enders

The city of Saratoga, wiping its brow after getting its own house in order for Y2K, is sponsoring a town hall-style forum at the end of October so residents can get the answers to the question everyone wants to know: Are we ready?

Doomsday technologists have long been saying that when the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, 2000, the best place to be will be in the safety of your own home, with plenty of supplies to subsist on for days, perhaps even weeks.

The powergrid could go down, the banks could fritz out, the water supply could become contaminated or be shut off and the phones might not work, they say.

Now, most experts are saying that although the possibility still exists, what's more likely to happen are very minor inconveniences--if anything at all.

"I think we'll probably look at what happens, if anything, as mere inconveniences down the road and when we look back, we might laugh about it," city manager Larry Perlin said.

Nobody was laughing at City Hall just months ago, when the City Council ordered city staff to clear out all the old, incompliant machines and update all systems so the city will be operational when 2000 comes. The city reports it's on track to be completely Y2K compliant, and all systems will be go.

But what about the banks? What about crucial service agencies like the water companies and PG&E? Will Safeway be open? Will gasoline be available?

Perlin said he's hoping to have representatives at the town forum who will be able to update residents on their progress and answer questions related to Y2K concerns.

Perlin expects the major utilities to send representatives and hopes to have more local experts on hand as well.

Perlin said that what he's hearing so far is that everything is going to be OK. Saratoga Fire District officials have said they'll be on full alert that night, as will other public safety agencies, including the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department.

"I don't think we're going to see any major power outages," Perlin said. "There won't be any disruptions, and we're not going to be finding people raiding the banks to pull money out. The financial institutions are reporting compliance. The telephones will work, and the water will be OK. There might be some glitches, but nothing major."

Perlin said the city began receiving calls from citizens and getting questions about Y2K issues up to eight months ago, when the Y2K issue began surfacing as a potential disaster. A few months later, after addressing its own Y2K issues, city staff thought it might be a good idea to update anyone who wants to know.

The problem relates to old computer programming, which had dates set as the last two numbers of the year, excluding the "19." Common speculation said that when '99 becomes '00, computers could read that as the beginning of 1900 and shut down.

Over the past year, agencies have scrambled to beat the problem, and it appears to have paid off. The city's forum will allow residents to know for sure.

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The meeting will take place on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Saratoga Community Center, adjacent to City Hall on Allendale Avenue.

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