In August, 2009, the Pleasant Hill Recreation and Parks District placed Measure E on the ballot for Pleasant Hill residents and won. The voter-approved $28 million is allocated for building and ground improvements for a new Senior Center, Teen Center, Community Center and Pleasant Oaks Park upgrade along with park restroom upgrades.

Moving forward, candidate applications were taken last January to fill seven seats on the District Bond Oversight Committee. Committee members will review the budget and monitor the expenditures related to construction and upgrades and guarantee that funds are spent in agreement with Measure E. The Committee will also report to the public on a quarterly basis.

On January 28th, seven members were selected to serve on the Committee. The Focus is proud to introduce: Steve Ganguet, Lisa Hagopian, Harold Jeffery, Lily Ng, Marie Simons, Norman VanHole and Leo Vardas.

Steve has been a Pleasant Hill resident for 25 years. His background is in security, and he has experience working with contractors and construction plans; Steve has worked as an arbitrator for the Contra Costa County Fee Arbitration Panel.

Lisa has been a Pleasant Hill resident for 14 years. She currently works for the City of Pleasanton, where her position includes working with the community; she holds a business degree and has project management experience in a Parks and Recreation setting.

Harold has been a Pleasant Hill resident for 11 years. He has led teams of professionals in reviews of contracted government construction projects that had fundraising restrictions.

Lily has been a Pleasant Hill resident since 2008. She is the former Treasurer and current President of the Pleasant Hill Tennis Club. Lily has served in the financial services industry since 1976, including Vice President at J.P. Morgan Chase.

Marie has been a Pleasant Hill resident for over 18 years. She has served as Director of Finance for city government for 21 years with a total of 28 years experience with city government finances. She has been responsible for the issuance and tracking of $750 million of various municipal bonds.

Norman has lived in Pleasant Hill for over 30 years. He served on the Pleasant Hill Planning Commission from 1980 to 1987. He has a knowledge of the engineering and construction business having worked on both private and public projects.

Leo has been a Pleasant Hill resident for over 40 years. He is currently the President of the Pleasant Hill Senior Center’s Club. He is a retired software systems engineer and a business analyst and project manager for major computer consulting firms.

On March 29th, the seven members met as a group for the first time. Harold Jeffrey believes his role in the Committee is “to stand where the average bond payer would be—we get to see the bills and inquire into matters that may appear to be a problem; we can ask for additional information.” The main purpose of the Oversight Committee is to function in an advisory position. “The Public, in some fashion, will learn how the Committee is going to oversee and look after their best interests in this project. Really, it’s a matter of looking for reasonable financial activities that only relate to the Bond project” said Harold.

The design and construction schedule has been approved, with the Senior and Teen Centers to begin first. The Focus and the Oversight Committee will work together to continue to report on the progress and development of Measure E.