Rick Rowe, a member of Friends of Moraga Canyon, presented the following statement at the February 27, 2009 Piedmont City Council meeting:

Mayor Friedman, City Council Members:

My name is Rick Rowe. I reside on Scenic Avenue, and am an active member of the Friends of Moraga Canyon.

The “Piedmont General Plan – Resident Survey Report” of November 2007 had an impressive response rate of approximately 30 percent, making it the best current source of information about the wants and needs of Piedmont citizens.

Question 8 of the report asked, “What should be the city’s highest capital improvement priority?”. The second-highest priority was a city-owned competitive-sized swimming pool. Fifth on the priority list was “Additional recreational facilities”, a category that included, but was not limited to, sports fields.

However, in the Mid-Year Budget report presented to and approved by Council on February 2nd, all CIP monies for a community swimming pool – $600,000 – were deferred, while a total of $811,671 was retained for Blair Park and Coaches field studies and improvements. There was no discussion at the February 2nd meeting as to the rationale behind these budgetary actions.

Despite survey results, despite other projects clearly more important to the citizenry of Piedmont, and especially despite an increasingly dire financial outlook, Council stubbornly clings to committing an inordinate amount of money toward sports fields. I feel it is time for Council to reexamine its financial priorities in this regard.

Thank you.