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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/23/2014 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 OCTOBER 23, 2014 CALL TO ORDER: 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 Hsieh led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Dave Grundy, Kim Hsieh, and Chairman Ted Owens Absent: Commissioner Lew Herndon and Vice Chairman Benny Liang were excused Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Superintendent; Andee Tarazon, Community Services Coordinator; Alison Meyers, Community Services Coordinator; and Debbie Gonzales, Administrative Coordinator Also Present: Deputy Aaron Scheller MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: 4.2 Proposed Parking Restrictions' at City Parks Recommended Action: Staff recommends that the City Council adopt an ordinance that restricts parking in City Parks to park patrons only. Deputy Aaron Scheller, LA County Sheriff's Department Community Relations Officer, stated that the parking at the lower lot of Summitridge Park has approximately 24 parking spaces and two (2) .handicapped parking spaces. At the beginning of October there was an altercation between a Diamond Bar resident and another gentleman who was picking up construction workers at the parking lot. He believed that the lower parking lot was becoming a "park and ride' type of lot. The lot is small and is meant for the use of Diamond Bar residents. He has visited the site several times and has observed people getting out of their vehicles and entering secondary vehicles that leave the park without spending time at the location. In addition, he has run license plates three times and found that the first run revealed that 12 vehicles out of 12 were non-residents; the second run revealed that 10 vehicles out of 10 were non-residents, OCTOBER 23, 2014 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION and the third run revealed that 14 out of 16 were non-residents which shows a trend that this parking lot is becoming a park and ride lot. There is a designated "park and ride" in the City of Diamond Bar that is large enough to accommodate a sufficient number of vehicles. If the construction workers are entering "The Country Estates" it means that they need to figure out a different way to manage the transportation of those workers if they are working in that area. Obviously, no one wants an altercation over this matter and accordingly, has made a recommendation that a time limit be posted to allow residents full use and enjoyment of the park without having to park a considerable distance away. C/Hsieh asked Deputy Scheller if other officers were experiencing the same issues and wondered if the lower parking lot was necessary at all. Most events are up the hill and most people who attend soccer events usually park their vehicles on Summitridge. Deputy Scheller said his colleagues run license plates as well and when he has spoken with the other officers they all concur that it is a long-term parking trend and several park Monday through Friday so it is obvious that the parking lot is being used as a "park and ride" lot. There are several parking spaces up the hill; however, the lower lot has limited space. His recommendation would be a time limit during working hours to keep the parking spots available. C/Grundy thanked Deputy Scheller for bringing this matter to the Commission's attention and agreed that the parking lot should be for people who want to use the park and not a "park and ride" lot. He felt the City should look into an ordinance that specifies how long a person can park in the area in relation to hours or park use. Chair/Owens asked if C/Grundy intended that an ordinance apply to all of the City's parks or just Summitridge. CSD/Rose said that staff's intent is to make it enforceable in all of the City's parks. Diamond Canyon Park will be opening up and there is a similar concern that with only five or six parking spaces next to Brea Canyon Road and Diamond Bar Boulevard and easy freeway access it too, could become a "park and ride" scenario. When the park opens there will be signs enforcing the parking. CSD/Rose said he believed an ordinance would require signage in all parks. Staff's primary concerns are with Summitridge and Diamond Canyon parking lots. C/Grundy asked CSD/Rose if he favored an ordinance that covered all parks and CSD/Rose responded "yes." C/Grundy asked what type of time limitations are being considered and Deputy Scheller said that would be up to the City whether to provide a two or three hour parking limitation if the City felt it was a long enough period to provide a park experience. OCTOBER 23, 2014 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION Chair/Owens asked if that part of Summitridge Park was used by sports groups for practice and CSD/Rose responded affirmatively. CSD/Rose said that most team practices take place in the late afternoon and early evening between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. or later if it is still daylight. Chair/Owens asked about enforcement and Deputy Scheller said that deputies can provide enforcement. He felt that with signage and notification it would not take long for people to understand that it is not a "park and ride" area. The signage could be considered for Monday through Friday from the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., for example. C/Hsieh said she did not agree with putting signage in every park because she did not want to feel limited and did not want park visitors to feel limited. However, in those particular areas where there are problems something needs to be done to let people who are misusing it know that the City will not tolerate that. CSD/Rose asked that the Diamond Canyon parking lot be included with Summitridge for signage. C/Grundy recommended that City staff draft an ordinance for parking restrictions to limit non-residents or use of parking facilities for "park and ride" be prohibited for the Commission's review. C/Hsieh felt the fine should be significant enough to discourage "park and ride" use. CSD/Rose said he believed the first infraction is $100, the second $200 and third $500. C/Grundy said that as part of his recommendation he would ask that staff include whatever standard language is inclusive of fines, towing, etc. C/Grundy restated his recommendation as follows: That City staff draft an ordinance that prohibits use of parking at Summitridge Park and Diamond Canyon for "park and ride" or for extended hours with the ordinance to include the standard legal language relative to fines and towing. C/Hsieh seconded C/Grundy's recommendation. Without objection, the recommendation was approved with C/Herndon and VC/Liang being absent. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented by CSD/Rose 1. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1.1 Approval of Minutes for the September 25, 2014 Regular Meeting. C/Grundy moved, C/Hsieh seconded, to approve the September 25, 2014 Minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: OCTOBER 23, 2014 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Grundy, Hsieh, Chair/Owens NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Herndon, VC/Liang 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 2.1 Recreation Program Update — RS/Murphey RECESS: Chair/Owens recessed the meeting at 7:21 p.m. RECONVENE: Chair/Owens reconvened the meeting at 7:26 p.m. Chair/Owens asked if there had been any incidents on the Adult Basketball courts and CSD/Rose said there is always excitement on the courts during Adult Basketball. RS/McKitrick handles issues pretty routinely and sometimes suspends individuals from the next game. If there is any incident that requires further intervention the individual is suspended until the person comes to the table with his manager for discussion. 2.1.1 PowerPoint Presentation on Trail Grants— CSC/Meyers C/Hsieh asked if steps could be installed from the dog park to the street in place of switchbacks. CSC/Meyers explained that when the trail is designed it will be determined when and where steps might be needed and steps would be installed, where necessary along with the switchbacks. One major issue in grant writing is that trails follow the contour of the land and not straight up or straight down a hill so both amenities will be included. C/Hsieh asked if it was possible to place a bench at the top flat portion. Chair/Owens congratulated CSC/Meyers on obtaining grant funds. 2.2 Parks Report — PMS/Jordan C/Hsieh said that there is runoff on the sidewalk at Pantera Park by the parking lot and wondered if there was something that could be done to mitigate the problem. PMS/Jordan said he would look into the matter and get it corrected. 2.2.1 Power Point Presentation on Washington Street Park Walkthrough — PMS/Jordan C/Grundy asked about the Bioswale and PMS/Jordan responded that the Bioswale is doing well and showed slides of the area and explained the system. The kids' tiles are holding up well. OCTOBER 23, 2014 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION 2.3 CIP Projects — CSD/Rose 2.3.1 Construction of Grandview Trail and Grandview Trail Link — CSD/Rose reported that these items are substantially completed and the contractor is working through the punch list. The Grand Opening is slated for Saturday, November 22 at 9:00 a.m. 2.3.2 Update on Status of Diamond Canyon Park — CSD/Rose said that staff continues to work with Lennar Homes on specifications for the construction documents. The City Council just approved the conceptual designs for the entry monument signs into the City as part of the Grand Avenue Beautification project and that design will be used on some of the elements of Diamond Canyon Park. 2.3.3 Design of Heritage Park Improvements — CSD/Rose stated that staff held its kickoff meeting with ICG yesterday and Ron Hagan, ICG consultant will lead a community meeting on Thursday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m. at Heritage Park Community Center. C/Grundy asked staff to be sure to notify the gentleman who brought to the Commission's attention his desire for the disabled access about the community meeting. CSD/Rose said that his teacher was notified about the meeting today. 2.4 List of Pending Commission. Requests — CSD/Rose a) . The grant for the Silver Tip Park trail to the Pantera Park trail has been submitted. b) Staff is moving forward with the special needs project for Heritage Park and as conceptual discussions begin, the consultant will come before the Commission to provide more details about the items that will be in the park. c) Additional stairs will be incorporated as part of the Pantera Park Trail at the dog park. The RFPs for the Pantera Park Trail and the Steep Canyon Trail are being prepared in hopes that the design will be done shortly after the holidays. d) The City's Public Information Department is currently updating the website to include new videos of the trails and parks. e) The estimated cost for placing descriptions for the trails at the base of each trail is on the multi-year CIP list. f) Staff is working on a report that shows how subsidies for the Community Service programs are derived for each of the programs. Chair/Owens said his only question was whether there was a City policy on subsidy levels and CSD/Rose said no. Chair/Owens said the report was not necessary. C/Hsieh asked if there would be trail markers to indicate the length of travel and CSD/Rose responded that it is part of the concept being considered. OCTOBER 23, 2014 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION g) The earth movement at Larkstone Park is work that is being done by the developer to mitigate the ancient landslide. The developer has presented a revised concept for the park to Public Works which is almost identical to what was approved so that all of the amenities for the upper portions will be in the same locations. The only difference is that a small amount of acreage from the upper portion will be incorporated in the lower portion which does not affect the net acreage. h) Regarding the question about the City's financial condition with respect to funding of CalPers Pension, FD/Honeywell indicated to CSD/Rose that the amount of the City's budget is about $400,000 per year. She commented since the City has no public safety there are no high retirement rates. Diamond Bar's rate is 2 percent at 55 for existing employees and 2 percent at 62 for new employees. Over the years Diamond Bar has been very conservative with respect to pension funds and does not have financial issues or backlog in paying funds. The City prepaid a large amount of the funds CalPers requested which it could have paid with interest at 7.5 percent over a series of years. Since the City's investments were accumulating interest at less than one percent it made sense for the City to save that 7.5 percent interest by paying the amount up front. The City is in great financial condition and is not facing large pension contributions like some cities are facing. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS (Continued): 4.1 Park Walkthroughs by Commissioners. CSD/Rose stated that this item is a result of a request for this matter to be placed on the Commission's agenda and staff is seeking the Commission's approval to conduct yearly park walkthroughs with staff. C/Grundy moved, C/Hsieh seconded, to approve park walkthroughs on an annual basis. Without objection, the motion was so ordered with C/Herndon and VC/Liang being absent. C/Hsieh said she would like to go on walkthrough's with her colleagues. CSD/Rose offered the City van if the Commissioners wished to visit a park or parks together. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Hsieh thanked PMS/Jordan and staff members who are doing so much to help her. She is learning a lot about the City and its parks. C/Grundy thanked staff for all they do and for the informative reports. Parks throughout the City look great. He asked if there was any update on the City of OCTOBER 23, 2014 PAGE 7 P&R COMMISSION Industry NFL Stadium. CSD/Rose said that he heard that Ed Roski wants the NFL to make a decision this year and will not move forward with any other plans at this time. Chair/Owens said he read that the NFL is conducting a marketing promotion for a possible NFL stadium. , Chair/Owens thanked staff for providing the Commissioners with a great deal of information. He congratulated the City on receiving grants and said he was very impressed with the City's trail systems. C/Grundy asked about the deadline for attending the conference. CSD/Rose responded that the City has a new purchasing ordinance and travel policy. Normally, staff would reserve spots and as Commissioners commit to attending, there is a spot available and, if a Commissioner does not go the City can either obtain a refund or send another staff member. The new policy is that the City cannot pay to reserve a spot until the City has the signed form from the individual Commissioners. October 31 is the last day to pay for the "early bird" lowest priced registration. After October 31 the fee increases by $40 per person and more as the day draws closer. ADJOURNMENT: With no one objecting and no further business before the Parks and Recreation Commission, upon motion by C/Hsieh, seconded by C/Grundy, Chair/Owens adjourned the meeting at 8:17 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 2otblay of november 2014. R;,S,rtfSubmitted, SECRETARY Attest: i TED OWENS, CHAIRMAN