Based on a plan developed by Piedmont residents William Blackwell and Chuck Oraftik in 2009-2010, the City has been pursuing enlargement of Coaches Field on Moraga Avenue across from Blair Park that will allow use by baseball, soccer, and other field sports. 

To enlarge the playing surface the new plan calls for cutting into the hillside located adjacent to the Corporation Yard at Red Rock Road and Moraga Avenue, adding night lighting, and increasing the number of available parking spaces.

To view the staff report and the concept plan for Coaches Field produced by Callander & Associates, click below:

06/17/19 – Receipt of a Report Regarding the Concept Plan for the Coaches Field Expansion by Callander & Associates

With the acceptance of the design concept by the City Council, environmental work is being sought.  Click below to read the Request for Proposals.

06/17/19 – Consideration of the Issuance of a Request for Proposals for CEQA Services for the Coaches Field Renovation Project

Letter to Piedmont Pickleball Enthusiasts:

I am thrilled to report that much progress has been made on potential renovations to the Piedmont Middle School hard court surfaces. The City and the School District have been working together to move this project forward and make it a reality this summer!   The project includes re-grading all three spaces, drainage improvements, new asphalt, new poles/nets and new striping that accommodates 6 regulation size pickleball courts with adequate space on sides and ends of each court.

I hope to bring a reimbursement and use agreement to City Council for their review on Monday June 3^rd. The total cost of construction will be roughly $60,000 and PUSD will manage the project in its entirety.  PUSD will cover the costs of the new poles and netting system as well as construction management. I will be requesting City Council consider reimbursement to PUSD up to $50,000 for this project.  It would be wonderful if the Pickleball community could bring forth some private contributions to offset a portion of this $50,000 ask.  The use agreement would provide for the Recreation Department to have priority use of the space during non-school hours for formal and informal community use. That translates to plenty of open pickleball time for you all!

I am happy to take donations directly and/or you can organize amongst yourselves to collect contributions and bring them forth as a lump sum to the Council.

Checks can be made out to “City of Piedmont” with PMS Pickleball in the note and mailed or dropped at Piedmont Recreation Department. 358 Hillside Ave. 94611

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.

Thank you for your ongoing enthusiasm and support in bringing Pickleball to Piedmont!

Sara Lillevand, Director of Recreation, City of Piedmont

510-420-3070

For these reasons, we very purposely:

•  focus on the delivery of basic services and core programs;
•  budget carefully and conservatively; and
•  work diligently to safeguard our financial position by mitigating, to the extent possible, the impact of rising expenses which the City has little control over – particularly CalPERS related benefit costs which constitute an unfunded liability of just over $25 million.

On this latter point, the Council has proactively established a program of pension cost-sharing with employees and has curtailed retiree medical benefits for new hires.  These two initiatives, taken together, slowed the growth rate of our Underfunded Liabilities and will save the City millions of dollars in benefit-related expenses over the years to come.

Another significant action to buffer the effects of rising pension costs was the establishment of a Pension Rate Stabilization Fund, also known as a Section 115 Irrevocable Trust Fund, with the Public Agency Retirement Services – or PARS.

To date, the City Council has approved a total transfer of $2.75 million to PARS from the General Fund. One key benefit of this initiative is that funds deposited with PARS may achieve higher earnings due to less restrictive investment policies than apply to City funds invested in Local Agency Investment Fund.

As a result of the CalPERS decision to reduce the planned rate of return (Discount Rate), the City’s annual pension contributions are projected to increase from the current $2.2 million (7.5% of City revenue) to $5.5 million (13.3 % of City revenue) by 2029. This equates to a cost increase of approximately 132%, while City revenue over this same 10 year period is estimated to increase by only 35%.

As soon as 2023, and potentially continuing through 2031, the increase in mandatory pension contributions is projected to result in General Fund expenses exceeding revenue. When we face these net-negative revenue years, the City will be in a position to stabilize the General Fund by drawing down on its PARS account to pay pension costs.

Overall, prior City Councils and the current Council, working together with staff, have applied wisdom in managing the City’s limited financial resources. Piedmont now has a modest Reserve of just under $5 million, which represents 17% of our operating budget. Absent a catastrophic event, that amount should be of significant help in responding to an emergency or addressing unforeseen circumstances.

While there are no established policies to guide what constitutes “reasonable”, the reserve for the City of Piedmont is restricted by the City Charter to no more than 25% of the Operating Budget.

To put our City’s reserve in perspective, at the end of last fiscal year Emeryville, with a population similar to Piedmont’s, maintained a reserve of $30.3 million, which equates to approximately 76% of their General Fund; Albany’s was $8.8 million, which is 45% of their General Fund; Berkeley had a reserve of $84 million or 55% of their General Fund; and Oakland’s was approximately $150 million or 24% of their General Fund.

In addition to maintaining a modest reserve, the City has been making consistent, long-needed transfers to the Facilities Maintenance and Equipment Replacement Funds, and has also made much needed investments in our IT Systems, with a goal of bringing our use of technology into the modern era.

At the start of this Fiscal Year the Equipment Replacement Fund is projected to have a balance of $2.75 million – which, assuming we continue to make the planned annual transfers from the General Fund, should be sufficient to address the schedule for equipment replacement into the future.

The Facilities Maintenance Fund is projected to have a balance at the start of the year of only $4.8 million. This amount is far short of what is required to address accessibility, life-safety, life- cycle, and efficiency issues of our city’s facilities and property.

Piedmont’s facilities, like so many of the homes in Piedmont, are old and expensive to maintain. While aesthetically pleasing, most of our facilities are in need of significant repair and renovation.

On the whole, our community facilities and infrastructure have been kept largely functional, but it is time to devote the attention and investment necessary to meet community needs, let alone current safety or accessibility standards.

•  Miles of sidewalks and pathways are in poor condition, and our City Engineer has estimated that we could spend on the order of $11 million on sidewalk and trail repair alone.
•  To keep the Pavement Condition Index of our streets from deteriorating will require an estimated annual paving expenditure of approximately $1.5 million – up from the current $1 million – and this is assuming a competitive bid environment. As you know, the Engineer’s estimate for the repaving of Magnolia Avenue was $1.3 million. The sole bid submitted was for $1.7 million. So, the estimated $1.5 million required to maintain the condition of our streets could actually have increased to $2 million or more.
•  The Veterans Hall and Recreation Building are virtually in the same condition and configuration as when they were originally built 50 to 100 years ago. Bringing them to where they should be would require an estimated investment of $6 to 7 million.
•  The Community Pool cannot remain open much longer without substantial investment. While short-term fixes may postpone the eventual closing, safety issues are significant and the pool is losing an estimated 1 million gallons of water per year via unidentified leaks. Based on the recently completed Aquatics Master Plan, the cost of a modern and safe facility that meets community needs is estimated at between $12 million and $15 million.

Our beloved City Hall has significant needs rarely seen by the public. Low, open ceilings with exposed wires, water intrusion during storms, fire safety and accessibility issues are just a few of the problems.

At times, I hear comments asserting that the City does not have the space needed to support our programs. The fact is we have the “space”. We just need to make the investment needed to address the efficiency, functionality and accessibility issues that limit program opportunities as well as use by staff, the very young, and seniors.

The bottom line fact is that many of our facilities and amenities are inefficient, have significant condition issues limiting usage, and are not where they should be relative to life, safety, and accessibility standards – let alone to where they should be for a community like Piedmont.

Like the School District’s initiatives to invest in modernizing the Elementary Schools and High School to meet 21st Century needs, it is time to apply a similar focus to improving our City facilities and infrastructure.

In recent years, under the leadership of the City Council and with the support of city staff, there has been the political and organizational will to take a fresh and realistic look at our facilities and systems and to make the initial investment needed to develop a clear understanding of the issues and the opportunities for improvement.

While we have been doing the work necessary to develop that understanding—- the reality is that the City’s financial position, in the best of times, will only support an incremental approach to completing the work that needs to be done.

Unfortunately, for many facilities, an incremental approach will not get us to where we need to be.

To summarize:

Maintaining the current condition of our street paving, addressing unsafe sidewalks and pathways, and implementing priority pedestrian and bicycle safety projects will cost an estimated $23 million.

Factoring in the Recreation Building and the basement of City Hall adds up to $7 million. To address the pool and Veterans Hall, add another $17 million. Linda Beach Park improvements are estimated to cost $7 million. Improving Coaches Field could cost up to $4 million. All together these projects total $58 million.

Looking to the future, barring a natural disaster, bringing our facilities and civic infrastructure into the 21st century will be the City’s biggest challenge and greatest opportunity for the betterment of the Piedmont community.

Tuesday                  10:00 to 12:30  Linda-Beach tennis courts

Wednesday             12:30 to 3:00   Hampton tennis courts 

Thursday                10:00 to 12:30  Linda-Beach tennis courts

Friday                     12:30 to 3:00   Hampton tennis courts

Saturdays               10am – 1pm at the Piedmont Middle School (PMS) badminton courts
  (PMS requires registration + $25 fee to May 25.  Call PRD at 420-3070)

Sunday                   2:00 to 4:00   Linda-Beach tennis courts 

– Piedmont Rec Dept staff will set up/tear down nets.
– Play must stop at the times indicated.  
– Be sure to use only Rec Dept approved paddles and the City supplied Onix type balls. Do not use hard Dura-fast type balls. 
– Paddles are provided for beginners as well as an introduction to the game. 
– The Hampton Courts are in excellent condition, the Linda-Beach Courts are in very good condition and the PMS asphalt courts have multiple issues.
– Always yell “Ball on” if a ball enters your court or you hit into another court. Stop play and return the ball. Safety first. 

There is no fee required except for Saturdays at the Middle School. Email r_schiller@comcast.net to be added to the Piedmont pickleball google group.

For additional information, contact the Piedmont Recreation Department at 420 – 3070.

READ the agenda below for the Council Budget Work Session when the Council will consider all CIP proposals and department budgets:

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/agendas/2019-05-11_special.pdf

READ the full CIP Review Report for 2019 below:

CIPreviewreport 2019

Minutes, broadcasts, and recordings were not made of any of the CIP Review meetings.  Staff reports were not publicized. 

Recordings and broadcast will not be made of the Saturday, May 11, 2019 Council Budget Workshop held at 403 Highland Avenue in the Emergency Operations Center of the Piedmont Police Department.  The public is welcome to attend and participate.

 

READ the full staff 2019-20 Budget recommendations including fees, permits, salaries, benefits, use of City property, tax rates, personnel, etc. – http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/finance/budget/19-20/19-20_budget.shtml

Michael Murphy will retire from the Recreation Department after 36 years.  Murphy is well known in the community for his many years of service to Havens Schoolmate program. 

Murphy Retirement Celebration Sunday, May 5th, Hampton Field. 

1) Jackson Stearns joined the City as the new Recreation Supervisor

2) Michael Murphy, Interim Recreation Supervisor will retire on April 23rd after 36 years and a Citywide celebration for him will be held on Sunday, May 5th at Hampton Field

3) Aquatics Coordinator Victor Rivas has resigned from his position. The vacant position is posted in various locations and an existing staff member will provide 21 hours a week to serve as a short-term backup until the full-time position is filled.

Coaches Field: An RFP for environmental review is the next step in the process during the summer and lighting will be part of that.  Commissioners questioned the timeline for the environmental study, and Director Lillevand stated the conceptual design will be initially reviewed to identify areas which need further study. A determination will then be made of what level of review or additional review is needed. Commissioners recognized significant historic data showing the matter has been ongoing for some time.  March meeting draft minutes.

The April Recreation Commission meeting will take place Thursday, April 25, 2019 in the City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue at 7:30 pm.  This meeting will be broadcast live on Cable Channel 27 and from the City website under videos/ Recreation Commission.

APRIL 25 AGENDA:

1. Election of Chair and Vice Chair
2. Approval of Minutes–March 20, 2019
3. Chair’s Report
4. Director’s Report
5. Update from Skateboard and Scooter Subcommittee
6. Update on Pickleball Trial
7. Introduction of new Recreation Supervisor – Jackson Stearns
8. Update on Piedmont Community Pool Closures, Repairs and staffing
9. Consideration of 2018 Betty C. Howard Award

READ the > April Recreation Commission Meeting Agenda and  March meeting draft minutes.

City/School Liaison Committee to Discuss Tobacco Grant Funding Possibly for a School Resource Officer or Other Purposes.

Monday, April. 22nd – 4:00 – 5 p.m. open to the public in the Piedmont Unified School District Offices, 760 Magnolia Avenue.