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2006/12/11 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES December 11, 2006 The Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission met this date at 6:30 p.m. for an adjourned meeting at the Rohnert Park city offices, 6750 Commerce Boulevard, Rohnert Park. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. with Chair Hansen presiding. Roll Call Present: (5) Commissioners Bird, Black, Griffin, Hansen and Stevens Absent: (1) Commissioner Butler Also present for all or part of the meeting was Recreation Services Manager Guy Miller. Manager Miller stated that Commissioner Butler was unable to attend the meeting. Approval of Minutes—Commissioner Black corrected the minutes of November 13th to reflect that the meeting started at 6:30 p.m.,not 7:30. Upon motion by Commissioner Griffin and second by Commissioner Black, the minutes for the meeting of November 13th were unanimously approved with the correction noted above. Unscheduled Public Appearance/Public Comment-None Report from Chair on Presentation to City Council- Chair Hansen reported that his presentation had gone okay,but there had been many other items on the agenda as well as a large crowd attending to comment on other items. He had suggested that it might be a good idea to have a joint council and commission meeting this next year, and council members agreed. He mentioned the Commission is looking for a place for the community garden as well as neighborhood gardens and play areas. Mayor Smith said he was in favor of the neighborhood gardens, and he would like to move in that direction. He also mentioned he didn't want to break up the current gardening community. Dog Monitor Program—Commissioner Black referred to the revised Bark Monitor Training Manual draft that was passed out tonight and explained that most of the changes were grammatical clean-up. She reported she had passed out the draft to some people who might be interested in the monitor program. She had received the revised draft late last night and hasn't been able to review it yet. She will look it over to determine if any other changes need to be made. She advised she knows a graphic artist who is willing to add some characters to the signs and manual to make them more eye-catching. She asked if anyone had questions. Commissioner Stevens asked about a monitor closing the park. Manager Miller said that was probably changed in the revised draft as he had made several changes today to help clean up the first draft.No one had any other questions. Commissioner Black reported she is hoping to meet with Public Safety representatives so they can move ahead with the program. Page 1 of 5 Rohnert Park Parks &Recreation Commission Minutes—December 2006 Manager Miller advised that this program helped generate Item#3 on the agenda, Enforcement of Posted Park Rules. Currently there isn't any way to enforce the rules in the Monitor Program so they need to know what rules can be enforced and what enforcement can be expected from Public Safety. Chair Hansen said he thought there might be two levels of enforcement—the first a warning and the second a citation from Public Safety. Manager Miller suggested moving on to Item#3 so they can discuss the issue further. Chair Hansen said he believes it is important to have a monitoring program that will be friendly to the public and encourages use of the dog parks. Commissioner Black asked if she could get a consensus from the commission that they wished to move forward with the discussions with Public Safety. The commission concurred. Enforcement of Posted Park Rules—Manager Miller stated the rules at the parks have moved forward over the years, and circumstances have required new rules at the parks, including the dog parks. He has researched several cities to see how they handle new rules and referred to the Enforcement of Posted Park Rules Memo dated November 30. (A copy of the memo is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) He reviewed the two methods of enforcement possibilities and explained the memo has been forwarded to the city's legal department for their input. The last discussion he had with them was that they thought the second method would work and would give Public Safety officers the authority to cite people. He stated the Commission needs to decide if they want to take • away privileges of using the park or do they want Public Safety to have the authority to cite someone. Commissioner Bird said he thinks it should be left up to Public Safety so that they have the ability to cite someone. Commissioner Griffin said he believes that Public Safety should have the discretion to cite someone if they feel it is necessary, and it is important to give them the necessary tools. Commissioner Black agreed and said it is important to be able to cite repeat offenders. She thinks the first step is to give Public Safety the tools to enforce the rules. Commissioner Stevens said it would be better to have a general statement to obey the rules rather than have specific regulations. Chair Hansen pointed out that there may already be laws on the books that would cover an incident that the rules might cover— such as vandalism. He wasn't sure if there needed to be specific rules to be cited for. Commissioner Griffin said that according to the memo Public Safety doesn't have that ability now. Manager Miller referred to the dog park rule that dogs must be spayed or neutered and said there isn't an ordinance requiring that so the new method would give Public Safety the ability to enforce the rule, if necessary. Chair Hansen said he doesn't want to make too many new rules. Commissioner Black said she thinks there have been many instances in the last year where a rule may be posted,but there isn't any way for Public Safety to enforce it. This would give them something to work with. Chair Hansen said he believes staff has a general consensus from the Commission that Public Safety should have the ability to issue citations. Manager Miller said that the Page 2 of 5 Rohnert Park Parks &Recreation Commission Minutes—December 2006 wording of the Municipal Code may change,but he will let legal know that he has the general consensus from the Commission. Chair Hansen said he thinks that because there are many different rules in the parks, it might be a good idea to standardize the rules and get some input from the public. Commissioner Black stated when they did the park audits, they found some signs that didn't look like they had been posted by the city. Caterpillar Park and Colegio Vista Park Playground Renovations—Manager Miller said that several months ago the Commission had agreed to a second phase to complete these two park projects. They were removed because the city didn't have the money to complete the projects. In the meantime, city staff has heard from neighbors at Caterpillar Park who wanted to know if the city would remove the two old picnic tables where people were loitering. He had the two old tables removed and received several calls from people in the neighborhood thanking him. He would the Commission to have some dialogue about the second phase, adding a new picnic area at Caterpillar Park,because the neighbors do not want a picnic area. They are afraid the problems that are now gone would move to the new area. In addition,he requested that the Commission reconsider renovating the playground equipment at Colegio Vista Park because there are several parks in the city that have older equipment that needs to be replaced. Commissioner Griffin said he would like to reopen the discussion. He stated that at Honeybee Park one of the playgrounds is completely dismantled, and some of the equipment at the other playground is broken. Commissioner Black reported she had stopped by Caterpillar Park last week, and the park was swarming with kids and families. She talked to several people, and they said the same thing Manager Miller did. They don't want a new picnic area, which she could understand. She suggested repainting the swings at Colegio Vista so they look fresher, and then they can always come back and revisit this renovation in the future. When they were doing the park audits, she realized there are other city parks that need new equipment more than Colegio Vista. She observed that some of the other city parks have equipment that is falling apart. She agreed that Honeybee Park needs updating. Commissioner Bird said he agrees and asked when the audit will be finished since he thinks that would be a good time to look at playground renovations. Manager Miller responded that he is about 90%done with report. Commissioner Stevens said he agrees that equipment should be put where it is needed most. Commissioner Griffin asked if benches have been installed at Caterpillar Park. Manager Miller replied yes, and there haven't been any problems with them. He pointed out that the picnic tables were in a bad location, and in the future if there are requests for picnic tables, they can always be installed. Chair Hansen said the best thing for parks is people, and Caterpillar Park is a good example of that. Page 3 of 5 Rohnert Park Parks &Recreation Commission Minutes—December 2006 The Commission requested that this item be put on their next agenda so they can make a recommendation. January and February 2007 Meeting Dates—Commissioner Black asked if the Commission could reschedule their January meeting to the January 8th instead of the 22n1 because she may be out of town. Several commissioners said they wouldn't be able to attend on the 8th. Following discussion, Commissioner Griffin made a motion to change the regular January and February meeting dates,which fall on city holidays, to January 22 and February 8. Commissioner Bird seconded the motion which was unanimously approved. Committee Reports: Park Audit—Manager Miller said he still needs to audit the city pools which he would like to include in the report. He's aware of the problems at the pools if the commission agrees to the addition. The Commission agreed. Manager Miller said he also wants to add grading the playgrounds and tennis courts to the audit so any improvements could be included on the city's capital improvement projects. He said he may separate those two items out of the park audit report. Chair Hansen asked if the senior center needs to be included in the audit. Manager Miller said he can do that because once city hall moves to its new location, the senior center will be expanded. He stated he will include it in the report. PROS—Commissioner Black said the committee is moving on to the 3f1 phase. Since the stakeholder interviews have been completed, the next phase will be conducting community meetings. The dates will be announced in the Community Voice, which will be determined after the commission's January 22n1 meeting. Matters from Recreation Staff: Playground Renovations—Manager Miller reported that Ladybug and Caterpillar Park renovations are finished. At Sunrise Park, the benches haven't been installed yet. They had to do some major renovations, and Public Works has worked very hard at the park and made some big changes. He reported that the landscaping work has to be finished, and then the benches and swings will be installed after that. He advised the playground dedications were scheduled for December 22 but have been postponed until spring. Monthly Highlights—Manager Miller asked if there were any comments on the highlights report. Commissioner Griffin asked if there had been any problems from soccer tournament. Manager Miller advised he had one complaint from a neighbor who had trash thrown in their yard. Public Works cleaned it up. Commissioner Griffin asked how partnership with SRJC is working. Manager Miller said it is working well, and they are using the community center for some classes. He stated it Page 4 of 5 Rohnert Park Parks &Recreation Commission Minutes—December 2006 started with one class and they will be expanding to four classes next semester. In addition, they are offering some classes at the senior center. Matters from the Commission: Parks &Recreation Commission - Commissioner Griffin asked if any decision had been made about the size of the commission. Manager Miller said they are waiting to find out how many of the commissioners wish to come back in 2007. He advised the City Council isn't going to replace Commissioner Coleman. Golis Park—Commissioner Black reported that the new fenced area at Golis Park is not a dog park. Manager Miller said this is a vegetation mitigation measure for some work done at the creek by the Sonoma County Water Agency. Manager Miller advised they are required to do this. Commissioner Bird asked if there had been any problems with the old tennis court at Golis Park. Commissioner Black said so far the Best Friends Canine Club hasn't moved back there. The one lady who was using it has only been there a few times. She has been unable to come because of some additional surgery,but she is expected back. In addition, the gate has been locked open. She said she hasn't seen anyone using the court for dogs, and the problem seems to be solved. Magnolia Park Pool—Commissioner Stevens asked if anything can be done to market M Pool to make it more popular so it would be used more. Manager Miller said he is still trying to get some trees planted there. He explained the complaints have been that the pool is too windy and sunny. He would like to plant some trees on the west side to help alleviate the problem. He stated he would like to add a slide at the pool like they did at Benicia Park, but he's limited due to cost. Commissioner Stevens asked about water aerobics. Manager Miller said aerobics are offered but not at that pool. ADJOURNMENT—There being no further business before the commission,the meeting adjourned at 7:28 p.m. Chair Hansen Guy er, Recreation Services Manager Seary Page 5 of 5