See the Sweeping Schedule for your street > HERE.

On Monday, September 11th, the City of Piedmont began scheduled street sweeping for 2017-2018. Sweeping will now be conducted on the day after green waste, recycling, and trash are picked up for your home. It will be a three week cycle alternating between the odd and even numbered sides of the street, followed by a week of no sweeping.

One of the key elements of having an effective street sweeping program is for the residents to be aware of the schedule in advance so that they can relocate their cars and/or move the green waste, recycling, and trash cans to create free and clear access up to the curb. Since Piedmont relies on residents to move their vehicles, knowledge of the sweeping dates is essential. To help promote resident cooperation and knowledge, the Council approved linking the street sweeping schedule to the regular green waste, recycling, and trash pickup days. This should be a simple and systematic method to ensure that residents know when to move their vehicles.

The street sweeping schedule consists of three parts, all in a single document: 1. List of Pickup dates organized by street. (Pages 1-8) 2. Calendar showing which zones will be picked up on each day (Pages 9-10) 3. Street Sweeping Map, showing the zones and the days of the week for green waste, recycling, and trash pickup as well as street sweeping. (Page 11). The schedule is attached to this post and available on the City’s web site at: http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/publicworks/street_sweeping.pdf

For questions regarding the updated street sweeping schedule, please contact Director of Public Works Chester Nakahara at (510) 420-3050 or via email at cnakahara@piedmont.ca.gov.

On Monday, September 11, 2017, the four Piedmont City Councilmembers met and decided what the procedure would be to fill the Sept.5 vacancy resulting from Jeff Wieler’s resignation. As prescribed in the Piedmont City Charter, there are 24 days left until October 5, when the appointment is to be made by the Council. The schedule has now been set for filling the vacancy: applications, Council interviews of the applicants, consideration, and appointment by the Council.

The selection process is open to the public including Council interview sessions and meetings when candidates are considered by the Council. The Brown Act is in effect during the selection process meaning serial meetings between Councilmembers or a potential point person are not allowed.

 —–City Announcement dated 9/12/17 ——

City Soliciting Applications to Fill Council Vacancy – Deadline Wed. 9/27 at 5:00PM to submit an application.

Applications are available from the City Clerk’s Office and on the City website at http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us

Application Period: Tuesday, September 12, 2017 through Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.

Applications must be returned to: City Clerk’s Office 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, California

Application Deadline: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Piedmont will accept applications from qualified [Piedmont] voters for appointment to the City Council to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Councilmember Jeffrey Wieler, effective at 12:01 a.m. on September 5, 2017.

To be eligible to serve on the City Council, a person must meet three requirements. First, the person must be a qualified voter in the City [Piedmont]. Second, the person must not hold any other office or employment with the City. Third, due to the City Charter’s term limits provision, the person must not be a former Councilmember who served two successive full terms and left office in either 2014 or 2016.

The term of this Council seat is from the date of appointment until the results of the General Municipal Election of November 8, 2018 are certified, which likely will take place at the first Council meeting in December, 2018.

Original applications must be delivered to the City Clerk’s Office [120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont] by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 27, 2017. Postmarks will not be accepted.

The City Council will interview candidates separately and each applicant will have the opportunity to present their qualifications and discuss their candidacy with the City Council.

At a Special Meeting of the City Council on October 2, 2017 and/or October 4, 2017 in the afternoon/evening, each applicant will be asked to make a brief presentation to the City Council.

The applicants may then be asked to respond to questions the City Council may have regarding their presentation or application. Applicants are requested to hold these dates available for interview.[October 2 and/or October 4]

An appointment will not be made without a Council interview.

The City Council may make an appointment at the special meeting or may direct staff to place the matter on a future agenda for action.

Upon appointment, the successful candidate will be required to complete and file a Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests [Financial Statement]. For more information on this requirement, please contact the City Clerk.  [420-3040 or 420-3041]

A fillable PDF version of the application is available at: http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/city_clerk/2017_council_application.pdf

Residents using the electronic version are requested to fill out the application on their computer, print the completed application, sign it, and deliver it to the City Clerk’s Office. [120 Vista Avenue] Hard copies of the application are available from the City Clerk’s Office.

For more information on the application process, please contact City Clerk John O. Tulloch at (510) 420-3041 or jtulloch@piedmont.ca.gov

Being an unexpired term, qualified individuals can seek election to a full term position on the Council at the November 2018 General Election.  Additional information for applicants and interested individuals can be found in the > Piedmont City Charter.

~~~~~~~~

Those wanting to communicate with Councilmembers about desirable qualities in applicants can reach Councilmembers at the following contact numbers.

The Los Angeles Times article on former mayor and councilmember Jeff Wieler interview.

Read the article > HERE.

The recent tragedies of Harvey, Irma, and wildfires remind Piedmonters – it is time to prepare for an emergency!  Piedmont’s close proximity to earthquake faults and potential raging wildfires are ongoing reasons to prepare. 

Click for preparation checklist HERE.

A booklet, GET READY, PIEDMONT! was prepared for all Piedmonters.  The booklet is online HERE.

Piedmont is fortunate to have its own Public Safety Committee appointed by the Piedmont City Council.  The Council charge to the Committee can be read HERE.

Roster of the Public Safety Committee

Council Liaison: Jen Cavenaugh (H) 428-1442

Chief of Police Jeremy Bowers (W) 420-3010
Fire Chief Bud McLaren (W) 420-3030

Andrea Swenson, School Board Appointee

Lori Elefant

Ryan Gilbert

Garrett Keating

Chris Houlder

Gina Scialabba

Lynne Wright

~~~~~~~~~

Additional information below:

Get Ready, Piedmont – Disaster Preparedness Brochure & Checklist

The Piedmont Public Safety Committee has prepared the Get Ready, Piedmont disaster preparedness guide. This document provides comprehensive information on preparation for and response to, earthquakes, fires, landslides, and other emergencies. The guide is 50 pages in length with checklists and illustrations on things like turning off utilities, food and water storage, first aid materials, seismic measures etc. This document is available by clicking here as well as on the Public Safety Committee and Fire Department pages of the site. Printed copies are available at the Fire Department.

Also available is the four page checklist which provides a ready reference on steps to take in the event of an earthquake or wildfire as well as general guidance on disaster preparedness and crime prevention. Printed copies are available at the Fire Department.

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/committees/public_safety.shtml

What will the process be to fill the vacancy resulting from Jeff Wieler’s Piedmont City Council resignation ?

Wieler resigned effective September 5, 2017.  The Council must make an appointment within 30 days from the vacancy, which is October 5, 2017.

CITY CHARTER : (C) FILLING OF VACANCIES. A vacancy on the City Council shall be filled by appointment by the Council, with said appointee to hold office until the next general municipal election, when a successor shall be chosen by the electors for the unexpired term. If the Council does not fill such vacancy within thirty (30) days after the same occurs, then such vacancy shall be filled by the Mayor.

The City Administrator and Mayor changed their minds on when to meet to discuss how to fill the vacant council seat.

At the Sept. 5, 2017 Council meeting the City Administrator, Paul Benoit, stated the Council would undertake consideration of the process for the vacancy appointment on September 18 leaving only a little over 2 weeks (16 days) for the process of advertisement/notification, application, interviews, consideration, and appointment within the Charter limit of 30 days.

Some in the community speculated that the shortened time frame, two weeks rather than 4 weeks or 30 days, to make the appointment was a result of there being a favored candidate.  No candidate has been noticed as a preferred candidate.

The process being currently suggested by staff condenses the time allowed for applicants and their consideration. 

Update ( 9/10/17): The Special Council Meeting date of September 11 to determine the appointment selection process was set to accommodate the staffs’ ability to prepare a recommended selection process.  The Special Meeting date has been stated as not intended to favor any candidate. 

Staff report and recommendation is linked below:    http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/staffreports/2017-09-11/citycouncilvacancy.pdf

The process selected for a prior vacancy appointment can be read HERE.

The Special Meeting is open to the public for public participation.  Interested candidates should find the meeting informative.  There will be no broadcast of the meeting. 

The agenda states:

City of Piedmont
Special City Council Agenda
Monday, September 11, 2017

7:30 p.m.

Emergency Operations Center

403 Highland Avenue, Piedmont [This venue does not lend itself to broadcasting.]

Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance
Special Session
1. Consideration of the Process for Filling the Council Seat Vacated by the Resignation of Councilmember Jeffrey Wieler

For further information, contact the City Clerk at 510/42o-3040.

Those wanting to comment on the process may send an email or emails to the Council as follows:

Some residents have been surprised and disappointed to read the new garbage pickup rates proposed by Republic Services:  Curbside rates will go from $55.11 per month to $88.65 per month and “backyard” service from the current $61.08 to $131.43 per month.

Out of curiosity a Piedmont resident uncovered old waste collection bills from earlier decades. For curbside service in 1990, single family homes were billed $32.10 per three months, not per month!

All Piedmont property owners are required by law to pay for waste collection by the service provider chosen by the City. This also applies to residents who no longer generate any waste (whether green or solid) or recycling, due to their adoption of limited consumption, growing family food, composting their limited food scraps in an effort to lead a sustainable lifestyle.

Because of the vacancy created by Jeff Wieler’s resignation as mayor, the City Council meeting of September 5, 2017 called for the election of a new mayor and vice mayor to be selected by the Council from amongst themselves.

The Piedmont League of Women Voters asked that some description be made about each nominee and their qualifications.  This request was honored by Councilmember Teddy King who nominated Bob McBain for Mayor, and then by Councilmember Tim Rood in nominating King for Vice Mayor.

McBain and King have long histories of volunteerism in Piedmont having served on numerous commissions and committees. Bob McBain was elected Mayor of Piedmont and  Teddy King was elected Vice Mayor.  Both were elected unanimously, as the selection process followed a tradition of choosing the most tenured Council members and the individuals with the most votes in their election cycle.

Speakers at the September 5, 2017 Council meeting, praised the Council for its fast reaction to recent controversial remarks made by prior mayor, Jeff Wieler.  Before Wieler resigned from the Council all Councilmembers had gone on record publicly stating Wieler should resign from his council seat for the sake of the City.

During the Public Forum, citizens addressed the Council with the following points:

• A representative of the Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee thanked the Council and the public for their involvement and concern.  Notice was given of Piedmont’s upcoming anti-discrimination films.
• A new resident was shocked by the comments reported in the media, indicating opinions typical of the alt-right.  The publicly available open facebook page of Councilmember Tim Rood was praised as a good resource to learn a Councilmember’s opinions. It was suggested that all Councilmembers establish an open facebook page so that residents can learn about the positions of their elected Councilmembers.
• The Piedmont Civic Association (PCA) was praised for providing timely and accurate information on the issues.
• Speakers said there should be no place in Piedmont government for prejudicial statements and in the future more attention would be given to the Council actions.
• One speaker asked residents to write Jeff Wieler and note matters where he had contributed positively to the City.  In this way, he would learn to use his mind and his mouth for positive results.

During Public Forum, California’s sunshine law, the Brown Act, does not allow the Councilmembers to engage in discussions with speakers. 

After what Mayor Bob McBain described as a couple of tumultuous weeks, the Council undertook approval of a resolution addressing inclusivity and opposition to hate groups.  Councilmember Jennifer Cavenaugh explained that more work needs to be done.

The following resolution was approved unanimously.

09/05/2017 – Consideration of a Resolution Reaffirming Piedmont’s Commitment to Inclusivity and Opposing Actions of Hate Groups 

The Piedmont Park Commission will meet on Wednesday, September 6 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  The meeting will be broadcast live on cable Channel 27 and on the City’s website.

Agenda items include:

• Citywide On and Off Leash signage,
• Wall design for Dracena Park,
• Heritage Tree Program,
• Santa Lucia and Douglas fir trees in Dracena Park,
• Update on Hampton Park Maintenance

Read complete announced agenda here.

Read Park Commission July 5 minutes here.