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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/26/2015 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 FEBRUARY 26, 2015 CALL TO ORDER: C/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. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Dave Grundy, Lew Herndon, Kim Hsieh, and Chairman Ted Owens Vice Chairman Benny Liang arrived at 7:15 p.m. Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks Maintenance Superintendent; Christy Murphey, Recreation Superintendent; Crystal Knox, Community Services Coordinator, and Debbie Gonzales, Administrative Coordinator MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented by CSD/Rose 1. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1.1 Approval of Minutes for the January 22, 2015 Regular Meeting. C/Grundy moved, VC/Liang seconded, to approve the January 22, 2015 Minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: Grundy, Hsieh, VC/Liang None Herndon, Chair/Owens None 2.1 Recreation Program Update — RS/Murphey C/Hsieh asked if it would look bad to put new (banners) up piecemeal when necessary instead of spending $26,000 now for total replacement and RS/Murphey said it would not be aesthetically pleasing to have different banners going up at different times. C/Hsieh said they might not be changed out unless the City spends $26,000 to change them out. If FEBRUARY 26, 2015 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION you think about the next three years and there are 50 or 60 people from the City in the armed forces the City will be using the same design. So she wondered if the City Council would be okay to replace the banners as needed. In addition, if the family members wanted to update a banner perhaps if they could pay half of the cost to change it out it would seem more reasonable to her. C/Herndon said he was concerned that by phasing in the change the City might be giving the impression it was giving some people more exposure than others. Looking at the cost he would not recommend spending $26,000 either but if there are some banners with pictures and some without it could create an image problem for some. C/Hsieh said the changes might not happen but to her $26,000 is a lot to spend and wondered if there were options for the transition to all new banners. CSD/Rose explained that the matter of changing the banners to photos does not require a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Commission; however, staff can pass along the suggestion to the City Council for their consideration. C/Hsieh asked how long the banners have been displayed and CSD/Rose responded between 8 and 10 years. Chair/Owens asked if the initial cost of the banners was incurred by the City and CSD/Rose responded "yes." The City pays all of the charges. The residents are not charged any amount. Chair/Owens asked if the residents who want to have banners put up apply to the City and CSD/Rose responded affirmatively stating that the family submits the application and the City verifies the information to the extent that it can because the military will not confirm any of the information. Staff verifies residency, etc. CSD/Rose said that the suggestion will be forwarded to the City Council as a suggestion. 2.1.1 Power Point Presentation on Program Evaluation for Contract Classes, RecTrac (Mobile Web Registration Tracking) System and an update on the upcoming Bridal Show - CSC/Knox C/Grundy asked if staff noticed a significant uptick for reservations for weddings after people attend the bridal show and CSC/Knox responded that there were a few. The issue is that the Diamond Bar Center books two years in advance and the Center is almost completely booked up every Saturday until October 2016. When these shows take place most of the brides in attendance are already Diamond Bar Center brides and those that are not have to wait since there are no Saturdays available in the short term. FEBRUARY 26, 2015 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION There was a vendor who rented several Saturdays at the Center and they were able to book those dates at the bridal show. CSD/Rose asked CSC/Knox if she reported that when people go to the website for activity registration on a smart phone, the system recognizes that the individual is on a mobile device and automatically switches to the mobile app. CSC/Knox said that once people log on their individual phones will begin to recognize the website so that it can be saved as a favorite or tab. CSD/Rose asked if staff would have to go through Vermont Systems to provide any updates to the system or does staff have that capability in house. He noticed that the City's old email address has ci and CSC/Knox said that issue can be corrected by staff on RecTrac and is probably something that shows on the website now so that staff would need to update its own web view. C/Hsieh asked if there was a calendar page on the City's website that listed all community events for a one page view rather than having to go to sub -categories of senior or youth events, etc. CSC/Knox responded that the City website has activities on its City Calendar but it does not include all of the recreation programs such as senior dances, etc. C/Hsieh wondered if it would be helpful to see all upcoming activities for the months ahead in order to plan their personal calendars. CSC/Knox said that recreation classes are scheduled quarterly so they would be listed on that basis. C/Hsieh said she would like to see not only the classes but excursions and other types of events so that people can plan ahead. CSC/Knox reminded C/Hsieh that all of the events are listed in the Recreation Guide that is mailed to all residents, the Guide at the Diamond Bar Center and all of the information in the Recreation Guide is on the website. C/Hsieh reiterated that since changes are being made she would like to see a page showing the activities for the months coming up in a calendar setting. CSC/Knox said she would look into testing the system by adding events. VC/Liang said he believed C/Hsieh was referring to the same type of Calendar of Events which he has for LA County and that he would forward it to staff. CSC/Knox said the program has a Special Events Calendar and it is formatted in the same way in which staff saves each activity. It gets a little messy when one attempts to add classes because it does not add just the start date or end date, it fills in the entire calendar and with 200 classes it could get lost in the system because it is too much information. CSC/Knox felt it would be a great idea to attempt to begin the process with the senior dances and special activities where they are one -day activities. There is a RecTrac training coming up on FEBRUARY 26, 2015 PAGE 4 P&R March 26 and this is something she will be able to look into at that time. C/Herndon said he was more interested in net revenue as opposed to gross revenue and someone reminded him off mike that these programs are not intended to "make" money. C/Herndon said he wanted to be sure the programs were at least reimbursing the General Fund. He plays softball in Anaheim at Modjeska Park and noticed they have banners at the front of the park that advertise for weddings, receptions, meetings, parties, birthdays, reunions, etc. and he does not know how effective it is but there may be people in this community that do not realize they can rent some of the City facilities. He showed a photo of the banners and asked if staff could check with Anaheim to see if the banners had increased the use of their facilities. CSC/Knox said that the City has been fortunate that "word of mouth" has worked in most cases. For special events like the bridal show there will be banners that will be going up. For the Diamond Bar Center the City also advertises on a regular basis on several bridal websites and through "Here's the Guide" a bridal magazine. Public Information does a lot of the advertising for the Diamond Bar Center as far as picnic reservations. In addition there is signage in the park near the shelters that refers people to the Diamond Bar Center. Staff can look into additional banners. 2.2 Parks Report— PMS/Jordan Chair/Owens asked if any of the surrounding cities were experiencing wire thefts and PMS/Jordan responded that he had not heard of any. In terms of backflows he hears the same concerns from water district employees in outlying areas. It appears to be cyclical and trends at various points. C/Hsieh again spoke about dog excrement on the sidewalk along Pantera Drive by the school and saw several people walking with more than six dogs that left excrement in that location. She provided pictures of the occurrence.. The rain eventually carried it away. She suggested placing a doggie bag dispenser at the site with signage asking that people_ please pick up after their dogs along the park area. PMS/Jordan said he did not believe it would be a problem to put a dispenser along Pantera Drive adjacent to the park property. Some of what the picture shows is by the school and staff would not be able to place anything close to the school. CSD/Rose said that on Pantera Drive there is an area adjacent to the dog park but it is up on Pantera Drive where they park and take their dogs down to the park. PMS/Jordan agreed that it was south of the first residence and said that staff could probably do something in that area as well. FEBRUARY 26, 2015 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION C/Hsieh said she has observed more excrement near the park entrance and perhaps a dispenser could be placed at the stairs that will be built and perhaps one on the other side along the main entrance. C/Herndon recommended that a letter be sent to the Boy Scouts thanking them for their contribution to the City and PMS/Jordan said he would follow up with Parks and Maintenance Inspector/Technician, Dave Seiler, the staff member who facilitates these events. CSD/Rose asked if the letter should come from the Commission and C/Herndon responded affirmatively. 2.2.1 Power Point Presentation on the Longview North, Longview South and Stardust Mini -Park future improvements — PMS/Jordan C/Hsieh asked if there was a significant issue with ants in parks and PMS/Jordan said the City has little black picnic "Argentine" ants everywhere. Other than them getting into picnic baskets, etc. there is not much to worry about. The red imported fire ants are tough to control. They pop up in the City's mini -parks and they are prevalent at Peterson Park, Lorbeer Middle School, Heritage Park, Sycamore Canyon Park and Starshine Park. They are quite a nuisance and if a small child were to step on a mound or sit on the ground the ants could become very, very aggressive and their sting is painful. The contractors treat them with Extinguish which is a corn meal base with a chemical and the worker ants feed on it and take it back to the colony as feed. The chemical sterilizes the male so that he cannot fertilize the eggs and another chemical acts like an appetite suppressant which causes them to not want to eat so the colony is slowly killed off. If one were to go in aggressively trying to kill these ants they would react by sending out more queens, which would cause the population to spread out and colonize again. This is an ongoing problem for most cities. 2.3 CIP Projects — CSD/Rose 2.3.1 Pantera Park Trail and Steep Canyon Trail - CSD/Rose reported that these two trails are under design. The project is fully funded with grant funds to pay for the design and construction. The goal is to have these trails constructed by the end of the calendar year. To date, the engineering consultant is conducting surveys to determine the route for each trail. The Pantera Park Trail will have a staircase coming down from Pantera Drive leading to the dog park as well as, over to the trail that goes up the steep slope. There will also be a path that goes from Pantera Drive up toward the water tanks. 2.3.2 Diamond Canyon Park Design — CSD/Rose stated that Lennar Homes has submitted the construction documents which are once again going through plan check. All amenities have been verified FEBRUARY 26, 2015 PAGE 6 P&R and Lennar reports that they will have the park constructed by next fall. In addition, 113 housing permits have been pulled out of a total of 180 homes that will be built. Progress is moving forward at a significant rate. For the park feature there are a lot of utility issues on Brea Canyon Road and Diamond Bar Boulevard that affect its construction. Once these issues are resolved, construction will commence. Staff will be working with LA County for the permit to bring the pedestrian bridge across the Brea Canyon channel which will need to go to the Board of Supervisors and to the City Council for approval. 2.3.3 Design of Heritage Park Improvements — CSD/Rose explained that the consultant team continues to obtain public input on the project. The team has conducted stakeholder meetings and has intercepted people at the park for their input which will be presented to determine what amenities should be constructed at the renovated park. There is a possibility of a telephone survey which has not yet been determined. There is a great deal of information within the original Parks Master Plan process which is becoming somewhat dated which is the reason for considering a follow up telephone survey for this project. 2.3.4 Design of Longview Park South & Star Dust Park — CSD/Rose referred Commissioners to PMS/Jordan's presentation. Staff received the construction documents which are now in the second round of plan check. These are the two final parks that require ADA Retrofit and the Consumer Safety Product issues resolved as well as accessibility to play areas. All of the other parks in the City have been retrofitted and are now ADA Accessible. Staff anticipates completion of construction sometime during the next fiscal year. Staff is expecting proposals by next Friday for design of the swing set. 2.3.5 Dog Park Improvements — CSD/Rose indicated that ValleyCrest is working on the mainline, which will bring irrigation to the dog park area where 50 trees will be planted. These improvements are expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal year. C/Herndon asked about the status of Larkstone Park and CSD/Rose responded that nothing is happening at this time. His understanding is that the last developer sold it to a new developer and the area is going through the ownership change which has stopped all forward progress. Staff assumes that once the new owner gets control of the property progress will resume. C/Hsieh said it appeared the new stairs from Pantera Drive to the dog park would not be completed for a year and asked if the reason for it taking so long was the design. CSD/Rose responded that the dog park is a bonus and the steps are for the trail which is being paid for by grant FEBRUARY 26, 2015 PAGE 7 P&R COMMISSION funds for the trail and it has to be designed and constructed. Staff is on an accelerated path and the consultant has been told that this project needs to be done as quickly as possible. His schedule indicated that it would be finished in October but according to history, CIP projects tend to take longer than first thought because unexpected issues often come up during the process. October would be the earliest completion date possible. The process is the project gets designed which is a six week process that includes construction documents; it goes to plan check which for each time is about a 10 -day process; after it is plan checked it goes back to the consultant to be revised; it goes back to plan check and if everything is complete and acceptable the project goes out to bid; the bid process is a six-week process; the contract is awarded which is another six-week process (selection and approval); upon award of the contract, the contractor has 10 days to submit the necessary paperwork which has to be reviewed by the City Clerk; the documents are then sent back to staff and a pre -construction meeting is held after which the project moves forward. The project is a 120 day (four month) project and with that timeline the project is most likely into October or if anything goes wrong it moves into November or December. C/Hsieh asked where the project is at this point and CSD/Rose reiterated that staff walked with the designers and they know what path they are taking and they are doing the survey so that when they start putting together the construction documents they can articulate on the drawings where exactly the trail will go and where the grading stakes will go. The consultant will do a conceptual design for staff and the conceptual plan will be brought to the Commission for its recommendation and after approval it may go to the City Council which is determined by the City Manager. Once the conceptual design is approved the construction documents will be started. It is very expensive to make changes to construction documents once they are started so everything must be in order and approved. 2.3 List of Pending Commission Requests — CSD/Rose reported on the following items: 2.4 1) Pursuit of a grant to construct a trail connection from Silver Tip Park to Pantera Park— CSD/Rose said there was no further update at this time. 2) Heritage Park Special Needs —will be included in planned project. 3) Stairs at the Dog Park— As discussed. 4) City You Tube Videos — Include recreation programs, facilities, trails, etc. that have been added and updated and will continue to be updated. CSD/Rose said he had not had an opportunity to view You Tube and was not aware of whether the trails, etc. had been included. 5) Trails Descriptions — This has been added to the multi-year CIP list FEBRUARY 26, 2015 PAGE 8 P&R COMMISSION and Council will consider the priority of those items to determine which fiscal year the item will move to. With so much of the trail done at Summitridge and Sycamore Canyon it may be time to put up some nice signage that shows the path and describes what the trail has. Staff is requesting an update of the Trails Master Plan as well. 6) Request for Diamond Bar Center Bricks and Tiles to be used as a Fundraiser (C/Herndon) — The request has been presented and CSD/Rose said he has not yet received any feedback from the City Manager. C/Herndon said there was no urgency on this matter. 7) Additional Walkway Lights at Peterson Park — the estimated cost is about $200,000 including conduit, wire, poles and lights. There are some future improvement plans for the park which are being done in phases, the first of which is the parking lot which is currently being designed. Staff is hoping the parking lot can be expanded so that when one approaches from Sylvan Glen close to Golden Springs there will be two rows of diagonal parking spaces. Currently, one side is diagonal and the other side is parallel which does not leave much room for drive through. The intent is to widen the parking into the park and move the walkway in the park into the grass area to accommodate two rows of diagonal parking. The project is budgeted and the schedule for completion this summer. If the walkway is moved into a grassy area which has to be removed it will present a storm water runoff issue which will have to be mitigated by collection of the storm water onsite which will in turn require a filtration system. To do the design and construction of the additional water retention system will be very expensive. The project is over budget. The City Manager said go forward with the design with the expanded parking lot which is in the Parks Master Plan and staff will most likely have to ask the City Council for an additional appropriation before the project goes out to bid. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Hsieh thanked PMS/Jordan for saving the City money. She thanked staff for the great reports and information. C/Grundy thanked staff for the great job they do and for all of the reports and information. It is always great to hear all of the things staff is doing for the City. VC/Liang thanked staff for all of the reports and especially to CSC/Knox for the new apps which are very helpful. C/Herndon said that staff knows he thinks they do a wonderful job. He FEBRUARY 26, 2016 PAGE 9 P&R commented that the Diamond Bar Community Foundation continues to raise funds to provide more sports fields for the kids in the City and the Foundation has a little more than $50,000 in the bank at this point which is a drop in the bucket with all of the issues discussed this evening. He reminded everyone that the Foundation is holding its golf tournament on Monday, May 11 which will help raise additional funds. It is his hope that at some point in the future these funds will be utilized to benefit the City. Chair/Owens thanked staff for their support and for all of the information imparted to the Commission. ADJOURNMENT: With no one objecting and no further business before the Parks and Recreation Commission, upon motion by C/Herndon, seconded by VC/Liang, Chair/Owens adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 26t3day of March 2015. Attest: ��,G�uen�-.c✓ TED OWENS, CHAIRMAN