– Starting around 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17, a  four alarm fire started  at the edge of Piedmont on Park Boulevard near Estates Drive and spread to cover two acres.  The center of the fire was in Oakland immediately opposite Piedmont’s Lutheran Church on Park Boulevard.  The fire appeared to be a grass fire at the far end of the Montclair Golf Course property.  Helicopter drops were made to extinguish the fire.  Piedmont Firefighters assisted Oakland in rapidly quelling the fire. The fire was initially termed suspicious.

NBC’s helicopter coverage of the fire provided live broadcast of the fire.  To view live videos click here.

– Public access is limited when some School and City meetings on finances, budgets, zoning, planning, education, and others are held away from cameras and recording devices leaving only hearty individuals viewing important civic matters. –

Citizens, who want to know first hand how and why some civic decisions are formulated, will need to personally go to the many unrecorded, out of the way meetings.  Some are noted below. 

Transparency has been a great interest in Piedmont.

From the undergrounding of utilities, Blair Park development, sewer costs, Alan Harvey Theater design, parcel taxes, and so on, Piedmonters have expressed concern over the lack of access and transparency of underlying pivotal civic decisions.

During a recent Council Budget session, it was noted that hundreds of viewers have gone to the City’s website to view live streamed and prerecorded meetings on their home computers. Home viewers can also watch broadcasted meetings on their televisions via Comcast Channel 27. The City does not know how many home viewers use the service and, according to Comcast, data is not collected. Piedmont’s public broadcasting station, KCOM, generally reruns recorded meetings on Channel 27 and makes them available through the City website. 

Despite the availability of space and broadcasting equipment, meetings are often scheduled where public access is difficult and home viewing is impossible. 

Frequent locations of the less accessible meetings are: Piedmont Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the Police Department, the Council Conference Room in City Hall and the School District Executive Offices below Millennium High School. These locations do not have broadcast equipment. 

Noted below are some of the City and School meetings that are only available to those present at the meetings, not home viewers.  

Examples of non-broadcasted meetings are:

– Piedmont Unified School District-

Budget Advisory Committee: The committee, under the direction of the School Superintendent and officially designated in the recent parcel tax ballot measure, makes recommendations through the Piedmont Unified School District Superintendent to the School Board on budgets and taxation.  The committee is an amorphous group ranging from teachers, school staff, parents, Board members, community members, and others who attend the publicly announced meetings.  School District staff members present to the committee information on the fiscal condition of the District and educational programs.  A member of the Board of Education is typically present at the Budget Advisory Committee meetings. The meetings are open to the public and are usually held in the School District Executive Offices.  There are no electronic recordings or broadcasts of the meetings.

  Measure A School Support Tax Subcommittee:  The members of the subcommittee are selected from the Budget Advisory Committee attendees.  Three residents are selected for the Subcommittee. The voter approved Measure A parcel tax requires the Subcommittee to review the fiscal condition of the School District and advise the School Board annually on the need and range of the Measure A parcel tax levy having a base of $2,406 per parcel. This year the Subcommittee recommended that the Board levy the maximum tax, a 2% increase on the base.  The Subcommittee provides the School Board with a written report on their recommendations. The Subcommittee meetings are not publicly noticed and are not open to the public. There are no recordings or broadcast of their meetings. 

– City of Piedmont –

Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee:  The committee members are appointed by the City Council and make recommendations to the City Council. Staff presents the fiscal condition of the City and the committee makes wide ranging recommendations to the Council on pensions, bond measures, budgeting, employee compensation, capital expenditures, fund reserves, taxes, and maintenance.  The committee has recently suggested a tax increase for sewers. Meetings are publicly noticed and open to the public. At the City’s recent Brown Act training seminar, the Acting City attorney instructed attendees that the Committee is a Brown Act body requiring notice and minutes. The meetings are generally held in the Police Department Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with no broadcasts or recordings.

City Council Budget Work Sessions:  The City Council annually meets to hear presentations from City staff on the upcoming fiscal year budget. The meetings are publicly announced and open to the public. The meetings are held in the Police Department Emergency Operations Center using a round table format. The sessions are pivotal to budget decisions.  No video recordings or broadcast of the meetings are produced.

Piedmont Planning Commission:  The Planning Commission will hold a “Community Meeting on the Housing Element” in a location known for close quarters and no cameras, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the Police Department. The Planning Director and planning consultant announced that an “opportunity” for the community to voice their opinions on Piedmont’s proposed Housing Element was set for June 26 in the EOC.  The Housing Element could be controversial as it presents new regulations regarding increasing second units, adding affordable housing, building apartments on top of commercial buildings, assessing multiple unit zoning, and reducing taxes on affordable units.  There will be no broadcast or recordings of this meeting.

Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Review Committee:  The CIP committee provides advice on how to spend millions of capital dollars.  The City Council appoints five members of the committee.  The other three members are: one, selected by and from the Piedmont Garden Club’s Piedmont Beautification Foundation; one, from the Recreation Commission; and one, from the Park Commission.   Money reserved by the City in the CIP fund has been used for numerous purposes including beautification projects, street and sidewalk improvements, recreational facilities, landscaping, and $2 million for underground utility problems. The meetings are publicly noticed.  An upcoming meeting on how to allocate $500,000 of WW Bond funds is to be held in the Council Conference Room.  There will be no broadcast of the meetings.

City Council Interviews of Applicants for Appointed City Positions, such as Commissions and Committees:  Annually, the City Council makes appointments to fill open positions on commissions and committees.  Although not specifically designated as financial positions, many of the members of the City’s various appointed committees and commissions routinely make recommendations with financial implications.  The sessions are publicly noticed and open to the public. The meetings have been held in the small City Council Conference Room. Public records do not include the names of applicants, and only those applicants who are appointed are publicly announced.  The Council’s interviews are not broadcast or otherwise recorded.

City Seminars on the Brown Act and Rules of Procedure: Two meetings in May to “train” elected and appointed officials on factors governing Piedmont meetings were held.  Notice was not provided of the meetings, and the meetings were not open to the public.   Councilmembers, commissioners, and appointed committee members were invited to the meetings held in the Council Chambers. During one of the meetings, a video was produced by the City and is available here.  No live broadcasts of the meetings were produced.

Meetings that can regularly be viewed by Comcast subscribers on Channel 27 and on home computers via live streaming are: City Council, Park, Planning, and Recreation Commissions, School Board, and from time to time various ad hoc committees.

  To view live and previously broadcast meetings, go to the City website at:

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/video/

– Resident Bernard Pech calls attention to a June 10, 2014 Tentative Opinion on dismissal, seniority-based layoffs and “permanent employment”.  –

With the help of ‘Students Matter’, nine California public school students filed a lawsuit against the state of California in May 2012. They argued that several state laws related to teacher staffing and employment blocked schools from prioritizing student interests — and thus violated their right to equal educational opportunity. The plaintiffs in Vergara focused on three primary areas of California law in their case: the “permanent employment” statute; various dismissal statutes; and the requirement of seniority-based layoffs or “last-in, first-out” (LIFO) for teacher layoffs.

Finally a path has been found to change the California Education Code: declare specific sections unconstitutional!

​

Refer to Tentative Decision “Vergara versus California”: http://studentsmatter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Tenative-Decision.pdf(link is external)

Bernard Pech, Piedmont Resident

Editors’ Note: The opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.

East Bay MUD Urges Continued Voluntary Restrictions –

After annual reductions in water consumption, customers are asked by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) to find more areas for reduced use following a very dry winter. EBMUD Ward 3 Director Katy Foulkes convened a meeting on July 11 in Orinda to present reports on water operations, conservation, engineering and water supply to community leaders from throughout her District, that includes Piedmont, El Sobrante, Moraga, Orinda, parts of Lafayette, Oakland Berkeley Hills, Oakland, Pinole, Richmond and Berkeley. Foulkes  represents the largest ward in EBMUD, which includes all of their water sheds. Piedmont is home to Foulkes, where she served on the City Council and as Mayor prior to her election to the EBMUD Board of Directors 20 years ago.

Despite 11% reductions last year, the requested voluntary reduction this year is 10% more than last year’s usage.

Recognizing that so much conservation has already been achieved, EBMUD has several programs to help customers find additional conservation opportunities. Any homeowner may request a free in-home water audit, which will include testing of shower heads and toilet flow rates, an assessment of landscaping, irrigation systems, watering schedules, and a search for leaks, a major source of water loss. EBMUD offers free shower heads and faucet aerators for fixtures that are not low-flow models. The first step is the homeowner’s WaterSmart survey.

Rebates of up to $2,500 per household are offered for water conservation upgrades inside the home or the creation of a drought tolerant landscape.

Request a free WaterSmart Survey Kit here.

After completing the survey, request an in-home water audit here.

A Summer Reading Project for Water Customers –

Richard Sykes, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Director of Water Supply, encourages District residents to read and comment on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). On Wednesday, June 11, Sykes told District community leaders that the largest water infrastructure project in the U.S. includes three new Sacramento River intakes and 30-mile long, large diameter tunnels. A new Joint Powers Authority (JPA) would prescribe the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of the newly created Design and Construction Enterprise (DCE) to carry out the project. Many design elements of importance to local communities situated near the project footprint (including EBMUD’s right to 133,000 acre feet of water from the Sacramento River) are still to be determined. The DCE would become the lead interface with local governments and the public about design and construction impacts.

The proposed conservation plan is intended to provide reliable operation of California’s two biggest water delivery projects, while developing habitat protection strategies for dozens of species of fish and wildlife. Instead of cutting off public comment on June 13, the new deadline is July 29, 2014, allowing more time to read the 20,000 page plan and environmental impact report.

How to  comment on the BDCP.

Find all BDCP documents here.

California and Piedmont are experiencing an increase in the number of reported illnesses due to pertussis (whooping cough).

• As of May 2014, California has received reports of 2,649 cases of pertussis, more than triple than the number of cases in the same period last year.
• The disease is cyclical and peaks every 3-5 years. The last peak in California occurred in 2010 and it is likely another peak is underway.
• Infants too young to be fully immunized remain most vulnerable to severe and fatal cases of pertussis. One infant has died this year from pertussis
• More than 90 percent of this year’s reported pertussis cases have been in children younger than 18 years of age. Outbreaks of pertussis in elementary, middle, and high schools have been reported throughout the state. In Alameda County (where we have had 120 cases reported to date in 2014), there has been increased pertussis activity in the communities of Livermore, Piedmont and Alameda, as well as clusters of disease in other cities.

What you can do?

• People of all ages can become ill with pertussis (whooping cough). Children younger than 6 months of age are the most vulnerable to serious illness if they develop pertussis.
• Pregnant women should receive a Tdap, booster shot, during the 3rd trimester of each pregnancy. This helps provide passive immunity to their newborn babies, who are too young to be vaccinated. Everyone (parents, grandparents, siblings, other household and child-care contacts), who will be in close contact with the infant should also be vaccinated before the infant is born.
• Young infants are further protected when parents, caregivers, siblings and healthcare workers stay up to date on pertussis vaccinations.
• California schools require that all students entering 7th grade provide documentation of Tdap vaccination.
• The symptoms of pertussis vary by age. For children, a typical case of pertussis starts with a cough and runny nose for one to two weeks. The cough then worsens and children may have rapid coughing spells that end with a whooping sound. Young infants may not have typical pertussis symptoms and may have no apparent cough. Parents may describe episodes in which the infant’s face turns red or purple. For adults, pertussis may simply be a cough illness that persists for several weeks.
• People with symptoms should see their health care provider for testing, diagnosis, and treatment before returning to work or school.

Resources:

Fact sheets for families

Fact sheet for pregnant women

California Department of Public Health Website

Alameda County Public Health Department website

Information provided by the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency and Public Health Department

ALAMEDA COUNTY HEALTH CARE SERVICES AGENCY Alex Briscoe, Director

PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, Director, Health Officer Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Erica Pan, MD, MPH, Director & Deputy Health Officer 1000 Broadway, Ste 500 Sandra Huang, MD, TB Controller & CD Controller, Oakland, CA 94607

Tel (510) 267-3250  Fax (510) 268-2111

Citizens Can Now See One of the City’s Brown Act Training Sessions –

The Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, has produced contentious points of view in Piedmont. To better inform elected and appointed individuals, the City scheduled two training sessions this past May 15 and May 22 for members of our City Council, commissions and committees to educate them about the Brown Act. Meeting attendance was limited to invitees. The meetings were conducted by Acting City Attorney Michelle Kenyon and her associate, Donald M. Davis, both of Burke, Williams & Sorenson, LLP.

The May 15 meeting was video taped by the City and is now available to Piedmonters.  Seen in the video are answers to questions and exchanges by participants. 

Watch the May 15 Piedmont Training Workshop here.

The City indicates these seminars qualified as an exception to the Brown Act public noticing requirements according to California Government Code 54952,2(c)(2).

“Nothing in this section shall impose the requirements of this chapter upon any of the following:

The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at a conference or similar gathering open to the public that involves a discussion of issues of general interest to the public or to public agencies of the type represented by the legislative body, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specified nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to allow members of the public free admission to a conference or similar gathering at which the organizers have required other participants or registrants to pay fees or charges as a condition of attendance. 54952,2(c)(2)”

School Theater Bonds Fail –

Measure H would have allowed the Piedmont Unified School District to issue school bonds valued at $13,500,000 plus interest for remodeling and improving Piedmont High School’s Alan Harvey Theater.   New classrooms, refurbished seating, accessibility, and other improvements were the basis of the plan.

Concern had been expressed over the reduction in seating capacity and inefficient use of taxpayer money. Opponents argued for an improved plan, use of resources on academic subjects including science, technology, and math, and increased community input into the design.  Others warned against borrowing the maximum amount allowed under State law, as Piedmont was already heavily in debt for school bonds.

At 8:06 p.m. election night, June 3, with only absentee votes counted, the results were:

NO = 745    50.13%

YES = 741   49.87%

“So goes the absentee vote, so goes the election,” has been a tradition in Piedmont for decades. The end results proved the old saying to be true.

Although the final vote count will not be certified for days, with all Piedmont precincts counted the unofficial results as of 11:09 p.m., June 3, were:

NO = 1317    51.41%

YES = 1245   48.59% 

School bonds require 55% voter approval by those voting on the measure.

Mail in ballots left at polling places will be added to the count.  These are not expected to change the results.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As of June 7, the updated unofficial final results were:

NO = 1683    52.40%

YES = 1529    47.60%

School finances and programs will be discussed.  

Open to the public: 

“The Program/ Budget Advisory Committee is a standing committee with representatives from all stakeholders in the District. Its purpose is to review the District’s Budget, share the information with constituent groups and generate recommendations for Board consideration in the Budget development process. Members will be asked to serve in rotation for a one to two year cycle. Responsibilities will include attendance at meetings and sharing of information with their representative group and to represent the interests of all programs and services for the District as a whole. The Budget is fluid and therefore under constant “revision” as revenues and expenditures are clarified. The Program/Budget Advisory Committee is a vehicle to disseminate information to as many parents, students, staff and community members as possible. The Committee is advisory in nature and will not have decision-making responsibilities.”

 Piedmont Unified School District

This informative meeting will be held:

Thursday, June 4, 2014

3:30 – 5:00 p.m.

District Office Board Room,

760 Magnolia Ave., Piedmont, CA

No broadcast of the meeting will be available.

Interested individuals may attend the meeting. 

The Subcommittee, composed of three members of the Budget Advisory Committee, are chosen to advise the Board of Education on the annual parcel tax levy, currently over $2,400 per year.

AGENDA

1. Welcome

2. May Revise (PERS/STRS)

3. 2014-15 Budget – Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)

4. Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)

Does texting 911 work in emergency situations? Will anyone receive a 911 text?

There can be circumstances when a victim does not want to speak because of the proximity of an assailant. In such a case, texting might be an attractive alternative, but does it work? On May 14, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon theoretically began enabling 911 texts to route to a local police department. However, each emergency call center has to decide how and when to allow Text-to-911.

Unfortunately, the carriers have been promoting their text 911 capability as though it connects with emergency personnel. It is not available in Piedmont or anywhere else in Alameda county, according to the Piedmont Police Department. And KTVU reports it won’t be available in the Bay Area for awhile.

“We’re up and ready to go, but we have some technological issues to deal with,” says Menlo Park Police Commander Dave Bertini.

The Highway Patrol confirmed to KTVU that the California Office of Emergency Services has yet to put together a plan for using 911 texts.

So what happens if you try to text 911?

“What happens is you get a text back that says make a voice call to 911. Text to 911 is not available,” Bertini said.

Although texting has replaced phone calls in the daily lives of many people, there are disadvantages to texting 911, even when it is possible. Texts could take longer to travel through the network than a 911 call from the same phone. Substantial delivery delays are a possibility in heavy demand periods or locations. Unlike 911 calls, they are not prioritized over other texts.

Will the text be understandable? The user’s slang may not be familiar to the police recipient. Most important, emergency call centers will receive only a general geo-location from a texter’s phone, not the usable address that is automatic with 911 phone calls. So, police response won’t be possible unless the address is part of the text.