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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Rec Cmsn - 01-14-2014 / pC .--��---� CITY OF PALM DESERT � � PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk FROM: Donna Evans, Clerical Assistant DATE: February 5, 2014 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 14, 2014. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. Thank you. Attachment (as noted) CITY COUNCILACTfON API'ROVF;D I)[:NIF.D RECrIVCU �'�i e� �y�Hi;R MEI;TING DATE � - � 7-��;1 AYF,S: ' Sc� i i'e - � NOES: �1��1e- ABSENT: iV'vr)� ' '.—_ AI3STAIN: /l1 d�1 r'- �--�--.___ - VERIFIED BY: Originat on File with City Clerk's O �ce CITY OF PALM DESERT �`•'� MINUTES � � PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING '� . TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014 — 8:30 a.m. Paim Desert Aquatic Center I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Housken convened the meeting at 8:30 a.m. Ii. ROLL CALL Present: Absent Chairman Kim Housken Commissioner Dean Dowty Vice Chair Raymond Rodriguez Commissioner Jerry Dawson Commissioner Randy Guyer Commissioner Deborah Hall Commissioner Lynn B. Jutovsky Commissioner Mary Helen Kelly Commissioner Christopher Thomas Ex-Officio Members: Rob Ballew, YMCA of the Desert Staff Present: Donna Evans, Recording Secretary H. Spencer Knight, Landscape Manager Ryan Stendetl, Senior Management Analyst John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager Guests: Karen Creasy, YMCA of the Desert Laura McGalliard, Desert Recreation District Brenda Nutcher, Desert Recreation District Robert A. Spieget, Councilman Roger Dash, Planning Commission Liaison 1 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 14. 2014 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS A. NONE IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013 Commissioner Hall asked that the minutes of Tuesday, November 5, 2013 be amended to read that the motion made by Guyer failed because staff indicated that the Parks and Recreation Commission doesn't have the authority to suspend law enforcement duties in regards to issuing citations to people who park their cars in the bike lanes near University Dog Park. Commissioner Dawson moved for approval of minutes as amended, seconded by Commissioner Hall and carried by a 5-4 vote, with Dawson, Hall, Jutovsky, Thomas and Housken voting AYE; Dowty, Guyer, Kelly and Rodriguez absent. V. NEW BUSINESS A. ELECTION OF OFFICERS — Chairperson and Vice Chairperson Vice Chair Rodriguez and Commissioner Guyer arrived at 8:35 a.m. and Rob Ballew arrived at 8:38 a.m. Commissioner Dawson made a motion to elect Rodriguez as Chair and Hall as Vice Chair, seconded by Hall and carried by a 6-1-2 vote, with Dawson, Guyer, Hall, Jutovsky, Thomas and Housken voting AYE; Rodriguez abstaining and Dowty and Kelly absent. B. COMMISSIONER REQUEST (Thomas) — Pickleball Use Mr. Stendell stated that a request was made by Commissioner Thomas to discuss pickleball use in Palm Desert. It's been two years since the Commission originally had this discussion. Commissioner Thomas had stated that there is a need for more courts and has suggested adding courts to Civic Center Park. Mr. Stendell stated that there are some constraints in this park which include the master planned expansion areas for both community centers in the park. More importantly, the City understands that the use is there during small periods of time, but there isn't enough use during other times of day and also at the other existing dual-striped courts to justify the investment at this point. Staff's recommendation is to continue to monitor pickleball use. When the City is ready to plan the North Sphere Regional Park, it will be determined how 2 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION PPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 14 2014 many dedicated courts will be needed and look to that regional facility to accommodate the courts. A memo written by Mr. Stendell was included in the Commissioner's packets and also maps of the Master Plan for Civic Center Park. It was pointed out to Mr. Stendell that the Aquatic Center isn't shown on the maps, which takes up a large area of Civic Center Park. Mr. Stendell commented that the pool expansion goes up to the sand volleyball court. The reason why it's not shown on the map is because iYs an older version. The map of the Master Plan shows the expansion areas for the YMCA and also the Community Center. The rest of the green open space is utilized for activities such as pick-up ball, football, Frisbee and picnicking. Staff does not recommend adding pickleball courts to the Civic Center Park. Chair Housken asked where the nine existing pickleball courts are located. Mr. Stendell stated that the only exclusive pickleball courts are located at Cahuilla Hills Park. There are four exclusive courts at this location and one dual-striped court on the tennis court. There are two dual-striped courts at Civic Center Park, which aren't used, and there are two dual-striped courts at Freedom Park. The courts at Freedom Park don't get used either. Cahuilla Hills Park has the most activity for pickleball use with the majority of use in the mornings for 3-4 hours. COD used to utilize the courts, but they haven't been using them for the past two or three semesters. They have indoor courts at COD that they use for a P.E. class. Commissioner Thomas distributed handouts to the commissioners. He stated that Mr. Stendell was correct about the hours of use at Cahuilla Hills Park. He asked if the Commission could vote to make changes to the Master Plan for Civic Center Park and have it go to the City Council for approval. Mr. Stendell stated that the Master Plan can be amended. Commissioner Thomas asked if it was due to space or funds that the area couldn't be used for the addition of 6-8 courts in this area. Mr. Stendell stated that both the community center and the YMCA have expressed interest in expansion, which would encroach on open space and the use of the park in general. The City has prior agreements with those agencies to reserve those areas. Commissioner Thomas asked that if there was private money in the amount of $200,000., would that be a significant factor for building courts at Civic Center Park? Mr. Stendell stated that the City would be open to receiving private money and it would take one of the biggest constraints of funding away. Commissioner Thomas stated that the Commission needs to be open and look at everything. He asked for a cost estimate for the addition of pickleball courts. Commissioner Thomas disputed the actual number of courts and stated that there are actually seven pickleball courts because there are four 3 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPR�VED MINUTES JANUARY 14. 2014 dedicated courts at Cahuilla Hills Park, two dual-use courts at Freedom Park and additional dual-use courts at Cahuilla Hills Park, which equals seven. The two at Civic Center Park haven't been used for two years because there was an agreement between the City and the Desert Recreation District that because there were four dedicated courts at Cahuilla Hills Park, the pickleball group wouldn't use the two courts at Civic Center Park. The nets have been down at Civic Center Park for a couple of years. The only time it's used for pickleball is for the Senior Games. The pickleball group made this agreement because they have the dedicated courts at Cahuilla Hills Park and they didn't feel that the DRD staff should be "put out" by setting up and taking down nets on a random basis for drop-in pickleball play. They also thought that this would promote good will for the tennis players. He suggested that court #6 go back to the tennis players. Commissioner Thomas commented that he removed the Civic Center Park pickleball courts from places to play on the USADA web page two years ago; therefore, he didn't agree that Mr. Stendell's numbers were correct. He claimed that there are only seven pickleball courts, including dual-use courts and that there are nine tennis courts counting the dual-use courts. He then wanted to talk about the morning hours of use at Cahuilla Hills Park from 9:00 a.m. to noon and also the section of Mr. Stendell's memo that states that "staff does not believe there's enough demand for the existing facilities to justify building 6-8 courts in any park". Commissioner Thomas referred to a motion that was made by the commission on January 10, 2012 that directed staff to research what areas could be used to potentially build a new pickleball facility that has 8- 12 courts. He commented that there was nothing about justifying numbers because the numbers have already been justified for pickleball use and additional courts, time and time again. He stated that he doesn't want to wait for the North Sphere Regional Park to be constructed and wanted to know why the City hasn't taken a look at building these courts. He commented that he's remained patient and silent for two years about pickleball until this opportunity presented itself to him. He stated that there were no proposals or cost estimates to review. He commented that in two years the numbers for pickleball have not gone down and stated that there were 45 people at Cahuilla Hills Park last Thursday and 30 people yesterday. During the summer of 2012 in June, July and August from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Monday through Friday there were maybe four pickleball people out there. During the summer of 2013 during June, July and August there was an average of ten pickleball players on average every day. The sport is growing. It's not a fad, it's a phenomenon. At the same time, there were less than twenty tennis players using the courts; total for three months. During the summer in the desert, you're not going to play strenuous sports in the evenings. Sports activities take place in the morning in the summer. He commented that he didn't see anyone playing soccer at the Hovley Soccer Park during this time period. 4 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION AE�PROVED MINUTES JANUARY 14 2014 Commissioner Thomas spoke about the Disability Sports Festival and thought that wheelchair pickleball at Freedom Park and Cahuilla Hills would be fantastic. He stated that his request is about providing recreational facilities for the residents of this city and the valley. Commissioner Hall stated that since the commission voted on a motion to ask staff to research an area to build eight pickleball courts, then we need to ask staff to do this. She also commented on the issue with University Park isn't about dogs, it's about safety due to parking issues. Brenda Nutcher, DRD representative, stated that pickleball is the most popular event at the Senior Games and the International Sports Festival. She stated that she receives lots of phone calls from visitors regarding locations of pickleball courts and she feels that the sport is increasing in popularity. A question was asked whether there are pickleball courts in other cities in the Coachella Valley. Commissioner Thomas stated that there are courts in Cathedral City, which includes east-west courts that have taped boundary lines on the tennis courts. This could be an option for Cahuilla Hills because there's a lot of space beyond the baseline of the tennis boundary to run additional pickleball courts east and west. In terms of public pickleball courts, the choices are either Cathedral City or Palm Desert. Rob Ballew, YMCA of the Desert, commented that they don't get involved with tennis or pickleball because it's too expense, per square foot. He stated that he has heard that pickleball is the fastest growing sport for those 40-years-old and above. Locally, some of his board members have connections with various country clubs and a lot are installing courts. Commissioner Thomas stated that he lives at Palm Desert Greens where they have eight lighted pickleball courts. He stated that the public still needs courts and that he felt that the need is there for additional courts. Chair Housken suggested directing inquiries about locations of courts to Freedom Park. She asked if the tennis courts could be converted to pickleball courts, like the courts at Cahuilla Hills Park. Mr. Stendell stated that staff did a lot of research on adding pickleball courts. It would cost approximately $100,000 to construct one tennis court including the slab, surface, striping, lighting and fencing. This estimate was done about a year ago for a private court at Toscana Country Club. Therefore, if 8-12 pickleball courts are desired, the cost would be $200,000-$300,000. The dollar amount and the square footage required led Staff to conclude that this should be discussed when the next regional park is in the planning 5 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION PPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 14 2014 phase. Mr. Stendell commented that Staff could research adding pickleball courts at Freedom Park in the meantime. Commissioner Kelly arrived to the meeting at 9:03 a.m. Commissioner Hall made a motion to direct staff to research adding Pickleball courts at Freedom Park, sharing prior research with the Commission and researching a long-term and short-term solution for creating additional Pickleball courts within the City, seconded by Dawson and carried by a 8-1 vote, with Dawson, Guyer, Hall, Jutovsky, Kelly, Rodriguez, Thomas and Housken voting AYE; and Dowty absent. VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. NONE VII. OLD BUSINESS A. NONE VIII. PRESENTATIONS AND UPDATES A. STRATEGIC PLAN Mr. Stendell stated that the community input process has concluded and the consultants are putting together a draft of the Strategic Plan, which will be presented to the City Council. There were five major categories in the Parks and Recreation component. The number one category was financial stability. There was a topic on remaining innovative, keeping up with an outside-the-box approach in a contract city. Also, continuing to look at the strengths of our partner agencies, looking at all types of funding and to maintain adequate staffing levels so that the facilities don't decline. Integrating health and wellness into the community was also discussed. A draft copy of the Strategic Plan is currently being compiled. B. ONGOING DOG PARK ITEMS Mr. Stendell commented that the contract for the Freedom Park Dog Park expansion is on the January 23, 2014 City Council agenda. If approved, the cost of the expansion will be reimbursed by the Project Area 4 funds. Staff is already moving forward on the project to speed things along. He commented that the police are going to start issuing warnings to those parking illegally near the University Dog Park. Mr. Stendell commented that staff feels that there is a need for a regional solution at the north end of Palm Desert. 6 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 14. 2014 C. COMMUNITY EVENTS -Martha's Village Thanksgiving Day 5k and the Galen New Year's Resolution 5k Mr. Stendell included photos of the Martha's Village Thanksgiving Day 5k and also the Galen New Year's Resolution 5k in the Commissioner's packets. He stated that the Martha's Village 5k was huge4y successful and the event went very smoothly and he thought that over $100,000 was collected in entry fees. They did run out of numbers and t-shirts due ta the high volume of participants this year. The Galen 5k was also successful with some runners commenting on how much they enjoyed the elevation gain along the route in South Palm Desert along Edgehill and Painter's Path. D. PARK USE REPORT -Soccer Park (Kalman-Thomas) Commissioner Thomas reported that the soccer park appeared to be well maintained and he observed some people playing disc golf. He also noted that there were two workers servicing a water line on the east side of the park. E. PALM DESERT AQUATIC CENTER Karen Creasy was present and welcomed the Commission to the Aquatic Center. She stated that her staff has been counting at the door to see exactly how many people are entering the facility; including parents who come to watch their children swim and all the swim team people who come in. The total number of people who entered the facility during 2013 was 113,831 people. The heaviest use is between 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The water aerobics classes have continued to grow and they've now expanded the wellness activities to include yoga, Zumba Gold and Silver Sneakers (a senior adult service that helps with health insurance issues). These are new programs that aren't related specifically to the water. Flyers for the different activities were distributed to the Commissioners. A larger percentage of people who pay for entrance are non-residents. During December 2013, there were two college teams from Canada and one team from Puget Sound using the facility. The Underwater Christmas Tree Decorating took place on a very cald day so the numbers weren't quite as high as last year. The Polar Bear Plunge also took place in December, which was successful. Some of the warranties are expiring on pool equipment, therefore, this is will be a part of the next budget discussion. 7 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION PPROVED MINUTES JANUARY 14 2014 F. FAMILY YMCA OF THE DESERT Rob Ballew was present and stated that the YMCA is hosting their �yearly kick-off campaign at the Aquatic Center on Thursday, January 16 h and invited the commission to attend. There are 41 kids in the Youth in Government program. Holiday camps during the school break had 17 kids during the first week and 30 kids participating in the second week. Flag football just ended with 250 kids and youth basketball has 243 kids enrolled. G. DESERT RECREATION DISTRICT Brenda Nutcher was present and commented that the Santa Run was more organized this year and approximately 250 people participated. The Disability Sports Festival continues to grow and ran smoothly with 250 participants as well. Senior Softball is being held on Mondays and Tuesdays and the Coaking Series at the library is very popular with about 200 people in attendance. Ms. Nutcher also reported that the Senior Games registration is up by over 300 from last year, so far. IX. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Jutovsky informed the commission that the Friends of the Mountain Trails and BLM are going to be working on the trails on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. doing repairs. Commissioner Dawson asked that the recently updated commission bylaws be added to the next agenda. Ghair Housken suggested that the park inspection assignments be re- visited. X. ADJOURNMENT With no further business or discussion, and with the Commissioners' unanimous concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m. Donna Evans, Recording Secretary s