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2004/02/17 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes (3)� ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES February 17, 2004 The Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission met this date at 7:30 p.m. for an adjourned 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 Bird presiding. ROLL CALL Present: (4) Commissioners Bird, Butler, Griffin, and Hotaling, Absent: (3) Commissioners Carlson, Rogers and Stevens Also present for the meeting was Recreation Services Manager, Guy Miller. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — Upon motion by Commissioner Griffin and second by Commissioner Butler, the minutes for the meeting of January 26a' were unanimously approved as submitted. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT Bonnie Black, 1065 Hawthorne, Best Friends Canine Club, submitted seven new membership forms for the club from the last two months. She reported that this month represents the end of the first year that the club has had a permit to use Golis Park with no significant injuries to people, dogs or property. She stated the club has a membership of approximately 100 members with 30 active members. She said the club has been very successful and thanked the city for the opportunity to prove that this could be done. She also thanked Commissioner Griffin for coming to visit the club last week. Commissioner Griffin said he noticed the new sod that the club had installed on the field. Mrs. Black responded that club members gave up the idea of seeding and instead put in 4-5 rolls of sod, which has worked very well. She reported they have one more area where they will be putting new sod. Vice Chair Bird asked when the baseball field will be open. Recreation Services Manager Miller said as soon as the weather is nice and the field is safe for play, hopefully by the end of February. He stated that because of the fence, the field is probably in the best shape ever. OLD BUSINESS 2004 Goals — Vice Chair Bird referred the Commission to their proposed goals for 2004 and asked the purpose of the first goal. (A copy of the proposed goals is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Commissioner Griffin said the intention was that the Commission might be able to help with maintaining a better relationship with the school district and perhaps meet with them. Manager Miller said this might be a good time to meet since the district has taken over maintenance of the fields located on school Page 1 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes February 17, 2004 property. He suggested one of the commissioners may wish to attend a school board meeting and Commissioner Griffin volunteered. Following this discussion, Commission Hotaling made a motion to accept the goals for 2004. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Bird and unanimously approved. Citizen Survey Input - Vice Chair Bird said he thinks the survey is a little long, and he doesn't believe people will have any idea how much the public would be willing to pay to attend one of the facilities. Manager Miller explained this is a proposed survey, which still hasn't been finalized. He said if the commissioners would like to submit their comments to him, he will pass them on to the city manager. Vice Chair Bird asked when the surveys would be mailed, and Manager Miller responded he believes they may be mailed by the end of the month. The Commission discussed incentives being offered to encourage people to fill out and return the survey. Vice Chair Bird mentioned that it seems like there are a lot of different fields mentioned, which he thinks could be condensed, and questioned whether there would be enough room to build all these fields. The Commission discussed using COP money to build the community fields parks. Manager Miller said it would depend on the results of the survey, but COP money could be used for this project. Discussed continued regarding the questions about fees. Manager Miller said originally they were going to ask about specific fees but decided to leave it more open and explained why. Vice Chair Bird asked how many households would be sent surveys, and Manager Miller replied they were mailing 400-500 surveys. He said the survey is a tool to determine whether the City should build a new city hall or some other type of facility and whether the revenue would cover the cost of the facility. He said he will pass on the commission's comments to the city manager. NEW BUSINESS Adopt A Park - Manager Miller referred to the Commission's discussion at the last meeting pertaining to the Adopt A Park Program. He had offered to do some research and found the program is offered all over the country. He referred to his memo dated 2/10/04, which is attached to the original copy of these minutes. He explained to implement this program, they would need some cooperation from the Public Works Department since they are in charge of maintenance of the parks. Even though this would be a program the Commission would be overseeing, he would be happy to schedule a meeting for the Commission and Public Works to discuss it. He suggested putting an ad hoc committee together that could go over this material and report back to him. He said he feels it would also be important to get the Public Safety Department involved. -� Page 2 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes February 17, 2004 Vice Chair Bird asked if this committee could be piggybacked onto the Park Watch Committee. Manager Miller replied some cities do this which could help monitor graffiti and drinking in the parks. The group or organization that adopts a park would be the eyes and ears of the park. Commissioner Hotaling reported the Park Watch Committee had a meeting and talked about putting an article in the Community Voice as well as putting fliers around the neighborhood. The Committee decided to start with Sunrise Park, then Colegio Vista and then Magnolia. The Committee also discussed the Adopt -A -Park program. Vice Chair Bird said he spoke to Lt. John Thompson from the Public Safety Department, and in the past, there has always been a community service officer. There is not one now, but there is a patrol officer who would be the neighborhood watch program leader. He said he could ask Lt. Thompson to bring in this officer if they want to meet. Manager Miller suggested the Committee meet with both Public Works and Public Safety. He said he will contact a representative from both departments. Vice Chair Bird said Lt. Thompson suggested the following parks for the Park Watch Program: Sunrise, Golis, Magnolia and Benicia. He mentioned a group called Concerned Citizens of Rohnert Park that might want to get involved with this project and stated he has some contacts with the group. ^ Manager Miller advised he will notify the committee members when he has set the date to meet with Public Works and Public Safety representatives. Crane School Baseball and Soccer Fields — Recreation Manager Miller reported that a public hearing was held when the Crane School fields were first developed and hours for the field were set at that time. He stated the department is in the process of scheduling the fields for the upcoming season. Last year the Commission decided to alter the schedule so that games could begin at 9 a.m. and the last game could begin at 4:30 p.m., but a final evaluation was never done to get any feedback from the public. He explained that the gentleman who attended many meetings and was opposed to any schedule changes has moved. Commissioner Hotaling mentioned when the Commission took their park tour, the noise did not seem that loud. Commissioner Griffin asked Mark Giunchigliani, President of the Cal Ripken Baseball League, about Sunday use. Mr. Giunchigliani said the field would be used for practices only, and each team would be assigned about an hour for practice. He stated the league does not abuse their use and helps to maintain and clean up the fields. He said they try to treat the parks and the neighbors with respect. Manager Miller reported the department did not get any complaints last year after the changes were made. Mr. Giunchigliani advised the Crane field is mainly a practice field, but if the schedule is affected by rain, then it would be used for games and having a 4:30 p.m. restriction on the field makes it very difficult. Page 3 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes February 17, 2004 Commissioner Griffin made a motion to approve the amended use and add the Sunday IN use from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for practices. Commissioner Butler seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved. Mr. Giunchigliani stated that their league families do help with the maintenance of the fields they use and suggested that the Commission might want to approach the youth leagues about adopting a park. RCHS Use of Honeybee Pool — Manager Miller reported that the Rancho Cotate High School swim team is using Honeybee Pool for practices and meets. The high school will be paying for the natural gas and electrical costs over and above the regular costs. He informed the Commission that their use began last week. He added that due to insurance requirements by the City's carrier, an aquatics staff member must also be at the pool during this use, and the high school has agreed to cover that cost. Commissioner Butler asked if Manager Miller knew the costs. Manager Miller replied he would not know until June after the utility bills have been received. Community Center Beam Renovation — Manager Miller informed the Commission that the beam in the Community Center lobby is rotting and is not safe. The Public Works Department has installed two temporary braces, and the beam will be replaced which will involve removing the roof. Winzler and Kelley Engineering is doing the engineering for the project now, and the City hopes to begin construction in May. He advised the Recreation Department offices will have to vacate the lobby and are planning on relocating to the -� offices in the back of the building. The project should take 2'h to 3 months. STAFF REPORTS Department Highlights — Manager Miller asked if there were any questions regarding the January highlights. The Commission briefly discussed Sports and Fitness Center memberships. Vice Chair Bird asked about equipment maintenance and Manager Miller said he has spoken to Finance Director Sandy Lipitz since Public Works no longer schedules a maintenance man at the Center to work on the equipment. He explained some of the treadmills and other equipment have broken down. He now has a contact for repairs, but there is still a delay of two to three days. He explained that Public Works just hired a new employee who may be working in the Community Center complex for a few hours every week. He reported that the age of the exercise equipment is also a problem since they are well past their life span. He will be putting replacement costs in the upcoming budget for new equipment and will be looking into leasing the equipment so it can be replaced on a timely basis. COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS None Page 4 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes February 17, 2004 MATTERS FROM/FOR COMMISSIONERS Dog Park — Commissioner Griffin asked the status of the dog park at Robert's Lake. Manager Miller said he had spoken to Toni Bertolero, City Engineer, and they have run into some problems that are driving up the costs for this project so it has been delayed. Manager Miller said there is a problem with moving the fence on the golf course and a problem with getting water to the site. He reported they are also discussing putting in some more trees to protect people at the dog park from golf balls. The site may also have to be graded and some ADA requirements may also apply. He advised he has not seen the plans for the project. Volunteers — Commissioner Butler reported that at the Volunteer Committee meeting, he offered to write an article regarding the volunteer program for the Community Voice city pages. He asked whom to submit the article to and Manager Miller told him to submit it to the City Manager. Commissioner Butler said the article will list service organizations in Rohnert Park and what areas they cover. He asked if anyone had any suggestions. Ladybug Park Play Ground Equipment — Vice Chair Bird asked about the playground equipment for Ladybug Park, and Manager Miller said the city does have a grant which covers several projects: replacing the Community Center multi -use room floor, resurfacing the Alicia Park tennis courts and replacing the playground equipment at Ladybug Park. The number one priority if to replace the multi -use room floor, and the second priority will be the playground equipment. Vice Chair Bird asked if volunteers could be used to help cut costs, and Manager Miller replied he believes they can to a certain extent. He said he will let the Commission know when we are ready to look at equipment and will find out if volunteers can help. ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Vice Chair Bird Secretary Gu filler Recreation Services Manager Page 5