May 2 2011
The Piedmont League of Women Voters Task Force on utility undergrounding presented
The City Council Chamber was filled to capacity with citizens interested in the presentation and discussion
The City Council’s Role > Click to read more…
Apr 24 2011
The Piedmont Hills Undergrounding Project has been controversial and several studies have been undertaken.
Mar 18 2011
On March 15, 2011 the Piedmont City Council
Mar 17 2011
Property owners in the Piedmont Hills Underground Assessment District have been scratching their heads, wondering when their undergrounding project will be completed. The City contributed $2.1 million from the General Fund in 2009 and 2010 to make up the difference between the bid specifications and actual work needed. The Council acted to pay the difference between what property owners committed to and real cost to expeditiously complete the project. However, the construction work which began nearly two years ago has yet to be completed. Telephone poles hung with AT&T and Comcast lines remain in place in the District.
Mar 5 2011
Over $450,000 of City funds prioritized for undergrounding Moraga and Oakland Avenues have been loaned to, but not repaid by, private undergrounding district homeowners. The history of how this occurred goes back many years.
The Public Utility Commission requires that PG&E set aside money it receives from utility users in a special 20A fund reserved for public undergrounding projects*. This is in contrast to 20B and 20C districts which rely on private funding:
- 20A Projects use 20A funds to pay for public undergrounding projects. In Piedmont, Moraga, Oakland and Grand Avenues, major corridors, were prioritized for the City’s 20A funds after a comprehensive study conducted by staff. (See Resolution 85-85, p. 1, p. 2, p. 3.) Grand Avenue undergrounding was completed using 20A funds.
- 20B Projects use money from property owners self-selecting themselves. City Council approval of the district allows a special assessment district to be formed and bonds issued; construction is performed under the management of the City. Current 20B agreements between the City and homeowners open the City General Fund to invasion for costs not originally a part of the City’s agreements with property owners who desired the undergrounding project. The City may bear the risk of cost overruns beyond contingency funds and Acts of God. (Chiang report, p. 6 and 13.)
- 20C Projects use money solely from property owners self-selecting themselves who work directly with PG&E to manage the undergrounding project. The property owners pay all expenses incurred and the City plays no management role in these projects. There is no risk to the City.
Using 20A public funds for the benefit of private districts
Undergrounding proponents have urged the City to make 20A public funding available to 20B private district as seed money since 2003. (See p. 5-7 and Source Materials below). At a 2-3-03 City Council meeting the City Administrator advised there were too few 20A monies to fund the undergrounding of any properties except those owned by the City and School District. (p. 4) However, the Council supported their use, “agreeing that the likelihood the City will ever use Rule 20A funds to finance utility undergrounding along Oakland Avenue is remote.” (5-5-03, p. 7.)
In October, 2003 the Council considered and authorized $25,000 to Central Piedmont when proponents ran short of funds. > Click to read more…
Mar 4 2011
Piedmont Civic Association Commentary on Undergrounding Reports from the Audit Subcommittee and the League of Women Voters
To date, the efforts of the Audit SubCommittee and the League of Women Voters have emphasized contract administration analysis. Information and analysis of undergrounding concerns provides a valuable
- The use of public funding to facilitate the creation of
- The loss of 20A public funds
- The City’s financial stake in approving Districts
- The potential or perceived impact of a financial stake on the decision-making process
- The magnitude of 20B projects in comparison to City revenues and reserves
- Other undergrounding options: 20C Districts and city-wide undergrounding
- Chiang analysis: Does the City become the “ultimate insurer” of every 20B undergrounding project?
- Will immediate knowledge and reporting of cost overruns improve the City’s options?
- Shifting cost risk from the City to private districts
- Preventing misunderstandings by Staff and/or Council of the nature of City contracts
- The extent and appropriate use of informal meetings, without formal public notice, between homeowners and city staff
- Review of additional aspects of past experience
- Optimum threshold level of support – review, comparison and a specific recommendation
- Grounding the report upon the Piedmont City Charter
The use of public funding to facilitate the creation of
Current undergrounding policy prohibits the use of “general funds” for pre-formation expenses. However, this policy has been interpreted to refer only to the City’s General Fund, and to allow the use of 20A public funds (a separate account containing monies received from PG&E for undergrounding major arterial streets) for the benefit private 20B districts. Use of these public funds has been authorized as follows:
Mar 4 2011
The following are recommendations and highlights from individual draft reports prepared by Mayor Dean Barbieri, Vice Mayor John Chiang and Judge Ken Kawaichi, the three members of Piedmont’s City Council Audit Subcommittee. Their separate drafts are scheduled to come together in a final report to the Piedmont City Council which examines the Piedmont Hills Underground Assessment District problems and provides recommendations for policy changes to preventing future similar problems. Public input is requested by the Subcommittee prior to its next hearing on March 15. Email dbarbieri@ci.piedmont.ca.us, jchiang@ci.piedmont.ca.us, kkawaichi@ci.piedmont.ca.us. > Click to read more…
Mar 3 2011
Editors’ Note: This is the League of Women Voters’ Report in its entirety.
League of Women Voters Task Force to Investigate and Report
on Piedmont Hills Undergrounding District
February 22, 2011
Summary of Preliminary Findings
The Piedmont Hills Undergrounding District (the “District”) project (the “Project”) incurred significant construction cost overruns, of which over $2 million was paid by the City out of its general funds in early 2010. The City Council thereafter appointed a three-person Audit Subcommittee to investigate how and why the overruns had occurred, and now approximately one year later, it has just recently released its members’ preliminary draft reports.
The League of Women Voters (“League”) felt that the events and circumstances raised issues of civic importance to all City voters, and created a volunteer Task Force with the goal of providing an independent investigation and report. This preliminary report by the Task Force identifies what it believes to be some of the significant problems that led to the unprecedented cost overruns. Within the next month, the Task Force anticipates providing the Audit Subcommittee with comments on its members’ preliminary draft reports and anticipates participating in the public comment process. The Task Force may issue a further report if the Audit Subcommittee’s final report has material changes.
Executive Summary
The Task Force was formed by the League in early 2010. The magnitude of the cost overruns raised issues regarding the City’s ability to manage and administer major contracts. Potential members for the Task Force were interviewed by the League, and the following long-time Piedmont residents were selected: Alex Gunst, Mary Heller, Rob Hendrickson, Al Peters, and Kathleen Quenneville. Task Force members’ backgrounds include construction project management, accounting, city governance, and legal. > Click to read more…
Jan 25 2011
The City Council’s Audit Subcommittee which is investigating problems with the City’s procedures for private undergrounding districts will have its first meeting of 2011 on Wednesday, January 26th, at 7:30pm in the Council Chambers of City Hall. An Agenda for this meeting is available. Primary source documents used by the committee are available here. Links to prior meeting agendas, minutes, and video/audio are available below.
Information on the Piedmont Hills Underground Assessment District here.
