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2005/04/18 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES April 18, 2005 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 Vice Chair Hansen presiding. ROLL CALL Present: (4) Commissioners Black, Butler, Hansen, and Stevens Absent: (3) Commissioner Bird, Griffin, and Rogers Also present for all or part of the meeting Recreation Services Manager Guy Miller, and Senior Planner, Ron Bendorff. APPROVAL OF MINUTES—Upon motion by Commissioner Black and second by Commissioner Butler, the minutes for the meeting of March 21St were unanimously approved as submitted. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT-None SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT-None OLD BUSINESS Recreation Element of Specific Plan Areas—Commissioner Black thanked Senior Planner Bendorff for answering her questions regarding the specific plan areas. Senior Planner Bendorff said he thought there was some misunderstanding of what the Commission is being asked to approve. He advised he had talked to the assistant city attorney, and she sent a letter which hopefully will help clarify what the Commission is being asked to approve. (A copy of the letter is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Vice Chair Hansen also thanked Mr. Bendorff and passed out a graph that he had prepared showing the housing units and the number of acres required by the City's General Plan. (A copy of the graph is attached to the original copy of these minutes.)Vice Chair Hansen said he noticed in Senior Planner Bendorff s comments that approximately 21 park acres would be required in the University District for the housing units and commercial development, and only 16.46 acres have been proposed. Senior Planner Bendorff explained that the commercial requirement did not make it into the General Plan so there are no requirements for that type development. Vice Chair Hansen said his personal feeling is that he would like the University District plan to be closer to 20 acres of park development which is more than they are presently allocating. Commissioner Stevens said he has noticed a change in location of parks in the future. In the past parks were located near schools and now some are being located near business areas. Senior Planner Bendorff said that in the University District plan they are allowing about an acre for the plaza which could be considered as the requirement for commercial development. Commissioner Black asked for clarification on the parks being proposed in the University District plan, and Senior Planner Bendorff reviewed the proposed parks. Page 1 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes April 18, 2005 Vice Chair Hansen proposed taking a quick vote on the Southeast and Northeast Plans and discussing the University District Plan further. Commissioner Butler made a motion to approve the specific recreation areas in the Southeast and Northeast specific plans as proposed. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Black and unanimously approved. Discussion followed on parkland being proposed in the University District plan area. Senior Planner Bendorff advised that in addition the developer is proposing some smaller private park areas that may only be open to the homeowners in that area and not open to the general public. Commissioner Stevens asked if the city has other private park areas. Manager Miller said yes and gave some examples. Senior Planner Bendorff said private parks will be allowed 40-60% credits since they take the load off other public parks. Vice Chair Hansen asked for clarification that once the plan is approved,the Commission cannot require additional park acreage. Senior Planner Bendorff explained that the Commission is being asked to approve that the parks being proposed in the three specific plans are consistent with the requirements stated in the City's General Plan. He again referred to the assistant city attorney's letter clarifying what the Commission is being asked to approve. Commissioner Stevens asked about school district land and whether any of it will be used for .� recreation uses. Senior Planner Bendorff responded that the area by Creekside Middle School, where the community garden is located,will be developed. The school district has not asked for any additional park space since enrollment is declining. Commissioner Butler said he thinks the parks going in the University Plan will be a draw for future home buyers and that the developer will want to develop them. He said he believes the parks the city is getting will more than offset the city's requirements. Commissioner Black stated she has some questions about the acreage being allowed in the University District plan,but since all the commission is being asked to approve is the general concept of where the parks will be placed, she is prepared to make a recommendation. Manager Miller pointed out that the agenda is misleading and clarified that the Commission is being asked to approve that the parks being proposed in the three specific plans fall within the General Plan requirements. Vice Chair Hansen said he believes the city is being shortchanged in the number of acres being proposed in the University District plan, and he would like to see 3-4 more acres added. Senior Planner Bendorff clarified the Commission in not locking themselves into a certain number of acres, and they will have another opportunity to add more acres when they look at a more specific plan. Commissioner Black made a motion to accept the general placement of parks in the University District plan as being consistent with the requirements in the General Plan,but to reserve the right to come back and discuss in depth the number of park acres and specific elements. Commissioner Butler seconded the motion. Discussion followed, and Commissioner Stevens asked about the number of acres required in the General Plan. Discussion followed, and Commissioner Black asked what can happen if the Page 2 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes April 18, 2005 Commission does not accept the plan without 21 acres. Senior Planner Bendorff said the developer could give raw land and not do any improvements. He explained the city would rather have the park developed and not just receive the raw land so they would rather take fewer acres and have a fully improved park. Commissioner Black asked Van Logan, representing the Northeast Plan, who owns the land not being developed. Mr. Logan talked about the owners and future development of that property. Following the discussion on the motion, the Commission unanimously approved the motion to accept the general placement of parks in the University District reserving the right to revisit the number of acres and specific elements for the parks. Playground Equipment Replacement—Manager Miller stated that there are six city parks where the playground equipment is going to be replaced. He suggested that the Commission set priorities on when the replacement will begin at each park. He asked the Commission how they would like to handle public input on what kind of equipment residents would like in each park. He explained the City Council has already stated they would like to give Ladybug Park first priority. Commissioner Stevens asked if some parks have a higher priority due to playground equipment safety concerns. Manager Miller said there may be,but he does not have that information. Vice Chair Hansen asked if anything further has been done regarding removing the tennis backboard at Sunrise Park. Manager Miller said this has only been discussed at staff level. Commission Black asked if a range of neighbors are notified about the changes. Manager Miller replied there is no Municipal Code which covers this kind of information gathering,but residents living near the parks will be notified. Commissioner Butler mentioned the Ladybug Park neighbors have already been meeting and have discussed park problems. He asked if any city staff had attended those meetings. Manager Miller said the City Senior Engineering Tech had attended one meeting and another meeting has been scheduled that the Commission could attend. Commissioner Black asked if signs will be posted at the specific parks being considered. Manager Miller said yes, and in addition,postcards can be sent to residents living near the parks. Commissioner Black suggested using the city pages in the Community Voice, and Manager Miller agreed that could be done. Manager Miller asked if the Commission wants to handle the information gathering as a public hearing at their regularly scheduled Commission meeting, or would they rather do some outreach meetings in the neighborhoods. He said the preliminary plans are already done and will be presented at the Commission's May meeting. Following that, they could go out to the public before their June meeting. Commissioner Stevens recommended scheduling public hearings for each specific park rather than having people wait at a public hearing for their specific park. Vice Chair Hansen suggested scheduling something at each park on a Saturday morning so that the people who use the park would already be there. Commissioner Black asked if the Commissioners' annual park tour could include the parks where these improvements are being considered. Manager Miller agreed to do that and showed the Commission a typical design board for new playground equipment. Vice Chair Hansen asked if Page 3 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes April 18, 2005 there is any way to put these boards at the parks to allow people using the parks to comment on the plans. The consensus was the boards could easily be vandalized and could be damaged since they aren't weather-proof. Commission Stevens said most parents are happy with most playground equipment as long as it is safe and fun for the kids. He mentioned he has some reservation about scheduling a public hearing at the park on a Saturday morning since many people have already made plans or scheduled family activities. In addition, it could be difficult to hear. Commissioner Butler recommended meeting with the L Section residents since they are already have some meetings planned. Manager Miller suggested scheduling a public hearing and schedule the discussion for the various parks about 20 minutes apart. Commissioner Black said she likes the idea of inviting the public to a Commission meeting for a public hearing so they get an opportunity to see the specific plans for each park. The Commission discussed getting kids involved in the selection of the playground equipment. Commissioner Butler said he would like to attend the next L Section meeting and asked if Manager Miller could get the date for him. Manager Miller agreed and asked if the Commission wanted to pick a date for the public hearing or wait until next month after seeing the vendor's presentation. The Commission agreed to wait. Roberts Lake Dog Park—Recreation Services Manager Miller reported this project has gone out to bid and the bids are due April 21. If the City gets a favorable bid, the project will go to the next City Council meeting, and if approved, construction could begin in June. .� NEW BUSINESS 2005-2006 Capital Improvement Program—Manager Miller explained this is a tool the city has used to identify important projects that cost over$50,000. It is essentially a"wish list."He referred the Commission to page two of the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program Budget which lists the projects completed and those in progress. He briefly commented on the projects that pertain to recreation, including the Sports &Fitness Center Re-roof, Burton Avenue Rec. Center Re-roof and Renovation, Community Center ADA Survey and Internet/Telephone Registration Software. Commissioner Butler asked about the Sports&Fitness Center re-roofing and whether there will be continuity with the materials used on the other buildings in the complex. Manager Miler said that will be taken into consideration and the roofing will be consistent with the other buildings. In addition,the City is considering adding some type of solar panels. Manager Miller also referred to the first page of the Draft for Capital Improvements Plan 2005- 2010 and the items in the Parks and Recreation Section and commented on the purpose for each project. (A copy of the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program Budget is available at the Recreation Department offices.) 2005-06 Budget—Manager Miller explained the 2005-06 budget has been submitted and it is considered a flat budget with no major expense items. The few major expenses that are being considered are being submitted as a separate item-not part of the budget. Those projects include replacement of the heating and air conditioning units at the Community Center and new equipment for the Sports Page 4 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes April 18, 2005 &Fitness Center. He said he will get a complete list to the Commission at their May meeting. He stated that the direct cost to operate the Recreation Department is $780,000 out of a$25,000,000 total city budget. STAFF REPORTS Department Highlights for March—Manager Miller asked if there were any questions on the March Highlights Report or the quarterly reports for the Community Center or Senior Center. Some discussion followed on some items on the Community Center quarterly report. Commissioner Stevens referred to the Highlights Report and asked if there was any feedback on the lifeguard shortage. Manager Miller said theyare getting fewer and fewer students taking the lifeguard certification class. He stated there are more outside jobs available and people can earn more money than they can as a lifeguard. He reported that many previous lifeguards are returning. Commissioner Black asked if there was a time when lifeguards were reimbursed for the fees to take the lifeguard course. Manager Miller said that was only offered one year and it caused some problems. He said the city has recertified some current staff at no cost. COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS Golf Course Committee—Manager Miller reported the last meeting was in March which the Commission discussed at their last meeting. Park Master Plan (PROS)—Vice Chair Hansen reported the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Committee(PROS)has had two meetings. The group is coming together and trying to get familiar with how parks work in Rohnert Park, and Manager Miller has been very helpful. He said he believes in a month the committee will have its scope clearly defined. He said they plan to come up with a plan that the Commission will be very comfortable with. Commissioner Black asked if a chair has been selected. Vice Chair Hansen reported that Dan Blanque is chair and Mike Bird is vice chair. Commissioner Butler referred to an article in the Community Voice which mentioned bringing in an outside consultant and asked what that is about. Vice Chair Hansen replied that all the necessary information and documentation is going to require quite a bit of work, and rather than add extra work to staff, the committee may ask for an outside consultant to do this work. He said this still needs to be discussed by the committee, and they will need to determine how detailed the document is supposed to be. A consultant may be requested if there will not be enough time for the committee members or staff to do all the work required. Commissioner Butler asked about funding for a consultant. Vice Chair Hansen said they will have to request it from the City Council. Commissioner Stevens asked whether communication is being done through the committee chair directly with the City Council and what the Commission's role will be. He asked if the committee will be scheduling public hearings or if it is a working committee for the City Council. Manager Page 5 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes April 18, 2005 Miller responded that the committee is a working committee for the City Council but may have some public meetings. The committee will not be making any decisions but will be making recommendations to the Commission which will be forwarded to the City Council. Vice Chair Hansen said some committee members would like some clarification on the committee's role and agreed to have the chair report to the City Council to get some clarification Manager Miller said the Commission will have access to the information and minutes from the committee. MATTERS FROM/FOR COMMISSIONERS Dog Park Committee Meeting- Commissioner Black said she would like to schedule a meeting of the Dog Park Committee on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. to work on the rules for the new dog park and how they will be enforced. She stated committee members will be contacted as soon as she knows where the meeting will be held. Summer Activity Guide—Commissioner Black thanked staff for their work on the activity guide and complimented them on the new spring/summer guide. Vandalism in the Parks—Commissioner Black asked if any vandals have been caught by the new surveillance camera installed at Golis Park. Manager Miller responded he has a meeting scheduled with Public Works Superintendent Brad Rosaschi in the next few days and will find out at that --� time. Commissioner Stevens asked about the vandalism costs quoted in the newspaper, and Manager Miller said the figures were obtained from City Hall,but may have included the fires that were set at the Ladybug Recreation Building and at the Burton Avenue Recreation Center. He also stated that graffiti removal can be expensive. Metal Strips—Commissioner Stevens referred to a news story about a woman back east who was cycling into a park and injured on a metal strip that had been installed to keep cars out of the park. He stated the woman had won a settlement of$2.5 million because she was paralyzed in the accident. He asked if the City of Rohnert Park uses those strips. Manager Miller responded that he did not think they were used in Rohnert Park. ADJOURNMENT-There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Vice Chair Hansen Guy M. er Recreation Services Manager C-4-ajv\Secrry Page 6