Blair Park Revisited: City Still Negotiating with PRFO Over $208,532 in Unpaid Bills

Blair Park is back is the news again.

Piedmont city officials are still negotiating with representatives of the Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization (PRFO) over more than $200,000 in unpaid bills, and a local resident has raised questions about whether those negotiations have violated the Brown Act, California's open government law.

The controversial plan to build a privately financed soccer complex in Blair Park, a city-owned open space on Moraga Avenue, was abandoned last year at the request of PRFO, which cited mounting costs. The organization had earlier agreed to shoulder the costs of consultants' fees and any litigation arising from the plan.

According to articles published Sunday on the Piedmont Civic Association (PCA) website, city officials met with PRFO representatives three times so far this year, on Jan. 31, April 11 and June 17, to discuss $208,532 that the PRFO still owes to the city under its original agreement.

The first meeting was attended by Mayor John Chiang, City Administrator Geoffrey Grote and PRFO representatives Eric Havian, Steven Ellis and Mark Menke, the PCA articles say.

The second meeting included Piedmont City Council member Bob McBain, along with Chiang, Grote and the PRFO's Havian and Menke. (Editor's note: McBain, who was elected to the city council last year, was endorsed during his campaign by more than a dozen PRFO officers and board members, including Havian, Ellis and Menke.)

The third session included Councilmember Margaret Fujioka along with Grote, Havian and Menke.

Together, Chiang, McBain and Fujioka constitute a majority of the city council.

Tim Rood, a current member of the city's Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee (and an unsuccessful candidate for the Piedmont City Council last year) has questioned "whether this series of meetings discussed city business and did it amount to a serial meeting and thus, require public notice under the Brown Act," the PCA articles say.

Under the Public Records Act, Rood requested and received copies of emails relating to those three meetings, the PCA reported.

You may read the complete PCA articles here, along with some earlier articles on the topic.

Unpaid Bills

Although PRFO had agreed to pay all consultants' fees and similar items arising from the soccer field proposal, the organization still owes the city $208,532, according to City Administrator Geoffrey Grote.

That includes (rounded to nearest dollar):

—$90,198 to the legal firm of Lozano Smith for work in connection with the Blair Park EIR.

—$167,247 to the legal firm of Burke, Williams & Sorenson, for the services of Thomas Curry, acting under contract as Piedmont's city attorney, for Blair Park-related work.

—$65,936 to LSA Associates, Inc., an environmental consulting firm.

—$3,150 to Coastland Engineering, acting under contract as Piedmont's city engineers, for services related to Blair Park.

The city has in fact paid these outstanding bills and is seeking reimbursement from PRFO,

The city is not asking PRFO to pay for any city staff time related to the Blair Park proposal, Grote said.

Under its original agreement with the City of Piedmont, the PRFO deposited two amounts with the city: $118,000 to be applied to consultants' fees, preparation of an environmental impact report (EIR) and similar items, and $125,000 to go toward any legal costs arising from litigation over the Blair Park proposal. (See the 2012 article "Report: PRFO Owes the City Over $220,000 in Blair Park Project Costs" for more details of the agreement and deposits.)

The $118,000 was used up relatively early in the city approval process, but bills continued to roll in. Although the agreement called for PRFO to replenish the fund once costs exceeded the original deposit, no further money was deposited by the organization. The PRFO received two notices in January of 2012 to replenish the fund, Grote said.

A portion of the $125,000 legal defense deposit has been used, with $15,000 going to attorneys for the non-profit group Friends of Moraga Canyon, which filed a lawsuit challenging the Blair Park EIR.

Another $15,000 was applied to consultants' fees for a plan to landscape Blair Park in a relatively natural state, which was part of the Friends of Moraga Canyon settlement. 

A total of $95,000 for litigation-related expenses remains on deposit with the city.

"One focus is what to do with the remaining $95,000 and what, if any, additional funds should be paid," Grote told The Piedmonter in an article published last month.

"A final figure is still being determined with talks between PRFO and the city."

"If we demand more than they are willing to pay, we have two choices — let it drop or proceed in arbitration that was included in the indemnity and reimbursement agreement (with PRFO)."

"The City Council will make the final determination of the issue. We should have an announcement in the next several weeks."

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