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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/27/2017 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 JULY 27, 2017 CALL TO ORDER: VC/Liang 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: C/Grundy led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Dave Grundy, Lew Herndon, Kim Hsieh, and Vice Chair Benny Liang Absent: Chair Manisha Sulakhe was excused Staff Present: Ryan McLean, Assistant City Manager; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Superintendent; Christy Murphey, Recreation Supervisor, Jordi Ubaldo, Recreation Specialist, Ramiro Valderrama, Recreation Coordinator, and Debbie Gonzales, Administrative Coordinator. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented by ACM/McLean. 1. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1.1 Approval of Minutes for June 22, 2017 Regular Meeting. C/Herndon moved, C/Hsieh seconded, to approve the Minutes of the June 22, 2017 Regular Meeting. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Grundy, Herndon, Hsieh, VC/Liang NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Chair/Sulakhe 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 2.1 RECREATION PROGRAM UPDATE — RS/Murphy C/Herndon said he was surprised about the percentage of Diamond Bar residents in the senior clubs and asked whether they rented the facility or were given the space gratis. RS/Murphy responded that for most of their events they are allocated free use of the facility. If seniors want to use the Diamond Bar Center Ballroom on weekends during Friday night, Saturday JULY 27, 2017 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION or Sunday they typically pay for that time. C/Herndon encouraged charging for use of the Diamond Bar Center, a very expensive and premier facility, when the percentage of non-residents outweighs the percentage of residents. ACM/McLean reminded the Commission that staff is going through both the Field and Park Athletic and Facilities Use Policy and reviewing for possible recommendation and update the Diamond Bar Center, Heritage Park Community Center and the Pantera Activity Room for consideration by the Parks and Recreation Commission and recommendation to the City Council. These policies have been in place for some time and as things evolve over time it bears review for which staff is collecting data and analysis. C/Grundy asked if staff had statistics on past use and whether the level of participation of Diamond Bar residents had declined. ACM/McLean said staff has statistics only for the past year or so. The City is implementing a lot of new standards such as making it a priority to collect such information. Some data has been collected on the Youth Baseball Program participation and staff continues to collect data as part of the field allocations per the current policy because there is a percentage threshold requirement within that policy. RS/Murphey further explained that staff has rosters for the Diamond Bar Senior Citizen's Club (Bingo) and could look at those rosters to see how enrollment has changed, if it has. For the other four clubs it is not something that staff has asked for or tracked in the past. C/Grundy said he understood where C/Herndon was going with it looking like the City might potentially be giving away capacity to non-residents, but he felt the City should step forward carefully because if there was a policy instituted that caused these clubs to say they would go elsewhere which might leave Diamond Bar residents without the ability to travel or stay with the club and he would not like to put residents in that kind of a position. C/Herndon said it did not appear that people living outside the City had any problem traveling to Diamond Bar. Also, he wanted to find out if the number of attendees at senior club events had increased. RS/Murphey said attendance has been pretty consistent and has probably increased over the years. C/Grundy asked if surrounding cities tracked these statistics because it would, be interesting to find out if they have statistics on the number of Diamond Bar residents that travel to Chino Hills or Walnut or Brea, for example. RS/Murphey said staff could reach out to find out although staff has heard that a number of Diamond Bar residents attend those cities' functions as well. JULY 27, 2017 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION C/Grundy said he would hate to see the City get into a situation where there might be unexpected repercussions and would like to better understand the "bigger picture" before moving to institute any new policies. C/Herndon said that at some of the events such as bingo they pass out bread and food items, etc. RS/Murphey said they do. They reach out to local businesses to get day-old bread and other grocery products passed out to seniors or raffle to hand out. ACM/McLean said that this is something to think about as part of the recent Diamond Bar Center Use Analysis that was presented to the Commission, which gives an idea of the amount of hours that are allocated to the senior clubs. They have various needs and various room sizes they need to conduct their programs. But there are thousands of hours that are allocated annually to the senior clubs and he does not foresee the City eliminating access. C/Herndon said it would be great if the City could find a less attractive facility for the seniors to meet in. As he understands from many prior discussions, the City is missing out on income at the Center because it is used extensively by the seniors during the week. C/Grundy asked if the Center was built with grants based on senior use and ACM/McLean said that Diamond Bar Center was built with bond proceeds that the City is still paying for annually. The Center was not originally designed as a senior -only facility. It is a community facility that was designed to meet the overall needs of the entire community. There is and most likely will continue to be a senior component but there is no funding source that mandates any certain level of hourly distribution to any one group. RS/Murphey introduced new staff members Jordi Abaldo, Recreation Specialist overseeing youth programs including Diamond Bar 4 -Youth, Tiny Tots and Summer Day Camp and Ramiro Valderrama, Recreation Specialist overseeing youth and adult sports and field allocations. 2.2 MAINTENANCE REPORT — PMS/Jordan PMS/Jordan responded to VC/Liang's request for an update on potential homeless encampments and aside from a couple of incidents staff has witnessed very little homeless activity in the parks. C/Herndon said that while he was on a walk recently he saw graffiti in front of Albertson's adjacent to the sidewalk which is visible from the sidewalk. C/Herndon asked about the ownership of the portion of Leyland Avenue that looks like an extension of Sycamore Park that crosses the road and JULY 27, 2017 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION goes up the hill. PMS/Jordan said he believed the slope in between the houses is private property owned by the adjacent homes. The vast open space on the west side of the street may contain a portion at the lower edge that is city -owned property. However, the first 100 feet or so of the open space is private property that belongs to the house on the south side of the opening. He believes that farther into the canyon a portion is city owned which may have to do with the blue line stream where it erupts above ground at the end of the roadway. 2.2.1 Power Point Presentation — Starshine Park — PMS/Jordan. C/Hsieh said that where the weeds were trimmed at the top of the trail' it is difficult in some places for two people to walk and in her opinion, what remains needs to be trimmed more. PMS/Jordan explained that the requirement to do work on trails is a new requirement that began July 1. It was a specification that was added to the Parks and Maintenance contracts. There is a bit of a learning curve and if further weed control is required he will so direct the contractor. C/Hsieh asked for a doggie bag container at the top of the trail. PMS/Jordan said he would look into the matter; however, a lot of what people believe to be doggie droppings is actually coyote scat. Currently, there are dispensers at Pantera Drive, one in each of the play areas and one at the entrance to the dog park off of the parking. C/Hsieh noticed that several sprinkler heads were broken at Pantera Park and told one of the maintenance people. She wondered if it happened often. PMS/Jordan said that from time to time unintentional vandalism occurs, typically by smaller kids that are playing with them. C/Herndon said that in the same area as the graffiti in front of Albertson's he noticed that there is about an inch to an inch and a half displacement on the sidewalk. 2.3 CIP PROJECTS—ACM/McLean 2.3.1 Sycamore Canyon Park Trail head — ACM/McLean This frequented area was damaged during last year's winter storms which were classified as disasters by the state and federal government which rendered them eligible for FEMA reimbursement. Staff has been working closely with the FEMA representatives to meet all requirements for reimbursements and the project has been approved under the FEMA guidelines. The estimated timeline is as follows: The Public Works Department has issued an RFP and results are expected in August which will be reviewed and presented to the City Council in late September for Award of Contract for design and move forward to implement a JULY 27, 2017 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION construction contract award in December. Weather permitting, construction will begin in early 2018 with the reopening in March/April. C/Grundy asked if repairs would be made to bring it back to the condition it was before damage or if the design process would consider how the damage occurred and how the design could be improved to be more robust. ACM/McLean said that would be part of the forthcoming design process. Staff will look at the best possible method for moving forward with corrective repair. 2.4 LIST OF PENDING COMMISSION REQUESTS: ACM/McLean provided the Commission with a revised request list based on last month's discussion and asked for input. C/Herndon said he had suggested a solar light at the back of the Diamond Bar Center near the kitchen entrance and asked if that had been investigated. ACM/McLean asked to discuss the matter with C/Herndon following the meeting about his concept. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Hsieh thanked staff for their reports and attention to park maintenance. She welcomed new staff members. C/Grundy thanked staff for the reports and the job they are doing keeping things up. He welcomed new staff members. C/Grundy asked if Mickey McKitrick was still on staff and ACM/McLean responded that Mickey left the City in January and Ramiro will take over that position of Specialist for Youth and Adult Sports Programming and other recreation -related items as well. C/Herndon thanked staff for the great job they. do and welcomed new staff members. He attended the last Concerts in the Park and made the observation that there were more people who came to attend the movie than attended the concert. He asked if that had been typical. ACM/McLean said he missed last night's concert but he believes attendance is related to the weather. People tend to show up during the concert after they arrive home from work and especially when it is hot people like to wait until it has cooled down a bit. VC/Liang thanked staff for the great job they do and for the very informational presentations. He welcomed the two new family members. ADJOURNMENT: With no one objecting and no further business before the Parks and Recreation Commission, Vice Chair Liang adjourned the meeting at 7:56 p.m. JULY 27, 2017 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 27 day of July 2017. , Respectfully RYAN MCIjEAI-SECRETARY Attest: BENN LI NG, VICE CH R AN