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2004/08/16 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES August 16, 2004 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 Carlson presiding. ROLL CALL Present: (5) Commissioners Bird,Butler, Carlson, Griffin, and Rogers Absent: (1) Commissioner Stevens (excused) Also present for the meeting was Recreation Services Manager, Guy Miller, and Interim City Engineer, Darrin Jenkins. APPROVAL OF MINUTES—Upon motion by Commissioner Griffin and second by Commissioner Rogers, the minutes for the meeting of July 19th were unanimously approved as submitted. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT Bonnie Black, 1065 Hawthorne Circle,representing Best Friends Canine Club, submitted 5 new membership forms. She reported for the first time they had a dog-related injury where an owner collided with her own dog and injured her knee. Help was available and she is back at the park. Mrs. Black reported they had tourists visit the club this morning who took pictures. They have also had a lot of teens come out this summer, and Mrs. Black mentioned it has been wonderful to have them. She is still working with Trish King, the Marin County Humane Society Director of Behavior and Training, regarding offering the workshop about understanding your dog's body language. She said it will most likely be scheduled in October. Mrs. Black thanked the commissioners who went on the park tour and visited the proposed dog park. She reported she had contacted the City Manager's office last week regarding the sprinkler problems at Golis Park since they are becoming worse. She has been promised that they will be repaired and the water has been turned off for now to alleviate the standing water problems. OLD BUSINESS Park Tour—Manager Miller recapped the Commission's park tour on July 31st where they visited the Community Center,the Sports &Fitness Center, Robert's Lake and the proposed dog park, and the baseball field at Benicia Park,which was renovated by the Cal Ripken Baseball League. (A copy of the report is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Page 1 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 16, 2004 Commissioner Bird asked if the water had been turned off at B Park since there was standing water on the field. Manager Miller said there had been a problem, which he's been told, has been repaired. Commissioner Griffin said the tour was great, and he appreciated City Engineer, Dan-in Jenkins, coming out with a plan for the proposed dog park. Commissioner Rogers said the tour was very informative and he enjoyed seeing B Park and the renovations to the baseball field. Community Center Truss Repair Update—Manager Miller reported the work to replace the truss has been completed,but the contractor is waiting for the windows to come in. The window frames came in but there was no glass. He advised it would still be another two weeks before the windows arrive, so staff will not be moving back into the front offices until the work has been completed. He stated a large sign will be put on the side of the Community Center to display the state logo and inform the public that the project was paid for using state bond money. Community Center Floor Renovation Update—Manager Miller said this is a project using a Jobs/Housing Balance Grant. He reported the commissioners who went on the park tour were able to see the water damage. He reported he met with the original architect and a representative from Winzler and Kelly, the engineering firm contracted by the city for this project, and they are trying to get the job on the fast track since the window of time the multi-use room has been set aside is limited to October and November. If the job cannot be completed during that time, it will have to be delayed until next year. Discussion followed and Manager Miller advised the floor has been repaired so the room can be used in the interim. Purchase of New Cardio Exercise Equipment for the Sports &Fitness Center Update—Manager Miller reported that the purchase of new cardio equipment was approved by the City Council at their last meeting. The new equipment will include ten new treadmills, four upright stationary bicycles, four recumbent stationary bicycles, and four elliptical exercisers. He advised the city would be using some lease money from a project that was not done. He reported he was just notified that the equipment will be coming this Thursday, and he is scrambling to get the necessary electrical work done. Commissioner Rogers asked about the decorative fountain outside the Sports &Fitness Center and whether there is any money to get it repaired. Manager Miller replied it is being repaired and should be operational by the end of the week. He said the circulation system does work but the spray system had to be repaired. Chair Carlson suggested putting a blurb in the city pages of the Community Voice letting people know about the new equipment. Manager Miller said he had done an article regarding the purchase of the new equipment being approved and he will do another one once everything has been installed. Page 2 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 16, 2004 NEW BUSINESS Change of Proposed Dog Park—Manager Miller suggested that the Commission make a recommendation to the City Council to move the dog park to the new site at Robert's Lake. He explained the Dog Park Committee will be making a report, and he passed around the plan for the new site for the dog park. (A copy of the plan is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Commissioner Griffin made a motion to move the proposed dog park to the west side of the existing fence at Robert's Lake as indicated by the draft plan dated August 16,2004. Commissioner Rogers seconded the motion. Bonnie Black said she is thrilled to have the first actual dog park in Rohnert Park, and the new site makes sense since it is already irrigated and fenced. She mentioned that this site is much smaller than the area the Canine Club is currently using at Golis Park and looks like it will only accommodate 5-10 dogs at one time. She suggested in the future they add to the dog park using the original proposed site. She said she would like to think of this as a great start but encouraged the Commission to think of it as only the beginning or phase 1 of the dog park. Commissioner Rogers asked what percentage of dogs currently meeting at Golis Park are large and what are small. Mrs. Black replied that 70%of the dogs are large, weighing 30 pounds or more. She said the Club doesn't encourage people with smaller dogs to mix with the larger dogs and that they usually use the old tennis court for the smaller dogs. Discussion followed and the Chair asked Commissioner Griffin if he wished to amend his motion. He said he wouldn't amend the motion because he didn't want to jeopardize the project from continuing. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the motion to move the dog park west of the existing fence as indicated on the draft plan dated August 16,2004. Review of Preliminary Dog Park Plans—Guy Miller introduced interim City Engineer,Darrin Jenkins,who had met the commissioners at Robert's Lake during their park tour to review the site for the proposed dog park. Mr. Jenkins reviewed the features in the proposed plan he had drawn up and passed out earlier in the meeting. He pointed out the area designated for smaller dogs on the north side of the park,which would have a separate entry including one that is handicapped accessible. He said the fence would be approximately five feet high and the park would include a drinking fountain with a doggie bowl on a concrete pad. He explained the park runs from approximately 50' to 75' wide and is approximately 425' long. The park will be approximately 2/3 of an acre. Commissioner Griffin asked about the handicapped accessible gate and Mr. Jenkins explained that only one is required and it will be at the north end of the park. Commissioner Griffin also asked about specially marked handicapped parking and Mr. Jenkins said he would have to look into that. Page 3 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 16, 2004 Commissioner Rogers asked about a fountain and dog bowl for the small dog park area. Mr. Jenkins agreed that was a good idea and he would most likely just do a fountain for the dogs. Commissioner Butler asked how safe the backside of the dog park would be from golf balls. Mr. Jenkins said he had looked into that and although a ball could come over the fence once in a while,he doesn't believe it would be a problem. He advised that the fence between the golf course and the dog park is eight feet high. The Commission discussed the possibility of adding a gate on the golf course side of the park so that people could retrieve Frisbees or tennis balls that may inadvertently go over the fence. Mr. Jenkins agreed that it could be considered but pointed out the gate in the small dog park that is near the golf course. Manager Miller said the next step would be to get the costs for the project and asked Mr. Jenkins if he could get these figures. Mr. Jenkins mentioned they had also discussed installing some benches which could possibly be purchased through donations. Mrs. Black said they do have a lot of older people in the Best Friends Canine Club who are unable to stand for a long period of time so having some type of seating would be desirable. Commissioner Griffin asked if Mr. Jenkins could get the costs of the individual items in case they are able to get a variety of donations for the park. The City Engineer agreed to get some cost figures for the project. Commission Vacancy—Manager Miller reported that Commissioner Hotaling submitted her resignation, and he encouraged the commissioners to let anyone who might be interested in being on the Commission know about the vacancy. He stated legal notices advertising the vacancy have been posted. The Commission encouraged Mrs. Black to apply for the vacancy. She responded that she would think about it. STAFF REPORTS Department Highlights—Manager Miller offered to answer any questions the Commission might have about the Department Highlight Report that they received for July. (A copy of the highlight report is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Chair Carlson asked about the summer camps and the declining enrollment, especially in the All Sorts of Sports Camp,which was only averaging 10 participants. Manager Miller responded that staff would be looking at the camps the department offers and referred to a recent article in the Press Democrat about the large number of sport camps being offered in the County. He pointed out one of the advantages of Recreation Department camps is the reasonable cost. Chair Carlson commented that it is nice to see that the Senior Center's lobby is being ,..� refurnished. Page 4 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 16, 2004 Commissioner Bird asked if the Department's camps run at a loss. Manager Miller said that the camps make some money,but that doesn't include the cost of the full-time staff person who oversees the running of the camps. The Commission discussed events offered at the Senior Center,that in addition to making some money,they offer seniors a place to get together. COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS Dog Park—Bonnie Black reported the Dog Park Committee met last month. Since the proposed dog park site may be switched, she asked about the money spent on the original site,the site work done there and whether it would be subtracted from the original amount of money set aside for the park. She said this is important for her to know to know since she will be working on getting donations for the new park. She stated that Rohnert Park currently charges$8 a year for licensing and encouraged the Commission to recommend increasing the fees so that a portion could go to the dog park as well as some to the shelter for fees which could include assistance for spaying and/or neutering. She recommended that the city be more diligent about enforcing the license fees since she has noticed many people who come to G Park do not have a current license, and even though it is not always intentional, it is a loss of potential revenue. Manager Miller said he spoke to the staff person who put the C1P Program together and the dog park was left off the plan in error,but it can be added. Originally there was $16,000 in the CIP fund and he thinks it may have been increased to $25,000. He said he doesn't know if the City Council ever approved the project. Approximately$5,000 was spent on brush removal and he doesn't know how this will affect the new project. He believes it is important to find out how much the project will cost and then proceed from there. Golf Course Committee—Commissioner Griffin reported he attended the last Golf Course Committee meeting. Dick Rudolf from the golf course discussed maintenance problems and reported that attendance is down which is a major concern at all golf courses. Commissioner Bird said one problem that will have to be dealt with is water since the treated wastewater used to irrigate the golf course has been cut back by 25%,which will also affect all city parks. Manager Miller said there may be a silver lining since we need to eliminate the standing water due to the problem with the West Nile virus. Hs said he has discussed this with Mr.Rudolf and learned the golf course has let some ponds go dry and a representative from the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District visits twice a week and makes recommendations. Park Watch/Adopt-A-Park—Commissioner Griffin reported that this committee met before the Commission's Park Tour and looked at different plans and signs to be posted at the parks. Manager Miller said he will have a tentative procedure put together for next month's meeting. Page 5 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 16, 2004 MATTERS FROM/FOR COMMISSIONERS Soccer Development Grant—Commissioner Butler asked about the Soccer Development Grant meeting. Chair Carlson said the meeting is scheduled at the Community Center on Friday,August 27, at 7 p.m. Robert's Lake Bank Erosion—Commissioner Griffin asked if anything had been done or could be done regarding the bank erosion at Robert's Lake. Manager Miller said he will have a report at the next meeting. Workshop for Grant—Chair Carlson asked about the workshop for the Soccer Development Grant that will be held in Oakland tomorrow. She was scheduled to go but won't be able to go now. Manager Miller said he won't be able to attend because he has to be at the Sports&Fitness Center when they deliver the new cardio equipment. Manager Miller said he will present information on the grant at the committee meeting scheduled on August 27 and will contact a representative from Sports City who can give them information on artificial turf about attending the meeting. Commissioner Bird asked the amount of the grant, and Manager Miller said it is a minimum of$75,000 to a maximum of$1,000,000. ADJOURNMENT-There being no further business before the Commission,the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Chair Con Guy er Recreation Services Manager Secretary Page 6