Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Committee- May 16: The CIP Review Committee will hold a tour of the 801 Magnolia “education wing” on Monday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m.  (Meet in front of City Hall.)  At 7 pm, following the brief tour, the Committee will meet in the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) in the Police Department to review the draft priority funding list and funding recommendations to City Council. (No telecast or video)

Pool Fees – Wednesday, May 18:  The Recreation Commission will hold a public hearing on the revised pool fee schedule which projects a 50% taxpayer subsidy of pool operations at City Hall on Wednesday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m.  The public is invited to attend or send comments to the City Council, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, 94611 or send an e-mail to the City Clerk at jtulloch@ci.piedmont.ca.us.

City Budget Workshop – Saturday, May 21: Piedmont’s proposed FY 2011-2012 budget will be discussed in detail at a City Council work session in the Police Department conference room on Saturday, May 21, 2011 beginning at 9:00 a.m.  (No telecast or video) On June (6 & 20) preceding Budget consideration, the City Council will hold public hearings in City Hall on expenditures and estimated revenues for the FY 2011-12 Budget with final approval scheduled on June 20.

Following are highlights of anticipated issues which may be raised at these meetings: > Click to read more…

Piedmont Houses for Sale - May 15, 2011

The numerous Piedmont houses currently on the market will, upon sale, mean increased revenue for the City from City transfer fees and escalated property values.  Property tax revenues and transfer fees are a significant part of Piedmont’s budget.

At its May 11 meeting, the Municipal Tax Review Committee began to fill in the outline of fiscal issues that will govern its parcel tax recommendations to the City Council.  Preliminary review of available revenues and funding commitments resulted in the following conclusions on topics previously discussed in these reports:

• Other city revenue sources over the life of the next tax will grow slowly.  Increases in property tax revenue, the largest contributor of city funds, will depend on the sales and reappraisals of existing homes.  Historically property tax revenue has only grown on average by about 4% annually over most of the past decade, barely ahead of inflation.  The city’s second largest revenue source, the real estate transfer tax, is still recovering from the housing market crash and is well below the peaks of earlier years in the past decade.

• On the expenditure side the city faces several challenges:
  • Inadequate funding for equipment replacement and capital maintenance of aging facilities;
  • Declining reserves to fund known future commitments and provide contingency for unexpected events;
  • Demands for new or possibly expanded programs including the municipal pool, operation of Blair Park, and future costs related to Oakland Public Library access
  • Continuing cost pressures from city employee benefit commitments combined with challenges to maintain current staffing levels. > Click to read more…

Chester Nakahara, Interim Director of Public Works, has submitted a staff report recommending an agreement requiring all persons selling their home in Piedmont to complete a Verification Test of the home’s sewer lateral for leaks and obtain a Compliance Certificate from EBMUD.     This certification process would also be required when remodeling work exceeds $100,000 or the size of the water meter is changed.

Verification testing would be performed by EBMUD; repair or replacement of any defects would be performed by the homeowner, with appropriate permits issued by the City of Piedmont.    No information on the cost to homeowners of the testing, the permits, or the potential defects are listed in Mr. Nakahara’s staff report.  The City Council will consider the agreement on May 16, 2011. > Click to read more…

The Citizens Advisory Committee on the School Parcel Taxes (CAC) will discuss public outreach and making powerpoint materials easily accessible on its PUSD webpage.  The members of the CAC collected extensive date over the past year, providing information on comparative district information and historical budget trends to the Board of Education to better inform Board decisions.  See Powerpoint Presentation from the CAC.

> Click to read more…

A letter from Barbara Peters Urging a Meeting Between PRFO and FMC to find a Blair Park Solution

Dear Editor,

It’s time to end the divisiveness around the issue of Moraga Canyon and Blair Park and to look for creative solutions.

The Piedmont sports clubs desire additional field space in town since their lease in Alameda expires in the fall of 2012. If  Piedmont Recreation Facilities Organization (PRFO) is willing to meet with Friends of Moraga Canyon (FMC), perhaps we could find common ground. Two well respected architects, Bill Blackwell and Chuck Oraftik, have each drawn excellent plans for enlarging Coaches Field. An enlarged Coaches Field would provide much of the field space that the private clubs are seeking.

There are many advantages to enlarging Coaches Field: > Click to read more…

The Recreation Commission meeting on May 18 will include an update on the Moraga Canyon Sports Facilities from Mr. Mark Delventhal, Recreation Director .   The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 12 Vista Avenue.  It will be videotaped and viewable on KCOM.   The Moraga Canyon update will follow a public hearing on pool fees.  See Ageneda.

The  Piedmont Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Review Committee will be touring the “education wing” of the former Christian Science Church building at 801 Magnolia on Monday, May 16, 2011.   The tour will begin at 6:30 p.m. in front of City Hall.  It is open to the public.

Staff has proposed the education wing of 801 Magnolia Avenue become a childcare facility.  This may include moving programs out of the Recreation Department location at 358 Hillside Avenue, allowing staff to expand its offices.  Other uses for the space raised by Piedmont residents and mentioned in the General Plan Survey have not been proposed by staff.

The CIP Committee is charged with, “Develop(ing) procedures for encouraging and seeking citizen input into the capital budget process.”  However, due to limited funding no public input was solicited this year.  A list of pending projects and highlights from staff’s “wish list” of proposals from the CIP staff report are provided below.

Following the tour, the CIP committee will review the draft CIP priority list and its  CIP recommendations.  These recommendations will be considered by the City Council at 9:00 am on Saturday, May 21, 2011 in the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) of the Police Department.   It will not be videotaped.

The CIP fund represents the largest amount of discretionary spending by the Piedmont City Council.  Due to CIP funding being utilized to satisfy Piedmont Hills undergrounding cost overruns, the CIP budget has been reduced.  It is now $573,000.  New funding is not anticipated for 2011-12.

> Click to read more…

PIEDMONT, CALIFORNIA (April 24, 2011) — Can a garden be both sustainable and stunning? Edible and elegant? Drought-tolerant and dramatic? Visitors to the gardens on the Piedmont Green Garden Ramble will see eight examples of the beauty of green gardening, as well as a local school’s edible and butterfly habitat gardens. The free, self-guided tour, on June 4 from 9:00 am to 12 noon, is sponsored by Piedmont CONNECT, a community group supporting local efforts toward environmental sustainability. > Click to read more…

The Recreation Department staff has published a newly revised proposed pool fee schedule for consideration by the Recreation Commission on May 18.  Daily rates would be limited to non-holiday Monday – Thursday from 8am -3pm.  The proposal has simplified the overall rate structure.  It includes:

• Same resident and non-resident daily rates for children and youth (age 12 to 17).
• Seasonal pass at less than one-half the cost of an annual pass for individual adults and seniors (over 65).
• Slight discount (11%-25%) for seasonal, annual passes, and adult daily rates for residents compared to non-residents.
• Guest privileges and weekend/holiday swimming for seasonal and annual passes.

Under the prior fee schedule (see p. 5.), staff estimated operating pool costs would be paid $380,000 by taxpayers and $375,000 by users, resulting in a 50% taxpayer subsidy of pool cost.  (See Aquatics budget.)   A revised budget estimate for the new proposed fee structure has not been provided.  The specific assumptions regarding pass sales and numbers of users underlying the 2 fee schedules have not yet been made public by staff or reviewed by the Recreation Commission.