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2006/09/18 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES September 18, 2006 The Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission met this date at 7:30 p.m. for a regular meeting at the Rohnert Park city offices, 6750 Commerce Boulevard, Rohnert Park. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. with Chair Hansen presiding. Roll Call Present: (5) Commissioners Bird, Black, Butler, Griffin, and Hansen Absent: (2) Commissioners Coleman and Stevens Also present for all or part of the meeting Recreation Services Manager Guy Miller, and Director of Community Development, Ron Bendorff. Approval of Minutes—Upon motion by Commissioner Black and second by Commissioner Griffin, the minutes for the meeting of August 21St were unanimously approved as submitted. Unscheduled Public Appearances: Nancy Kaufman, 1427 Georgia Court, said she likes the new improved agendas and asked if recommendations to the City Council would be made on Items#1 & 3. She wasn't sure if comments meant recommendations. Manager Miller said it was a matter of semantics and agreed recommendation is probably a better word. Suzanne Sanders, 5702 Davis Circle spoke in favor of building a city skate park. Ms. Sanders stated a website is going to be launched, and she had contacted Heidi Lemon of the Skate Park Assoc. which helps cities all over the U.S. put in skate parks. Ms. Lemon is going to be in the Bay Area on Oct. 14 and can come to Rohnert Park on the 15th to see what the city may wish to do as well as do a demo. Ms. Sanders asked if she should also be talking to the City Council members, and Chair Hansen suggested she talk to everybody. Commissioner Black said at the last City Council meeting a young man spoke in favor of a skate park and encouraged Ms. Sanders to contact him. Ms. Sanders reported she is going to include a blog on her website to invite people to comment on the skate park. She asked if it would be okay to bring other speakers with her when she comes to the PROS Committee meeting. Manager Miller agreed that would be fine and advised she will be contacted for a stakeholder interview that the committee is conducting. Proposed Revisions to Municipal Code Regarding Park Dedications and Reservations— Chair Hansen introduced Ron Bendorff, Director of Community Development, who reviewed the proposed changes to the Municipal Code listed in his memo of 9/18/06. (A copy of the memo is attached to the original of these minutes.)Director Bendorff asked for comments on the changes. Rohnert Park Parks and.Recreation Commission Minutes September 18, 2006 Commissioner Griffin referred to recent meetings when the commission had looked at the tentative maps presented by developers and asked if the changes to the Code would mean that the commission wouldn't see the plans again if there weren't any changes. Director Bendorff explained that the tentative map would include the size, shape, location of park, and the final map would be to approve park details such as play equipment, benches, etc. Commissioner Black asked if she is correct that these changes would mean the Parks and Recreation Commission would be reporting to the Planning Commission. When she read over the Municipal Code, she didn't find any reference to that and suggested that the Code should be amended to include those responsibilities. She stated she understood that the Commission served in an advisory role to the City Council. She also requested that in the future when code changes are recommended that the current wording also be included to make it is easier to read through. Director Bendorff said he discussed this with the city attorney,but due to the complexities of the code, it was felt it would be better to just give the changes. He apologized for any confusion. Manager Miller said that there seems to be more than one version of the Municipal Code floating around and the numbering is different. Commissioner Black said the numbers on the Code she found on the city's website didn't coincide with the recommended changes in Director Bendorff's memo. Director Bendorff confirmed that if there were any changes proposed between the preliminary and final planning stages, the designs would come back to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Commissioner Black asked about the Commission's role and if they will be reporting to the Planning Commission. Director Bendorff said the Code will be changed, and the plan is to confirm that the Parks&Recreation Commission has reviewed any design plans and then let the Planning Commission know that they had blessed the plans. Director Bendorff confirmed that the Park&Recreation Commission's recommendations would still go to the City Council. Commissioner Butler confirmed that the Park & Recreation Commission's comments would still go to the City Council. The Planning Commission would be made aware of their comments,but the comments would not be changed. Director Bendorff agreed. Chair Hansen asked about making some changes to the subdivision ordinance since he believes some of the wording is confusing. He thinks those changes should be incorporated at the same time as the Municipal Code changes. He referred to page 3, Item c on the attached Ordinance to Director Bendorff s memo and asked if the Commission's comments would be changes or just be passed on to the Council. Director Bendorff said just be passed on. Chair Hansen emphasized he would like to see the subdivision ordinance changed at the same time. He asked to see the changes as soon as possible so the Commission could look at them next month. He requested receipt of the proposed changes at least five days prior to the Commission's next meeting. Director Bendorff asked the Chair if could tell him what changes need to be made, and Chair Hansen replied he will go over the ordinance and get back to him. Page 2 of 8 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes September 18, 2006 Commissioner Black asked if the changes being proposed will mesh with the General Plan. Director Bendorff said the changes won't conflict with the General Plan and will, in fact, clarify it. Chair Hansen commented that he appreciates the changes. Director Bendorff asked if the Commission will be making a motion. Chair Hansen asked for a motion to continue the item until the Commission's next meeting. Commissioner Griffin made motion to continue the item until the Commission's October meeting which Commissioner Black seconded. The motion was unanimously approved. Review of the City's Land Appraisal Process —Director Bendorff explained that this process is a way to determine whether or not land being offered to the city and the credits are equal. He stated that, if necessary, the city would hire an appraiser, and hopefully, their appraisal would come out the same or close to what the developer is saying what the land is worth. If the appraisal isn't agreeable, the city could hire another appraiser. Chair Hansen asked if this has been done recently. The Director responded that the only time the city has used this process is when they have been considering selling some land. He informed the Commission that an appraiser is working with the city now on a property that may be sold, and this process was also used for the stadium. Commissioner Black asked if the appraisal is based on improved land or before any improvements. Director Bendorff said it depends on where the city is in the planning process. He referred to the University District and giving credits on raw land. He said the city tries to do the appraisal as late in the game as possible and may do it when in the final planning stages. Commissioner Griffin asked about the Centreville project because he feels that the city didn't get the full value, and he wants to make sure this doesn't happen again. Director Bendorff said this project was based on using the capital outlay fee, the system used prior to the land appraisal process. Chair Hansen said the value of the land is $300,000 to $400,000,but the developer only paid $62,000. The Director asked where the Chair got the appraisal figures. Chair Hansen said he went on line and looked at several properties in Rohnert Park, and the average was $400,000-450,000 for an acre of land. Director Bendorff said those figures sound high. Commissioner Black asked when and why was the capital outlay fee retired. Director Bendorff said it was in 2003 or 2004 because the fee was considered obsolete and wasn't doing the job. He explained that park improvements will now be taken care of through the subdivision ordinance. Update and Review of Use of Golis Park by Best Friends Canine Club—Manager Miller referred to the memos dated 9/13/06 from Assistant City Manager Dan Schwarz and himself as well as a letter he had received by fax from a member of the Best Friends Canine Club. (Copies of all are attached to the original of these minutes.) He informed the Commission that they are being asked to make a recommendation on this matter. Chair Hansen asked if there were any comments from the audience. Page 3 of 8 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes September 18, 2006 Nancy Kaufmann, 1427 Georgia Court requested that the Commission keep in mind public comments made at earlier meetings. She said she supports those comments. Chair Hansen asked for any other comments. Manager Miller pointed out that his memo gives more information on the schedule for the G Park Off-Leash Area. His recommendation is to maintain the current hours of use and explained that expanding the Club's hours would invite more unauthorized use of the field. Commissioner Black asked to clarify some of the items in the memos. She stated that year round use of the tennis court has been limited to one member because her dog isn't socialized, and she only stays about 20 minutes. The group as a whole only uses the court in the winter or when they have been bumped from the baseball field. If they use the court to evaluate a puppy, it only happens about once a year. She explained the change of hours wasn't intended to increase the hours of Club's use of the court. She said she believes that scheduling of fields and parks should be left up to staff, and club members are fine with that. Commissioner Bird said he agrees and thinks staff knows the best time to schedule facilities. Commissioner Butler said he was concerned about the health issue mentioned in the Assistant City Manager's memo,but if it's only one dog or once a year, he doesn't see that as a problem. He's okay with allowing staff to schedule the court and park. Chair Hansen said he thinks it is important to be a good neighbor,but feels that anyone living near a park needs to recognize there may be barking dogs, and he doesn't see a need to curtail the use of the park by Best Friend's Canine Club. Commissioner Black asked for clarification of what the status quo is, specifically for the court. She is concerned about setting up a situation where Public Safety officers could be called out when they could be doing something else. She stated that the status quo has been that the court has been used for all sorts of activities. Manager Miller said the status quo, in staff's view and what was intended in the memo, is restricting the use of the court to the Club's use from 8:30-9:30 a.m. and only during inclement weather or when the baseball field isn't available. Chair Hansen asked Mr. O'Neill if he was aware of the lady who uses the court each day for 20 minutes. Mr. O'Neill responded that if the dog isn't barking then it isn't a problem. He stated this isn't just a problem for 1 hour a day but from 5:30 a.m. until dark. If the dog isn't barking during that hour,he wouldn't be calling the police. Chair Hansen asked if the Commission could limit the court use to one or two people whose dogs aren't barking. He stated they could limit the court to the status quo, or they could leave it up to staff to allow a minimal use of the court during the year. He said he doesn't think the members of the Canine Club should be punished for other members of the public who are abusing the court. Page 4 of 8 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes September 18, 2006 Commissioner Black said in the past the club has responded to people who have barking dogs by asking them to leave the court, although there will be some occasional dogs barking. She said she has dropped by the park several times during the last month to observe what is going on. She suggested that the city allow the club to use the court and the field at the same scheduled time that they have for the last 8 years, with the exception of the one member being allowed to use the court for 20 minutes a day. Commissioner Griffin made a motion to designate the use of the roller hockey/tennis court as an off-leash dog area from 8:30-9:30 a.m. seven days a week. Commissioner Black seconded the motion. Commissioner Butler clarified that this would mean use of the court only when the field isn't available. The motion was unanimously approved. Commissioner Black asked to address the health issue of so many dogs using the court. She said she would welcome that check and encouraged the city to have public health officials make that determination and how it relates to other risks taken daily. She doesn't feel there is much of a risk,but if the Council feels that there is, she wants to recommend that they have a public health official make that determination. Commissioner Griffin made a motion that the Club's use of the baseball field be extended from 8-10 a.m. Commissioner Black said she would welcome that extension of time but thinks it is important that staff has the flexibility to schedule the field because league registration can change from year to year. Manager Miller said as the motion stands it would conflict with use of the field on Sundays. Commissioner Griffin pointed out that if the field is in use for baseball, the club is off the field anyway. Manager Miller said that he believes the more the field is scheduled for the dog club, it could exacerbate the problems of other people using the field for off-leash dog use. Manager Miller clarified that if there isn't a recommendation for use of the field then the schedule would remain as it is now. Following discussion, the motion died for lack of a second. Commissioner Black recommended that before the sign, referred to the Assistant City Manager's memo, goes up at the field that staff makes sure that the Municipal Code number printed on the sign is correct. Review of Proposed Civic Center Plaza Design—Manager Miller stated that some of the commissioners had attended recent design workshops for the Civic Center Plaza. He explained that the design has been finalized,but he wanted to give the Commission an opportunity to look at it. Commissioner Butler said he was very happy to be part of the planning process. The last meeting held was packed, and he is very happy with the process. He said he does think that this matter should have come to the Parks and Recreation Commission earlier for their input. Manager Miller explained that each city commission had been given the opportunity to have members sit on the committee and be part of the design process. Page 5 of 8 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes September 18, 2006 AB 1234 Ethics Training—Manager Miller pointed out that this training will be held next week at city hall. He isn't sure if there will be a supplemental training session for those unable to attend,but he will find out. Commissioner Griffin said he will be out of town. Review Of Park Incident Report—Manager Miller said that the Commission was presented with this report last month and had requested a month to digest the statistics. Commissioner Black said she knows of at least two incidents where the police were called to the dog park at Robert's Lake. Manager Miller pointed out that Robert's Lake isn't on the report. Commissioner Black asked if the report came with any recommendations, and Manager Miller replied that the report had been provided at the Commission's request and was for their information. Matters from Commissioners and Committee Reports: Golf Course Committee—Commissioner Griffin reported the committee is meeting tomorrow. Park Audit Committee—Commissioner Black said their report needs to be prepared, and she will be moving forward on that. PROS Committee—Chair Hansen reported the committee is moving ahead on the stakeholders' interview process. Another meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, and the stakeholder meetings should begin in the next month or so. Nip and Run Ordinance—Commissioner Black said she attended the last City Council meeting, and staff had recommended going forward with the Nip and Run Ordinance but had some concerns with the spay and neuter ordinance. She had tried to give them some suggestions on how that could be enforced and suggested that dogs that haven't been spayed or neutered could be given tags of a different color. With those suggestions, the Council agreed to invest more staff time to come up some wording that would be acceptable. Most Council members were worried about setting up an ordinance that could cause more nuisance calls to Public Safety. They would like to see how a park monitoring system could be implemented, and she will be meeting with a representative from Healdsburg to see how this kind of system could be set up. Creeks Master Plan—Commissioner Butler said they are still in the early stages, defining stakeholders and how the committee will be organized. Revisions to Municipal Code—Chair Hansen referred to Item#1 on tonight's agenda and said in the future he would like to have recommendations from staff a month in advance so they have some time to think about matters and do their research before making their decision. He said he wants to make sure they do a good job when changing city ordinances, and he would like the standard to be that they have a 2 meeting spread. He asked if this could be on the next agenda for discussion and to see if the Commission would like to move in that direction. He stated they could always opt out if everyone felt comfortable with a matter and could make an immediate decision. He pointed out this Page 6 of 8 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes September 18, 2006 way staff would know that there would be a 2 month standard for making these kinds of recommendations. November and December Meetings—Chair Hansen asked if the Commission could meet on the 2nd Mondays of November and December instead of the ri Mondays due to the holidays. Following discussion, Commissioner Bird made a motion to move the November and December meetings up one week earlier. Commissioner Butler seconded the motion which was unanimously approved. Matters from Recreation Staff: Update on Callinan Sports and Fitness Center Exercise Equipment—Manager Miller reported that there is new exercise equipment at the Sports and Fitness Center, and the old equipment had been donated. There are 24 new pieces of Nautilus equipment on the floor, and staff is busy getting everyone trained. Members are very happy with the new equipment. In addition, the roofing project should be finished next week. The city will be having a dedication ceremony for the new equipment and new roof but have to wait until the roof is finished. Manager Miller said they expect it may be in late October. Update on Community Garden—Manager Miller reminded the Commission that the school district has sold the property where the community garden is located and advised that gardeners have been notified. He contacted district representatives, and they don't have a problem with allowing the garden to continue through the winter. He was told they may be able to continue their use through the spring. He advised he will contact the district again next spring to see if use can continue. Gardeners have been notified of the extended use. He reported that the city had received an offer from someone outside of the city limits and the city's sphere of influence who had some land for a garden,but due to its location, the city is reluctant to accept the space. Some discussion followed. Update on Playground Renovations—Manager Miller reported that renovations were supposed to begin today, and he will be following up with the contractor. The Ladybug Park play equipment has been removed, and new equipment has been delivered to the city's Public Works Department.All park renovations should be finished by the end of October. He advised that staff is looking at other funding sources to finish Caterpillar Park and Colegio Vista. In addition, the city will be looking at other funding sources to update other outdated playground equipment. Time of Commission Meetings—Manager Miller asked if the Park and Recreation Commission would be willing to consider changing the time their meetings begin. He advised this is the only city commission that starts their meetings that late. Discussion followed, and Chair Hansen suggested beginning their meetings at 6:30, if agreeable with the other commissioners. Page 7 of 8 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes September 18, 2006 Commissioner Butler made a motion to change their meetings so they begin at 6:30 p.m., which was seconded by Bird and unanimously approved. Community Garden-Commission Griffin asked if there have been any problems with community gardeners requesting things from city staff. Manager Miller answered yes, and staff has been able to take care of them. Banners-Commissioner Butler asked about the banners he had seen hanging throughout the city. Manager Miller reported that some had been done through the Cultural Arts Commission and some are for the Performing Arts Center. Commissioner Butler said they looked nice. Adjournment-There being no further business before the commission, the meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Chair Hansen Gu -" -r, ec -. '. __rvices Manager - rL , . Secret ry -` Page 8 of 8