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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/23/2010 PRC MinutesCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION THE GOVERNMENT CENTER AUDITORIUM DIAMOND BAR, CA 91765 SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Grundy called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in the SCAQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: C/Herndon led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Lew Herndon, Dave Roberto, Vice Chairman Ted Owens and Chairman Dave Grundy. Absent: Commissioner Benny Liang was excused. Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Superintendent; Christy Murphey, Recreation Superintendent; Mickey McKitrick, Recreation Specialist; Alison Meyers, Community Services Coordinator; Chris Ramos, Recreation Specialist/Director, Summer Day Camp; Brad Montano, Leader II/and Assistant Director, Summer Day Camp; and Marcy Hilano, Senior Administrative Assistant. PRESENTATION: Summer Volunteens of 2010 — Presentation by CSC/Meyers, assisted by Chris Ramos, Recreation Specialist/Director, Summer Day Camp; and Brad Montano, Leader II/Assistant Director, Summer Day Camp. RECESS: Chair/Grundy adjourned the meeting at 7:23 p.m. for a reception in honor of Volunteens. RECONVENE: Chair/Grundy reconvened the meeting at 7:35 p.m. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None Offered, CALENDAR OF EVENTS: 1. CONSENT CALENDAR As presented in the agenda. 1.1 Approval of Minutes for July 22, 2010 Regular Meeting as presented. Motion by C/Herndon, second by VC/Owens. Without objection, the motion was so ordered. SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION 1.2 Approval of Minutes for Motion by VC/Owens, motion was so ordered. 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS August 26, 2010 Regular Meeting as corrected. second by C/Roberto. Without objection, the 2.1 RECREATION PROGRAM UPDATE — RS/Murphey presented staffs report. C/Roberto asked if the Chaparral gymnasium would be used for future programs. RS/McKitrick said he had every intention of requesting the facility again. Chair/Grundy said he liked the pictures in the program update. VC/Owens asked if there were different levels of competition in the adult basketball program and RS/McKitrick responded that this season he has five levels and explained each level. VC/Owens asked if the officials were Certified CIF and RS/McKitrick responded that all officials are Certified CIF. C/Roberto asked if the program was for residents only or included non- residents. RS/McKitrick said he could not give an estimate regarding the players but when he looked into it a few months back, 18 of the 34 teams had managers or assistant managers that were from D.B. He believed that most of the players were from other cities. C/Roberto asked if the program resulted in a deficit every year and CSD/Rose said that philosophically, D.B. does not recover the cost for the facility. Chair/Grundy asked how security was provided for and performed at the Diamond Bar Center before the new security company, Access Control, was hired. RS/Murphey responded that there was a different firm that provided the same basic service. Chair/Grundy asked if there was a reason to change firms or if this was a result of the normal process of going out to bid. RS/Murphey responded that staff was not entirely happy with the service provided by the previous firm and it was time to reassess the service provided. C/Herndon said he noticed that there were 174 registered for the fall sessions at the time the report was prepared and wanted to know the final count. RS/Murphey said there is not a final count for fall but registration is up to about 500. C/Herndon asked for clarification of the $1 per official per game. RS/McKitrick explained that the officials are paid in cash on site. C/Herndon said he meant the team fees. CSD/Rose said the fees were significantly increased about a year ago. The City previously included the league fees in the payment to the officials and took out $200 that was paid to the officials. Currently, the teams have to pay that SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION amount directly to the officials which reduced the fee collected by the City that goes directly to expenses. If the fees were included, the total would be $560 instead of $360. C/Herndon asked if the fees for adult volleyball had been reviewed recently and CSD/Rose responded "no." It is market driven and there are not many people involved in the program; therefore, an increase would likely price the program out of existence. C/Roberto asked if the City had conducted surveys of adjacent cities' pricing structures and CSD/Rose said staff reviews all area programs and compare fees. 2. 1.1 PowerPoint Presentation —Youth Baseball — RS/McKitrick presented staff's report. Chair/Grundy asked if the City provides food for the annual awards banquet. RS/McKitrick said that each team brings their own food for the day. Chair/Grundy asked how many people were present. RS/McKitrick estimated 250-300. VC/Owens said he was impressed with the number of people who attended. 2.2 Parks Report — PMS/Jordan C/Herndon said he spoke with C/Tye who asked if anyone did a walk-thru of Lorbeer. C/Tye said he was in the area and observed a significant amount of water on parts of the track. This evening, C/Herndon visited the site and observed water on areas of the track and observed standing water in the long jump area. He also observed bare spots at the center of the 50 yard line and at each end at about the 20 yard line. He asked the coach if he could move the kids away from those areas. C/Herndon asked if there was some way the City could coordinate with the coaches and Pop Warner to get their cooperation to not utilize those areas. PMS/Jordan said staff could make that suggestion. The difficulty with school users is that they have regular programs they run each day and one of their favorite activities is kicking field goals during PE, which explains the bare spots at the 20 yard line. Staff has discussed these issues with the school but there is little that can be done. He said he would make the suggestion again. C/Herndon asked if Lorbeer should be added to the park walk-thrus and PMS/Jordan said it could be; however, the extent of the City's responsibilities are confined to the football field and restroom maintenance. Also, the walk-thru would have to be scheduled during non-use time. C/Herndon said he thought it might be a good idea. 2.2.1 Power Point Presentation — Recent Park Walk-Thrus — PMS/Jordan presented staff's report. Regarding the issue of deteriorated rubber surface at the playground area at Peterson Park, Chair/Grundy asked if there was any consideration to removing the rubberized surface and using wood chips. PMS/Jordan said it could be done; however, it is not SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION simply a matter of removing the rubber; there is a concrete substructure under the rubber. The rubber is about 12 years old and it would probably be more cost effective to replace it with rubber. Regarding the issue of the paint being scraped off the steel rails by skateboarders at Sycamore Canyon Park, C/Herndon stated he thought the rail would be an on-going problem. If a skateboarder fell off and injured himself, he wanted to know if the City would have a liability problem? PMS/Jordan said he could not say that the City would be held liable. C/Herndon asked if staff could make the rails on an uneven surface to make it less attractive to skateboarders. PMS/Jordan responded that devices called skate stoppers" come in many forms and a skate stopper rail would be stainless steel or steel band that could be strapped onto the rail so it would not provide a skating surface. The larger issue is the composition (galvanized steel) of the rail which is not paint friendly and even areas not damaged by skateboarders are suffering. Generally, skateboard activity is on the rails adjacent to the stairs Nothing will totally eliminate the need for maintenance. A better option would be to strip the galvanized hand rails of the paint altogether, which would be a major undertaking and not aesthetically pleasing. The best option is probably to use skate stoppers and continue painting the rail. C/Herndon said he would recommend that staff evaluate the skate stoppers. Regarding scratched in graffiti in the facility bathroom mirrors, C/Herndon asked if the stainless steel mirrors were necessary to have in the restrooms at the parks. PMS/Jordan said that if the facility is going to have a mirror, stainless steel is the only option. That example of graffiti is probably the worst in the City and the damage has occurred over several years. PMS/Jordan felt the mirrors were beneficial because a sufficient number of people appreciate having a mirror in the restroom. 2.3 Cl P Projects — CSD/Rose presented staff's report. 1. Silver Tip Park - CSD/Rose reported that the Silver Tip Park design is going to the City Council during a study session on October 5. As soon as staff receives Council approval, work on construction documents will commence. 2. Washington Street Mini -Park — This project is with the architect as part of plan check. Staff hopes to have final approval of the construction documents soon and take the project to bid. 3. Larkstone Park The developer, Lewis Homes, submitted their documents for the third time for plan check. Irrigation and planning plans have been approved. If the plans come back in the next week or two after Lewis Homes pays some fees owed, the plan check process will begin again. SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION 4. Sycamore Canyon Creek Repair - CSD/Rose reported that there are two issues in Sycamore Canyon Creek that need to be addressed. One is in the undeveloped portion of the park immediately adjacent to the beginning of the trail near the storage yard. The creek wants to flow straight rather than conform to the original 90 -degree turn design and during the heavy storms of 2005, a significant amount of dirt was eroded. Staff will engage a consultant to provide recommendations for stopping the erosion. Funding for this year is for design work only. During the budget process next year, staff will make its recommendation for work to be done. The second area is by the tot lot which was flooded last year. Staff anticipates putting a seating wall between the tot lot and the creek to help keep the water from overflowing into the tot lot. 5) Sycamore Canyon Trail — Phase IV - CSD/Rose stated that he received the plans this afternoon.- The documents are partially approved and the last piece is from the geotechnical engineer. The architect will need to make some changes to a portion of the plan that will require import of soil at the retaining wall. C/Herndon asked if the Washington Street Mini -Park plans were what the Commission had reviewed and CSD/Rose responded yes. Chair/Grundy said. he thought there were a couple of options, such as the painted tiles/handprints. CSD/Rose stated that staff has the tiles and when the ground -breaking ceremonies are held, individuals will be invited to the location to design the tiles. Chair/Grundy asked what size a creek needs to be for the Fish & Game Department to become involved and CSD/Rose responded that if the creek is on a map as a blue -line stream, the Department has jurisdiction. Sycamore Canyon Creek is a year-round stream and the Department will have input on construction that affects the stream. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Roberto thanked staff for the reports. He congratulated the volunteers who appeared for recognition this evening. He asked for comment on the survey that was mailed to homeowners. CSD/Rose explained that a survey was mailed to 10,000 addresses in the City which is a follow-up survey to a 400 home telephone survey that was done last spring. The purpose of the survey is to see if there is a desire in the community, and at the City Council level, for a parcel tax that would be dedicated to improvements recommended within the Parks Master Plan. C/Roberto asked how many homes would be affected by a parcel tax. CSD/Rose said the consultant proposes the parcel tax would affect 21,000 parceis within the City including about 17,000 single family residences, commercial properties and multi -family residences at SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION different values. C/Roberto asked if the survey company was attempting to achieve a certain dollar threshold and CSD/Rose responded no, that it was to determine what threshold the community would support. Chair/Grundy said he was surprised that the Commission had not heard about this effort during the past year. CSD/Rose said the matter was being handled at the City Council level. CM/DeStefano, who was in the audience, came forward to provide additional information and to answer questions from the Commissioners. C/Herndon said this was a very informative meeting and it was wonderful to have the young people present and see them enthusiastic about the City's programs. He congratulated staff on all they do to make these programs happen. VC/Owens thanked PMS/Jordan for the park tour. He attended the Diamond Bar Day at the Fair and had a good time. D.B. was well represented. -Also, he recalled that the Parks Master Plan had a 5, 10 and 15 year implementation plan included which he thought would be helpful in addressing the funding. With priorities listed every five years that included dollar amounts, any anxiety in the community would be lessened. Chair/Grundy said it was a very informative meeting. Great job everyone ADJOURNMENT: C/Herndon moved, VC/Owens seconded, to adjourn the meeting. With no further business before the Parks & Recreation Commission, Chair/Grundy adjourned the meeting at 9:05 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this qday of 0C(06)S 2010. Respec ully 11. bmitted, B B-AS , SECRETARY