Apr 2 2016

CIP Committee April 5: Project Proposal Consideration

The Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Review Committee will meet in the City Hall Conference Room on Tuesday, April 5 at 6 p.m. The meeting will not be broadcast or recorded, but is open to the public.

The CIP Review Committee is composed of seven members, 4 appointed by the City Council, chairs of both the Recreation and Park Commission, plus the current President of the Piedmont Beautification Foundation, a private organization benefiting Piedmont.  The City Council recently appointed Michael Henn to the Committee.

The Committee  makes recommendations to the City Council on Piedmont’s major improvement projects. Citizens may propose projects on a Proposal Form, < available here or from City Hall. Project proposals for this cycle closed March 25.  Many past projects have originated from the City staff and the Piedmont Beautification Foundation.

April 5 CIP agenda:

  • Update on recreation projects
  • Review of Citizen Proposals for CIP
  • Review of preliminary CIP wish lists and project budgets

Supporting information and lists of proposals have not been publicly provided.  Information will be made available at the meeting along with staff presentations on the various proposals.  Final approval of projects is dependent on available funding and will be acted upon by the City Council by June with consideration of the annual City Budget.

Apr 2 2016

Park Commission Welcomes New Commissioners, Updates Hampton Park, Linda/Kingston Triangle, Climate Action Plan

The Piedmont Park Commission will meet on Wednesday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  New Commissioners Jim Horner and Brian Mahany will be introduced and new Chair and Vice Chair will be elected.

Agenda:

  • Approval of March 2, 2016 minutes
  • Presentation of Piedmont Garden Club donation
  • New commissioners introduced
  • Public Hearing on the removal of 4 London Plane trees at 93 Sea View Ave
  • Update on completed planting design for Linda/Kingston Triangle
  • Update on Hampton Park Master Plan
  • Update on Arbor Day April 27
  • Update on Climate Action Plan
  • Update on Warfield Avenue Street Tree
  • Monthly Maintenance report

The meeting will be broadcast live on cable Channel 27 and on the City’s website.

Apr 2 2016

Report: Off Leash Area in Dracena Park

March 21st City Council Meeting

The primary issue that was debated at the City Council meeting on March 21st was a petition to expand the area where dogs can be off leash in Dracena Park. Currently, there is a popular loop taken by dog owners that goes around most of the upper part of the park, where dog walkers are able to have their dogs off-leash. However, once they reach the main upper field area they are required to put their dogs on their leashes for a short period of time until they reach the pathway on the other side; where dogs are once again allowed to be off leash.

If this petition were to be successful, dog owners would be able to walk the full loop without having to put their dog on their leash. There is also a lot of opposition to this petition, primarily from those who live around the park such as Mark Becker.  Also, Council member Robert McBain, the Council Liaison to the Park Commission was opposed.

Patty Siskind, Chair of the Park Commission, suggested a solution to the issue that she and her colleagues had come up with. It would be to build a dry stack wall that would separate the dog area from the rest of the lawn. This would leave roughly one-third of the area for dogs to play and the remainder would be an area where people could play openly without concern for dogs. This dry stack wall would also help to properly drain the lawn because there is frequently a large puddle in the center of it after it rains. Building the wall Piedmont would have the ability to level the lawn, making it an easier and better place to play.

I believe that this is a proper solution to the issue, and once Piedmont has the monetary means to build this dry stack wall it should be done. It is a good compromise for both dog owners and residents who live nearby.

For my interview, I had a conversation with Trevor, a student at Piedmont Middle School. He was at the meeting because he wanted to argue in favor of increasing the area where dogs can play off-leash. He believes that Piedmont does not have enough open space for dogs to properly enjoy themselves and thinks that the compromise suggested by Patty Siskind would be a good solution. Trevor’s plans his next step is to attend several City Council meetings and to see the progression of this issue.

William Bird, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors’ Note:  Opinions expressed are those the author.
Apr 2 2016

Report: Board of Education Meeting of March 23

School Board Meeting on March 23, 2016

The Board of Education voted at their bi-monthly regular meeting on March 23 in the Piedmont City Hall to adopt a new math curriculum for Common Core and Integrated Math.  They also approved the Piedmont High School (PHS) Language Department’s request for the level four language classes to be awarded the title of Honors, pending University of California approval.

The Board meeting was called to order by Board President Andrea Swenson, and the Board heard updates from the Association of Piedmont Teachers (APT), represented by Piedmont Middle School (PMS) teacher John White, the Board’s student representative, and Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Randall Booker.

In addition to these updates, two students from PMS Green Team came to the podium to speak in support of a climate action plan.

White attended to support his two students; tell the school board about the student organization Together We Slam’s recent activities; and to fill in for APT head Gabrielle Kashani by giving feedback to the Board from the teachers’ union.

Regarding the math curriculum approval, Superintendent Booker, Dr. Cheryl Wozniak, and some PHS and PMS math teachers including Bill Marthinsen, spoke in favor of approving the new curriculum, from College Preparatory Mathematics, citing the presence of “a lot of intelligence behind it.”

After a presentation and substantial discussion, the Board unanimously voted to approve the new curriculum.

The Board then again heard from Booker, this time accompanied by PHS Principal Brent Daniels and several PHS World Language teachers, in support of approving the language level four classes at PHS to the honors level. The language teachers cited their involvement with the Berkeley World Language Project and examples of the honors level class at other high schools.

PHS seniors Courtney Gao and Ben Fung, taking or having taken AP Mandarin at PHS, argued against Board member Doug Ireland’s concern about the potentially superfluous and stressful nature of the Honors title, who was acknowledging the pre-existing and widely recognized level of difficulty for those classes and wanted to encourage more students to continue with studying world languages for this reason.

After hearing these arguments, the Board decided to approve the item early, and voted unanimously to do so, in order for the PHS administration to request approval from the UC system for next year’s classes.

The Board acknowledged a newly-published “frequently asked questions” document in response to mass interest about the Facilities Master Plan for the District.  The meeting was concluded by recognizing several community members and events.

by Ben Fung, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors’ Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author. 
« Previous Page