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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/28/2017 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 SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 CALL TO ORDER: Chair/Sulakhe 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 Grundy led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Dave Grundy, Lew Herndon, Vice Chair Benny Liang, and Chair Manisha Sulakhe Absent: Commissioner Kim Hsieh was excused Staff Present: Ryan McLean, Assistant City Manager; Christy Murphey, Recreation Superintendent; Andee Tarazon, Recreation Supervisor; Jason Williams, Facility and Asset Maintenance Technician; Jordi Ubaldo, Recreation Specialist; and Robin Crawford, Administrative Assistant. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented by ACM/McLean. 1. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1.1 Approval of Minutes for August 24, 2017 Regular Meeting. VC/Liang moved, C/Herndon seconded, to approve the Minutes of the August 24, 2017 Meeting as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Herndon, VC/Liang, Chair/Sulakhe NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: COMMISSINOERS: Grundy ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Hsieh 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 2.1 RECREATION PROGRAM UPDATE — RS/Murphey C/Herndon asked what staff was doing to fill the Youth Basketball volunteer and coach slots. RS/Murphey said that staff typically reaches out to former coaches and RS/Tarazon said that volunteer coaches has SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION been an issue over the years and staff is trying a couple of new things including promoting to engage the youth more and with the cooperation of DB4Youth soliciting to more youth volunteer coaches. In addition to reaching out to past coaches staff is attempting to encourage parents to coach by offering coaches clinics and more training to allay their fears. Staff has utilized using high schools but the seasons overlap. Staff has also reached out to high school students to coach. 2.1.1 RECREATION REPORT— DAY CAMP — RS/Ubaldo VC/Liang asked how many children participate in the entire 10 - week program and RS/Ubaldo responded that there are children who participate for the entire 10 -week program. AA/Crawford stated that she does most of the registrations at the Diamond Bar Center and has a line at the door on the first day of registration which is usually held on the second Monday in March. There are families with more than one child who plan ahead to have their children attend all 10 weeks. Generally, the Center has a wait list for eight out of the 10 weeks which usually have 10 to 50 people depending on the excursion. VC/Liang asked if those who sign up for the entire 10 weeks get a price break and AA/Crawford responded no, because the weeks are pre -planned per the excursions and per staff. The registration pays for the excursion, activities and staff, etc. and are not intended to be revenue -generating. C/Grundy asked why there is a limit and ACM/McLean said that even back in 2000 when he was working with Day Camp there were multiple kids participating from the same families and this has been a very positive and popular program over the years. At that time, there were 60 children in the camp and the City decided when it moved from the Sycamore Canyon Park site to Heritage which was a larger facility 100 seems to be the sweet spot. Day Camp is a very staff labor-intensive program (12-16 staff present each day). One of the difficult factors is maintaining the ratio of staff to camper to make sure there is proper supervision and it is particularly difficult at water parks to make sure to keep one's group of 10 campers together. So 100 seems to be the right number given the facility at Heritage Park, the cost to provide transportation and cost to provide access to the excursion sites. RS/Tarazon said that staff is looking to double the number of staff s n �c tresicn_day r 2tthi tJme,> sfpff is�at a 10 1 ratio_vvhich is fine when the group is at Heritage and everyone is contained but 10:1 becomes less manageable at Disneyland, for example. C/Herndon asked if the cost would be increased to accommodate additional staff and ACM/McLean said it was something staff would have to factor into its decision-making going forward. SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION 2.2 MAINTENANCE REPORT— FAMT/Williams 2.2.1 POWER POINT PRESENTATION — Pantera Park — FAMT/Williams 2.3 CIP PROJECTS -ACM/McLean 2.3.1 Longview Park South This is a project that has been on the books for the past year or so and he is very pleased to report that it is nearing completion. He expects that the Notice of Completion will be filed and approved by the City Council very shortly. The project includes new playground equipment, ADA Access retrofitting, installation of a pet -friendly drinking fountain, and irrigation and landscaping improvements. It is very similar to Stardust Park which was completed earlier this year and is located in the neighborhood near Summitridge and Longview. 2.3.2 Sycamore Canyon Park Trailhead The damage to this Trailhead at Diamond Bar Boulevard stretching down into Sycamore Canyon Park was a result of last winter's heavy rains. Staff has been working with FEMA to secure reimbursement for the very expensive cost of repairing that damage. Public Works is in the process of the final bid -review process and expects to take a design contract to the City Council for approval late October. Once the design process is complete the construction documents will be prepared in 2018, bids will be sent out and by Spring 2018 weather permitting, be underway with construction with project completion in Summer 2018. 2.3.3 YMCA Property This is an approximately 3 acre piece of property that was recently purchased by the City Council from the YMCA which lies immediately adjacent to the Pony League fields and across the street from the YMCA building. The Public Works and Parks & Recreation Departments met two weeks ago to begin discussions on putting together an RFP (Request for Proposal) to get an architect to begin design work for the project. As this process moves forward, it will be brought forward to the Commission for comment. C/Herndon noticed that there was action being taken on beautification on Diamond Bar Boulevard near the old Kmart shopping center. ACM/McLean responded that there was a public open house at Lorbeer Middle School for public input on a streetscape design for that area. There is a lot of economic development going on at the former Kmart site. Sprouts is SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 PAGE 4 P&R COMMISSION expected to open October 11. There will also be a Ross, Chipotle, Coffee Bean, The Habit and others. There is a project on the horizon to improve the streetscape in that location for which the public meeting was held. C/Herndon wanted to know who would be paying for that streetscape project and ACM/McLean said he would have to review the budget and report back to C/Herndon by email. 2.4 LIST OF PENDING COMMISSION REQUESTS —ACM/McLean a) Heritage Park Conceptual Plans — As with other pending projects, any design improvements that are brought forward will be brought forward to the Commission for input. C/Grundy said this came about when there was a presentation by a student and teacher about ADA Access which he thought was a very moving and appropriate request to consider access for people in wheelchairs, etc. and the reason for wanting to look at the redesign was to honor their request. b) Request for Additional Outdoor Lighting at the Diamond Bar Center — this project is not currently in the budget for this fiscal year. Staff reviewed this proposed project when doing a previous lighting project for the restrooms which went through the public process and for which the City Council approved funding. At that time staff attempted to include the lighting outside as part of a change order within the approved budget. However, the contractor looked at it and found it to be much more complex than originally anticipated. There are issues related to the electrical circuit in that area which requires significantly more work than what was anticipated. Therefore, staff could not move forward with the change order to pay for that specific project under the original contract because the City could not go past the appropriate limit or exceed the contract amount that was approved by the City Council. This fiscal year the project has not been budgeted and staff expects the cost for completion would be approximately $10,000 given the fact that as required by law, go through a Public Works public project process which includes design, open bids, plans and specs to be completed by licensed electrical engineers and architects and complete the project, all of which can be done. However, there are no budgeted resources for this project at this time. This item will remain on the list and staff will report back to the Commission if there is any change to that project. c) Updated Trails Map - Staff will be working on this project with a plan to finish it by the end of this fiscal year which will include an update to include the recently completed Pantera Park Trail. d) Pantera Park Trail — Regarding a series of requests that include a Gazebo at the top of the overlook, a bridge over the V -Ditch and SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION e) signage at the end of the trail, staff is proceeding as follows: Staff has looked at the signage at the end of the trail issue and will be able to have a contractor fabricate signage to indicate the end of the trail as requested and once complete, report back to the Commission. With respect to the Gazebo and bridge, these fall similarly in the same process that was outlined related to lighting at the Diamond Bar Center which means that it would require securing funding from the City Council and the Public Works process of plans, specs, design, bids and construction. At this time, staff estimates that given the fact that there would be impact and possible damage to the recently completed trail to get equipment up the steep hill to move a gazebo, it could be quite expensive, most likely in the $30-40,000 range. The V -Ditch project would be somewhat less expensive to complete but would be subject to the same budgetary and Public Works requirements. Thus, those items are pending given their circumstance, similar to the lighting project. C/Grundy said he heard that the City of Industry is planning to do something with the Tres Hermanos property. ACM/McLean responded that the Tres Hermanos property has been subject to a lot of media and newspaper items and reports that indicate the City of Industry plans to construct a solar energy project of some kind. At this time, the City has not seen any plans or specifications or anything other than the rumor that this is Industry's intention. The City Council is monitoring the situation to make sure that Diamond Bar's land use authority is honored through any such process. At this time, he does not have any confirmed plans that Industry has released to anybody related to that project. C/Herndon said that he heard the City might trade the piece of property that lies in Diamond Bar on the north side of the SR60 (the corner of the 60 freeway and Grand Avenue, the old Honda Dealership) with Industry for other property. He assumed that the land is owned by a private property owner but said there was talk about "exchanging city boundaries." ACM/McLean responded that at this time, the City is proceeding with the project that is within its boundaries and could not comment on any "trades" or what that might be. At this time the property is owned by a developer and the Burger King and Honda sites are located within the City of Diamond Bar. C/Herndon said that more than likely that property will be developed within the City of Diamond Bar, correct? ACM/McLean said yes. That property is within the City of Diamond Bar now and it was when it was a Honda Dealership and Burger King Restaurant, so any future development within the City of Diamond Bar would remain in the City of Diamond Bar. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 PAGE 6 P&R COMMISSION C/Grundy thanked staff for the reports and updates. Love those PowerPoints — a picture paints a thousand words. Recently, he was able to go to Peterson Park and said the park was looking good. Overall, the parks present very well and are very attractive. Regarding Pickle Ball, he understands there has to be a demand and we will have to wait to see how that plays out. He can say that when that was first presented there was a gentleman who came to the Commission with his passion for Pickle Ball. C/Grundy said his sister got into Pickle Ball and she was super excited to think that it could spread to Diamond Bar. Unfortunately, she passed away from Leukemia last year but it would be fun to see Pickle Ball come to the City and wherever she is, he believes his sister would be happy. C/Herndon thanked staff for their work and presentations which gives the Commission good insight into what is happening in the parks and recreation programs and kudos to the solution for the errant skateboarders. VC/Liang thanked staff for their great jobs and especially the PowerPoint of the Day Camp which brought back a lot of good memories for him because one of his boys attended Day Camp at Heritage Park. It is a wonderful experience and. he believes the program has improved way beyond when his kids were young. Chair/Sulakhe felt it was a great meeting and in one hour the Commission receives much information about all of the hard work each and every staff member does. Thanks to RS/Ubaldo and hoped he would come back to more meetings. She thought it was a great idea to have young coaches participate in the basketball training program which is essential to eliminating their fear of training and teaching the kids. Thank you to all of the staff. ADJOURNMENT: Upon motion by C/Herndon, seconded by C/Grundy and with no one objecting and no further business before the Parks and Recreation Commission, Chair/Sulakhe adjourned the meeting at 7:58 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 28 day of September 2017. Respectfully C7'/d\iil MANISHA SULAKHE, CHAIRPERSON f' m