What’s Going On?

Piedmont City Council: More Blair Park.

Monday, Sept 21st, 7:30pm City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue

Info, email addresses, agenda: http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/citycouncil/

Please join me in supporting the EIR process. The vote is only to continue with the EIR, not to approve Blair Park. I think it’s important to hear the real issues that an EIR will expose, rather than speculation from both sides of the issue.

Please also join me in urging the city to put a mid-block cross walk at the tennis courts, connecting Linda Beach Field and the Linda dog run. This area sees very high foot traffic from the dog run, playfield, tennis courts, tot lot and Beach Elementary going back and forth. This should have been done 3 or 4 years ago when both Beach field and the dog run were updated. Now is the time to fix the issue.

Linda Beach field is used by our children for soccer, baseball, lacrosse, tee ball, and softball. Primary groups are 5-9 year olds. There is a tot lot there, plus an elementary school. The block is extremely long and beckons for a med-block crossing. The area at the tennis courts/top of Linda Beach Field is about right to facilitate safer crossings for all facilities. The sightlines are good and the cost would be minimal.

PUSD School Board

Wednesday, September 23rd, City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue

Info and agenda: http://www.piedmont.k12.ca.us/board-of-education/meeting-materials

Measure E: Not much updating

Last update to the site was July 24th (as of this post).

Info: http://www.pusdbond.org/updates

My question from a previous post still isn’t answered. If PG&E made a mistake on the gas line under the Havens Schoolmates building, are they paying for the relocation to the Beach Playground? Accountability and communication seem to be lacking, yet again, in the Measure E process.

Piedmont School Board Meeting – Measure E Portables

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 – 7:00 pm City Hall Council Chambers

Tonight the PSUD school board is meeting to discuss the Measure E interim housing issue. This discussion continues the topic from the joint school board and city council meeting last week. (Watch the meeting online or read the meeting minutes).

Last week there were many options that had been discussed, but at the joint meeting it has become clear that the neighborhoods, the school communities, and the sports groups all favor Blair park.

With so many of Piedmont’s youth in sports programs, it’s pretty likely you received an email recently from either Eric Havian, president of the Piedmont Soccer Club or Glyn Burge, president of the Piedmont Baseball Foundation. Both are extremely well thought out and make the case for Blair Park as the best location for the portables, for the short term, and more importantly, long term improvement to Piedmont’s parks and recreation facilities. The Blair Park site also reduces the “sunk costs” that can eat into Measure E funds. Money that could be put to use repairing buildings instead of removing temporary plumbing and electrical from a portable site. With Blair Park, much of the infrastructure will be used in the sports field project.

I encourage you to participate by attending tonight’s meeting or sending an email to input@pusdbond.org

–L