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2003/12/15 Parks and Recreation Commission MinutesROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES December 15, 2003 The Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission met this date at 7:30 p.m. for a regularly scheduled 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 Stevens presiding. ROLL CALL Present: (4) Commissioners Butler, Carlson, Rogers, and Stevens Absent:. (2) Commissioners Griffin and Hotaling Late: (1) Commissioner Bird Also present for the meeting was Finance Director, Sandy Lipitz and Recreation Services Manager, Guy Miller. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — Upon motion by Commissioner Rogers and second by Commissioner Carlson, the minutes for the meeting of November 17th were unanimously approved as submitted. Chair Stevens stated he had a correction on page 3, paragraph 4, of the December 1 St Workshop Minutes regarding his suggestion for renaming the Parks and Recreation Commission. He said his suggestion was to rename the Commission, the Recreation and Community Services Commission. Upon motion by Commissioner Rogers and second by Commission Butler, the minutes for the workshop meeting of December 1 St were unanimously approved with the above correction. POSTING OF MEETING AGENDA — Chair Stevens asked staff where the meeting agendas are posted. Staff responded that they are posted at the Community Center, City Hall, Public Safety, and Senior Center as well as on the City's web site, www,rpcitYorg. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCEIPUBLIC COMMENT Bonnie Black, 1065 Hawthorne, Best Friends Canine Club, thanked Commissioner Griffin for taking time to come to Golis Park a couple of weeks ago while the club was meeting. Mrs. Black reported she was interviewed by Jud Snyder for a recent newspaper article in the Community Voice. She said she tried to make it clear that the Best Friends Canine Club has the only time when dogs are permitted to run off -leash at G Park. As a result of the article she received 17 calls. Page 1 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes December 15, 2003 Mrs. Black turned in twelve more club sign-up sheets and stated she is holding eleven forms waiting for licensing. She reported the Club even has one family coming from Windsor. She stated there is still evidence of people using the park when the club isn't there. The club has two waste bag sites at the park which they refill every day. They also have two members who patrol the park every morning. She reported she was contacted by Winzler and Kelley Engineering Consultants regarding the design of the dog park at Robert's Lake. A CourseCo representative, who was very helpful finding some plans for a dog park that had been filed by the previous golf course contractor, also contacted her. She referred to the city's alcohol ordinance and brought a grocery bag of alcohol bottles and cans (many still had alcohol still in them) that club members had picked up at the park that day, which she said is typical each day. She stated she does not think the ordinance is working. Commissioner Carlson said that the golf club map was approved by the City Council and thought the city should have a set of plans. Recreation Manager Miller said there are plans. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE — CITY MANAGER CARL ERIC LEIVO Report on Council Comments from City Manager's Report at the December 91h Council Meeting - Finance Director Lipitz reported the City Manager is ill and she is reporting for him at tonight's meeting. She reported that the City Council did agree with the basic outline of '1 the Commission's role that was presented , and they would like the Commission to focus on park safety. Commissioner Carlson said from watching the meeting she got the feeling that the Council does not want the Commission to do fund raising that they were more interested in the Commission concentrating on park safety. OLD BUSINESS Report on Committee Meeting Workshop — Chair Stevens referred the Commission to the minutes from their Workshop meeting on December 1st and the list of considerations that were discussed. He asked if the Council was in agreement with the Commission's goals. Commissioner Carlson said the Council did not comment on the goals. They did talk about their partnership, letting the Commission do their job and using the Commission in the right way. Commissioner Bird Arrived — At 7:50 p.m. Commissioner Bird arrived at the meeting. Report on Committee Meeting Workshop Continued - Chair Stevens asked if any of the Commissioners had any comments on the meeting. Commissioner Rogers said she thinks the Commission has a strong consensus of their mission and it is important to move forward. Chair Stevens suggested picking two to Page 2 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes December 15, 2003 three ideas to concentrate on. The Commission discussed the list of proposed goals for 2003 and the need to set the goals for 2004. They discussed using the 2003 goals as a start for 2004. Commissioner Rogers suggest establishing 2004 goals at the January meeting, prioritizing them and picking two to three to concentrate on. She suggested each commissioner having a specific plan for the goals they want to concentrate on. Chair Stevens requested that this item be put on the January agenda as an action item. He asked how many goals the Commission wants to focus on. Commissioner Rogers said she thinks the Commission should concentrate on the goals that can be worked on now. If volunteers are needed, they can work on getting them right away. Chair Stevens suggested keeping the goals that would require funds to complete. Each commissioner received a copy of the proposed 2003 goals to review. NEW BUSINESS Public Safety Report on Park Incidents — Chair Stevens thanked Finance Director for getting the report on park incidents for their review and commented that he feels the report is very helpful. (A copy of the report is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Finance Director Lipitz said it is apparent which parks the Commission needs to focus on. Discussion followed on the report. Regarding problems at Caterpillar Park, Commissioner Butler suggested they might be related to the complaints mentioned in the Community Voice regarding the proximity of the El Camino High School. Commissioner Rogers asked why there were so many traffic complaints at the Sports and Fitness Center. Recreation Manager Miller responded that one of the city's new motorcycle police officers parks in the center's parking lot and so many of the citations are issued nearby. Due to traffic problems near Rancho Cotate High School, Chair Stevens mentioned the possibility of installing a timed signal that would be used for just a half hour after school is dismissed. The Commission discussed problems at city fields and their unauthorized use for mud football or soccer. Commissioner Rogers asked if the Commission could invite someone from Recreation or Public Safety to find out what they need rather than the Commission deciding on their own. Finance Director Lipitz said she will invite someone from Public Safety. Ban on Alcohol in City Parks — Recreation Manager Miller advised the City Manager has asked the Commission to evaluate whether the City's current ban on alcohol is effective and to make a recommendation to the City Council on whether the ordinance should be continued. He passed out a report regarding the alcohol ban in parks and facilities. He advised the ordinance was adopted on July 24, 2003, with a six-month trial period. (A copy of the report is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Recreation Manager Miller read the response from Public Safety Director Tom Bullard, which is included in ,.� the report. Page 3 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes December 15, 2003 Chair Stevens asked Bonnie Black if she thinks the bottles that the Canine Club found at .� Golis Park were from authorized use or drinking after hours. Mrs. Black replied that most of the bottles they find are in the parking lot and she believes it is kids coming after dark to drink. She suggested chaining off driveways in the parks. She said she does not think an ordinance or sign is going to be any deterrent, but that patrolling is a bigger deterrent. She said she thinks people filling out the permits are responsible, and the permits are not reaching those who are causing problems. She said in talking to Public Safety, she believes volunteering is the only answer. She mentioned that in Santa Rosa volunteers are hand picked for park patrol and trained to confront people causing problems. She explained this isn't for everyone, but some people have a skill and are ready and willing to help out. Commissioner Rogers asked if there is a staff recommendation. Recreation Manager Miller said that the Public Safety Director does not think the ordinance is effective and that there are other ways to confront the problem. He explained it is not helping recreation department staff, creates an extra staff burden and penalizes responsible citizens who come in to fill out permits. He stated the ordinance was adopted as a result of the shooting at Sunrise Park where alcohol was not involved. Commissioner Carlson made a motion to recommend that Ordinance 698 be repealed. Commissioner Rogers seconded the motion. The Chair asked if there was any further discussion. .1"41 Some discussion followed regarding the original intention of the ordinance followed by the unanimous vote to approve the recommendation. The Chair asked staff to report the Commission's recommendation to the City Council. Commissioner Rogers stated she thinks it is important that the statement regarding the ordinance comes directly from the Commission. Finance Director Lipitz said the City Manager would like the Commission to make a direct report to the Council. Commissioner Carlson agreed to attend the City Council meeting to make the report. Status of Indoor Swimming Pool — Chair Stevens referred to an article in the Community Voice regarding the City Manager's statement that the bond funds the city has could be used for an indoor pool. The Chair said he would like to place the indoor swimming center as a first priority for the $4.8 million funding and would like to see a Commission recommendation rather than a statement coming from each commissioner. He said an indoor pool would allow everyone in the city to participate in this activity, which is not limited to age or ability. Commissioner Carlson agreed. Commissioner Bird asked what the project would cost. Recreation Services Manager Miller responded that it would depend, but it could cost up to $10,000,000. He said he is meeting with Winzler and Kelly tomorrow to discuss this project. Chair Stevens said he thinks it is important to advocate this project as a Commission since it has been on their list of goals for many years, and it is not necessary to worry about the cost at this time. Commissioner Carlson mentioned that when an indoor pool was first discussed several '1 Page 4 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes December 15, 2003 ^ years ago, the cost was too high. She also pointed out the cost of the Magnolia Park pool was very high, and the Commission did not recommend building that pool. Recreation Manager Miller said the concept of an indoor pool is much different than the M Park pool. The idea is to build a pool to increase the revenue at the Sports & Fitness Center, to broaden their revenue base and increase their membership fees. Commissioner Carlson asked about the city getting more state bond money. Recreation Manager Miller said it is coming, but it is not enough for this project, and advised that bond money has already been earmarked for specific projects. Commissioner Rogers said the concept of the plan is good, but she knows there are other projects in the city where repairs are necessary. She said she would need more information before going forward with the project but would agree to the concept of an indoor pool. Discussion followed on the design and the size of an indoor pool. Recreation Manager explained there are no plans yet for the project, but the size of the pool would be dictated by the funds available. Chair Stevens asked if the Rohnert Park swim team had contacted the city. Recreation Manager Miller responded that the project hasn't been discussed with any groups since it is only in the discussion stage. Commissioner Butler said he supports the concept and asked about enclosing an existing pool. Recreation Manager Miller said this would not be feasible due to the irregular size of the city's pools and the fact that they may not meet existing building codes. He said the idea is to combine the indoor pool with the Sports and Fitness Center to enhance memberships. After discussion the Commission voted unanimously to agree with the concept of an indoor pool. Rescheduling January and February Meeting Dates Due to Holidays — Chair Stevens pointed out that the Commission had already agreed at their December I" workshop to move the January meeting to January 26th due to the holiday. The Commission discussed moving their February meeting. Commissioner Rogers explained she is unable to attend meetings on the 41h Mondays of the month due to a conflict with her board meeting at the Early Learning Institute. The Commission discussed rescheduling the meeting to Tuesday, February 17th. Commissioner Carlson made a motion to change the Commission meeting dates in January and February due to the regular meeting dates falling on city holidays. The January meeting would be rescheduled to Monday, January 26, at 7:30 p.m. and the February meeting would be held on Tuesday, February 17, at 7:30 p.m. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Bird and unanimously approved. Page 5 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes December 15, 2003 STAFF REPORTS Department Highlights — Recreation Services Manager Miller explained that there was not a highlights report available for November, but it would be forthcoming COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS Aquatics — The Aquatics Committee will have its annual meeting in January. Golf Course — Commissioner Carlson reported the Golf Course Committee is now meeting every other month. Youth Sports — Chair Stevens asked if Rancho Cotate High School uses the Sports & Fitness Center. Recreation Manager Miller said they do. He advised other groups using the Center are the indoor soccer league and CYO Basketball. He informed the Commission that they are taking sign-ups for adult volleyball leagues at this time. He said the department uses the Sports &Fitness Center gym as well as the Mountain Shadows Middle School gym after 6 p.m. He reported that city fields are not being used at this time. Chair Stevens reported a rugby field is being built in Santa Rosa using donations. He mentioned that Rancho Cotate has a rugby team. MATTERS FROMIFOR COMMISSIONERS Reconfiguration of Benicia and Magnolia Parks — Commissioner Butler asked if any of the bleachers from the stadium would be moved to any of the city's soccer fields. Recreation Manager Miller said the only discussion has been to move bleachers to the B 1 field. Commendation — Commissioner Butler said he wanted to commend Wendy Audiss from the Recreation Department for her work on the Veteran's Day ceremony she put together at the Community Center. He said it was a great program. Chair Stevens asked about Mrs. Audiss's current job assignment, and Manager Miller responded that she has moved to the Community Center and taken over the youth programs, camps and after -school program. Benicia and Magnolia Ball Fields — Commissioner Bird asked about the changes in the ball fields at Benicia and Magnolia Parks. Manager Miller advised that the softball field at Benicia Park is being converted to a baseball field for the Cal Ripken League in exchange for the baseball field at Magnolia Park. In the future there will be two softball fields at Magnolia Park. wo Page 6 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes December 15, 2003 ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Chair Stevens Secretary Sandy L tz Finance Director Page 7