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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Parks and Recreation Commission 01/10/2012CITY OF PALM DESERT PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk FROM: Bertha A. Gonzalez, Senior Office Assistant DATE: February 7, 2012 SUBJECT: Submission of Minutes for the Parks and Recreation Commission Attached for your records are the approved minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting of Tuesday, January 10, 2012. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. Thank you. Attachment (as noted) CITY COUNCIL ACTION APPROVED IIENIED RECEIVED Cl L1"AIER MEETING DATE 3— -:) &l< _ AYES: 6 e( +N �� NOES: aLVIL ABSENT: ABSTAIN: - WILL VERIFIED DY: L U f, 1C_ Original on File with City Clerk's Rice CITY OF PALM DESERT MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ADJOURNED MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2012 — 8:30 a.m. Community Services Conference Room — Civic Center 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, California 92260 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Dawson convened the meeting at 8:30 a.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Chairman Jerry Dawson Vice Chair Kim Housken Commissioner Randy Guyer Commissioner Deborah Hall Commissioner Mary Helen Kelly Commissioner Raymond Rodriguez Commissioner Christopher Thomas Absent Commissioner Michael Barnard Commissioner Dean Dowty 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: Rob Ballew, YMCA of the Desert Karen Creasy, YMCA of the Desert Craig DeWitt, Desert Recreation District Laura McGalliard, Desert Recreation District Jeff Ronci, Desert Recreation District Kevin Kalman, Desert Recreation District Robert A. Spiegel, Councilman Van Tanner, Planning Commission Liaison Sherry Barkas, The Desert Sun PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 10, 2012 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS NONE IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2011 Approve as presented. Upon a motion by Commissioner Kelly, second by Commissioner Guyer, and 7-0 vote of the Commission Board, the Consent Calendar was approved as presented. V. NEW BUSINESS A. CAHUILLA HILLS PARK TENNIS COURT CONVERSION TO A PICKLEBALL COURT Mr. Ryan Stendell presented the Commission with four options on how to address pickleball play at Cahuilla Hills Park: 1. Status quo allows for up to five pickleball courts to be utilized at one time, if the flex court is used, while allowing tennis use to occur. Doing nothing accommodates both uses; however, it does not give the pickleball community additional courts and users would likely have to wait for a court during peak demand. 2. Staff could permanently convert the final tennis court into four additional pickleball courts, but it will exclude the tennis group. There is no question that during peak demand additional pickleball courts could be utilized; however, removing tennis all together affects the many surrounding residents who also use the facility. 3. If more pickleball courts are desired, staff could look into adding a project to the 5-year capital improvement budget to place additional courts at this park. Staff has obtained an estimate of $100,000 to $125,000 for a complete tennis court; however, staff believes this amount is on the high end of the current costs. This option, while costly, would keep both uses intact. Staff noted a few concerns with increasing use at this park, since it was never intended to service large volumes of visitors from outside of the immediate vicinity. With the popularity of the hiking trails and now pickleball, staff would not recommend making these 011 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 10, 2012 changes without addressing parking and other potential impacts to the neighborhood. 4. The conclusion could be made that Cahuilla Hills Park is not adequate to handle the pickleball use. At the December meeting, Commissioner Housken referenced a previously considered proposal of placing up to eight courts on an empty parcel of Hovley Soccer Park. Unfortunately, due to cost and noise concerns, it did not move forward. Staff has received several emails in support and against the potential conversion of the remaining tennis court at Cahuilla Hills Park to a pickleball court. They have also received a petition with over 100 signatures against the conversion. Commissioner Thomas, who is also USP Ambassdor, stated that the four pickleball courts at Cahuilla Hills Park are not enough for the current pickleball play. According to him, the ideal setting includes an area with 8 to 12 courts. After monitoring pickleball play between 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, for 32 days, he found a 19 to 1 play ratio of pickleball to tennis. He noted the growth of the sport is visible. One example he provided was the City of Oceanside, who started with two pickleball courts and is now up to 12 courts. He added that the Oceanside pickleball players hold fundraising tournaments for the City to improve and/or build more pickleball courts. He asked the Commission to put in place a realistic proposal to accommodate the growth of the sport. Commissioner Guyer expressed concern with building and/or converting another pickleball court that will not be used because of the social aspect of the game and the group's unwillingness to separate. Mr. Stendell added that converting the tennis court into flex play was dismissed because tennis players have found them confusing. Mr. Stendell also noted that most pickleball play does take place in the morning hours; however, most tennis play takes place during the evening hours. The Commission asked staff to gather some statistics of the tennis court use at Cahuilla Hills Park in order to have a better understanding of the court usage. Commissioner Housken stated that the City currently has nine pickleball courts in various parks; however, on the Pickleball website, most pickleball players are directed to Cahuilla Hills Park. She asked why the players are not being encouraged to use the other pickleball courts. Commissioner Thomas stated that this is due to the nature of the game and that the Cahuilla Hills Park courts are the only dedicated pickleball courts. Chair Dawson stated that the Commission has at hand a short-term concern, how to satisfy both tennis and pickleball players at Cahuilla 3 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 10. 2012 Hills Park, and long-term concern, how to accommodate the growth of the sport. On the long term concern, Mr. Stendell noted that City staff is still learning from the State's decision to close the Redevelopment Agency. However, what they do know is that any RDA property not transferred to the City before January 1, 2012, needs to be prioritized and sold. He noted that one property that will not be sold and might be ideal for a new pickleball court is the Portola Park site. After a brief discussion, the Commission agreed that if a new pickleball court is built, it should be in one of the existing parks. Commissioner Hall stated that since COD is giving pickleball classes, and in turn creating more pickleball players, will Commissioner Thomas approach them with considering building a pickleball court. Commissioner Thomas agreed and responding to Mayor Spiegel's question stated that there are some gated communities in the process of converting their tennis courts to pickleball courts. The Commission agreed that this will help with the growth of the sport. On the short term concern, Commissioner Hall stated that she did not agree with converting the Cahuilla Hills Park tennis court since there are other courts available and they should be used for the time being. Commissioner Housken added that she has always been supportive of pickleball, but she is not comfortable with excluding a group of players. In favor of keeping the Cahuilla Hills tennis court, staff presented Mr. Alan Bixen, a Palm Desert resident. Mr. Bixen stated that many of the neighboring homeowners bought their homes by Cahuilla Hills Park to be near the tennis courts and trails. He does not see any conflict with the pickleball players; however, if the tennis court is converted, he believes the safety of the children will be jeopardized. If the Cahuilla Hills tennis court is no longer available, the children will need to walk a good distance through heavy trafficked streets to play tennis at Civic Center Park. He added that the sport of tennis is also growing and doing well, so the City needs to keep its tennis courts. He concluded by stating that he was not in favor of creating a flex court since he doesn't believe they work well. Also in favor of the tennis court was Mrs. Lynn Jutovsk, who uses the tennis court regularly and gathered the signatures of the petition against the conversion. She stated that she was representing the tennis players that could not attend because of their work schedules. She added that most tennis players are not retired like most of the pickleball players; therefore, most tennis play takes place during the evening hours. Mrs. Jutovsk noted that since the conversion of one of the tennis court, for the most part, she has had to wait for a tennis 4 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 10, 2012 court to become available. She does not view this as a problem nor has witnessed any conflict between tennis and pickleball players. Therefore, upon a motion from Commissioner Rodriguez, second by Commissioner Kelly and 6-0-1 of the Commission with Commissioner Thomas opposing, the existing Cahuilla Hills Park tennis court will remain in place. On the long term concern, staff was asked to find ways of encouraging players to use all the courts that are available and study the use of the other pickleball courts in the City. The Commission agreed that waiting to use a court is common, so in the interest of fairness, the pickleball players should try to modify the court usage. Upon a motion from Commissioner Kelly, second by Commissioner Guyer and 7-0 vote of the Commission, staff was directed to research what areas can be used to potentially build a new pickleball court that houses 8 to 12 courts. On a separate note, the Civic Center flex court will be converted to a permanent tennis court. B. DOG PARK LEVEL OF SERVICE DISCUSSION As requested at the previous meeting, Mr. Spencer Knight provided a more detail account of the level of service that is provided to the City's dog parks. According to him, the two major complaints are the dormant Bermuda in the dog parks and the dirt spots on two of the most used dog parks. They both come from this year's decision to not overseed the dog parks. He added that as a cost saving measure, the power washing of the facilities was on an as -needed basis; however, because of the high usage, it is now scheduled to be done three times a week. Another large expense is the extensive use of litter bags. In a period of two weeks, 9,000 bags were used between Civic Center Park and Freedom Park. Therefore, staff is considering refilling the bag dispensers once a week only. Mr. Stendell stated that staff has discussed various options on how to address the excessive maintenance costs, controlling the amount of visitors and covering the dirt areas of the dog parks with alternative ground covers. Speaking on behalf of the dog park users, Mrs. Kathleen Kelly asked the Commissioners and the Mayor to visit the Civic Center Dog Park between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., so they can witness the high usage and condition of the park. She does not believe the Bermuda grass will return because it was not overseeded. According to her, 80% of the park is dirt and it is unhealthy to visitors. She added that the La Quinta Dog Park on Miles is green and in much better 5 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 10, 2012 condition. This, along with the negative comments from visitors regarding the condition of the park, embarrasses her. She believes the parks needs immediate attention and volunteered to help in any way possible. According to Mr. Knight, the City manages 150 acres of turf and in order to overseed it, the areas need to be closed for periods of time (i.e. the Soccer Park, which closes for 60 days). However, staff cannot close the dog parks without receiving numerous complaints. Commissioner Hall noted that the Civic Center Dog Park is too small for the amount of dogs; therefore, the Commission needs to consider if more dog parks are needed. Following a brief discussion, the Commission concurred that if more dog parks are built, they need to be kept green and users need to accept the fact that in order to keep them green, they need to be closed during overseeding. The Commission asked staff to address the immediate concerns of the Civic Center Dog Park. Upon a motion from Commissioner Hall, second by Commissioner Housken, and a 7-0 vote of the Commission, staff was directed to look into increasing the size of dog parks and/or adding a dog park. Commissioner Housken added that staff needs to be creative on where and/or how it is built. C. INTRODUCTION AND DISCUSSION OF COMMISSION BY-LAWS According to Chair Dawson, the Commission By -Laws is the bible that commissions them and tells them their purpose. He continued by reviewing the Mission Statement and pointed out that the Commission needs to pay attention to all the parks, their facilities, and activities. Mr. Stendell noted that the ex-officio members will be named on Thursday's City Council Meeting and reminded the Commission that they are no longer required to do the park inspections because they are more valuable in studying the activities rather than the maintenance of the parks. Commissioner Guyer stated that he saw the park inspections as a way to encourage the Commissioners to visit the different parks. Therefore, staff agreed to look for other ways to engage the Commissioners with all the parks. Chair Dawson asked the Commissioners to review the by-laws, study any amendments or additions, and bring their comments to the next scheduled meeting. VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS NONE on PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 10 2012 VII. OLD BUSINESS NONE VIII. PRESENTATIONS AND UPDATES A. PALM DESERT AQUATIC CENTER Mrs. Karen Creasy distributed a list of the Marketing strategies used to alert people of the Palm Desert Aquatic Center. Some of the items included: Facebook, visiting senior centers and physical therapists; partnerships with restaurants, hotels and the mall; distributing flyers at schools; sending YMCA weekly email blasts; and holding special events and an open house. She asked to be contacted with if the Commissioner has other suggestions on how to expand the list. Commissioner Guyer suggested contacting the conference services and sales for the hotels, since they tend to be different departments. Mrs. Karen creasy presented the Aquatic Center's end of the month report as follows: Daily Admission Numbers Transaction Type Description November 1-30 100 — Resident: 13-59 193 101 — Non Resident: 13-59 224 102 — Resident: Youth/Senior 136 103 — Non Resident: Youth/Senior 96 104 — Resident: 2-5 27 105 — Non Resident: 2-5 16 Total Admissions 692 Lane Rentals 33 times per month Programs 212 registered Income $2,978 Rental $7,940 Admission $3,589 Program $ 432 Food $ 351 Beverage $ 44 Retail 15 334 Total Income B. FAMILY YMCA OF THE DESERT Mrs. Creasy reported that the Holiday Camp included the Youth Basketball will be held on January 20 approximately 276 people registered; and during the 160 participants; 2012, and has Healthy Lifestyle 7 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 10. 2012 Challenge, the YMCA has challenged the DRD, noting that cities are challenging other cities. C. DESERT RECREATION DISTRICT Mr. Jeff Ronci reported that the Library Series had 50-60 participants; the Monthly Skate Park event has an average of 30 players; two Winter Camp events had a total of 95 students; the Recreation Outdoor Club was sold out; Arthritis Foundation held its walk at the Civic Center Park; and Senior Softball Games have started. Also, Adult Flag Football has 14 teams and 200 people have registered for the International Sports Festival. The DRD does not yet have a speaker, so Commissioner Housken suggested Tom Flores, a local football player. Commissioner Guyer stated that because of the growth of the event, the City might need to pay for a speaker. Mr. Jeff Ronci presented the monthly facilities and programming reports as follows: Program / Activity Residents Non- Residents Total Participation Afterschool Program 14 106 120 CPR / AED Training 4 2 6 Cycling 101 3 0 3 First Aid Training 1 1 2 Progressive Line Dancing 1 2 3 Salsaerobics 1 1 2 Tae Kwon Do 2 7 9 Tennis Instruction 3 0 3 Tiny Tots 6 22 28 Winter Camp 42 19 61 Yoga 5 2 7 Walk-ins 105 Membership/ Facilities Attendance Reservations PD Community Center 4080 88 CC Pavilion 50 1 CC Softball Field 1500 6 Hovley Soccer Park 220 3 Portola Community Center 32 1 Tennis Courts 1482 Skate Park 307 Bike Park 215 Membership Entries 2195 0 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 10 2012 VIII. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS - Mayor Bob Spiegel informed the Commission that next year's budget will be looked at very soon, so all the proposed projects need to submitted with the estimated cost as soon as possible. - Mr. Stendell reported that the City is waiting for the CVCC to complete its review of the proposed beginners trail in order to move forward. - He also reported that the restroom at Cahuilla Hills Park is in preliminary cost discussion. - Commissioner Thomas mentioned that the Commission has tried to centralize pickleball at Civic Center Park before, but is was not possible. He added that pickleball is the largest sport in the International Sports Festival, so he believes the sport will grow and needs to be accommodated for. - Following a brief discussion of the status of the Whitewater Trail funds, staff stated that a more detail update of this project will be provided to the Commission in the next scheduled meeting. IX. ADJOURNMENT With no further business or discussion, and with the Commissioners' unanimous concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 10:05 a.m. erth*,�Rbnzalez , cordin ecretary �7