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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Rec Cmsn - 04-01-2014 �--�--� CITY OF PALM DESERT � � PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk FROM: Angie Marron, Clerical Assistant DATE: June 3, 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, April 1, 2014. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. Thank you. Attachment (as noted) C�TY COUNCILACTION API'ROVED DI;NiF.D� RI?CCIVEU OTHER �ecel��e ��u iVIF;[�:TING UATE b—tL-t�l AY[:S:�2rliorl� l�r ni Ici �i et�c� I , �cr� W�tnt,r NO[�,5: ►Jo� AI3SLNT: �o►^� . A13STAIN: �D'�`� VE;RIFICD BY: ��� Original on File with City Clerk's Of�ce . � CITY OF PALM DESERT ���"� MINUTES � � PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ` REGULAR MEETING � TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2014— 8:30 a.m. Administrative Conference Room — Palm Desert Civic Center 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, California 92260 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Rodriguez convened the meeting at 8:32 a.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Absent Commissioner Kim Housken Chair Raymond Rodriguez Commissioner Jerry Dawson Commissioner Dean Dowty Commissioner Randy Guyer Vice Chair Deborah Hall Commissioner Lynn B. Jutovsky Commissioner Mary Helen Kelly Commissioner Christopher Thomas Alternate Commissioner Mike Hardin Ex-Officio Member Kevin Kalman, Desert Recreation District Staff Present: Donna Evans, Recording Secretary Mark Greenwood, P.E., Director of Public Works H. Spencer Knight, Landscape Manager Ryan Stendell, Senior Management Analyst John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager Spencer Knight, Landscape Manager Guests: Karen Creasy, YMCA of the Desert Maureen Archiletta, Desert Recreation District Brenda Nutcher, Desert Recreation District Robert A. Spiegel, Councilman Van Tanner, Mayor 1 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION DRAFT MINUTES APRIL 1, 2014 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS A. Ryan Stendell introduced the new alternate commissioner, Mike Hardin, who has been a valley resident since 1954 and is the owner of The Lock Shop. Mr. Hardin was welcomed by the Commission. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014 Upon a motion by Commissioner Guyer, second by Commissioner Dawson, and 7-0-1-1 vote of the Commission Board with Dowty absent and Dawson abstaining, the Consent Calendar was approved as presented. V. NEW BUSINESS A. PALMA VILLAGE PARK � EASTERN PASSIVE AREA An aerial map of Palma Village Park was included in the commissioner's packets for their review. Mr. Ryan Stendell spoke about the eastern portion of the park and commented that transients have been seen in the circular, passive area. The police have been notified and have confronted the transients and had them sign letters stating that they won't loiter in the park. Mr. Stendell stated that this is a very busy neighborhood park and asked the commissioners if they had any ideas about changes that could be made to the passive area to make it more active so that transients don't hang out there. The budget is minimal and he suggested adding a BBQ and picnic tables. Suggestions were made that included the possibility of adding a small skateboarding area with a skid rail or adding exercise stations along the walking area. Mr. Stendell stated that he would review each option and bring the results back for discussion at the next meeting. B. STANDARDS FOR FOOD TRUCKS An aerial map showing prohibited food truck parking areas within Palm Desert was provided at the meeting for the commission to review. Mr. Stendell stated that Riverside County has started permitting food trucks and now this issue has been discussed by the City Council. An ordinance was proposed and passed on first reading and returns to the City Council for second reading on April 10, 2014. The ordinance is a revision to food truck regulations. The proposal restricts food trucks from being within 750' from concession stands during operational hours. 2 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION DRAFT MIN TES APRIL 1. 2014 VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. NONE VI1. OLD BUSINESS A. NONE VIII. PRESENTATIONS AND UPDATES A. PDYSA OPENING DAY CEREMONIES The Palm Desert Youth Sports Association held their annual opening day at Civic Center Park. Mr. Stendell shared an article that was in the Desert Sun regarding the event, which was very successful. Johnny Bench opened the baseball season and there was an aerial fly-over. There was a huge attendance and it was a good use of the park. B. FREEDOM DOG PARK EXPANSION The Freedom Dog Park expansion is underway. The footings for the new light standards are being installed this week. The fencing should be completed by the end of April or beginning of May. Spencer Knight, Landscape Manager, stated that Freedom Dog Park will be closed for about three weeks during construction of the fencing. C. VC)LUNTEER EFFORTS � HIKING TRAILS The California Conservation Corps were in the valley for three weeks and they did a lot of work on the trails. They've spent a lot of time on the Hopalong Cassidy Trail and the Cat Canyon area, which is very steep. They were able to get into a lot of areas that are difficult to access and made a lot of repairs. The trails are in very good shape right now. D. 2014 SPRING CONCERTS IN THE PARK The flyer for the 2014 Spring Concerts in the Park was included in packets for the commissioners to review. The concerts will be held on Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at the Palm Desert Civic Center Park Amphitheater beginning on May 1 St and continuing every Thursday night, with the last concert being held on May 2gtn E. BEST OF THE VALLEY WINNERS The Desert Sun published the results of the Best of the Valley competition. Palm Desert Civic Center Park was voted Best Public Park 2014. 3 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION DRAFT MINUTES APRIL 1. 2014 F. PARK USE REPORT -University Dog Park (Kalman-Thomas) -University Park East (Ballew-Dawson-Jutovsky) A discussion was held regarding the fencing that's currently in place and intended to be used in the future for community gardens at University Park East. Staff is recommending that the fencing remain in place so that future homeowners could take advantage of this benefit. A report was presented by Kevin Kalman, DRD, regarding both the University Dog Park and University Park East commenting that the fly traps should be re-baited at the dog park and the paint is corroded next to the gate. Otherwise, the parks look really good overall and people were enjoying them. Mr. Stendell addressed the commission and spoke to them about possibly doing a Parks Spotlight so that all the commissioners visit the same park during the same month. A schedule will be provided to the commissioners before the next meeting. G. PALM DESERT AQUATIC CENTER Karen Creasy was present and addressed the Commission and presented the Palm Desert Aquatic Center report. She stated that winter activity has been very strong. The water aerobics classes are very popular with about 45 participants per class. Land exercise classes are underway with Yoga, Zumba Gold and Silver Sneakers Classic. The snack bar started selling nachos during Spring Break and they sold 249 nachos in nine days. Birthday parties are being booked and swim lessons have begun. The PDAC is advertising on Facebook, a blog, their website and CV Weekly. Ms. Creasy invited the Commissioners to help with the kids at the pool on Easter Sunday (April 2�th) at the Underwater Easter Egg Hunt. May 10th is Community Swim Lesson Day. There are eight Olympians participating this year. At the event last year, there were 2,000 people on the pool deck. Full facility rentals are going well. H. FAMILY YMCA OF THE DESERT Karen Creasy stated that Spring Break Camps were full with 60 kids participating. The Y Rookies program is very successful. The Palm Easter Egg Hunt/Healthy Kids Day will be held at Civic Center Park at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 19th. This is a no cost event and is very popular. The 2014 Charity YMCA Golf Tournament will be held at the JW Marriott on Thursday, May 1 St 4 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION DRAFT MINUTES APRIL 1. 2014 I. DESERT RECREATION DISTRICT -International Sports Festival Report -Program Updates -Facilities Use Kevin Kalman introduced Maureen Archiletta, who has been promoted to Community Services Supervisor. The Master Plan was presented to the Board of Supervisors and was approved. The installation of the new clubhouse for the First Tee has been postponed because the facility has been so busy. They're hoping to have the new clubhouse in place by the end of June. Brenda Nutcher stated that there were 1,054 athletes who participated in the Senior Games, which was similar to last year. There were 193 residents and 861 non-residents. The most popular sport was pickleball, but track and field had good participation as well. Councilman Spiegel wondered why they don't offer 18-hole golf during the Senior Games. Mr. Kalman stated that the cost to the participant would be fairly high and they haven't seen the participation that they had hoped for in the past. They had gotten a good deal from Del Webb Sun City previously, but the DRD hasn't had that arrangement in many years. Councilman Spiegel suggested that they contact Palm Desert Country Club, as their green fees are reasonable and they're looking for people to play there. IX. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS A discussion was held regarding the remaining two un-built parks within University Park. Mr. Stendell stated that the parks will be paid for by the developers in the University Park area. The parks are funded by the Community Facilities District that was formed to pay for infrastructure in the area. The remaining parks will be built when the surrounding homes are constructed. Questions were asked about the coyote issue at Ironwood Park. Mr. Stendell stated that residents have seen the coyote population go up and down and were concerned that the native area at Ironwood Park could be an area where they could be denning. They've hosted two neighborhood meetings to teach the residents how to discourage coyotes. No evidence has been found of denning as vegetation is being removed. It was suggested that the Commission look at the resident survey that was performed seven years ago to see if the City has fulfilled the items that were addressed at that time. Mr. Stendell commented that he would provide the executive summary for the commissioners to review at the next meeting. 5 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION DRAFT MINUTES APRIL 1. 2014 It was asked that a future agenda item be added with regard to Cahuilla Hills Park and the addition of tow-cost aluminum bleachers with a shade awning at the pickleball courts. X. ADJOURNMENT With no further business or discussion, and with the Commissioners' unanimous concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m. �� Donna Evans, Recording Secretary 6