Hampton Field, Tennis Courts, Blair Park, Senior Center ? for Use of $575,000 WW Bond Fund
Transparency once more a question in Piedmont, as meetings are not broadcast and are held in small venues. –
June 26, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. in the small Council Conference Room in City Hall, a Capital Improvement Projects Review Committee (CIP) meeting will discuss how to spend $507,325 WW Bond money. The meeting is running partially concurrent with a Planning Commission “Town Hall” meeting held in the Police Department Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Both meetings are important to future Piedmont decisions. There will be no broadcast of either meeting. Beginning at 5:30 p.m. the Public Safety Committee will be meeting in the Council Chamber with a long agenda.
The CIP Committee has learned how tight the schedule is to identify, qualify, and complete construction of a project or projects to use Piedmont’s entitlement of $575,000 WW East Bay Regional Park District Ballot measure funds. Piedmont is the only city in the District that has not received its money as no Piedmont project has been put forward. The City staff and CIP Review Committee and City Council are eager to meet the strict deadlines, allowing Piedmont to receive funding without forfeiture of the money.
Projects associated with school uses do not qualify, nor do median strips. “The District requires that the Grantee have authority to use the property for public recreation for at least 25 years of land tenure from the date of Application.” Read the grant application required documents.
Prior CIP funds have been primarily used for sports facilities – Havens Playground, Coaches Field, Moraga/Blair Park sports complex proposal, and others. Read the 2011 CIP report.
The City has announced another “regular meeting” of the:
CIP Review Committee
Thursday, June 26, 2014
7:30 p.m.
City Hall Conference Room, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA
The agenda includes:
1. Selection of the Committee Chairperson
2. Discussion of Possible Projects Eligible for Measure WW Funding
Various projects have been mentioned in recent years as ways to spend $575,000 in WW Funds. Some would not qualify; others might receive approval by the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) Board.
- Improvements to Blair Park per recently approved plans
- Improvements to Hampton Field to correct drainage
- Senior Center, possibly in the 801 Magnolia Ave. – Arts Center extra room
- Expansion of Coaches Field
- Bocci Ball court
- Croquet lawn
- Correction of tennis court problems at Hampton Field
- Correction of drainage issues at Dracena Park’s former quarry area
Those with other projects to suggest should attend the meeting. Read a list of ineligible project categories provided to the Committee at the June 19 meeting.
I was recently shocked to learn that the standing Monday afternoon ACBL Bridge Group was bumped from the Community Center for a wedding. Piedmont bridge enthusiasts (mostly Piedmont Seniors) have enjoyed that venue for a very long time. Are we really so in need of money we can just bump long standing commitments for higher paying groups who are perhaps not even Piedmont residents? Isn’t our recreational department there to serve the residents?