City Gears Up to Run Community Pool
The City staff plans to begin operating the pool facility as the Piedmont Community Pool on July 1, 2011, with no interruption in service. The budget for operating the Community Pool after July 1 will be considered with the rest of the City budget during April, May and June. Simultaneously, the Recreation Commission will conduct hearings on treatment of stakeholders (current members and vendors) as well as use and fee issues for the new Community Pool, making recommendations to the City Council. The fee structure for day use, individual passes, family passes, lessons and allocation of pool time for various groups will then be debated and determined by a vote of the City Council.
The Piedmont City Council appropriated $108,000 from the General Fund to provide funds to create an Aquatics Division within the Recreation Department. This amount will fund the Division for 3 months, through June 30,2011. Anticipated expenses are:
- $20,000 for consultants
- $13,000 for “printing, graphics, promotions and office materials,
- $25,000 for furniture, concrete repairs and office improvements, and
- $50,000 in other expenses.
The contract consultant will be Jeff Eorio, at an hourly rate of $115 plus expenses. Eorio has aquatics experience beginning as a southern California lifeguard and working in public aquatics programs in Walnut Creek, Santa Rosa Junior College and San Ramon. Once again, Joseph Serochi will provide advice to Piedmont on the pool, as he did in 2008 when the Piedmont Swim Club lease was expiring. Serochi will bill at the hourly rate of $150, an additional fee passed through to the City by Eorio. Serochi retired from the Hayward Recreation and Park district in 2005, where he had served as the Aquatic Supervisor from 1982 –2005. Together, they will interview current Piedmont Swim Club staff, identify and Aquatics supervisor for the Recreation Department, provide fee and salary surveys and in other ways assist with the transition from Piedmont Swim Club to the City. (See Contract)
The Recreation Commission will hold a series of public hearings on the forthcoming City operation of the pool facility. On Wednesday, April 20 there will be a joint report from the City’s recreation staff and the consultants, an open forum and community dialogue. On Wednesday, May 4 there will be a joint report from the City’s recreation staff and the consultants, an open forum, proposed fee structure and use schedule. If an additional meeting is necessary, it will be on May 18. All Meetings will be in the City Hall at 7:30pm.
