The responses to 850 public comments, prepared by consultants LSA of Point Richmond, Benson Lee, Consulting, and the Piedmont Recreation and Planning Departments, have been posted. (Read Responses to 850 public comments.) The comments were submitted in response to the June 2010 Draft Environmental Impact Report on the Moraga Canyon Sports Complex published November 5.  The City Council will hold public hearings on the consultants’ and the City’s responses on Monday, November 15 and Monday, December 6, 2010 in the Piedmont Veterans Hall at 401 Highland Avenue starting at 7:30pm.

A Letter from Clive Chandler on the Piedmont Swim Club Lease

There are at least three alternatives available to the City Council: > Click to read more…

The following letter expresses the personal opinion of the author.  All statements therein are solely  the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Piedmont Civic Association.

A letter Submitted to the City Council on 10/29/2010

To:  The Piedmont City Council

Re: November 1 Council Meeting, Item Four, Blair Park EIR

Tonight  Mr. Grote is asking the Council to approve additional funds for the Blair Park EIR. The approval being sought is retroactive as the work commenced weeks ago, and the funds for this work have already been received from private donations. That this work is being paid for by private money does not > Click to read more…

How much should Piedmont city taxpayers subsidize the cost of building and maintaining sports fields used primarily by private sports clubs?

By Ralph Catalano and Randolph Wedding, Piedmont residents.
(The following expresses the personal opinions of the authors.  All statements made therein are the opinion of the authors and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.)

Americans value universal K-12 education so highly that we rarely impose fees on students or their families to recoup the cost of building and maintaining local schools. Most communities also encourage young people to exercise by providing public parks without charge for unscheduled play. More controversy arises, however, when communities decide how much to subsidize private, organized sports clubs, which generally take priority over non-organized use or casual impromptu activities. > Click to read more…

The following expresses the personal opinions of the author.  All statements made therein are the opinion of the author and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.

Opinion by Rick Schiller,  Piedmont resident

Regardless of which way the Piedmont City Council eventually votes on the proposed Blair Park project, the issue of litigation costs must be addressed now. The City of Piedmont has received letters from an attorney retained by Friends of Moraga Canyon. A respected expert, Richard Grassetti, has provided a scathing report on the Moraga Canyon Sports Fields Project Environmental Impact Report (EIR). > Click to read more…

Commentary by Jon Sakol, Piedmont resident, on the recent closing of  the pools at the Piedmont Swim Club with his Letter to the Editor in response to Josh Bernstein’s recently published comments — as submitted to PCA, The Piedmonter and Piedmont Post. > Click to read more…

Update: read the September 2, 2010 Wall Street Journal article on Alameda County pool closures.

Piedmont’s pool was one of many pools shut down, based on a legislative change regarding drain covers.  Alameda County has been closing “10 pools per week since July 1” because of the new regulations. > Click to read more…

Piedmont Swim Club pools re-open.  Lease negotiations with City continue. > Click to read more…