E. Boyer
Last week's developments brought to mind an old saying,
"pigs get fat..hogs get slaughtered." It seems the PRFO
pulled the plug on the proposed sports field due to the city's inability to
control costs. Oh, sure, the verbiage was was a little different..the PRFO
will recommend the city rescind its approval of the project, but the
message is pretty clear, "This train is leavin' the
station!" Was it not enough that the project was being served
up on a silver platter, free of charge, through generous donations to benefit
the children of Piedmont? No, I
guess not. Far better to beat the life out of it, water it down beyond
recognition and strip the proponents of any enthusiasm or hope that the project
would ever actually happen. And, just to punctuate the idle,
changeless inclination, let's "what if" it to death
and break the bank with redundant oversight costs. Well, geez..this is
embarrassing. "Sorry, guys. We really wanted to donate this
project to the city of Piedmont,
but we were hoping to accomplish it in our lifetime and frankly, the poor old
horse just can't hold it's mouth open anymore!" Who could
blame them, really? Generosity and patience are fine virtues. But,
if we allow our virtuous attributes to be abused, well, then we just feel like
chumps. So, there you have it. Six years later and...drum roll
please...you still have a dried-up dirt patch on Moraga Avenue. Well done!
Piedmont is beautiful,
relatively safe and nicely located. I've always felt fortunate to live
here. But, as time goes by I'm beginning to wonder about it's
unwillingness to move ahead. Normally, one might say that clinging
to the past is a bad idea, but even Piedmont's
past was more current than it is today! After all,
we used to have a hotel with a hot spring, a bar and restaurant, a railroad and
a swim and tennis club that was up-to-the-minute for the time. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Piedmont
quickly sprang up out of farmland. Now, it takes a decade just to get to the
approval stage of a soccer field! Good Lord.
As parents and grandparents we take steps to remain relevant
to our children and grandchildren. We embrace technology, stay active and
engage in things that interest them. We stay interested and interesting. Couldn't
our city benefit from this same example? Neighboring cities are
paying attention to the things that will keep them current. No surprise that
I've mentioned this before, but it isn't unreasonable to imagine a decline in
young families moving to Piedmont. Potential
new residents are finding that, other than our test scores, Piedmont
comes up short with respect to the offerings available for their
children. We have sports programs but not enough space to
actually do the sports. If memory serves,
another group tried to build a new swimming pool years ago and they too, got
the hem-haw. The result? A fifty year old swim facility today that
hasn't met the requirements of the community in ages.
If the path we're striving for is something similar to
Rossmoor then, bravo! we're on the right track. But, if
the idea is to build upon Piedmont's
reputation as the place to buy a home and raise a
family then, we really are sorely lacking. It isn't enough to rest
on the laurels of a once stellar reputation. Every day, as a community, we have
to demonstrate our relevance. Towns that don't evolve become undesirable.
During the height of the depression, it took just four years
to build the Golden Gate
Bridge. Today,
in Piedmont it takes nine years just to think about a
soccer field?!? Good Lord, guys..even a cow plodding in the
field, with little else to consider but the grass around it, could have been
more effective.
