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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/28/2016 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 JANUARY 28, 2016 CALL TO ORDER: Chairwoman Hsieh called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. in the City Hall Windmill Room, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Grundy led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Dave Grundy, Ted Owens, Vice Chairman Lew Herndon and Chairwoman Kim Hsieh Absent: Benny Liang was excused. Staff Present: Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Superintendent; Christy Murphey, Recreation Superintendent; Monique Saliu, 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 October 22, 2015 Regular Meeting. Chair/Hsieh moved, C/Grundy seconded, to approve the Minutes of the October 22, 2015 regular meeting as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Grundy, Owens, Chair/Hsieh NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: VC/Herndon ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Liang 1.2 Approval of Minutes for November 19, 2015 Regular Meeting. VC/Herndon moved, C/Owens seconded to approve the November 19, 2015 regular meeting as presented. AYES: Grundy, Owens, VC/Herndon None Chair/Hsieh COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: JANUARY 28, 2016 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Liang 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 2.1 Recreation Program Update — RS/Murphey C/Grundy said that the additional snow (Snow Fest) for the playfield was successful because it allowed people to build snowmen which gave more of a feeling of actually playing in the snow. VC/Herndon said he heard one of the Council Members comment that there were not quite as many people at the Snow Fest event as last year. RS/Murphey said that according to sledding wristbands and game cards there was a $300 difference in the revenue which was not significant but indicates the count may have been a little bit less. However, it was a pretty busy day. C/Owens asked how many teams there were for adult basketball and CS/Murphey responded "22". C/Owens asked what time the youth basketball games start and RS/Murphey said she believed they started at 8:00 o'clock. 2.1.1 PowerPoint Presentation on Bridal Show Preview— CSC/Saliu VC/Herndon said he understood the value of this event was that it brings potential brides to the Diamond Bar Center and that the city is attempting to increase its rental numbers through this type of activity. CSC/Saliu explained that the Diamond Bar Center is booked until 2017 so it appears that these types of events are boosting the rental numbers. C/Owens asked what the city's policy was on cost versus revenue for the bridal show because the bridal show indicates a revenue loss of $3,000. CSD/Rose explained that during the bridal show the facility is not available to be rented by a third party ($3,400) for their event which accounts for the lost revenue. Staff sees this event as a marketing tool for future rentals of the facility and it is also support for people who already rent the Diamond Bar Center which allows them to meet different caterers who have already catered at the Diamond Bar Center which provides for smoother events and further benefits the event beyond the cost/revenue. C/Owens asked if the caterers were recommended to the renters and CSD/Rose said that staff does not "recommend" caterers but provides a list of caterers that are available. RS/Murphey further explained that there is a book with business cards of caterers and vendors and renters ask if those service organizations have been to the center before and staff will explain that the caterers are generally at the center once a month and do a great job but there is JANUARY 28, 2016 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION no `official' recommended list. Chair/Hsieh asked if weddings were held on weekdays in addition to Saturdays and Sundays and CSC/Saliu responded that Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are usual bridal event days. There have been a couple of weekday weddings. However, there are more corporate rentals during the weekdays so the weekday rentals are improving as well. Chair/Hsieh asked if the rental amount was different and CSC/Saliu responded that there are weekday prices and weekend prices. Business rates are higher than non -business rates. Residents usually book private events on the weekends which is about a $900 difference between resident and non- residents and businesses. Non -profits and the city pay a proportionately lower rate. .Chair/Hsieh asked what she would pay at this time if she were to hold an event at the center and CSC/Saliu responded that a resident has to rent at least two-thirds of the ballroom which would be $1,980 for the six -hour base rate and $165 for every additional hour. The full ballroom runs about $2,640 for the six -hour base rate and $220 for additional hours along with deposits. There is an additional fee for outdoor usage as well. When one rents the Grandview Ballroom it includes the kitchen rental. Chair/Hsieh said the cleaning was included and CSC/Saliu responded no, that there is a $500 cleaning deposit for the full Ballroom which is refunded but the contract says that the renter is responsible for leaving the Ballroom in the condition they found it in. Whether the renter does the cleanup or hires someone to do the cleanup the deposit will not be refunded until all of the cleanup policies have been followed and completed. VC/Herndon asked when the bond for the Diamond Bar Center will be paid in full. CSD/Rose said it was a 30 -year bond which was refinanced from a variable rate to a fixed-rate bond and he is not sure whether it was for the remaining years on the original note or for a new 30 -year period. 2.2 Parks Report — PMS/Jordan There was discussion of vandalism in parks. The young man was arrested and his father paid the city for repair of the damage done by his son. Chair/Hsieh asked what caused the death of the shrubs at Pantera Park and PMS/Jordan responded that staff believes it is a possibility that a ground squirrel burrowed into the slope and damaged the roots of the Acacia shrub along Pantera Drive causing it to die. He instructed his crew to paint it green until the city can get some large enough plants to replace it. JANUARY 28, 2016 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION C/Owens asked what a straw -waddle is and PMS/Jordan responded that they are nylon tubes filled with straw that are laid across slopes in 25 foot lengths and staked in place to filter sediment out of the water flowing down the slope as well as, prevent erosion. C/Owens asked if the city sent a thank -you to the Girl Scouts for their volunteer services and PMS/Jordan said that one had not been sent but that it could and will be done. 2.2.1 Power Point Presentation on Lorbeer Middle School and Paul C. Grow Parks — PMS/Jordan 2.3 CIP Projects — CSD/Rose A Pantera Park Trail & Steep Canyon Trail - Plans were returned to the consultant for additional corrections. B. Diamond Canyon Park Construction — Under construction. Play equipment has been installed. Based on the rate of construction the park should be open to the public by summer, weather permitting. C. Design of Heritage Park Community Center Improvements — nothing new to report. E. Design of Longview Park South & Star Dust Park — Staff has reviewed the value engineering and asked the consultant to make a few more adjustments. F. Heritage Park Rubber Surfacing Replacement — Work has been completed. G. Peterson Park Rubber Surfacing & Playground Equipment Replacement — Staff sent out an RFP, received proposals and conducted interviews. All information has been submitted to the City Manager's office with a recommendation. As soon as the recommendation is approved staff will move forward with play equipment and new rubber surfacing at Peterson. H. Longview Park North — This project is on hold until funding for Peterson Park has been verified. Peterson is a priority and funding for Longview could get moved to the next fiscal year if another appropriation is required. Rubber surfacing at Longview Park North has been completed. G. Larkstone Park Design — The first round of plan check was completed and has gone back to the developer. Staff is waiting to JANUARY 28, 2016 PAGE 5 P&R get the corrected plans back. VC/Herndon asked if the design for Larkstone is based on the design in which the Commission was involved or is this a new design. CSD/Rose responded that it is essentially the same design. The only change has been that staff asked for exercise equipment to be installed similar to what was requested at Diamond Canyon Park. Because of the ancient landslide remediation a new grading plan was submitted which resulted in the park being larger than what was originally planned. VC/Herndon asked if the Commission recommended swings for the park and CSD/Rose responded that staff asked for swings. There are swings coming in at Diamond Canyon Park and this park is similar. When the development was in the process of being sold the landscape architect asked staff what changes they should consider and as a result, everything was updated to current operating standards. 2.4 List of pending Commission requests — CSD/Rose updated the Commission on pending Commission requests. The number of girls in this year's youth basketball program is 58. Last year there were 50. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: None S. ANNOUNCEMENTS: VC/Herndon wanted to find out about the LA County Parks Needs Assessment meeting held last Thursday and whether it was a "face dressing" meeting or would the results be seriously considered. CSD/Rose responded that the information put forth by Diamond Bar residents will be considered by the County and by the City for consideration of future Diamond Bar projects. The number one item was "acquiring and developing lighted athletic facilities at the YMCA Pony League Facility" for which there were 55 votes. The second highest vote getter was "developing the Lorbeer Middle Field as a lighted athletic field" for which there were 28 votes. The third was "to develop the facilities at South Point Middle School as lighted athletic facilities" which received about 20 votes. The common theme is that the City of Diamond Bar needs more lighted athletic facilities for its sports programs. In fact, the City Manager has been having Closed Session meetings with the City Council to discuss acquiring and possibly developing the YMCA Pony facility for which he has no additional information. The results of the parks needs meeting were forwarded to the City Manager and included in the weekly report that goes to the City Council tomorrow. JANUARY 28, 2016 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION C/Grundy concurred that more lighted fields are needed. The sentiment of the audience was very obvious that any attempt to get more play space for the kids should be a priority for the city and he hopes that the City Council takes the proposal to consider the acquisition of the Pony fields and others seriously and he hopes the city works aggressively with the county on the list to see if they honestly want to help the city with its needs. VC/Herndon reiterated that the County got Diamond Bar in the situation of having insufficient parks and sports fields. Chair/Hsieh thanked staff for what they do because even with the Snow Fest she is always in awe of all that staff does for the city. Kudos to staff for all they do. CSD/Rose further stated that at Thursday night's meeting a representative of Girls Softball presented him with a list of what they felt needed to be improved on in the ballfields. PMS/Jordan visited those facilities and found that there were some issues that needed to be dealt with; however, the majority of the other concerns were somewhat exaggerated. For the most part, staff found the facilities to be in very good condition. ADJOURNMENT: With no one objecting and no further business before the Parks and Recreation Commission, Chair/Hsieh adjourned the meeting at 8:09 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 25 day of February , 2016. Respec ly. mitted, B SE,SECRETARY Attest: KIM HSI H, ifHAIRWOMAN