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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/28/2012 PRC MinutesCITY • DIAMOND BAR DIAMOND BAR CITY HALL - THE WINDMILL ROOM 21810 COPLEY DRIVE, DIAMOND BAR, CA 91765 JUNE 28, 2012 Chairman Herndon called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the City Hall Windmill Room, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Roberto led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Ted Owens, Dave Roberto and Chairman Lew Herndon. Vice Chairman Benny Liang arrived at 7:05 p.m. Absent: Commissioner Dave Grundy was excused. Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Superintendent; Christy Murphey, Recreation Superintendent; Mickey McKitrick, Recreation Specialist; Cloris Vargas, Recreation Specialist Senior Programs, and Debbie Gonzales, Administrative Coordinator. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None PRESENTATION OF 2012 YOUTH SOCCER SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS — RS/McKitrick RECESS: Chair/Herndon recessed the meeting at 7:10 p.m. RECONVENE: Chair/Herndon reconvened the meeting at 7:20 p.m. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented by CSD/Rose. 1. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1.1 Approval of Minutes for the May 24, 2012 Regular Meeting. 1.2 Receive and File transmittal of "Thank You" letter to Latter Day Saints Church Volunteers. C/Roberto moved, C/Owens seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Motion carried with the following Roll Call vote: JUNE 28, 2012 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: Owens, Roberto, Chair/Herndon None Liang Grundy 2.1 Recreation Program Update — RS/Murphey Chair/Herndon asked if there was duplication with seniors attending more than one group and RS/Murphey responded that there was some overlap for the DB Evergreen, the Diamond Age Seniors and the Super Diamond Age Seniors. Chair/Herndon asked if staff could begin working on a grant for a trail from Silver Tip to Pantera Park and CSD/Rose said staff could pursue that matter. Staff's priority at this time is to get the trails in the Summitridge Park trail system completed. The City obtained Land and Water Conservation grants for two more trails, the Grandview Trail and the Grandview Trail link which pays for only 50 percent of the cost so staff is working on additional grant funds for these two trails and the Silver Trip access to the Pantera Trail will be the next trail that staff pursues. Chair/Herndori said he noticed there was nothing budgeted for the Sheriff's Department and wondered if staff had not yet received the bill. RS/Murphey responded that Chair/Herndon was correct in his observation. 2.1.1 Power Point Presentation on her biography and the City's Senior Clubs — RSNargas C/Oweris asked for a definition of Super Diamond Bar Age seniors. RS/Vargas responded that Diamond Age and Super Diamond Age were once a single club. Due to philosophical issues, they split into two clubs. C/Owens asked if there were a lot of out-of-town participants in the bingo group. RSNargas said that it is basically the same group except that during the summer members will bring family members who are from out of town. Bingo is for 18 and over so it is a different age group. VC/Chair/Liang asked if staff intended to designate a senior award to a member of all five groups rather than three. RS/Murphey said that each club can still make a nomination. Some clubs choose to not submit a nominee each year. RSNargas said that this year, two of the clubs chose riot to turn in an application. Usually, everyone that has applied or turned in an application has received an award. She felt that it was because of the split in September; those were the two clubs that did not turn in a nomination. Chair/Herndon asked if it would be appropriate for the Commission to send a letter of congratulations. He asked if the activities were self - funding — the dances, bingo, etc. RSNargas explained that bingo is JUNE 28, 2012 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION sponsored by the senior club and the only thing DB offers is coffee, facility and staff time. DB has appropriate funding set aside for the dances. CSD/Rose stated that all of the senior activities are programmed to break even. That does not include full time staff and facility rental costs. The transportation for excursions is subsidized with Prop A funds. For regular adult excursions staff collects 70 percent in revenue of the Prop A funds. For the senior excursions no revenue is collected to reimburse Prop A, only the General Fund costs. RS/Murphy added that the next two staff reports will have a financial summary of all of the senior dances as well as, a summary of all of the senior excursions. Chair/Herndon asked what the average age was and RS/Vargas responded that all senior activities are for 55 and over. Mt. SAC classes tend to be 65-70. Mobility from Exercise ranges from 57-85. CSD/Rose explained that as mentioned, DB is the only City that has five clubs like this and DB is probably the only City that operates in this manner. Most cities have a dedicated senior center where they run a lunch program which is the primary reason for attendance. Many people who come to those programs are termed "frail and elderly." DB has a more active senior program. Lunches are delivered to homebound seniors through a separate program run out of Rowland Heights. The Diamond Bar Center program attracts more active seniors so the ages are anywhere from 50 something to 90 something. The majority of attendees are relatively healthy and active. C/Owens asked who provides the lunches to home bound seniors to which CSD/Rose responded that it is "Meals on Wheels." 2.2 Parks Report - PMS/Jordan 2.2.1 Power Point Presentation on the Sycamore Canyon Park Lodgepole Fence Installation - PMS/Jordan 2.3 CIP Projects - CSD/Rose 2.3.1 Sycamore Canyon Park 'Trail - Phase IV -- CSD/Rose stated that staff is developing new signs for the exercise stations because the ones that came with it do not sufficiently explain. how to use them as well as they could have. The interpretive panels have been ordered but not yet received. 2.3.2 Silver Tip Mini -Park - CSD/Rose indicated that the reopening ceremony was held on Saturday, June 16 with about 75 residents in attendance. The picnic tables and barbecue were delivered the Tuesday after the opening and are now available for public use. 2.3.3 Larkstone Park -- CSD/Rose reported that Building and Safety has requested updated structural calculations based on updated code requirements. Apparently the Calculations that were provided in 2007-08 are outdated since the building codes have changed. The JUNE 28, 2012 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION request has been forwarded to the developer. 2.3.4 Design of Sycamore Canyon Creek Repair — CSD/Rose stated that as reported by PMS/Jordan the lodgepole fencing was installed. The design of the Sycamore Canyon Creek Repair has been postponed due to budget issues and the item is now on the five year CIP. Unless something happens that pushes the need for earlier construction he believes it will not happen for a few years. 2.3.5 Trails Free Standing Interpretive Exhibits — CSD/Rose indicated that as previously stated, the panels have been ordered for Sycamore Canyon Mesa Trail and the Summitridge Park Trails and will be installed when received. 2.3.6 Dog Park at Pantera Meadow — CSD/Rose reported that City Council awarded a contract to Kormx, Inc. on June 5 to construct the accessible walkway to the dog park. The preconstruction ,meeting is scheduled for next Monday and construction is slated to commence on July 9 with completion and opening by the end of August. 2.3.7 ADA Improvements at Longview South and Stardust Mini Parks — CSD/Rose stated that the plans have been completed and both construction projects are delayed with Longview South being in the 2014-15 Fiscal Year and Stardust in the 2015-16 Fiscal Year. 2.3.8 Grandview Trail — CSD/Rose reported that the design of the Grandview Trail is included in this Fiscal Year budget and construction is scheduled for the 2013-14 Fiscal Year. A grant is paying for the design and the City has Park Development Funds for matching funds. The City has construction funds from the Land and Water Conservation but the City needs to come up with the matching funds. 2.3.9 Grandview Trail Link — CSD/Rose indicated that staff was just notified that the City received a $95,000 grant from the Land and Water Conservation which will allow the City to extend the Summitridge Trails to a loop completely around from the east parking lot of the Diamond Bar Center to the west parking lot of the Diamond Bar Center. The Land and Water Conservation believes that such a large loop trail is a significant accomplishment and staff is hoping that since most of the trail is completed different organizations will be incentivized to award grants for completion. Staff will be checking with Supervisor Knabe for Prop A funds, some of which were provided for the Phase III Sycamore Canyon Trail project and Silver Tip Park completion. Staff is also checking with the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy which provided JUNE 28, 2012 1 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION funding to the recently completed Mesa Trail at Sycamore Canyon Park. C/Owens asked who writes grants for the City and CSD/Rose responded CSC/Alison Meyers. 2.4 List of pending Commission requests — CSD/Rose. Chair/Herndon asked if anything has been done on the MOU approved by the City Council and CSD/Rose responded not at this time. Staff needs to schedule meetings with the school districts to move forward on this item. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: 4.1 Proposed Dog Park Rules: CSD/Rose reported that the City plans to open a Dog Park by the end of August. The draft set of rules came from the Southern California Joint Powers Insurance Authority which recommends design, features and other items to be included in the development of the dog park as well as, the rules to limit liability to the City. These items were reviewed by the City Attorney and the Inland Valley Humane Society. Staff also looked at rules posted at other dog park locations in Fullerton, San Dimas, Claremont, Huntington Beach and Arcadia. These rules will be set forth as an Ordinance and ultimately become a part of the Diamond Bar Municipal Code. These are considered infractions which means that the first violation is subject to a $100 fine, second violation in a year to a $200 fine, and third violation in the same year, a $500 fine. As with most park rules very few citations are ever issued and the rules primarily serve as a guideline for individuals using the dog park. Most dog parks are self- monitoring so that people who use the facility work with each other to create a good environment for the dogs. If someone shows up that has a non-cooperative attitude, that is usually the instance in which the rules are enforced. CSD/Rose went through the proposed rules for dog owners and their dogs with a limit of 3 at a time per owner. Within the fenced area dogs are to be off -leash. Owners will use the dog park at their own risk — the City is not responsible. The City reserves the right to eject individuals. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. There is no admission charge. Dogs cannot be left unattended. Dogs must have current licenses and vaccination tags. Unruly dogs are not allowed. Female dogs in heat are not allowed. There are two parks — the small dog park is for dogs weighing less than 25 pounds and the large dog park is for dogs weighing 25 pounds and over. Dog owners must clean up after their dogs. No digging allowed and holes must be filled in by the owner. There JUNE 28, 2012 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION is no alcohol allowed and no drugs allowed on premises. There are no spectators permitted inside the fenced area of the dog park (there will be benches outside of the fenced park area). Dog owners may not bring equipment and obstacles into the dog park. No food or eating allowed. No glass containers. Permits are required for special events. CSD/Rose stated that staff intends to include information about the dog park being adjacent to a wildlife habitat and small dogs in particular may need protection from predators. Chair/Herndon asked about spiked collars, service dogs and puppies under 4 months old being included in the dog park rules. Chair/Herndon said he would like to see prohibition of spiked collars and puppies under four months old included. VC/Liang asked if there should be a specific exclusion about professional dog walkers. CSD/Rose said staff felt the 3 -dog limitation would accomplish that. CSD/Rose said he would include no spiked collars allowed and puppies Linder 4 months not allowed. C/Owens moved, C/Roberto seconded, to recommend the City Council approve the rules with additions. Without objection, the motion was so ordered with C/Grundy being absent. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Roberto thanked staff for their reports and lodgepole fence and thanked RS/McKitrick for his soccer program. C/Owens said he attended the Washington Park dedication and was impressed with the large number of people in attendance. He also thanked staff for all their work, and for the informative power point presentations. VC/Liang said he missed the Washington Park dedication but may be able to get to the Silver Tip dedication. It was a great event. Yesterday he was in the Diamond Bar Center and noticed that the chairs were soiled. He said he was very surprised and pleased about the proactive customer service and commended staff members for their dedication and professionalism. CSD/Rose should be very proud of his great staff. All of his colleagues who attended the meeting commented very positively about staff and the service. Chair/Herndon echoed comments about staff and said that the City was very blessed with a tremendous staff. He attended the Washington and Silver Tip park dedications and felt the community was very pleased with improvements to both parks, which was very rewarding. He requested that the Commission be informed of any and all of all income to the City that might come from the Site D JUNE 28, 2012 PAGE 7 P&R COMMISSION sale and subsequent building process. ADJOURNMENT: C/Owens moved, VC/Liang seconded, to adjourn the meeting. With no further business before the Parks & Recreation Commission, Chair/Herndon adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 28 day of- June '2012. Re,;;s/pecjJfully u bmitted 13'ECRETARY Attest: LEW HERND00, CHAIRMAN