Special thanks to our General Meeting attendees from the community and the our roster of presenters. What follows are an overview of the items discussed and any related information that might be useful to those that were not able to attend the meeting.
1) A Representative from the Burbank Sanitary District notified the community that they are actively looking for people interested in joining their Board of Directors. For more information feel free to contact one of the BSD Directors for more information.
2) Main Topic – Waterwise Gardening
Speaker: Rene Prupes, Master Gardener
a) Reviewed some best practices:
– Soil care – using compost/mulch to help keep plants healthy and retaining water in the infamous clay soil that is common in the area. Dr Steven Andrews had some good things to say about compost/mulch strategies to keep soil healthy
– Stressed the importance of looking at plants above and below the soil to better gauge health.
– Drip irrigation is key to focus watering efforts and also make sure to water early in the morning to minimize evaporation and water loss.
– When managing your garden, use the “hydra zoning” technique – group plants by water usage and leverage other plants to shade more water-needy plants.
– Give seasonal planting a try – don’t think that fruits/vegetables only grow in the spring/summer – try looking at fall/winter planting for more variety.
– Rene also reminded attendees about the Master Gardener program local in San Jose where there a variety of services available.
Speaker: Patty McInturff, Burbank Gardeners Group
b) Patty gave an overview of her approach to gardening and especially her system for using rainwater in her yard.
– One key was connecting rain barrels together to capture water from a single downspout, but ensure that it filled up multiple barrels.
– With rain barrels – being aware of mosquito control is important – so ensure that you take that into account so your irrigation water doesn’t introduce pests.
– One strategy shared for integrating water barrels was a downspout diverter – this allows for the barrel(s) to fill and if they hit capacity, the overflow goes down the downspout with any back flow issues.
– For using the water in your yard, you will typically prefer a pump or some way to get the water out of the barrel into your irrigation system/hose.
3) Community Update – Santa Clara County Sheriff
a) We had a brief presentation session on the roll out of body cameras to the approx 1200 Deputies in Santa Clara County. They have about 50% deployed and have taken almost 36,000 videos since the program started.
b) Reminded residents to please continue reporting any incidents or needs – if issues are not reported, the Sheriff’s office can’t allocate resources reliably!
c) Reminder regarding Neighborhood Watch programs and to contact the Sheriff’s office for more information on starting a program on your street
d) National Night Out is August 1! If you would like a visit to your local celebration fill out the request form.
4) Community Update – County Supervisor’s Office
a) VTA Bascom Corridor Complete Streets Study is ongoing –
b) There has been positive movement on designating the Burbank Theater marquee to have historical importance as part of the Burbank community.
c) With the closing of Time Deli, options are being explored to see if the Time Deli clock marquee may also be considered historically important.
d) Senior Scam Stopper Seminar: August 21, 11AM to 1PM at Rose Garden Library Community Room. Get more information on how to prevent being a victim of fraud.
5) Community Update – District Attorney’s Office
a) Time Deli closure was prompted by a lawsuit brought about for lack of compliance with ADA disability access standards for the restaurant. Before the building is leased again, it will require renovations – this will naturally delay the availability of the building to a new tenant.
b) Tip Top Liquors has made numerous updates to their storefront area to help reduce the consumption of liquor on the premises. Thanks to the DA’s office and the Sheriff’s office for working together with the store owner and the building owner to find creative ways to decrease loitering and other infractions.
c) The DA’s office is co-hosting with SJPD a series of community workshops on burglary prevention. If you can’t make one of the workshops – here is a PDF of burglary prevention tips.
