After many years of planning and community participation, the Piedmont City Council approved the construction and implementation of the long awaited traffic, pedestrian safety and beautification project at Linda, Rose and Kingston Avenues.  Ray’s Electric, a misnomer for the construction company, was awarded the contract to fully construct the project with hardscape, electrical work, plantings, and irrigation. Former Mayor Craig Lundin of Tree Sculpture is donating trees for the project.  The total cost authorized is $ 283,594.

Residents involved in the project development and fundraising gave a round of applause to the Council for their foresight and approval of the project at a Piedmont entry providing both safety and beauty.

Read the prior PCA article for details on the project here. <

Should the Council elect both a Mayor and a Vice Mayor to serve until December 2016?

As a result of the resignation of Mayor Margaret Fujioka, effective at 11:59 p.m. on  June 21, 2016, Vice Mayor Jeff Wieler became Acting Mayor, a temporary position. 

City Charter: “SECTION 2.05 VACANCIES; FORFEITURE OF OFFICE; FILLING OF VACANCIES (A) VACANCIES. The office of a Councilmember shall become vacant upon his/her death, resignation, removal from office in any manner authorized by law, or forfeiture of office.”

City Administrator Paul Benoit recommends that the Council elect a new Vice Mayor at the July 5 meeting, to provide for the absence or disability of the Acting Mayor.

Piedmont City Charter states:

“SECTION 2.08 MAYOR Following each general municipal election, the City Council shall elect from among its member officers of the City who shall have the titles of Mayor and Vice-Mayor, each of whom shall serve at the pleasure of the Council. The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the Council, shall be recognized as head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes and by the Governor for the purposes of military law, but shall have no administrative duties. The Vice-Mayor shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the Mayor. In case of the temporary absence or disability of both the Mayor and Vice-Mayor, the Council shall select one of its members to serve as Mayor Pro Tempore.”

There is no provision in the City Charter for a long-term, five month “Acting Mayor” to fill a vacancy.

The  Charter  refers to an absence. The resignation by Mayor Fujioka creates a vacancy under the Charter not an “absence.”  The word absence is used officially in Council minutes and documents.  For a Vice Mayor to be “acting” the Charter calls for an “absence” not a “vacancy.” 

City Charter states:

“The Vice-Mayor shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the Mayor. “

The remaining Council members are: Teddy King, Bob McBain, Tim Rood, and Jeff Wieler (Acting Mayor and former Vice Mayor.)  Both the Mayor and Vice Mayor serve at the pleasure of the Council.

The agenda item will be considered at the July 5, 2016 Council meeting that starts at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall.  The meeting will be broadcast live.

Read the Administrator’s recommendation here.

The vacancy on the Council created by Fujioka’s resignation will be filled by the City Council following interviews with candidates on July 19.  (Applications must be delivered to the City Clerk’s Office by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, 2016. )

Council Asked to Authorize Contract with Ray’s Electric

The Kingston-Linda-Rose Triangle is on the City Council July 5 agenda.  The Council will receive a report recommending authorization of a contract with Ray’s Electric for their “base bid of $207,362. ” Three ornamental street lamps will be a feature of the Triangle.

The Capital Improvement Project Review Committee stated in their June 2016 recommendation to the City Council the following:

Linda/Kingston Triangle: $175,000 (As proposed by the CIP Review Committee)

This project was conceived many years ago and began to gain traction with the increased neighborhood involvement in 2013. The execution of this project will benefit the local residents and the City of Piedmont in many ways. It will foster increased safety for pedestrians, help mitigate traffic speed, increase awareness of drivers, remove unnecessary paving, and create an improved gateway into Piedmont. It should be noted that this project is the focus of the Piedmont Beautification Foundation’s spring fundraising efforts, thus promoting another public/private partnership for improvements that benefit the residents of Piedmont.

The Linda-Kingston Neighborhood has pledged $4,610, Piedmont Garden Club has pledged $2,000, and the Piedmont Beautification Foundation (PBF) has pledged a total of $31,305 toward the current estimated construction budget for the Triangle of $283,594.

• CIP Fund: $ 140,650 
• Measure B Bike/Ped (Fund #131): $ 65,689
• Gas Tax Fund (Fund #121): $ 39,340
• Private Pledges: $ 37,915
• Total Available Funding $ 283,594

The project provides a pedestrian triangle for pedestrians crossing from the City of Oakland side of the intersection to Piedmont along the southwest side in order to approximate the short pedestrian crossings across Rose and Kingston Avenues on the northeast side of Linda Avenue. It is hoped to also auto traffic.  The traffic study by traffic engineer consultant Kittelson & Associates, Inc. “made a stronger justification for the installation of “stops” at each intersection where there currently were none.” Following extensive Piedmont staff coordination with the City of Oakland, Stops were installed in October 2015.

The “current estimated construction budget ” in the staff report does not include the scope of services, leaving it unclear who will provide the masonry work, the landscaping and installation of the irrigation system.

The expense of the staff time devoted thus far and continuing is not included in the project budget presented.  For example, extensive staff negotiations with the City of Oakland and the new Parks and Projects Manager developed the Final Landscape Plan and  is coordinating “the design of the irrigation system with our consultant…”

Read the staff report here.

Read the Kittelson & Associates, Inc Kingston-Linda-Rose Triangle report here.

During its regularly scheduled and broadcast meeting on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall, the City Council will receive a report titled:

Informational update on Climate Action Plan implementation, a 2014 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, and implementation of Environmental Task Force actions

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/staffreports/2016-07-05/CAP-ETF_update.pdf

The Piedmont Planning Commission’s action on rejection of the proposed BESO law is not noted in the report.

The majority of the Commission members favored a voluntary program rather than the mandatory proposed BESO ordinance.

Below is an excerpt from the staff report which does not take into consideration the Planning Commission’s BESO recommendation to the Council.

“ Building Energy Savings Ordinance (BESO): The purpose of a BESO is to increase property owner awareness of energy savings potential, increase the value of the home through a green-rating system, and reduce GHG emissions through voluntary adoption of efficiency upgrades by property owners. A more stringent version of this ordinance, called a Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance (RECO) is recommended in the 2005 CAP as having the largest potential to meet the GHG reduction goals. After research, public input, and Council direction, staff has developed a draft ordinance that will be taken to Council for its consideration in the months ahead. Similar measures have been already been adopted in cities including Austin and Berkeley. Based on their results, approximately 12% of homes would adopt energy efficiency measures within the first year and estimated GHG savings from the draft BESO would be approximately 139 metric tons of CO2e by 2020. This program would fulfill CAP Measure BE 2.1.”

You can also follow the link below to find more information on the City’s website regarding Piedmont’s Climate Action Program.