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2005/10/17 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 17, 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 Chair Bird presiding. ROLL CALL Present: (5) Commissioners Bird, Black, Butler, Hansen and Stevens Absent: (2) Commissioner Griffin and Rogers Also present for the meeting was Recreation Services Manager Guy Miller. APPROVAL OF MINUTES—Commissioner Butler requested that the minutes for the September 19`h meeting, page 5, third paragraph under Park Master Plan (PROS) Committee meeting be corrected to read that"...he does believe you should give people a chance to say there isn't a need to use parks."Upon motion by Commissioner Butler and second by Commissioner Hansen, the minutes, with the correction noted above, for the meeting of September 19, 2005, were unanimously approved as submitted. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT -None '\ SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT-None OLD BUSINESS Status of Playground Renovations—Recreation Services Manager Miller reported that he had met with City Council Member Vicki Vidak Martinez, and she told him she will not support the renovations recommended by the Parks &Recreation Commission for Ladybug Park. She is very interested in coming up with a more creative design and something that will challenge children. Manager Miller said he sent a memo to the City Manager to find out when he would like this matter to go to the City Council. Manager Miller said he suggested being allowed some time to meet with Ross Recreation to see about coming up with another design for Ladybug Park. Council Member Vidak Martinez indicated she is looking for something more equitable for the L Section, which is a different way to look at the renovations than the Parks and Recreation Commission had done. She is more interested in looking at a master plan for the entire park which includes the picnic area, sports facilities as well as the playground area. Chair Bird asked if this is something that Ross Recreation can provide. Manager Miller responded that he believes he has a good understanding of what Council Member Vidak Martinez is looking for. She liked the Seed Farm concept that was suggested for Sunrise Park and would like something unique for Ladybug Park. She is very interested in child development and wants to include play equipment that will promote development. He said he believes that the Commission needs to come up with a total concept for the park, not just the play area. Commissioner Butler asked if that would include landscaping of the park or would that be done by the Public Works Department. Manager Miller replied this is the first time parks have been redesigned, and he believes this would come under the Commission's responsibilities. Page 1 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 17, 2005 Commissioner Black asked about Lilac Park and whether they should consider renovation of that. Manager Miller said he believes Council Member Vidak Martinez is looking for a plan for the entire L Section similar to what was done in the C Section, which might be the way to tackle the project. Commissioner Hansen asked if this would come under the Commission's goals. Manager Miller said it could,but it may also come under Capital Improvement Projects for the upcoming year. He said they could consider renovations of the picnic area. Commissioner Black said she doesn't have a problem going back to see if they can do more. She thought they were under more of a budget constraint,but if that isn't an issue, they could look at this again. Commissioner Hansen said he is interested in demographics of this area and whether they have changed since the park was first developed. Manager Miller said he believes that is City Council Member Vidak Martinez's point and they should be looking at the demographics of the area since it may be changing. He said he can get the information for school-aged children from the school district. Chair Bird asked if this will change their recommendations for the other parks. Manager Miller said no. Commissioner Black asked if they could forward their recommendations for the other parks to the City Council? Manager Miller responded they could. Manager Miller pointed out the Commission had recommended some major changes for two of the four parks, and they may need to do that for Ladybug Park. Commissioner Black said the Commission hadn't been looking at the sections but were looking at the needs of the four parks being considered. She didn't think that --� each park renovations had to be equitable by section. Commissioner Butler said he would hate to take anything away from Caterpillar Park since residents had come to the public hearings, and it needs to be renovated. Manager Miller said he didn't believe there was any intent to cut back at the other parks,but more to enhance the plans for Ladybug Park. Commissioner Hansen clarified that the recommendation is to go ahead with the other parks and go back and look at the Ladybug Park plans. Manager Miller said that is his understanding. Chair Bird asked when the plans would go to the City Council. Manager Miller responded it may not be until the first of November, since they have missed the window of construction for this year. Proposed General Plan Clarification/Amendment—Manager Miller said he forwarded Commissioner Hansen's recommendations to the Planning Department and referred to Ron Bendorff's, the Director of Community Development,response which was written after consulting with the city's attorney. (A copy of the memo is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Commissioner Hansen said he had looked at the memo, and the reason he brought this matter up now is because the General Plan is being revised. He said it sounds like the city may not have to go through the General Plan to get the additional fees for condominium conversions but may be able to make another agreement. He thought it had to be an official policy of the city and could not be negotiated. Manager Miller stated there are always some negotiations over parkland and getting it developed and between parkland and in-lieu fees. Commissioner Hansen said his concern is that he doesn't want parkland to be forgotten in the negotiations. Manager Miller said he believes there is a City Council team negotiating with developers and he recommended contacting the City Council to see who to talk to about parkland. Page 2 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 17, 2005 Commissioner Hansen said his understanding was that it was 217 sq.feet of parkland per person and the memo says 200 sq. feet per unit. He asked where the General Plan recommendations stand at this point. Manager Miller recommended checking with Director Bendorff for this information. He pointed out that Director Bendorff s memo states he is willing to bring the condominium conversion fees to the Planning Commission to look at amending the existing ordinance. Commissioner Hansen said he thought the two recommendations were supposed to go to the Planning Commission. Manager Miller said after consulting with the city's legal staff, Director Bendorff was advised that the first recommendation cannot be done legally. He suggested talking directly to Director Bendorff, and Commissioner Hansen said he will talk to both Director Bendorff and the City Council and report back to the Commission next month. NEW BUSINESS Report on Internet Registration Program—Manager Miller said he had hoped to have a demonstration of the department's upcoming internet registration program for the Commission this month,but he was unable to do it tonight. He reported the department is planning to do a soft launch of our aerobics classes in the next activity guide, and if everything goes well, people will be able to register for all activities offered in the spring/summer guide. He stated he is hoping to have the demonstration at the next Commission meeting. He stated the department's goal is to see an increase in registration. Most cities see a 60% conversion to internet registration,but we will wait to see how it goes. Prior to doing internet registration, the department will need valid e-mail addresses for everyone. An announcement is being included in the next activity guide. Commissioner Butler asked if people will be able to register for use of the Sports & Fitness Center on line. Manager Miller advised the city will not have the required module,but he is hoping to be able to be able to allow people to renew their existing memberships on line. Commissioner Black asked whether people will be able to do swim school registration on-line, and Manager Miller said the department will have to look at ways to register on-line for swim classes since children advance during the summer and parents don't always know what class their children will be in. Some discussion followed. Commissioner Goals—Manager Miller mentioned that goals came up at the last Commission meeting. As a result, staff reviewed approximately ten years of Commission goals and noticed how they had transitioned over the years. The goals started out as capital improvement projects and then became more statement type goals. He pointed out one goal had been repeated for over six years. He mentioned that one of the most valuable things this body can give is support for the Recreation Department since the department lost over 30%of its staff. He would like to see the Commission be more proactive and make goals for projects that they can do on their own. He referred to one of the Commission's previous goals which was to "strongly support a better working relationship with the Cotati/Rohnert Park Unified School District." He said he wasn't sure why that was on the list because staff does work with the school district and has a good relationship. He also referred to the list of capital outlay projects and stated the PROS Committee is looking at Page 3 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 17, 2005 the city's Park Master Plan and also has the list of capital improvement projects done by the city each year. He suggested that including an indoor swim pool isn't a realistic goal now because the city doesn't have the funds and it's not a high priority right now. He said if one of the commissioners is interested in this project he would recommend that they research the project. Commissioner Stevens said the last thing he wants to do is to make more work for staff. He knows staff has been cut and he agrees about the big projects. He said the Commission did recommend to the City Council a few years ago not to build another pool in Magnolia Park yet the pool was built anyway. He said he agrees that it is the Commission's responsibility to review the Park Master Plan and the list of capital improvement projects. He explained the school district goal had been included because some school play areas were no longer accessible to the community, yet the schools wanted to use city parks and referred to the fence built in Benicia Park by the school district as an example. Manager Miller encouraged the commissioners to call him whenever they have concerns and it isn't necessary to make this type of item a goal. Commissioner Stevens said he had suggested establishing the park watch program after the shooting at Sunrise Park. He said the program was started but never followed up on, and he believes the adopt-a-park program is a different type of program. He said he would like to go back to staff to see what they think are workable goals that would help support them, and then the Commission will do what they can. He said he believes if the Commission doesn't have any objectives or timeline then the goals won't happen. He would like to see goals where the Commission can be proactive and not reactive, and he believes the Commission needs to be more -� than just a review body. He referred to Commissioner Black's work on establishing a dog park and said it is a good example of a goal that happened due to her perseverance. He suggested coming up with three goals that can be accomplished such as improving and maintaining the park areas in the city. Commissioner Black stated she believes that commissioners can go out on their own and make something happen. She referred to the new dog park and said all she did was set the goal and follow through on it. She referred to the park watch program and said she believes what would gain respect for the program is to go out and see what it would take to accomplish and to find out if it is possible or feasible. For example, the commissioners could go and talk to Public Safety to see if this would be a feasible project. She said one thing she has noticed in the last few years is that Public Works staff has been cut way back and no city staff is able to go around to city parks to monitor the job that True Green is doing. She said this is something that she believes the Commission could do since there are seven commissioners and seven major parks. They could each take a list and check each park and then meet with Brad Rosacchi, the Public Works Department supervisor, to see what they could do to help Public Works staff. For example,what might be done to make the parks safer, which may mean trimming trees. Commissioner Stevens said in the past each commissioner had adopted a park. He referred to the park watch program and stated he had written an article for the newspaper and met with a Public Safety representative regarding safety in the park, but the program just died. Manager Miller said he has had some conversations about the neighborhood watch program which '1 was dropped a few years ago and it is going to be started up again. He suggested the park watch Page 4 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 17, 2005 program could be part of that program. Commissioner Stevens said he just wants kids to be safe in the city's parks, and he would be willing to meet with Public Safety again to see about re-starting the program. He asked if anyone else had any goals to suggest. Manager Miller recommended that the Commission think about any possible goals for 2006, and they can be discussed at their next meeting. He said he is always there to support the Commission, and they are welcome to contact him at any time. He said he would like to see the city's parks audited to see what they have, what needs to be done, and what needs to be repaired. Commissioner Stevens said he agrees and he would like to see the goals written down and forwarded to the City Council so they know that the Commission is being proactive. Manager Miller said he has some goals which he would be happy to share, and if the Commission can help, that would be great. He said they have already discussed another matter tonight which could be a commission goal - evaluating Ladybug Park. Commissioner Black said she would also like to meet with Public Safety to see if there are any problems that may have simple solutions that the Commission could help with. Commissioner Stevens said when he was first on the Commission, they noticed that officers didn't have easy access to the city's parks so they made sure did, including wide paths. He said they may also need to make sure the berms aren't too high to hinder visibility in the parks. STAFF REPORTS Department Highlights for September—Manager Miller reviewed the changes that are being made at the Burton Avenue Recreation Center and said it will look quite different when they are finished. Commissioner Stevens asked about the crafts faire and whether the booster club referred to in the highlights was for both middle schools. Manager Miller said he didn't know because this is Recreation Supervisor Audiss' program. Commissioner Stevens asked about the Free Friday program that the department had sponsored in the past. Manager Miller said staffing had been a major problem for that program, and it was very labor intensive. Commissioner Stevens asked if giving groups a chance to raise money by doing the concessions at the Free Friday program would help. Manager Miller responded that Free Friday had been a huge program that was very labor intensive, and he didn't believe this would alleviate the problem. Chair Bird asked about the cost of natural gas required to heat Honeybee Pool this winter, and Manager Miller said the city may have to help subsidize the swim team,but if the cost of natural gas goes very high,it could cause a problem. The city does have other programs going on at the pool so they couldn't levy the entire cost of heating the pool to the swim team. COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS Park Master Plan (PROS) Committee—Chair Bird reported the committee heard from a gentleman about doing the parks, recreation and open space master plan needs assessment survey which would cost $20,000, and the entire survey would have to be reworded. Due to the cost, the committee is Page 5 • Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 17, 2005 looking at doing the survey themselves. Manager Miller reported one of the committee members found a list of companies that do surveys, and the committee is looking at other ways to get the information. Commissioner Hansen said he had some concerns in the way the presentation would be made. Manager Miller said he is waiting to hear from Pacific Web, a local company that may be able to do the survey. Dog Park—Commissioner Black reported that the new dog park may be a little too successful which is a good problem to have. She reported when she was there yesterday afternoon, there were over 40 dogs at the park. A lot of plastic chairs brought to the park. She stated she only knows of one disagreement which was between two women and Public Safety was called. She stated they are hoping that opening the other two dog parks will help alleviate the overcrowding at the Robert's Lake dog park. She is working on developing a sponsorship program which she will bring to the Commission. Manager Miller reported the Benicia Park dog parked opened today, and a flier will be placed at the dog parks listing all three locations. Golf Oversight Committee—Chair Bird reported the golf course is being maintained pretty well according to people who play golf all of the time. Manager Miller said when the last contract was negotiated, the golf course was relieved of capital improvements for the next five years, but they will still be doing repairs, maintaining the course, and doing some minor capital improvement projects. Commissioner Hansen asked about a concert at the golf course that he heard about on the radio today. Manager Miller said he had signed a sound permit today, and the concert is to raise money -� for hurricane victims,but he doesn't know anything else about it. MATTERS FROM/FOR COMMISSIONERS Holiday Meeting Schedule -Manager Miller advised the City Council usually takes the second meeting in December off and pointed out that the Commission's scheduled meeting date in November falls on Thanksgiving week and in December falls on Christmas week. He said he didn't know how many of the commissioners would be available and whether they want to take any time off. Commissioner Black suggested meeting in November but taking December off. After discussion, Commissioner Black made a motion to keep the scheduled November meeting and reconvene in January for their regular meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hansen and unanimously approved. Staff pointed out that the January and February meeting dates fall on holidays, and in the past the Commission has met on the 4th Mondays of those months. Following discussion Chair Bird made a motion to meet on the 4th Monday in both January and February. Commissioner Hansen seconded the motion which was unanimously approved. Commissioner Rogers - Commissioner Black asked about Commissioner Rogers since he has missed the last 3 or 4 meetings. Manager Miller said he will follow up, and City Council Member Vidak Martinez also said she would check with him. Page 6 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 17, 2005 ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. // Chair Bird Gu iller Recreation Services Manager C4- Secretary Page 7