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2006/11/13 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 13, 2006 The Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission met this date at 7:30 p.m. for an adjourned 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: (1) Commissioner Stevens Also present for all or part of the meeting was Recreation Services Manager Guy Miller. Manager Miller announced that Commissioner Stevens had a prior commitment and was unable to attend the meeting. Approval of Minutes—Upon motion by Commissioner Griffin and second by Commissioner Black, the minutes for the meeting of October 16`h were unanimously approved as submitted. Unscheduled Public Appearance/Public Comment-None Proposed Amendment to the Municipal Code—Manager Miller referred to the memo the Commission received in their packet that pertains to Ordinance 423 which requires the Parks and Recreation Commission to have a set of bylaws. He explained no other city commission is required to have bylaws so staff is proposing a change in the wording to fall in line with Municipal Code 17.25.094 which was adopted for the Planning Commission. Commissioner Griffin made a motion to recommend the change of wording to fall in line with other city commissions. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Black and unanimously approved. Manager Miller informed the Commission that he has been handing out the set of rules to all new commissioners and advised the Commission may be required to adopt them as an official set if their recommendation is approved. Commission Goals and Accomplishments for 2006—Chair Hansen said he would like to attend a city council meeting to give a presentation on the Commission's goals and accomplishments for 2006. He encouraged the commissioners to hand in their comments to him or e-mail them so they can be included them in his presentation. He reviewed the accomplishments he had prepared as well as their ongoing projects. Commissioner Black said she feels the Commission has come a long way in educating themselves on the city's municipal code and how to become a better commission. She Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes—November 2006 feels they have matured a lot over the last year, and they are becoming a more effective commission as they learn. Commissioner Griffin asked if it would be appropriate for Commissioner Black to attend as the vice chair and probable incoming chair. Commissioner Black said it isn't necessary, but she would be happy to attend. Manager Miller recommended including the Spay and Neuter Ordinance and Nip and Run Ordinance the Commission had sent to the City Council. In addition, a Community Garden Committee was formed to discuss the future of the garden. Commissioner Butler said he feels they made good progress in going out into the community and meeting with the public to get their input. Commissioner Black said it would be a good idea to mention their involvement with the other satellite committees that the commission has worked on, including the Civic Center, Creeks, Golf Course, and PROS Committees. The Commission agreed this was a good idea. Chair Hansen said he believes this would be a good process to do every year. Manager Miller advised that Chair Hansen is scheduled for a public appearance on the November 28th City Council agenda. Dog Park Monitor Program—Commissioner Black reported committee members met at the Bark Park several weeks ago along with Manager Miller and spent time observing what was going on. They brainstormed on the need for a monitor program and how best to meet that need. She referred to a handout she had prepared of the program proposal. In addition, the committee members agreed it would be a good idea to develop a handbook. She handed out the rough draft which she had prepared. (A copy of the proposal and handbook are attached to the original copy of these minutes.) She explained the committee wants to get input from Public Safety. She suggested the other commissioners review tonight's handouts, and they can discuss the program at their next meeting. Chair Hansen asked if Commissioner Black thought it would be easy to find monitors for the program. Commissioner Black said she didn't think it would be hard,but she wasn't sure of the quality. She has talked to approximately a dozen people who are willing to be volunteer monitors, and they would be top-notch. She said she also has a list of people who had submitted a petition to have the water turned off at the park. She feels they may be good contacts for monitors since they obviously care about the park. Commissioner Bird asked how many monitors she would like, and Commissioner Black said as many as are interested. Commissioner Butler asked if Commissioner Black would be overseeing the program. She said initially,but she would like to see it evolve so that --� someone else can run the program. Manager Miller said they may even want to make this Page 2 of 6 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes—November 2006 /'\ a committee of people who are interested in the dog park. It wouldn't necessarily be a commission committee but could be a committee of dog monitors. Commissioner Black said there are several areas that still need to be worked out, such as how to handle problems with users of the parks,how to handle a bad monitor, etc. Commissioner Butler agreed that it was important to talk to Public Safety members to get their input. Commissioner Bird asked if the monitor program was modeled after any other program, and Commissioner Black said yes. There is a group in Healdsburg that is very good, and Novato and Rincon Valley also have dog monitor programs. Commissioner Black reminded the Commission that this program is key to getting the changes approved to the City's Municipal Code. Matters from Commissioners Park Development Guidelines - Commissioner Griffin reported on a meeting the committee had with Assistant City Manager Schwarz and Planning Director Bendorffto discuss some items the committee would like changed in the City's Municipal Code. It was a very productive meeting, and they were able to move forward on the four requests that they made. The first was what constitutes parkland. Committee members felt if there is a road passing through an area, it shouldn't be considered parkland. Also bike or walking paths shouldn't be considered parkland. The current requirements are ambiguous. The Committee also wanted clarification on water retention or detention areas and whether they should be credited as park areas since they are really for drainage and not parkland. The second concern was they want it to be made very clear about where the boundaries are for parks. They want to maximize the area designated as parkland. Director of Community Development Bendorff proposed changing it to net acreage instead gross acreage. The third concern is when apartment complexes are converted to condos. Currently, there is an exception that if an apartment complex has been there for more than five years, they don't have to provide any parkland when converting. The committee is proposing that exception be eliminated. The fourth request was they were concerned about the process of assessment of property at the time a developer wants credit for an acre of land. The committee wants to make sure there is a mechanism in place of how to go about doing an assessment. They discussed requiring two audits which would balance each other. Chair Hansen said he thought it was a very productive meeting. Committee members provided input to Director Bendorff and are looking forward to some of the changes being sent back to the commission. He reported the assistant city attorney is also working Page 3 of 6 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes—November 2006 on some other changes that will be coming back to the commission. He said he isn't sure when this will be completed,but all the changes will be in one package. Park Audit—Manager Miller reported he is working on this project, and he hopes to have it finished around the first of the year. He's working on compiling all of the data now. Park Sponsorships—Commissioner Black passed out the proposal which she had reprinted. She stated she had met with Manager Miller to discuss the program and referred to memo that she passed out. She offered to answer any questions. Chair Hansen asked if this is something that could be put on the December agenda or did the proposal first need to go to city staff for their comments. Manager Miller said he believes the program still needs to be refined, and there are some questions that still need to be answered. He stated he thinks the Bark Park Monitor Program is close to being ready and suggested it might be more helpful to tackle the sponsorship project after finishing up with the dog monitoring program. Chair Hansen requested that this item be added to the December agenda for any comments. Reduction of Parks and Recreation Commissioners to Five Members—Chair Hansen reported there is an item on tomorrow's city council meeting where they will be discussing the consideration of a proposal to reduce the number of Parks and Recreation Commissioners to five. He asked if there were any comments that the Commission would like him to pass on. He said he likes having more commissioners to get the diversity of more people on the commission. Commissioner Butler asked if the Chair knows why this is being proposed. Chair Hansen responded that the Assistant City Manager said it is partly due to it being hard to get people to stay on the commission and to bring it in line with other commissions that have five members. Manager Miller advised he has a staff report on this item. He passed out the Transmittal Report prepared for tomorrow's city council meeting. (A copy of the report is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Chair Hansen said one of the reasons is the considerable time spent by staff and the council to recruit new members. He suggested having the commission do the recruitment of new members. Commissioner Black said she would encourage the Chair to find out how the change would that impact the PROS Committee if the Commission is reduced since there are 3 Parks and Recreation Commission members on the Committee. The reduction in commissioners would change the quorum requirements, and she feels this would have to be resolved. The Commission discussed the fact that all committees would have to be reduced to two members to avoid having a quorum. Chair Hansen questioned whether the committees would be as effective with only 2 members. Black said she thinks that could be a problem even though she understands the goal of having this commission be in line with all the other city commissions. Commissioner Bird said it may happen through attrition over a period of time. Manager Miller said he would forward their concerns to the assistant city manager tomorrow and invited any of the commissioners to attend the --� meeting. Page 4 of 6 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes—November 2006 Matters from Recreation Staff Update on Callinan Sports &Fitness Center Roof&Equipment Dedication—Manager Miller reported the photo votaic system is still in limbo at this time. It needs to have a UL certification which hasn't been completed. He said all the members have been very happy with the new equipment, and staff is getting ready for the annual membership drive. Update on Playground Renovations—Manager Miller reported that the new equipment at all three playgrounds has been set up and the fall material has been installed. They need to pour some concrete at Ladybug Park. Staff also needs to discuss accessibility for all the playgrounds, and he is working with the City Engineer. He advised they had to get the fall material in right away because people were using the playground at Sunrise Park. Some of the grass and asphalt areas which were damaged by the tractor need to be repaired, and they have to open up the sightline to the playground. The new tennis wall is here but hasn't been installed yet. Weather has stopped work on the project. Manager Miller advised the dedication was set for this Saturday,but it has been delayed until spring so that all the repairs can be completed. The playgrounds all look good,but the parks need to be cleaned up. PROS Committee—Chair Hansen reported the committee has been conducting stakeholder interviews. They have done four so far and they've been incredible. People have been very passionate in trying to help the city and are willing to help move the facilities forward. It's been very encouraging to see that. He stated there are a couple more stakeholder interviews left to be done. Dog Parks—Commissioner Griffin asked if the dog parks will be closed due to the current weather. Manager Miller said yes, and he will need to make a decision about that. The Commission also discussed the white plastic chairs that are at the Rohnert Park Bark Park. Dorotea Park—Commissioner Griffin asked about the cement pad that used to be a tennis wall and wanted to know if there has been a proposal to put in another wall. Manager Miller said no,the audit committee looked at it and decided it wasn't necessary. Playground Equipment Replacements—Commissioner Griffin asked if there is a timeline to replace any other playgrounds. Manager Miller said not yet,but others will probably be included in the Capital Improvement Program which is typically done in February. Those projects will be added to that. Golis Park—Commissioner Black said that the idea of locking the court open at Golis Park has been done about 6 weeks. One of the Best Friend Canine Club members has been using the court and they unlock it for her. They are still using the Golis Park baseball field although the infield has been fenced off. She reported she hasn't seen anyone else using the court and this plan seems to be working. Page 5 of 6 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes—November 2006 Rohnert Park Tennis Club—Commissioner Griffin referred to the packet from the Rohnert Park Tennis Club that was included in their paperwork. Chair Hansen reported they made an in-depth presentation for the PROS Committee. They were very positive about the Magnolia Park tennis courts and said they were willing to help. Golis Park Baseball Field—Commissioner Bird asked about the G Park infield being renovated. Manager Miller replied the baseball infield is being renovated and will be dug up and replaced. Commissioner Black said there is some damage to the outfield that will have to be repaired, and Manager Miller said that area can probably be rolled and repaired. ADJOURNMENT—There being no further business before the commission, the meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Chair Hansen Guy Miller, Recreation Services Manager Secraary • Page 6 of 6