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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/27/1995 PRC Minutes_-- �__..�.�.....,.- - .�... .����,� _ ,.—._�_...- .... ,__.._r—. __. _L'�..._..i..uu�zmxz +i��t4ma�l. �wn V. i.,�,�•.,. CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION BOARD HEARING ROOM OF S.C.A.Q:M.D. 21865 Copley Drive APRIL 27, 1995 CALL TO ORDER Chairman Ruzicka called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The audience was led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Commissioner Finnerty. ROLL CALL Present: Chairman Ruzicka, Vice Chairman Goldenberg, Commissioners Tye, Finnerty, and Medina. Staff: Community Services Director Bob Rose Recreation Supervisor Marla Pearlman Absent: None MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE Council Member Eileen Ansari commented in favor of the City sponsoring more youth programs and activities. She suggested a "battle of the bands" as one of the activities. She also stated that she would like to see the Commissioners get more involved in the selection of the bands for the "Concert in the Parks" Series. VC/Goldenberg advised that CSD/Rose brought this to the Commission's attention and it was suggested by the Commission that staff take care of the selections. CSD/Rose advised that staff investigated this issue and found that other cities have dedicated a weekday night to "kids night" including bands, arts/crafts, movies. He advised that the budget has not been finalized yet and suggested that the Commission give some kind of direction for this type of activity. VC/Goldenberg asked if an Ad Hoc committee would be appropriate for this activity. CH/Ruzicka stated that we need to get the word out to the youth in the community to see if it's something that will be used. CH/Ruzicka appointed VC/Goldenberg and C/Medina to the April 27, 1995 youth activity Ad Hoc committee. Page 2 Parks & Recreation Commission Council Member Ansari distributed City of Diamond Bar pins and pens. CONSENT CALENDAR - VC/Goldenberg moved to approve the Consent Calendar as amended, seconded by C/Medina and carried 5-0. 1. Approval of Minutes of March 23, 1995 meeting. OLD BUSINESS 2. Park Use Policies and Procedures - CH/Ruzicka reported on the Park Use Policies and advised that staff's recommendation was for the Commission to accept the revision of Section V, B, 2 as stated. VC/Goldenberg advised that the scheduling clause will required a "super -computer" to implement, He expressed his concerns with this clause including so many exceptions and stated that he would like to see something simpler. 1 01 CSD/Rose advised that staff is aware that the community wants to see the community center available for free use for non-profit organizations. He advised that staff's recommendation would be to provide for needs of the non-profit organizations without negatively affecting the revenue generating capabilities of the community center. CSD/Rose advised that it is costing the City $35,000-$40,000 a year to operate the community center including utilities, staff time, maintenance, and supplies and it's generating approximately $2.5,000 a year. He also advised the Commission that staff is looking for advice on the amount of staff time that is appropriate for each organization to receive of free use. C/Finnerty asked if each team in a large sports organization is equal to a Boy Sclout Troop or is the sports organization limited to four hours per month. CSD/Rose stated that the City will allow each individual team to schedule time at it e community center, however, if the City receives use requests from al l 120 teams then staff will look to the sports organization to schedule a limited number of teams 'per month. VC/Goldenberg stated that the, "reservation policy" should state who gets to make these reservations and how many uses are allowed for free. He also commented that part of this issue could be stated in Section III, rather than Section V. t" f, AX5JV ti Mf.,.,�.4.'�$�se�,�.-+ April 27, 1995 Page 3 Parks & Recreation Commission CSD/Rose advised that Section V, B, 2 has been used to describe what resident non- profit organizations are entitled to. He also advised that Section V was added as a whole in reference to Heritage Park Community Center and that policies regarding the use of the Community Center have not been cross referenced into the rest of the Policies and Procedures. C/Tye reiterated that it cost the City $40,000 to operate the community center and the City receives revenue of approximately $25,000. He also asked that out of that $25,000 revenue, how much of that money is generated on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday event. CSD/Rose advised that approximately $18,000-$20,000 is generated from the weekends. C/Tye expressed his concern that each day that a non-profit organization gets free use would eliminate revenue that could be generated. He stated that the policy needs to state that the non-profit organizations cannot reserve the community center on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays, so that the free use will not affect revenues. CSD/Rose advised -that there is a requirement for non-profit organizations to make reservations within 35 days of use on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The revenue producing uses on those days are birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries and church services. Those activities are normally scheduled more than 35 days ahead of time, and will not be affected by uses scheduled less than 35 days ahead of time. C/Medina stated that it would be cost effective for the City to hire part-timers and pay them $5.00/hour to work as needed. CSD/Rose advised that all the staff that work at Heritage Park Community Center are part timers and the wage range that is currently being paid is $7.00410.00/hour. He also advised that C/Medina's suggestion is a good recommendation. CH/Ruzicka stated that the City has very limited community center space available for the community. He advised that he would like to find a compromise position where all of the non-profit organizations can use the facilities without losing the revenue that is needed to keep the community center cost effective. C/Finnerty suggested that instead of adopting this new policy, the Commission can suggest that the staff recommendations can serve as an "interim" policy to see how ti ,_, well it works. Staff and the Commission can then evaluate its effectiveness, and make I April 27, 1995 Page 4 Parks & Recreation Commission changes accordingly. CH/Ruzicka advised that these policies are not carved in stone and they can be revised when necessary. He also advised that when an organization has too many teams using the facility all the time, the City will then contact that organization and have someone in that organization begin to schedule their uses is cooperation with the City. VC/Goldenberg asked if this statement should be included in the policy. C/Finnerty suggested that a special fee schedule be set up for just the youth serving organizations. VC/Goldenberg advised that there cannot be a separate fee schedule. CSD/Rose advised that the sports organizations each already have a contact that schedules athletic facilities cooperatively with the City. He also advised that per the City Attorney, there can be a separate fee schedule for non-profit youth serving organizations. CH/Ruzicka stated that the Commission should make a recommendation based on what the Commission believes is good 'for the community. Before 'the recommendation goes to the City Council for action, staff will verify the legality of'the action. VC/Goldenberg added that the recommendation, if approved, will result in a loss of revenue. CSD/Rose advised that staff has considered that, and the wording of 'the recommendation expands free use, but limits the negative affect on revenue generation. Bruce Flamenbaum, Diamond Bar resident expressed his concerns that (this Commission wants to operate the Community Center at a profit. He advised that the City gives the ball fields, staff's time and the lights to the sports organizations.'I He stated that he agrees with the City giving use of these facilities away, because) the parents of the children pay the taxes tha: Fray for these facilities. VC/Goldenberg explained that the Commission is trying to control costs, not to y generate a profit. I , I � - " I I I I J ,, , I "I, n I , � �, � � �' " [r, , i , MT11QWAY'N.Xrn� , bfi April 27, 1995 Page 5 Parks & Recreation Commission j Bruce Flamenbaum stated that if the Commission is going to charge or cut costs, then it needs to be done across the board. He expressed that he is in favor of the proposed policy, however, he feels that it does not go far enough. CH/Ruzicka advised that the Commission is not out to make a profit, the Commission t is here to control costs. He also stated that this policy can provide the opportunity to schedule the use of community facilities with as little hurt as possible, similar to the way the user group sub -committee allocates athletic facilities to the sports organizations. C/Tye commented that the Commission needs to pay great attention to maintaining control of the costs and not letting them get out of control. C/Finnerty commented that cost recovery in programs requires a constant effort in order to maintain the programs at their current level. If it is decided to decrease revenues, then costs to operate programs are expected to be decreased as well. Ebro VGGoldenberg commented that the City is always paying for programs and not getting the return revenue. Council Member Ansari asked who gets priority for the community center, the non- profit organization or a profit organization. CSD/Rose advised that the Diamond Bar based non-profit organization has priority over a private resident use. C/Finnerty asked what amount of leadtime is necessary to assure obtaining a desired date at the community center. CSD/Rose advised that if a Saturday date is desired for use by a group, they would need about three to four months lead time; Sunday use is available only after 6:00 p.m.; any other week day use could be obtained with a week's notice. C/Finnerty asked if there are any organizations that are regulars and how many groups can be accommodated at any one time. CSD/Rose advised of several regular groups that meet during the week. He advised F that the maximum number of groups is three with two in the main room and one in the tiny tot room. He also advised that the community center is not booked up during the week. i April 27, 1995 Page 6 Parks & Recreation Commission Od C/Finnerty asked what a reasonable lead time is and if it is a problem if the community center was full every night. CSD/Rose advised that it would not be a problem if the community center was full every night, and that a reasonable amount of lead time for the use of this facility is a month's notice. I C/Finnerty asked if there is an organization that meets there regularly, are they required to ask for the facility -monthly. CSD/Rose advised that the policy allows for ongoing use to be scheduled 6 months in advance. He also advised that the priority remains with the Diamond Bar resident non-profit organizations. With consensus of the Commission, the Commission has requested that staff bring back a more simplified version of the recommendation at the next Commission meeting. C/Finnerty expressed her concerns in that the Commission needs to make sure that the community facility is open for a more spontaneous usage than what this recommendation is stating. CSD/Rose briefly explained the types of use and reservations that are normally received at the community center. C/Tye asked if three groups would be charged if their meeting were held the same evening and using the same staff time. CSD/Rose advised that this fee would be charged to all three groups. The staff fee does not 'include all of staff's costs, just the hourly rate, plus.it is always unknown if one of the groups will cancel. C/Tye asked Mr. Flamenbaum how much in advance was his reservation made fox the community center. Mr. Flamenbaum advised that his reservation was made a month ahead of time. C/Tye stated that this recommended policy seems much more complicated thlan it ' needs to be. 7 i April 27, 1995 Page 7 Parks & Recreation Commission CH/Ruzicka reminded the Commission that Diamond Bar only has one facility with 55,000 citizens and that staff needs to be able to accommodate the citizens who desire usage of this community center. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 3. 6th Anniversary Celebration - Update C/Medina gave thanks to all of the businesses participating in the Anniversary Celebration and for the support provided by Diamond Bar staff. He announced that Diamond Bar's 6th Anniversary Celebration will be on Sunday, April 30, 1995 from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. C/Medina advised that there should be an estimated 1,500 attendees. He shared the Anniversary Celebration program and expressed thanks to all of the donors that are expected to participate during the day. CSD/Rose advised that this event has evolved into a family celebration with the intent of bringing Diamond Bar families to Peterson Park for an afternoon of fun, low cost activity with lots of freebies for the children. RS/Pearlman advised that there will be four teams in the one -pitch softball tournament which is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. She distributed parking passes to the Commissioners. She also explained the types of booths that will be operating during the day. C/Tye asked what the booths are charged for participating. RS/Pearlman advised that booths run from $10.00 - $85.00. C/Medina also announced that Jones InterCable will be covering the day's events. a. Contract Classes RS/Pearlman advised that the participation goal was met for the Winter Session. She also stated that a resident of Diamond Pointe Swim Club had concerns regarding the City using their facilities for Contract Classes. RS/Pearlman advised that she contacted this resident and the resident explained -that she was very upset and stated that the club's bylaws allows use by owners only. She also advised that the residents April 21, 1995 Page 8 Parks_&'Recreation Commission will be picketing these classes. RS/Pearlman advised that there were Spring contract classes scheduled for that facility and they have been cancelled in the best interest of the participants so they are not subjected to such a demonstration by the residents. CSD/Rose reiterated that the City of Diamond Bar was invited to use Diamond Pointe'Swim Club facility in a letter dated February 10, 1995. C/Finnerty asked if there were any residents signed up for the contract classes and how did they find out that the contract classes were being held there. RS/Pearlman advised that many of the residents were asking for classes there. CSD/Rose advised that per his meeting with Jeff Koontz, President of the Diamond Ponte Board of Directors, Mr. Koontz indicated that there was a very small minority of residents that were raising this issue. He also stated that until the home owners and the board resolve their issues, the City will find other facilities to accommodate the contract classes. b. Athletics Youth Baseball - Information was distributed at the elementary schools last week. �! Youth Track and Field Meet - Will be held in Los Angeles on May 6, 1995. Day Camp - Registration will begin on May 15, 1995. ANNOUNCEMENTS C/Tye stated that staff did a terrific job at the City Wide Youth Track and Field Meet. He also advised staff that Peterson Park looked terrific during one of his softball tournament games. C/Medina asked that Item A, #3a, page 8 of the Policies, Regulations and Procedures be placed on the Agenda for the next Commission meeting for discussion. He advised that the discussion will pertain to posting rules and regulations regarding first come/first serve rules li i �1 11 April 27, 1995 for the use of basketball courts. Page 9 Parks & Recreation Commission CSD/Rose advised that the agenda item will involve posting of a sign at the basketball court regarding open play. C/Medina stated that he represented the Commission at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Dial -A -Cab that was held at Heritage Park Community Center. VC/Goldenberg expressed his frustrations that the Commission is not informed of such events happening in the City. He stated that it is important for the Commission to participate in these events in order to be able to provide information to or answer questions received from the residents of the community. VC/Goldenberg commented in amazement that Larkstone Park's replacement has not been resolved. He expressed his anger regarding the handling of the refund for the community facility and that people believe that this Commission is out to make a profit. ADJOURNMENT At 9:20 p.m., it was moved by VC/Goldenberg and seconded by C/Medina and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting. Respectfully submitted, Bo6"Rohe Secretary Attest: e Ruzick a Chairman I