Temporary closure tied to major public safety upgrade
City Hall will be closed on Thursday, September 4 while PG&E replaces an outdated electrical transformer as part of the City’s 9-1-1 Dispatch Center replacement project. The planned power outage supports a critical milestone for the new dispatch center –Piedmont’s most important public safety investment in decades.
Replacing the obsolete, undersized transformer will allow the Police Department to connect to a new, independent electrical system and backup generator, ensuring continuous operations during outages. This milestone, known as “energization,” is critical for the project, which began during summer 2024.
City Hall services unavailable during outage; no interruption to public safety
On Thursday, September 4:
- Public safety services will continue uninterrupted. Police, Fire, and Dispatch functions will be powered by generator.
- City Hall will be closed. Services typically received at the Planning, Building, and Public Works permit counter or the City Clerk counter will not be available by phone or email.
- Power will also be out at 801 Magnolia, Veterans Hall, and the tot lot bathroom in Piedmont Park.
- Recreation Department offices at 385 Hillside Avenue will remain open.
- KCOM will be off the air during the outage. The online meeting video archive will remain available.
- City Hall services will resume on Friday, September 5.
PPD lobby 
The dispatch work station
Dispatch center replacement: A lasting investment in community safety
Dispatch functions as the nerve center for the City of Piedmont’s public safety response, fielding more than 13,000 calls each year for Police and Fire services. The old facility was severely undersized, unable to accommodate modern technologies, and located in an area that had not been seismically retrofitted, posing a risk to continued operations in a catastrophic event.
The new dispatch center will:
- Provide a much larger, seismically safe space
- Feature state-of-the-art call answering equipment that improves cell phone location accuracy and offers real-time, on-screen translation in multiple languages• Allow dispatchers to continuously monitor automated license plate readers and public safety cameras via large, wall-mounted screens
- Support next-generation 9-1-1 capabilities and future technology investments
The electrical upgrade will provide the Police Department with an independent, reliable source of power and a backup generator, while allowing City Hall and 801 Magnolia to remain operational during future outages using the old, shared backup generator.
Once energized, next steps for the dispatch center project will include installing servers, cabling, and related equipment in the new Police Department IT room, configuring new networking and telecommunications infrastructure, and installing the next-generation dispatch workstations. A phased transition from the temporary dispatch center to the new facility is expected later this year.
Concurrent with the physical space improvements, the City recently augmented dispatch staffing for the first time since 1978. Two new dispatcher positions were added last year, a staffing increase made possible by the March 2024 passage of Measure F.
Photos courtesy of the City of Piedmont