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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/22/2014 PRC MinutesCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION DIAMOND BAR CITY HALL - THE WINDMILL ROOM 21810 COPLEY DRIVE, DIAMOND BAR, CA 91765 MAY 22, 2014 Chairman Owens called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Windmill Room, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Herndon led the Pledge of Allegiance. Present: Commissioners Dave Grundy, Lew Herndon, Kim Hsieh and Chairman Ted Owens Vice Chairman Benny Liang arrived at 7:13 p.m. Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Superintendent; Jason Williams, Senior Facilities Maintenance Worker; Christy Murphey, Recreation Superintendent; Andee Tarazon, Community Services Coordinator, and Debbie Gonzales, Administrative Coordinator. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented by CSD/Rose. 1. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1.1 Approval of Minutes for April 24, 2014 Regular Meeting. C/Grundy moved, C/Hemdon seconded, to approve the April 24, 2014 Minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Grundy, Herndon, Hsieh, Chair/Owens None VC/Liang 2.1 Recreation Program Update — RS/Murphey Chair/Owens asked the maximum number of kids for the baseball program and RS/Murphey responded about 220, depending on sign up and which divisions go up, MAY 22, 2014 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION C/Grundy said that he noticed on the senior seminars that other than the Alzheimer's/Dementia session, the rest were pretty lightly attended and asked if staff takes that low enrollment/attendance into consideration when they offer those same kinds of sessions again. RS/Murphey responded that staff pays attention to what the seniors request and perhaps offer the most popular more often and the less popular seminars less often. C/Hemdon said he noticed quite a jump from what was invested in 2010 and 2011 to the more recent years City Birthday Party events and asked for an explanation of the jump in costs. CSC/Tarazon said that obviously, the City added more events for the 25th Anniversary Celebration this year. A second stage was added and the City changed ride rental companies to increase the quality and volume of rides. In addition, there was strolling entertainment this year. In previous years prices fluctuated a lot with the rides and the City had been changing ride companies consistently. It is difficult to find a carnival ride company that will come out for a one -day event and offer the big rides the City's requests. Typically, the rides account for most of the increase in price. In general, the bigger the event gets the more restrooms are added, another shuttle bus has to be added and so forth, all of which add to the costs. CSD/Rose said that between 2011 and 2012, the 2012 event was canceled and rescheduled due to rain and accordingly, the City was hit with additional costs. Chair/Owens proposed that the Commission send a letter of congratulations to the three Older American Recognition Awards recipients. Commissioners concurred. 2.1.1 Power Point Presentation on 4th of July Blast — CSC/Tarazon and SFMW/Williams C/Hemdon asked if there would be disclosure to residents in the area who might be affected by traffic and whether there would be suggested detour routes. CSC/Tarazon said that staff would prefer full disclosure so there are no surprises to the residents living on the surrounding streets and that there would be detour routes as shown on the highlighted map during the presentation. SFMW/Williams said that Public Works will work with the Sheriff's department to recommend the best possible solution for the detours which will be indicated on handouts and posted on sign boards beginning June 27. In addition, there will be deputies stationed at all road closures to assist with the detours. C/Hsieh asked the estimated cost of the event and CSC/Tarazon responded that staff has budgeted $52,000 for the program costs. C/Hsieh asked if the City pays for the use of Lorbeer Middle School PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION and CSC/Tarazon responded that the city has not received a bill for this year's event. In 2012 the cost was $2,000. Chair/Owens asked where reserved parking would be located and CSC/Tarazon responded that it would be in the lower teacher's parking lot. The Commissioners will receive a map and letter prior to the event and staff is recommending that Commissioners will have to occupy their parking spaces prior to 8:00 p.m. C/Hsieh asked if individual parking spaces would be reserved and CSC/Tarazon said she will issue individual parking passes to each Commissioner. Chair/Owens asked who would be operating the concession stands and CSC/Tarazon responded that this year it will be the Diamond Bar Community Foundation, Fire Explorer's Post 19, Boy Scout Troop 777 and the Walnut Valley Rotary Club. 2.2 Parks Report -- PMS/Jordan C/Grundy asked if the Commissioners felt it would be a good idea to send a letter to the Mormon Church to thank the volunteers that painted the lodge poles, etc. Commissioners concurred. Chair/Owens asked what kind of rodents are chewing up the track at Lorbeer and PMS/Jordan responded that it was a result of gopher activity. The school district received several complaints from parents about holes and when staff looked at the area gopher holes were observed around the inner perimeter of the track where temporary fencing is put up when field renovations are conducted. There were a couple of holes adjacent to the curb that had not been filled in and parents were' concerned about people falling into the holes. Due to the proximity of the hole being adjacent to the curb it was not likely that someone would have fallen into the holes but staff corrected the deficiencies. VC/Liang asked how the Dog Park was coming along and PMS/Jordan said that in terms of maintenance items the park is doing very well and holding up well. There is one drinking fountain that is exhibiting premature rusting and staff is keeping an eye on it for possible remediation. In the large dog park area, due to the terrain and natural slope down to the sidewalk, the wood chips tend to migrate down and start to bleed through the fence so staff is working on mitigation to prevent that by possibly installing some type of screen fabric or timbers inside the fence to raise the elevation. VC/Uang asked i ' f there were any incidents in the park and PMS/Jordan said he was not aware of any conflicts between owners. CSC/Tarazon said she frequents the park and finds that everyone is enjoying the facility. There are a good core group of people who use the park on a daily basis and they are self-monitoring. She has two German MAY 22, 2014 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION Shepherds and has personally had a good experience on the occasion of every visit. C/Grundy asked for an update on the steps and CSD/Rose stated that staff approached the State of California. There are two grants for the Pantera Park 'trail, one a Habitat Conservation Grant and the other a Land and Water Conservation Grant and both entities are reviewing the grants for the possibility of using funds for installation of steps. The only issue that was pointed out to staff is that if the City had initially included the steps as part of the scope, of work on one of the grants it would have scored lower because those entities do not like having concrete steps as part of a trail. The entities are currently evaluating whether the funds can be used for the steps and staff should hear soon about the outcome. 2.2.1 Power Point presentation on Heritage and Maple Hill Parks Walkthroughs — PMS/Jordan. C/Herndorf asked about the possibility of placing a brace to support the Sycamore tree at Heritage Park that is leaning heavily. PMS/Jordan responded that it could be done but the problem would be that it would have to go up in a certain location to brace the tree but once that is done it begins to injure the tree and possibly introduces bacteria and other pathogens that would lead to an early demise of the tree. Sycamore trees have one of the lowest failure rates of all trees and in looking at the tree he is not too alarmed about it at this time. The tree has been in its current location for decades and he believes it will be there for decades to come. C/Hsieh asked if it was a characteristic of Sycamores to grow in whatever direction. PMS/Jordan responded that in many cases that is true. There is a disease that affects many trees called Anthracnose, a tree fungus that can affect Sycamore trees which can cause the Sycamores to grow in various shapes and forms. If the Anthracnose could be removed, which is difficult to do in young trees, the tree would grow straighter. In the undeveloped areas of Sycamore Canyon Park there are very, very interesting structures of Sycamore trees. PMS/Jordan said he has responded to dozens of calls where branches and trees have fallen but cannot remember a situation that involved a Sycamore tree which has a very, very low failure rate. C/Herndon asked if the City gets much action on the vending machines. PMS/Jordan said he believed that the City received revenue from Coca Cola. CSD/Rose said that the City collects about $6,000 a year from all of the machines. MAY 22, 2014 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION C/Hsieh asked how much it costs to fix problems caused by vandalism. CSD/Rose responded that if the machines are vandalized staff calls Coca Cola to fix them at their cost. C/Hsieh asked if there was a possibility to move the shrub at Maple Hill to the other side of the bench and plant grass in the flatter area so that parents can watch their kids playing. PMS/Jordan said that the shrub could be removed; however, replanting is not a viable option so the options would be to cut the shrub lower or remove it altogether and replace it with a very low -growing shrub or turf. C/Hsieh said that this was previously an issue and PMS/Jordan said that it is essentially a maintenance issue of which the contractors are aware so they need to be reminded that when they are in the park to keep the shrub at the proper height and that would be his preference. C/Hemdon asked about adding a bar to the rails at the skate park. PMS/Jordan responded that there are devices called "skate stoppers" that can be added after the fact. He is not aware of any accidents to date. 2.3 CIP Projects — CSD/Rose 2.3.1 Construction of Grandview Trail and Grandview Trail Link — CSD/Rose reported that this project has been delayed and construction is expected to commence by June 2. Apparently, the contractor needs the soils test completed before they can order the bridge to ensure proper footings. It takes about 45-60 days for delivery of the bridge once it is ordered. The project should be finished by early October. 2.3.2 Update on Status of Site D Public Park — CSD/Rose reminded Commissioners that there is a neighborhood meeting scheduled for next week at Heritage Park beginning at 7:00 p.m. The City Council approved only the east side of the park and not the portion west of the channel. Notices were sent out about the meeting and all Commissioners are invited to attend. The final decision regarding the park is with the City Council. Staff and the consultant will run the meeting that includes a variety of concepts that will be presented that evening with respect to location of the parking lot and the tot lot. Staff intends to take the concept plans back to City Council for consideration at its June 17 meeting. 2.3.3 Design of Heritage Park Improvements — CSD/Rose 'reported that the revised RFP is with the City Manager. The City Attorney has reviewed and approved the RFP and as soon as staff has the City Manager's approval the RFP will be released. The all inclusive play areas (special needs) are included in the RFP. MAY 22, 2014 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION During the City Council's review of the budget on Tuesday night the projects that were approved as submitted are to finish the design of Stardust and Longview South Parks, the design and construction of the Steep Canyon Trail, the connector to the Canyon Loop Trail, installation of a swing set at Longview North, design of trail improvements at Pantera Park including the stairs leading from Pantera Drive down to the park, and addition of trees and irrigation controllers to the Dog Park. 2.4 List of Pending Commission Requests — CSD/Rose stated that $2.282 million from the sale of Site D has been received from the Walnut Valley School District. Of the $2.282 million the City was paid, $1.4 million has been placed in a "Special Funds" category for future use throughout the City for such items as processing an update to the City's General Plan, review of the sewer pumping facilities for possible replacement, and replacement of funds for programs including the Neighborhood Traffic Management System and $800,000 reimbursement to the City's General Fund for the original purchase of the property, funds which were originally taken from economic development. Over the next year to two years the City will receive approximately $1.9 million in one-time funds from Lennar Homes for construction permits. The California Conservation Corp has completed the majority of the Silver Tip Park trail but the CCC has not been able to return to complete the wood steps due to the recent fires. With respect to the Parks Master Plan, the five year (Multi -Year) CIP includes design for Lorbeer which is projected for FY 2017-18 with actual construction to take place during the following Fiscal Year. The design of the South Point Middle School project is projected for FY 2018-19. A copy of the report regarding the Pony League field and school district requests was sent to all Commissioners indicating that the organizations can work with the school districts directly. With respect to the $500,000 question, the school board has not approved dedication of any money toward a sports park. As previously mentioned, staff is working with the state of California to incorporate the steps from Pantera Drive down to the dog park as part of the trails project. The request for mirrors in the women's restroom has been completed. Regarding discussion of a You Tube video that would advertise and introduce the City's Parks to the community, the City has a You Tube site that contains information about the parks. Since the information he viewed was somewhat dated he spoke with PIM/Roa about that fact and she indicated that her staff is updating the stock at this time, creating MAY 22, 2014 PAGE 7 P&R COMMISSION 3. SIN 91 commercials for the Concerts in the Park series that will be shown during the concerts which will also be on You Tube, the government channel and other places. Other items including the trails system will be introduced in time. J.R., the City's new videographer who did the City's 25th Anniversary video does fantastic work. The request for trail descriptions and maps to be placed at the entry of each trail has been added to the Multi -Year CIP list. In order to get a map at each trailhead and each trail junction the cost of each sign is $3,500 and there are about 12 or 13 signs. C/Hemdon thanked staff for doing its usual great job. VC/Liang thanked staff for the great job. C/Grundy said staff is doing a great job and he appreciates the reports and Power Point presentations, all of which are very informative. He reminded everyone that he would not be present for the June meeting. C/Hsieh thanked staff for the mirrors (in the park restroom) and for the great presentations. Chair/Owens thanked staff for another very informative meeting. ADJOURNMENT: C/Hemdon moved, C/Grundy seconded, to adjourn the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. With no one objecting and no further business before the Parks and Recreation Commission, Chair/Owens adjourned the meeting at 8:20 P. m. MAY 22, 2014 PAGE 8 P&R COMMISSION The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 21t� ayof, July 2014. Respectful 4y,; mitted, d0--[fW0t ff, "�`EC R ETA RY Attest: z 'TED OWENS, CHAIRMAN