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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/30/2009 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 JULY 30. 2009 CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chairman Grundy called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. at Diamond Bar City Hall in Conference Room B, 21825 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA, 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Owens led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners: Benny Liang, Ruth Low, Ted Owens, Vice -Chairman Dave Grundy Absent: Chairman Herndon was excused. Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Superintendent: Christy Murphey, Recreation Supervisor; and Marcy Hilario, Senior Administrative Assistance. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As listed in the agenda. RS/Murphey stated that the baseball picnic starts at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 15th and presentations will be made about 12:00 noon. 1. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.1 Approval of Minutes for the June 25, 2009 Regular Meeting. C/Low moved, C/Owens seconded, to approve the June 25, 2009 regular Meeting Minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS NOES: COMMISSIONERS ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Liang, Low, Owens, VC/Grundy None Liang Chair/Herndon 2.1 RECREATION PROGRAM REPORT — RS/Murphey JULY 30, 2009 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION 2.2 PARKS REPORT — PMS/Jordan 2.3 CIP Projects — CSD/Rose 1. Sycamore Canyon Trail — Phase III — Award of Contract by City Council scheduled for August 4th with construction to commence right after Labor Day. 2. Sycamore Canyon Park Trail — Phase IV 3. Sycamore Canyon Park Building ADA Retro -fit — Phase IV 4. Washington Street Mini -Park Design. 2.4 PARKS MASTER PLAN UPDATE - Ron Hagan and Jeff Scott, Matlock & Associates. Mr. Hagan asked for questions and comments during the Power Point presentation. The document presented to the Commission is the Executive Summary portion which is one of six documents that make up the Master Plan. The Master Plan will also be on a CD in PDF format for viewing. The Executive Summary is divided into several sections 1 ) Introduction, 2) Planning Section, 3) Needs Assessment, 4) Policies and Guidelines and 5) Recommendations and Strategies. The priorities at the end of the Executive Summary have been divided into 1) Urgent Priorities; 2) Needed but not Urgent Priorities, and 3) Desired Priorities if funding can be determined. These will be reworked over the next month during the public review process. This is the first iteration based on the project team's exercises. The Executive Summary is a working document that can be used for meetings by referring to specific sections being discussed. The graphics have not been included and instead plan to create a custom and unique document for D.B. that would be a true working document. The Master Plan contains an entire section on all City parks. Each park is shown with its current amenities, the location, photographs, etc. and then on the next page, the recommendations for that park with the strategies, costs and funding sources listed on the opposite page. When individuals are attending a meeting involving parks, for example, the park document can be removed from the Executive Summary and taken to the meeting. The last document in the Parks Master Plan is the Maintenance Standards for all of the parks, medians, etc. CSD/Rose stated that the Maintenance Standards portion of the plan will not be adopted as part of the Parks Master Plan and will constitute a working document for staff. The Parks Standards and Maintenance Standards came from a variety of sources. Mr. Hagan responded to C/Low that the City had some standards and the project team reviewed the Parks Standards through California Parks and Recreation and through the National Recreation of Parks Association. CSD/Rose responded to C/Low that the Park Standards are already public record held by the City Clerk because it is part of the contract that is awarded to the maintenance contractor. JULY 30, 2009 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION Mr. Hagan said the process to date has been information gathering, research and analysis for the past six months. He visited every existing park and school site for evaluation in order to formulate the list of technical improvements such as the recommendations for meeting the Americans with Disabilities Act; looked at the conditions of the parks and determined what would need to be replaced and or upgraded. There has been community input, they have completed a demand and needs assessment and now have the Draft Master Plan that is ready for public review. The project team met monthly for the past six to eight months to complete a number of exercises to give input into the process. Some of the planning concept issues came out of the demographics study, the surveys that were completed and the stakeholder interviews. A key issue is that D.B. is a desirable place to live and is known as a "bedroom" community. D.B. has experienced considerable growth during the past 30 years and will continue to have some growth although it will not be as rapid as the last 20 years. There has been a remarkable growth within the Asian population which will most likely continue. Current population is a majority of young families but over the next 20 years there will be an increase in the senior population because turnover of properties in D.B. is far less than in other cities. Schools play an important role in education as well as recreation and D.B. is very dependent upon schools for fields and space for recreational activities. Schools provide cultural and recreational opportunities and work with non -profits, the YMCA and so forth to provide recreational services and activities. As a result, a number of tools were included in the demands and needs assessment. The City held a kickoff general public input workshop and conducted a number of exercises to determine what was important and worked with a number of groups, conducted a citywide community phone survey (the one statistically valid community input tool with a 95 percent accuracy rate to reflect the desires of the community and what the community would react to) did a sports group questionnaire, conducted a focus survey for senior citizens groups in Mandarin and English, and conducted park site and facilities visit intercepts (talked to users on site). The phone survey revealed 75 percent of the households in D.B. have visited a City Park or trail within the past year; 33 percent visited a local school for recreational, cultural and non -educational activities; 25 percent visited school sites outside of the City for recreation purposes. Residents most frequently get their information about Parks and Recreation activities (almost 40 percent) from the Diamond Bar Weekly News. About a quarter of the community gets its information from the Community Recreation Guide. Mr. Hagan reported that 94 percent of residents said they were satisfied with the current level of park, trail and facilities maintenance provided by the City, an extremely high satisfaction rate. Most cities are fortunate to get in the 70-80 percent range. The downside with that kind of satisfaction rate is difficult to maintain, especially in difficult economic times. Walking, hiking and jogging was the number one activity with 65 percent of the residents indicating they participate in those activities on a regular basis. So that information provides justification for the trails recommendations, the lighted walkways in the parks, trail systems within JULY 30, 2009 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION new parks, etc. The most requested programs and activities included health and fitness classes, library programs, social activities, citywide events and fee based programs specifically targeted toward seniors, adults, teens and children. Some funding will be traditional and others may be packaged under a park fund issue or facilities district if the intent is to go out to the public for funding sources. Half of the residents said they would support at tax issue of $148 per year and about half said they would support a tax issue of $118. At a tax issue of $88 the yes vote increased to almost two thirds and under $60 a two-thirds vote for a bond would be pretty certain. According to the analysis, the City could adopt a facilities district for up to about $150 if the right combination of improvements were offered to the community. Mr. Hagan continued his report stating some of the key issues from the sports groups questionnaire and focus groups were that almost 4,000 (nearly 50 percent) youth 15 years of age and under participate in D.B. youth sports programs. Groups are satisfied with field maintenance for parks and were not satisfied with field maintenance at some of the schools. Groups are satisfied with school maintenance at Lorbeer Middle School that is City maintained. There are conflicts among the groups (soccer, baseball, softball) because given the lack of available field space fields have to be multi-purpose and because they are volunteer organizations coaches do not necessarily tend to follow their assigned field space and will go out and try to bully their way onto fields. While it would be nice to have dedicated facilities it would be impractical from a land use and cost standpoint. Another problem is that fields tend to be used on a year `round basis which causes significant maintenance issues. Groups want dedicated facilities and all would like a site for tournament play (sports complex). In order to accommodate tournament play cities must have a minimum number of fields that include support amenities such as concession stands, parking, restroom facilities, vendor and sponsor facilities, etc. All groups requested lighted fields — particularly for practice. Practices generally take place during evening hours and with the time changes it is difficult to complete an entire practice session without lighting. Mr. d Hagan stated that with respect to the Senior Citizen focus they learned that about 76 percent of the seniors participate in city and senior activities once a week or more often. Twenty-six percent of the senior's surveyed reported that they visit the library at least once a month. The Friends of the Library said their major constituency during the day is seniors and after 4:00 p.m., teens. Forty-four percent of seniors responded that they access the Internet more than once a week and the computer classes for seniors have waiting lists so it is evident that there is a need for more space for computer classes. 350 seniors were surveyed and about 47 percent participate in D.B. Senior Club activities; 16 percent participate in Diamond Age Seniors; 15 percent in Evergreen Seniors; less than one percent in Sunshine Seniors and 21 percent participated in City (non -club) programs. JULY 30, 2009 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION Mr. Hagan reported that the Demand and Needs Analysis was divided into short-term needs and long-term needs. The short-term needs include 1) trail improvements for hiking and exercise, 2) sports field improvements including infield conditioning, lights and restrooms, and 3) tot lot improvements to neighborhood parks and ADA improvements for neighborhood parks. The long-term needs include 1) additional space for recreation programming for seniors, teens and youth, 2) additional lighted baseball, soccer, football and multi-purpose fields, 3) completion of the Trails Master Plan, 4) additional picnic facilities, walkways and open space, 5) possible future park acquisitions to preserve open space and to acquire additional park land to meet the standard of 3 acres per 1000 population, and 6) Park Security Measures. Mr. Hagan outlined the following strategies: Short-term trail needs — the Master Plan contains recommended improvements for the Peterson Park Trail, Pantera Park Trail, Sycamore Canyon Park Trail, Summitridge Park Trails, and the Larkstone Trail. These improvements can be accomplished through the annual CIP program and some are already scheduled. The long term trail needs include implementation of the Trails Master Plan. The Master Plan contains short term field improvements for improvements to Peterson Park, Sycamore Canyon Park, Pantera Park and Diamond Ranch High School. Diamond Ranch High School improvements include lighted batting cages and restroom facility as well as, Peterson Park and Sycamore Canyon Park some benches and bleacher improvements. The bigger issue with sports is the long-term need for additional lighted baseball, soccer, football, multi-purpose fields. The recommended option to accomplish this goal is to build sports complexes at Lorbeer Middle School and South Pointe Middle School. Previously, a task force recommended the City purchase a 60 -acre site to build a dedicated sports complex which is not realistic due to lack of 60 - acres of flat land and the money to buy such a large parcel. The second recommendation was to spread out over all of the park sites and school fields and make improvements to those throughout the City. The consultant found that the two middle schools offer a unique and realistic opportunity because they are the best sites that would accommodate lighted sports complexes. C/Owens asked if the consultant looked at Chaparral Middle School and Mr. Hagan responded they did but Lorbeer and South Pointe have better opportunities for lighting without impacting residential neighborhoods and can be used for parking as well. One problem with Lorbeer is that if the additional field was lighted another parking lot would have to be added to accommodate the uses. An alternative to putting in a parking lot is to share parking with Mt. Calvary. Mr. Hagan stated that another advantage is that the City has a maintenance agreement with Lorbeer and if the City were to enter into a contract with South Pointe there would be only two joint use agreements to deal with and two sports complexes to allocate rather than 10 elementary sites spread throughout the City. He said they were not ruling JULY 30, 2009 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION out doing improvements at the elementary schools because groups are currently using all of those sites. The consultant also looked at possible collaboration between Pony League and the YMCA and Lanterman facilities. Pony League is interested in lighting their fields and they are interested in a joint use agreement with the City that would allow them to pick up two new baseball fields and soccer fields on this site and a parking lot could be included by sharing the Lanterman facility. What complicates this issue is that the City owns none of this property and some kind of dedication or leaselleaseback would have to take place in order to do any kind of bond financing for these improvements. The YMCA intends to move forward with its master plan whether or not the City moves forward with its master plan. Obviously the best scenario for the Y is if the City vacates the end of Sunset Crossing and the City is attempting to get the Y on board with the City's Master Plan so that down the line if the City could work with the Pony League it would benefit both entities. Mr. Hagan said there were two specific plans for tot lot improvements 1) for Paul C. Grow Park and one for Maple Hill Park and conceptual plans for the tot lot improvement at Longview and other mini parks. His firm also conducted an ADA analysis for Maple Hill, Longview, Silvertip, Washington Street and Lorbeer Middle School. The Summitridge conceptual master plan for the highest and best use of the site includes long-term recommendations for a number of facilities if funding can be secured. If Lorbeer and South Pointe projects can be implemented, the sports uses are removed from the lower area of Summitridge which could enable development of a new facility for seniors, teens and youth that would complement the Diamond Bar Center. In addition, the concept plan includes a circular parking structure that would be built into the bank. Parking is a premium at the Diamond Bar Center and if there is a simultaneous event, parking becomes impossible. In addition, the ingress/egress would be changed and the pad next to the Diamond Bar Center has been preserved for possible future development (Library, new City Hall site, etc.) Another structure would contain a gymnasium, a teen center area with classrooms, fitness center, lounge, restrooms and a dedicated senior center for senior activities that would include a senior lounge, more classroom space, a new computer center and a new facility that could be divided up into three smaller rooms or remain as one large multi-purpose room. Cooking classes were a big request so a kitchen was included and cooking classes could be held on the site. There is a high priority need for citywide special events and the team looked at putting an amphitheater on the site but felt it was too close to the neighborhood and too narrow for large events. Summitridge appeared to be the only location in the City that would satisfy all of the future space needs. The parking structure is suitable to the topography and the top of the structure would be level with the Diamond Bar Center. By making it round it could be nicely blended into the site and complement the Diamond Bar Center. JULY 30, 2009 PAGE 7 P&R COMMISSION VC/Grundy asked C/Low to explain why she felt the Summitridge Park plan was not a good plan. C/Low said she saw Summitridge Park as one of the last open spaces in D.B. with wonderful vistas. A big parking structure in the area offends her sensibility and seems to be too much concrete and steel in that small park. The Pony League proposal or use of Site D would seem to be more appropriate. Mr. Hagan agreed that it would make Summitridge the most active facilities park in D.B. There is still a lot of open space with the trails system and all of those vistas being maintained. There is already heavy use in the area with the two sports groups. There is a need for this building somewhere in the City. A number of sites were considered and there might be a possibility that during future development of the Tres Hermanos area or the Aera area such a facility could be included. One problem is that one is on the very eastern side of town and the other is on the very southern tip of town whereas Summitridge is in the middle of D.B. and very accessible. CSD/Rose talked about the golf course site serving the purposes but that did not come to fruition. Mr. Hagan said he too included analysis of the golf course site. Mr. Hagan continued stating that other strategies include a building expansion at Sycamore Canyon Park for summer day camp; development of a proposed Pantera wildlife meadow. If the City could find a location to relocate the parks maintenance yard that is currently housed at Sycamore Canyon Park it would open the area to outdoor recreation that could incorporate a wildlife meadow area that would invoke both an active and passive area. The Girl Scout group was very interested in this site and wanted a small rock area to hold their ceremony and meadow areas for scouting activities. This could also be a possible site for a dog park. There is a master plan for the Maple Hill area that would include an expansion of the pool, locker room facilities, splash pool area, and a senior and team programmable space for the Y to run the program. D.B.H.S. has adopted a new 25 -year master plan that includes building a triple -wide gymnasium and a parking structure where the tennis courts are currently located with tennis courts on top of the parking structure. The concern is paying for long-term maintenance with budget concerns with the state and the schools. Eventually the construction will be completed and the City can share the pool facility with the school. D.B.H.S. is also looking to revamp their library and triple the size of their media center which should help the City because the school is interested in a joint agreement with the City to allow the City to supervise the programs at night to provide public access to the media center. CSD/Rose said there is nothing in the Master Plan that sets aside a location for a dog park and Mr. Hagan mentioned that would be an alternative for Pantera Park. The City is waiting for public input to determine whether there is sufficient interest in having a dog park. Mr. Hagan said it was difficult to put in a dog park when 70 percent want gymnasiums and classroom space and only one percent have an interest in a dog park and that is why the plan does not include a specific recommendation for a dog park. JULY 30, 2009 PAGE 8 P&R COMMISSION Mr. Hagan said that additional strategies include recommendations for picnic facilities, walkways and open space at Peterson Park, Maple Hill, Ronald Reagan Park, Heritage Park, Starshine, Longview, Silvertip, etc. In the parks section each park has listed what improvements need to be done. Some of the desired park projects include security measures. Slope landscaping improvements are also desired if funding can be obtained. The Master Plan also contains a section for "Site Acquisition Opportunities." There are a couple of sites near Clear Creek Canyon East and Clear Creek Canyon West that could possibly accommodate neighborhood park sites and there is open space in Morning Canyon that could be preserved. If they are not preserved it is likely that when the economy turns around they would likely be developed because these sites are currently zoned (R) Residential. Mr. Hagan said that he would be changing some of the recommendations for Peterson Park to address the need for picnic shelters and a new concession/restroom facility and expansion of the tot lot. Mr. Hagan summarized that there were a number of outcomes that were requested from the Master Plan. Instead of seven working documents there will be six plus one staff document for maintenance standards that will provide the Parks Master Plan updates through the year 2020, a priority CIP plan with the estimated costs for all of the improvements previously discussed, the Trails Master Plan update with the trails map, youth and senior program recommendations, athletic facilities needs for the next decade with possible site acquisitions, ADA recommendations, Summitridge Park conceptual master plan, the tot lot specific plan for Paul C. Grow Park and Maple Hill Park and maintenance standards for facilities (a separate document). Mr. Hagan said that after tonight's meeting there will be a public presentation and comment on August 8. The first public review meeting will include graphics for all sites; there will be a second public input meeting on September 12; in the fall the document will come back to the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Planning Commission and ultimately the Council for review, recommendation for adoption and consideration. He urged the Commissioners to review the CD and document and get their comments back to CSD/Rose so that they can be addressed at the next Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. VC/Grundy went over the process and said that if Commissioners had any major issues with the plan they should be put on the table now to give the consultant time to resolve those issues. C/Low reiterated her issue with the Summitridge recommendations. VC/Grundy asked how the Commission wanted to deal with that issue. CSD/Rose asked if the previous plan was available for consideration. Mr. Hagan reviewed the previous plan that created passive areas that could be active during event time. As the plan made its way through the project team the only logical place for the facility was Summitridge Park because it complemented the Diamond Bar Center and would fit on the pad. C/Low reiterated her concern that there is a major trail in the area and felt an activity center Vvc JULY 30, 2009 PAGE 9 P&R COMMISSION would not complement the open space/passive park concept. CSD/Rose suggested introducing the two options for the public meeting to get feedback to test both concepts and find out what kind of reaction the public has. 2.5 Trails Master Plan Update — Subcommittee next meets on Saturday, August 8th from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Diamond Bar Center Pine Room — lunch will be provided and there will be a review of the Draft document. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Liang said the Parks Master Plan presentation was great and was very thorough. C/Low believed the project team did a great job on the Parks Master Plan and while she was opposed to the recommendations for Summitridge, it was an overall good plan. She understood the challenges of putting together a conceptual plan. C/Owens said it was one of the better Master Plan offerings he had heard and felt the consultant and project team did a great job. He asked if the Commissioners should be present when the item was brought to the City Council and CSD/Rose responded yes, that it was a good idea for the Commissioners to be present. VC/Grundy said it was too early to tell about the impact of the state's budget cuts and how it might affect the Master Plan. CSD/Rose said there is no significant impact to the City at this time. VC/Grundy asked if there was any further news regarding the proposed NFL Stadium and CSD/Rose responded that pending lawsuits were holding up the development and that part of the Parks Master Plan funding would come from the project. VC/Grundy felt the Parks Master Plan was a job well done and thanked the consultant and staff for their efforts. ADJOURNMENT: C/Low moved, C/Owens seconded to adjourn the meeting. With no further business before the Parks & Recreation Commission, VC/Grundy adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Respecull S mitted, Bb OSE, SECRETARY