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2004/10/18 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes (3)W ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 18, 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. INTRODUCTION AND OATH OF OFFICE — Manager Miller introduced new Commissioner Thomas Hansen and administered the Oath of Office. ROLL CALL Present: (7) Commissioners Bird, Butler, Carlson, Griffin, Hansen, Rogers and Stevens Absent: (0) None Also present for the meeting was Recreation Services Manager, Guy Miller, and City Engineer, Darrin Jenkins. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — Upon motion by Commissioner Griffin and second by Commissioner.Butler, the minutes for the meeting of September 20`h were unanimously approved as submitted. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT None SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT Bonnie Black, 1065 Hawthorne Circle, representing Best Friends Canine Club, submitted five new membership forms and reported that two dogs were turned away due to their breed. She said no problems had occurred during the month. She recapped the workshop featuring Trish King, the Director of Behavior and Training for the Marin County Humane Society, that the club had held on Sunday, October 17, and the disappointing turnout. She reviewed the advertising that had been done and the problems they had encountered getting the information published in the Community Voice but thanked recreation staff for their help. She stated that fourteen people had attended, about half were non-residents, including several dog trainers. She said she hopes to be able to offer another workshop when the city is closer to opening the dog park. She challenged the Commission to look into the fact that none of the information submitted to the newspaper was published and stated that she believes it is important that Page 1 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 18, 2004 information for any recreation activities get published. She stated that the Club raised $350, which is to be used towards amenities for the dog park. OLD BUSINESS Community Center Floor Renovation — Recreation Services Manager Miller reported that the bid to replace the Community Center floor was awarded last week. The bid was for $69,000 and because it was low enough, the two storage areas and the stage will be included in the project. He said they are hoping that work will begin by the end of October and finished by the end of November. The project will include installing a moisture barrier due was moisture seeping up through the concrete. He stated that they also did find some asbestos in the tiles and the mastic, which will increase the cost. PUBLIC HEARING — DOG PARK Staff Report — Manager Miller referred the Commission to the latest plan for the dog park and introduced Darrin Jenkins, the City Engineer, who was available to answer any questions. Engineer Jenkins talked about the changes from the first plan they had looked at and stated that the fence has been extended to the sidewalk.. (A copy of the plan is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) He said a drinking fountain has been added to the small dog area and informed the Commission that since the water at Robert's Lake is recycled there will not be drinking fountains for people, only for dogs. He pointed out '1 that in an effort to save money the concrete slab under the drinking fountain has been eliminated in phase 1, and they will wait to see how that works out, but it could be added in phase 2. He said he will figure out the costs and then will go to the City Council to see if the whole project can be funded. Commissioner Hansen asked if a water fountain for people could be added in phase 2, and Mr. Jenkins said yes. Commissioner Griffin asked about the linear feet of walkway, and the City Engineer said it should be square feet, not linear. Engineer Jenkins pointed out they also saved some money since some of the walkway was eliminated when the fence was extended. Commissioner Griffin asked if the sidewalk would be wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs, and Engineer Jenkins said the walk will be five feet wide which is wider than standard. Commissioner Rogers asked whether there was electricity at Roger's Lake, and Engineer Jenkins replied there is electricity for a pump at the lake but it can't be tapped into. Commissioner Rogers said if there had been electricity, he would have recommended installing vending machines so people could get water. Engineer Jenkins advised it would be too expensive to add electricity. Public Hearing Opened — At 7:50 p.m. the public hearing was opened for public input. 1-1 Page 2 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 18, 2004 Bonnie Black, Best Friends Canine Club, reviewed the history of the dog park project and said it has been almost five years since she first attended a public hearing the Commission had held for a dog park. At that meeting the consensus was to look into building a dog park at Roger's Lake since it was a good location and away from homes. She explained the group of people who were meeting every day at Golis Park with their dogs became the Best Friends Canine Club. She outlined some of the Club's accomplishments, such as securing the funding for the fence at Golis Park in a short amount of time. In the 18 months since they have been an official club, they have registered over 200 members and meet every day for an hour at Golis Park. She strongly recommended that the Roger's Lake dog park be developed as soon as possible, and hopefully, other dog parks would follow as the city continues to grow. Mrs. Black said after the public hearing notice was posted, the weather changed, and they haven't had as many people coming to the park, but she did have a petition signed by 23 people who are in favor of the proposed dog park. She requested a copy of the plans for the dog park, which the City Engineer said he would provide. The Commission members thanked Mrs. Black for all of her hard work on this project. Public Hearing Closed — There being no one further who wished to speak, the Public Hearing was closed at 7:58 p.m. Commission Discussion — Commissioner Butler asked about the hours of operation at the dog park. Manager Miller said none of the details have been worked out yet because the main focus is to get the park built. Manager Miller said they would have to work on establishing a set of rules for the park. Commissioner Bird asked when this will be going to the City Council, and City Engineer Jenkins said he will have to get a bid package first and it may not go to the City Council until January. Commissioner Griffin asked the cost of the amenities so that donations could be solicited. Engineer Jenkins responded that the next step is to work with Manager Miller to see if any standard type amenities are used at dog parks and getting the costs after that should be easy. Commissioner Griffin said he has been to many dog parks and they always have a lot of benches. He also asked about the height of the fence between the small and large dog areas, and City Engineer Jenkins said he did not know, but he could check with a fencing company to find the cost of approximately 60 feet of fencing. Mrs. Black said the fence would mostly be for delineation and did not think it had to be very high. Commissioner Rogers asked whether using any of the fencing from the stadium could be used. Manager Miller replied that none of the fencing from the stadium was the correct height or size. Engineer Jenkins asked if the Commission would be willing to consider a higher fence since that is standard and may cost less. Commissioner Griffin said he thinks the shorter fence on the sidewalk is important for esthetics but the rest could be higher but agreed the rest of the fencing could be the standard height. Page 3 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 18, 2004 Commissioner Griffin asked Manager Miller about checking with other cities for dog park rules. Manager Miller said the first thing he would do is to check to make sure what has worked for other cities. Commissioner Griffin made a motion to approve the Phase 1 plans for the proposed dog park at Robert's Lake with the possible changes discussed with City Engineer Jenkins. Commissioner Stevens seconded the motion. With no further discussion, the motion was unanimously approved. The Commission thanked City Engineer Jenkins for his work on the project. Adopt A Park — Manager Miller reported the City Council had approved the Adopt -A -Park Program at their last meeting. The only suggestion made was to change the name of the program because it could be confused with adoption of children. The Commission discussed the name, and Commissioner Griffin said he believes it is important to keep the name since it is a nationally recognized program. Manager Miller said the program would begin the first of the year. Commissioner Stevens asked if there is a list of the parks. Manager Miller read through the list: • Burton Avenue mini • Colegio Vista Park • Caterpillar Park • Civic Center mini • Cielo Circle mini • Carlita Circle mini • Country Club mini #1 (at Hinebaugh Creek) • Country Club mini #2 (at Golf Course Drive) • Jasmine Circle mini • Lilac mini • Lydia Ct. mini • La Crosse Ct mini • Meadow Pines mini • Roberts Lake Manager Miller explained these are all of the smaller city parks and are on the list because they do not get cleaned on a daily basis. He said many groups may be interested in the larger parks, but he is sure this can be worked out, perhaps by doing some landscape projects or doing a thorough cleaning once a month. Commissioner Stevens talked about Caterpillar Park and mentioned that it has the highest number of vandalism calls for city parks and suggested that more caretaking may be required for this park. Manager Miller said he will check on this before beginning the program. Purchase of Automatic External Defibrillator's (AED's) for Callinan Sports & Fitness Center and Senior Center — Manager Miller explained how the AED's work and stated that the "1 purchase was prompted by a letter to the Community Voice editor after the article came Page 4 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 18, 2004 out stating that new aerobics equipment had been purchased for the Sports & Fitness Center. The letter writer asked why the city did not have the AED's. Manager Miller reported they cost approximately $2,100 apiece, and the City Council approved the purchase at their last meeting. Manager Miller stated the City is in the process of purchasing them now. He explained that training on AED's is now included in CPR training and recreation staff members have been trained. Additional training will be offered for volunteers at the Senior Center who are interested. He said the city feels it is worth the risk that might be involved, and since the city is self -insured, the City Council has accepted the liability. NEW BUSINESS Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District Joint Use Agreement and Meeting with School District Representatives — Manager Miller explained the joint use agreement covering school and city facilities and informed the Commission that the current agreement expired in June. He reported he has been meeting with district representatives since May. Because they had some concerns about the agreement, they forwarded it to their legal department. Manager Miller said most of the concerns were about school owned facilities used by community groups. He discussed some of the history on field maintenance which the city did previously and the district took over approximately a year and a half ago. He stated the district did not differentiate between city uses and community groups' uses since they were all being scheduled through the Recreation Department. He explained the district is having problems maintaining their facilities and discussed the fees the city collects from the groups and the expenses the city incurs. The district is willing to consider looking for a funding solution to offset the wear and tear on these fields which may mean adding an administrative fee. Manager Miller said he will continue to meet with district representatives and asked if any of the commissioners wished to attend. The Commission felt this would come under the Youth Committee's responsibilities, and Commissioner Griffin indicated he was interested and asked Manager Miller to let him know when he schedules another meeting. Commissioner Butler asked if Manager Miller discussed with the district representatives the grant he is working on for an all-weather field. Manager Miller said he did and they are excited about the prospect. University of Sports Pool Memberships — Manager Miller reported he met with the owner of the University of Sports because they are looking for ways to enhance their memberships, and he was inquiring if they could incorporate adding use at the city's swimming pools to their memberships. Manager Miller said he though this could be beneficial to both the City and University of Sports since they would give a portion of their membership fee to the city, which might enable the city to extend the hours at the pools back to what they used to be. Page 5 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 18, 2004 New Committee Assignments — Chair Carlson read through the vacancies on various commission committees and asked Commissioner Hansen if he was interested in filling any of them. She suggested he may be able to switch assignments with another commissioner if he had a special interest in a specific committee. Commissioner Butler reminded the Commission that he could no longer attend afternoon meetings of the Bicycle Committee or the Senior Advisory Commission. Commissioner Hansen said he was interested in the Senior Center, Park Master Plan, Aquatics and Budget Committees. After discussion, the Chair agreed to add Commissioner Hansen to the Park Master Plan Committee and said she would become an alternate on the committee. Commissioner Hansen will replace Commissioner Butler on the Senior Center Committee. Commissioner Griffin will become a member of the Park Watch/Adopt-A-Park Committee instead of being the alternate. Commissioner Butler agreed to continue to be the Commission's liaison to the Bicycle Committee and Manager Miller agreed to attend the meetings since he is an avid cyclist. Commissioner Hansen will be added to the Skate Park Committee. Commissioner Griffin asked Bonnie Black if she was interested in serving on any other committees as an ad hoc member. Mrs. Black said she is interested in the park master plan, and Chair Carlson appointed her to the Park Master Plan Committee. STAFF REPORTS Department Highlights — Manager Miller offered to answer any questions the Commission might have about the Department Highlights Report that they received for September. (A copy of the report is attached to the original copy of these minutes.) Commissioner Griffin asked about the power surge that had occurred at Burton Avenue Recreation Center. Manager Miller said there was an incorrect feed by PG&E that caused the problem. Some discussion followed. COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS Golf Course Committee — Commissioner Bird reported the committee met last month and one of the matters that had been discussed was a watering problem and the poor quality of the water that caused the problem, which is supposed to be fixed now. Commissioner Stevens said he spoke to someone who is an avid golfer who said the north course has some dry areas and some very muddy areas. Commissioner Bird said that is the problem that is supposed to be fixed now. Commissioner Bird reported the Committee also discussed one of the ponds by the golf club which is being filled so the area can be expanded. '\ Page 6 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes October 18, 2004 MATTERS FROMIFOR COMMISSIONERS Eagle Scout Projects — Commissioner Butler reported on two Eagle Scout projects that had been done in Rohnert Park — one was to paint some fire hydrants in the L Section of town and the other scout helped a gentlemen with some disability ramps for his home. Education Foundation Fund Raiser - Commissioner Butler also complimented the Education Foundation on their recent fund-raiser and what a great event it was. Rohnert Park Stadium — Commissioner Hansen referred to a recent letter to the editor which pointed out that the stadium had been sold and there aren't any parks on the west side of the freeway. Commissioner Stevens said that this area used to be typically commercial but that is changing now. Commissioner Hansen mentioned the new apartments that are being built on the west side. Commissioner Stevens asked Manager Miller if any demographic studies have been done for this area in regards to city parks. Manager Miller said he no but pointed out that the mobile home parks located on the west side do have playgrounds. He referred the Commission to the general plan and the park that is proposed for the Wilfred area of the city. �-. Miscellaneous Matters — Commissioner Griffin welcomed Commissioner Hansen and thanked Bonnie Black for all she has done towards establishing a dog park. He asked if there is anything the Commission could do to help get things published in the Community Voice. Manager Miller, said it may take more diligence on the part of recreation staff, but this wasn't the problem in this case. He advised this was a matter of the ad being lost, and even though it was sent again, it still did not get in the newspaper. He reported the department did send direct mailers to everyone who had taken a dog obedience class through the Recreation Department. Benicia Park — Commissioner Bird asked if Manager Miller had discussed with the school district the possibility of buying back the property at Benicia Park being considered for the grant application. Manager Miller said he did not bring it up because it would mean the city would have to take back all the maintenance of the park and he didn't want to do that yet since the City isn't in a position to take over the maintenance costs of the park. ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 8:47 P.M. Chair Carlson Q:�)� IV, , Secretary Page 7 Gu i ler Recreation Services Manager