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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/18/2004 PRC MinutesCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION HEARING BOARD ROOM OF S.C.A.Q.M.WTHE GOVERNMENT CENTER 21865 Copley Drive NOVEMBER 18, 2004 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Grundy called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. in the SCAQMDIGovernment Center Building Hearing Board Room, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Torres led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Chairman Dave Grundy, Vice Chairman Nancy Lyons and Commissioners Benny Liang and Marty Torres. Commissioner Ling -Ling Chang arrived at 7:07pm. Staff: Bob Rose, Director of Community Services; Teresa Ilasin, Senior Management Analyst; Sara West, Recreation Supervisor II; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Supervisor; Alison Meyers, Recreation Coordinator and Marisa Somenzi, Administrative Assistant. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None Offered. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented in the agenda. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.1 Minutes for the October 28, 2004 Regular Meeting. C/Liang moved, VC/Lyons seconded to approve the October 28, 2004 minutes as presented. Without objection, the motion was so ordered with ClChang and C/Torres abstaining from approval. 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 2.1 Youth Master Plan update — CSD/Rose (deferred to later presentation) 2.2 Recreation Program Report— RSII/West VC/Lyons said she visited the very scary Haunted House. The wall people in the Dot room did a great job scaring her because she was hoarse from screaming. She complimented staff for being flexible and offering the flu shots when they finally became available. ClChang said she also enjoyed NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION. - the Haunted House. 2.3 Diamond Bar Community Foundation Oral Report. - C/Torres reported that last Saturday the Diamond Bar Community Foundation held its first annual gala dinner dance and fundraiser. The event was a tremendous success and received a lot of positive feedback from those who attended. All five of the Parks and Recreation Commissioners attended in support of the event. C/Chang, Chairperson of the Foundation worked many long hours along with the stellar committee headed by Chairman Tom Sawyer, Master of Ceremonies and Jodi Roberto, Vice Chairman of the Foundation who assisted. He thanks C/Chang for her tireless effort. C/Chang said she felt so proud that all of the Parks and Recreation Commissioners were present at the event. She thanked everyone for his/her support. Chair/Grundy said it was a wonderfully orchestrated and great event. The effort put forth was tremendous. VC/Lyons concurred. 2.4 City Birthday Party — Oral Report. VC/Lyons reported that this year's theme would again be "Spirit of Diamond Bar" with a co -theme of "Sweet 16" in honor of the 16th anniversary of incorporation. The next subcommittee meeting is scheduled for January and she hoped for a better turnout. 2.5 C.I.P. Program Report — CSD/Rose. a. Diamond Bar Center CSD/Rose reported that the Diamond Bar Center has been upgraded to include security gates at the front entrance, a dedicated Veterans' Recognition plaque was installed at the base of the United States flagpole, a significant number of security cameras were added for a total of 16 to date, twinkle lights will be installed on the sycamore tree in the middle of the formal drive area and the landscaping was improved. b. Trail & Trail Head Development at Sycamore Canyon Park CSD/Rose reported that staff meets with representatives of the Mountains and Rivers Conservancy at 4;00 p.m. on Monday, November 22, 2004 in Alhambra to review the plans and specs forthe - project prior to going out to bid. C. Summitridge Park Restroom and Tot Lot Development CSD/Rose reported that plans and specs were expected on Monday NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION For final plan check before going out to bid. d. Picnic Shelter at Pantera Park CSD/Rose explained that the plans and specs were due on Monday. e. Sycamore Canyon Park ADA Retrofit — Phases 11 and III CSD/Rose stated that Hirsch and Associates was expecting to provide the City with Plans and Specs tomorrow or early next week for final plan check. Staff intends to include Chair/Grundy and VC/Lyons in the Phase III discussions with Hirsch and Associates. Starshine Park ADA Retrofit CSD/Rose reported that the plans are complete and the project went out to bid this week. Staff expects bid documents to be returned by early January in order to complete construction by June 30, 2005. g. Lorbeer Ball Field — Artificial Turf Staff submitted the grant application to the State of California seeking $1 million for the Lorbeer Middle School upper field. Staff will be meeting with the school district to discuss the joint -use agreement for the facility. In response to VC/Lyons, CSD/Rose indicated that the playground equipment would be installed in Summitridge Park just below the drop-off between the baseball field and the lower field. The age group for the tot lot is 5 to 12 years. 2.6 Storage Facility at Pantera Park CSD/Rose said he spoke with the AYSO representative after the last Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to confirm that he was looking for about a 200 square foot facility with a roll up door to house an electric vehicle. Staff will be contacting the company that is constructing the Summitridge Park restroom building to discuss a pre -built building. AYSO was interested in contributing about $35,000 toward the cost of the building and staff wants to know if it is feasible to construct a unit for that approximate amount. 2.7 Monthly Bus Excursions to California Casinos for Seniors In response to a request from the Commission, CSD/Rose stated. that currently there are two excursions per month to different destinations. The Tuesday senior club offers excursions as well. Staff is looking into the possibility of adding one additional excursion if it could be cost neutral. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSIQ,N 4. NEW BUSINESS: 4.1 Schedule Park Walkthroughs PARK COMMISSIONER DATE TIME Sycamore Canyon Liang TBD TBD Pantera Torres TBD TBD Peterson Chang TBD TBD Summitridge VC/Lyons TBD TBD Heritage Chair/Grundy TBD TBD 4.2 Presentation on Youth Master Plan Sheryl Gonzales, Pam Wooldridge and Susan Jones, Consulting Team of PDG & Associates, presented the Draft Youth Master Plan Executive Summary. Sheryl Gonzales reported that the subcommittee and stakeholders vision was that the Youth Master Plan would be a document to guide the community toward the creation of a comprehensive delivery system of programs, services and facilities that would provide opportunities for youth to develop their full potential to become healthy, happy and productive citizens of their community. Tonight's slide presentation was intended to review the findings and present the recommendations of the key strategy areas and action goals. The plan was a community-based process that involved four phases. Phase I - Community Profile; Phase II —Analysis and Assessment; Phase III — Strategy Development and Phase IV— Results. Pam Wooldridge reported on survey results. Sheryl Gonzales stated that one of the most important things that would need to occur would be forthe City to demonstrate its commitment through a City Resolution and public policy at the Council level. The next important step is for the City and school districts to strengthen their relationship and demonstrate leadership to the rest of the community in their shared commitment to the Youth Master Plan. After that there would be research and recommendations for best practices in community collaborations and identification of the best practices of a youth development model to be used by all organizations that wanted to participate in the Youth Master Plan in order to achieve the ultimate outcome that supports the vision. The process would also include evaluation of public policies and practices to increase youth involvement and creation of an awards or recognition program that would recognize organizations and/or individuals that demonstrated their commitment to the Youth Master Plan. C/Torres felt the strategies were too broad to focus on how the City would achieve targeted outcomes in a very specific sense. Ms. Gonzales agreed and suggested that the City could place the targeted outcomes next to the strategies and indicate the activities that would be implemented with the intent of generating that outcome. She thanked C/Torres for his NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION recommendation. Chair/Grundy asked if the strategies and recommendations were supported by practical recommendations. Susan Jones responded that the Search Institute Model, the recommended model, is well known in the educational community and the non-profit sector. This model has been the most successful youth development and community collaborative models. CSD/Rose responded to Chair/Grundy that Alison Meyers, formerly with the YMCA recently joined the D.B. staff and has the task of implementing the Youth Master Plan. As the City moved through this process it became obvious that the plan and its strategies would have to be researched and investigated to find the pieces of the puzzle that would support the recommendations of the plan. In his view, the City is moving from a Parks and Recreation program to a human services type of programming wherein the City provides services for the entire family and for the entire youth segment that develops characteristics to better help them become more productive adults in the society. This draft is preliminary and what Chair/Grundy speaks of is yet to come as this process advances through implementation. C/Torres felt that a lot of the information shared by the presenters this evening had already been developed by the Community Center Task Force. He felt that the City had paid for identification of priorities or targeted outcomes. In his opinion, it would be more direct to develop a system to measure success for targeted outcomes. "Cultivating leadership" on its own merits is pertinent only as it relates to achieving a targeted outcome, for instance. To him this is too global and the City would lose a lot of momentum that had already been developed. The most important fact he heard this evening was that "all program services and facilities are outcome based" and if the City truly believes that there has to be a tool for measuring how that outcome has been met. To him, the discussion should center on how to implement a measurement system to achieve the goals that were highlighted under the targeted outcomes. As an example, if there is a targeted outcome that "youth make responsible choices it is a good outcome, but forgetting about the four global strategies, the report should define the strategies that will impact that result and how it would be measured. if it can't be measured it is only a value statement. The City needs measurable approaches to meeting these outcomes or it is more of a value or mission statement. While it is admirable to have such goals, it is more appropriate to ask what is the target goal if one is trying to "increase job placement skills" for instance. If the goal were to increase the number of school graduates he would like to know what the current graduate rate is in the local schools that are to be serviced and what the target goal is for increasing the number of graduates. If it is not measurable there is no way to evaluate whether the City is getting a return on its investment. Otherwise, this is a fuzzy science and if the City is going to spend all of this money it better be able to explain to the people who are helping to pay for the report. In short, he was unable to support an academic approach instead of a measurable approach. NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION Chair/Grundy used the following example. If he wanted to build a house he might conceptualize some vague generalities. But when he sits down to put together actual plans for building a house it is a targeted measurement of his goal. To him, this presentation is not a plan. It does not lay out a strategy for implementation of the plan. Ms. Gonzales explained that this plan is an outline for the youth collaborative to create the actions they choose to implement based on the guidelines contained in this report. Item #3, Strategy IV on Page 20 states that the recommendation is to establish accountability with the implementation of the Youth Master Plan. It recommends that the Youth Collaborative work on engaging ongoing evaluation that is based on an annual work plan. The annual work plan takes these strategy areas and pares them down to specific activities for each year. The annual work plan will be a reflection of the Youth Master Plan and will include measurable goals and objectives working toward the realization of the Youth Master Plan. VC/Lyons said she was in total support of declarations made by C/Torres and Chair/Grundy. She was expecting a tangible document, something that the Commission could look to implement, not necessarily tomorrow but most definitely in the very near future. Perhaps the Commissioner's expectations were out of line. She agreed with C/Torres that this presentation would have more validity if it contained hard facts such as 10 percent of the D. B. youth age 14 and older smoke" and armed with that fact the youth collaborative could decide whether or not that was a concern. Or, "20% admit to drinking alcohol." This report contains statements that may concern someone but may not concern the City of D.B. Ms. Gonzales said that those numbers are included in the amplified report and the specific issue areas were determined by the steering committee based on specific numbers. She clarified that the steering committee established the broad based strategies and action goals for the next five years. Each year a specific work plan would be developed by the collaborative that would specifically address targeted goals. To make specific recommendations takes away from the process where the collaborative strengthens their ability to implement the Youth Master Plan. Chair/Grundy asked for help in understanding the level of expectations and whether the subcommittee and stakeholders were satisfied with the results of the detailed and executive summary. CSD/Rose said that at the last meeting it felt as if everything had been brought together. The final steering committee meeting is tomorrow and the stakeholders meeting was the last meeting held. The information was presented and well received at the last meeting. Although the document has a nebulous feel to it but it is up to staff/collaborative to use the skeleton that provides the direction to "put the meat on the bones." A group of people in the community will take the existing resources and focus efforts toward meeting and reaching as many goals as possible contained in the Youth Master Plan without expending additional resources. NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 7 P&R COMMISSION Ms. Gonzales explained that every time a study was completed the steering committee met and said what was important to extract from the. study and fold into the final report. Every step of the way they participated in the creation of this information. This was not a report that was prepared by the consultant; this was a report that came out of a steering committee process that represented organizations throughout the community. In addition, this was a bridge -building opportunity for participants to say the community should work together to deliver results. As a result, the inclusive issues and projected outcomes are a result of input from all segments of the community. The specific goals and objectives will be decided by the collaborative. According to the steering committee it is most important that the City show its commitment to the Youth Master Plan and from that point, there would be a relationship that would be strengthened between the City and the school districts to make a commitment to the Youth Master Plan and then the youth collaborative is formed and they create their first annual work plan that will be very specific. C/Chang said that as a member of the steering committee she views the document as a guide rather than a plan. From this point forward it is important for the community to come together to decide how it would accomplish the goals. At the last meeting there was a discussion about creating a youth commission in D.B. C/Torres felt the plan was too generic and for all of the time, energy and money spent he felt the City was not far enough along in the process. CSD/Rose said that this process is in its infancy with respect to looking at how the City provides services to D.B. youth. The City hired a consulting company to help get this huge process in motion. The process has barely started and it will require a lot of effort and energy to keep it going forward. Very few cities have made an effort to conduct this type of study to develop collaborations that are recommended for success. Without reinventing the wheel D.B. will ultimately be able to determine whetherthe programs it offers are resulting in their perceived benefits. D.B. is starting at ground zero with a foundation of information that was generated through the Youth Master Plan process. That foundation will make it possible to bring community organizations together to define a path toward helping the families and youth of this community excel. The effort to turn the recommendations of the Youth Master Plan into reality will require a great deal of time, effort and cooperation throughout the community. ClLiang asked the consultants to comment on perceived discrepancies in the percentages of population growth numbers based on the 2000 census. He felt that the report should be cautious about reporting percentages. D.B. is unique. To him, this plan reads more like a County Department of Children and Family Services plan. He said he admires CSD/Rose and the consultant's but felt the plan was too ambitious for D.B. Ms. Gonzales asked if ClLiang was referring to the California Healthy Kids Survey information that needed to be specific to D.B. and ClLiang responded NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 8 P&R COMMISSION yes because this plan was paid for by the City and: belongs to the community. Therefore it should be pertinent to D.B. He said he was very proud of his fellow Commissioners that they looked out after the City. At the same time he did not want the consultants to misinterpret their intent. Everyone involved should be working together toward the same goal of making the City better. Ms. Gonzales wanted to be certain that C/Liang was referencing the California Healthy Kids survey because that particular study was done on the youth that attend Walnut Valley Unified School District and the Pomona Unified School District. The Search Institute survey was conducted among only D.B. students. Of all the numbers as they relate to the California Healthy Kids survey and The Search Institute's Attitudes and Behavior, that was probably the most reflective of D.B. youth. VC/Lyons said that only half of the students in those districts live in D.B. The schools in D.B. are markedly different from the schools in Pomona, a fact that is evidenced by the API scores that have direct impact in terms of some of the conclusions such as "Equal Educational Opportunities." The educational opportunities at Diamond Ranch located within the Pomona Unified School District are far superior to the other four high schools within the Pomona Unified District. D.B. needs to have input from D.B. students, not from students that are not in D.B. At the very least, there should be a reference as to which items are from the California Healthy Kids versus what items are from the survey of D. B. If the information came from a large group that consists of half of its student body being from schools outside of D.B. the information is not accurate and she was surprised the steering committee had not made that distinction. Ms. Gonzales explained that the Search Institute A&B survey was implemented only in D.B. schools. The information obtained through that survey was substantiated with the California Healthy Kids survey. In short, her firm gathered data from several sources and prioritized the data based on how often that same issue came out of each of those studies. The items that came up over and over again were the items that received the highest priority. And those were the issues the steering committee dealt with in terms of what should be done and how they should be addressed. it is very difficult to get a specific snapshot of youth and their families in D.B. without doing a very specific and targeted survey. C/Torres felt that the plan fell short of the Commission's goal and expectation of putting together a Youth Master Plan. Should the committee be disbanded at this point and is it the City's expectation that the consultants have guided the community to the point originally contracted. From his standpoint it was premature to give a report because there was not much -- progress to report at this preliminary stage. Chair/Grundy agreed. He felt this plan fell short. If additional work could be Put into this under the original bid price he would concur. However, he would not recommend spending additional monies for the additional work NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 9 P&R COMMISSION necessary to get to the point of having a workable plan. He did not feel this plan was worth the money spent to date. CSD/Rose responded to C/Torres and Chair/Grundy that the Scope of Work is near completion and that is why staff is moving forward to obtain City Council adoption. However, as earlier stated this is not the end of the process and there is a great deal of work ahead of the City to establish the Youth Master Plan and establishing the collaboration is the first step. Chair/Grundy stated that as expressed, the Commission feels that there are good recommendations in the report. The Commission would recommend that it be presented to City Council for adoption with reservation because the Commission felt it did not represent a "plan." CSD/Rose suggested the Commission recommend adoption with the understanding that there is a lot of work yet to be done in the implementation of this process. The Council is aware of that because they have awarded a contract to Alison Meyers to begin the eight-month implementation process. VC/Lyons asked if CSD/Rose had a vision of what the plan would look like and is this result what he expected. This is not what the Commission expected. CSD/Rose explained that the City used a process similarto that used by the City of Claremont. Although the plan is 10 years old Claremont is just now beginning to see some of the results of their Youth Master Plan process. He believes that in five to ten years from now, D.B. will be able to see positive results to these recommendations called out in this plan. C/Torres felt the City was at this point two years ago with national data and did not need to reinvent the wheel. To go from that point to this point the City has not gotten its money's worth. He said that he would not water down his value of this process. The positive aspect is that the City has been able to bring community members together through this process but otherthan that, two years ago the Commission had information about where the City felt it should go and this plan is not a plan. Its goals, values and mission and it is not a plan. Chair/Grundy moved, to recommend that the City Council receive the report as a guide only and not as a draft of the Youth Master Plan and that implementing a plan is a goal yet to be accomplished. In addition, the Commission had concerns about the figures and data contained in the plan. C/Torres proposed that the Commission request a joint study session to discuss this matter with the City Council. The Commission concurred. C/Chang pointed out that the plan clearly stated that it was a first step in a long process. Issues with the statistics and other data could be discussed during a joint session with the City Council. Another option is for the Commission to consider a change in the name of the document. NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 10 P&R COMMISSION Chair/Grundy proposed that the Commission could recommend that the Council receive the report not as a draft of but as a guide to the Youth Master Pian. VC/Lyons took exception to offering the document as a guide if it contained flawed information. The Commission concurred not to recommend any further action this evening but to request a joint study session with the City Council on December 7 to discuss the matter. 4.3 Presentation by ValleyCrest landscape Maintenance. Bill Arman, ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance explained the goals of his company. He outlined completed and pending improvements at Pantera Park and Peterson Park. ValleyCrest has been involved with the Diamond Bar Center project since the end of August and is currently involved in a major landscape upgrade at the site. His company hopes to begin maintaining Summitridge Park sometime between December 1 and December 15. Currently, they are maintaining only the new addition that was part of the Diamond Bar Center entrance on the turf side. He said he looked forward to the park walkthroughs. C/Torres said that he has witnessed a vast improvement at Pantera Park over the past 15 months during ValleyCrest's tenure. Chair/Grundy thanked Mr. Arman for his report. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Torres said he enjoyed being a part of this Commission. He is working with CSD/Rose on a new contact class, youth volleyball as an alternative to soccer in the fall. C/Chang asked if the City was pursuing a grant for the Astroturf. She said that a number of other sports organizations were very upset because they felt that Lorbeer was very specifically accommodating soccer. CSD/Rose explained that the grant was being pursued for an artificial turf soccer field plus improvement to the two baseball fields that overlap the soccer field. The goal is to provide two lighted soccer fields at the Lorbeer site with two lighted softball fields overlapping the upper soccer field. He said he was confused because a task force recently discussed this as a short-term plan for the community and staff was directed to pursue the short- term goals put forth by that task force. Any citizen who has concerns should call City Hall for an explanation. VC/Lyons said she heard about a wonderful new park in Chino that opened last week and has a wall of water. She felt it would be a great feature for one of the D.B. parks. CSD/Rose said that the City recently engaged in discussions about an -- aquatics facility for the lower portion of Summitridge Park. Chair/Grundy wished everyone a pleasant and safe holiday season. NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 11 P&R COMMISSION ADJOURNMENT: Upon motion by C/Chang, seconded by VC/Lyons and there being no further business before the Parks & Recreation Commission, Chair/Grundy adjourned the meeting at 9:42 p.m. Z tfu Su miffed, e, Secretary CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION HEARING BOARD ROOM OF S.C.A.Q.M.DJTHE GOVERNMENT CENTER 21865 Copley Drive NOVEMBER 18, 2004 CALL TO Chairman Grundy called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. in the SCAQMD/Government Center Building Hearing Board Room, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Torres led the Pledge of Allegiance. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Chairman Dave Grundy, Vice Chairman Nancy Lyons and Commissioners Staff: Bob Rose, Director of Community Services; Teresa Ilasin, Senior Management Analyst; Sara West, Recreation Supervisor II; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Supervisor; Alison Meyers, Recreation Coordinator and Marisa Somenzi, Administrative Assistant. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None Offered. 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS C/Chang and C/Torres abstaining from approval. 2.1 Youth Master Plan update - CSD/Rose (deferred to later presentation) 2.2 VC/Lyons said she visited the very scary Haunted House. The wall people in the Dot room did a great job scaring her because she was hoarse from screaming. She complimented staff for being flexible and offering the flu shots when they finally became available. C/Chang said she also enjoyed NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION the Haunted 2.3 Diamond Bar Community Foundation Oral Report. C/Torres reported that last Saturday the Diamond Bar Community Foundation held its first annual gala dinner dance and fundraiser. The event was a tremendous success and received a lot of positive feedback from those who attended. All five of the Parks and Recreation Commissioners attended in support of the event. C/Chang, Chairperson of the Foundation worked many long hours along with the stellar committee headed by Chairman Tom Sawyer, Master of Ceremonies and Jodi Roberto, Vice Chairman of the Foundation who assisted. He thanks C/Chang for her tireless effort. C/Chang said she felt so proud that all of the Parks and Recreation Commissioners were present at the event. She thanked everyone for his/her support. Chair/Grundy said it was a wonderfully orchestrated and great event. The effort put forth was tremendous. VC/Lyons concurred. 2.4 City Birthday Party - Oral Report. VC/Lyons reported that this year's theme would again be "Spirit of Diamond Bar" with a co -theme of "Sweet 16" in honor of the 16th anniversary of incorporation. The next subcommittee meeting is scheduled for January and she hoped for a better turnout. 2.5 C.I.P. Program Report -CSD/Rose. a. Diamond Bar Center CSD/Rose reported that the Diamond Bar Center has been upgraded to include security gates at the front entrance, a dedicated Veterans' Recognition plaque was installed at the base of the United States flagpole, a significant number of security cameras were added for a total of 16 to date, twinkle lights will be installed on the sycamore tree in the middle of the formal drive area and the landscaping was improved. b. Trail & Trail Head Development at Sycamore Canyon Park CSD/Rose reported that staff meets with representatives of the Mountains and Rivers Conservancy at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, November 22, 2004 in Alhambra to review the plans and specs forthe project prior to going out to bid. c. Summitridge Park Restroom and Tot Lot Development CSD/Rose reported that plans and specs were expected on Monday NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION for final plan check before going out to bid. d. Picnic Shelter at Pantera Park CSD/Rose explained that the plans and specs were due on CSD/Rose stated that Hirsch and Associates was expecting to provide the City with Plans and Specs tomorrow or early next week for final plan check. Staff intends to include Chair/Grundy and VC/Lyons in the Phase III discussions with f. Starshine Park ADA Retrofit CSD/Rose reported that the plans are complete and the project went out to bid this week. Staff expects bid documents to be returned by early January in order to complete construction by June 30, 2005. g Lorbeer Ball Field - Artificial Turf Staff submitted the grant application to the State of California seeking $1 million for the Lorbeer Middle School upper field. Staff will be meeting with the school district to discuss the joint -use agreement for the facility. In response to VC/Lyons, CSD/Rose indicated that the playground equipment would be installed in Summitridge Park just below the drop-off between the baseball field and the lower field. The age group for the tot lot is 5 to 12 years. 2.6 Storage Facility at Pantera Park CSD/Rose said he spoke with the AYSO representative after the last Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to confirm that he was looking for about a 200 square foot facility with a roll up door to house an electric vehicle. Staff will be contacting the company that is constructing the Summitridge Park restroom building to discuss a pre -built building. AYSO was interested in contributing about $35,000 toward the cost of the building and staff wants to know if it is feasible to construct a unit for that approximate amount. 2.7 Monthly Bus Excursions to California Casinos for Seniors In response to a request from the Commission, CSD/Rose stated that currently there are two excursions per month to different destinations. The Tuesday senior club offers excursions as well. Staff is looking into the possibility of adding one additional excursion if it could be cost neutral. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION Heritage Chair/Grund TBD TBD Peterson (Chang (TBD TBD 4.2 Presentation on Youth Master Plan Sheryl Gonzales, Pam Wooldridge and Susan Jones, Consulting Team of PDG & Associates, presented the Draft Youth Master Plan Executive Summary. Sheryl Gonzales reported that the subcommittee and stakeholders vision was that the Youth Master Plan would be a document to guide the community toward the creation of a comprehensive delivery system of programs, services and facilities that would provide opportunities for youth to develop their full potential to become healthy, happy and productive citizens of their community. Tonight's slide presentation was intended to review the findings and present the recommendations of the key strategy areas and action goals. The plan was a community-based process that involved four phases: Phase I - Community Profile; Phase II -Analysis and Assessment; Phase III - Strategy Development and Phase IV- Results. Pam Wooldridge reported on survey results. Sheryl Gonzales stated that one of the most important things that would need to occur would be for the City to demonstrate its commitment through a City Resolution and public policy at the Council level. The next important step is for the City and school districts to strengthen their relationship and demonstrate leadership to the rest of the community in their shared commitment to the Youth Master Plan. After that there would be research and recommendations for best practices in community collaborations and identification of the best practices of a youth development model to be used by all organizations that wanted to participate in the Youth Master Plan in order to achieve the ultimate outcome that supports the vision. The process would also include evaluation of public policies and practices to increase youth involvement and creation of an awards or recognition program that would recognize organizations and/or individuals that demonstrated their commitment to C/Torres felt the strategies were too broad to focus on how the City would achieve targeted outcomes in a very specific sense. Ms. Gonzales agreed and suggested that the City could place the targeted outcomes next to the strategies and indicate the activities that would be implemented with the intent of generating that outcome. She thanked C/Torres for his NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION recommendation Chair/Grundy asked if the strategies and recommendations were supported by practical recommendations. Susan Jones responded that the Search Institute Model, the recommended model, is well known in the educational community and the non-profit sector. This model has been the most successful youth development and community collaborative models. CSD/Rose responded to Chair/Grundy that Alison Meyers, formerly with the YMCA recently joined the D.B. staff and has the task of implementing the Youth Master Plan. As the City moved through this process it became obvious that the plan and its strategies would have to be researched and investigated to find the pieces of the puzzle that would support the recommendations of the plan. In his view, the City is moving from a Parks and Recreation program to a human services type of programming wherein the City provides services for the entire family and for the entire youth segment that develops characteristics to better help them become more productive adults in the society. This draft is preliminary and what Chair/Grundy speaks of is yet to come as this process advances through implementation. C/Torres felt that a lot of the information shared by the presenters this evening had already been developed by the Community Center Task Force. He felt that the City had paid for identification of priorities or targeted outcomes. In his opinion, it would be more direct to develop a system to measure success for targeted outcomes. "Cultivating leadership" on its own merits is pertinent only as it relates to achieving a targeted outcome, for instance. To him this is too global and the City would lose a lot of momentum that had already been developed. The most important fact he heard this evening was that "all program services and facilities are outcome based" and if the City truly believes that there has to be a tool for measuring how that outcome has been met. To him, the discussion should center on how to implement a measurement system to achieve the goals that were highlighted under the targeted outcomes. As an example, if there is a targeted outcome that "youth make responsible choices" it is a good outcome, but forgetting about the four global strategies, the report should define the strategies that will impact that result and how it would be measured. If it can't be measured it is only a value statement. The City needs measurable approaches to meeting these outcomes or it is more of a value or mission statement. While it is admirable to have such goals, it is more appropriate to ask what is the target goal if one is trying to "increase job placement skills" for instance. If the goal were to increase the number of school graduates he would like to know what the current graduate rate is in the local schools that are to be serviced and what the target goal is for increasing the number of graduates. If it is not measurable there is no way to evaluate whether the City is getting a return on its investment. Otherwise, this is a fuzzy science and if the City is going to spend all of this money it better be able to explain to the people who are helping to pay for the report. In short, he was unable to support an academic approach instead of a measurable NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION Chair/Grundy used the following example. If he wanted to build a house he might conceptualize some vague generalities. But when he sits down to put together actual plans for building a house it is a targeted measurement of his goal. To him, this presentation is not a plan. It does not lay out a strategy for implementation of the plan. Ms. Gonzales explained that this plan is an outline for the youth collaborative to create the actions they choose to implement based on the guidelines contained in this report. Item #3, Strategy IV on Page 20 states that the recommendation is to establish accountability with the implementation of the Youth Master Plan. It recommends that the Youth Collaborative work on engaging ongoing evaluation that is based on an annual work plan. The annual work plan takes these strategy areas and pares them down to specific activities for each year. The annual work plan will be a reflection of the Youth Master Plan and will include measurable goals and objectives working toward the realization of the Youth Master VC/Lyons said she was in total support of declarations made by C/Torres and Chair/Grundy. She was expecting a tangible document, something that the Commission could look to implement, not necessarily tomorrow but most definitely in the very near future. Perhaps the Commissioner's expectations were out of line. She agreed with C/Torres that this presentation would have more validity if it contained hard facts such as "10 percent of the D.B. youth age 14 and older smoke" and armed with that fact the youth collaborative could decide whether or not that was a concern. Or, "20% admit to drinking alcohol." This report contains statements that may concern someone but may not concern the City of D.B. Ms. Gonzales said that those numbers are included in the amplified report and the specific issue areas were determined by the steering committee based on specific numbers. She clarified that the steering committee established the broad based strategies and action goals for the next five years. Each year a specific work plan would be developed by the collaborative that would specifically address targeted goals. To make specific recommendations takes away from the process where the collaborative strengthens their ability to implement the Youth Master Plan. Chair/Grundy asked for help in understanding the level of expectations and whether the subcommittee and stakeholders were satisfied with the results of the detailed and executive summary. CSD/Rose said that at the last meeting it felt as if everything had been brought together. The final steering committee meeting is tomorrow and the stakeholders meeting was the last meeting held. The information was presented and well received at the last meeting. Although the document has a nebulous feel to it but it is up to staff/collaborative to use the skeleton that provides the direction to "put the meat on the bones." A group of people in the community will take the existing resources and focus efforts toward meeting and reaching as many goals as possible contained in the Youth Master Plan without expending additional resources. NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 7 P&R COMMISSION Ms. Gonzales explained that every time a study was completed the steering committee met and said what was important to extract frofn the. study and fold into the final report. Every step of the way they participated in the creation of this information. This was not a report that was prepared by the consultant; this was a report that came out of a steering committee process that represented organizations throughout the community. In addition, this was a bridge -building opportunity for participants to say the community should work together to deliver results. As a result, the inclusive issues and projected outcomes are a result of input from all segments of the community. The specific goals and objectives will be decided by the collaborative. According to the steering committee it is most important that the City show its commitment to the Youth Master Plan and from that point, there would be a relationship that would be strengthened between the City and the school districts to make a commitment to the Youth Master Plan and then the youth collaborative is formed and they create their first annual work plan that will be very specific. C/Chang said that as a member of the steering committee she views the document as a guide rather than a plan. From this point forward it is important for the community to come together to decide how it would accomplish the goals. At the last meeting there was a discussion about creating a youth commission in D.B. C/Torres felt the plan was too generic and for all of the time, energy and money spent he felt the City was not far enough along in the process. CSD/Rose said that this process is in its infancy with respect to looking at how the City provides services to D.B. youth. The City hired a consulting company to help get this huge process in motion. The process has barely started and it will require a lot of effort and energy to keep it going forward. Very few cities have made an effort to conduct this type of study to develop collaborations that are recommended for success. Without reinventing the wheel D.B. will ultimately be able to determine whether the programs it offers are resulting in their perceived benefits. D.B. is starting at ground zero with a foundation of information that was generated through the Youth Master Plan process. That foundation will make it possible to bring community organizations together to define a path toward helping the families and youth of this community excel. The effort to turn the recommendations of the Youth Master Plan into reality will require a great deal of time, effort and cooperation throughout the C/Liang asked the consultants to comment on perceived discrepancies in the percentages of population growth numbers based on the 2000 census. He felt that the report should be cautious about reporting percentages. D.B. is unique. To him, this plan reads more like a County Department of Children and Family Services plan. He said he admires CSD/Rose and the consultant's but felt the plan was too ambitious for Ms. Gonzales asked if C/Liang was referring to the California Healthy Kids Survey information that needed to be specific to D.B. and C/Liang NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 8 P&R COMMISSION yes because this plan was paid for by the City and belongs to the community. Therefore it should be pertinent to D.B. He said he was very proud of his fellow Commissioners that they looked out after the City. At the same time he did not want the consultants to misinterpret their intent. Everyone involved should be working together toward the same goal of making the City better. Ms. Gonzales wanted to be certain that C/Liang was referencing the California Healthy Kids survey because that particular study was done on the youth that attend Walnut Valley Unified School District and the Pomona Unified School District. The Search Institute survey was conducted among only D.B. students. Of all the numbers as they relate to the California Healthy Kids survey and The Search Institute's Attitudes and Behavior, that was probably the most reflective of D.B. youth. VC/Lyons said that only half of the students in those districts live in D.B. The schools in D.B. are markedly different from the schools in Pomona, a fact that is evidenced by the API scores that have direct impact in terms of some of the conclusions such as "Equal Educational Opportunities." The educational opportunities at Diamond Ranch located within the Pomona Unified School District are far superior to the other four high schools within the Pomona Unified District. D.B. needs to have input from D.B. students, not from students that are not in D.B. At the very least, there should be a reference as to which items are from the California Healthy Kids versus what items are from the survey of D.B. If the information came from a large group that consists of half of its student body being from schools outside of D.B. the information is not accurate and she was surprised the steering committee had not made that distinction. Ms. Gonzales explained that the Search Institute A&B survey was implemented only in D.B. schools. The information obtained through that survey was substantiated with the California Healthy Kids survey. In short, her firm gathered data from several sources and prioritized the data based on how often that same issue came out of each of those studies. The items that came up over and over again were the items that received the highest priority. And those were the issues the steering committee dealt with in terms of what should be done and how they should be addressed. It is very difficult to get a specific snapshot of youth and their families in D.B. without doing a very specific and targeted survey. C/Torres felt that the plan fell short of the Commission's goal and expectation of putting together a Youth Master Plan. Should the committee be disbanded at this point and is it the City's expectation that the consultants have guided the community to the point originally contracted. From his standpoint it was premature to give a report because there was not much progress to report at this preliminary stage. Chair/Grundy agreed. He felt this plan fell short. If additional work could be put into this under the original bid price he would concur. However, he would not recommend spending additional monies for the additional work NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 9 P&R COMMISSION necessary to get to the point of having a workable plan. He did not feel this plan was worth the money spent to date. CSD/Rose responded to C/Torres and Chair/Grundy that the Scope of Work is near completion and that is why staff is moving forward to obtain City Council adoption. However, as earlier stated this is not the end of the process and there is a great deal of work ahead of the City to establish the Youth Master Plan and establishing the collaboration is the first step. Chair/Grundy stated that as expressed, the Commission feels that there are good recommendations in the report. The Commission would recommend that it be presented to City Council for adoption with reservation because the Commission felt it did not represent a "plan." CSD/Rose suggested the Commission recommend adoption with the understanding that there is a lot of work yet to be done in the implementation of this process. The Council is aware of that because they have awarded a contract to Alison Meyers to begin the eight-month implementation process. VC/Lyons asked if CSD/Rose had a vision of what the plan would look like and is this result what he expected. This is not what the Commission expected. CSD/Rose explained that the City used a process similar to that used by the City of Claremont. Although the plan is 10 years old Claremont is just now beginning to see some of the results of their Youth Master Plan process. He believes that in five to ten years from now, D.B. will be able to see positive results to these recommendations called out in this plan. C/Torres felt the City was at this point two years ago with national data and did not need to reinvent the wheel. To go from that point to this point the City has not gotten its money's worth. He said that he would not water down his value of this process. The positive aspect is that the City has been able to bring community members together through this process but otherthan that, two years ago the Commission had information about where the City felt it should go and this plan is not a plan. Its goals, values and mission and it is not a plan. Chair/Grundy moved, to recommend that the City Council receive the report as a guide only and not as a draft of the Youth Master Plan and that implementing a plan is a goal yet to be accomplished. In addition, the Commission had concerns about the figures and data contained in the plan. C/Torres proposed that the Commission request a joint study session to discuss this matter with the City Council. The Commission concurred. C/Chang pointed out that the plan clearly stated that it was a first step in a long process. Issues with the statistics and other data could be discussed during a joint session with the City Council. Another option is for the Commission to consider a change in the name of the document. NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 10 P&R COMMISSION Chair/Grundy proposed that the Commission could recommend that the Council receive the report not as a draft of but as a guide to the Youth Master Plan. VC/Lyons took exception to offering the document as a guide if it contained flawed information. The Commission concurred not to recommend any further action this evening but to request a joint study session with the City Council on December 7 to discuss the matter. 4.3 Presentation by ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance. Bill Arman, ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance explained the goals of his company. He outlined completed and pending improvements at Pantera Park and Peterson Park. ValleyCrest has been involved with the Diamond Bar Center project since the end of August and is currently involved in a major landscape upgrade at the site. His company hopes to begin maintaining Summitridge Park sometime between December 1 and December 15. Currently, they are maintaining only the new addition that was part of the Diamond Bar Center entrance on the turf side. He said he looked forward to the park walkthroughs. C/Torres said that he has witnessed a vast improvement at Pantera Park over the past 15 months during ValleyCrest's tenure. Chair/Grundy thanked Mr. Arman for his report. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Torres said he enjoyed being a part of this Commission. He is working with CSD/Rose on a new contact class, youth volleyball as an alternative to soccer in the fall. C/Chang asked if the City was pursuing a grant for the Astroturf. She said that a number of other sports organizations were very upset because they felt that Lorbeer was very specifically accommodating soccer. CSD/Rose explained that the grant was being pursued for an artificial turf soccer field plus improvement to the two baseball fields that overlap the soccer field. The goal is to provide two lighted soccer fields at the Lorbeer site with two lighted softball fields overlapping the upper soccer field. He said he was confused because a task force recently discussed this as a short-term plan for the community and staff was directed to pursue the shortterm goals put forth by that task force. Any citizen who has concerns should call City Hall for an explanation. VC/Lyons said she heard about a wonderful new park in Chino that opened last week and has a wall of water. She felt it would be a great feature for one of the D.B. parks. CSD/Rose said that the City recently engaged in discussions about an aquatics facility for the lower portion of Summitridge Park. Chair/Grundy wished everyone a pleasant and safe holiday season. NOVEMBER 18, 2004 PAGE 11 P&R COMMISSION ADJOURNMENT: Upon motion by C/Chang, seconded by VC/Lyons and there being no further business before the Parks & Recreation Commission, Chair/Grundy adjourned the meeting at 9:42 p.m. Respe tfu Su miffed, 4i r B o e, Secretary