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2001/08/20 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutesn ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES August 20, 2001 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 Cohen presiding. ROLL CALL Present: (3) Commissioners Carlson, Cohen, and Tatman Absent: (2) Commissioners Griffin and Stevens Also present for the meeting were City Council Member, James J. Reilly, Jr. and Recreation Director, Tim Barry. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE — CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JAMES J. REILLY, JR., LIAISON TO COMMISSION n City Budget Adoption — Director Barry introduced City Council Member Reilly and stated the intent of meeting with the Commission's liaison to the City Council is to talk about some items of interest to the Commission. Council Member Reilly informed the Commission that the City's budget for the fiscal year 2001-02 has been adopted. To help balance the budget, he reported some surplus land that the city owns might be sold, mainly well sites, as residential lots. He briefly mentioned the possibility of Costco building a new facility in Rohnert Park which would help the general reserve funds. Director Barry explained the Recreation Department's goal is to not cut programs. He stated some services have had to be cut back and some program fees may be raised. He said staff may look at reducing some of the hours that the Sports & Fitness Center is open and pool hours may be cut back. Council Member Reilly said it has been a lean couple of years with this year as probably one of the leanest. Commissioner Tatman mentioned the park bond money is not in the capital budget, but the City Council has not discussed it fully. He said some of the projects were in the general fund, but funds are now being provided by using some park bond money. He asked if the Recreation Department might ever get these funds back to use for park projects, and Council Member Reilly said they should never count on getting any money back. He said that if revenues do pick up, the city may be in a better position to do more projects, but he doesn't know if money from park bonds would ever get back into the budget. He advised there are Page 1 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 20, 2001 many recreation projects the City Council would like to do, and they may happen "1 if the money is available. Commissioner Carlson stated the Commission was concerned because the park bond money has to be used for repair projects that need to be done. Council Member Reilly said that community development will affect many projects, and it will all depend on how the community develops economically to see if there is enough money for different projects. He advised the Costco project is still not definite because the Federal Government has not signed off on environmental matters associated with the project. Capital Budget — Director Barry referred the Commission to a spreadsheet he had passed out that covers all city departments and has not been fully discussed with the City Council. He explained it is a five-year plan with project and operating costs. (A copy of the spreadsheet is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) He stated the projects do not include any projects in the general plan. He explained this project list will be reviewed by the City Council and city staff annually to see if any changes are necessary. Council Member Reilly explained he looks at this list as a list of what staff and the commission rates as improvement projects. He pointed out that the City Council has discussed the community field and this project may be developed sooner than some of the other projects. He said it is important to be able to see what the projects look like to help the City Council and '1 the different interested community groups to see what the projects will look like, almost like having a needs list. Director Barry said planning for the community field would be something that the Commission would be active in, and he would contact all city recreation groups to get their input. Council Member Reilly said the community fields may also need to include passive areas. Director Barry clarified that this project list has not been prioritized. He said a point system was used to look at the criteria to determine the priority of the projects. He said some projects would be funded because of some grants that the City qualified for and will be done this year. Skate Park — Chair Cohen said he has just come from the third meeting of the skate park group, and they are in the process of becoming a non-profit organization to help build a skate park. The group will be meeting at the Community Center on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. for anyone who is interested in developing a skate park. Council Member Reilly said it is going to take perseverance to get this project done just like it did with the library. He stated it is down to two sites, one by the Community Center and one by The Vision Teen Center. He said it looks like the site being most recommended now is the one near the Community Center, but both sites have their positives. He said the Community Center is centrally located and is close to the Recreation Department. The other site is near the new library, teen center and Public Safety Page 2 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 20, 2001 Department. He said he thinks the Community Center site would be there longer, but a permanent site would be built later. He said the group really has two projects to concentrate on — the temporary site and the permanent site. He would like to have some smaller skate areas in neighborhood parks for those who are too young to go to the other skate park. He said smaller skate areas don't seem to be part of the current project, and the only thing that they still need to decide is whether or not bikes will be allowed. He said he is looking forward to a park for skaters. Chair Cohen explained the Commission had some concerns including what would happen if The Vision site is developed for only two or three years since it would be difficult to take a park away once they have one. Council Member Reilly said there has been discussion for having projects at both proposed sites, but the Council is hoping to have a temporary skate park that will be available until a permanent park can be built. He said he if the City's plan goes forth, the civic center would be built before the Community Center site would be developed, but much of it would be determined by the economy. Right now he thinks the Community Center site is a little bit ahead as being there on a long-term basis. Chair Cohen asked about using park bond money and their stipulation that any project funded has to be there for ten years. Council Member Reilly said that is something that staff and the City Council would have to look at. He said he would not want to guarantee that the civic center would not be built for ten years. Chair Cohen said that he wanted to emphasize that all the equipment being used at the temporary park can be moved and used at the permanent site, and the only thing that would be left is the concrete pad. Council Member Reilly said the intent would be to build something so that the transition between the temporary and permanent site would be a smooth one. Chair Cohen advised the group is going to circulate a petition to find out which site the community thinks would be the best. Director Barry asked to clarify that the City Council is honing in on the two larger sites. Council Member Reilly said he thinks there are three different projects: (1) a temporary park, (2) a permanent park, and (3) small areas in neighborhood parks that could be used for younger children who might be intimidated by going to a park and skating with older kids. These would be smaller areas the size of a tennis court. He said when building a skate park in one of the city's parks was discussed earlier, it was looked at as a new project and everyone ignored the fact that kids were already using the parks for skating. Director Barry said residents may look at it a lot differently when they learn that a neighborhood park was not the only one in town but a smaller area in more than one city park. He said that how they sell this as a skating area in a park as opposed to a large skate park is an important distinction to make. Commissioner Carlson asked about bikers using the skate park being allowed by the city's insurance carrier. Director Barry said they are looking at this and have Page 3 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 20, 2001 been talking to R.E.M.I.F. which is the city's risk management carrier. He would like to be able to include all three sports but so far bikes are not allowed by the insurance carrier. He said he is hoping this may change in the future. Chair Cohen said there are possibilities still out there to be investigated such as allowing bikes at a different time than the skaters. He said one of the things the community group heard was that the city would provide $25,000 in seed money for this project. Council Member Reilly said the concept has been brought to the City Council, but he is not sure if a dollar figure was agreed upon. He mentioned the possibility of an anonymous donation of $200,000 for this project. The Commission discussed whether the City Council will decide on a site at their September 11 to public hearing, and Council Member Reilly advised if it is on the agenda as an action item, the City Council will probably make a decision but it could be delayed. He said his feeling is that if it is on the agenda as an action item, they will make a decision on a site depending on a recommendation from staff. Director Barry reported as a department head he is in the minority on the site he is recommending. He explained there are other department heads advocating for a different site. Commissioner Tatman asked Council Member Reilly how long he thinks it may take this project if a site is agreed upon. Council Member Reilly said it will depend on how quickly the group can raise the money for the project since this is a significant amount of money to raise. Commissioner Tatman asked if it takes two years for a temporary site, does Council Member Reilly think that we should be working for a permanent site instead. Council Member Reilly replied it could be between 5-10 years before a permanent community park can be built. He said he believes the largest hurdle will be raising the money for the project. Chair Cohen stated he thinks the volunteers are extremely motivated. He advised some are experienced in fund raising, and he thinks they may be able to raise the funds fairly quickly. Director Barry said that with the seed money they may be able to hire an architectural engineer to see how the site can be shielded off from the surrounding areas. The Director asked if Council Member Reilly knew of any projects or items that the Commission might be involved in. Council Member Reilly replied the Commission will be involved the community fields and how they would be designed. He also mentioned the golf courses since Director Barry is the official liaison to CourseCo, the company that is developing the courses. The Commission thanked Council Member Reilly for coming and he thanked them for the work they do for the community. Council Member Reilly left the meeting at 8:35 p.m. -- N Page 4 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 20, 2001 OLD BUSINESS Skate Park Committee — Chair Cohen announced that the volunteer group formed to help get a skate park built in Rohnert Park has selected a name, The Skatepark Coalition of Rohnert Park. He advised they are meeting every Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center. He said they have formed some committees and selected some chair people. One of their projects is for kids to help with the design of the park to show the City Council. He invited anyone who wants to help to contact the Recreation Department or come to a Coalition meeting. He also announced that the City Council is having a public hearing on Tuesday, September 11, to discuss the skate park project. Approval of Minutes — Commissioner Tatman reminded the Commission that the minutes for their meeting of July 161h had not been approved. He made a motion to approve the minutes for that meeting which was seconded by Commissioner Carlson and unanimously approved by the Commission. NEW BUSINESS Creation of Golf Course Committee — Director Barry announced there is now a new golf course operator, CourseCo, out of Petaluma which operates about twelve courses. He said the company has already shown great management skill. He advised he has been assigned as a liaison with CourseCo because the City Council wants to insure that the courses will not be allowed to deteriorate as happened in the past. The Director reported the company has already corrected many problems such as improving the irrigation system and adding other improvements. He advised the CourseCo has set up a new golf council made up of members from the golf course and the community as well as representatives from men's and women's golf groups. Director Barry said he has also been invited to attend. He explained the golf course includes the food shop, pro shop and rooms to rent for receptions. He said this new council will be a valuable tool in helping CourseCo run the golf courses. In addition, the Director advised he would like to set up a Golf Course Committee which would include a couple of members from CourseCo's Golf Council, a couple of commissioners and himself. This committee would not meet as often as the Golf Council but would report to the City Council and City Manager. Commissioner Carlson said she is all for the new committee and does not want to see a repeat of what happened before. She explained she lives on the golf course and is very interested in going forward with this and would like to sit on the committee. Page 5 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes August 20, 2001 the pool will be open. Chair Cohen suggested putting something in the activity guide so people are aware of the policy and also suggested having at least one pool that remains open no matter what the weather is. COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS Senior Center — Commissioner Tatman reported he attended the last Senior Advisory Commission meeting and that City Councilmember Flores had also attended the meeting. Commissioner Tatman said he was very impressed and had told those attending that the Parks and Recreation Commission appreciates the seniors' participation in recreation department activities. C.O. Y.F. — Chair Cohen reported he had attended the last C.O.Y.F. meeting, but they did not discuss anything that pertained to the Recreation Department. Beautification Committee — Director Barry said he will try to set up a committee meeting when Public Works Director, Bill Stephens, can attend. MATTERS FROM/FOR COMMISSIONERS Activity Guide — Director Barry reported the Recreation Department's Fall Activity Guide was direct mailed this last week for the first time in several years. He said staff hopes this will help boost participation in activities. He advised that beginning with the next guide, the brochure will be published three times a year instead of four. Some discussion followed. ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. by Chair Cohen to a regular meeting on Monday, September 17, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers at the Rohnert Park City Hall, 6750 Commerce Boulevard. Chair Cohen Secretary Tim Parry Recreation Page 7