Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/26/2009 PRC MinutesCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION S.C.A.Q.M.D./THE GOVERNMENT CENTER 21865 Copley Drive Diamond Bar, CA 91765 MARCH 26. 2009 CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chairman Herndon called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the SCAQMD/Government Center Hearing Board Room, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: ROLL CALL: Present: Chairman Lew Herndon Absent: were excused. Commissioner Grundy led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioners Dave Grundy, Ted Owens, Vice Commissioner Benny Liang and Chairman Ruth Low Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Claude Bradley, Parks and Maintenance Supervisor; Christy Murphey, Recreation Supervisor; Mickey McKitrick, Recreation Specialist, and Alison Meyers, Community Services Coordinator. PRESENTATION OF 2009 YOUTH BASKETBALL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS: Presentations by RS/McKitrick. RECESS: VC/Herndon recessed the meeting at 7:15 p.m. RECONVENE: VC/Herndon reconvened the meeting at 7:23 p.m. REORGANIZATION: SELECTION OF PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION CHAIR AND VICE -CHAIR — continued to the meeting of April 23, 2009. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None Offered. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As listed in the agenda and reported by CSD/Rose. 1. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.1 Approval of Minutes for the February 23, 2009 Special Meeting. C/Grundy moved, C/Owens seconded to approve the Minutes of the February 23, 2009 Special Meeting as presented. Without objection, the motion was so ordered with Chair/Low and C/Liang being absent. MARCH 26, 2009 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION 1.2 Approval of Minutes for February 26, 2009 Regular Meeting. C/Grundy moved, C/Owens seconded, to approve the Minutes of the February, 2009 Regular Meeting as corrected. Without objection, the motion was so ordered with Chair/Low and C/Liang being absent. 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 2.1 RECREATION PROGRAM REPORT — RS/Murphey C/Owens asked if there was any interest in a women's basketball league and RS/McKitrick responded that there was not currently a demand. C/Grundy asked what ZUMBA was and RS/Murphey responded that it is a combination aerobics, Marshal Arts, Yoga and Pilate's. C/Grundy asked if 10 participants was sufficient participation for Volley Ball. CSD/Rose responded that teams are formed on-site and are self-sufficient. 2.2 PARKS REPORT — PMS/Bradley PMS/Bradley responded to C/Grundy that within the past month there have been no incidents of vehicular damage to park turf. VC/Herndon asked if there were increased incidents of graffiti and PMS/Bradley responded that there is no more than usual and staff immediately mitigates any new situations. -- C/Owens asked if there had been any feedback from the community on the missing park benches. CSD/Rose reported that Supervisor Knabe increased the reward. So far there have been no reports of what occurred. 2.3 CIP PROGRAM AND SPECIAL PROJECTS REPORT— CSD/Rose a. Emergency Generator Project at Diamond Bar Center — operational. b. Proposals Received for Design of Washington Street Mini Park — staff reviewed the proposals and is prepared to contact the two consultants selected for interview. C. Sycamore Canyon Park Trail Phase III — in the last round of plan check and out to bid before the end of April. d. Sycamore Canyon Park Trail Phase IV — in plan check and out to bid end of May, early June. e. Sycamore Canyon Park ADA Phase IV — staff met with the Community Development Commission of LA County to determine eligibility for CDBG funding and the review is complete. There are about $131,000 of eligible improvements to the facility that will complete the project funding for a total funding of just over $300,000. Staff expects final documents to submit for plan check with the project going out to bid in April or May with construction MARCH 26, 2009 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION commencing after the summer Concerts in the Park series and - Teen Concert is over. VC/Herndon asked at what point the Commission would be able to review plans for the Washington Street Mini Park and Sycamore Canyon Phase III and IV. CSD/Rose responded that staff can make a presentation to the Commission on Phase III and IV at its next meeting. There will be a public presentation on the Washington Street Mini Park as part of the process. The Commission will be invited to the neighborhood meetings as well as a presentation to the Commission. VC/Herndon said he would like to see updates. 2.4 PARKS MASTER PLAN UPDATE CSD/Rose reported that the first stage of public input is complete. The special meeting was held on February 23 to review the demand analysis and needs assessment. The consultant team is preparing for a study session with the City Council and the next subcommittee meeting is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 26. Staff is on track to complete the Master Plan by September 2009. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: 4.1 FEES FOR ATHLETIC FACILITY USE — CSD/Rose reported that this review process has been ongoing for the past couple of years and involves not only Parks and Recreation fees but all fees within the City. Many of the current fees have not been updated since the early 1990's. CM/DeStefano's goal is to review the fees and present a fee structure that collects revenue to reimburse the City for cost of services provided. In order to determine a proper fee structure the City hired Maximus, Inc. and has spent the past year reviewing all of the data regarding fees for the entire City including the use of athletic facilities. The primary costs that were identified that were specific to the use of the facilities by sports organizations has to do with the facilities including Lorbeer, additional maintenance at several park facilities, electricity, and additional infield maintenance done to prepare fields for sport program use as well as, facility attendants that are assigned to be present at the facilities during user group utilization. The total direct costs that Maximus identified in the study were $160,484. Maximus was charged with reporting the maximum new fee that could be charged according to state law that would incorporate recovering 100 percent of all costs including direct costs. Tonight the Commission has been given a fee chart that shows the - - recommended fees, current fees, maximum new fees, and a percentage of recovery. Results of staff's survey of charges for Bea, Fullerton, Chino Hills, Pomona, Walnut, WVUSD, West Covina and Yorba Linda are included in the Commissioner's packets. He explained the recommended fee schedule for the various types of facilities. CSD/Rose completed his report and responded to Commission questions. MARCH 26, 2009 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION John Long, President, Pony Baseball, said he represents about 450 kids and with the economy the way it is if the league has to charge an extra $10 per child it will be very difficult to keep the young people invested. Currently, there are several families in the league that cannot afford to pay so the league has to pick up the cost. The league does not get any money for its expenses. CSD/Rose responded to Mr. Long that there is no difference in cost for lighted and unlighted field use. The organization gets charged the $10 per player fee one time. Allocation will remain the same. Mr. Long wondered if it was fair to pay the same fee if the organization got only half use of the fields. He thought it would be devastating for non-profit youth groups to charge the extra fee and that many would no longer be able to participate and would have to find something else to do. Mr. Long responded to VC/Herndon that his organization charges $140 per child for the season. There are families with more than one child who wishes to participate and many cannot afford the fees so his organization sometimes waives fees. C/Grundy asked how long Mr. Long's organization had charged $140 per child and Mr. Long responded that he believed it was two years and prior to that the fee was $1104120. Pony Baseball considered raising the fee but received feedback that if the fees were increased children would have had to drop out so the organization absorbed the increase. Mr. Long reiterated to .0/Owens that the organization does not subsidize fees or offer scholarships, it just absorbs the cost. Mr. Long indicated to VC/Herndon that the organization holds a couple of fundraisers and has a snack bar that basically breaks even. Most of the revenues result from registration fees. C/Grundy asked if the organization lost participants when it raised fees by $20 and Mr. Long responded it was difficult to determine because the organization has lost kids for other reasons such as lighted fields. Other cities have lighted fields. He felt that many had left because families could not support more than one kid. Greg McKnight, President, D.B. Pop Warner, said his organization was dying. They charge a fee of $200 for those who enroll prior to July 1 and $220 after July 1. Conference rules dictate that his organization is not permitted to raise their fees. This year Pop Warner had to pay $10,000 to play at D.B.H.S. and $15,000 in the prior year. The $200 fee equates to $55 per child to have the privilege to play at D.B.H.S. and only four games are home games, which eliminates 25 percent of his entire budget. His organization held a board meeting last night and determined they may have to move out of the City. Pop Warner took a $3800 loss in registration fees and elected to let the kids continue throughout the year. At the beginning of the year Pop Warner does give out scholarships to kids who would otherwise be on the streets. Last year the organization MARCH 26, 2009 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION collected $41,000 in fees and its costs totaled $95,000. In addition, the organization has deteriorated from 18 teams to five teams over the past three years. Pomona and Phillips Ranch has a Pop Warner league and 31 percent of the D.B. participants were from that community so this league will lose those kids as well. He would like to have time to digest staff's report and be able to respond but other cities allow kids to play free and he does not know how to proceed because the organization is almost to a point where it does not have a place to go. CSD/Rose, responding to VC/Herndon's inquiry regarding a sports stadium in the City of Industry indicating they would provide a sports facility, said that the City of D.B. is in negotiations with the City of Industry and when the negotiations conclude everything will be in writing but as of this time there is no agreement. Jennifer Thornton is a single parent and has three boys that play Pop Warner and if it was not for the scholarships and Pop Warner picking up the cost her boys could not play. Because she does not have the funds she volunteers a great deal of time so her boys can play. Many parents are in the same position as she and parents want their kids to play next year but are already concerned about the fees. Vincent Cortez, D.B. Soccer League, asked if the City was talking with the City of Industry about helping out with costs and recreation leagues. CSD/Rose reiterated that negotiations are taking place and there is no information available to the public during negotiations. When an agreement is reached it will be made available to the public. Again, he has no information about what may or may not be proposed for the City of D.B. Bob Nishimura, head coach for D.B. Girls Softball, said his organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary in D.B. Enrollment is at an all-time low and the $10 would have to be passed through directly to the participants. He hoped that the Commission and City Council would consider that these organizations are non-profit and operate just like the Parks and Recreation department. This organization currently charges $140 and like other sister organizations, this organization gives scholarships. Some parents have three and four kids that play and there is additional cost for equipment. The organization keeps the cost as low as possible and subsidizes the costs with fundraisers. He asked the Commission to waive the fees for the last two weeks in July. CSD/Rose said there would not be an additional charge for a couple of weeks of practice because it would be considered part of the current season. The next session starts August 1 for the new fees. C/Grundy asked for speakers to consider how the City could pay for these uses and where the money comes from? Bob Nishimura said he expected the City to take care of its kids. Parents protect the parks and the kids. C/Grundy said he was not challenging the MARCH 26, 2009 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION speaker's concerns, these are real dollars and the City does not have the answer. If these programs are costing the City more than it gains in revenues, help the City determine where it should get the extra money to provide these services. Bob Nishimura said it should not come from a tax on the City's children. $10 may not sound like a lot of money but for kids who play different sports it adds up. C/Grundy explained that the City is not saying anything about taxing kids. The City is proposing an increase and asking parents, coaches and others to help the City understand how it might find additional dollars so it does not have to raise the fees. Bob Nishimura said he would be happy to come back to the next meeting and help the Commission identify costs. He will look at the City's budget and review the lengthy document that was made available this evening. C/Grundy said the economy was of great concern to the City as well as its citizens and how can all parties work together to balance the budget and still provide the services the residents' want. This is not just the City's problem, it is a universal problem and everyone needs to be part of the solution. Jeff Walters, Destroyers Baseball Club, thanked the City for providing services to the kids. He said he was not protesting the fees but he wanted to know if the City would be faced with deficit spending if it did not pass these costs along to the user groups. He stated that the batting cages are not usable at night because there is no lighting. He appreciates everything the City has done. $10 per person does not sound unreasonable but if the kids pay the $10 will it be used to sponsor senior trips? Are other groups including the seniors being asked to pay the same amount for their use of facilities? He said he was not objecting to the fees but he would like for it to be equal for all groups and know where the money was spent. VC/Herndon said he believed some of the speaker's concerns were addressed in the report. For example, the proposed fees would recover only 42 percent of the expenses. Jeff Walters asked if the City was over budget and CSD/Rose said that staff's charge was asked to study all fees that the City is charging and any program that has a direct cost is being studied to see what it would take to recover those costs. Paloma Martinez, D.B.H.S., wondered if the City could have a citywide fundraiser to collect backup funds and provide kids with the ability to play sports. A speaker said that the key is cost -management. When he considers the maintenance of Lorbeer field and what was apparent after the field was restored was that the field was continually being irrigated. There are ways of cutting money by not having to reseed twice. We have to be proper caretakers and if it is done properly everyone wins. Debbie Ferguson, Registrar, D.B. AYSO, speaking as a parent and child MARCH 26, 2009 PAGE 7 P&R COMMISSION educator, said she found it interesting that people want to provide services - that residents cannot afford. As citizens, the first obligation is to provide for future citizens. As an educator she is very concerned about the mandated minutes that PE is to be provided and she does not know one teacher that provides those mandated minutes and kids do not get the adequate amount of physical education. Child obesity is a problem and unless poorer children in particular are provided more physical education there will be even higher rates of obesity and what will the future hold for them and for their health care. Unhealthy children will cost the City, state and country more in the long run. She suggested that a community group be formed to come up with solutions on how to provide additional money to provide activities for youth. Following discussion, C/Owens moved, C/Grundy seconded, to continue this matter to a future meeting wherein all commissioners are present to consider this item. Without objection, the motion was so ordered with C/Liang and Chair/Low being absent. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Grundy said he was disappointed that he would not be able to attend the Easter Egg Hunt this year and hoped it would be a great time for all. Some individuals thought he was challenging his thoughts on what they felt were the benefit of the program and he assured them that was not so. He and his children have been involved in youth activities for several years and it is not that he questions the value of youth sports programs because he thinks they are great. He is not necessarily in favor of or against the fee. He wanted to make sure that everyone understood is that for everyone to take ownership of the entire problem. This is not just a City problem because the City ultimately gets money from its residents. Home values are down and the City is faced with declining property tax revenues and eventually all of these issues come back to the residents. He asked everyone to consider the entire picture, where the money comes from and where the money goes because it is all part of the City anyway and if it can be solved the entire picture should be understood so that D.B. does not propagate some of the issues that have caused the economy to decline to its current state. He felt the comments and ideas expressed this evening by concerned citizens were great. VC/Herndon thanked everyone for their participation this evening. The input was very good and useful and gives the Commissioners an opportunity to think through this entire issue. C/Owens said he appreciates the volunteer user groups because they help make D.B. the great City that it is. He supports the user groups and understands that a -- lot of volunteer time is donated to the youth. MARCH 26, 2009 PAGE 8 P&R COMMISSION ADJOURNMENT: C/Owens moved, C/Grundy seconded, to adjourn the meeting. With no further business before the Parks & Recreation Commission, VC/Herndon adjourned the meeting at 8:58 p.m. bmitted, E,`'SECRETARY Attest: CHAIRMAN LEW HERNDON