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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/27/2011 PRC MinutesCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION THE GOVERNMENT CENTER HEARING BOARD ROOM DIAMOND BAR, CA 91765 JANUARY 27, 2011 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Grundy 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: C/Herndon led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioners Lew Herndon, Benny Liang, Dave Roberto, Vice Chairman Ted Owens and Chairman Dave Grundy. Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Superintendent; Christy Murphey, Recreation Supervisor; Lorry Meyer, Recreation Specialist, and Marcy Hilario, Senior Administrative Assistant. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Irene Kim, 24231 Softwind Drive, shared that she and her husband enjoy the wonderfully maintained trails system and she wondered why the connector between the ridge trail and canyon trail was closed. It is her favorite trail that offers wilderness and now she has to walk down through streets and homes to get back to the trail. CSD/Rose explained that the sign was posted because a person fell on the steepest portion of the trail between Steep Canyon and the portion that goes over to the canyon route. When staff contacted the Joint Powers Insurance Authority, the options were to ignore the fact that someone fell because when someone uses the trail it is considered they are using a natural trail at their own risk or post that the section is closed. The City Manager directed staff to close that portion of the trail about November 2010. CSD/Rose agreed it would be a good idea to post information about an alternative route because there is a neighborhood connection to Dare Court. In the meantime, staff has applied for two different grants for funding to mitigate the situation. Even if the City is successful in getting the grant, it will be a matter of time before staff is able to get plans and specs and proceed with construction. Mrs. Kim explained how she felt it was unreasonable to penalize all trail users which takes people out of their way and out of nature for an additional 10-12 minutes for one incident because everyone assumes responsibility and she and many others use the trail on a daily basis. JANUARY 27, 2011 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION C/Herndon suggested staff install signage indicating that trail users can "proceed at their own risk" on any questionable areas. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented in the agenda and read by CSD/Rose. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.1 Approval of Minutes for the Regular Meeting of November 18, 2010 as submitted. Motion by C/Herndon, second by VC/Owens. Without objection, the motion was so ordered with C/Liang abstaining. 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 2.1 RECREATION PROGRAM UPDATE — RS/Murphey presented staff's report. C/Herndon asked if there was any indication that Mt. SAC will be backing away from their support due to budget cuts. RS/Meyer responded that they have backed off only to the degree that they stopped supporting some of the summer classes, but not in total. 2.1.1 PowerPoint Presentation — Seniors Clubs — RS/Meyer RS/Meyer shared program activities about the Diamond Bar Senior Club. In regards to senior softball, Chair/Grundy asked who the teams would play against. RS/Meyer responded that they are participating in an inter- city senior softball league that has been in existence for several years. VC/Owens asked the age -range for the senior softball league and RS/Meyer responded 50-80 years of age. VC/Owens asked what percentage of participants were D.B. residents and RS/Meyer said she did not know because the program is open to the public — D.B. and surrounding areas. She said she would get the numbers for VC/Owens. C/Herndon asked when the teams play and RS/Meyer said the first practice meeting and league meeting would be in March and games begin in May on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. C/Herndon complimented RS/Meyer on a great job with the senior programs. 2.2 Parks Report — PMS/Jordan In regard to the issue of copper wire theft in the parks, Chair/Grundy asked when the copper wire was replaced, if the area could be made more secure to prevent future thefts. PMS/Jordan responded that staff will fabricate something to limit access to the wire. JANUARY 27, 2011 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION C/Herndon said he noticed there was graffiti in many areas. PMS/Jordan responded that the report was slightly skewed because the report incorporates the last two months and the incidents have been relatively small. C/Herndon asked about the park walk-thrus and what the status was of the needed repairs. PMS/Jordan responded that he will follow up and report back at next month's meeting. 2.2.1 Power Point Presentation — California Conservation Corp (CCC) C/Herndon asked how staff makes contact with the Corp and how often they are available. PMS/Jordan said it is good to plan ahead and, as fire season approaches the CCC gets very busy. This is primarily because when there is a large fire, CCC personnel are called out to set up the camps for the fire crews. Staff tries to schedule them before the fire season. C/Herndon asked how often the City uses the CCC and PMS/Jordan responded, "once a year." VC/Owens asked if there had been any accidents involving the kids. PMS/Jordan responded that he was not aware of any accidents. VC/Owens asked if the supervision of the kids was good and PMS/Jordan responded that it is excellent. These kids are very polite, hard working and great to be around. C/Roberto asked how Sycamore Canyon Park faired during the rainstorm. PMS/Jordan responded that there was flooding in the playground area and more wood chips were washed away. He is apprehensive about ordering wood chips at this time in case of more storms; however, staff has money allocated for the repairs. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: 4.1 2011 CPRS Conference in Sacramento — March 8 through 11. C/Roberto indicated he might wish to attend. All other Commissioners indicated they were not planning to attend. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Liang wished everyone a Happy New Year and said he looked forward to a good year with good projects. C/Roberto wished everyone a Happy New Year and hoped it would be a wonderful year for the City and for Parks and Recreation. JANUARY 27, 2011 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION C/Herndon asked why there were no CIP reports this evening. CSD/Rose shared there had been no activity and there may be activity to report at the next meeting. C/Herndon said he read that the City of Claremont had applied for grants to purchase a large piece of property and wondered if this was something D.B. could look into. CSD/Rose said there are grants available; however, large pieces of property usually cost millions of dollars. He will look into the matter and report back to the Commission. C/Herndon thanked staff for a great job. VC/Owens said he supported trails signage. CSD/Rose said there are signs at each trail entry advising people to use the trails at their own risk and JPIA said that the signs were sufficient. If the City were to install signs at the spot discussed this evening, JPIA stated that D.B. would have to install signs at every other similar spot as well. VC/Owens asked why the Washington Street Mini Park grant was denied. CSD/Rose responded that the biggest issue was that one of the criteria for the grant was that the park needed to be in a low and moderate income area of the community. D.B. has no low and moderate income areas; therefore, it was a section of the grant that D.B. scored lower on within the application. VC/Owens apologized for not making it to the Snowfest. Chair/Grundy said there was a great turnout for the Snowfest. It was a warm day and lots of residents attended. He asked whether the snow melted faster due to the high temperature. CSD/Rose responded that he did not believe that it melted any faster. The snow survived the day until 4:00 p.m., with all runs still going. Chair/Grundy asked the status of the Parks Master Plan. CSD/Rose said he met with CM/DeStefano on Monday to discuss the Parks Master Plan and his biggest concern remains not having a funding mechanism to implement many of the recommendations in the plan. He believes the City Manager plans to wait to see if the CFD/NFL makes a decision regarding the proposed NFL Stadium project by May, and if that project moves forward, it could provide a funding mechanism for the Parks Master Plan. Chair/Grundy asked if CSD/Rose had any ideas about how to move this forward. Chair/Grundy asked if the Commissioners could dialogue with Council about advancing the plan. CSD/Rose said that each Commissioner is an advisor to his or her Councilmember and may speak with them about any issues of concern. Chair/Grundy asked each Commissioner to speak with his or her Councilmember to see what their thoughts are regarding how the plan might be moved forward and when. C/Herndon asked if there was an update on the new City Hall. CSD/Rose responded that the plans are being developed for the tenant improvements. The conceptual design was completed and construction documents should be completed in April or May. At that time the project will go out to bid. Staff is scheduled to move into the building by the end of December. Chair/Grundy asked that the next agenda include park walk-thrus. He said he appreciates everything staff is doing and all of the programs available to the public. CSD/Rose said he would address tonight's public comment at the next Commission meeting, scheduled for February 24. JANUARY 27, 2011 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION VC/Owens asked for a park walk-thru punch list update for the February meeting. ADJOURNMENT: C/Herndon moved, C/Roberto seconded, to adjourn the meeting. With no further business before the Parks & Recreation Commission, Chair/Grundy adjourned the meeting at 8:07 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this ��'�' day of F�� • �h� , 2011. Res pectfu I Iy,.� m itted, SE, SECRETARY Attest: