Deadline for proposals: Tuesday, March, 19, 2019

At the Capital Improvements Project Review Committee (CIP) meeting a request concerning City funding for better court surfaces at Piedmont Middle School (PMS) was made by Rick Schiller, Pickleball enthusiast.

At their March 5, 2019 meeting, the City Council appeared positive concerning new asphalt at PMS. The Tennis/Pickleball sub-committee report contains the specific recommendation for Pickleball.  Sub-committee Chair Steve Roland spoke in support for City funding of new asphalt and Pete Palmer, in charge of Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) facilities, stated PUSD has no issue with this,  but the School District has no funds to pay for resurfacing of the courts.

“While bids are not finalized, about $60,000 gets us a new asphalt surface – no cracks! – with new poles.  About another $85,000-$90,000 gets a tennis court quality overlay. The three courts at each of the three PMS venues are too cramped and the best option is likely striping two Pickleball courts parallel to the three badminton courts, if that can be worked out. The green on white striping at Oakland’s Bushrod courts works well.”  Rick Schiller

Traditionally past projects approved by CIP have had partial private funding.

The Eight month trial at Hampton and Linda-Beach Courts will have a neighbor survey in 4 weeks from the start of Pickleball usage.

Increased drug and alcohol usage among Piedmont students. 

In 2013, our current flat rate per parcel School Tax was passed by voters to replace the previous Tax based on a five tier parcel size levy, a modestly progressive tax. Our School Board expressed sincere regret at eliminating the progressive tax but believed it had no choice other than to tax all parcels regardless of size at the same rate because of the 2012 Boricas v Alameda USD Appeal’s Court decision.

Of the 3,921 School tax parcels in Piedmont, 76% of Piedmont homes are on parcels under 10,000 square feet (“sf”). These taxpayers previous $1,989 and $2,260 tax became $2,406 in 2013, a 6% to 21% increase.  Owners of undeveloped parcels went from $1,009 to $2,406, a 238% increase. However, a small percentage of taxpayers benefited as owners of large parcels, commercial buildings and multi-unit buildings saw reductions of 7% to 80%. Some large commercial buildings previously taxed at $5,052 went to $2,406, a 52% decrease. 20,000 sf lots went from $3,378 to $2,406, a 29% decrease. A multi-unit building went from $11,907 to $2,406, an 80% decrease.

A progressive tax based on per square footage of building space is used in Alameda and other districts. The current Alameda tax passed by 74% in 2016 was challenged in 2017 on the validity of levying a tax on building square footage. Mar 4, 2018, the Alameda Schools per square footage of building tax was found legally valid in Alameda County Superior Court. Jan 31, 2019, a California appellate court validated a local agency’s special tax calculated on the basis of square footage of improved structures (Dondlinger v. Los Angeles County Regional).

Piedmont Schools previously embraced a partially progressive tax and now has an excellent progressive tax option that is far more equitable by using building per square footage. I propose the following progressive tax:

(1) Tax will be at $1 to $1.05 per square foot of building size. The District will determine the exact rate needed to provide funding at slightly above the current level.

(2) $4,999 will be the maximum tax for any building.

(3) Currently some multi-parcel estates are subject to multiple taxes and some are subject to one tax (GC 53087.4). So that all multi-parcel estates are treated uniformly and given that many multi-parcel estates have large homes that will be assessed at the maximum tax, a contiguous parcel exemption will be included. No property owner for a single home will pay more than $4,999.

(4) $1,099 will be the rate for unimproved lots.

(5) A 2% annual cost adjustment will be included.

(6) The tax may include an income based senior exemption at a rate to be determined so as not to cost the District more than 2% of the what the total tax revenue would be without this exemption.

(7) Compassionate SSI and SSDI exemptions will be included. These are not aged based.

        Rick Schiller, Piedmont Resident

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

The Piedmont Park Commission on March 6 will consider  consultants’ work reducing the landfill stream originating from Piedmont public activities.

In 2018, the City hired Abbe and Associates using money from ratepayers waste removal charges to provide outreach and technical assistance for waste reduction, recycling, and composting to reduce the landfill stream.  The consultants have been working with City staff, Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) staff and students to streamline and improve waste reduction, recycling, and composting at City and School facilities.  Purpose of the consultants work is to:

• To increase the City’s and PUSD’s rate of diversion from landfill to 75% by working with staff and students.
• To educate about proper sorting habits to reduce contaminants in recycling and organics.

[Read the report Abbe Environ EXHIBIT A piedmont evergreen ]

On Wednesday, March 6, Laura McKaughan of Abbe and Associates will report on the progress achieved from July through December, 2018, the first six months of the program.

Civic events in Piedmont generate significant waste.

Another focus of the consultant work was the challenge to bring large celebrations and civic events –Harvest Festival, Turkey Trot, and Christmas Tree Lighting – into less wasteful patterns.

In 2018, the Harvest Festival achieved an 87% recycling rate (1635 gallons of waste material generated at the Festival was recycled or composted and only 245 gallons went to the landfill).  The 2018 Turkey Trot achieved a 96% recycling rate (548 gallons of waste material generated at the race was recycled or composted and only 24 gallons went to the landfill).  Preferred foodware options were identified for use at other events and even staff meetings.

The consultants work with the Piedmont Unified School District to reduce waste going to landfill.

The consultants worked with Piedmont Unified School District personnel by making site assessments of the High School and Middle School.  New outdoor recycling containers were installed at the High School with additional installations planned at all school campuses.

__________

Piedmont Park Commission Meeting Agenda: Wednesday, March 6, 5:30 p.m., in City Hall:

1.  Approval of Park Commission Minutes for February 6, 2019
2.  Update on Olive Ave. Street Tree Replacements
3.  Report from Abbe and Associates: Piedmont Evergreen Team  Abbe Environ EXHIBIT A piedmont evergreen
4.  Consideration of New Trash, Recycle and Green Waste Containers for Outdoor Public Spaces
5.  Update on Heritage Tree Nominations for 2019
6.  Update on Arbor Day 2019
7.  Monthly Maintenance Report

The meeting will be broadcast live on Cable Channel 27 and on the City website for the Piedmont Park Commission meetings  http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/video/.

For additional information, contact Nancy Kent at NKent@piedmont.ca.gov

On February 27, 2019, the Piedmont School Board voted 4 – 1 to reject a grant to place a School Resource Officer – SRO – (Armed Police Officer) in Piedmont’s secondary schools. School Board President Amal Smith supported the SRO grant. 

Hearing SRO opposition statements by numerous students, teachers, parents and community members, the Board made the decision to reject the SRO grant devised by Police Chief Jeremy Bowers and Superintendent Randall Booker.  The grant had been applied for prior to consultation with and acceptance by the Piedmont School Board and Piedmont City Council. To accept grant funding for the SRO, Board and Council approval is required. 

There was a complaint concerning lack of notice prior to Board consideration and insufficient community involvement regarding the SRO proposal.

After rejecting the grant, the Board undertook an off-agenda discussion regarding redirecting efforts to reach school goals. 

Interest in obtaining a full time Piedmont police officer assigned to the Piedmont schools was brought up by Board member Andrea Swenson. 

Superintendent Booker appeared unwilling to give up the concept of an SRO; however, upon hearing the emphasis on additional professional opinions and greater community involvement to solve identified problems, he informed the Board the upcoming grant deadline meant grant amendments would be difficult to obtain. 

It was unclear if Superintendent Booker would or would not  be coming back to the Board with a new approach to gain grant funding through a revised proposal.

February 11, 2019

Randall Booker, Superintendent, Piedmont Unified School District – 760 Magnolia Avenue – Piedmont, CA 94611 rbooker@piedmont.k12.ca.us

Robert McBain, Mayor, City of Piedmont, 120 Vista Avenue – Piedmont, CA 94611 rmcbain@piedmont.ca.gov

Re: Retention of Police Officer to Serve Full-Time in Piedmont Unified School District

Dear Messrs. Booker and McBain:

I write to you on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Piedmont. Our organization supports the importance of transparency in local government and a high level of education within the Piedmont Unified School District. It is our understanding that the Board of Education will be voting during its upcoming February board meeting on the issue of whether to employ a full-time police officer in the school district as a School Resource Officer. We are also informed that should the Board of Education approve the employment of this officer, the City Council will then vote on whether to approve this position since the officer would be a member of the Piedmont Police Department.

Our League Board has discussed this issue and we believe that a decision by the Board of Education and the City Council on this matter is premature at this time, and as such, would be counter to our positions on local government and education.

Specifically, we are concerned with transparency and the ability of the Board of Education and the City Council to make an informed decision on this matter with the information currently at their disposal. For example, we are concerned there is a lack of information surrounding the explicit objectives of having a police officer on school campuses, what training the officer would be required to fulfill, what weapons the officer would carry or retain on campus, what the officer’s objectives would be, how success or failure will be measured, and what consequences may arise for the students as a result of having an officer on campus. These are just several among many unanswered questions that we feel should be addressed prior to any formal decision-making processes and, in fact, long before students, teachers and parents are surveyed on their views on the issue of hiring such a police officer to serve in the schools.

We thus urge both the Board of Education and the City Council to exercise due diligence in gathering information about both the benefits and potential consequences in hiring a School Resource Officer, and to fully communicate and share information with all stakeholders in this community about these details before holding any formal vote on the matter.

Sincerely,

Nancy A. Beninati,President, League of Women Voters Piedmont

For school year 2019 -20, Piedmont’s School District faces a drop in Elementary School enrollment. Middle School enrollment will also be down. (See attached chart in downloadable staff report.) The elementary students could be reassigned to equalize class sizes between the three elementary schools. Or, students living outside Piedmont may be admitted to fill the classroom spaces.

When space is available, students may be admitted, under certain conditions, from outside of the School District based on the state law called >“Open Enrollment”. Under the law, students from underachieving school districts may be allowed to transfer into higher achieving school districts based on classroom and teacher availability.

Implications of Program Capacity

“The District’s programmatic capacity as defined [in the staff report] will be utilized in making decisions about the placement of resident students who, in some cases, must be redirected to sites that are outside of their neighborhood school zone when capacity will be exceeded. In addition, programmatic capacity will guide the District’s ability to accept or deny and place inter-district transfer requests [students from outside of the Piedmont Unified School District].”

School District Staff Report

The School Board will consider the enrollment and capacity issue on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 8:45 p.m. in Piedmont City Hall Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue. READ the Agenda below for timing: >https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=1241&MeetingID=70531&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False . The meeting will be broadcast live on Cable Channel 27 and from the City website under videos of the School Board meeting of February 13, 2019.

City Council Consideration of Police Officer in the Piedmont schools.

Draft minutes of the January 7, 2019 City Council meeting to be considered Monday, February 4, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. :

“Police School Resource City Administrator Paul Benoit indicated that the Police Department had applied Position for and received a grant from the State of California to possibly fund a School Resource Officer (SRO) position. He indicated that the application timeline for the grant did not allow for City Council or the Board of Education to discuss the possibility of a SRO prior to the application. Mr. Benoit recognized that the application for and receipt of the grant was ahead of preferred sequence of events.

“Mr. Benoit stated Chief Bowers and Piedmont  Unified School District Superintendent Booker would conduct public outreach and return to the City Council and Board of Education for determination of whether or not to accept the grant and establish the SRO position.

“Mr. Benoit indicated that the grant offered a grant opportunity and, should the Board of Education and City Council choose to move forward, a discussion would need to take place before the grant funding expired as to whether the program would continue and how it would be funded.

“Chief Bowers summarized his and Superintendent Booker’s discussions for a SRO and discussed existing programs offered to students by the Police Department. He indicated that a reliable and consistent presence in the schools is necessary to foster true and trusting relationships between students and the Police Department. He informed the Council of the duties and effectiveness of an SRO.

 PUSD Superintendent Randall Booker stressed the importance of assigning appropriate tasks to the SRO, and the dangers of involving a SRO with school discipline. He discussed the importance of hiring the correct person for the position, ensuring that they have core values of service and education. He provided statistics on the need for caring adults on campus and a stronger, positive connection between students and officers.

“Chief Bowers explained the grant funds, which would cover the first three years, and discussed the proposed community engagement. Chief Bowers indicated that he and Superintendent Booker would visit schools as well as parent and community groups to discuss and hear feedback on the proposed program. They would then return to the Board of Education and City Council, which will decide whether to establish the program and accept the grant.

“Public Testimony was received from: Sunny Bostrom-Fleming indicated support for an SRO and commended Chief Bowers for applying for the grant.

“Tonda Case, Co-President of Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee, questioned whether a SRO was an appropriate solution for Piedmont. She suggested increased public engagement and outreach to determine if a SRO is necessary.

“The Council acknowledged the work of the Police Department in applying for the grant. They commended the relationship between the City and the PUSD. The Council agreed with the proposed outreach program, making suggestions as to how outreach could be most effectively undertaken. The Council requested the Board of Education make a decision on whether it wanted to pursue the program before the matter is brought back to the Council for consideration. (0785, 0765)”

Communicate with the City Council:

 To send comments to  all Councilmembers > citycouncil@ci.piedmont.ca.us. To send via U.S. Mail, use the following address: City Council, City of Piedmont, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA 94611

Communicate with the School Board:

Amal Smith, President, amalsmith@piedmont.k12.ca.us
Cory Smegal, Vice President, csmegal@piedmont.k12.ca.us
Andrea Swenson, aswenson@piedmont.k12.ca.us
Sarah Pearson, spearson@piedmont.k12.ca.us
Megan Pillsbury, mpillsbury@piedmont.k12.ca.us

“The ten robberies which were reported during 2018 were generally street robberies where suspects approached individuals on sidewalks, driveways, or other public areas and took items of value by means of force or fear. One of the robberies was a home invasion robbery where the suspects confronted residents. The suspects in that incident were identified, arrested, and have been charged with numerous felonies. Burglaries, defined generally as the unlawful entry into a dwelling or specified structure with the intent to commit a theft or other felony, decreased from 60 incidents in 2017 to 47 incidents in 2018. Larceny-theft increased from 97 reported offenses in 2017 to 123 reported offenses in 2018. Motor vehicle theft also increased in 2018.”

In 2018, Piedmont police officers made 17 arrests and recovered 29 stolen vehicles with a valuation of $257,800 in events directly related to the Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras. By comparison, officers made 28 arrests and recovered 39 stolen vehicles with an approximate valuation of $254,933 in 2017.
Also provided with this report is a printout of the Piedmont Police Department Case Disposition Report. This report shows the number of police reports generated by the Department during the year, as well as the disposition of those cases.

“While the Police Department continuously conducts proactive patrols to mitigate thefts and other crimes, we cannot overemphasize the importance of residents and visitors employing basic crime prevention actions such as not leaving valuables in vehicles.”   Piedmont Police 

School Resource Officer – Police Officer within the High and Middle School

The Superintendent of Piedmont Unified School District and the Police Chief established regular monthly meetings in May of 2018 for information sharing and to identify collaborative opportunities for improvement. The Department and PUSD proposed a School Resource Officer (SRO) position to the Board of Education and City Council.

Public outreach efforts to parents, students, staff and other community stakeholders are currently underway. Comments can be made to the School Board and City Council.

The Board of Education and City Council will ultimately decide whether to implement the recommended SRO program. Should the program be approved for implementation, the first three years of the salary and benefits would be paid for by a State of California, Department of Justice tobacco grant.

The Crime Report will be discussed at the Piedmont Council meeting on Monday, February 4, 2019, in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue starting at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be broadcast live from the City website under videos and on Cable Channel #27.

Read the full 2018 Year End Crime Report including the Crime Map by clicking below:

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/staffreports/2019-02-04/yearendcrimereport.pdf