Dear Councilmembers:

The Piedmont Center for the Arts is a rare gem at the center of Piedmont offering the community a local venue for top-notch visual and performing arts.  The Center has been a place of discovery- the discovery of the immense local talent within Piedmont and the surrounding Bay Area, as well as a venue for strengthening our sense of community. As a longtime Piedmont resident and former board member and President of CHIME (now part of the Piedmont Arts Fund), I find the Center to be a most worthy and cherished addition to Piedmont’s cultural life and spirit of community.

Born of local dedication, this endeavor to bring an affordable venue for high quality musical, performing, visual and literary arts to the center of Piedmont, accessible to all, has lived up to its mission and should be supported and protected by the Town.

The Center truly enriches the lives of Piedmonters by bringing a broad array of exceptional exhibits and performances to our very doorstep. Tired after a long week and not anxious to travel into San Francisco for a long concert evening? The Center affords you the opportunity to enjoy a short cultural evening at a fraction of the cost of a San Francisco performance. Want to expose your kids to exciting programs that might interest or inspire them, but don’t want to drag them into museums or travel to long performances? The Center is the answer. Stop by on a walk home from school or a Saturday at the park. Exposure to the arts
does not have to be difficult or out of reach financially.

I strongly urge the City Council to renew the lease for this exceptional community-building and well-run venue.

Sincerely,
Diana Meservey, Piedmont Resident

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Hello all Piedmont City Council members:

Dear Council members,

We understand that the City Council will discuss renewal of the lease for the Piedmont Center for the Arts in the next few weeks. I’m writing to support renewal of the lease, preserving this important treasure for the City and its neighbors.

We live on a split lot, paying property taxes to both Oakland and Piedmont. Over the past few years we have enjoyed musical concerts, plays and art exhibits at the Center and sincerely hope that, once the Covid crisis has abated, we can return for future programs.

We have enjoyed many enriching performances in the short time the prestigious Piedmont Center for the Arts has been part of this small community.

I’m writing to add our voices strongly urging the Council to renew the PCA lease so it can continue to bring high quality art and culture to Piedmont. We have a treasure right here in our backyard which we must protect.

Sincerely
Mary and Andrew Moyce

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My name is Valerie Corvin and I am a co-founder of the Piedmont Center for the Arts. I recently stepped down from the PCA Board to pursue other endeavors, but I served 9 years as program director, visual art program director, and juried art show administrator.

As a board member and with no paid staff, I have put in countless hours at all hours of the day and night to help PCA grow into the City of Piedmont treasure that it is. The people of Piedmont love PCA. I have been thanked probably a thousand times by people who have attended events at the Center. Resident truly appreciate having an arts center as part the offerings of City of the Piedmont. It ranks up there along with the school system and our well-run town.

PCA is a selling point used by many realtors why one should choose to live in our town. I have been told it is one of the top 5 selling points of Piedmont cited by realtors. PCA is now part of the fabric of this town.

Now is the time to have civil dialogue and find ways for the City and the Center to work together for the benefit for all citizens of Piedmont.

I believe that members of the PCA Board are more than ready to work with the City to create policy and accessibility to the building to support the needs of interested groups. PCA has been a good tenant and is willing to continue to be a good team player with the City. The arts are important part of our society and add an important dimension to our lives. Please renew the PCA lease.

Thank you.

Valerie Corvin, Piedmont Resident and Co-Founder of Arts Center

Monday, January 18, 2021 – Virtual MLK Celebration 11:00 am to 12:30 pm.  Click on announcement and see  letter below to engage.  Zoom meetings are listed below:

24th Annual 2021 Piedmont MLK Celebration – January 18, 2021 @ 11 am-12:30 pm

Martin Luther King’s “Where Do We Go from Here” speech challenges us to look at the big picture when it comes to racial and economic justice. To see beyond what is immediately within view and identify root causes. “We are called upon to help the discouraged beggars in life’s marketplace,” King said. “But one day we must come to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” 

Reimagining a society shaped at the intersection of power, love and justice is the focus of Piedmont’s 24th annual MLK Day Celebration. More than 50 years later, King’s exhaustive list of challenges to be dissatisfied with in America—insular wealth and desperate poverty, inadequate housing, segregated schools, to name a few—still exist today. Each of us has the power to step up and take action to create change. “[T]here is a creative force in this universe working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows.” We are the power. 

This year’s program, co-sponsored by PADC and the City of Piedmont, will feature stirring performances by traditional Native American flutist Vince Redhouse and Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company. Speakers will include Congresswoman Barbara Lee; Stanford Professor and King Institute Director Clayborne Carson; and filmmaker and World Trust Founder Shakti Butler. Visit www.padc.info to register for this free event. 

And new to the celebration this year are community education workshops! In partnership with local organizations, and PHS/MHS students and alums, PADC is co-sponsoring a series of engaging and participatory workshops. You are invited to attend any or all of these discussions. Zoom or registration links are located on www.padc.info

Piedmont Racial Equity Campaign presents: 

“Nice White Parents: A Podcast Community Discussion”

Join us for a book club-type discussion based on the NYT podcast to glean lessons learned and spark insights that we can apply to Piedmont Schools. We recommend you listen to at least one episode in the five-part series ahead of time to maximize your engagement and experience in our discussion. We will think together about these big-idea questions from the podcast creators, with an eye toward our Piedmont Schools: What should be the goal of public education, and why? What does it mean for schools to be truly integrated? Who benefits from integration, and in what ways? Why do you think every child in the United States does not have access to a quality education? What can we do to change that inequality?

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

To RSVP, click here.

Join Zoom Meeting:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83180755288#success

Piedmont for Oakland Public Schools (POPS) presents: 

“Is Segregation Still Alive in Schools?”

During the event, we will break down the story told during the podcast to discuss racial segregation in U.S. education. We will supplement the discussion with excerpts from Coretta Scott King to honor her work and pose further questions about educational equity. To prepare the event, we are asking everyone to listen to part one of a podcast from “This American Life.”

2 pm to 3 pm

Join Zoom Meeting: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/98013263305

PHS / MHS Black Student Union (BSU) presents:

“Black Youth: Reflections on the Legacy of Dr. King”

A brief video in which members of the BSU address current events and MLK Day will be followed by a conversation on the way forward.

3 pm to 4 pm

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6318924240

Podcast Host Aksumawi Turner (PHS 2009) presents: 

“Perspectives on Power and  Love: An MLK Roundtable”

In his speech “Where Do We Go From Here,” Dr. King notes that “power without love is reckless and abusive and love without power is sentimental and anemic.” Measured balance between the two are the foundation for meaningful change. Our panel talks about what this means today. 

5 pm to 6 pm

Join Zoom Meeting: https://procore.zoom.us/j.99311564624

The City has received the following letters urging renewal of the $1 a year lease of 801 Magnolia Avenue for both commercial and Arts Center use.

Dear Ms. Mayor and City Council Members:

I have been so proud of our town for using a piece of property long neglected for such a constructive use as the Piedmont Center for the arts. It has been amazing how beautifully it has grown into a class theater, music performance  and artist venue.

I was surprised to learn that there is some question about its continuing in the current use. I do hope it will continue so that we may enjoy more of the art, music  and theater in the future.

Thank you.  It’s a good life!
Beth DeAtley, Piedmont Resident

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Dear City Council,

Music, drama, art, right in the center of Piedmont.  How lucky we are that we, and our children, can see the Piedmont Chamber Music Festival, plays performed and directed by local residents, and art by Michael Stehr and others.  The Piedmont Center for the Arts has become a beloved and necessary addition to our vibrant community.

After this dark time in our country’s history we need the joy and hope that the arts can bring.  May the Piedmont Center for the Arts continue to be a bright light in our community.

Sincerely yours,

Mary Ann Benson, Oakland Resident

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

Would the City lease out and give control of the Japanese Tea House to a private organization in the same manner as proposed for the Piedmont Center for the Arts?

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To: Piedmont City Council:

I have read with great interest the upcoming approval by the City of a lease for the 801 Magnolia Avenue building. Here is my “slippery slope” argument to highlight the consequences of extending the proposed lease to The Piedmont Center for the Arts.

——

I have just formed a new nonprofit, Cherry Blossoms, Inc. (“CBI”). Our nonprofit would like to get a five-year lease from you for the City’s Japanese Tea House, and its surrounding deck for $1.00 per year. We plan to rent it out for art exhibits, bonsai exhibits and to professional Japanese puppet masters and to Kabuki theatre performers to bring culture to the Piedmont community.

We also would plan to make money renting to music teachers for individual & group lessons and recitals, especially on traditional Japanese instruments. Anyone else wanting to use it could apply to rent it from us, and we would rent it out at our sole discretion charging whatever user fees we think we could get.

Our lease would provide that the City would be responsible for all water, refuse removal, exterior maintenance, including decks, benches, trees, landscaping maintenance, and any maintenance related to the structural integrity of this sweet little building. CBI would be responsible for interior maintenance; we will be making lots of money in rental fees and so could easily do any inside maintenance that we, in our sole opinion, decide needs doing.

Once a year the City could rent it out from us for the Japanese Consulate visit or for a bride using the Community Center as a “City Private Rental” with six month’s advance written notice to us, unless we later decide we really need to use it. In that case, we can just give you 30 days’ notice prior to your scheduled booking and you will have to try your best to find another venue.

Such a lease with us is modeled exactly on the one you are already giving to the Piedmont Center for the Arts and will demonstrate the City’s support for Asian arts in Piedmont.

Now that the City is supporting the arts by giving away other under-utilized city buildings, we demand equal treatment. We have the blessing and backing of a significant portion of the Piedmont community and will be presenting our proposed lease to you for a First Reading as early as possibly in January, long before the cherry trees bloom.

We look forward to working with you to advance the arts in Piedmont.

M. Rhiger, Piedmont Resident

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

– Regarding the City building at 801 Magnolia Avenue and the upcoming proposed lease to a private group by the City –

Are most residents even aware that the City Council is considering giving away control of the 801 Magnolia Avenue building with little or no notice to its citizens? Because I, for one, am very familiar with all aspects of this building, I do feel a duty to share my observations and ideas regarding its future use.

There is no question that The Piedmont Center for the  Arts has done a fine job of bringing quality live performances and art exhibits right into the heart of our town in the 801 Magnolia Avenue building. Since 2019, the Art Center no longer runs their own programs, but using the building as a “rental venue for the Arts,” they have booked many evenings of great entertainment and interesting art exhibits. These have been popular events which should continue, but control of the 801 Magnolia building needs to return to the City once the Piedmont Center for the Arts’ lease expires in June, 2021.

First of all, the Recreation Department could now make upwards of $260,000 a year of revenue for the City from bookings at 801 Magnolia based on what the Community Center brings in, plus everyone could use it.

Secondly, it was always intended that the Recreation Department could reclaim this City space after the first 6 years; that is how the lease was written. The Art Center was just the interim solution–renovating a public building with private funds at a time when the City could not do so. We raised the money, got all the contractors, managed the project – just put our heart and soul into it and kept our side of the bargain.

A simple “quid pro quo” with $1/year rent as part of the bargain! The reduced rent was NEVER a subsidy for art (See video of Council Meeting, March 7, 2011).  We stated our mission: “to promote artistic endeavors for youth within the Piedmont community,” because we felt such was lacking in our town.

Since the 801 Magnolia parcel was re-zoned in 2017 to allow for-profit commercial entities on this city-owned land, there have been many proposals about what could happen there once the current lease expires, including the best one for a commercial health club providing exercise classes, yoga, massage and physical therapy as well as nutrition services. As a center city building within walking distance of most Piedmont residents, these would be welcomed services. But I would still argue for control by the Recreation Department as the best way to ensure the greatest usage of this public building by the most residents for the highest revenue.

I would certainly not advise extending the current lease because in a dynamic community, situations change over time and the situation of the Piedmont Center for the Arts has certainly changed. Pre-Covid 19, in Calendar Year 2019, the part of the building they control (“the West Wing”) was unused 70% of the time while the other Recreation buildings were in constant use by residents for all sorts of activities. This fact, alone, should argue against continuing the lease of a prime public building to any private group with total power to decide who gets to use it and when.

It would be a different thing if the City just doesn’t need use of this building anymore; in that case, who would care? Further, as the purpose of The Piedmont Center for the Arts has now become a venue operating rentals for the arts, and it no longer “promotes artistic endeavors for youth within the Piedmont Community,” one should ask if it matters to the City, in considering a lease to them, whether this group is a nonprofit anymore.

Since the building is now zoned for commercial use, would the City allow The Piedmont Center for the Arts to operate as a for-profit entity at $1/year rent versus $260,000 revenue from Recreation Department uses or $15,000/month from a health club?

And, of course, the passage of Measure UU has changed the game in the city center, arguing against any long-term tie up of City property. These are big issues and options that the community needs a chance to understand.

With regard to a lease that doesn’t even end for another six months, it is impossible to understand the City’s rush to end all discussion, and, of course, any other options, by just giving away control to this private group.

The City should tell us, “what’s the quid pro quo of this deal” for the community? I just don’t see it! They should allow the current City lease with The Piedmont Center for the Arts to continue until its expiration in June, 2021 after which the 801 Magnolia West Wing would return to the City and Recreation Department jurisdiction.

Nancy N. Lehrkind, Founder & Former President The Piedmont Center for the Arts, Inc.

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.