PIEDMONT CITY COUNCIL
Special and Regular Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, September 2, 2025 A Special and Regular Session of the Piedmont City Council in the City Hall Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue, was held on September 2, 2025. In accordance with Government Code Section 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was posted for public inspection on August 28, 2025.
CALL TO ORDER Mayor Smegal Andersen called the Regular Session meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and no reportable action from the Closed Session.
ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Betsy Smegal Andersen, Vice Mayor Conna McCarthy, Councilmember Jennifer Long, Councilmember Lorrel Plimier, and Councilmember Tom Ramsey
Absent: None
Staff: City Administrator Rosanna Bayon Moore, Deputy City Attorney Deepa Sharma, Planning and Building Director Kevin Jackson, Police Captain Chris Monahan, Finance Director Kiran Bawa, Recreation Director Chelle Putzer, Fire Chief Dave Brannigan, Public Works Director Daniel Gonzales, and City Clerk Anna Brown
PUBLIC FORUM Public Comment was received from:
Brooke Wall and Kim Staley, Beach Parent’s Organization (BPO) CoPresidents, requested a future agenda item to discuss the matter of expanding the extended care program at Beach Elementary.
Tung Le expressed concerns about the AC Transit realignment and routing.
PRESENTATIONS Mayor Smegal Andersen read a proclamation for Emergency Preparedness Month and presented it to Fire Chief Dave Brannigan.
CONSENT CALENDAR The Consent Calendar consisted of the following items:
Meeting Minutes Approval of the Minutes for the City Council meeting of 08/18/2025.
Appointment for
League of California
Cities Annual
Conference
Appointment of Voting Delegate and Alternate for League of California Cites Annual Conference
(0085)
Approval of MOU of
Agreement for 571
Crofton Avenue
Approval of Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Piedmont and the City of Oakland Related to 571 Crofton Avenue Regarding Jurisdiction for Planning and Building
(0045)
There was no Public Comment received.
Resolution 47-2025
RESOLVED, that the City Council adopts Consent Calendar Items 1 – 3.
Moved by Ramsey, Seconded by Long
Ayes: Andersen, Long, McCarthy, Plimier, and Ramsey
Abstain: None
City Council Minutes
September 2, 2025
Absent: None
REGULAR AGENDA The Council considered the following items of regular business:
Final Report of the
Piedmont Community
Pool Bond Oversight
Committee
Mayor Smegal Andersen introduced members of the Pool Bond Oversight Committee before City Administrator Bayon Moore outlined the Committee’s background, scope of work, and term. Committee Chair Patricia Leicher provided the final report from the Pool Bond Oversight Committee, noted quarterly meetings, and said that all bond funds including the interest have been used on the pool project. Member John Chiang and Al Lee were present in the audience.
Finance Director Kiran Bawa presented a Bond Oversight Committee June 2025 update that reflected numbers as of April 30, all bond funds expended by January 31, total bond proceeds, fund deposits and expenses, commitments for consultant contracts, the project fund history, the Community Pool Project budget history as of May 31, funding sources, the construction contingency analysis as of May 31, and a fund recap summary.
Members of the Council expressed their gratitude for the Committee members and their service.
City Administrator Bayon Moore stated that the Committee is now dissolved by acceptance of the final report.
There was no Public Comment received.
No action by Council was required for an informational item. (0317)
Informational
Presentation by the
Bay Cities Joint Power
Insurance Authority
Ms. Bayon Moore provided background on Bay Cities Joint Power Insurance Authority (BCJPIA) and noted an effective risk management approach.
Jaesa Cusimano, BCJPIA Executive Director, highlighted the history of the insurance market of general liability coverage and joint powers, what is the BCJPIA, coverages, member cities, and the BCJPIA advantages, pooled liability program, and pooled workers’ compensation program. She reviewed the top five frequency by loss cause and focused risk control.
A question-and-answer period ensued between the Council, staff, and BCJPIA regarding reserves for dealing with multi-city events, insurance for artificial intelligence, and how best practices audits of member cities occur.
There was no Public Comment received.
No action by Council was required for an informational item. (0115)
Consideration of a
Resolution for the
Grant of Easement at
Piedmont Park
Public Works Director Daniel Gonzales presented the consideration of a resolution for the Grant of Easement to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Company at Piedmont Park. He outlined the background of the project with AVA Community Energy for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on Magnolia Avenue, May 16, 2022 proposed design, August 19, 2024 City Council Minutes
September 2, 2025
permitted design, PG&E easement dedication, permitted design with easement, and PG&E easement with hatch.
AVA Community Energy representative Anish Patel and City Engineer John Wanger were available online to answer questions from Council.
Questions from Council addressed the height and color of the transformer box, other site locations and solutions considered and ultimately rejected, timed spaces (90 minutes), impact to the nearby bike racks, what the agreement with the vendor will look like, and future potential for PG&E to put something else in the easement.
There was no Public Comment received.
Resolution 48-2025
WHEREAS, the City is pursuing the installation of four public electric vehicle charging stations on Magnolia Avenue at Piedmont Park; and WHEREAS, in order to connect PG&E electrical services to the electric vehicle chargers, PG&E requires approximately one hundred twenty-four square foot utility easement and access rights to a portion of APN 051- 4680-001-04; and
WHEREAS, the area has been identified for the proposed utility easement in a form substantially similar to Exhibit A attached to this resolution and made a part herein; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Piedmont does hereby resolves, declare, determine, and order as follows:
Section 1. The Piedmont City Council incorporates the findings set forth in this Resolution.
Section 2. The City Council of the City of Piedmont, State of California, approves the grant of easement over a portion of APN 051-4680-001-04 substantially in the form of the Easement Deed, on file in the office of the City Clerk.
Section 3. All portions of this resolution are severable. If an individual component of this Resolution is adjudged by a court to be invalid and unenforceable, then the remaining portions will continue in effect.
Section 4. The City Administrator shall execute any and all documents to effectuate the grant of easement.
Moved by Long, Seconded by McCarthy
Ayes: Andersen, Long, McCarthy, Plimier, and Ramsey
Abstain: None
Absent: None
(0425)
Appointment for the
Planning Commission
Ms. Bayon Moore presented two applications for Council’s consideration for an appointment with the Planning Commission to fill in the resignation of a seated Planning Commissioner.
There was no Public Comment received.
City Council Minutes
September 2, 2025
Resolution 49-2025
RESOLVED, that the City Council appoints Michael Beuselinck to the Planning Commission for a term ending March 31, 2026, and appoints John Cooper as Alternate to the Planning Commission for a term ending March 31, 2028.
Moved by Plimier, Seconded by Ramsey
Ayes: Andersen, Long, McCarthy, Plimier, and Ramsey
Abstain: None
Absent: None
(0317)
REPORTS AND
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Councilmember Long announced the New Families Night in Community Hall and Movie in the Park - Migration on September 19, 27th Annual Harvest Festival on September 21, and wildfire evacuation exercise at piedmont.ca.gov/evacuationexercise.
Councilmember Plimier acknowledged the Planning & Building Department for a successful open house and announced the monthly StopWaste gardening Zoom meeting tomorrow night and registration at stopwaste.org.
Councilmember Ramsey announced that on September 9 Piedmont High School Beach School alumni, Cole Swenson, is participating in America’s Got Talent finals. He asked the Council to consider a future agenda item to direct staff to review codes pertaining to parking surface types in Chapter 17 and nuisance items and associated fines. Additionally, consideration for a violation history and fines report from staff including effectiveness and approaches by other jurisdictions.
Vice Mayor McCarthy announced considerations are underway to attend the second virtual ACTransit meeting in September when students can comment in response to the shortened bus service line 88.
Mayor Smegal Andersen announced she attended the batting cages grand opening and acknowledged staff, Sammy Ragonese, Troop 15, and Piedmont Baseball Softball Foundation for their contributions. She highlighted New Families Night and Movie in the Park on September 19, Coffee, Cars, and Cops on September 20, and the Harvest Festival on September 21.
Ms. Bayon Moore announced that City Hall will be closed on September 4 for the installation of the Dispatch Center transformer and a back-up generator will be used for emergency services only.
ADJOURNMENT With no further business, Mayor Smegal Andersen adjourned the meeting at 7:57 p.m.