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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Parks and Recreation Commission July 19, 2011TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: CITY OF PALM DESERT PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk Bertha A. Gonzalez, Senior Office Assistant October 4, 2011 Submission of Minutes for the Parks and Recreation Commission Attached for your records are the minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting of July 19, 2011. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. Thank you. Attachment (as noted) CITY COIACILACTION RECEJVE17 j- fi � OTHER. MFI:'IING uflTr o-I3-. Cal AN,U Novs: None ABSENT:-- ABSTALN: 0%I?iYII�'lI?I) ny: KAra Ori;;inal on File -with City Cleric's Office CITY OF PALM DESERT MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ADJOURNED MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011 — 8:30 a.m. Multi -Purpose Room — Palm Desert Aquatics Center 73-751 Magnesia Falls Drive, Palm Desert, California 92260 I. CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Dawson convened the meeting at 8:30 a.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Vice Chair Jerry Dawson Commissioner Michael Barnard Commissioner Dean Dowty Commissioner Kim Housken Commissioner Mary Helen Kelly Commissioner Raymond Rodriguez Commissioner Christopher Thomas Absent Chairman Randy Guyer Commissioner Deborah Hall Staff Present: Mark Greenwood, P.E., Director of Public Works Bertha Gonzalez, Recording Secretary H. Spencer Knight, Landscape Manager Ryan Stendell, Senior Management Analyst John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager Guests: Barb Adair, Desert Recreation District Rob Ballew, YMCA of the Desert Jeff Ronci, Desert Recreation District Robert A. Spiegel, Councilman Van Tanner, Planning Commission Liaison Sherry Barkas, The Desert Sun Gary Rosenblum, Risk Manager Veronica Tapia, RDA Accountant PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JULY 19 2011 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS NONE IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2011 Approve as presented Upon a motion by Vice Chair Dawson, second by Commissioner Thomas, and a 7-0 vote of the Commission Board, the Consent Calendar was approved as presented. V. NEW BUSINESS A. FLAG MONUMENT AT MAGNESIA FALLS PARK Commissioner Kelly notified staff that the monument at Magnesia Falls Park was in need of maintenance. Staff stated that, due to its location, servicing the monument has proven to be difficult. Staff located the minutes of the 1976 Bi-Centennial Committee Meeting, which indicated that a flag dedication was established at that site; however, for unknown reasons, the flag pole was removed while under the maintenance of the Palm Desert Middle School. In order to better service the monument, staff suggested for it to be relocated to the Aquatic Center, since a flag pole and score board will soon be added. The maintenance of the monument can be added to the YMCA's maintenance contract. Mr. Rob Ballew suggested that two flag poles be added to the monument in order to have the ability to display an additional flag when necessary. Following a brief discussion, the Commission concurred with staffs recommendation to relocate the monument to the Aquatic Center, but suggested that the original committee(s) involved with the original dedication be included. This will ensure they have no objection to the relocation and give them the opportunity to be involved. Upon a motion from Commissioner Kelly, second by Commissioner Barnard and a 7-0 vote of the Commission, should there be no objection from the original committee(s), the relocation of the Magnesia Falls Flag Monument to the Aquatic Center was approved as presented. 2 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JULY 19 2011 B. DOG PARKS' RULES AND ENFORCEMENT Staff presented a Desert Sun article that detailed the new dog park rules that the City of La Quinta has established. Staff inquired if the Commission would be interested in establishing similar rules in the Palm Desert dog parks. Staff noted that if additional rules are established, additional staff would be required to enforce them. Currently, the Desert Recreation District patrols the parks and creates incident reports when necessary and the Code Compliance officers are responsible on determining if a rule has been violated. Although staff has not received any formal requests to establish any additional rules, there is a concern that the visitors that are not allowed in La Quinta will decide to visit the dog parks in Palm Desert. Staff believes that the City should be prepared to address any problems that may surface. Mr. Gary Rosenblum, Risk Manager, stated that he had previously researched and drafted an updated set of rules for the dog parks. He recommended that an important statement would be one that reads that any person bringing a dog to the dog park is 100% technically and legally liable for the actions of the dog. Furthermore, the statement should clarify that the person does not need to be the owner of the dog in order to be held responsible. Staff did find some of La Quinta's new rules to be important; therefore, Mr. Stendell will draft a set of potential rules and bring them to the September meeting for review. He will then hold a User's Group meeting to alert the users of the possible changes. The Commission agreed, but asked that the rules be concise, so the visitors would take the time to read them. In addition, Councilman Spiegel requested a cost estimate to add security cameras in the parks. Upon a motion from Commissioner Housken, second by Commissioner Barnard and a 7-0 vote of the Commission, the item was continued to the September meeting for further discussion. VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS NONE VII. OLD BUSINESS NONE 3 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JULY 19 2011 VIII. PRESENTATIONS AND UPDATES A. AQUATICS CENTER UPDATE According to staff, the weekend of the Aquatic Center's Grand Opening had approximately 2,000 visitors. Mrs. Karen Creasy stated that the center has had a higher attendance than initially projected; roughly 12,000 visitors in the last three weeks (49% residents and 51 % non- residents). The largest amount of visitors attends the center between the hours of 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. The concession stand, including the outside window, opens at 10:30 a.m. and serves nachos, hot dogs, popcorn and other items. The addition of pre -made sandwiches, along with healthier options and additional sitting areas, is in discussion. All the comments received have been very positive and although the final figures are not yet available, the revenues seem to be satisfactory. Staff is in the process of closing the construction phase of the center and opening the operational phase. Mrs. Creasy noted that she will be in charge of updating the center's website. The College of the Desert has scheduled five classes in the fall and the YMCA has raised approximately $1,750 to help children attend swimming classes. The Commission asked to be notified if there was anything they could do to help; therefore, Mr. Ballew asked that they recommend the Aquatic Center's Multi -Purpose Room to any group that is in need of a meeting room. Mr. John Wohlmuth commended the YMCA for successfully opening the center without the normally required three-week advance training. B. INFORMATION REGARDING THE REMOVAL OF THE CIVIC CENTER WATER PLAY FEATURE Mr. Stendell informed the Commission that the Civic Center Rainbow Water Feature will be removed in the next few weeks. The feature's drainage system has been very problematic and with the opening of the Aquatic Center, staff sees no need to keep the feature in service. They noted that the water feature at Freedom Park is also greatly used, but it also has proper drainage. Although the, Commission expressed their concern with upsetting the park visitors especially with the upcoming summer months, staff noted that all the potential replacement water features consume extremely high amounts of water. The Commission requested that upon its removal the absence of the water feature be unnoticeable. 4 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JULY 19, 2011 C. UTILIZING VOLUNTEERS IN THE PARKS — Presented by Gary Rosenblum, Risk Manager Staff introduced the City's Risk Manager, Mr. Gary Rosenblum, to discuss the requirements of recruiting volunteers. Mr. Rosenblum presented two examples on how volunteers are protected through the City's insurance. 1. Non -salary City Employee (i.e. Citizens on Patrol or COPS): A volunteer group that is protected by the City's worker's compensation and liability insurance as a regular paid City employee would be. Any claims or damages that this group generates while volunteering is covered by the City. 2. One-time, single event volunteers: The volunteers need to be over the age of 18 and sign a waiver stating that they are working at their own risk. It is low risk program that does not allow the volunteers to do any work that can be considered City employee work, since contractors and/or employees cannot be replaced with volunteers. . The City will provide safety training (i.e. Heat stress), but the work needs to be for a specific or single -day event. Should the Commission, as previously discussed, consider recruiting volunteers to clean up the trails, it must be a planned event and safety gear/instruction needs to be provided. If the cleanup is held on a regular basis, the group needs to be covered by the City's insurance. Mr. Stendell stated that the best option would be to start with a one- time event and then proceed as the City sees convenient. The Commission concurred; therefore, Mr. Rosenblum offered his services to help with the process. D. REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (RDA) UPDATE Staff member Veronica Tapia of the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) provided an update on the potential closure of the agency. She stated that on June 29, 2011, the Governor of California signed the following acts: • Dissolution Act (AB X1 26), which immediately suspends most of the Redevelopment Agency activities; and • Alternative Voluntary Redevelopment Program (AB X1 27), which states that in order for the agency to continue to exist, the City needs to make specified annual payments to the State. The RDA is currently operating under the AB X1 26; therefore, RDA Capital Improvement Project funding for future projects is no longer 5 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JULY 19 2011 available and neither new contracts nor amendments to current contracts can be implemented. Two Parks and Recreation projects that will be affected are the Community Center Expansion and the north sphere park. The deadline to dissolve all the redevelopment agencies and components of the community development agencies is October 1, 2011. On August 26, 2011, the City Council will be asked to adopt the Alternative Volunteer Redevelopment Program (AB X1 27). Furthermore, the RDA has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court stating that acts AB 26 and AB27 are unconstitutional. E. PARK INSPECTIONS Mr. Stendell stated that all the park inspections that were submitted are being addressed and noted the following: • The gopher mounds at Magnesia Falls Park will be demolished on mow days, but rodent control is not part of the current contract, • To allow the turf to rest, the Hovley Soccer Park will remain closed until August 12, 2011, and • Staff is considering replacing the rubber landing at Palma Village Neighborhood Park. F. FAMILY YMCA OF THE DESERT Mr. Rob Ballew reported that there are120 participants returning to Camp Oaks and summer day camps are in progress, including Cooking Camp. There is one set fee for all participants and the transportation fee has been eliminated. G. DESERT RECREATION DISTRICT Mr. Jeff Ronci reported that due to the summer, the facility rentals have decreased. The Youth Basketball program is completely full and Youth Basketball Skills Camp, Cycling 201 and possibly Cycling 301 have been added. The summer camp participation goal has been reached, and line dancing has been very successful. On the other hand, the classes for painting, drawing, and yoga have been cancelled for the summer. The DRD will host a second skate park event on July 29, 2011, and expects more than 70 skaters to attend. Mr. Ronci presented the monthly facilities and programming reports as follows: 2 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JULY 19, 2011 Program / Activity Residents Non -Residents Total Participation Youth Baseball Summer 306 2 308 After -School Club 3 0 3 Soccerl 4 0 4 Soccerll 2 0 2 Zu m ba 3 0 3 Swing & Salsa Beginning 10 0 10 Painting 1 0 1 Salsaerobics 5 0 5 Julie H 5pack) 1 0 1 Session One 40 2 42 PD Week One 13 0 13 PD Week Two 24 0 24 PD Week Three 22 0 22 Beginning Ballet 6 0 6 Guitar Beginning 6 0 6 Guitar Rock Solo 4 0 4 Tae Kwon Do 13 0 13 Tiny Tots 17 1 18 Dance Play Pretend 5 0 5 Membership/ Facilities Attendance Reservations Rentals Tennis 2506 Skate Park 431 BMX 314 Ball Fields 73 Soccer Fields 157 Pavilion 1 0 Pavilion 2 17 Pavilion 3 1 Vill. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS - Commissioner Thomas stated that the Freedom Park tennis courts have been resurfaced and the pickleball court lines have been painted. - Commissioner Housken requested for the Commission to be notified when special events are scheduled and noted that in a 9-year old boy's obituary, the Baseball Buddies was recognized as a special part of the boy's life. - The buffer zone at the University Dog Park has been completed, the bare areas are no longer visible, and there is no more standing water. - Nutsedge control has been applied at the Civic Center Park, but staff is still trying to control a protozoa population that has plugged the pump filters, making its maintenance very expensive. 7 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JULY 19, 2011 The Commission agreed to cancel the August meeting; therefore, the next meeting is scheduled for September 6, 2011. IX. ADJOURNMENT With no further business or discussion, and with the Commissioners' unanimous concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 9:47 a.m. ertha A. G zalez, Pcording S etary Ez?