On May 4, 2016, I attended the Piedmont Park Commission meeting held in the City Council Chambers within City Hall. As soon as the conversation among the Commissioners tapered off, Chairperson Jamie Totsubo called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Everyone stood solemnly. Briefly remembering elementary school blackboards and the faded 1970s American flag half furled on a stick, I joined in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Beginning the meeting were seniors from Piedmont High School, speaking during the Public Forum. The Commissioners were particularly attentive, half bemused at civic duty incentivized with gradebook points, but all genuinely wished to hear proposals.

In a terse forty­ five second speech, Alex Chueh and I proposed to add lights around the softball field near the dog park ramp by Wildwood Elementary School. Alex introduced the two of us and briefly outlined the possible locations for a new electric light, similar to the new white lamps replacing flickering orange sodium flames. Explaining the need for lights, I mentioned that students often return in the dark after sports practices as they walked near the park’s exit, especially when Daylight Savings Time ends. Some Commissioners nodded at the mention of students and Daylight Savings.

After answering a few questions, we exchanged the podium with Kalen Davison, also a senior, who proposed that the nets at the Beach tennis courts be raised to regulation height. Following Davison, PHS seniors Kaelli Thiel and Madison Tenney suggested adding a water fountain to Dracena Park.

Once Public Forum ended, Chair Totsubo introduced the main item on the agenda ­ the Lorita Avenue tree debate. As each speaker rose, the slight silence before speaking gave the otherwise commonplace topic the atmosphere of a performance.

First, residents Maggie and Lannie Spencer explained how ginkgo trees could replace the agapanthus flowers at the end of the cul­ de ­sac, emphasizing that they did not want “total uniformity” as to tree choice. Anne Hall, another resident, added that the trees should not develop potentially problematic roots ­and reminisced that she was quite young when the great trees were planted.

Suddenly remembering Twelfth Night ­ “when I was a little tiny boy…” I remembered a story about the pine tree my dad planted outside his lawn when he was very young, and how it still flourishes, a rare pine tree in that stretch of Indiana, a tree with significance as part of his Chinese name.

As the main item stretched into the 6:00 p.m. hour, some others suggested crepe myrtle at the end of the street, instead of trees. PHS Senior Devan Joseph, also a Lorita resident, succinctly supported planting ginkgo trees, “to make the whole cul­ de ­sac aesthetically pleasing.”

After Joseph’s speech, the discussion’s direction shifted and­ most of the speakers began to favor the trees.

Perhaps from my own experience, when a younger person speaks among many adults, somehow, the adults subconsciously agree with the youth, as a reflection of themselves. But without too much philosophy, once resident Andrew Coleman agreed to water the plants efficiently in this State of drought, the Commission seemed to be convinced.

Public Works Supervisor Dave Frankel spoke briefly about the botanical upsides of male ginkgo plants, including their slow growth rates, particularly in the Bay Area clay soil, and the lack of smelly fruits. Soothing as popular educational PBS shows, the tree lecture was the final piece of information needed to convince the Commission.

All Commission members, ­ Betsy Goodman, Jim Horner, Jonathan Levine, John Lehanan, Brian Mahany, Patty Siskind, and Chair Jamie Totsubo ­ approved the motion for new trees.

For the next hour, the commission addressed ongoing updates, including the Linda Kingston Triangle power from PG&E, and updates on Hampton Park. To lighten the detail ­heavy presentation, Chair Totsubo suddenly asked for recognition of the East Bay Garden Club’s Arbor Day celebration, and the PHS Jazz Band’s performance. A vague comment about students sent all but the PHS seniors into long laughter. At around 6:50 p.m., the meeting adjourned.

Interview with Nancy Kent, Parks and Projects Manager

At the end, Alex and I interviewed Nancy Kent, the staff liaison for the Commission. She spoke on how she began work with the City in a volunteer function, and through her voluntary role, she naturally transitioned into City government. Briefly outlining her concerns about water conservation, she highlighted the Commission’s role in Piedmont’s xeriscaping and rainwater reusal.

Kent ending by explaining to us the importance of local government in even the smallest issues, I noticed that everything ­ from the largest policy issues in Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court ­ to even the swimming pool debates in Piedmont ­ can profoundly impact most people’s lives. Policy and politics often have less of an impact than the daily issues people debated in the Park Commission. We are lucky to be able to determine government at every level, through public discussion and debate.

Sam Cheng, Piedmont High School Senior

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

On May 4, 2016 at 5:30 pm, the Park Commission meeting commenced as Chair Jamie Totsubo called the participants to order and lead the Pledge of Allegiance. On the first Wednesday of every month, the Park Commission meets to address issues and come up with arrangements regarding the beautification of Piedmont; everything from the parks to the street landscaping. After Commissioners Brian Mahany, John Lenahan, Jim Horner, Jonathan Levine, Patty Siskind, and Betsy Goodman introduced themselves, the discussions began.

The meeting started off with the Public Forum, where several Piedmont High School students brought their concerns to the attention of the Commission. Sam Cheng and Alex Chueh requested that lights be put in around the softball field. Kalen Davison stated that the Linda tennis courts are in terrible condition, especially the nets, and suggested that the courts be checked every three months so as to keep them in a safe, playable condition.

After the Public Forum, the meeting moved on to address the items on the agenda, the first of which was a hearing to consider a request from residents Maggie and Lannie Spencer for the implementation of additional street trees on Lorita Avenue and Monticello Avenue. They proposed to remove the agapanthus on the street, and instead put in five new street trees.

Maggie Spencer brought up the point that there is a city owned space on the street that used to have street trees; however, these street trees were removed many years back and never replaced. Three other residents spoke in favor of street trees; one resident on Monticello Avenue later stated that they attended the meeting to make sure that their “opinions were being heard”, as they were “strongly in favor of beautifying the street.”

However, Anne Hall, a resident on Ramona Avenue, wanted to express her feelings against tall street trees, as they would block sunlight from her backyard and the roots going under her fence would be problematic.

I agree with this sentiment, as it is not often taken into consideration the tremendous barrier that tall trees can impose.

Therefore, the residents as well as the Commissioners agreed that the agapanthus should be substituted with a plant that grows the height of the fences, and does not spill over so as to disturb the neighbors. Commissioner Jim Horner stated that ginkgo trees stay small in a confined setting, and suggested to use ginkgos but keep the spacing narrow (about 20 feet apart). All of the Commissioners agreed on replacing the agapanthus with ginkgos, and the motion passed.

The Commission then moved on to the next items on the agenda, which included an update on the Linda/Kingston Triangle. They will soon be setting a date to put the drawings to bid, hopefully within the next month, so that the bulk of the project will be completed before school starts again in the Fall.

The next item involved the planting of a maple tree in Piedmont Park; the planting ceremony date is set for May 24, 2016 with the ceremonial planting beginning at 10 a.m.

The Park Commission also was given an update on the Hampton Master Plan; the project was awarded to Suarez and Munoz, a local group from Hayward. The project is to begin on June 13, the Monday after school lets out for summer, and the goal is to complete the project by August 16, the start of the 2016-­17 school year.

After the final item on the agenda (the monthly maintenance report), the Commission came to the decision that July 6 would be the date for their summer recess, and the meeting was adjourned.

Kaelli Thiel, Piedmont High School Senior

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

“The city has said that the carriage house, where Dress Best for Less is, behind the pool, the space between the recreation department building and the current pool, as well as the play structure area are all open territory for the new facility to take advantage of.”  

Stakeholder Aquatics Center Meeting – 

Last Wednesday, May 5, 2016, the Piedmont Community Pool managers held an exciting stakeholder’s meeting to discuss a new aquatics facility. Kevin Post and his associate were present from Counsilman-Hunsaker, Associates to hear the needs of the various interest groups present at the meeting. Post is a pool specialists who manages aquatic facilities, as they are all very unique and require more planning than most other facilities.

When I arrived, there were about 10 people sitting around a conference table, in a back room of the Piedmont Center of the Arts building. This meeting was the second of three sessions held that afternoon, each targeted to hear from different pool users.

At around 3 o’clock there were mom’s of high school freshmen, a few lap swimmers, recreation department representatives, and the club swim team coach, Stefan Bill. John Savage, high school water polo coach, and Megan Hernandez, High School athletic director, came in a few minutes later.

The greatest issue that was being discussed was lap lane availability and practice times for the various teams. Bill mentioned that he would love to be able to host competitive meets and events at the new facility, although it is recognized that parking would be a major issue.

The city has said that the carriage house, where Dress Best for Less is, behind the pool, the space between the recreation department building and the current pool, as well as the play structure area are all open territory for the new facility to take advantage of.

One concern that was brought up was the issue of neighbors being unhappy with noise levels. In past years neighbors used to call the pool office angrily to tell Jesus, a past swim team coach, to be quiet and not have the team do cheers in the morning or at night.

Rebecca Sermeno, the aquatics manager, reassured the meeting members that she knows the neighbors all quite well and that they are all on board with a new facility. The issues of the neighbors has been a reoccurring problem that has actually partially prevented previous plans of renovations.

Megan Hernandez, who grew up in Piedmont, said she can remember there always being talk of getting a new facility, and another, more skeptical meeting member, Stacy, said “show me the money and I’ll get excited” because she has seen so many proposed plans that all just fall through for one reason or another.

Sermeno however is much more optimistic and declared that this is the first time the pool has taken as many steps toward actually redoing the facilities.

I, a high school senior who practically lives at the pool, am also slightly skeptical. I remember that even when I was in middle school there was talk of a grand new 50 meter pool that was coming our way, but nothing ever happened. I do, however, have faith in Sermeno to watch this through and make sure it happens, it may just take much more time than predicted.

Things became real interesting when Post brought out his sample models of the different pool scenarios that could be built. One idea was a pool over 50m that had a bulk head, another was a 50mX25yd pool as well as a play pool that had a s0ft depth decline.

The meeting members all became very engaged in trying out different configurations on the printed out map to see what may work the best. Bill commented that he would love for there to be two competitive pools, however there is an obvious need for a more shallow, play and instruction pool. No conclusion was made, but Post was able to understand and hear the needs and wants of the various people present.

I stayed after the meeting ended to talk to Kevin Post a bit more to see his perspective on this plan.

Post told me that his company, Councilman-Hunsaker, has done over 1,000 pool facilities and that their employees are a mix of people with swimming backgrounds, like himself, and engineers that can plan out an effective and efficient aquatics facility.

Post explained that during the meeting they were getting input first, then they would work on getting together a few models and scenario with construction costs, which would then be presented at Council and public meetings.

Finally a decision about the level of funding would be declared which would allow a bid election to take place. Only then would they be able to begin working on deconstructing the current facilities and constructing the new one.

I was very intrigued by this meeting, I knew almost everyone there from my years of being in the pool community so I felt comfortable talking and giving my input. I felt like what I had to say was valuable to the discussion since I gave a unique perspective on the situation compared to all of the adults that were there.

Although the adults are the ones who pay the dues and fees at the club, I still believe that the younger generation’s voices needed to be heard since they make up a large majority of the people who swim at the pool. All in all, it was an exciting meeting to participate in and I am thrilled to see how the plans will actually turn out.

Kelsey Fennell, Piedmont High School Senior

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