August 26, 2022
On Monday, August 15th, the Piedmont City Council, in partnership with the Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization (PRFO), approved the launch of a capital campaign to privately raise up to $2,000,000 to fund the completion of the Piedmont Community Pool project. PRFO is a 501(c)3 organization that works to encourage and actively support the development and/or improvement of public recreational facilities that serve the Piedmont Community. The City and PRFO have successfully partnered on similar fundraising efforts for Hampton Park and the Corey Reich Tennis Center.
The Piedmont Community Pool has been home to countless aquatic enthusiasts for over 60 years. Originally run by a private club, the city took over operations in 2011. Because of the age and condition of the facility, the City has been planning for several years to construct a replacement facility, which will better meet the community’s needs. This planning began with a conceptual master plan approved by the Council after robust community input in 2016-17. Work continued with the November 2020 passage of Measure UU by the voters of Piedmont, which authorized the sale of bonds to provide the bulk of the funding for the project. Work has continued since then, with the Council selecting ELS Architecture and Urban Design in October of 2021 to design the facility, and many public meetings to gather input and improve the design of the pool. On August 15, 2022, Council approved putting the pool project out to bid.
Unfortunately, due to extreme construction extreme inflationary pressures, the original cost projections are no longer realistic and the design was revised significantly in spring 2022 to bring down the cost of the project. Despite these extensive alterations, several of the key elements of the project will not be funded without contributions from private sources. A gap of approximately $2,000,000 exists between the available bond funding and the projected cost of completing the facility.
“The City Council is grateful to the voters of Piedmont for approving the bonds to fund the project,” said Mayor Teddy Gray King. “The Council has worked tirelessly with the project team, the Pool Advisory Committee, and the community to optimize a revised design that will make Piedmont proud, both in terms of the facility and its environmental impact. As envisioned, the Piedmont Community Pool will be a recreation hub in the center of town that will bring all segments of our community together. The City is grateful to PRFO for its support to help bring this remarkable project across the finish line.”
“In the midst of uncertainty and extreme hyperinflation, the project team, the City Council, and the community have stayed the course to ensure that this facility is what Piedmont needs,” said City Administrator Sara Lillevand. “We are pleased to partner again with PRFO for this worthy cause.”
“PRFO is proud to build upon the success of our two previous partnerships with the City, which raised $850,000 for the Hampton Park project and $435,000 for the Corey Reich Tennis Center,” said PRFO President Steve Collins. “The overwhelming success of these two projects and incredible support from the community make me very optimistic that the Piedmont community will again demonstrate its support to improve and sustain local recreation facilities for generations to come.”
To learn more about the Piedmont Community Pool Project and to help champion it, visit https://prfo.org.
Contacts:
John O. Tulloch
City of Piedmont
(510) 420-3040
Eric Havian
PRFO
Erichavian@gmail.com
