March 15, 2022

Dear Mountain View Community,

There is a lot of good news from Town Hall I’m excited to share with you:

Events
Enclosed is a flyer for the Town’s Bike Day Event, an opportunity for residents to stop by Town Hall and register their bicycles with the Police Department. This event is being held thanks to the hard work of Corporal Hicks and the Mountain View Police Department; and our sponsors Oasis, Green Dragon and Rhythm Cycles.

Did you know that only 1% of bike owners register their bikes with their local Police Department? When the bike is not registered, it is much more difficult to recover the bike, if it's stolen. Corporal Hicks came up with the idea of having a day devoted to getting the word out and seeing if we can inspire resident bike owners to bring their bikes to Town Hall for registration with our Police Department. He also went to local businesses and got sponsors, so that we have TWO free bikes to give away! Thank you to Oasis and Green Dragon for their help making this happen and to Rhythm Cycles for donating the free water bottles we’ll be handing out as well.

I remember when I received my first pair of glasses, as a child. I will never forget seeing the leafy details of the trees around my home for what felt like the first time. So, I was excited when Corporal Hicks told me about his partnership with I-Care Vision Center. I-Care Vision is providing a day of free comprehensive eye exams (including dilation) for all Mountain View residents under age eighteen. The exams will be held on Friday, April 22nd from 10am to 2pm. Residents may reach out to Corporal Hicks directly via email at [email protected]. He will get you scheduled and give you some forms to bring to your appointment. I hope this helps a child in our community have a similar experience as mine.

Code Enforcement
In response to the many concerns we’ve received about litter, weed control, junk stored outside, large objects discarded in the alley, and overhanging branches that make it hard to push a stroller or a wheelchair on the sidewalk; starting this month, stricter codes enforcement will be in place. Code enforcement will now be done by Jake Cooke, an experienced Code Enforcer who will spend at least four hours a week driving through Town, identifying code violations and providing notice to residents.

I’ve heard from many of you that you’d like to see our Town a little tidier, and Jake is going to help us get there. The process will start with a “notice” letter that will first alert us to a violation. The letter will reference the Town Code section that has been violated, and provide a reasonable timeframe for compliance. I’ve asked Jake to look first at my own property and then at Council Members’ properties. Jake will work with us to ensure we have enough time to cure the violation. His goal is the same as my goal: to ensure that the Town is maintained in a clean, healthy and attractive condition by all of us.

Unless the violation is very dangerous, we will all be given plenty of time to get things picked up ourselves. However, if we don’t handle things ourselves in a reasonable timeframe, the Code does allow the Town to fix the problem and bill the expense, plus an additional 5-15% fee depending on the nature of the violation, to the residents. Jake tells me this rarely happens because most people are quick to fix things.

New Police Officers
Chief Davis has recently hired two new police officers for Mountain View, and I hope you’ll say hello and welcome them to Town.

Park Benches, Dog Bags, and Trash Bins
Public Works Director Gene Bird has ordered and received four new trash bins and dog-bag stations that will be installed around Town soon. Additionally, through the Town’s Beautification Project budget, we will be placing a few park benches throughout Town. Let us know if you would like one on your street.

Tree Trimming and Town Clean Up
Due to safety concerns, we are beginning to trim some of the trees in Town that are growing in the right-of-way areas (between the sidewalks and streets). Please watch for notices on your doors so that you can move your car if needed, when the trimming may be near your property. Although the expense of maintaining these trees is a property owner expense by Code, due to the Town-wide safety concerns related to drought, I have authorized some limited work at the expense of the Town.

We will also be announcing the Spring dumpster days soon. I know this is a popular service, and I plan to continue it.

Board of Adjustments and Appeals
Lastly, we’ve received some interest in the Board of Adjustments and Appeals, but not enough applications to yet form the Board. For this reason, I have extended the deadline to April 10th. I hope you will consider the possibility of applying. You can find details on our website, under the menu “Announcements.”

Thank you for your time reading about the work we are doing on your behalf, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I always want to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Emilie Mitcham
Mayor