Citizens with relevant experience are invited to consider serving on BART’s Earthquake Safety Program Citizens’ Oversight Committee. This is a chance to ensure that public money is being spent as intended? The Committee is tasked with verifying that Measure AA bond revenues  are spent appropriately on earthquake safety retrofits. The Application Deadline is November 28, 2014

– Facts about Piedmont’s annual Turkey Trot provided by the Piedmont Unified School District Superintendent, Constance Hubbard – 

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions 

The District wishes to alert parents and students to significant events with respect to Piedmont’s annual Turkey Trot.

Background:

Since 2003, the Turkey Trot has been run by the PHS Cross Country Team, PUSD coaches, and families. The Piedmont Unified School District financed the Trot (shirts, timers, etc.) with student funds held in the Piedmont High School Associated Student Body (PHS ASB) account. All proceeds were used to support Piedmont High School’s Cross Country & Track programs, and to acquire exercise equipment to benefit the whole school.

In December 2013, a few of the race organizers independently filed papers to incorporate as the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation to assume responsibility for this annual event. Although the organizers obtained funds to finance the 2013 Turkey Trot from the PHS ASB account as per usual, afterwards they claimed that the proceeds would be distributed at the discretion of the Turkey Trot Corporation.

At this point, the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation has neither reimbursed the District in full for the funds provided in 2013 nor turned over the profits of the November 2013 Turkey Trot. The intention of the organizers going forward is not clear, as the new web page states for the 2014 event states that “proceeds from the race benefit various local charities.”

Students and parents have asked the District to clarify the relationship between the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation and the Piedmont Unified School District. This information sheet is intended to address the most frequently asked questions about the history and status of the Turkey Trot. Nonetheless, several questions remain.

A Brief History of the Turkey Trot:

The Turkey Trot has existed in its current form for 12 years, and throughout that time has been a fundraiser sponsored and organized by the Piedmont High School Cross Country Team. It has grown from a few hundred to thousands of runners. With that growth, there has been significant growth in revenue and also organizational support.

Some former Cross Country parents worked closely with coaches to lead the effort and many community volunteers helped, but the event was primarily staffed by current Cross Country team members and their parents. In recent years, the Cross County team has not needed all the proceeds from the fundraiser, and revenue has been used to acquire exercise equipment for the benefit of the entire PHS student body.

There are organizational and up-front costs associated with running the annual Turkey Trot. These costs include, but are not limited to, the purchase of race day t-shirts, official timers, and insurance. The District has always paid these costs, either up front or from race proceeds. In recent years, proceeds from the previous year’s race were budgeted to fund the next year’s race. These funds were held in a special fund for Cross Country & Track held by the PHS Associated Student Body.

Changes in 2013:

The 2013 Turkey Trot was organized and run as it had been in past years. The District paid approximately $23,000 in upfront costs, including $14,879 in race day t-shirts. Students and parents volunteered their time to make the event a success, with the understanding that 100% of the proceeds would benefit Cross Country & Track and student athletics. The event was marketed to the community (with advertising in local and regional media) as a fundraiser to support PHS Cross Country & Track programs.

The City of Piedmont’s permit and the Turkey Trot insurance documents also state that all proceeds would benefit PHS Cross Country & Track programs and student athletics. However, to date the organizers have not delivered the proceeds of the 2013 Turkey Trot to the District for these student athletics programs.

Following the 2013 Turkey Trot, a few of the long-time organizers of the Turkey Trot independently created the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation. Although some coaches may have been aware of the creation of this entity, the Board of Education, School District administrators, PHS Boosters (the organization primarily responsible for raising funds to support student athletics) and, to the District’s knowledge, athletes and their parents, were not. The corporation (which was formed in December 2013) deposited all proceeds from the 2013 Turkey Trot into its own bank account.

Requests for an Accounting and for Proceeds from the 2013 Turkey Trot:

When the Board of Education, District administrators, and PHS Boosters were informed of the creation of the new Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation, and learned that the Turkey Trot proceeds had not been delivered to the District, they initiated a series of discussions and meetings with the identified founder to resolve outstanding issues concerning the 2013 Turkey Trot.

Specifically, the District asked how much was raised by the 2013 Turkey Trot, how much was spent in race preparations and operations (with a detailed accounting of expenses), and how much remained to be remitted to the District to support the PHS Cross Country & Track programs. The requested information was promised but not provided.

In February 2014, District staff met with the some of the founders of the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation and were told the gross proceeds from the 2013 event were approximately $54,000. The District asked at that meeting, and immediately thereafter in writing, for a copy of the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws (which specify how the Corporation intends to spend funds that it receives going forward), a complete accounting of the 2013 race proceeds and expenses, and that all proceeds from the 2013 Turkey Trot be paid to the District to deposit in the special fund for Cross Country & Track held by the PHS Associated Student Body.

Again, the requested information was promised but not provided.

The District continued to pursue this information and return of the 2013 Turkey Trot proceeds in numerous communications, both oral and written, with the identified founder of the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation. The District has attempted to resolve this matter informally out of respect and recognition of the organizers’ long service to the community, and the identified founder’s repeated promises that the information and proceeds would be forthcoming.

As a result of the District’s efforts, the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation has since partially released funds to the District. The Corporation delivered $19,879.23, stating that it is keeping $30,000 of the 2013 proceeds to fund the 2014 Turkey Trot. The founder refused to sign an agreement to return the full amount of the 2013 Trot proceeds to the District for use in supporting “the Cross-Country and Track teams as well as exercise equipment to benefit the whole school” as stated in the City of Piedmont’s permit approval for the 2013 Turkey Trot.

Aside from the partial reimbursement of the upfront costs invested by the District, no other funding has been provided by the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation to support the Cross Country & Track programs and student athletics. However, students and parents should be advised that the District remains fully committed to support all student athletic programs, and the Cross County & Track programs will continue to receive the financial and program resources they need for the 2014-15 season.

Unresolved Questions:

As the accounting and disbursement issues concerning the 2013 Turkey Trot remain unresolved, it is unclear what the relationship will be between the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation and PHS athletic programs going forward.

Relevant questions for parents, students and the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation include:
• Who should run future Turkey Trots in Piedmont? Although the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation seeks to do so, other stakeholders have not had an opportunity to present their thoughts.
• If future Turkey Trots are run by the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation, to whom does it intend to donate the proceeds?
• Does Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation intend to be transparent with the community regarding the proceeds and expenses of the Turkey Trot, and to whom it makes donations?

The Piedmont Unified School District remains open to facilitate a discussion among representatives of the Piedmont Turkey Trot Corporation, student athletes, parents, and PHS supporters to answer these questions to foster the long tradition of collaboration among community members, parents, and students in support of student athletics in the District.

If you have any questions, please direct them to the Office of the Superintendent at; chubbard@piedmont.k12.ca.us

September 24, 2014

October 15, 2014

Dear Mayor Fujioka, Vice Mayor Wieler, and City Council Members Rood, King, and McBain:

Unfortunately, I am unable to attend the City Council meeting this coming Monday evening, October 20, 2014, as I wanted to speak on the subject of smoking restrictions in Piedmont. Thus, I am writing to you as a third generation “Piedmonter”, being a resident for 50 years this October 2014 and a property owner myself for 34 years.

All three of our children grew up in Piedmont and enjoyed the amazing community and services offered by both the City and Schools, including attending recreation department programs, participating in sports, participating in after school educational programs, etc., with two of our children graduating from Piedmont High School. My wife Holly and I, and my father as well, have been tireless community volunteers and proudly helped both the Schools and City in so many ways. Thus, my family is very ingrained in Piedmont and seriously concerned about maintaining its wonderful quality of life.

With this, I am wholeheartedly in support of Piedmont adopting a No Smoking Ordinance as soon as possible. As such, I am in support of extending the secondhand smoke protections in Piedmont to include many of our outdoor public spaces and as well I strongly suggest that this ordinance address the proliferation of unregulated electronic cigarettes.

People who smoke need to be discouraged from smoking when they are around others, especially children, the elderly, and those with lung, heart, or other chronic conditions.  To ensure safe air passage for our children, their parents, our teachers and others to from school and around the schools, I strongly support the adoption of a smokefree buffer zone around the perimeter of all of our schools.

As stated above, it is just common sense to include the use of electronic smoking device emissions in the protections, since the toxins emitted like formaldehyde may not be safe to those nearby.  In fact, a recent study showed that non-users had measurable levels of nicotine in their bodies from being close by when these devices are used.  A note of importance, these devices can and have been easily altered to allow users to add other substances into the liquid solution for inhalation.

I also strongly support efforts to regulate the sale of these devices and prohibit the distribution of free sampling and the distribution of heavily discounted coupons for all tobacco products including these devices within the Piedmont city limits.  As an asthmatic myself and an American Lung Association volunteer for 30 plus years, I have long supported efforts to reduce tobacco use by adults and youth and I would hate to see electronic cigarettes with their “Captain Crunch” and Gummy Bear” flavors lure a new generation of youth into becoming addicted to nicotine.

Over 65 local California communities have already added e-cigarette regulations into their existing secondhand smoke protections including Hayward, Dublin, San Leandro, Berkeley, Union City, El Cerrito, Walnut Creek, and Richmond.

In conclusion, I not only urge Piedmont residents to support the City Council’s efforts to protect all residents in Piedmont from outdoor secondhand smoke, but to also urge the school community to explore how they can partner with the City in keeping tobacco and nicotine out of our shared air and out of our lungs.

Thank you very much and with warmest regards,

Michael A. Gardner

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

Want to learn more about City/School mutual issues?

The City Council and School Liaison Committee meetings are a great way to find out about matters such as: the No Smoking Ordinance; City and School District Capital Facilities Projects; City and School Agreements; Turkey Trot; and Emergency Preparedness.  The Liaison Committee will meet on:

Friday, October 17, at 8:30 a.m. in the Piedmont Unified School District, Administration Office, 760 Magnolia Avenue.  

The meeting is open to the public.  There will be no broadcast or recording of the meeting.  Interested individuals should be present for full information.

The Committee’s agenda includes:

An opportunity for the public to speak on items not on the agenda. (Total Time allotted = 10 minutes. Speakers may be asked to limit their comments.)

Regular Agenda – The public may speak on any of the following items:

1. Discussion of Emergency Preparedness

2. Discussion of Turkey Trot

3. Discussion of District / City Agreements

4. Discussion of City / District Capital Facilities Projects

5. Discussion of No Smoking Ordinance

1. Discussion of Schedule of Future Meetings – Agenda Topics

Committee Roster:

The Planning Commission will consider the Draft Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (PBMP) as well as the Draft of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) document on Monday, October 13. The meeting will begin at 5 pm in the Council Chambers in Piedmont City Hall (120 Vista Avenue). A presentation of the Draft PBMP will be made by the City’s consultant, who will be available for questions. The public is invited to speak at the meeting. This meeting will be broadcast on KCOM Channel 27 and from the City website.

The draft of the PBMP was available for public review on August 8^th and inspired more than 25 comments by members of the public through October 1st.

The Commission may choose to recommend the October 1st version of the Draft PBMB, or may wish to make modifications. If the Initial Study and Negative Declaration under CEQA and Draft PBMP are recommended for approval by the Planning Commission, staff will forward the documents, including any recommended revisions and/or comments, to the City Council for consideration at the November 3, 2014 meeting.

The Draft Plan and Preliminary Draft of the CEQA document can be accessed at the following links:

Draft Piedmont Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan dated October 1, 2014 (This large 112 page document may take some minutes to download or require a larger memory than some devices.)

Appendices: Comments received through the two online surveys on the needs assessment and on the improvement options

Draft of the CEQA Initial Study/Negative Declaration

Drivers advised to take other routes between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

The Piedmont Public Works Department will be conducting sewer work on Moraga Avenue between Highland Avenue and the eastern city limit on Wednesday, October 8th from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. There will be one way traffic control, which will cause delays in the area. Please use alternate routes.

Contact the Public Works Department at (510) 420-3050 with questions.

At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, October 6, 2014, the City Council will interview in a public meeting applicants for the now permanent Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee.  The meeting will be held in the City Hall Conference Room directly opposite the City Hall Council Chambers.

Per City practices, applicant names are not disseminated except when a Public Records Act request is made.  There will be no recording or broadcasts of the meeting.  To be informed, those interested in the appointments to this important City Council advisory body will need to be present during the interview process.

Agenda.

– Piedmont will continue to meet EPA sewer requirements by borrowing from existing City funds and the California State Water Resources Control Board. – 

On Monday, October 6, 2014, the City Council has on their agenda a plan to resume work on Piedmont’s Sanitary Sewer System.

Controversy has surrounded the Sewer Fund in recent years. When incorrect information developed by the City and falsification of requirements of the EPA was revealed, the Sewer Tax was defeated  by voters in 2011.

Further information dismayed some residents when it was learned that Sewer Fund money is used to pay for purposes unrelated to the sewers, including street sweeping even during dry weather.  The City has justified the use of the Sewer Fund as vital to keeping the storm water drains clear.

In May of 2014, the City Council had proposed a ballot measure requiring voter approval of a Real Property Transfer Surcharge Tax for sewer replacement.  However, on June 24, 2014, Alameda County reported an “historic and unanticipated” increase in Piedmont’s Real Property Transfer Tax, making the surcharge unnecessary.  City Administrator Paul Benoit advised the Council to abandon the surcharge in favor of borrowing from the City’s funds.

In June 2014, the positive position of the General Fund with an unaudited ending fund balance of $4,498,390 amounting to reserves of 20.9% of expenditures allowed for an additional $819,000 to be transferred to each of the Facilities Maintenance Fund and Equipment Replacement Fund.

Significant improvement in Piedmont’s financial condition has been attributed to prudent use of City revenues, large increase in Real Property Transfer Tax proceeds, and employee contributions to their retirement benefits.

 The much belabored sewer renovation program will resume.  Internal and external loans will provide the additional funds by borrowing $600,000 from the Facilities Maintenance Fund ($2,111,246) and $200,000 from the Equipment Replacement Fund ($2,861,650) for a total of $800,000.  The City will continue the practice of utilizing loans from the State Water Resources Control Board to augment funding.

The City Council is being asked to approve loans from the City’s funds with the following conditions:

 – Simple interest rate based on the Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) rate, not to exceed 1.0%.

– Interest only payments during the replacement of the sewer system. Principal and interest payments would begin approximately FY 2027-28, when Phase VII loan payments begin. Under this schedule the loan is to be retired by FY 2034-35. Council can authorize the loan to be repaid sooner, assuming the Sewer Fund has sufficient funding.

  Read the full staff report.

Specific sewer mains will be replaced.

The second part of moving ahead with sewer work involves the design and implementation of the work.  Previously, the Council adopted a Risk Management Policy to assure that contracted work does not create conflicts of interest between designers, engineers, construction contractors, and project managers.  The contract on the Council agenda has been drafted with that intention. The sewer engineers (Coastland Engineers) appear to be sole sourced.

When the City renovates the sewer mains in an area, property owners are required to replace any faulty laterals (the pipes going from their property to the sewer main.)  The laterals cost thousands based on length and piping complexity.

To see if your property is in the Phase V project click here to view the map.

This Phase V project will encompass work in Sub-Basins W2, W3, G1, H1, H1A and previously identified high-priority pipes throughout the City for a total of approximately 33,000 lineal feet of sanitary sewer pipe replacement.

The agenda item is:  Consideration of the Preparation of 35% Design Documents for the Phase V Sanitary Sewer Project and Authorization to Apply for a State Fund Revolving Fund Loan for the Project  < Staff report

The Council meeting will be held in City Hall, recorded, broadcast and open to the public.  This item is on the 7:30 p.m. agenda.

On October 6 the City Council will consider transferring funds into the Sewer Fund to move forward with completing the mainline sewer rehabilitation. This is a significant first in Piedmont, to have funds transferred into the Sewer Fund rather than taken out. The Sewer Fund has essentially operated as a City slush fund.

In 2011, City Hall asked for an additional $11 Million dollars from taxpayers which would have added an additional 50% tax burden on top of an already expensive sewer tax. That 2011 tax failed, and earlier this year staff estimated only $1 Million was needed to complete the previously stated $11M compliance and construction work.

Piedmont has always maintained compliance with all EPA and Water Resources Quality Board legal requirements. A fair question is why $11 Million was needed 3 years ago, and is now down to $1M? Fortuitously, a real estate transfer tax windfall of an additional $1M, and other cost cuts, means no additional taxpayer money is needed to complete the mainline sewer system. Most of the Council also recognized when rescinding Mr. Wieler’s transfer tax plan earlier this year that taxpayers want more accountability of where their tax dollars will go, and an efficient use of their funds.

During the very troubled Piedmont Hill Underground Utility District debacle, with taxpayers paying in excess of two million dollars for private benefit, the Crest Road utility trench collapsed on Oct. 13 2009. The trench would not have existed but for the private benefit undergrounding project. Staff recommended on Nov. 16 2009 that $296,000 be taken from the Sewer Fund for repairs; the sewer fund is a publicly funded source. Council agreed. Staff stated a month after the collapse that installation of trench dams was the necessary repair. On Oct. 14 2009, the City Engineer directed that the trench be filled with low-pressure concrete; by Nov. 16 this was largely completed. The installation of the trench dams, standard construction practice on a steep slope and missing in the original construction, would have required that hundreds of cubic yards of the freshly poured cement be excavated. No trench dams were ever installed and the $296,000 was paid by general tax revenue and not taken from the private undergrounding district’s contingency funds.

Perhaps just a coincidence, but at the time the 2011 sewer tax failed the Blair Park project was pulled. The actual expenses for that project were never fully disclosed and I question how the sewer fund would have been further used had the additional tax passed. I speculate that the overflowing sewer fund may have been a source of funding for the new 25 home sewer line and 24 inch EBMUD transmission line relocation.

The current temporary transfer into the Sewer Fund makes sense; it is essentially a near zero interest loan. Hopefully, when the sewer rehabilitation is completed, the same spirit as now prevails in City Hall will remain and the sewer tax enacted in 2000 will be eliminated. Other prudent accounting practices have recently been undertaken with a closer look at the $900,000 automatically appropriated annually from the Sewer Fund and moved into the General Fund.

Moving ahead now with Phase V of the sewer rehabilitation is smart. Finally under Mayor Fujioka’s forward looking leadership and coupled with the transparent professionalism of City Administrator Benoit, we are taking financially prudent proactive measures.

Rich Schiller, Piedmont Resident

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

Following final City approval years ago, residents watched the PG&E building deteriorate while awaiting the new townhouse project.

Soon there will be a group of townhouses below the Oakland Avenue bridge. In preparation for construction of the Piedmont Station townhouse complex, the 5,688-square-foot concrete former PG&E substation is being demolished.  The triangular .4 acre site abuts the Oakland Avenue bridge over Linda Avenue.

The seven townhouses designed by Jarvis Architects consist of four units fronting on Linda Avenue, one at the corner of Linda Avenue and the Oakland Avenue bridge, and two facing the bridge.  Three of the units have views of the bridge support structure and roadbed.  The four-story (including basement level two-car garage) attached dwellings have four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms.  One gated and roofed driveway from Linda Avenue will provide access to the seven garages plus one guest parking space for the project. By providing two covered parking spaces for each unit, LSA indicates the parking requirement in the City Code has been satisfied.  (See also “Traffic Analysis: Piedmont Station Townhomes” prepared for the City of Piedmont by DKS Associates of Oakland.)

Jarvis Architects designed the units with cross ventilation in deference to green building goals in California.  However, the Piedmont Planning Commission required the addition of air conditioning in all the units.

Read earlier PCA article about the project and the 2010 CEQA study.