As a concerned citizen, I attended a Recreation Commission meeting involving the Recreation Department on November 18th. I had expected not to be able to contribute much to the issues or problems concerning the meeting and in many ways I was right.

I am a student at Piedmont High School and up until this very point in my high school career I have not played on an athletics team and I am not very close to many of the parks that inhabit Piedmont. Because the Recreation Department  works with the parks and fields that make up our community I did not have much to offer in terms of my experience on most of them. I was, however, very intrigued by the importance that they have for a variety of citizens. From the pools for the youth water polo program to the aged pickleballers, it was nice to see how many people the Recreation Department has responsibility for.

One of the major issues discussed at the meeting was the concern with the tennis courts implementing pickleball. Until this meeting,  I did not know that there were consistent and passionate pickleball players in the Piedmont community.  I found it interesting how the commission had discussed the impact of certain boundary lines painted in order to accommodate pickleball play on the tennis courts. It seemed the only concerned citizens who bothered to show up were the pickleballers themselves.  Not a single person who protested the dual use of courts bothered to speak out at the meeting.

One of the other concerns that struck a chord with me was the issue of youth programs.  I myself had experienced many rec sports and it was interesting to hear about the creation of these programs when considering what an impact they had on my life.  One of the rec department members, Jackson Sterns, discussed trying to find a proper coach for a water polo summer camp in order to introduce kids to the sport.  One of my friends who had come with me to this meeting, Holden,  had given a critique of the program since his little brother had participated and ended up not wanting to play.

When an employee, who worked with the maintenance of the fields, came forward to give an update on their condition, a Commissioners, Dick Carter, brought up a topic that I could contribute to, Witter Field.  When the employee had finished speaking about Coach’s Field and Hampton Field, Commissioner Carter mentioned the poor condition of Witter Field and as a result my brother, Burke, and Georgie Brayer decided to go up to discuss Witter Field.  I walk home many days of the week and have to walk across Witter Field and, as a result, I can say first hand that the field has not changed much at all since my days as an elementary school student.  The field is in dire need of replacement of it’s turf and should be a top priority of the community.

After the meeting I decided to interview Commissioner Carter in order to find out more about Witter Field.  It turns out that Witter Field is under the jurisdiction of the Piedmont Unified School District; we had revealed our complaints to the wrong public body.

Despite this egregious mistake, the Commissioner was happy that we attended and emphasized the importance of our contribution to the community.  I am happy that I got to see and participate with a Commission that had played a big part in my childhood and really shaped a lot of the early memories that I have of Piedmont. It definitely made me realize the potential I had to contribute to the community and it’s citizens welfare.

Pierce St.Claire, Piedmont High School Senior