$3,000 available for earthquake work to qualifying homeowners.

The Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) program provides homeowners up to a maximum of $3,000 for approved construction projects to strengthen their foundation. Homeowners who are accepted in the EBB program are required to agree to and adhere to the full Program Rules and Terms of Use posted on the website. (Read the 15 page Rules and Terms here.)

The EBB program requires adherence to the California Building Code, Appendix Chapter A3, which sets prescriptive standards for seismic retrofits of existing residential buildings.

Homeowner registration is open until February 20 to apply for participation in the program. Homeowners will be notified via email if they have been selected or if they are on the wait list. Selected homeowners will receive detailed information and next steps for participation in EBB.

Highlights of qualifications for homeowners :

• Homeowner must be the owner of record and live in the house that will be retrofitted.

• The house must meet the structural requirements of a Chapter A3 retrofit which is done completely in the crawl space around the perimeter of the foundation.

  1. For houses with cripple walls 4-feet or less, a contractor or homeowner may complete the retrofit using an approved standard plan set.
  2. For houses with cripple walls taller than 4-feet an engineered solution is required.

• The house must not have a completed brace and bolt retrofit previous to being accepted into EBB.

• The building permit must be received and dated after acceptance into EBB.

• The building permit must state the retrofit is in accordance with Chapter A3. If the retrofit is an engineered solution, then the signed and stamped letter from the engineer must state the retrofit is in accordance with Chapter A3.

• In addition to the brace and bolt retrofit the work must include strapping the water heater.

• The homeowner must meet all program deadlines and submit the required documentation.

• The house must successfully pass a final inspection by a local building inspector, confirming the retrofit was done in accordance with Chapter A3.

   

Renewal and increase of Piedmont property tax to be considered by the Council.

The first reading of language to be placed on the  June 7, 2016 Primary Election ballot will be considered by the Council on Monday, January 18.  The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  The meeting is open to public participation and will be broadcast via the City’s website and on Cable Channel 27 starting at 7:30 p.m.  A second reading by the Council is required prior to placing the tax measure on the June 2016 ballot.

During discussions the Council determined that the current parcel tax rate should increase by 30%.  With a unanimous vote at the January 4 meeting, the Council directed staff to prepare language for the ballot measure with the 30% tax increase.

Under California laws, tax approval requires a yes vote by  66 1/3 % of those voting on the ballot measure for the tax to go into effect.

Information on the details of the proposed tax can be found in the full staff report. Read the staff report here. 

Read City Council January 4, 2016 meeting minutes here.

The Piedmont Education Foundation* is pleased to announce the appointment of Susan Terrill to the position of Executive Director. An extensive search this past fall by the Search Committee Task Force, made up of PEF Board members and community members, culminated in the recommendation of Susan for the position. “We spoke to many talented applicants, and found that Susan’s commitment, background and skill set make her a great fit for PEF and our community. We give her an enthusiastic ‘thumbs up’ and wholeheartedly welcome her aboard,” says Molly Ashford, Search Committee Task Force member.

Susan Terrill

Susan brings leadership and valuable fundraising experience to her new role. Her background includes business development, non-profit fundraising, and marketing management in several industries, including arts, education, finance and healthcare. Most recently, she was the Director of Education and Visitor Experience at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland. Before that, she held management positions in marketing and event production at Kaiser Permanente and Charles Schwab & Co., and development positions at the Commonwealth Club of California and the San Francisco Ballet. During her career, Susan has successfully managed diverse teams, developed innovative marketing programs, secured sponsorships for international conferences, and produced prestigious fundraising events.

Her interest in PEF and the Piedmont schools goes back even farther however – as a Piedmont native, both she and her brother were educated here. She is pleased her son, now in sixth grade at Piedmont Middle School, will have the opportunity to be likewise. “Having grown up in the PUSD system, I am intimately familiar with the quality of our schools – and the benefits that come from the amazing work of the Piedmont Education Foundation.  I am honored to build on PEF’s long tradition of supporting our outstanding schools and am thrilled to contribute to my community in such an impactful way,” says Susan.  “We are excited to welcome Susan to the PEF team and I’m confident she’ll help us achieve our fundraising and program goals,” says Christine Wente von Metzsch, PEF Board Chair.

The Piedmont community is invited to meet and welcome Susan at a reception on Thursday, January 28 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the home of Christine and Roland von Metzsch, 125 Wildwood Gardens.  RSVP to communications@piedmontedfoundation.org.  Learn more.

*The Piedmont Education Foundation is a community-based, registered 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to promote academic excellence, champion innovation, and provide sustained financial support to the Piedmont Unified School District. PEF raises more than $3 million annually for the K-12 Piedmont public schools, and is the steward for an Endowment valued at more than $6 million.  Responsible for providing nearly 8% of the District budget, we actively engage our community on behalf of the Piedmont schools.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

Monday, January 18, 2016

1 – 3 p.m. at the Veterans Hall

This is a free event that is open to the public.

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration will take place on January 18th, 2016, from 1 – 3 p.m. at the Piedmont Veterans Hall, 401 Highland Avenue, Piedmont. 

Speakers will include Piedmont Mayor Margaret Fujioka, U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and Assemblymember Tony Thurmond.

Enjoy jazz performances by Oakland’s Westlake Middle School Jazz Band, vocal performances by Oakland School for the Arts’ Chamber Choir, plus original spoken word pieces by Together We Slam, featuring students from Piedmont Middle School, and Piedmont and Millennium High Schools.

This event is jointly sponsored by the PADC (Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee) and the City of Piedmont. More information can be found at www.padc.info.

Please bring your friends and family to enjoy this day!

To see the flyer, click here

Piedmont Community Pool closed for improvements and repairs.

The Piedmont Community Pool will remain closed until it reopens on Monday, January 25th. Maintenance work is proceeding on the pool filter system. The flooring in the locker room will also be replaced.  Improvements and repairs will cost $66,000.

More information on the pool bulletin, the filter system, and the locker room floor available here.

City Council staff report.

READmont celebrates science this year!

 Join the discussion on The Martian with PHS Science Teachers

February 10th, 7 p.m., Center for the Arts! 

(Across from Piedmont High School on Magnolia Avenue)

This year’s community-wide READmont book talk will look at The Martian, a book that has been extremely popular among young adult to adult readers.  Many Piedmont High School (PHS) freshman and sophomore science classes are reading the book as part of their curriculum this year, which makes it the perfect book to bring all members of our community together for a fun, relaxing book discussion.  This year’s book talk will take place on February 10th at 7 P.M.at the Center for the Arts across from the high school.

Martian science to be demonstrated.

 For special entertainment value, organizers Beth Black (English Department) and Susan Stutzman (PHS librarian) have invited colleagues John Savage and Tom Huffaker from the PHS Science Department to demonstrate some of the science described in the book.

Everyone is welcome!

Feel free to bring kids, neighbors and grandparents.  Books are sold at a discount at a Good Place for Books (Montclair) and all 5 school libraries have multiple copies to lend.

Community input is being solicited to assist in identifying needed school facility renovations and/or additions at each Piedmont school campus. 

Superintendent Randall Booker announced the following:

The Piedmont Unified School District is in the process of developing a Facilities Master Plan.  Over the past several months, we’ve held staff, student, and community workshops in preparation for the development of the Facilities Master Plan.  I want to thank those of you who have participated.  Your feedback has been invaluable.

On January 12th and 19th, we are hosting Community Outreach Meetings to solicit additional input. We encourage anyone from the community to attend.

These meetings will occur in the Piedmont High School Student Center on:

January 12th – 7:00pm – 8:30pm, and
January 19th – 7:00pm – 8:30pm

The final PUSD Facilities Master Plan is scheduled to be presented at the February 10, 2016 Board of Education Meeting.

To learn more about the Facilities Master Planning Process and review a variety of support documents, including a draft of the Facilities Master Plan, please click here to visit the PUSD Facilities Master Plan page on the PUSD Website.

The Facilities Master Plan process combines the goals of PUSD’s Education Specifications and the information collected by the design team (including facility assessments) into a comprehensive plan for the schools of the Piedmont Unified School District. The main product of the facility needs assessment and Facilities Master Plan is a detailed proposal for renovations and/or additions to be made at each school campus.

The facilities master planning process takes into account all of the information on the District’s facilities, the needs and desires of faculty, staff and the community and projections about future District needs and creates a comprehensive plan for each campus that addresses these issues. The plan looks at issues holistically and creatively to find unique and inventive solutions that fit the specific needs of each campus and community. The final Facilities Master Plan document provides a clear narrative and graphic summary of the proposed facilities improvements for each campus and also provides the detailed information necessary to successfully plan and implement the improvements.

Please contact Mr. Pete Palmer, Director of Facilities at PPalmer@piedmont.k12.ca.us if you have any questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Facility Site Assessment

“QKA Architects, Pete Palmer – PUSD Director of Facilities, and PUSD Maintenance staff performed a facility site assessment at each campus. The purpose of the assessment is to identify those improvements and remedial up-grades, along with their associated costs, required to provide safe, secure and well-maintained campuses, appropriate to the needs of current and future educational programs for the foreseeable future.”

Read more on the DRAFT FACILITY PLAN:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-vdk-LUzFEkNHhxc2tuZHU3bUU/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-vdk-LUzFEkeWJOejE0eHNlTVE/view

“At the open, public special meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 4th, the City Council appointed current Alternate Tom Ramsey to the regular seat on the Planning Commission vacated by the resignation of Philip Chase. Aradhana Jajodia was appointed to the alternate position vacated by Mr. Ramsey.”

Garrett Keating contends the City will have adequate revenue without the jump up in the Parcel Tax rate and funds are needed for school improvements.

In his last published column, Councilman Jeff Wieler challenged readers to propose changes to municipal services in lieu of supporting the proposed increase in the parcel tax.  To have that discussion, it would be nice if the Councilman stopped his harangue of others who don’t share his views.  The ink isn’t even dry on the proposal and Councilman Wieler already characterizes other views as “perverse” and negative.  

The basis of his column is the proposal from the Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee (BAFPC) that the annual parcel tax be raised by as much as 50%.  BAFPC analyzed the city’s facility maintenance needs and conservatively estimates that $0.5M is needed annually for deferred maintenance. Likewise, the city recently completed a review of its information technology and found that conservatively $0.5M is needed annually to upgrade its IT systems.  As an aside, these are “spreadsheet spending” analyses that need more work before they are used as the basis for a tax increase.  So a 50% increase in the annual $1.8M parcel tax brings in about the $1M needed to start facility maintenance and IT upgrades.    

The basis for the BAFPC recommendation is a projection showing that implementing this new spending will deplete the General Fund reserve by 2020. The BAFPC estimates that over this 5-year period, annual transfer tax revenues will be $2.8M, the average value for the transfer tax from the past 10 years.  Alternatively, using the 25-year trend in transfer tax increase, the tax has increased 10% annually to its present day value of $3.9M.  At that rate, the transfer tax will tax be $6.3M by 2020.  Even at 5%, the transfer tax will be $4.5M in 2020.  Transfer tax revenues for the past three years have been $3.2, $4.0 and $3.9M, respectively.

And there is no estimate in the BAFPC projection for the increase in revenue from property reassessment nor tax revenue from 8 new residences coming to Piedmont.  For example, there are 1000 properties in Piedmont assessed under $500,000 and if just 5% of those sold for $2M today (median 2015 Piedmont price), those sales alone would generate close to $1M in new revenue.  This property tax increase, coupled with the 25-year trend in the transfer tax growth, could likely exceed the revenue the BAFPC proposes to collect with the new tax.

As it happens, at its Monday meeting, the Council chose to go with only a 30% increase in the parcel tax, raising $500K annually with an increase of about $150 for the average Piedmont household.  The parcel tax increase will be on the June 2016 primary ballot and Piedmonters should review the BAFPC report and recommendations available on the city website:(http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/staffreports/2015-12-07/parceltaxreport.pdf). 

As the debate heats up, consider these points. First, disregard any statements that not voting for the tax increase will lead to a reduction in public safety.  City reserve funds are at their maximum and the current parcel tax carries on until June 2017, leaving ample time to renew the tax should it fail in June.  References to cuts in public safety are simple fear-mongering.  Second, the spending estimates that justify the tax have not been fully researched and may be overstated.   As an example, estimates that the Sewer Tax needed to be increased by 50% were subsequently found to be inaccurate.  

Finally, Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) is currently conducting a facilities assessment and will likely have a ballot initiative on the November 2016 ballot.   I hope the School Board brings forward a proposal to not only maintain school facilities but to modernize them.  Science and media laboratories, performance spaces and classrooms have all been identified as needing upgrades. 

Actually, maintaining the status quo with the city parcel tax and encouraging residents to support new school revenue might be the best strategy for the city.  Demand for Piedmont schools drives up housing prices leading to the historic increases in the city’s transfer tax receipts.

Councilman Wieler misses the point.  Opponents of the proposed tax increase don’t oppose better city services, they just don’t see why the tax need be increased when current and projected revenue will do the job.  Rather than argue about cuts, maybe we should be discussing revenues.

Garrett Keating, Former Piedmont City Councilmember

Editors’ Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.