City of Piedmont

Special City Council Meeting

The City Council will find and declare that the whole number of ballots cast and numbers of votes received are as set forth in the attached canvass, that Betsy Smegal Andersen, Teddy Gray King, and Tim Rood have been elected to the Piedmont City Council and that Megan Pillsbury and Amal Smith have been elected to the Board of Education; the City Council will find and declare that the whole number of ballots cast and numbers of votes received are as set forth in the attached canvass and that Charter Amendment Measure BB and Charter Amendment Measure CC have received the required number of votes and have been adopted by the voters of Piedmont. (See election results attachment below.)

 Tuesday, December 11, 2018 6:30 p.m.

Community Hall, 711 Highland Avenue

The meeting and election celebration is open to the public. 

Agenda:

Call to Order    Pledge of Allegiance 

1. Certification of Election Results for the General Municipal Election of November 6, 2018 

2. Swearing In of New Councilmembers

3. Election of Mayor (Conducted by Vice Mayor)

4. Election of Vice Mayor (Conducted by New Mayor)

5. Comments by New Councilmembers

6. Comments by New Mayor

Link to November 6, 2018 election results is below:

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/staffreports/2018-12-11/electioncertification.pdf

Piedmont Community Hall, 711 Highland Avenue

10:00 AM  Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018

Please join the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and the Piedmont Police Department for an interactive program focused on seniors staying safe during the holidays. We will discuss shopping securely, avoiding phone and email scamps, and being aware of other types of fraud common during this time of year. Attendees will also learn about general financial exploitation, and how to safeguard oneself and seek assistance.

The program will be held on Wednesday, December 5th from 10:00 – 11:30 AM in the Piedmont Community Hall, 711 Highland Avenue.

All are welcome to attend as this information will be useful to share with elder family and friends.

12-4-18

Dear City Administrator, City Council, and Public Works Director,

While street sweeping is conducted by a Public Works Department professional driving a very expensive street sweeping machine, our city’s street sweeping program is run like an amateur volunteer activity.  Effective street sweeping requires that the machine sweeps up fallen leaves in the gutters, otherwise those leaves wash down into our storm drains and clog them.  Yet, cars routinely park on streets scheduled for sweeping, so the machine just sweeps around them, missing most of the gutter leaves.  Why do cars remain on streets during sweeping days?

The answer is because clearing the streets depends upon an intensive and frustrating volunteer effort.  Local residents have to find out and remember when their street is scheduled for sweeping (there is no fixed day or time).  Then, volunteer residents have to tie or tape floppy cardboard “no parking” signs to trees or poles in front of their houses.  Then, they have to call the Public Works Department to report and register that they have mounted the temporary signs.  Oh, and the report must be made four days before the scheduled street sweeping day.  Then, on street sweeping day, the volunteer has to check to see if any cars are parked where the signs were posted, and if so, call the Piedmont Police to report a violation.  Then, this is the frustrating part, they have to wait to see if a cop will come out to ticket the violating parker.  Sometimes a parker has moved his car before a cop comes out.  Often, someone will park in the empty space after the cop has left, causing the volunteer to call the Police Department again to request street sweeping enforcement.

Whew!  It has taken a lot of time just to describe the process.  Most of our neighbors don’t have time to actually go through this process.  My wife, Karen, followed the city protocol – to the letter – because a lot of leaves have been accumulating.  She even raked the leaves away from the gutter into the street to help the machine collect them.  In spite of her efforts, four cars parked on the street, ignoring the signs she posted.  This is not the way to run a professional city service, and, the lack of adequate sweeping costs our city extra expense to clean out clogged storm drains.

The solution is not rocket science; it just requires looking at what most other cities do.

(1)    Establish a regular schedule for sweeping each street.

(2)   Post permanent signs saying “No Parking” on those specific dates and times.

(3)   Deploy police to enforce the regularly scheduled “no parking” rules.

This is how Oakland conducts its street sweeping parking restrictions on Linda, Kingston, and other nearby streets in that city.

My wife and I are not going to continue performing this tedious volunteer work to aid the city’s street sweeping.  Many of our neighbors don’t do so either, because they are not home during sweeping times or because it is too much of a burden.  It is long past time for Piedmont to run its street sweeping operation professionally.

Taxpayers paid a lot of money for the street sweeping machine, and that money is wasted if the machine can’t clean the gutters because cars are parked on sweeping days.

Sincerely,

Bruce Joffe, Piedmont Resident

The Piedmont Park Commission will meet on Wednesday, December 5 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  The meeting will be broadcast live on cable Channel 27 and on the City’s website.

Park Commission Agenda – December 5

• Approval of August 1, 2018 and October 3, 2018 minutes (read the minutes )
• Receipt of a Report on Eucalyptus Tree Assessment – Dracena Park
• Update on Request by the Residents of Oakmont Ave for new street trees  
  
• Update on Heritage Tree Nominations for 2019
  
• Monthly Maintenance report for October – November

Read the full agenda, draft minutes, and staff reports > FINAL PUBLISH Park Comm 12-5-18

If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Kent, at 420-3064 or by email nkent@piedmont.ca.gov.

On November 8^th, the City hosted an Energy Efficiency workshop for residents to learn how to achieve climate action goals at home.  There was a great turn out with speakers from East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), StopWaste, and Community Energy Services Corporation (CESC).

The City would love to host more workshops for the community in order to achieve our climate actions goals set forth by CAP 2.0.

Please complete the quick survey below so the City can get a sense of what topics would be of interest for Piedmonters!

https://goo.gl/forms/zHDspkKTZzJd7Yhz1

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Brooke Edell

Climate and Sustainability Fellow

City of Piedmont – 120 Vista Avenue – Piedmont, CA 94611

Phone: (510) 420-3085

Email: bedell@piedmont.ca.gov

Get involved!  Public participation is needed.
HELP PIEDMONT BE HAZARD-READY!
A Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is currently being developed by the City of Piedmont.

Fires, drought, earthquakes, and severe weather are just a few of the hazards to be addressed in the plan.

While hazards such as these cannot be prevented, a Hazard Mitigation Plan forms the foundation for a community’s long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses by breaking the repeated cycle of disaster damage and reconstruction. Additionally, only communities with a FEMA-approved Hazard Mitigation Plan are eligible to apply for both pre- and post-disaster mitigation grant funding.

Nationwide, taxpayers pay billions of dollars annually helping communities, organizations, businesses, and individuals recover from disaster. Some disasters are predictable and, in many cases, much of the damage can be reduced or even eliminated through hazard mitigation planning.

The people most aware of potential hazards are the people that live and work in the affected community. In addition to plan participation by local, state and federal agencies, the community is seeking all interested community members to hear more about our Local Hazard Mitigation Planning project.  The City encourages attendance and participation from the general public at an upcoming public meeting:

Thursday, December 6, 2018
Public Meeting: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Piedmont Community Hall
711 Highland Avenue
Piedmont, CA 94611

For additional information, please contact Chris Yeager at (510) 420-3067 or email at CYeager@piedmont.ca.gov.

November 19, 2018 City Council Meeting

On November 19, 2018, I attended the Piedmont City Council meeting in the Piedmont City Council Chambers, which meet on the first and third Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. After the Public Forum, Mayor Mcbain led a moment of silence for the victims of the California fires, and was followed up with an update by Piedmont’s Fire Chief. At the time of the meeting, 75 were confirmed dead with over 1000 missing. Next came, the introduction of a new employee, and the council members’ donations for the Toys for Tots drive.

First on the regular agenda was the Approval of Council Special Meeting Minutes for 10/15/18, which was passed very quickly. This then led into the second item on the agenda, the Approval of Agreements Related to the Repair of Cavendish Lane.

Cavendish Lane is owned and maintained by the City of Oakland, but serves four homes located within Piedmont. Around February 2017, a road failure resulted in the loss of access to vehicles to the homes located in Piedmont, with none of the Oakland homes being negatively affected.

Piedmont, with the permission of Oakland, paid for a temporary fix of the road, which was finished in early April of 2017. Although this temporary repair made access to the Piedmont homes with personal vehicles possible, this section of the road is still weight sensitive, and does not make the entry of delivery trucks, or moving vans possible.

Oakland has expressed no interest in making permanent repairs, so together Piedmont and Oakland are working on an agreement that would allow Piedmont to take on the repairs of this road, and force Oakland to reimburse Piedmont for the cost of the project. Oakland would use the money gained from a lawsuit to reimburse Piedmont. The estimations for this repair are between $400,000 and $600,000.

As part of the Alameda Transportation Committee, Vice Mayor Teddy King expressed her positive feelings towards this issue, as both Piedmont and Oakland are working hard to reach a deal. A woman with both her senior parents then expressed gratitude towards the council for their efforts in helping her parents once again gain easy access to their vehicles.

Next on the agenda was the Consideration of the Rejection of All Proposals for the Corporation Yard Solar Photovoltaic System Project. The City of Piedmont received two proposals for the installation of a solar photovoltaic system on the roof of the rear storage building at the Corporation Yard. Albion Power Company’s offer was $118,631, while Sunlogic, Inc., dba Solar Technologies’ offer was $70,012. Vice Mayor Teddy Gray King spoke on this issue, as one of her areas of expertise is environmental sustainability. Solar Technologies later submitted an updated proposal with a 15% discount on the original.

The new proposal is for $59,510, and has a payback period of nearly 11 years. In the span of 25 years this would wind up saving Piedmont a total of around $169,000. However, roofing material was not stated in the quote, and could wind up costing another $60,000.

The next two items on the agenda were the Consideration of FY 2017-18 Year-End Appropriations and Carry forwards and the Consideration of FY 2017-18 Year End Fund Transfers. Both of these passed very quickly, and with little question.

Next was the Consideration of the Issuance of Bid Documents for the Recreation Center Tennis Court Resurfacing Project and Direction to Staff Regarding Fundraising. The tennis courts in Piedmont receive high use from kids, adults, and members of the Piedmont High School tennis teams. Not only were there to be renovations to the tennis courts, but also the renaming of the Recreation Department tennis courts to be named after Coach Corey Reich. PHS tennis coaches and PFRO members both gave their support to this idea.

I also stood up and spoke and gave my support to the idea of fixing the courts while also renaming them after Coach Corey Reich, as I know many people who use these courts, and the inspirational story of Corey Reich.

The Rec. Dept. courts are to receive new nets and posts, are to be resurfaced, new fencing will be installed, with also the installation of a new drainage system. PFRO and tennis community will need to raise money in order for this to happen though.

After the meeting was over, I interviewed Council Member Jen Cavanaugh. When asked what steps she would take to improve the community she said that “there are a lot of facilities that require maintenance, and a ton of investment that’s required, and the tennis courts are only a small piece of that.” She later went on to say “I was not lying when I said I would write a check, because we need everyone on board, including tennis players, private citizens, and people who love outdoor recreation alike to get behind these things. After the tennis courts, we have probably six other recreation and park facility projects that we are trying to bring to the community, and need to get funding for it.”

by Nick Parker, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors’ note:  Cavendish Lane is located immediately south of Trestle Glen Road. It and its right-of-way are located within, owned, and maintained by the City of Oakland. The cul-de-sac is located at the extreme west end of the street and serves four homes located within the city of Piedmont. The only access to these four Piedmont homes is via  Cavendish Lane.

Public Safety Committee  Meeting – This meeting is not recorded or broadcast.  The public is welcome to attend. 

Thursday, November 29, 2018

5:30 p.m.

City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA

Agenda

Public Forum      This is an opportunity for members of the audience to speak on an item not on the agenda.  The 10 minute period will be divided evenly between those wishing to address the Committee.

Regular Agenda – 

1. Introduction of New Committee Member
2. Update on Get Ready, Piedmont Guides and Checklist
3. Update on School Liaison Activities and Campus Safety Preparedness  – This may include discussion of hiring a Police Officer for the School District.
4. Update on Crime Prevention/Community Outreach – This is likely a discussion of the expenditure of over $500,000 in COPS funding to be used by the City of Piedmont. 
5. Update on Neighborhood Meetings
6. Update on Public Safety Camera Subcommittee

Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the Public Safety Committee are available for public inspection in the Police Department during normal business hours.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk at (510) 420-3040.  Notification at least two business days preceding the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. [28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title II].  In accordance with G.C. Sec. 54954.2(a) this notice and agenda were posted on the City Hall bulletin board and also in the Piedmont Police Department on November 26, 2018.

School Board Consideration of Safety Measures Wednesday, November 28, 2018, City Hall Council Chambers 7:15 p.m. 

The Alan Harvey will be closed beginning in March of 2019. Closing Alan Harvey Theater during the Spring of 2019, rather than waiting until the end of the school year, will help keep the STEAM project on schedule for completion before the 2020-21 school year. There may be questions about how starting work during the school year may affect students, staff, and campus flow.

While the District plans to demolish the theater over Spring break when there are no students or staff on campus, if the demolition cannot be completed during that week, the District will develop a schedule for the remaining demolition, to minimize the campus impact to the greatest extent possible.

Read agenda by clicking below:

https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=1241&MeetingID=68232&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False