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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/25/2018 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 25, 2018 CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chair Sulakhe called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order al 6:37 p.m. in the City Hall Windmill Room, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Orona led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Andrew Chou, Kim Hsieh, Tommy Orona, Vice Chair Manisha Sulakhe Absent: Chair Benny Liang was excused. Staff Present: Ryan Wright, Parks & Recreation Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance Superintendent; Christy Murphey, Recreation Supervisor; Cloris Vargas, Recreation Specialist; and, Debbie Gonzales, Administrative Coordinator. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Trish Schwabenbauer, representing the Diamond Bar pickleball community, thanked staff for setting up and tearing down their courts every two weeks and for always being polite and friendly. Ages of current members range from 35 to 80 plus and she invited everyone to join them in play. They currently play on the second and fourth Wednesdays at Maple Hill Park (7 total hours per month) with most of the play time in Chino Hills. She explained that the group is looking for local support because they would prefer to play in Diamond Bar but are routinely ushered off of the courts by tennis players and told they are interfering with revenue generating tennis lessons. They can make two pickleball courts out of one tennis court which accommodates 8 people. Barb Cameron spoke about pickleball which she believes is a great game for all ages and not just for senior groups. She would like to be able to play in Diamond Bar but cannot because there is no pickleball going on in Diamond Bar after 3:00 p.m. when she gets out of work but plays four days in Claremont and two days in Chino Hills when possible. She asked that the City consider installing permanent courts for pickleball when the new park is built across from the YMCA and at available indoor facilities. Rick Villines talked about the types of courts that can be used for pickleball including indoor and outdoor basketball courts and the best type of court for pickleball is the same as a tennis court surface. Pickleball has been the number one growing sport in the United States for the past three years. Last Wednesday there were 8 people playing and there were 7-10 people waiting for courts to open and wait time would be cut down if permanent courts were available. Also, if staff could paint permanent lines over the tennis lines (different colors) it would cut staff time down by 45 minutes to an hour each week. It is a growing sport and he would like to have more permanent OCTOBER 25, 2018 PAGE 2 P&R COMMISSION courts. He drives to Tustin to play every Tuesday and Thursday. He lives in Chino Hills and has been working to get a permanent court for the past three years which is finally coming to fruition. Barb Cameron said there are all kinds of lines in a gymnasium that outline the badminton courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts and the lines are all different colors and with the addition of lines people focus on the court that pertains to their sport which would negate having to lay down tape every couple of weeks. Perhaps it could be expanded to school campuses where school kids could use it during the day as well as adults, when available. PRD/Wright said that because this is not an agendized item, in accordance with the Brown Act; the Commission may receive public comments on this matter but cannot take any action. However, he would be happy to meet with speakers after the meeting to exchange information and discuss programming options. Ron Marbrey spoke about how pickleball has brought residents together and said he would like to have a permanent place in the City to enjoy playing pickleball with his fellow residents. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: As presented by PRD/Wright 1. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1.1 Approval of Minutes for September 27, 2018 Regular Meeting. C/Chou moved, C/Hsieh seconded to approve the Minutes of the September 27, 2018 regular meeting. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Chou, Hsieh, Orona, VC/Sulakhe NOES COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Chair/Liang 1.2 Received and Filed Transmittal of Thank -You letter to the Diamond Bar Community Foundation. 2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 2.1 OCTOBER 2018 RECREATION PROGRAM UPDATE — RSNargas C/Orona asked if the four senior clubs were self -organizing and RSNargas responded that they are self -organizing and do their own scheduling for which the City offers them free gathering space. , C/Hsieh asked if the seniors were charged for the dances and RSNargas responded that the charge is $15 for residents and $20 for non-residents which includes the DJ, dinner, and a raffle ticket. C/Hsieh asked staff if there was anything that the City could do to OCTOBER 25, 2018 PAGE 3 P&R COMMISSION accommodate pickleball. PRD/Wright reiterated that staff is aware that pickleball is the up and coming sport. There are costs associated with painting lines on a court and while this is not currently a budgeted item, it could be in the future. In addition, there is the concern about time and space and staff needs to conduct further research with respect to programming issues. Staff has been in a trial -run phase for about the last 10 months to see how important pickleball is to the public. With tonight's input, staff will determine how and where it may be feasible. and the costs associated with implementing the programs to make it more permanent for the residents. RS/Vargas said that when the City undertook the trial -run phase she toured all parks that contain tennis courts and found that Maple Hill was the least used throughout the day which is why staff picked that location. Again, staff does not know where this will take the City but she believes that Maple Hill has been a great facility for Maple Hill because it is less used than other parks. C/Hsieh asked how many City parks have tennis courts and PRD/Wright named Maple Hill, Ronald Reagan, and Pantera parks. VC/Sulakhe said she attended the Orange County Water District tour today. There were a lot of seniors present which was an all -day tour and she suggested that perhaps staff might want to add this tour or the monthly two-hour tour which is free except for transportation to Fountain Valley. RS/Murphey continued the October program update report. C/Hsieh asked if staff could put up some signs at Pantera Park to encourage people to clean up after themselves. RS/Murphey said that the City has field attendants that visit the parks on the weekends and weekday evenings to check picnic rentals. C/Hsieh said that in the area of the gazebo it was trashed. RS/Murphey said that if picnic users do not clean up after their events, it is recorded and their deposit is retained if they leave the event without cleaning up. VC/Sulakhe said that either last year or the year before there was a similar issue and the resident that was holding the event said that the trash cans were not big enough to accommodate the trash and that as a consequence, they had to leave it outside of the containers. PRD/Wright said that depending on when.and where the event occurs, there are large special events which are sometimes hosted by the City and the City requires those organizations to rent additional dumpsters. He is confident that the trash cans that are in the parks now are sufficient for the day-to-day park use. He asked that Commissioners who witness excessive trash left in the parks call staff as soon as possible so that the event can be pinpointed to the event sponsor. OCTOBER 25, 2018 PAGE 4 P&R C/Hsieh said the trash cans are very large and take up sidewalk space. PMS/Jordan said the issue with the previous trash cans was that they were round and people would knock them over and roll them, and that they were used to create acts of vandalism. This happened at Sycamore Canyon Park where several trash cans were rolled down into the creek. They crashed into and toppled the light poles and rolled through fences. As a result, staff decided that out of necessity the City would replace the round trash cans with a square type of trash can, which is much larger and heavier and cannot be rolled. 2.2 OCTOBER 2018 MAINTENANCE REPORT — PMS/Jordan C/Hsieh reiterated her concern about the lack of sand in the play area at Pantera Park. PMS/Jordan said that staff would check out the situation to make sure that the proper height of sand is present in the play area. VC/Sulakhe again commented about the lack of lighting at the Diamond Bar Center outside the kitchen at the back in the, patio area entry. The person who rented the facility for an event she attended brought extra lights but they short-circuited. Sometimes the extension cords at the Center are not up to par. C/Orona asked if there had been any further interaction with FEMA regarding Sycamore Canyon Park. PRD/Wright said that last week FEMA requested additional reports and statistics which were actually reports and statistics the City provided FEMA months ago which were quickly resubmitted to FEMA. To date there has been no resolution. He understands that the City Manager's Office is working with a Washington D.C. lobbyist to push the matter because everything was submitted in detail and staff is confident in its engineer's report. C/Orona asked if there was a self-imposed deadline for the City to move forward with the project and PRD/Wright responded there is no deadline for moving forward at this time. 3. OLD BUSINESS: None 4. NEW BUSINESS: 4.1 CONSIDERATION OF NOVEMBER 22, 2018 AND DECEMBER 27, 2018 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETINGS — PRD/Wright PRD/Wright reported that this item .was before the Commission at its request to consider the November 22 meeting which falls on Thanksgiving Day and the December 27 meeting falls between Christmas and New Year's Day. Staff has confirmed that there are no pressing agenda matters for either of those meeting dates. Staff recommends 1) that both meetings be canceled and to adjourn tonight's meeting to January 24, 2019; 2) reschedule the November meeting to November 15 and cancel the December meeting; or, 3) cancel the November meeting and move the OCTOBER 25, 2018 PAGE 5 P&R COMMISSION December meeting to December 20. C/Orona moved, C/Chou seconded, to go with Option 3 unless there is a lack of quorum for the December 20 meeting, in which case the next meeting would take place on January 24, 2019. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Chou, Hsieh, Orona, VC/Sulakhe NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT:. COMMISSIONERS: Chair/Liang 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS: C/Hsieh asked if the Commission could receive a report on pickleball. PRD/Wright said that as soon as staff has a resolution an update will be provided to the Commission. C/Hsieh thanked staff for their work. C/Chou thanked staff and PRD/Wright for explaining why the gate at Sycamore Canyon Park is closed at night. VC/Sulakhe thanked staff for their reports and support of the Commission. ADJOURNMENT: With no one objecting and no further business before the Parks and Recreation Commission, Chair/Sulakhe adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m. to December 20, 2018. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 25 day of October 2018. Respectfully Submitted, RYAN SECRETARY Attest: VICE CHAIR MANISHA SULAKHE