Oct 23 2016

Crime Report, Renewable Energy, Fund Raising for Hampton Field, Waste Disposal Contractor

Council learned of Piedmont robbery increase, approved plan to reduce cost of Piedmont waste disposal contract, supported methods of fundraising for Hampton Field, encouraged collaborative energy savings ….

Student Report of October 17th, City Council Meeting

    On Monday October 17, the Piedmont City Council met at City Hall to discuss an array of issues. The purpose of this meeting was to cover four topics: the possibility of renewable energy in Piedmont, the third quarter crime report, the renovation of Hampton Field and finally the possibility of a contract negotiation with the current waste collector for Piedmont.

    The most discussed issue was regarding joining Alameda County’s Community Choice Aggregation program. Bruce Jensen gave a presentation on the topic complete with graphs, hypotheticals and facts. This program would allow local governments to develop renewable power on public facilities, residences and businesses. The proposed plan would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs and provide cheaper energy than PG&E. This in turn would save the city and it’s residents money. If residents decided they were not interested, they could opt out of the plan and continue using PG&E as their power supplier.

    Following the clean energy presentation, Chief of Police Rikki Goede presented the third quarter crime report. She started by mentioning the increase of robberies in recent months; the numbers were up from 42 burglaries by the third quarter of 2015 compared to 52 burglaries by the third quarter of 2016. With this, she stressed the importance of locking windows and doors and looking out for and reporting any suspicious activity. On a brighter note, she commended the work of her officers in enforcing traffic laws on busy streets and writing 433 traffic citations. Following her presentation, Councilwoman Teddy King thanked the Police Department for their vigilant effort in protecting the community.

    The next topic covered was the renovation of Hampton Field. Members of the Piedmont Recreation Facilities Organization (PRFO) spoke about fundraising for the project. The proposed budget for the renovation is $1,978,760 with the PRFO helping tremendously to raise additional funds. They are offering donation gifts ranging from personalized bricks all the way to naming rights of the baseball field. I am excited to see this project come to fruition after so much hard work and generosity from our community.

    Lastly, discussion on what company should be used for waste collection was brought up. The contract with the current provider, Republic Services, is coming to an end. Council members and other city officials have been considering changing waste collection companies as a contract extension from Republic Services would cause rates to increase anywhere from thirty to forty percent. Furthermore, the company would have to cut the backyard service they provide as workers have been getting injured lifting heavy trash cans up and down stairs. All members of the council were open to looking into alternatives and plan to begin the search for a new waste collector.

The City Council members meet twice per month, on the first and third Mondays.

Nick Perkocha, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

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