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2005/01/24 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES January 24, 2005 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 Carlson presiding. OATH OF OFFICE—Recreation Services Manager Miller administered the Oath of Office for Commissioners Bird, Black, Hansen, and Rogers. ROLL CALL Present: (4) Commissioners Bird,Black, Hansen, and Rogers Absent: (3) Commissioners Butler, Griffin and Stevens Also present for the meeting was Recreation Services Manager, Guy Miller. SELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR Selection of Chair- Commissioner Hansen nominated Commissioner Bird for Chair. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Black. There being no further nominations, the motion was unanimously approved. Selection of Vice Chair—Commissioner Black nominated Commissioner Hansen as Vice Chair. The nomination was seconded by Commissioner Bird. There being no further nominations,the motion was unanimously approved. APPROVAL OF MINUTES—Upon motion by Commissioner Hansen and second by Commissioner Bird, the minutes for the meeting of December 20th were unanimously approved as submitted. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT-None SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT-None OLD BUSINESS Recreation Element of Specific Plan Area and Date of Site Tours—Recreation Services Manager Miller asked if the Commission had any suggested dates for the touring the three specific plan areas being considered for development. He advised that Senior Planner Ron Bendorff is available on February 5 or 26. The consensus was to tentatively schedule the tour on Saturday, February 26. Manager Miller said he would notify the commissioners who are absent. The commissioners who were present agreed that they would like to schedule the tour even if the entire commission was unable to attend. They agreed to meet at the Community Center at 10 a.m. on February 26, rain or shine. Page 1 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes January 24, 2004 Roberts Lake Dog Park—Manager Miller updated the Commission on plans for the new dog park at Roberts Lake and said that the request for bids should go out in the next couple of weeks. Commissioner Black asked when construction would begin, and Manager Miller said he thought the project should begin in April. He stated he will have a report at the Commission's next meeting. NEW BUSINESS Recreation and Parks Master Plan—Manager Miller reported he submitted the three names from the Commission's Master Plan Committee to the City Manager, and the City Council combined the Community Fields and Park Master Plan Committees into one committee, which will include the three Parks and Recreation Commissioners, two Planning Commissioners and seven citizens. A notice of the openings has been posted and those who had earlier expressed an interest are being polled to see if they are still interested. Manager Miller pointed out they will not be able to have four commissioners on the committee due to the Brown Act rules. Since Bonnie Black, who was an ad-hoc member of the Park Master Plan Committee, is now a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, she will not be able to be a member of the new committee. Chair Bird asked if it was correct that Manager Miller will not be on the committee,but he can be an advisor. Manager Miller said he believes city staff will be able to serve in an advisory role,but he doesn't know if he will be part of the staff support. -� Chair Bird asked if the Parks and Recreation Commission would be the lead commission for the new committee. Manager Miller responded that was discussed by the City Council, and they did stipulate that the Commission will be the lead commission on the project. Commissioner Black asked for clarification on whether this committee will be guided by the Brown Act., and Manager Miller responded that the City Attorney has stated that the Committee will be guided by the Brown Act. Commissioner Black said she would like some clarification on the exact responsibilities of this committee and wanted to know if the Commission could ask the City Council for clarification. Manager Miller confirmed that they could. Discussion followed, and Commissioner Hansen said he was very pleased that the City Council set up the committee and gave the Commission the responsibility for this project. Set Date for Aquatics Committee Meeting—Manager Miller advised he would like to set the committees before scheduling an Aquatics Committee meeting since the Aquatics Committee usually meets each year to discuss the upcoming schedule and fees, as well as review the last year. The Commission agreed to table this item until the committees have been set for 2005. Annual Field Use Meeting and School District Representation - Manager Miller relayed some of the history of the school district taking over the maintenance contract for all school owned fields. He said the district was invited to attend the annual field use meeting this Page 2 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes January 24, 2004 year since, in addition to scheduling city fields, the Recreation Department schedules use for school fields, except Rancho Cotate High School fields and the Mountain Shadows Middle School football field. He reported a district representative did come to the meeting which was very helpful. District and league representatives were able to have some good discussions and make some compromises. The youth leagues agreed that school fields will not be used from November 1 until March 1. Manager Miller reported the joint use agreement between the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District and the City of Rohnert Park has now been forwarded to the City Council for their approval. Manager Miller said the agreement will be for a one year term, and he will bring a copy to the next Commission meeting. Chair Bird asked if the school district wants to continue maintaining their own facilities, and Manager Miller said he wasn't sure,but he believes they are agreeable to continuing the current policy. He advised there are all new people at the district office, and there isn't any written history of why the change was made. Commissioner Hansen asked if there has been any news on the all-weather field at Benicia Park. Manager Miller stated he heard from the State, and they requested more information on the project. He said the State allows the City to continue with the application as long as the City complies with CEQUA. He said he has a deadline of mid- February to work on getting the data requested. Discussion continued, and Manager Miller reported the State informed him that they need a further breakdown of the cost analysis. He was able to get the necessary information from the company that installs artificial turf. Vandalism in the Parks—Manager Miller informed the Commission that Public Works is installing a motion detector at Golis Park to help deter crime and vandalism. He advised this is being done as a test to see how it works, and he will report back to the Commission. Commissioner Black said she noticed there were a lot of groves of redwood trees at G Park that had never been trimmed up to allow better visibility from the street, and members of the Best Friends Canine Club have noticed a lot of trash under the untrimmed trees. She noted that it looks like the trimming was about 2/3 done. Commissioner Rogers asked where the majority of the vandalism occurs at the park, and Commissioner Black said she has observed most of the problems are in the parking lot and the concession stand area. She said there is a lot of trash near the Gaspar Court trees. Manager Miller said he will follow up with the Public Works superintendent about trimming the rest of the trees, as well as checking other city parks. Chair Bird asked who trimmed the hedge at Honeybee Park. He said he noticed it was much shorter, and he thinks it will help vandalism problems around the concession stand. Manager Miller stated the trimming was most likely done by the Public Works Department. Page 3 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes January 24, 2004 California Parks &Recreation Society (CPRS) Community Appreciation Awards and Installation Banquet—Manager Miller informed the Commission that the recipients for this event are typically selected by staff,but he would love the Commission to become involved in selecting the volunteers to be honored from the community. He stated that this year's selection is George Duchemin who, in addition to other volunteering in the community, started the Avenue of the Flags at the Community Center. Manager Miller announced the banquet will be held on February 26 in Vacaville, and he will be attending with Mr. Duchemin. He invited the commissioners to attend and advised they would need to R.S.V.P.by February 14. He stated a slide show that focuses on the different community volunteers is the highlight of the evening and encouraged the Commission to attend. Committee Assignments—Commissioner Rogers asked about the status of the Adopt-A-Park Program and how they can help with vandalism in the parks. Manager Miller said the program is still in the planning stages, and he has been working on the agreement pertaining to youth volunteers. He stated the program is not designed to cover security in the parks although it could be added. He said the program is being set up to care for city parks that are not currently being cleaned by Rohnert Park Services, and he doesn't recommend changing that. He mentioned that the program could be used to paint out vandalism,but the Commission would have to make a decision about that. Commissioner Rogers asked about including the tree trimming discussed earlier and suggested volunteers could do this. Manager Miller said the trimming has been overseen by the --� Public Works Department,but there are thousands of trees in the city. He said he would discuss this with Public Works to see how this could be handled. Commissioner Rogers asked about playground improvements, and Manger Miller said some parks are ear-marked for playground equipment replacement, and he will be bringing this to the Commission in the next few months. He said many parks need to have some equipment replaced. Commissioner Black asked if all the committees are still necessary, and Chair Bird asked about the Bicycle Committee liaison. Manager Miller replied that he thinks it is important to continue having a liaison for this committee. He said he spoke to the staff representative for the committee, and he was told they do not have regularly scheduled meetings. Due to the absence of three commissioners,Manager Miller suggested tabling the committee selections except for the Park Master Plan Committee. Commissioner Black said she is willing to stay as the alternate as long as the other members are interested in remaining on the committee since this committee will be very active in the next few years. All three current members of the committee stated they are very interested in staying on the committee. The Commission agreed to table the other committee selections until next month. Commissioner Black mentioned that if any of the other commissioners would like to step down on the Aquatics Committee, she would be interested in sitting on that committee Page 4 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes January 24, 2004 since she has some experience with being active on the local swim club. Manager Miller said he will contact current members to set up an Aquatics Committee meeting. Some discussion followed. STAFF REPORTS Department Highlights for December—Chair Bird asked about the Community Garden item and the use of CCA treated wood in the garden. Manager Miller responded that this is wood that has been treated with arsenic so it will not break down as quickly and advised that the results of the tests should be received in the next week. He said at a minimum the stakes around each plot will have to be removed, and they may have to auger approximately 6"around the posts. He explained the wood is easily identifiable since it has a green tint. Approximately 3 gardeners have also used the treated wood which will have to be replaced. Commissioner Hansen said he noticed that the Commission doesn't have a liaison with the community garden. Manager Miller explained that Wendy Audiss is a staff liaison to the garden's board of directors. Commissioner Hansen asked if there is any way the Commission can find out what is going on with the garden, and Manager Miller responded he is sure they could have a liaison to the Community Garden if they wished. The Commission agreed to discuss this next month when they determine their committee assignments. The Commission also discussed the item regarding retaining staff at the Sports &Fitness Center. Manager Miller said one of the problems is that the positions available at the Center come with low wages and no benefits so they have a high turnover of staff. In addition,part-time staff is not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. Manager Miller said this is an ongoing challenge. Commissioner Hansen asked about training part- time employees. Manger Miller explained staff is mostly trained on the job and usually works along side a full-time employee, although there are times when they may be on their own before being fully trained. He stated part-time employees probably need 4-5 hours of training which is probably less than at the Community Center since everything there is written down. Senior Center Quarterly Report—Chair Bird asked Commissioner Hansen if he has attended a Senior Advisory Commission meeting yet. Commissioner Hansen replied he had been to one meeting and was impressed with how well it was run and had been welcomed by the Commission. He said the meeting lasted about an hour, and he was interested to find out how many volunteers they have at the Senior Center. He informed the Senior Advisory Commission that the Parks Master Plan&Community Fields Citizen Advisory Committee is being formed and the city is looking for citizens interested in serving. After the meeting one of the commissioners did get an application from him. Commissioner Hansen reported the Senior Center is limited by space and would like to be able to expand into the area used by the Finance Department. Manager Miller said that could happen if a new city hall is built. Page 5 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes January 24, 2004 COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS Dog Park Committee-Commissioner Black reported the Best Friends Canine Club has six new membership applications pending and only had one locked gate incident during the month. They are hoping that this problem has been resolved. She reported that fewer people have been attending each day because of problems with mud and rainy weather. Commissioner Rogers asked how the lock problem was resolved. Commissioner Black responded that the problem was discussed at the Recreation Department's Field Use meeting, and it was made clear that locking the gate is not acceptable. It hasn't happened since then. Park Master Plan Committee-Chair Bird reported the committee had a meeting, and they were able to see some master plan reports from other cities. He mentioned that due to their complexity, it is hard to believe this committee would be able to write a master plan. Golf Course Committee-Chair Bird reported at the last Golf Course Committee meting he got the idea that the management company for the golf courses wants more money. Manager Miller advised there are a couple of issues. He stated that CourseCo is doing all right, and the number of rounds played is increasing each year,but they are not meeting their fiscal projections. Their approach is that the City and CourseCo are in this together, and both need to be successful. -� MATTERS FROM/FOR COMMISSIONERS Rohnert Park Swim Team -Commissioner Black said she had heard a rumor that the Rohnert Park Swim Team lost their swimming facilities at Sonoma State University, and they are going to be using the Honeybee Park pool. Manager Miller reported that the city was approached two weeks ago because SSU doesn't intend to renew the swim team's lease. The swim team requested the use of a city pool beginning January 31St. The result is they will be renting Honeybee Pool, and since state law requires that a lifeguard be on duty, they will be paying the cost of lifeguards and keeping the pool open year round. He explained that he doesn't have the cost figures since it has been awhile since the pool has been open year round. He estimates it will cost approximately$18,000 per year, and the lease must be ratified by the City Council. He advised the swim team will be sharing the pool with the Rancho Cotate High School swim team and will be sharing the costs. He stated the lease will help the City be able to keep the pool open year round for the public, and the contract will be reevaluated at the end of the year. City Council Liaison-Commissioner Black asked about the e Parks and Recreation Commission's role and a reference to a City Council liaison,which she doesn't remember seeing in the last several years. She said she thinks the Commission has been overlooked in the last several years and thinks having a Council liaison could be a good way to keep them abreast of important issues. She said she would like to do whatever possible to get this information. Manager Miller said he looked at the City Council liaison appointments and did not see one appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission. He said he can Page 6 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes January 24, 2004 follow up with the City Manager about approaching the Council about this matter. Discussion followed on what was done in the past, and Commissioner Black suggested that a Commission representative attend City Council meetings. Commissioner Hansen suggested requesting comments from the City Council on what they would like from the Commission. Manager Miller said that he believes it would be more effective if the commissioners contacted the City Council members directly rather than have a staff member contact them. Park Requirements—Commissioner Hansen said he would like some clarification on park requirements, as well as traffic and environment requirements, in the General Plan. He stated he had spoken to Vice Mayor Vicki Vidak-Martinez, and she suggested inviting Senior Planner Bendorff to a commission meeting to get clarification on these questions because he is very knowledgeable on the General Plan. Commissioner Hansen said he would like to do that since they need to move ahead on the Parks Master Plan. Manager Miller said when they meet for the specific plan tour on February 26th, it would be a good time to ask questions. He can also ask Senior Planner Bendorff to come to a regular commission meeting. Commissioner Hansen said he had looked through the General Plan and the different terms used and had made copies if any of the commissioners would like them. He said it is carefully defined on what is considered open space so they can make sure that what the developers are proposing falls within the General Plan. Commissioner Black requested a copy. Chair Bird asked about a timeline for the Park Master Plan, and Manager Miller said he had spoken with Senior Planner Bendorff and was told it should be completed in the next several months. He suggested it would be best if they could come up with a recommendation in the next couple of meetings. Chair Bird asked about inviting a planning commissioner at the meeting, and Manager Miller recommended asking Senior Planner Bendorff to their February 28th Commission meeting or on their February 26th tour. Commissioner Black said she believe that most commissioners will be more likely to attend the regular meeting and recommended that Senior Planner Bendorff be invited to the February 28th meeting. Manager Miller said he will contact Mr. Bendorff. ADJOURNMENT -There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned ;t 9:05 p.m. Chair Bi d Guy Mill- Recreation Services Manager `- -)dt-- Seeccrreettary U Page 7