Cuckoo-Pants!

E. Boyer

I wonder, was Mr. Keating's letter in last week's Post, (Calling Upon 1990's Study For Fields) meant as comedy to compete with the suggestion of public housing in Moraga Canyon?  I can't imagine that, given the FOMC's willingness to die on the cross for the preservation of  those pine trees in Moraga Canyon, they would support a parking lot and corporation yard on the beloved dirt strip.  Mr. Keating is a city council member..did he not get the memo that even though the project was being served up to the city on a silver platter with private donations, it still didn't fly?  Is he also not aware that the city had more money in 1992 when, the study he refers to was conducted, than it does now?  I confess that I'm completely puzzled by Mr. Keating's proposal.  I appreciate his suggestion that we "continue the dialogue," but shouldn't the dialogue at least make sense?  The NIMBYS squashed doing just one project..the sports field. Why would they support doing two..a sports field and re-locating the corporation yard?  What part of this six-year process would make anyone believe that a parking lot and a corporation yard would be more appealing than a sports field?  Heck, why stop there?  Why not add to this plan, a clover-leaf  on Moraga Avenue and a 7-Eleven?  Or, how 'bout if we permanently move Havens to Emeryville and use the current Havens site for a play-field/casino combo?  The casino would provide much needed tax revenue. You know, Piedmont would be the darling of the East Bay if we threw in a pit bull rescue center..maybe on one of the middle school basketball courts. And, a Larry Flynt's Hustler Club Revue at the Center for The Arts would be the perfect fundraiser to top it all off.

For Pete's sake, guys. According to the standard for the State of California, Piedmont is deficient in sports fields and has been for more than 25 years.  In response, groups with good intentions volunteer to spend years trying to find  solutions only to have them whittled down or eliminated.  For a city council member to offer up such a suggestion is offensive to all those who worked so hard toward a real solution to this particular issue for the past six years.  Good Lord.

It's lazy to complain about an idea without offering an alternative and I figure mine can't be any more cuckoo-pants than the one proposed by Mr. Keating.  My thought?  Go up!  Berkeley City College is a great example of what can be done in a small space on six floors.  The design of Piedmont's middle school is a sprawling disaster and the high school isn't much better.  Little doubt that between Messrs. Becker and Ball, a thoughtful and efficient "upward" design exists that would free-up the much needed space for more sports fields, etc. Imagine that..adequate facilities right on school property.  What a novelty.  C'mon, guys..that'd be way better than the 7-Eleven-Casino-Cloverleaf combo...

The Poor Old Horse

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.