The Piedmont Park Commission will conduct a public hearing on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue to consider a landscape plan for Blair Park.  Restoration Design Group (RDG), the consultants chosen by the City Council in consultation with the Friends of Moraga Canyon to develop the Landscape Improvement Plan for Blair Park will make a presentation. RDG will report on existing conditions, site constraints, and their investigations and observations. Presentations will be made by the project team composed of Bob Birkeland of RDG and Jim Clark, their Arborist from Hortscience. The information  presented will serve as a baseline from which their plan and ideas will develop.

This is an opportunity for all stakeholders to voice their opinions regarding Blair Park. Comments from the Public Hearing will allow the Park Commission to prepare recommendations to the Consultant for the landscape improvements and maintenance at Blair Park. This is the first of the two public hearings that will be heard by the Park Commission regarding this matter.

The Park Commission meeting, including this issue, will be televised on KCOM-TV, Channel 27, the City’s government access TV station and broadcast on the City website.

You may write to the Park Commission by e-mail www.mfeldkamp@ci.piedmont.ca.us.

For further information, contact Mark Feldkamp, Parks & Project Manager at 420-3064.  

Have you ever looked for a letter or comment in the press without finding it?

Readers often post comments at the end of our articles.  To learn Piedmonters’ thoughts on any news article or opinion essay, return to an article during the following weeks or years after publication and scroll to their end.  Readers can also use the search function on our site to go back to prior news articles for the history of policies and projects and read opinion pieces.  For example, to read the comments on the City Council settlement with Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization (PRFO), scroll to the end of the PRFO Settlement article where comments are located.  Comments on all prior articles can be accessed through our search tab found on the left side of the home page using the steps as noted.

 1.   Go to SEARCH on the left side of the PCA home page

2.   Enter the desired subject in the search space, for example, PRFO, Schools, etc.  All articles on the subject will present.

3.   Scroll down the page, click on the headline of desired articles.

4.   Scroll to the end of the article to read COMMENTS on the article.

With an election coming, a change in City Administrator, educational policies, and financial issues making current news, the Piedmont Civic Association (PCA) provides a forum for comments, opinions, and articles. Our goal is an informed citizenry. PCA civic news is disbursed and stored on the internet unencumbered by space limitations faced by commercial businesses.

PCA does not support or oppose candidates for public office nor take positions on ballot measures.  All comments and opinions reflect the opinions of their authors and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.

 Everyone is encouraged to submit information or comments to:

editors@piedmontcivic.org.

The Piedmont Planning Commission has announced a Special Session on Monday, September 30, 2013, at 5:00 p.m in the Piedmont Police Department Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Conference Room, 403 Highland Avenue.  The purpose of the meeting is a WORK SESSION DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED ZONING CODE AMENDMENTS.  

The Planning Commission will review and discuss possible amendments to Chapter 17 of the Municipal Code to implement General Plan and Housing Element objectives and actions, and to comply with changes in State law. The Commission may make comments and provide direction to staff, but will not take final action on the proposed changes at this special work session.  All changes to Chapter 17 must be approved either by the City Council or Piedmont voters.

Members of the public will be provided an opportunity to comment on the proposed changes at the workshop.  Due to the location of the meeting, public broadcast of the meeting will not be available. 

Agenda

The Piedmont Unified School District is considering placing a bond measure on a future ballot to cover the cost of renovating and improving the Allan Harvey Theater (AHT) at Piedmont High School.  The following is excerpted information being considered by the School Board at their meeting September 25, 7:30 p.m. in the Piedmont Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue.  The meeting will be broadcast.

“As reported by Ruth Allhaydoian [financial consultant] at the Board of Education meeting on September 11, 2013, the District’s capacity to issue new bonds is growing, as existing bonds are paid down and the local tax base grows. Currently, the District has bonding capacity of in excess of $11 million. Conservative estimates project the bonding
capacity to exceed $14 million in the 2014/15 fiscal year. Based on this report, the voters could authorize the use of bond funds to pay for an AHT project.”

“Although the project would likely qualify for additional State matching funds, receipt of that funding would depend on another State school facilities bond, and the timing of the next State-wide school facilities bond is uncertain.”

Gauging Public Support & Election Options

“The District could present a ballot measure to voters as early as February 2014 (included as part of the existing scheduled election of City Council and School Board members) with little or no additional election costs. The deadline to get a measure on the ballot is October 14, 2014. This allows little time to resolve important outstanding questions such as reliable cost estimate and community support. The District could present a ballot measure to voters at the regularly scheduled elections in either June or November of 2014 without the cost of a Special Election. Special elections are estimated to cost $80,000- $100,000 while joining an already scheduled election costs in the $20,000 range, depending on the number of issues on the ballot.”

Staff Recommendation: “The Board is requested to provide direction to staff as to next steps. Community members have expressed an interest in pursuing the preliminary design as presented to the Board in January of this year.”

Click to read the staff report in the September 25 Board packet and go to page 8.

Since January, the City Council has been in negotiations with Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization (PRFO) to receive payment of the outstanding reimbursement obligation in connection with PRFO’s proposed Blair Park sports complex. 

The press release states in part:

In the settlement agreement, PRFO has agreed to let the City retain the $95,000 balance in a separate $125,000 Indemnification Guarantee fund, after a $30,000 settlement negotiated by PRFO attorneys in defending the City in the lawsuit filed by Friends of Moraga Canyon challenging the proposed project. The $95,000, coupled with the initial deposit of $118,000, brings the total to $213,000 paid by PRFO towards the City’s stated total incurred costs of $326,533, leaving a balance of $113,533 to be absorbed by the City.

Click to read the entire settlement agreement and press release.

– Budget Advisory Committee Member Tim Rood Announces Candidacy for Piedmont City Council – There are now three candidates running for three Council seats in the February 2014 Municipal Election. 

Tim Rood

The following is a press release from Tim Rood:

Budget Advisory & Financial Planning Committee (BAFPC) member Tim Rood has announced his candidacy for Piedmont City Council in the February 4, 2014 election. Rood has been endorsed by all of his colleagues on the BAFPC: Chair Bill Hosler, Mary Geong, Steve Hollis and Tom Lehrkind. The BAFPC was established by the Council in 2012 to assist the Council with recommendations on financial planning, forecasting and budgeting. Rood and the other BAFPC members were appointed for a three-year term.

“Tim is very knowledgeable of the City’s budget and overall financial position and the fiscal issues facing the council,” said BAFPC Chair Bill Hosler. “As a committee member, he’s demonstrated his openmindedness, his analytical approach, and his commitment to responsibly maintaining our high-quality City services and facilities.”

BAFPC member Steve Hollis agreed. “Working closely with Tim on the Budget Advisory & Financial  Planning Committee over the past two years, I’ve been impressed by his grasp of fiscal issues, his collaborative approach, and his commitment to saving taxpayer dollars while keeping Piedmont a great place to live. Tim will bring an informed and fresh perspective to our Council’s deliberations,” said Hollis, who, like Hosler, served on the 2011 Municipal Tax Review Committee (MTRC).

“I’m honored to have been endorsed by all of my Budget Advisory & Financial Planning Committee colleagues,” Rood stated. “Piedmont is such a wonderful place to live thanks in large part to the dedication and effort of our citizens. It’s been a privilege to represent Piedmonters on the BAFPC for the past two years, collaborating to explore ways to save the City money and address future liabilities, while responsibly maintaining our civic assets. As a Council member, I will bring my in-depth knowledge of City finances, as well as my professional experience as a city planner, consulting to dozens of municipalities and leading community outreach processes to find consensus on difficult issues. I look forward to working with the incoming City Administrator and other staff to implement the BAFPC’s money-saving recommendations, including refinancing the pension side fund, restarting the phased rehabilitation of the City’s sanitary sewers, and addressing the projected deficit in the sewer fund.”

A daily bicycle commuter, Rood has been an enthusiastic advocate for the City’s recent bicycle/pedestrian master plan. He established and leads the Green Transportation interest group as a co-chair of Piedmont Connect, a local volunteer environmental organization. For the past two years, Piedmont Connect has sponsored an “Energizer Station” at Ace Hardware as part of Bike to Work Day in Piedmont, in which Mayor Chiang, Council Members Garrett Keating and Margaret Fujioka and Rood have all participated.

Rood’s campaign steering committee includes Council member Garrett Keating; former mayor Al Peters, a member of the Task Force on Civic Governance appointed by the League of Women Voters of Piedmont; former Council member Walter Schey; former Planning Commissioner Melanie Robertson; MTRC members Michael Rancer and Eric Lindquist; Kathleen Quenneville, also a member of the ask Force on Civic Governance; and a diverse group of current and former parents of Piedmont schoolchildren, including former parents Diane Allen, Denise Bostrom, and Hingman Chan; PMS and PHS parents Bill and Tina Bocheff; Beach and PMS parent Jim Mitchell, and Wildwood parent Judy Richardson.

In addition to the BAFPC members and his campaign committee, Rood’s other endorsers include School Board President Rick Raushenbush, Recreation Commission Chair Nick Levinson, former mayor Nancy McEnroe, and Capital Improvement Program Committee member Ryan Gilbert, who was also a member of the 2011 Municipal Tax Review Committee.

Tim Rood has been a Piedmont resident since 2002 and has been an active local volunteer throughout that time. He and his wife Muffy have two children who attended Wildwood from kindergarten and are now at Piedmont Middle School and Piedmont High School. His community service includes six years on the board of the Piedmont Swim Club, serving as a precinct captain in the 2013 school parcel tax campaign, and volunteering with the League of Women Voters of Piedmont to register voters at the Piedmont Harvest Festival. He also volunteers as treasurer of Human Impact Partners, an Oakland-based 501(c) 3 non-profit organization.

A certified city planner and licensed architect, Rood has led multi-disciplinary consulting teams and public outreach processes for numerous cities, including Oakland, Martinez, San Rafael and Healdsburg, and holds a LEED accreditation in green neighborhood design. He holds a bachelor’s degree cum laude from Columbia University and masters’ degrees in architecture and city planning from U.C. Berkeley. Rood is a partner in an award-winning urban design and planning firm, Community Design + Architecture (CD+A), which specializes in the design and implementation of walkable, bicycle-friendly streets and communities. The San Francisco Better Streets Plan developed by CD+A has won multiple awards.

Tim Rood welcomes any questions or thoughts on City government and can be reached at (510) 239-7663 or by email at Tim@Rood4Piedmont.com.

Tim Rood

Editors’ Note: The Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose candidates for public office.  The comments are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Piedmont Civic Association.  Information about candidates and their campaigns is welcomed.

The Piedmont Unified School District Budget Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Thursday, September 19 in the Conference Room in the District Office at 760 Magnolia Avenue from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. The meeting is the deadline for applications for the School Support Tax Advisory Subcommittee, which is responsible for advising the School Board Members on the voter approved 8 year School Support Parcel Tax. Those interested in being a member of the Subcommittee should be present at the Sept. 19 meeting, and have their application form with them or have provided the form to the District by 3:30 pm prior to the meeting.

The application form and an explanation of the work of the Subcommittee are available below:

California Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, who represents Piedmont in the State Assembly, will host a Town Hall meeting at the Piedmont Veterans Memorial Building on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

According to an announcement from her office, Ms. Skinner will provide updates on:

• New funding for schools, the UC system, and veterans in California’s 2013-2014 State budget

• Covered California – California’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act

• Important legislation awaiting Governor Brown’s signature.

Ms. Skinner has served as Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee and was recently appointed Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee.

– Residents who are subscribers to the existing system must register for the CodeRED system to continue to receive alerts after September 16. – 

The Piedmont Police and Fire Departments are now offering Emergency Notifications through a system called CodeRED.

This new system utilizes telephone calls, email, text messages, and/or a mobile app to notify residents of emergencies and other public safety related news. Residents who register for the City’s CodeRED emergency notification system will receive notices regarding public safety situations, major street closures, planned power outages, and other emergency situations at the same time information is sent to the press.

The City of Piedmont provides this service to residents at no charge. Residents are encouraged to visit the City’s web site at http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us and click on the CodeRED Emergency Notifications item for a link to register. Registration is simple. All you need is your name, address, and phone number. Residents who do not have access to the internet may call Barbara MacLean at the Piedmont Fire Department at (510) 420-3028.

The CodeRED alert system will be launched with a City wide notification. The City will conduct a test alert using a telephone voice recorded message. This message will provide our residents with information regarding CodeRED, and instructions on how to register to receive emergency alerts.

The City’s existing Public Safety Dispatches email notifications will be discontinued on September 16, 2013. Residents who are subscribed to the existing system must register for the CodeRED system to continue to receive alerts.

This information is provided by the City of Piedmont.