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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/28/2011 PRC MinutesCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION THE GOVERNMENT CENTER HEARING BOARD ROOM DIAMOND BAR, CA 91765 APRIL 28, 2011 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Roberto called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:01. p'.m. in the SCAQMD/Government Center Hearing Board Room, 21865 Copley Drive,, Diamond Bar, CA 91765.- PLEDGE 1765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: C/Owens led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Dave Grundy, Benny Liang, Ted Owens, Vice Chairman Lew Herndon and Chairman Dave Roberto. Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Anthony Jordan, - Parks and Maintenance Superintendent; Christy Murphey; Recreation Superintendent; Crystal Knox, Community, Services- Coordinator; "Allison Meyers, Community Services ..Coordinator; and, Marcy Hilario, Senior Administrative Assistant. . D134YOUTH — REC-OGNITION -OF' OUTGOING/INCOMING BOARD MEMBERS — Alison Meyers MATTERS FROM -THE ,AUDIENCE:.. None CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented in the agenda. 1.." CONSENT CALENDAR: 1.1 Approval of Minutes for the Regular' Meeting of March 24, 2011. VC/Herndon moved, C/Owens seconded, to approve the ,March 24, 2011 minutes as presented: Without"objection, the motion was so ordered. 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 2.1 Recreation Program Update — RS/Murphy" 2:1.1•. PowerPoint presentation.' on DBC Specialists and Security.7 CSC/Knox APRIL 28, 2011 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION C/Owens asked about what other cities the Volunteens come from. RS/Murphy responded that one was from Walnut and two from Chino Hills. VC/Herndon asked what the City does when they turn down applicants. CSC/Meyers responded that primarily, the City sends them an e-mail indicating they were not accepted and suggest they apply in their own cities. Subsequently, staff sends them a follow-up letter explaining that the program is limited to D.B. residents. Chair/Roberto asked if the cost of security services was passed on to the renters. CSC/Knox responded yes. The per -hour cost is $15.90 and they are required to be present one-half hour prior to alcohol service through the end of the clean-up. If there is no alcohol service, they are required to be present one-half hour before the event starts. VC/Herndon asked how long the new security company had been with the City. CSC/Knox responded since August 2010. VC/Herndon asked what the City did prior to that. CSD/Knox stated that the City contracted with a different company; however, staff was not pleased with their service. Therefore, an RFP was sent out and calls were made to other cities and hotels to inquire about their policies and recommendations were requested. C/Owens asked if there had been any incidents since the new contractor came on board. CSC/Knox responded that nothing significant has occurred. The service has been great. CSD/Rose shared that the specialists handle thousands of details that make it possible to operate the facility in an efficient and effective way. The security company is a partner in the operation and it was at CSC/Knox's suggestion that the City seek a different company to better partner with. It has turned out to be a great relationship and has improved the operation of the Center tremendously. He thanked CSC/Knox for her work and acknowledged the level of detailed effort by the specialists. On another note, CSD/Rose reported that it appears that the older age basketball division will be included in next year's program. 2.2 Parks Report — PMS/Jordan 2.2.1 Power Point Presentation on Park Walk-through — Paul C. Grow Park — PMS/Jordan. VC/Herndon asked what the policies are on batting cages. PMS/Jordan responded that he believed the batting cages were open during the regular park hours. If there is a permitted user on the softball field, that user has priority over use of the batting cages. VC/Herndon said he was told they were locked during park hours and wondered if the policy had changed for the pitching machines. PMS/Jordan said the machines are housed in separate APRIL 28, 2011 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION storage enclosures which are locked and not accessible to the public. The batting cages are not locked. CSD/Rose agreed that the batting cages are not supposed to be locked. VC/Herndon asked if staff could follow up on the matter. PMS/Jordan added the only exception might be during periods of renovation when fields are closed. C/Owens shared that while he was at the senior's softball opening day ceremonies, he looked at the batting cage at Pantera and asked whether the primary use was softball or baseball. CSD/Rose replied that it is for both. C/Owens said he noticed the distance between home plate and the batting cage does not meet the design for baseball and wondered if it was for softball only. He asked if there had been complaints about the lighting and CSD/Rose said there had been some concerns that the lighting from the ball field was not bright enough and it is listed for future improvement. Chair/Roberto asked if the pitching machines were accessible to the public or just for organizations. CSD/Rose responded just to organizations. 2.3 Report on Diamond Bar Community Foundation Activities — CSC/Meyers VC/Herndon stated that at one time he was aware that a fund was established for a Bob Zirbes sports complex. He wondered if funds were sitting, had been added to or expended. CSC/Meyers responded the funds are available; however, nothing has been done with those funds as of this date. She said she was not sure of the amount but the Foundation intends to have that money go toward a sports complex in D.B., if feasible. VC/Herndon asked if there was any movement to expand that effort. During the Commission's study session, he brought up that the Friends of the Library had made significant contributions toward getting a library and wondered if a group could be formed that would aggressively and actively raise funds for a sports complex. He asked if there had been any discussion of that nature within the organization. CSC/Meyers said she did not want to speak out of turn but understood the intent of the Foundation is for the money they have to go toward a sports complex. At this time, there is no committee promoting fundraising because there are no plans and no location for a sports complex in the City. Until there is an opportunity and someone is appointed to the board or presents to. the board what could happen, it is unlikely there will be any movement in that direction. VC/Herndon stated that in the Master Plan, there are field improvements and other things that would really benefit the community and possibly when the pian is released; it might give the Foundation an opportunity to pursue some of those things. CSC/Meyers said the Foundation may be open to that and may be looking for more community members to come on board to pursue supporting a sports complex. Therefore; there would need to be a subcommittee appointed, with a specific goal toward making that happen. APRIL 28, 2011 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION 2.4 Status of CIP Projects — CSD/Rose 2.4.1. Washington Street Mini -Park — The consultant has not returned the corrected plans yet. 2.4.2 Sycamore Canyon Park Trail — Phase IV — All of the reports are in and the plan check is in. Staff has one question to the geotechnical engineer regarding backfill requirements behind the required wall. Once staff has a response, this matter will go out to bid. 2.4.3 Silver Tip Mini -Park — For the most part, the plan check has been completed. There is a drainage issue that the City's Public Works Department is working with the civil engineer to resolve. The resolution will likely cost about three times the cost of the drainage system; therefore, once that is settled, the plans will be updated with the correct information and the project will go out to bid. 2.4.4 Larkstone Park — This park is still a part of the plan check for the housing development. The grading plan for the entire development is being reviewed and the Larkstone Park component will not be approved until the entire grading plan is approved. C/Owens asked when construction will begin on Washington Street Mini Park. CSD/Rose responded that staff expects to begin construction just after the first of July. C/Owens asked the projected budget for the project and CSD/Rose responded that it is about $500,000. We applied for a grant for roughly $250,000. 2.4.5 Dog Park at Pantera Park (Meadow Location) — On April 21, the City Council approved a dog park for Pantera Park meadow. CSD/Rose provided details about the layout of the area using an overhead map. The Draft Parks Master Plan refers to this area as the Wildlife Meadow. The parcel is 1.35 acres and a portion of the area will be a small dog park with a larger area set for a large dog park. Additionally, another area is designed to be a DG (Decomposed Granite) pathway. The park will have a six foot high fence and double entry gates. The DG path will go to the trail. The civil engineer suggested that the DG path actually be a concrete path at the corner where the path meets the small dog park because the drainage pattern at that location would likely wash out a DG path. Once the final budget item is approved, the project will move forward. C/Owens asked what kind of feedback staff received from the school district and residents in the area. CSD/Rose stated the school district has no issue with a dog park across the street. The residents have not provided input. C/Owens asked if the residents had been notified and CSD/Rose responded no. APRIL 28, 2011 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION VC/Herndon asked how the residents would be notified because this seems to be on a fast track. CSD/Rose said he believed notification would be done as part of the CEQA process. Each time there has been a development near a neighborhood, the Planning Department has stationed a 4x8 foot sign at the location as part of the notification process. VC/Herndon asked if there was any discussion about raising licensing fees for pets to cover the cost of the dog park and CSD/Rose responded no. CSD/Rose concluded by stating completed by fall 2011 and the 2011-12 FY budget. 3. OLD BUSINESS: 3.1 Parks Master Plan the goal is to have the Dog Park funds would be included in the CSD/Rose announced that the Parks Master Plan is before the Commission tonight for its review and possible recommendation for City Council adoption. There is also a recommendation for the Parks and Recreation Commission to establish a subcommittee to study options for the implementation of the plan. He talked about the revisions and updates contained in staff's report. Ron Hagan, TKE, elaborated on the updated Parks Master Plan. He pointed out that the City put the Master Plan on hold while working with another consultant to look at the feasibility of establishing Facilities Development Districts and possible financing mechanisms as well as, possible voter approval mechanisms in order to fund the Parks Master Plan implementation. One concern of the City's administration is that once this plan is approved by the City Council and becomes a public document, it tends to build expectations for what is going to be done. Some cities have gotten into political issues with adopting master plans with specific recommendations for every park and when unable to fund all of those recommendations, were faced with the political outfall. Therefore, the City wanted this to be a truly "planning" document and the City's administration wanted to make sure that the priorities were listed (Table 7.1) and would be the priorities to implement once funding becomes available. The City has ongoing monies that come in from the General Fund, Parks Fund, and 'different per -capita grants, etc. Therefore, as funds come in, that is the guideline for updating the annual Capital Improvement Program (CIP). However, the list of recommended priority improvements is not all of the site improvements that are needed at each of the sites. As a result, TKE came up with a format to show what the site analysis and recommendations should be and what future site recommendations should be in total per site. Each site, whether a park site, a school site, a joint -use opportunity site, a future acquisition site, a trail site, is in the same format of three pages: Page 1) shows the existing amenities; Page 2) site analysis, and Page 3) all site recommendations for APRIL 28, 2011 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION the future. He elaborated on some of the site recommendations and referred the Commissioners to the disc provided this evening. Chair/Roberto said he would like to have a study session so that the Commission could go through questions on changes that have taken place on the Master Plan. Mr. Hagan agreed and said he was available on May 12 at 5:00 p.m. The Commissioners concurred to schedule a May 12, 2011 Study Session to commence at 5:00 p.m. at City Hall. Commissioners agreed that they would like a summary of proposed changes. Commissioners agreed to email small corrections or changes to CSD/Rose prior to the May 12 Study Session. Discussion ensued about the format, changes and other related matters. 4. NEW BUSINESS: None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Owens talked about the senior softball opening day and the Easter Egg Hunt VC/Herndon said that his springtime hours were spent coaching and he had little time to attend City events. He was pleased that the City decided to move forward with the Parks Master Plan. A lot of work has gone into the document and he felt it would be very helpful and meaningful especially if the residents will get behind fundraising efforts to make things happen. Thanks to staff for the great job. C/Liang thanked staff for all of its hard work. He has first-hand experience with the Diamond Bar Center and has always had great customer service from staff. C/Grundy said he was not able to make it to the Easter Egg Hunt but he has visited several parks and everything looks very green. Overall, it seems like things are going very well with the parks and thanked PMS/Jordan for a great job. Chair/Roberto thanked staff for tonight's reports. He was not involved in the Parks Master Plan process; however, he acknowledged that a lot of work has gone into the document and more will be done before it gets recommended for adoption by the City Council. He attended the City Birthday Party and heard there were power problems. He also received suggestions about having a beer booth at future events. He attended the City Council Study Session during which the Dog Park was discussed. He also attended the DB4Youth meeting the previous night.. CSD/Rose explained that during the City Birthday Party, the fuel filter split open on the generator being used by the carnival provider. When the fuel filter split, diesel began leaking from the generator and they were forced to shut down the APRIL 28, 2011 PAGE 7 P&R COMMISSION generator. The only remedy was to drive to the city of Brea to buy a new fuel filter and make the exchange. As a result, the rides were not operating for about an hour and 15 minutes. Refunds were given to individuals who chose not to wait until the repairs were made. In addition, no tickets were sold during the down time and when the repairs were made and ticket sales went forward, there was only about an hour and 15 minutes left in the day. Therefore, tickets were sold for $5. The vendor provided the City with a pro -rated cost for the carnival rides. The provider said it was a first for them and the City has not experienced this type of problem with any of its generators. Obviously, this happened at a very inopportune time, but could not be avoided. ADJOURNMENT: C/Grundy moved, VC/Herndon seconded, to adjourn the meeting. With no further business before the Parks & Recreation Commission, Chair/Roberto adjourned the meeting at 8:47 p.m. ", -p4 The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this =u day of C`!i , 2011. Respectfully Submitted, B SE, ECRETARY Attest: DAVE ROBERTO, CHAIRMAN