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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/21/2002 PRC Minutes1 CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE PARKS 8, RECREATION COMMISSION HEARING BOARD ROOM OF S.C.A.Q.M.D.ITHE GOVERNMENT CENTEF 21865 E. Copley Drive NOVEMBER 21, 2002 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Torres called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. in the Hearing Board the SCAQMD/Government Center Building, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diam California 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Marisa Somenzi, Administrative Assistant led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Staff: APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Chairman Torres and Commissioners Lui and Lyons Commissioner Grundy arrived at 7:03 p.m. Vice Chairman Hull was excused. om of Bar, Bob Rose, Director of Community Services; Sara West, Recreation Supervisor; Kim Crews, Senior Management Analyst; and Marisa Somenzi, Administrative Assi 3tant. As Presented. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None Offered. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented in the agenda. 1. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.1 Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of October 24, 2002. C/Lyons moved, C1Grundy seconded, to approve the minutes of the 24, 2002 meeting as presented. Without objection, the motion ordered with VC/Hull being absent. 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 2.1 Recreation Program Report — by RS/West. ober s so NOVEMBER 21, 2002 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION RS/West reported that to date 100 percent of parents have signed the Code of Ethics for two groups (Diamond Bar Girls Softball and F.C.I. Soccer). Both organizations reported positive response to the form. Staff anticipates receiving the balance of forms at the User Group meeting next Tuesday night. 2.2 Parks Irrigation Report — written report by Don Hensley, Parks and Maintenance Supervisor/oral report by Bob Rose, Community Services Director. Chair/Torres read VC/Hull's written report on his Peterson Park visit into the record. CSD/Rose responded to the report. The drinking fountain has been fixed. When TruGreen reviewed the area more closely, they found three leaking valves. Chair[Torres was concerned about the overall condition of Peterson Park and why it took VC/Hull's letter to uncover the three leaks. Drainage problems in the park have been ongoing and he was concerned that repairing the leaks may not entirely mitigate the issue. He felt that TruGreen should be able to take care of these kinds of major matters. Commissioners do not have the expertise to determine what needs to be taken care of and he did not understand the approach to park visits. If the contractor cannot pass an open book test, why would the City keep them on board. C/Grundy asked if the fixing of the leaks was directly tied to the park visit. The reason he requested a report on park irrigation as a regular part of the Commission meeting was to uncover these kinds of problems. He did not feel confident that TruGreen could adequately perform the job by identifying problems and fixing them in a timely manner. Chair/Torres said he was not particularly interested in an irrigation report. The report he would like to see would let the Commission know about the major work being done on City parks on a quarterly basis. He does not want park visits by Commissioners to have any impact. The impact should come from the contractor. He felt that the Commission should rewrite history and concentrate on issues that have more of an impact on the City. CSD/Rose explained that the purpose of the park visits is to present ideas and suggestions regarding items Commissioners believe should be considered or included in the parks. The visits are not generally for maintenance purposes. Because some maintenance issues arose out of visits, the maintenance contractor was invited to participate. The walkthroughs in which he has participated have generated very few maintenance items that directly involved the contractor. C/Grundy agreed with Chair/Torres. He wanted to know about major issues such as breaks in the water system, etc. so that when he walks the park he NOVEMBER 21, 2002 PAGE 3 P&R COMM knows that problems have been identified and resolved. CSD/Rose explained that the contractor's monthly bill lists the work completed. He confirmed that the Commissioners are only interested in being apprised of anything that might have a significant impact n the usability of the park. Chair/Torres reiterated the Commission's concern about the competence of the City's contractor. CSD/Rose said he agrees with the Commission's concern abo t the contractor's inability to perform the job. As a result, the City is pitting together an RFP to locate another contractor. The difficulty lies in the fact that the City is currently paying TruGreen a half to one-third of what new contractor would charge. Staff has been working with TruGreen in an at empt to get them to improve their work. However, he is convinced that Tru reen will never come up to the Cites standards and that D.B. needs to find new contractor. C/Lyons wondered if the work could be apportioned to others. CSD/Rose explained that separating the work responsibility often IeE ds to finger pointing between the contractors. For example, new flowers cou d get planted and the person in charge of irrigation could forget to turn o I the water and the new flowers could be dead in a short time. The contrz ctors could blame each other for the dead flowers. Chair/Torres said he had the feeling the City was getting what it was p ying for. CSD/Rose assured Chair/Torres that the Council does not want to to er its standards. The best thing staff can do is keep after TruGreen and eep letting them know that their level of service is not good enough. Chair/Torres told CSD/Rose that the Commissioners are unhappy and feel that their efforts are being wasted. The reason the Commission has asked staff for monthly reports on irrigation and other matters is because their comfort level is not there. The Commissioners have already reached their threshold and no longer want to waste their time. The overall maintennce of the City's parks is not up to par. CSD/Rose recommended that the Commission request staff to ge the specifications completed and get them out to bid in order to obt in a contractor that will perform to the level expected by the City anc the community. Commissioner Grundy said he would like to review the specifications hen they are completed. NOVEMBER 21, 2002 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION Chair/Torres moved, C/Lyons seconded, to request City staff to prepare specifications and request bids from other vendors in light of the current unsatisfactory condition of the City's park facilities. Without objection, the motion was so ordered. ClLyons asked that this matter be carried forward as an Old Business item until it is resolved. CSD/Rose said that under Informational Items, staff would present a monthly report on overall park maintenance. CSD/Rose responded to Chair/Torres that he would attach Commissioner Hull's letter to a Council memorandum outlining the Commission's concerns regarding ongoing maintenance problems in the parks. C/Grundy pointed out that Commissioner Hull's letter referred specifically to the fact that TruGreen may have wasted the City's dollars and that the City should take action to recoup the money spent mitigating drainage problems at Peterson Park. C/Grundy walked the park on Tuesday morning and observed that the ground may be drier than C/Hull experienced. In addition, the tom up portion of the soccer field had sand laid down to absorb excess moisture. It is possible that the valve leaks caused the saturation and someone should walk the area over the next couple of weeks to see if the �. problem has been resolved. He presented staff with a written report and map of the area with notations regarding problem areas. Chair/Torres read a memorandum regarding a joint meeting with City Council. He said he felt it would be safe to say that the Commissioners would welcome such a meeting. ClLyons felt it would be best to meet with Council after the Commission's January meeting. The Commissioners concurred. 2.3 14th City Birthday Party Report — Sunday, April 27, 2003 — Casino Night on Saturday, April 26, 2003. CSD/Rose reported that the Committee held an excellent meeting today and plans for the event are moving forward. Two representatives for an ATM machine company indicated they would provide an ATM machine for the event and charge a $2.00 or $2.50 transaction fee. Responding to ClLyons, SMA/Crews said it appears that games would become a permanent part of the event and the City may purchase game pieces for special use during the annual birthday party. CSD/Rose said the next committee meeting would be held the morning of January 23, 2003. 1 1 1 NOVEMBER 21, 2002 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION 2.4 C.I.P. Program Report — by Bob Rose, Community Services Directo . a. Community/Senior Center CSD/Rose told the Commissioners about the Council's forme the D.B. Public Financing Authority. Proceeds from bond (instead of General Fund reserve set -asides) will be used to f construction of the Community/Senior Center. Construction center is slated to begin December 2, 2002. The City will lea site and the land and building will be the collateral for the loa City pays an annual loan payment on the variable-rate loan fi annual operating budget. b. Sycamore Canyon ADA Retrofit The Commission viewed and discussed proposed plans for the C/Lyons and C/Grundy said they would like to meet with and the architect after Thanksgiving to discuss the plans. C. Starshine Park ADA Retrofit CSD/Rose reported that at its Tuesday night meeting, awarded the contract to David Evans and Associates. d. Pantera Park Picnic Shelters CSD/Rose explained that staff is awaiting plans on this proj include one picnic shelter. e. Trail Development at Sycamore Canyon Park CSD/Rose reported that during Tuesday's City Council meeti contract was awarded to David Evans and Associates to pr( construction documents for the trail and trail head at Syca Canyon Park. The trailhead will contain two memorial benches - in memory of Steve Tamaya and one in memory of Hal Sturim. 2.5 Youth Master Plan SMA/Crews reported that responses to RFP's are due next Wednesd; will take about 12 months to develop the community wide plan. Staff hi to form a task force of community members who are stakeholders in y as a priority for D.B. who will develop the plan. Staff and the task fore( identify current resources and conduct a "needs" assessment to deten the types of facilities and activities that need to be provided for the C youth. ion of sales lance )f the e the . The Im its ncil that one Y. It pes Guth will line tv's NOVEMBER 21, 2002 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION 2.6 C.P.R.S. Conference — March 19 through 22, 2003 in San Jose. AA/Somenzi reported that Commissioners and staff members would stay at the Crown Plaza Hotel located directly across the street from the convention center. She asked Commissioners to let her know what type of accommodations they would prefer so that she could make reservations no later than December 18. 3. OLD BUSINESS: 4. NEW BUSINESS: 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Holidays. None None C/Lui wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy C/Lyons wished everyone Happy Holidays. She said she was very impressed with the Fall Fun Festival. C/Grundy echoed ClLyons thoughts about the Fall Fun Festival. It was well done and he commended all individuals who worked to make it a success. He completed his park visit and presented a written report to staff. Overall, he felt Sycamore Canyon Park was in good condition. Happy Holidays to everyone. Chair/Torres thanked staff for their support, assistance and guidance to the Commission throughout the past year. ADJOURNMENT: Upon motion by ClLyons, seconded by C/Grundy and there being no other business to come before the Commission, Chairman Torres adjourned the meeting at 8:53 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, 400 ecretary Attest: Chairman Mart q orres CITY OF DIAMOND BAR PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION HEARING BOARD ROOM OF S.C.A.Q.M.D./ THE GOVERNMENT CENTER 21865 Copley Drive DECEMBER 19, 2002 The Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting will be adjourned due to lack of quorum. R;Z; ly submitted, Bo os Secretary