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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPARKS & REC CMSN - 03/04/08 � CITY OF PALM DESERT ��•�-� PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION � � MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Dawson convened the meeting at 8:30 a.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Excused Absence: U � Chairman Gerald Dawson Commissioner Julie M on `''' w Vice Chairman Michael Barnard (Munson on LOA) � Commissioner Phill Babcock r� Commissioner Roger Dash � Commissioner Randy Guyer � Commissioner Deborah Hall � Commissioner Kim Housken ra �., Commissioner Terry Schukart (arrived at 8:35) z � � � U Staff Present: A O ` � �, Robert Spiegel, Mayor Pro Tempore � �� �+ Carlos Ortega, City Manager (arrived at 8:35 a.m.) �, � � � h � � Homer Croy, ACM for Development Services � Janis Steele, Parks & Recreation Services Manager a r� � � ., w Jay Niemczak, Parks Facilities Manager U F_ � . � �., � Angelica Chavez, Office Assistant � A A c� � �� �° ° o r� w c� � �� ❑ �, � � a z� E� HH � III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - None o H � .. .Y � ,� w .,� �+ A; R4 H t� +�'� W E� H t'i H A� U [�ci i�7 W rJ2 v1 f�' -r' IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS �� � � � � � � � o Mr. Rob Ballew, Family YMCA, informed the Commission that on Saturday, March 22, they would be having a community-wide Easter Egg Hunt followed by a Healthy Kids Day. They are combining two activities at the Civic Center Park and they expect an attendance of twelve hundred people. Also on the week of March 24 through March 28, 2008, in response to the drowning of the Desert Sands high school student, the YMCA would be 1 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 offering free swimming lessons for pre-high school and high school age swimmers and non-swimmers. These lessons will be held at a couple different high schools in the Desert Sands Unified School District. They hope that high school non-swimmers take advantage of these free lessons. V, PRESENTATIONS - None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. COMMUNITY AND AQUATIC CENTER Discussion and recommendation concerning the components of the community and aquatic center in the City of Palm Desert. Chairman Dawson gave a brief synopsis of the City Council work session of a few weeks ago, where they met to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that are coming before the City of Palm Desert, and to make sure that they give the leadership that they intend to give for the City of Palm Desert. They ended up with five strategic goals for the City of Palm Desert (which were provided in the agenda packet). The first one is to complete an indoor recreation center with a pool. Luckily, the Commission has been working on this issue for some time, and this was another kickoff day for preparing the Commission's recommendations for the components of the recreation and pool center. Chairman Dawson referred to page two of the packet and the timeline provided and noted that the Commission would be sending to the City Council the Commission's recommendation for the components for the center as well as the size of those components. He indicated that the Commission is not going to be looking at the location where it will be, or what it will look like. The Commission is only going to focus on the components and the size of those components. He noted that eventually a Request For Qualifications (RFQ) will be sent to find people who can design and build the center. Chairman Dawson turned over the meeting to the Chairman of the Community Center Committee. Vice Chair Barnard gave a background overview for the newer Commissioners. He indicated that this Committee was formed about a year ago; the original plan was to build a pool/aquatic complex on the College of the Desert (COD) campus; they were also looking at building a major regional park near the intersection of Portola and Dinah Shore area 2 G IDevServicesVNonrca LoreUo�Word DataV'arks&RecUNinutesi2008 Minutes13-4-08,min.docx PARKS AND RECREATlON COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 because at that time that was were all the growth was going and they were looking at building a recreation center as well as football fields and running track in a 20-something acre park. Those plans were put on hold because development slowed. As a result of the City Council's meeting, they wanted the Committee to look at an indoor recreational center at Civic Center Park, possibly combining the location of the Recreation Center and the YMCA building and adding a pool into that location. The Committee had basic ideas of what they wanted in the community center or recreational center building, and when they were asked to determine what they really wanted it to have. They went on tours in San Diego in December, and looked at great examples of facilities. The report as presented includes the Committee's recommendations as far as what they would like to have in the building, and also having an adjacent swimming pool with an outdoor lap pool and indoor recreational pool that ideally has a sliding door so that it can be an outdoor-indoor facility. Vice Chair Barnard talked about the following components: weight room, dance facility, exercise room, exercise studio, basketball gym with six rims that can possibly be used for other activities besides basketball; jogging track across the top of the gymnasium that is 1/16 of a mile, so it will have to be a two-story facility to incorporate the jogging track; at least one racquetball court because there was demand for that in the survey; locker rooms and office space; a big banquet facility because there is a big need in the community for affordable facilities for events like weddings and birthday parties with seating capacity of 3Q0 people in round tables, plus adjacent party rooms with concrete floors and drains so it can be used for kids activities that are messy; and all the necessary catering and storage space that is needed. He noted that o�ce space of about 4,000 square feet for about 12 people will be needed. This will depend on who is going to run the facility and what offices will be located there. Vice Chair Barnard also mentioned 2-hour maximum basic babysitting services, so that there are no licensing issues involved. The idea was also to put some space for park patrol or police so that they can come in and prepare reports and make phone calls. It is always nice to have police presence in the area, especially since the Sheriff's Deputy staff is going to be moving at some point to their new facility. The Committee thought it would be a good idea to give them some space in the community center. He proceeded to talk about having some vending areas and concessions, and a minimal front desk for people to sign-up but not a lot of wasted 3 G:1DevServiceslMonica LoredolWo�d DatalParksBRecLNiwtes�2008 Minutes�3•4-08.min.docx PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 lobby space like what they saw in some of the facilities they toured. He also pointed out that storage would be needed, and that there is always need for storage as one tends to have more things to store than one might realize. Vice Chair Barnard noted that the Committee did not focus on parking as their job was to only identify the components for the building and go to the City Council with their report, then hire a designer/architecUbuilder combination to look at the plan and find out if it is a feasible to build it at the Civic Center Park, and look at the existing buildings to assess whether to keep them, expand them, or tear them down. The design team would have to present their recommendation based on the components of the center. As presented, this would be approximately a 50,000 square feet building, with part or all of it being two-story, depending on how it all lays out. One of the discussions the Committee had entailed who should serve as the operator of the building, and they felt that it should remain a City-run and owned building, run by City Parks and Recreation staff. Commissioner Schukart added that the Committee referred to the survey and they used the citizen's input in creating their recommendations. He noted that this was not created out of the blue, but rather they wanted to respond to the citizen's survey. Vice Chair Barnard noted that these recommendations were based on the survey and from their observations while touring other facilities. Commissioner Hall asked if this was what the Commission referred at their previous meeting as "the wish IisY', being what they would like to see in the community center. Commissioners responded yes. Commissioner Hall inquired whether the building will be LEED certified. (Note: LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED certification is given by the Green Building Council). Ms. Steele answered yes, that she thought the City's directive is that any new City building must be LEED certified. Commissioner Housken asked about the bleachers in the gymnasium, and if they were accounted for in their recommendations. Vice Chair Barnard answered that they considered a three-step fold-out seating. Commissioner Housken commented that she liked the zero-entry depth pool, and asked if people could do lap swimming in that type of pool. Vice 4 G:IDevServicesUNonica LoredolWoro'Data�Parks6ReCWlinutes12008 Minutes13-4-08min.docx PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 Chair Barnard answered that there are two pools, one for lap swimming and the zero-depth for aerobics and kids. Commissioner Housken asked if in the winter people who wanted to swim laps would have to swim outdoors. Ms. Steele pointed out that the Committee designed for the competition pool outside and the zero-depth pool inside to be used for lessons and water aerobics. She noted that it is possible to design a couple of lane lines for indoor swimming, so people who wanted to swim indoors in the winter could do it. Commissioner Housken noted that there seemed to be a need in the survey, and that people wanted winter indoor swimming areas, not just exercise areas. Ms. Steele indicated that the design could address this need. Commissioner Housken commented that at first the weight room seemed very big as she was comparing it to the one in Coronado, but then she noticed in the minutes of the meeting that the Commission felt that the Coronado weight room was undersized. It seems that 4,500 square feet is a reasonable amount of space. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel commented that the size of the Encinitas weight room was spectacular. In fact, they had three different locations for weights and they were all busy. Commissioner Schukart noted that treadmills need a lot of space. They require space for entering and exiting, and need space from side to side so people do not bump into each other. He commented that these machines take a lot of square footage per unit, more than one could imagine. Commissioner Hall asked about the play features in the pool area. Ms. Steele answered that these features can be anything like sprays, toys for kids to climb on or a small slide. She noted that kids are usually looking for something to touch and feel while they are in the pool. These features were not named because they do not know yet what the City Council might approve. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel commented that they saw these features at the Coronado community center. Commissioner Hall asked what would be the appropriate age group for these pool features. Ms. Steele answered 2 to 14 years old. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel added that when the pool at COD was open, one of the big uses was camps in the summer. Kids come to play, put on a 5 G^,DevServicesVvlonica LoredolWoro DatalParks&RecNAinutes12008 Minutes13-4-08.min.docx PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 bathing suit, and get it in the water. He noted that the zero-depth entry pool is for children to learn how to swim and for them to have fun in the pool. Commissioner Guyer compared these features as one would build a park with playground equipment. He noted that when they toured Encinitas, he asked staff about their pool playground area, and was told it is a key component now, that it is very popular. Ms. Steele mentioned that they could be similar to the spray features in the park. Commissioner Hall commented that she was surprised to see and indoor pool in this area, as everything seems so outdoor-focused. She asked if it is easier to maintain an indoor pool. Ms. Steele answered that it is not, and that actually they decided to leave the lap pool outside based on operational costs associated with air quality and handling. They figured that people who use the pool would be swim teams and lap swimmers, who might prefer cooler water or even cooler temperatures, thus could tolerate the outdoor pool better. Ms. Steele explained that in many discussions and while touring the centers they saw indoor facilities, so they decided to combine the pools, but the zero-depth pool does not have to be inside, it also could be outside. Vice Chair Barnard indicated that the indoor pool request came from the citizen's survey. It requested an indoor facility. Commissioner Schukart added that the COD pool posed problems in keeping the water under 90 degrees; they had to rent machinery that would move the water across the pool, aerate the water, and cool it down. He explained that in the summer the water may be too warm. An indoor pool allows for controlling the temperature better in more shallow water. Commissioner Hall replied that she understands that there is new technology to cool the water temperatures from when COD had the pool. Commissioner Schukart noted that it is spendy technology. Chairman Dawson thanked the Committee and Vice Chair Barnard. Commissioner Schukart moved for Staff to submit the Commission's Community and Aquatic Center recommendation onto the City Manager and the City Council. Motion second by Commissioner Dash, and passed unanimously with an 8-0 vote with Commissioner Munson absent. (Munson on LOA) 6 G:1DevServicesVofonica Loiedo�Word DatalParksBRecVvfinutes12008 Minutes13-4-OB.min docz PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 B. COMMUNITY PARK NAMING Discussion and recommendation for the naming of the park on Magnesia Falls (Community Park). Chairman Dawson explained that the Community Park is currently called by various names, and that the Commission recommended establishing a name that can be used for the park during the middle school opening ceremony. Commissioner Guyer asked if they were able to come up with any research on Mr. Portola. Chairman Dawson responded that he had found some information on Gaspar de Portola from EnhancedLearning.com, under the title "explorers", which he read to the Commission: "Gaspar de Portola (1767-1784), was as Spanish soldier, leader, and explorer. He was appointed Governor of Las Californias from 1768 to 1770 (he noted these years must be incorrect) and he founded Monterey and San Diego, California. As governor, Portola was ordered to arrest and expel all Jesuits from their well established colleges and 14 missions. Many of these missions were given to the Franciscans. In 1768, Portola volunteered to lead a large expedition of explorers, missionaries, and soldiers up the California coast of San Diego and Monterey in California, in order to establish new Franciscan missions. The expedition was planned by Jose De Gavez. Portola's over land expedition began on July 14, 1769." Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel asked if there had been any discussion with the school regarding the naming of the parks. Ms. Steele indicated that there had not yet been. Commissioner Dash commented that it might add to the confusion if there are two names involved, one for the field and one for the park adjacent to each other. He asked if they want to combine them first and then present that to the school. Chairman Dawson asked if everybody understood the naming of the field. Commissioner Babcock wondered if there are any people who were in Palm Desert at the early start of the city, that the Commission would consider naming the parks after. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel noted that Keedy's has been around for many years, but if they were to name it "Keedy's Park" younger people may not 7 GIDevServiceslMonica LoredolWord Data�Parks6ReclMinutes12008 Minutes13-4-08.min docx PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 understand why. For example, they named "Joe Mann Park" at Palm Desert Country Club, but 90% of the people would not know who Joe Mann was, or why the park was given that name. Commissioner Guyer noted that the field is actually property of the school district, while the park is part of the City, so they are two different entities. He said that pretty much everybody knows where Oleson Field is when they have to get their kids to basebal! practice. He did not feel that naming it something different than "Oleson Field" would be helpful. Commissioner Dash asked if there would be confusion with two separate names. Commissioner Guyer answered no. He added that because it is City property, the name should be City-oriented and the school may change the name of the field eventually. Commissioner Housken suggested the name "Magnesia Falls" to keep it simple. Commissioner Guyer agreed with that suggestion. Commissioner Hall noted that there are two parks that can be located from Magnesia Falls. The other is the date grove. Commissioners pointed out that the date grove was part of the Civic Center Park. Commissioner Hall pointed out that it might be confusing for people out of the area to know which park one may be referring to, since both are accessed from Magnesia Falls Drive. Commissioner Hall recommended naming it "Magnesia Falls School Park." Commissioner Guyer noted that there is already a Washington Charter Park, and wondered of they would need to talk to the school district. Ms. Steele agreed that their choice should be presented to the school district. Commissioner Guyer said that the only naming possibilities would be "Lincoln School Park", "Palm Desert Middle School Park", or both. Commissioner Hall reiterated the "Magnesia Falls School Park" name to designate the area as opposed to "Lincoln" or "Palm Desert Middle School Park." Commissioner Dash wondered if then people would look for "Magnesia Falls School." Chairman Dawson asked if it would be prudent to talk with the school before a decision is made. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel recommended talking to the school prior to officially naming the park and see if they have any objections or problems with this name. s G:1DevServicesWfonica LoredolWord DatalParksBRecVvlinutesl2008 Minutes13-4-08.min.docx PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 Commissioner Guyer moved to present the name "Magnesia Falls City Park" to the school and get their comments. Vice Chair Barnard second and unanimously passed with an 8-0 vote with Commissioner Munson absent. (Munson on LOA) VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. UNIVERSITY PARKS NAMING Discussion and recommendations for the naming of the four University Parks. Chairman Dawson indicated that the Commission needed to name the two parks that are under construction that will be open within the next few months. These parks are currently called "the university parks." Commissioner Housken liked Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel's comment of naming the parks based on their location, so one would know where they are, like Hovely Park. Based on the fact that there will be ultimately four parks, she thought of the four points of the compass, but they did not really jive with the layout. She went back to the idea of "University Dog Park." The park nearest Cook Street could be named "University Park South" or "University Park East", and the largest park could be "Central" or "North." Her idea was to identify the parks by their location. Commissioner Guyer thought this was a great idea. He asked to refine it a little bit. Commissioner Schukart liked the idea of keeping the names simple and designated by their location. Commissioner Guyer asked Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel if he thought people would identify the whole area as "University Village." He responded yes, that the whole area was going to be identified with the university theme. Commissioner Guyer commented that he went to San Diego State and everything around there had some connection to San Diego State but eventually it kind of went away. Vice Chair Barnard asked if the area is "University Village" or "University Park." Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel clarified that the University Park is located at the University Village. Mr. Van Tanner, Planning Commissioner, noted that this is a very identifiable area off of Cook Street. 9 G:iDevServiceslMonica LoredolWord DatalParks6ReclMinutes12008 Minutes13-4-08.min.docx PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 Commissioner Hall asked if the other finro parks were going to be other than a community park, or something like a pocket park. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel answered that they are all pocket parks. Commissioner Guyer moved to approve the names as "University Village Dog Park", "University Village Park Central", "University Village Park West", and "University Village Park East." Commissioner Babcock second. Motion passed unanimously with an 8-0 vote with Commissioner Munson absent. (Munson on LOA) VIII. REPORTS AND UPDATES A. PALM DESERT YOUTH SPORTS OPENING DAY Ms. Steele informed the Commission that the Palm Desert Youth Sports Association is trying to rebuild the league. They wanted to go back to a nice opening ceremony where people could come to the park and have fun. They wanted to invite everyone on Saturday, March 15, 2008. There will be a ceremony from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. They have set up some special surprises and are working on a helicopter that Mr. Don Sutton can step out of, and have him throw the first ball. Staff is also dedicating his photo for the Legend's Field Column. Ms. Steele invited the Commissioners to attend. Ms. Steele explained that they have been doing a very nice job with this league. She mentioned that they will be having adult contracted officials for 12 plus and older age groups, rather than the 16-17 year-old high school players just to add some accountability to the league. She mentioned that the League President had gone to a game in Orange County and they had signs that say, "Your Kids Are Watching", so they asked the City to order the same signs and it was done. These signs will be put up and see what happens. She also indicated that hey have done some coaching clinics with professional players trying to keep the level of coaching up and even for all teams. She noted that this should be a stellar year for things to come. Chairman Dawson noted that it is important for the Commission to be there and support this type of events. Commissioner Hall commented that her grandson plays in the league and it is wonderful. 10 G IDevServices�hfonica Lo�edolWord DatalParksBRecNAinutes12008 Minutesl3-408.min.docx PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 20Q8 B. FREEDOM PARK SKATE FEATURES Ms. Steele informed the Commission that from the time the report was compiled, to the date of the meeting, vandalism had occurred to the skate features and some bolts were ruined and equipment moved. She mentioned that staff was ready to put the bolts back in, and now she is tempted to leave them off for a while. Mr. Niemczak mentioned that Staff thought of installing signs and giving them a warning telling them that if the features are moved again, they will be removed. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel noted that there are two options: one, installing cameras out there to identify who is moving them; two, if there are enough kids out there that want to use it, a skate board park could be put in. Chairman Dawson asked what would be the reason that the kids keep moving the features. Mr. Niemczak guessed they want to make it more challenging. Chairman Dawson offered that they want to use the features, so they are moving them around to make it more entertaining. Mr. Niemczak noted that they are moving them throughout the park also; they are putting them on the ball fields and on the basketball courts. Chairman Dawson noted that from the adults' perspective, they are being malicious, but from the kids' perspective, they are making the features more challenging. Commissioner Schukart agreed that they are trying to make it more like X-Games. Vice Chair Barnard commented that the skate area is used a lot; he has seen a lot of children there, and he has also seen the features moved a few times. Mr. Niemczak said that at one of the conferences he went to, he attended a skate park clinic where he heard a speaker who designs and builds concrete modular units that take a crane to install them. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel asked if the Commission wanted to look at what the costs would be to install those features and take that to the City Council for their consideration. Commissioner Guyer asked if installing features would require monitoring the skate park. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel noted that it is not being monitored now. Mr. Niemczak offered to contact the conference speaker and get his input to present a design for that area. 11 G:'�DevServicesVvfonica LoredolWo�d DatalParks&ReclMinutes�2008 Minutes�3-4-08.min docx PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 Commissioner Hall expressed her opinion that any money that would be spent on a permanent skate park would be so much more beneficial than trying to deal with this situation all the time. She shared that her son skate boarded all the way through graduate school and now he is a diplomat. She indicated that kids will always be looking for more of a challenge, even with concrete blocks they will eventually look for more challenge. She thought any money spent in the skate park is money well spent. Mr. Niemczak explained that the Civic Center Skate Park is an advanced level, and the speaker recommended having smaller pocket skate parks that have areas for skaters to go down and rails to grind on. These will represent a great amount of use from beginners and kids. Commissioner Guyer asked the Commission if they wanted to put the features back again. Ms. Steele said that Staff could bolt them down with a sign that indicates that if they are moved again, they will be permanently removed. Commissioner Guyer indicated that they need to provide something for the kids. Ms. Steele answered that the majority of the kids are using them properly. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel suggested Staff talk to police to install temporary cameras at the Freedom Park skate park. C. FREEDOM PARK AWARD Ms. Steele informed the Commission that Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel and his wife, City Manager Carlos Ortega and his wife, Mr. Niemczak, and her attended the Award Ceremony last Friday night and received the award for Freedom Park. Ms. Steele showed the award to the Commission as well as the board that was done by David Evans and Associates. She noted that the photos were taken with a kid's remote airplane with a camera attached. Commissioner Schukart mentioned that a couple of months back he took people to Freedom Park to walk around and play basketball. His friends were amazed at the park, and could not believe it was a City project. He indicated that these people were from Oregon, which has very good municipal parks, and his friends said they have not seen anything like this before. Commissioner Guyer asked about the fourth award that was part of the awards being given. Ms. Steele thought that the letter was a bit misleading as the other award was community service oriented. She indicated that in the next couple of ineetings she will bring some ideas that Mr. Niemczak 12 G1DevServiceslMonica LoredolWord DatalParksBReclMinutes12008 Minutesl3-4-08.min.docz PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 and her would like to present to the Commission; things that they would really like to see in the City that are relatively easy to implement. Commissioner Guyer wanted to know if Staff will comment on the conference itself at the next meeting. Ms. Steele answered yes and that she probably will have some specific things to bring. IX. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Dash complimented Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel on his nomination as the "Rotary Man Of The Year" and how impressive it was to hear about the contributions he has made to the development of the City of Palm Desert. Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel shared that Ms. Doris Wilson, Desert Sands retired superintendent, spoke at the event; Mr. Jerry Patton, President of College of the Desert, Ms. Lynn Moriarty, Shelter From the Storm, and Mr. Kevin McGuire, Palm Desert National Bank and Shelter From the Storm, were also there. Ms. Cynthia Flores, Associate Dean of the Palm Desert Campus, presented him with the Gold Medal from California State University San Bernardino. Commissioner Schukart thanked City Council for allowing him to take a leave of absence from the Commission, due to his busy schedule at COD with new facilities and projects. Ms. Steele informed the Commission that Arbor Day Celebration will take place on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at the Palm Desert Middle School Community Garden from 8:15 a.m. to 9: 15 a.m. She indicated that middle school students grow vegetables that are given to charity. Staff will be cleaning up some trees. She invited the Commissioners to say a few words in representation of the Commission, talking about the importance of trees in parks, someone who has a love of trees, or just would like to make a couple of comments. X. ADJOURNMENT Upon motion by Vice Chair Barnard, seconded by Commissioner Guyer, the meeting was adjourned at 9:25 a.m. �����Y�'� ; �_ Monica Loredo, Recording Secretary 13 G:iDevServicesV�fonica LoredolWord OataVParksBRecVdinutes�200B Minufes13-4-08.min.do¢r