Piedmont voters in March 2020 approved Measure UU the $19.5 million Piedmont bond measure levied against Piedmont real properties. 

The monies are to be used to develop and construct new municipal pools and an aquatic center.  A requirement of the ballot measure is the establishment of an oversight committee.  A resolution is to be considered by the City Council on October 4 to determine how the chairperson of the committee is chosen, the number of committee members, reporting requirements, oversight charges, etc.

Like the Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee (BAFPC), who will have a slot on the bond oversight committee, no written minutes or video archiving of the meetings are required within the resolution.  Release of information is restricted by the Council resolution.  Minutes have never been provided by the somewhat obscure BAFPC. Consequently, it appears those interested in the bond oversight committee and meetings will need to participate in real time during the meetings. 

There is no requirement for conflict of interest filings by committee members to be able to participate on the committee.

Below is a partial list of the committee member requirements.

SECTION 4. The Community Pool Bond Oversight Committee shall consist of five residents at large, including one current or former member of the Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee.

SECTION 5. The City Council shall appoint one member to serve as Committee Chair.

SECTION 6. The Community Pool Bond Oversight Committee shall meet at least two times per year or more frequently as the Committee deems it necessary to discharge its duty, but no more frequently than quarterly. At the end of each meeting, the Committee shall identify the next approximate meeting date.

SECTION 7. The term of the Community Pool Bond Oversight Committee shall extend from the date of establishment to the Committee’s submission of the final Annual Report which reflects the final accounting of the expenditure of the Bond proceeds.

SECTION 8. The Community Pool Bond Oversight Committee shall comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code §54950 et seq.) including, but not limited to notice, agenda posting, and public participation requirements.

SECTION 9. The Community Pool Bond Oversight Committee is an advisory body to the City Council and is not an independent decision-making body. All of its recommendations are subject to approval of the City Council

READ THE ENTIRE RESOLUTION IN THE COMPLETE STAFF REPORT LINKED  BELOW.

>Pool Bond Com 102021

AGENDA OF OCT. 4, 2021 COUNCIL MEETING > HERE.

On Monday, October 4, 2021, the Piedmont City Council will consider moving ahead with improvements on Oakland Avenue to assist pedestrians, especially school age children, crossing the busy street.  Improvements are expected to cost approximately $400,000 to construct “bulb outs” into the thoroughfares reducing the open distance from curb to curb at Jerome and El Cerrito Avenues.

“The Piedmont Beautification Foundation (PBF) has indicated its interest in fundraising for this project with its holiday 2021 campaign. To ensure coordination with this longstanding project, PBF has requested that the City Council indicate if it desires to move forward with the project before the foundation begins its fundraising. Directing staff to proceed with the final design of the project will serve this purpose.”

READ the full staff report with drawings >Oakland Ave Improvements 2021

READ the Agenda HERE.

How Healthy is Piedmont’s Tree Canopy in 2021?

The tree canopy is like an umbrella sheltering what is below.  Tree canopies vary greatly in their penetrability based on the density of branches.  It is easier to simply count the number of trees than to evaluate their sheltering effectiveness on a citywide or regional scale.  The Region 5 EarthDefine tree canopy >map indicates in 2018 Piedmont had at least 25 trees per person, using the 2010 census population of 10,667. How many Piedmont trees and significant tree branches have been lost in the past three years? 

California’s tree canopy was estimated to contain 173 million trees in 2017; the annual value of ecosystem services from these trees has been estimated at $8.3 billion and the urban forest asset has been valued at $181 billion (McPherson, E., et al 2017).  The tree canopy layer was created by EarthDefine, under contract with the USDA Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE).  See map of 2018 California tree canopy here.

The purpose of the Tree Canopy analysis is to help communities plan to retain or create the Climate Action benefits from trees.

A tree’s canopy cover – its leaves, branches, and stems that provide coverage of the ground – provides numerous environmental, social, and economic benefits:

– reduce summer peak temperatures,

– improve air quality,

– reduce stormwater run-off,

– enhance property values,

– provide wildlife habitat.

Using the California Tree Canopy map can help communities develop sustainability plans, and manage threats to canopy loss.

Make the change to a healthier landscape now!

Piedmont Connect’s Fall FRONT Garden Tour and Related Events

Piedmont Connect’s Healthy Landscapes Fall Front Garden Tour begins Saturday, Sept. 25 and continues through Sunday, Oct. 3. During this period, Piedmonters can get sidewalk views of 14 selected front gardens featuring an array of drought-tolerant and native plant landscapes in neighborhoods throughout the City, from Baja to St. James Wood and from Moraga Ave. to Boulevard Way.

Check out www.piedmontconnect.org for a map [or see below] of the street addresses, plus photos and complete descriptions of the front gardens explaining what, when, why and how the gardens were transformed from lawns or ivy patches into healthier landscapes.

Additionally, join Piedmont Connect for two related events during the week of the garden tour: On Wednesday, Sept 29 at 10:30 a.m., join Dick Carter’s Wednesday Walkers group for a guided tour of some of the gardens on the Fall Front Garden Tour. A special guest from Piedmont Connect will discuss the significant features of the gardens on Dick’s customized walking route. Meet at the Piedmont Exedra to participate in this free Wednesday Walkers’ walking tour.

On Thursday, Sept. 30, from 7 to 8:15 p.m., Piedmont Connect, with City of Piedmont technical assistance, will host a Zoom event “Living With Drought”. Join the live webinar via the link at www.piedmontconnect.org. “Living With Drought” will be moderated by dynamic Piedmont resident and water expert Eileen White, following an introduction by Piedmont Parks Manager Nancy Kent. Our Water Our World’s Suzanne Bontempo will give helpful outdoor water-saving techniques.

For the finale, three Piedmont residents whose gardens are featured on the Fall Front Garden Tour will inspire viewers with their garden transformations, explaining how they use the latest research to sustain healthy ecosystems and maintain chemical-free, water-efficient oases that support a diversity of wildlife. There will be time for viewer questions and answers following the presentations.

For residents wanting to reduce water use, limit garden maintenance work, adapt to climate changes, build drought resiliency, and attract beneficial life to the garden, fall is the time of year when planting is recommended. Hoped-for (and likelier) winter rains help young or relocated plants to establish new root systems naturally, without supplemental water. Cooler temperatures also impede a few common plant pathogens to which some young plants are susceptible.

Make the change to a healthier landscape now!

By Hope Salzer and Marjorie Blackwell, Piedmont Connect

>Healthy Garden Tour Map

> Descriptions and photos of gardens

>CONNECT garden tour 2021

Drivers Need to be Aware Bicyclists May Not Stop at Stop Signs-

Biking organizations, including the California Bicycle Coalition, have successfully urged the legislature to legalize rolling stops for bikes. In August, the California Assembly voted 53 to 11 in favor of A.B. 122, making it legal for bicycle riders to treat stop signs as yield signs.   The Senate approved it August 30 on a bipartisan 31-5 vote.  The Governor has until mid October to sign the bill. 

75 organizations supported the law, with opposition more limited only by the California Highway Patrolmen’s Association and the California Coalition for Children’s Health.

Steve Barrow, program director for the California Coalition for Children’s Health and Safety, told The Coast News that they are strongly opposed to the bill and are urging voters against it.

“We have 500 people killed on bicycle crashes every year in California and we have several thousand that end up in the hospital with severe head injuries,” Barrow said. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Injury Center, they’ve all done studies on what happened when those people died in a bicycle crash, and a third of them literally were killed when the bicycle rider failed to yield at an intersection.”

Read the complete article here.

Barrow added that for children, the risk is higher because portions of their brains that control their decision-making and impulse control are not yet fully developed.

Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Delaware, and several other states have legalized the bicycle rolling stop.  Cyclists are permitted to treat a stop sign as a yield sign

Read the text of the bill AB 122 here.

Current New York City Bike Rules:

• Ride in the street, not on the sidewalks (unless rider is age 12 or younger and the bicycle’s wheels are less than 26 inches in diameter).
• Ride with traffic, not against it.
• Stop at red lights and stop signs. Obey all traffic signals, signs and pavement markings, and exercise due care to avoid colliding with pedestrians, motor vehicles or other cyclists. At red lights, wait for the green light and/or the bike or pedestrian signal.
• Go with the walk, unless there’s a bike signal or sign, cross the intersection when the pedestrian signal shows the “walk”.
• Use marked bike lanes or paths when available, except when making turns or when it is unsafe to do so. If the road is too narrow for a bicycle and a car to travel safely side by side, you have the right to ride in the middle of the travel lane. Bicycling is permitted on all main and local streets throughout the City, even when no designated route exists.
• Use a white headlight and a red taillight, as well as a bell or horn and reflectors.

Read complete New York City Bike Safety here

SCHOOLS, RECREATION, BUILDING RENOVATIONS, CITY MASTER PLAN, PUBLIC SAFETY AND MORE –

On Thursday, September 23. 2021 at 4:00 p.m.. the Piedmont Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee will meet via Zoom to consider a recommendation to the Piedmont City Council on how to spend $2,663,729, Piedmont’s COVID funds. 

To participate and view the meeting see the Agenda link below.

Of the $2,663,729 allocated to the City, $2,382,545 is tied to lost revenue and can be used in category 3 which, as noted in the full staff report linked below, may be used for any governmental services, including infrastructure projects. The remaining $281,183 must be used in accordance with the provisions of the other four categories.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

By motion, recommend that the City Council allocate the City’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds as proposed by staff:

A. Devote lost revenue funds to address urgent facilities projects, prioritized as follows:

1. Dispatch Center Relocation\Remodel

2. Initiation of Master Planning Process for the Future of Police, Fire and City Hall

3. City Hall Basement: Digitization of Residential Property Files and Remodel Office Space

3. Fire Department Living Quarters Renovation 3. Recreation Department Building Renovation

B. Devote the remaining more restricted funds as follows:

1. Cover the City’s direct COVID related expenses incurred after March 3, 2021

2. Provide premium pay to Recreation Department personnel who were exposed on a daily basis to critical health risks while interacting with the public due to the nature of their jobs

3. Provide COVID-19 specific support to the Piedmont Unified School District by providing funding toward a temporary full-time school nurse to assist PUSD in its COVID-19 response. Such resource would be available to support the City’s Recreation Department COVID response needs as well.

AGENDA >2021-09-23 Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee Agenda

READ  FULL STAFF REPORT >2021-09-23 ARPA Funding Direction – BAFPC

 Piedmont Unified School School District Board Meeting

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2021 – 7:00 pm PUSD District Office Board Room

– Join Zoom Webinar 760 Magnolia Ave., Piedmont, CA 94611  Click on notice below for full details on participation and backup information.

 The Board of Education will discuss and may take action on the following items. Public comment will be invited before action is taken.

● Second Reading, Revised Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5141.31 – Immunizations – Read full background.

● Approve and Adopt Resolution 09-2021-22 – Temporary Borrowing from the Alameda County Treasury Department

● Approve and Adopt Resolution 10-2021-22 – Annual Public Hearing on Sufficiency of Instructional Materials

● Approve and Adopt Resolution 11-2021-22 – Assignment Outside of Credentialed Area

● Approve Substitute Teacher Rate of Pay Increase – Read full background.

● Conduct Public Hearing on First Reading of 2021-22 Contract Openers between the District and the Association of Piedmont Teachers (APT) – Read full background.

● Conduct Public Hearing on Second Reading of the 2021-22 Contract Openers between the District and the California School Employees Association (CSEA) – Read full background.

● Approve and Adopt Resolution 12-2021-22 – Declaration of Surplus Property

This summary is provided for the community’s information and convenience. Read the full agenda and instructions for joining the meeting webinar below:

> What’s Coming Up – 9-22-21.docx

Complete Agenda > https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=36030373&MID=8386

Piedmont Unified School District Board Meeting Summary – September 14,  2021

Enrollment in schools throughout California has been on the decline, including in Piedmont. 

For the 2021-2022 School year under the current policies 41 approved Interdistrict transfer students enrolled in TK -5th grade and 12 approved Interdistrict transfer students enrolled in 6th -11th grade as of 8/37/21. Interdistrict transfers are students enrolled in Piedmont schools who originate from another school district.

In order to mitigate the loss of what could be considerable funding for our
schools, District staff recommended that the Interdistrict transfer policy be revised:

1. Permit the option of accepting the Interdistrict transfers of students at all grade
   levels.
2.  Allow for more flexibility in accepting the Interdistrict transfers of families whose grandparents reside in Piedmont.
3.  Reflect language that adheres to recent changes in the Education Code.

Highlights of the Current Interdistrict Transfer Policy :

1. The Superintendent or designee may approve interdistrict transfer requests when
   capacity within the District exists. Students whose requests are denied solely
   because of lack of capacity within the District will be placed on a waiting list, and
   their application will be considered if space becomes available.

The decision to admit out-of-District students is discretionary, when capacity
exists; applications may be approved based on the following priorities:
1. Parents Constructing or Remodeling a Home
2. High School Juniors and Seniors Who Have Moved Out of the District
3. Children of Piedmont Unified School District Employees
4. Children of the City of Piedmont Government Employees
5. Children of the Piedmont Educational Foundation Director
6. Children Residing on Calvert Court
7. Residences on Approved Piedmont Split Parcel Properties
8. GrandParent – Grandchild of an Individual(s) Who Lives Within the
Boundaries of PUSD

9.Approved Split Parcels with Oakland and Adjoining Minor Piedmont Parcel

10. Other Applicants

Outdoor Masking:

Superintendent Booker reviewed the District’s requirements regarding outdoor masking. At its last meeting, the Health & Safety Steering Committee was asked if there was an ‘off-ramp’ where the District could consider rolling back or eliminating the outdoor requirement. Discussion centered around that being outdoors is not a cure for COVID – aerosol transmission is still possible. Suggestion was made to wait until Alameda County falls to below five cases per 100,000 residents (currently at 13.5) before considering any changes to requirements.

Vaccinations:

The Committee will be asked if the rules should be different for vaccinated vs. unvaccinated students at its next meeting on September 29th.

As of September 13th, 83% of families had responded that 74% of eligible students  were fully vaccinated.

Revised Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5141.31 – Immunizations

– Revised policy would add the COVID vaccination to the existing list of
vaccinations required for enrollment in PUSD. All age-eligible students would be required to show proof of vaccination or submit a medical exemption and be tested weekly. Questions to be answered before Board approval would be: what dates should be chosen as deadlines to show proof of vaccinations, how much time should students be given to become vaccinated once becoming age-eligible, and should the mandate be for students 12 and older, or 16 and older to fall under FDA approval for the Pfizer vaccine? Board will discuss and take possible action at its September 22nd meeting.

Next Regular School Board Meeting – Wednesday, September 22nd, 7 pm

Piedmont Water Saving & Drought Education Events in September

by Hope Salzer and Marjorie Blackwell, Piedmont Connect

In the face of California’s current, severe drought, Piedmont Connect is hosting two events focused on saving outdoor water.  First, from Saturday, Sept. 25 through Sunday, Oct. 3, Connect will sponsor a self-guided tour of Piedmont front gardens that include drought-tolerant and native plants.

SELF-GUIDED TOUR SEPT. 25 – OCT. 3: Participating gardens will be announced at the Piedmont Harvest Festival on Sunday, Sept. 19.  Maps and garden descriptions will be available at:

www.piedmontconnect.org.

On Thursday, Sept. 30, Connect and the City of Piedmont will host a virtual event, “Living with Drought,” from 7 to 8:15 p.m. The event will feature a speaker from Our Water Our World explaining techniques for outdoor water conservation, as well as presentations from Piedmont residents who have transformed their landscapes to reduce water use, replenish groundwater, enhance our local biosphere and eliminate fossil fuel emissions. To learn more about water reduction options, get new ideas, ask questions, and explore methods used by other Piedmont residents, access the link for the Zoom event at www.piedmontconnect.org.  A link to access an event recording will be available after the event.

According to a 2019 Public Policy Institute of California report, 50% of California’s residential water is used for landscaping, primarily for water-intensive lawns. In order to meet Gov. Gavin Newsom’s drought declaration goal of reducing household water use by 15 percent, the report states that “in urban areas, the greatest potential for further water savings lies in long-term reductions in landscape irrigation– a shift requiring changes in plantings and watering habits.”

A number of Piedmont residents are heeding the Governor’s call by curtailing sprinklers and letting their lawns turn a tawny-gold. Some are augmenting their landscapes with California native flora that need little water, are deep-rooted to impede erosion and sequester carbon, are disease-resistant, and harbor an array of life forms.

A trip around Piedmont also reveals that residents are beginning to discover the wide variety of native grasses suitable to our geographic setting. These include grasses that flourish in sandy/loamy soil, and others adapted to heavier clay, as well as grasses that prefer full sun and those adapted to shade or dappled light.  Some grasses grow around East Bay native oaks, and others can be mowed to mimic a conventional lawn or grown with native, annual herbaceous flowers and/or low perennial flowering shrubs to approximate a meadow setting.  If native grasses are allowed to flower, resident and migratory birds will feed on the seedheads later in the year and/or collect stems for nesting material.  There are also options for planting low-maintenance native groundcovers that support moths and butterflies, prevent soil erosion, and are fire-resistant.

Piedmonters are invited to take the self-guided tour to view these example gardens where residents have curtailed outdoor water use and then to learn more from garden experts and residents at the “Living with  Drought” Zoom event on Sept 30th.

Visit www.piedmontconnect.org for more details about these events and to find more water-saving and drought adaptation tips.

On Tuesday, September 13th, the City began the process of draining the 154,000 gallons of water out of the main pool. Check out the video to see the progress and to hear more about the Piedmont Community Pool project.  The speaker is John Tulloch, City Clerk. 

Click on the arrow below to see the Piedmont Community Pool being drained, thus ending the water leakage.