PIEDMONT CITY COUNCIL
Special and Regular Meeting Minutes for Monday, August 7, 2023 A Special Closed Session of the Piedmont City Council in the Emergency Operations Center, 403 Highlands Avenue at 5:00 p.m., and a Regular Session of the Piedmont City Council in the City Hall Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue, was held on August 7, 2023. In accordance with Government Code Section 54954.2, the agendas for these meetings were posted for public inspection on August 3, 2023.
CALL TO ORDER Mayor Cavenaugh called the Regular Session meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and there was no reportable action from the Closed Session.
ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jennifer Cavenaugh, Vice Mayor Betsy Smegal Andersen and Councilmembers Jennifer Long, Conna McCarthy, and Tom Ramsey Staff: City Administrator Rosanna Bayon Moore, City Attorney Michelle Marchetta Kenyon, Fire Chief David Brannigan, Public Works Director Daniel Gonzales, Recreation Director Chelle Putzer, Recreation Supervisor Liam Kelly, Communications Program Manager Echa Schneider, Deputy City Clerk Lisa Argue, Interim City Clerk Sheri Hartz, and Administrative Assistant Cora Wood CEREMONIAL ITEMS Chief Brannigan recognized Lieutenant Justin Morris, Fire Engineer Sandor Lengyel, and Fire Engineer Anthony Renteria in the Fire Department Badge Pinning.
PUBLIC FORUM There was no Public Testimony received.
CONSENT CALENDAR The Consent Calendar consisted of the following items:
Minutes Approval of City Council Minutes for 07/17/2023 Real and Personal
Property Tax Levy
Resolution 52-2023
RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Piedmont hereby authorizes the County of Alameda to levy a tax on all real and personal property in the City of Piedmont as a voter-approved levy for the General Obligation Bonds Issued pursuant to the General Election held November 3, 2020; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Piedmont that the debt service for the $19,500,000 General Obligation Bonds will be paid from a tax levy on all secured property in Piedmont of 21.80/$100,000 of assessed value and all unsecured property in Piedmont of 23.20/$100,000 of assessed value for Fiscal Year 2023-24.
(1030)
League of California
Cities
Appointment of Voting Delegate and Alternates for League of California Cities Annual Conference
(0085)
Corey Reich Tennis
Center Parcel
Resolution 53-2023
RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Directs the recordation of the Declaration of Restriction as attached hereto.
2. All portions of this resolution are severable. Should any individual component of this Resolution be adjudged to be invalid and unenforceable City Council Minutes
August 7, 2023
by a body of competent jurisdiction, then the remaining resolution portions shall be and continue in full force and effect, except as to those resolution portions that have been adjudged invalid. The City Council of the City of Piedmont hereby declares that it would have adopted this Resolution and each section, subsection, clause, sentence, phrase, and other portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more section subsection, clause sentence, phrase or other portion may be held invalid or unconstitutional. (0390)
Moved by Andersen, Seconded by McCarthy
Ayes: Andersen, Cavenaugh, McCarthy, Long, Ramsey
Noes: None
REGULAR AGENDA The Council considered the following items of regular business:
Consideration of the
Future Use and
Restriping of Linda
Beach Tennis Courts
City Administrator Rosanna Bayon Moore introduced the item and outlined the formal study of tennis court and pickleball use in the City of Piedmont, stating that growing demand had led to consideration of restriping at the Linda Beach Courts. Furthermore, she noted that the Recreation Commission and a designated subcommittee have examined dimensions of pickleball, had dialogue with City staff, pickleball enthusiasts, and concerned neighbors regarding noise mitigation measures. She noted a request from the City for information from Salter, Inc. regarding these measures, and a proposal from City Staff to create a committee to review mitigation measures over the next several weeks in no more than two meetings with the goal of informing the City’s approach to a potential resolution to be presented to the City Council on September 5, 2023.
Recreation Director Chelle Putzer noted the desire to play pickleball in Piedmont had started in 2017 and the Recreation Commission’s decision to form a subcommittee in May 2018, which resulted in a partnership with the Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD), court renovations, the addition of pickleball lines in August 2019, and dedicated pickleball play hours at the Hampton, Linda Beach, and Piedmont Middle School (PMS) courts with extended hours in February 2022 and a request for more. Before initiating Linda Beach Court resurfacing and restriping, she stated there had been a pickleball trial period from March 1 - July 31 to assess demand and gather data for a court restriping recommendation, public trial notification, public surveying and feedback, formation and function of the subcommittee, and a framework of criteria to help prepare a recommendation to Council regarding the court restriping at Linda Beach with a focus on safety, noise, and the best use of space.
Ms. Putzer reported that the subcommittee’s findings showed no evidence of safety hazards at Beach school, that a greater number of people play pickleball on the courts than tennis or other recreational activities, and additional noise reduction strategies could be helpful, which led to the Recreation Commission approving the recommendations with slight modifications. In closing, she thanked the Recreation Commission and subcommittee for their work on the report.
Public Testimony was received from:
Ruby Gusdar, Jeff Nguyen, Robert Temple, Jeff Trowbridge, Jim MacLean, Corki Recht, Judith Stacey, Richard Cohen, Constance Whitting, Lisa Neville, Carol Leahy, Chris Free, Amy Kaminer, Connie Yu, Michael Yu, Amy Valleri, Kara Christenson, Betty Jung, Connie Fong, Rick Schiller, City Council Minutes
August 7, 2023
Lisa Tuck, Kurt Fleischer, Elena Stevens, Jamie Paterson, Mary Purcell, Darlene Vendegna, Diane Santas, Molly Lloyd, and Brian Kotlyar expressed support or opposition to the matter, citing concerns ranging from playtime hours and noise impacts to health and quality of life.
The City Council directed staff to convene a working group.
Moved by Ramsey, Seconded by McCarthy
Ayes: Andersen, Cavenaugh, McCarthy, Long, Ramsey
Noes: None
(0745-0625)
REPORTS AND
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Councilmember Long announced that the Moraga Specific Plan is underway, and updates and community engagement opportunities can be found on piedmontishome.org.
Vice Mayor Andersen announced the League of Women Voters upcoming book club book and discussion on August 15 on Zoom.
Councilmember McCarthy announced a free performance of Hamlet in Shakespeare in the Park on August 13, that the police chief will be speaking at the September 18 City Council meeting, and Cop on the Block events are listed on the City website and in the Exedra, and noted the past National Night Out celebration.
Council Member Ramsey announced the 2023 fall recreation activity guide and stated that registration would be open for residents and nonresidents on August 8.
Mayor Cavenaugh announced the Welcome to Piedmont event on August 18 prior to Movie in the Park, the Director of Stop Waste’s involvement in the Senate Bill 54 (SB) working group to eliminate plastics, town construction, and the start of school.
ADJOURNMENT With no further business, Major Cavenaugh adjourned the meeting at 8:13 p.m. in memory of former Mayor Patty White.