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Home My WebLink About06/15/2010, Athletic Fields Needs AssessmentATTACHMENT � ATHLETIC FIELDS NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO Prepared by Wendy George George -Cyr, LLP P.O. Box 6129 Los Osos, CA 93412 805-772-8551 August 26, 2008 ATTACHMENT I Executive Summary Athletic Fields Needs Assessment for The City of San Luis Obispo Prepared by Wendy George George -Cyr, LLP August 26, 2008 In 2005, City staff proposed to the San Luis Obispo City Council that it consider the feasibility of converting existing athletic fields to synthetic turf as a strategy for maximizing their use. It also directed staff to include a capital improvement request to convert Stockton Field, a baseball diamond located in Sinsheimer Park, to synthetic turf as part of the 2007-09 Financial Plan. Upon later consideration of this request, the Council determined that synthetic turf might not be as cost-effective as initially believed, and requested further study on the subject. In commencing this additional study, staff realized that in addition to further addressing the pros and cons of synthetic turf, they also needed to consider other better uses for limited available funding. Therefore, in February 2008, staff received approval from the Council to hire a consultant to conduct a needs assessment of athletic field user groups and offer recommendations for meeting those needs. Accordingly, the primary objective of the consultant's report is to address the following issues: a. Identification of youth and adult sports organizations using diamond and turf fields in the City of San Luis Obispo b. Identification of athletic fields being used by these organizations c. Identification of field use schedules d. Assessment of user needs as determined by personal interviews with group representatives e. Exploration of strategies for addressing those needs, including public/private partnerships with other organizations within the community f. Review of possible new field development in future City expansion areas g. Evaluation of current Damon -Garcia sports fields use h. Recommendation of best practices for Damon -Garcia field use and determination of their optimal level of use i. Consideration of the pros and cons of artificial turf placement on City athletic fields j. Development of a prioritized list of strategies to meet users' needs and maximize field use i z- y ATTACHMENT Identification of Field Users and Existing Playing Fields The consultant's first step was to identify the turf field and diamond field organizations to be assessed and create an assessment tool. She then determined the local athletic fields that are used to support the programs offered by these organizations. In addition to City -owned fields, as a result of joint -use agreements with outside agencies, these programs also utilize fields belonging to San Luis Coastal Unified School District and the County of San Luis Obispo. Additionally, they sometimes use fields at Cuesta College, Laureate School and Talley Farms as overflow locations when regular fields are unavailable due to scheduling conflicts or the weather. All of the field owners schedule playing time on their own fields, and this practice sometimes leads to problems when turf sports are assigned to fields that have traditionally been used by diamond sports. Needs Assessments Each sports program interviewed was asked to identify its highest priority need, and rank it on a scale from 1-10, with 10 representing the most severe need. Spokespersons also discussed other lower priority concerns, and were asked to provide suggestions on how to meet their program's needs. Generally, the greatest number of concerns came from the turf field users, with more access to the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields being the most consistent need. There were fewer concerns expressed by the diamond sport programs. The following charts reflect the highest priority needs of the programs, broken down by turf field users and diamond field users. SUMMARY OF TURF USER NEEDS OrganizationServed AYSO Soccer Ages JYouth No. of Players 1,250 More access to D-G fields for rowth 5 Central Coast Soccer lAdult 250 More access to D-G fields; condition of fields 6 Central Coast Women's Soccer Adult 150-180 More access to D-G fields 4-5 Coast Soccer Club Youth 40 No unmet needs n/a Flag Football Youth 200 Unexpected field closures 14 Mores ace for futuregrowth; 4-5 Old Dogs Soccer Academy Youth/ 50 More access to D-G fields 18 Adult Location for adultpick-up soccer 9 Premier Affiliated Soccer Or . Adult 1,000 More field access for games and tournaments 7 SLO Rugby Adult 60 Permanent practice location with lights 3-4 SLO Rugby Football Club Adult/ 200 Permanent practice location with lights 9 Youth SLO Soccer Club Youth 200 More field access for games and tournaments 7 SLO Womens Soccer Adult 140 Timely net set-up for games 5-6 SLO Youth Football Youth 120-150 Lack of bleachers by field 6 SLO Youth Rugby Youth 65 More access to D-G fields, esp in winter and after rain 10 Figure 1 ii 2-5 IATT AMIENT SUMMARY OF DIAMOND USER NEEDS Organization Cal Poly Baseball Camp Ages• Served Youth . Players 60 Highest Need No unmet needs Severity N/A Cal Ri ken/Babe Ruth Baseball Youth 500 Conflicted scheduling with turfsports 8-9 Central Coast Mans Baseball Adult 150 Access to SLO stadium in summer 10 Co-ed Adult Softball Adult 800 Making El Chorro fields safer; 5 Rain makes Santa Rosa field unusable Cuesta College Baseball Adult 250 No unmet needs N/A Girls Softball Association Youth 110 Conflicted scheduling with turfsports 4 Hancock College Baseball Adult No unmet needs N/A Mission Prep Girls Softball Youth at Santa Rosa softball field 7 SLO Blues Adult _Drainage 30 Easier access to stadium for business purposes 2 SLO High Varsity Baseball Youth No unmet needs N/A SLO Rattlers Adult 35 Inability to use concessions and BBQ area 4 T-ball, Coach/Pitch (YMCA) Youth 200 INo unmet needs N/A Figure 2 Strategies for Addressing Identified Needs The consultant's next step was to consider strategies for addressing the needs identified by the sports field users. The first strategy explored was the possibility of developing new partnerships with other public agencies or private entities. Discussions with administrators at San Luis Coastal Unified School District led to the conclusion that the school district is unlikely to be receptive of any new partnerships with the City that involve financial commitments from the District, including the installation by the City of artificial turf or lights at any District owned fields. On the other hand, administrators at Cuesta College were more receptive to the concept of exchanging additional use of the college's fields for the installation of lighting by the City. However, it should be noted that Cuesta College's field maintenance staff was less enthusiastic about this idea, because of potential damage to fields caused by additional use. The County of San Luis Obispo was willing to entertain the use of Cuesta Park's field for youth soccer, if the City would pay for removing trees recently planted there, upgrading the field, and policing the area to prevent its abuse by Cal Poly students. Mission School was also amenable to making its turf field available to the City for overflow soccer play and might consider allowing the City's men's baseball team to use its baseball diamond. The Laureate School was very interested in some sort of partnership with the City for use of one or both of its fields, but asked that in exchange it receive access to City water. Since the school is currently located in the County, this request is not viable at this time. Cal Poly indicated a willingness to discuss iii ,2-& ATTACHMENT possible use of its newly converted synthetic turf fields by the City, but only after enough time has passed for it to determine the full extent of its own needs. The owner of Talley Farms said he would continue to allow some programs to play on their fields on an overflow basis, but wider use would require permitting from the County and could create neighborhood problems for the business. The next strategy considered was the possibility of joining existing partnerships to create new athletic fields. Discussions were held with volunteers working to build a baseball facility at the Chevron Fields on Tank Farm Road and volunteers hoping to renovate San Luis Obispo High School's Holt Field. Currently, neither of these projects appears likely to be successfully completed, but City staff should continue to monitor their progress. Proposed fields in the Margarita and Orcutt expansion areas were also examined for their appropriateness for use as scheduled game or practice fields for turf sports. Due to constraints of their location or size, these fields would be most appropriate only for pick-up soccer, rugby or football games. Some of the difficulty in teams having enough access to the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields is the result of current scheduling practices. A number of changes can be made to these practices with minimal cost to the City, such as scheduling fields jointly with the School District, holding scheduling meetings in the evenings when more field users can attend, following adopted priority policies closely, ensuring sports playing within their traditional annual seasons have first priority over others (e.g. baseball or softball would have priority over soccer in the spring), developing better coordination and communication between the Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments over rain closures, the addition of a field closure hotline for user groups, excluding all non -sports events from the Damon -Garcia Fields and assigning certain fields for pick-up play on a rotating basis. Evaluation of Damon -Garcia Sports Fields When the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields were opened, they fulfilled a long-awaited demand for quality turf sports playing fields in the City. Although the fields were intended only for actual games and tournaments, the initial level of use was extremely high, as they were also used for pick-up games, scrimmages and non - sporting events. As a result, Field B and most of Field A were badly damaged before play on them was halted. Additionally, the mixture of grass installed during construction did not perform as expected. After initial conflict as to the best way to repair the fields, the Parks and Recreation Department agreed to the Public Works Department's proposal to rehabilitate the existing turf, rather than replacing it with hybrid Bermuda grass. The fields are currently undergoing rehabilitation, and only after completion of the winter sports season will it be possible to determine whether this approach has been successful. iv 2-7 �jI A MIIEdT Best Practices for Damon -Garcia Fields The City's Public Works Department is currently working with a consultant from the Wilbur -Ellis Company to improve the Damon -Garcia turf. However, even if this rehabilitation program is successful, City staff must insure that a limit is placed on the amount of time the fields can be used. The generally accepted belief, based on research from outside sources, is that cool season grass fields with sand based profiles can tolerate approximately 360 to 390 hours field use, factored by the type of sport, per year; cool season grass fields with native soils can tolerate approximately 425 hours; and warm season grass fields grown in moderate climates such as Northern California and supported with reinforced sand profiles may tolerate up to 500 hours of use. The Damon -Garcia fields fall into the first category. Based on totals provided by Parks and Recreation Department staff, the average unfactored total use on each Damon -Garcia field in 2006 and 2007 was about 865 hours. While continuing with the current rehabilitation plan, City staff should also consider several other changes that could help meet users' needs. One is to change the time for annual field maintenance on the Damon -Garcia fields to later in the spring, rather than in December, so that there is less impact on soccer season. Another is to move the internal light pole by the lower fields, so that the fields can be realigned on a regular basis to avoid wear spots. The Pros and Cons of Installing Synthetic Turf Many public agencies and school districts have turned to synthetic turf as a way of increasing the time of play on their existing fields. Synthetic turf has come a long way as a quality playing surface from the days of the original Astroturf. It allows for all-weather field availability, increased playing hours up to 58 per week and reduced maintenance and watering costs. However, installation is expensive. New synthetic fields can cost three times as much as grass fields. Resurfacing existing fields costs between $400,000 and $600,000. In hot climates, synthetic fields can be 60-degrees hotter than grass fields. There is also concern about the potential toxic content of the field material and its underlying cushioning, which has led to pending legislation in the California State Senate. While there is significant water savings by using synthetic turf, the fields are not maintenance free. They need to be disinfected regularly, washed to removed dust and foreign particles like sunflower seeds, and "fluffed" monthly to lift the fibers. Finally, the current life of a synthetic field is 10 to 12 years, at which time they must be replaced. The replacement cost is estimated to be about half of the initial installation cost, plus a fee for recycling the old material of $40,000 to $50,000. At this time, the consultant is not recommending installing synthetic turf at any City playing fields. The most consistent need expressed by the turf sport players is for more access to the Damon -Garcia fields for games, tournaments and v 2_3 A-FIACHMEHT scrimmages. Installing synthetic turf in baseball or softball diamonds in order to make them available to turf sports would only provide additional practice fields, and lack of practice fields is not the problem. If the current rehabilitation program for the Damon -Garcia is not successful, then the City should consider installing synthetic turf on Daryl Damon field to increase its availability to teams. While installing synthetic turf on the lower fields would actually be a better choice, considering the poorer quality of these fields, they lie in a flood prone area and cannot be covered with a non -porous surface. Conclusion After meeting with both turf and diamond sports field users of City -owned and neighboring fields, exploring new partnership possibilities with other agencies, examining best practices that would help improve the natural turf at the Damon - Garcia Sports Fields and considering the pros and cons of synthetic turf, the consultant provided a set of recommendations broken down into three categories: Highest Priority Recommendations to be Implements as Soon as Possible; Lower Priority Recommendations for Future Consideration; and Actions Not Recommended at this Time. Those recommendations are found in Exhibit 1 to this Executive Summary. vi Z-9 ATTACHMENT � Exhibit 1 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS A. Highest Priority Recommendations, to be Implemented as Soon as Possible 4. RECOMMENDATION: Set up quarterly joint use meetings with the County of San Luis Obispo relating to the softball fields at Rancho El Chorro Regional Park. 5. RECOMMENDATION: Pursue a joint use agreement with Mission School for use of its baseball diamond for Babe Ruth teams and for overflow use of the turf field when Damon -Garcia fields have unanticipated closures. 12. RECOMMENDATION: Rigorously apply the City's current policies on field sign-up priorities and make sure the policies are distributed to and understood by all field users. 13. RECOMMENDATION: Include staff from San Luis Coastal Unified School District in a joint semi-annual scheduling process that eliminates the District's practice of scheduling fields on a first come, first served basis. 14. RECOMMENDATION: Hold semi-annual scheduling meetings in the evenings when working adults are better able to attend them. Be sure that all users know the time and date of the meetings, as well as what information needs to be provided in requests and when it should be provided. 15. RECOMMENDATION: Work with the school district to develop a policy that provides for sports playing within their traditional annual seasons to have priority over others, e.g. baseball or softball would have priority over soccer in the spring. Do not allow one program to reserve fields for a full year at a time. Do not allow turf sports to use baseball/softball diamonds unless they are not needed by traditional users. 16. RECOMMENDATION: Parks and Recreation Staff should work more closely with Public Works staff to insure better coordination on field - closures for maintenance and rain and to assure that appropriate standards of wear are being used for each field that is scheduled. vii 2 �� ', AI NIENT i 17. RECOMMENDATION: Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff should work together to establish a rain closure hotline that provides up-to-date field closure information to users. 18. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to reserve the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields for athletic games and tournaments only, excluding practices and pick-up games. Additionally, exclude all non -sport events such as festivals or shows. 19. RECOMMENDATION: Work with San Luis Coastal School District to assure availability of Taylor field to adult rugby. 20. RECOMMENDATION: Work with the County of San Luis Obispo to create one -stop scheduling of the El Chorro softball fields and payment for use of the lights 21. RECOMMENDATION: Determine those fields that are appropriate for pick-up play and assign their use on a rotating basis, either by month or day of the week. Post that information at the fields and make it available to users in other ways as well, perhaps through a recorded hotline message. 22. RECOMMENDATION: Consider requiring soccer teams using the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields to provide and set up their own goal cages. 23. RECOMMENDATION: Develop a collaborative approach with the San Luis Obispo Blues and Rattlers to fund the following improvements to the stadium: • Rebuild the press box • Bring the concession stand and barbecue area up to health codes • Improve the dugout stairs on the left side of the stadium field • Improve the backstop area of the stadium • Provide on -site internet connection 26. RECOMMENDATION: Advise the SLO Youth Football program to present the need for portable bleachers to the Joint Use Committee for possible financial assistance from a facility use grant. 27. RECOMMENDATION: Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff should assess the possibility of closing the Damon -Garcia fields for maintenance starting in March of each year, rather than in December. I ACHMEJT I B. Lower Priority Recommendations for Future Consideration 2. RECOMMENDATION: Meet with Ed Maduli, Vice President of Administrative Services to discuss the possibility of lighting the Cuesta College's baseball diamond and/or one or all of the tun` fields. Cost of lighting the diamond is in the range of $500,000 - $700,000. Cost of lighting the fields would depend on the number of fields lit and could cost about $100,000 for installation and $28,000 per fixture. 7. RECOMMENDATION: Pursue further discussion with Cal Poly University about using their synthetic turf fields after the fields have been in place long enough for the university to have a good sense of their own internal level of use. 8. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to monitor the approval process for the Chevron Corporation property to determine the viability of the proposed baseball complex. Consider participating in the project at some future date only if it receives approval from all permitting agencies and other funding is assured. 9. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to monitor the progress of the Holt Field project. Consider participation only if it receives approvals from the school district and the funding is in place to make it possible. 10. RECOMMENDATION: Consider including the multi -use field in the Margarita Area as a recommended site for pick-up turf sport games. 11. RECOMMENDATION: Consider using the multi -use field in the Orcutt Area as a recommended site for pick-up turf sports games. Schedule softball and Cal Ripken games on the diamond upon its completion. 24. RECOMMENDATION: Consider methods to address the drainage problems at the Santa Rosa softball field by using French drains or other drainage approaches similar to those being implemented at Laguna Middle School. Estimated cost is $250,000. 25. RECOMMENDATION: Investigate the possibility of creating a turf sports practice field to replace the linear park that currently runs along the fence line behind the backstop at Meadow Park. 28, RECOMMENDATION: City staff should assess the possibility of moving at least one of the internal light poles to allow for greater field alignment flexibility. Such a move would necessitate finding alternative solutions to providing adequate lighting and would cost in the range of IN J-1 ACH MENT $20,000 to move the light. Additional costs could be required depending on whether alternative lighting sources are required. C. Actions Not Recommended at This Time 1. RECOMMENDATION: At this point, no new partnerships with San Luis Coastal Unified School District are recommended. 3. RECOMMENDATION: Using Cuesta Park as a turf field is not a good idea at this time due to the cost of removing trees and difficulty of keeping Cal Poly students from abusing it. However, this is a possibility that could be considered in the future if the need for turf fields continues to grow. It would be a good idea to determine the actual measurements of this field for future consideration. 6. RECOMMENDATION; Do not pursue use of Laureate School fields at this time, due to the City's policy of not providing water outside City limits. However, should changes be made to this policy, or the property be annexed to the City, jointly developing the Laureate fields could be extremely beneficial to both the City and the school. 29. RECOMMENDATON: Do not install synthetic turf at any City playing fields at this time. However, if the current rehabilitation plan for Damon - Garcia fails, and if funding becomes available at some point, the City should first consider installing synthetic turf at Daryl Damon Field, rather than at any of the baseball diamonds. x TTACHMENT I TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction....................................................................................... 1 II. Adult and Youth Sports Organizations Using Fields in City ............... 2 III. Local Athletic Fields Used to Support Turf and Diamond Sports Programs in the City of San Luis Obispo ........................................... 3 IV. Field Use Schedules......................................................................... 5 A. The City of San Luis Obispo......................................................... 5 B. San Luis Coastal Unified School District ....................................... 6 C. The County of San Luis Obispo .................................................... 6 D. Cuesta College............................................................................. 6 E. Talley Farms................................................................................. 7 F. Laureate School........................................................................... 7 V. Assessment of Field Users' Needs .................................................... 8 A. Summary of Soccer Groups' Needs ............................................. 9 B. Summary of Rugby Groups' Needs ............................................ 12 C. Summary of Football Groups' Needs .......................................... 13 D. Summary of Softball Groups' Needs .......................................... 15 E. Summary of Baseball Groups' Needs ......................................... 16 VI. Strategies for Addressing Identified Field User Needs ..................... 20 A. Potential New Public Agency or Private Partnerships ................. 20 1. San Luis Coastal Unified School District ................................ 20 2. Cuesta College...................................................................... 21 3. County of San Luis Obispo .................................................... 23 4. Mission School....................................................................... 24 5. Laureate School..................................................................... 25 6. Cal Poly University................................................................. 26 7. Talley Farm Fields................................................................. 27 B. Potential Development of New Fields ......................................... 28 1. Chevron Fields (Tank Farm Road) ......................................... 28 2. Renovation of San Luis High School's Holt Field ................... 29 3. Margarita Expansion Area ..................................................... 30 4. Orcutt Expansion Area........................................................... 31 5. De Tolosa Development........................................................ 31 C. Changes to Existing Scheduling Practices ................................. 32 D. Other Recommendations............................................................ 35 VII. Evaluation of Damon -Garcia Sports Field Use ................................. 36 VIII. Best Practices for Damon -Garcia Sports Fields ............................... 37 IX. The Pros and Cons of Installing Synthetic Turf ................................ 39 A. Why Synthetic Turf?................................................................... 39 B. Disadvantages of Synthetic Turf ................................................. 40 C. Cost Comparison of Synthetic and Natural Turf ......................... 41 D. Synthetic Turf and the City of San Luis Obispo .......................... 41 X. Conclusion....................................................................................... 42 Appendix A — Outdoor Facility Users Questionnaire ................................... 46 Appendix B — Schematic of Margarita Area Parkland ................................. 48 UTACHMENT Appendix C — Schematic of Orcutt Area Parkland ...................................... 49 Appendix D — Damon -Garcia Field Management Plan ............................... 50 Appendix E — Field Wear Index................................................................... 54 Appendix F — Draft Senate Bill No. 1227.................................................... 55 Appendix G — Lists of Individuals Interviewed ............................................. 56 z-1s °QTACHMENT I. Introduction Over the years, the City of San Luis Obispo has served the needs of a wide range of sports programs and community activities at its parks and playing fields, and through agreements with the San Luis Coastal Unified School district and other governmental agencies for joint use of their facilities. However, with the success and continued growth of organized team sports, and the limited availability of parks and athletic fields, the City of San Luis Obispo has reached a point where meeting community use expectations, while retaining a high standard of field quality, has become increasingly difficult. In 2005, staff proposed to the San Luis Obispo City Council that it consider the feasibility of converting existing grass athletic fields to synthetic turf as a strategy for maximizing their use. After considering this recommendation, the Council endorsed the concept. It also directed staff to include a capital improvement request to convert Stockton Field, a baseball diamond located in Sinsheimer Park, to synthetic turf as part of the 2007-09 Financial Plan. Upon later consideration of this request, the Council determined that synthetic turf might not be as cost-effective as initially believed, and requested that staff provide a study session on the subject. In preparing an initial report for the study session, staff realized that in addition to further addressing the pros and cons of synthetic turf, they also needed to consider other possible better uses for limited funding than installing such turf. Therefore, in February 2008, staff asked the City Council to delay the study session on synthetic turf and hire a consultant to conduct a needs assessment of athletic field user groups and offer recommendations for meeting those needs. Accordingly, the primary objective of this report is to address the following issues a. Identification of youth and adult sports organizations using diamond and turf fields in the City of San Luis Obispo b. Identification of athletic fields being used by these organizations c. Identification of field use schedules d. Assessment of user needs as determined by personal interviews with group representatives e. Exploration of strategies for addressing those needs, including public/private partnerships with other organizations within the community f. Review of possible new field development in future City expansion areas g. Evaluation of current Damon -Garcia sports fields use h. Recommendation of best practices for Damon -Garcia field use and determination of their optimal level of use i. Consideration of the pros and cons of artificial turf placement on City athletic fields j. Development of a prioritized list of strategies to meet users' needs and maximize field use 1 ARACHMENT If II. Adult and Youth Sports Organizations Using Fields in the City of San Luis Obispo A. Turf Field Programs Currently there are thirteen (13) organized sports programs that are using turf fields belonging to the City of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, Cuesta College and occasionally Talley Farms. Sports included in this category are soccer, rugby and football. Of these programs, seven (7) are intended for youths and six (6) are for adults. Altogether, these programs conservatively are estimated to serve 3,725 players, 52% of whom are youths and and 48% of whom are adults. Figure 1 below lists the programs using local turf fields, including the estimated number of participants and the age groups involved. TURF ORGANIZATIONS SURVEYED Ages . . Organization Served Players AYSO Youth 1,250 l CSoccer Centraoast Soccer Adult 250 Central Coast Women's Soccer Adult 150-180 0Soccer Club Youth 40 Fla ootball Youth 200 Old Do s Soccer Academ Youth/Adult 50 Premier Affiliated Soccer Or Adult 1,000 SLO Ru b Adult 60 SLO Ru b Football Club Adult/Youth 200 SLO Soccer Club Youth 200 SLO Women's Soccer Adult 140 SLO Youth Football Youth 120-150 SLO Youth Rugby Youth 65 Figure 1 B. Diamond Field Programs In addition to the turf field users, baseball and softball fields belonging to the City of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Coastal Unified School District and the County of San Luis Obispo support twelve (12) different programs. These programs include T-ball, coach/pitch, softball and baseball. Programs are equally split between those for youth and for adult, and serve an estimated 2,175 players. Of these players, 42% are youths and 58% are adults. It should be noted that in the case of Cuesta College and Hancock College the use is limited to one tournament each per year and Cal Poly uses the baseball stadium for two one -week baseball camps in the summer. Figure 2 shows the programs using local baseball and softball fields, including the estimated number of participants and the age groups involved. I•a 2 17 , TACH114ENT I DIAMOND ORGANIZATIONS SURVEYED Organization Cal Poly Baseball Cam Ages Served Youth No. of Players 60 Cal Ri ken/Babe Ruth Baseball Youth 500 Central Coast Men's Baseball Adult 150 Co-ed Adult Softball Adult 800 seball CuesSCollee Adult' 250 Girls iation Youth 110 Hancaseball AdultMissiSoftball Youth 2C SLO ro Colle late Team Adult 30 SLO Hi h Baseball Youth 20 SLO Rattlers Semi -Pro Collegiate Team Adult 35 LT -ball, Coach/Pitch YMCA Youth 200 Figure 2 III. Local Athletic Fields Used to Support Turf and Diamond Sports Programs in the City of San Luis Obispo City of San Luis Obispo youth and adult sports programs utilize a wide spread group of turf fields and diamonds in order to meet their growing needs. When the Damon - Garcia Sports Fields went on line in the spring of 2005, there was a community belief that the then existing crunch in providing adequate playing space would be relieved. However, due to difficulties discussed further in Section VII, Evaluation of Damon -Garcia Sports Fields Use, the four turf fields at that site have been limited to games and tournaments only. Additionally, the closure of several of the Damon - Garcia fields due to initial overuse, has complicated the scheduling of turf sport programs. Thanks to a long-term joint -use agreement between the City and the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, many sports programs are able to utilize fields at various school locations to supplement availability of City facilities. Additionally, groups use County -owned softball fields at El Chorro Regional Park, turf fields at Cuesta College, and occasionally fields at the Laureate School and Talley Farms on an overflow basis. The following figures indicated fields used, broken down by turf field and diamond field programs. NEW, columns represent fields or diamonds owned by San Luis Coastal Unified School District and JIM columns represent fields owned by other outside parties. 3 2-/,f f,TTA,CHMENT The following legend is used in the charts below: BP = Bishops Peak School CLSM = CL Smith School CUES = Cuesta College DGSF = Damon -Garcia Sports Fields EL CH = El Chorro Regional Park EMER = Emerson Park FREN = French Park HAW = Hawthorne School HOLT = Holt Field at SLO High School ISLAY = Islay Park LAGU = Laguna Middle School LEGU = Leguina Baseball Field LRAN = Los Ranchos School MEAD = Meadow Park PBCH = Pacific Beach School SILV = Silveira SINS = Sinsheimer School SROSA = Santa Rosa Park STAD = SLO Baseball Stadium STCK = Stockton Field TALY = Talley Fields TAYL = Taylor Field THRP = Throop Park CITY FIELDS USED BY TURF SPORTS AYSO Soccer X X X X X Central Coast Adult Soccer X Central Coast Women's SoccerX Fla Football X Old Do s Soccer Academ X Premier Affiliated Soccer Or . X SLO Ru b -Adult X SLO Ru b Football Club X SLO Soccer Club X SLO Women's Soccer X SLO Youth Ruqbv X Figure 3 OTHER FIELDS USED BY TURF SPORTS Figure 4 M 2-/9 F,TTAMNIENT t CITY FIELDS USED BY DIAMOND SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS Adult Softball SROSASTAD LEGU STCK THRP FREN MEAD ISLAY EMER T-Ball/Coach Pitch Baseball Central Coast Men's Baseball SLO Girls Softball Cuesta Baseball C 61Poly Baseball Camp SLO Rattlers Mission Prep Girls Softball Figure 5 OTHER FIELDS USED BY DIAMOND SPORTS Figure 6 IV. Field Use Schedules Currently, scheduling for the various athletic fields in and near the city of San Luis Obispo is handled directly by their owners. Because fields are scheduled independently, conflicts have often arisen. The Youth Sports Association (YSA) has helped alleviate scheduling difficulties by offering a forum for resolution that includes group representatives and field providers. While the purview of this group has expanded over the years, scheduling problems still are an important part of its work scope. A. The City of San Luis Obispo schedules the Damon -Garcia fields on a twice -annual basis at a group meeting of program representatives. A similar scheduling meeting is held annually for the diamond fields, with an additional separate annual meeting for SLO Stadium. The City has developed different 61 z-20 ?iACHViEAT policies for scheduling priorities at the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields, the diamond fields and the baseball stadium. However, in past years it has not strictly applied the Damon -Garcia policy, due to the use limitations caused by field closures. When it became evident that use of the fields had to be reduced, schedules were frozen and were unable to be adjusted for increased need. Teams were grandfathered in place for the next year. These factors created difficulties and complaints from the various users, which will be discussed further in the Section V, Discussion of Field Users' Needs. At the most recent scheduling session, City staff applied the priority policy more carefully, and with a little creativity, was able to meet all the users' current needs. B. San Luis Coastal Unified School District schedules its own playing fields and diamonds. Scheduling is done annually on a first come, first served basis. Consideration is not given to the type of sport or the "typical" sport season. As a result, in past years one of the club soccer programs was able to schedule most of the playing fields at Laguna Middle School and CL Smith School for the whole year, shutting out youth football and impacting girls softball and AYSO soccer. The Youth Sports Association was able to resolve the difficulties with youth football, and the club soccer team has been willing to accommodate the needs of AYSO soccer. However, the lack of coordination between the school district and the City, and the district's first come, first served scheduling approach, creates problems and discord within the sports organizations. C. The County of San Luis Obispo handles the scheduling of the softball fields at El Chorro Regional Park. However, since the City of San Luis Obispo actually installed the lights at those fields, teams wishing to use the lights for night games or practices must contact the City to pay for the lighting. While this double scheduling is not much of a problem for City Parks and Recreation sponsored programs like adult softball, it discourages other programs from using the fields on an emergency or overflow basis when their normal playing fields are not available. The City uses these fields on weeknights only, from March through November, per its agreement with the County. D. Cuesta College schedules its fields directly with users. The fields are generally reserved for Cuesta's own programs but have been made available to outside groups for tournaments, overflow practices and some Saturday soccer games. Cuesta has been receiving an increasing number of request for tournaments and on -going fall soccer practice on its fields, which it generally does not accommodate when they conflict with its own use. Cuesta closes its fields for a month between mid -December and mid -January for recovery, and this summer is turning down most requests for use by outside groups. fy 221 ACHIrHHT E. Talley Farms has two private fields it built for its employees, and allows some of the rugby clubs to play games on an overflow basis when their normal fields are closed or there are short-term scheduling conflicts. This arrangement exists because some Talley employees play on or are involved with these teams. However, Talley Farms does not open its fields to other teams due to concerns about impacting neighbors, parking and the lack of appropriate County permitting. F. Laureate School's fields have occasionally been used as overflow practice fields by one of the rugby clubs, because of a connection between team members and school administration. The club originally utilized the school's soccer field, but moved to the nearby 5-acre undeveloped field when neighbors complained about the portable lighting it brought in to allow evening practices. These fields are not currently being used by any of the local sports teams, as they are all accommodated elsewhere. The following set of figures are useful in providing a detailed look at scheduling at the three most heavily used facilities: Damon -Garcia Sports Fields, the San Luis Obispo Baseball Stadium and the Laguna Middle School playing fields. OEMI indicates youth programs; are adult programs. >O Soccer tral Coast Adult Soccer tral Coast Women's Soccer I Football Dogs Soccer Academy vier AfFllate Soccer Ong. I Rugby -Adult Rugby Football Club Soccer Club Women's Soccer Youth Rugby j DAMON-GARCIA FIELDS Figure 7 7 2-22 .CTA04MEW e Ruth/Cal Ripken Girls Softball Soccer Club Youth Football SLO BASEBALL STADIUM Figure 8 LAGUNA MIDDLE SCHOOL Figure 9 V. Assessment of Field Users' Needs In order to accurately assess their needs, one-on-one interviews were held with representatives of all athletic field user groups within the City of San Luis Obispo. A questionnaire was developed that asked information about the size of the program, the fields used, the schedule of games and practices and any unfulfilled needs. The list of needs was further refined by asking each group for its highest priority need and then requesting that it rate the severity of that need on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most severe. The questionnaire also asked for suggestions on meeting the need(s) presented and then finally included a general question soliciting any other thoughts. (See Appendix A). In making recommendations to the City on how to meet the needs presented, this report will naturally focus on the highest needs expressed. However, it will also include recommendations that address other concerns mentioned. 8 Z-23 4TTACNMENT A. Summary of Soccer Groups' Needs Of the eight soccer organizations interviewed, six of them indicated that more access to the Damon -Garcia fields was their highest priority. Only SLO Women's soccer, which wanted more timely net set-up and Coast Soccer Club, which uses Sinsheimer School for practices and Cuesta College for games, were not interested in more playing time on the Damon -Garcia fields. Soccer teams constitute the largest number of groups using the Damon -Garcia fields, and have been most directly affected by the City -initiated cutbacks in usage that have occurred at the fields since their construction. (See discussion of the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields in Section VI I). 1. San Luis Obispo Soccer Club (The Flames) offers co-ed club soccer for about 200 players ages 9-18. It is an almost year round program, with practices starting in April and practices, scrimmages and games continuing until December. The Club's focus is on competitive games and tournaments, and it needs regulation -sized fields for this purpose. The Damon -Garcia, Cuesta College, Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo High School's Holt and Taylor fields are the only ones able to accommodate its games and scrimmages. Currently, Cal Poly does not make its fields available to outside groups; San Luis High School does not make Holt Field available to outside parties; Taylor Field is impacted by high school sports and other outside users; Cuesta College's fields are only available during the summer (and not even that this year); and the Damon -Garcia fields are closed in December and January for maintenance and renewal. With the current field limitations, the club is unable to host double- header games with out-of-town teams, must limit its actual games and scrimmages and has difficulty finding a lighted field to use in December and January when the Damon -Garcia fields are closed. Trying to use the lighted softball fields at El Chorro Regional Park was a logistical difficulty due to the County scheduling the fields and the City scheduling the lights. The club would also like more lead-time notice before the City's semi- annual field scheduling meeting. 2. Premier Affiliated Soccer Organization is a county -wide male soccer organization for ages 14-51. It is basically an adult organization, but is currently trying to develop an under-14 division. While it is headquartered in Paso Robles, 60% of its players come from the City of San Luis Obispo, and the group uses one of the Damon -Garcia fields for Sunday games on a year-round basis. Its organization is growing, and now turns away participants because it lacks adequate playing sites. Because its program is for adults, it 9 ,2'27 9 ANMENT_ comes at the bottom of the City's scheduling priority. As a result, it is only allowed to use one Damon -Garcia field about 24 days per year, and not at all during the month of May. The team has also had a problem with City staff failing to unlock the equipment room and bathrooms at the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields, and suggested that an emergency phone number for City staff be posted at the fields. 3. Central Coast Women's Soccer Association offers women's soccer for ages 19 and above in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. It is currently scheduled to use two of the Damon -Garcia fields five Sundays each season for games (one season runs from February through April and the other from September through November). As a result, it must practice on fields in Arroyo Grande and Santa Maria, and play other games at Soto Field in Arroyo Grande, Dunn School in Los Olivos, Crossroads Field and at Lompoc High School. The team would like to be able to play at least six games each season on the Damon -Garcia fields, and are frustrated that it is currently locked into its 2006 level of usage. The team also finds it difficult to know when the fields will be closed due to rain, since the coordinator lives in Santa Maria and cannot observe the weather in San Luis Obispo. She would like a direct answer from the City, rather than being told "to use her judgment" as to whether to cancel a game. The group's coordinator also indicated that she has a problem knowing when to put in a scheduling request for each season, and works during the day, making it difficult to attend a daytime scheduling meeting. 4. Central Coast Soccer is a co-ed adult 7 on 7 recreational soccer league that would like to continue to grow its program. It currently plays year-round on Monday evenings at the Damon -Garcia fields, and in Arroyo Grande on Wednesday evenings. Because the City has limited its playing time on the Damon -Garcia fields to that scheduled in 2006, due to concerns about overuse of the fields, there is no opportunity for this program to expand. The team spokesperson questioned the City's policy of closing the fields for 5 days after they were used for a tournament. The league is also unhappy about the poor condition of the field, which will be further discussed in Section VII, Evaluation of Damon -Garcia Sports Field Use. The team spokesperson also asked if the Damon -Garcia fields could be better staffed so that the snack bar is made available and cars are not vandalized. (It should be noted that the agreement signed by the league for use of the fields clearly states that the City is not liable for cars parked in the parking lot.) 10 z z5 UjACHNENT__ 5. AYSO Soccer is a co-ed soccer league for players ages 5-18. Its season runs from September through November, and teams currently practice on many school and park fields, while games are played at the Damon -Garcia fields Wednesday evenings and all day on Saturdays. As with most other soccer teams, the league feels that more actual game playing time on the Damon -Garcia fields is its biggest need. It would like to schedule events such as an all-star tournament and an end of year tournament, but is unable to do so due to scheduling limits. Lack of field availability is also inhibiting its ability to grow the program, especially in the 12-18 year old age group. The league is also unhappy with the City's decision to close fields for five days after tournament use and feels like the City can "pull the plug" on it at any time for rain or field overuse. Practicing on school fields is fine with the program, however. While San Luis Obispo Soccer Club has held the master schedule for Laguna Middle School and CL Smith School fields, due to the school district's practice of first come, first served scheduling, the club has been willing to accommodate AYSO's needs. The two programs also trade off Saturday use of Damon -Garcia fields as necessary. 6. San Luis Obispo Women's Soccer is primarily a north county league for women over the age of 18. One team comes from the City of San Luis Obispo. It prefers to play its games at Barney Schwartz field in Paso Robles, however, it does play five Sundays a year at the Damon -Garcia fields between late February and April. The only difficulties the league has in using these fields is that sometimes City staff is late opening up the storage room so it is difficult to set the nets up in a timely fashion. It would like to have the nets available at least an hour before its 9:00 a.m. game time. It would also like to know in advance which field it will be using before the first game of the year to avoid confusion on opening day. The first game of the year is usually a mess because the fields are not lined and nets are not available. After that, things seem to settle down. 7. Old Dogs Soccer Academy is a youth soccer academy held at the Damon -Garcia fields one evening a week for 6-weeks in the spring and summer. The academy would like to be able to offer more sessions, but there is no additional availability at the Damon -Garcia fields. Since the academy is offered by working instructors, it must be held in the evening and, therefore, requires a lighted field. The academy instructor, Alex Crozier, also plays pick-up soccer and is unhappy that there is no access to a full-sized soccer field for this purpose. Damon -Garcia is closed to pick-up soccer. His group has 11 2 ZOO P, FACHMENT played at Meadow Park and Taylor field without formal permission. Meadow Park is not really a large enough field, and Taylor Field is in very poor condition. He would like to see a field provided for this type of informal soccer play. 8. Madrid Premier Soccer is a soccer club for players at an older level than "SLO Fire". It plays its games between Long Beach and Santa Barbara. It does not use any San Luis Obispo fields because there is no availability at the Damon -Garcia fields. In the past, the club has sometimes practiced at one of the Cuesta College fields. 9. Coast Soccer Club is a program of club soccer for girls ages 13- 14. It currently practices at Sinsheimer Elementary School and plays all its home games at Cuesta College. The club originally practiced at Pacheco School, but was moved to Pacific Beach by the school district. That field was in such bad shape that it caused injuries to players. Since moving to Sinsheimer School, the club is very happy with its situation and as long as nothing changes feels it has no unmet needs. B. Summary of Rugby Groups' Needs The three rugby programs in the City of San Luis Obispo all indicated that they would like to have more access to the Damon -Garcia fields. In the case of these teams, however, their concern lies more with their inability to have guaranteed lighted practice locations. They would like to be able to practice at the Damon -Garcia fields, as well as play games there. 1. The SLO Youth Rugby program plays its games at the Damon - Garcia fields on Saturdays, but is unable to schedule any tournaments there because of high use by soccer programs. Since its playing schedule is during the winter and early spring, it is significantly impacted by the City's closure of Damon -Garcia fields for maintenance and recovery. The program has had to play games at the Talley Farms fields in January or whenever weather bumps them off the Damon -Garcia field, and doing so is disruptive to the program. The program currently practices at Taylor Field two evenings a week and Laguna Middle School two afternoons a week from January through April. It would like to have a standard time and place for practices, and would prefer that to be at the Damon -Garcia fields. There have been problems in the past trying to schedule practice fields through the school district, because the district uses a first come, first served approach and does not coordinate its scheduling with the City. 2. SLO Rugby is a men's and women's adult rugby program. Its greatest concern is having an available lighted practice location. Currently, it has been allowed to use Taylor Field for practices and that 12 221 iACrfUT- ' adequately meets its needs. However, should the school district enforce its policy of not allowing adult teams on its fields, SLO Rugby would have a problem. Because of the timing of this program's playing season, it is able to use the Damon -Garcia fields without conflicting with soccer programs. However, when those fields are closed suddenly for rain, it causes logistical difficulties, since their league goes as far south as San Diego and last minute cancellations are difficult. When this happens, the program uses Talley Farms' fields, but it must compete with Cal Poly and Arroyo Grande teams for access to them. 3. SLO Rugby Football Club, Inc. is both a youth and adult club rugby program. It practices at Taylor Field two evenings a week from October to December and plays pre -season games during that time at Damon -Garcia fields on Saturdays. The regular season begins in January and continues through May. Regular season games are also played at Damon -Garcia fields, as well as at Talley Farms' fields. The club generally has adequate time scheduled at Damon -Garcia fields for its games, but would also like to have the opportunity to hold scrimmages, tryouts, camps and tournaments there. The club's highest need is a permanent, lighted practice location. It is very happy that the school district has allowed it to use Taylor Field, but is concerned that since this is a change in policy from the past, permission may be withdrawn in the future. In the past it has had to use the Laureate School's 5-acre parcel and provide its own lights. C. Summary of Football Groups' Needs Generally speaking, the two football programs are satisfied with their current playing situations. There have been scheduling problems in the past with one program, but those have now been worked out. 1. San Luis Obispo Youth Football is a program for players ages 8- 14. All its practices and games occur at Laguna Middle School between July and November. The program is very satisfied with this arrangement as long as it continues. However, in the past club soccer has signed up for these fields, thanks to the school district's first come, first served sign-up policy, and the Youth Sports Association had to resolve the scheduling conflict. Right now, the program's biggest need is a lack of bleachers at Laguna Middle School. This problem is not critical, but the bleachers would be nice to have. The school district is not receptive to putting in bleachers 13 zzg 4 iiACHMENT— and the program has been unsuccessful in interesting the Youth Sports Association in taking on this project. 2. Flag Football is an activity co -sponsored by the City's Parks and Recreation Department and the YMCA for players in the kindergarten through middle school group. The program uses one of the Damon - Garcia sports fields from September through November, two days a week in the late afternoon and evening. Because this program is City sponsored, it has priority scheduling over other programs using the fields at the same time of year. As a result, the only scheduling difficulties that occur are when the Damon -Garcia fields are closed after tournaments or because of rain. When teams cannot play at one of the Damon -Garcia fields, they use Emerson or Santa Rosa parks. If the program continues to grow, however, it will need more scheduled time at the Damon -Garcia fields, and that may cause problems for other users. Some inconvenience occurs at the Damon -Garcia fields because the program does not always know in advance which field is available for its use. Figure 10 below summarizes the highest priority need for each of the turf field users. SUMMARY OF TURF USER NEEDS OrganizationPlIR Soccer Ages No. of ayers Youth 1,250 Highest Need Severity More access to D-G fields for growth 5 Central Coast Soccer Adult 250 More access to D-G fields; condition of fields 6 Central Coast Worn n's SoccerAdult 150-180 More access to D-G fields 4-5 Coast Soccer Club Youth 40 No unmet needs n/a Flag Football Youth 200 Unexected field closures 4 More s we for future rowth; 4-5 Old Do s Soccer Academ Youth/ 50 More access to D-G fields 8 Adult Location for adult ick-up soccer g Premier Affiliated Soccer Or Adult 1,000 More field access for ames and tournaments If- SLO Ru b Adult 60 Permanent ractice location with li hts 3-4 SLO Ru b Football Club Adult/ 200 Permanent ractice location with li hts 9 Youth SLO Soccer Club Youth 200 More field access for ames and tournaments 7 SLO Womens Soccer Adult 140 Timel net set-u forgames 5-6 SLO Youth Football Youth 120-150 Lack of bleachers b field 6 SLO Youth Rugby outh 65 More access to D-G fields, es in winter and after rain 1p Figure 10 14 'TIACHiMENIT D. Summary of Softball Groups' Needs Generally speaking, the softball programs seem quite satisfied with the facilities available for their programs. While the various groups have improvements they would like to see made, their concerns are much less intense than those of the turf field sports groups and all of them appear content with their current situation. 1. The City of San Luis Obispo Parks and Recreation Department Men's and Co -Ed Softball Programs are adult programs that utilize the County's softball diamonds at El Chorro Regional Park and the City's softball diamond at Santa Rosa Park. The leagues play Monday through Friday evenings from mid -March until November. At this time, there are enough softball diamonds available to meet the needs of the program, and no players are being turned away, so scheduling fields is not an issue. However, there are a number of smaller concerns for the program. Probably the biggest issue at this time is that balls still go over the fence at the El Chorro diamond closest to Highway 1 and could potentially hit a car driving by. Rain affects the softball diamond at Santa Rosa Park, as the drainage in the outfield is poor and the field becomes unusable. In the spring, Cal Ripken baseball uses the diamond next to the softball field in the late afternoon. The two outfields are too close together for the softball diamond to be used at the same time, which prevents adult softball games from being scheduled before 7:00 p.m. As a result, two adult games cannot be scheduled back to back during the spring months. 2. The Girls Softball Association offers league play for girls between 4 and 16 years old. Teams practice at the Meadow Park, Pacific Beach School and Laguna Middle School diamonds between late February and mid -May or June (all-stars continues at Laguna Middle School until the end of June). Games are played at Laguna Middle School. Over the past years there have been drainage and other problems at the Laguna Middle School diamond, but the Youth Sports Association has continued to address them using funding from the City of San Luis Obispo. The biggest problem the program has had recently results from the school district allowing the SLO Soccer Club too much access to fields at Laguna Middle School, including the softball diamond. When that happened, girls softball took over the Cal Ripken fields for practice. When Cal Ripken complained, that program was given its fields back and girls softball moved back to its original fields. However, the club 15 Z 30 soccer team still practices on the upper field and encroaches toward the infield of the softball diamond. While the 6-8 year olds use the upper field during the regular season, when the all-star team practices on the softball diamond these older girls and better players are capable of hitting the ball into the soccer practice. With the girls softball program the size it is now, using its current field assignments is not a problem. But if the program grows in the future, additional softball fields will be needed. 3. Mission College Prep Girls Softball Team uses the softball diamond at Santa Rosa Park for practices Monday through Friday afternoons and games Saturday morning from February through May. The team is very happy with the diamond generally, except that when it rains the drainage is poor and the field cannot be used. Drainage problems also affect the baseball diamond at Santa Rosa Park, but not as badly since the field is higher and drains better. E. Summary of Baseball Groups' Needs Generally speaking, with the exception of the Central Coast Men's Baseball program, the various baseball groups using local playing fields and diamonds are satisfied with their current situations. The semi-professional teams would like to see some improvements made to the SLO Baseball Stadium, but do not consider those changes critical needs. They have also indicated a willingness to partner with the City to help make improvements happen. 1. T-BalUCoach Pitch Baseball is offered through the YMCA for players ages 4-1/2 to 8 years old. Practices and games are held from March through June at Bishop's Peak and Los Ranchos schools, and Islay Hill and Emerson parks. Currently, this program has no unmet facility needs. 2. San Luis Obispo High School Boys Baseball Team practices afternoons at Taylor Field and at Holt Field and plays afternoon games at the SLO Baseball Stadium from late February through May. Because the team gets first scheduling priority for the stadium games, and is using the school's own sports fields for practices, they have no particular needs that could be met by the City. The coach did not object to the idea of putting artificial turf onto the stadium field, but felt strongly that the dirt infield should be retained. He believes that doing so would likely prevent the stadium from being used as a regulation soccer field, unless teams were willing to play on the infield dirt. 3. The San Luis Obispo Blues Baseball Team is a men's semi -pro collegiate baseball team that uses the San Luis Obispo Baseball 16 2- 3/ a"°CHNI'ENT_ I 1 Stadium between the end of May and the middle of August for games 4-5 days a .week and on Sunday afternoons and evenings. While there were problems sharing the stadium with the Rattlers Baseball Team and the Central Coast Men's Baseball Program in the past, an agreement was reached last year that satisfies the Blues and the Rattlers. Currently, the only needs mentioned by the Blues related to more and quicker stadium access to work on projects in the stadium, bringing the concession stand up to health codes, some computer upgrades and rebuilding the press box. The Blues recognize that many of their concerns relate only to the two semi-professional teams using the stadium, and indicated a strong willingness to partner with the City to make the stadium a "premier ballpark in the western region." The Blues are thinking about creating a developmental baseball league for high school students, to feed into their program. If they do so, they will take it upon themselves to find a place for the program. The Blues would prefer the stadium's natural turf remain, rather than replacing it with synthetic turf. 4. San Luis Obispo Rattlers Baseball Team is also a semi- professional collegiate men's baseball team that uses the SLO Baseball stadium during the summer months. As indicated above, scheduling problems at the stadium between the Blues, Rattlers and Central Coast Men's Baseball have been settled to the satisfaction of the Blues and the Rattlers. The Rattlers feel that there are a number of physical improvements that they would like to see made to the SLO Baseball Stadium, and they would be willing to work with the City to make these improvements happen. Specifically, they would like to bring the barbecue and concession areas up to county health standards, improve the dugout stairway on the left side of the field and do some work on the backstop area. Of all these concerns, the inability for the team to use the concession and barbecue area is their biggest need. The Rattlers would not object to synthetic turf being placed in the stadium, as long as scheduling with turf field users does not conflict with the baseball programs. 5. Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Baseball is a combination of baseball programs servicing players ages 5-18. Depending on players' ages, games and practices are played at several elementary school fields, Throop, Islay and French parks, Taylor Field, Leguina Youth Baseball Field, Stockton Baseball Field and the SLO Baseball Stadium. Regular league play runs from March through June, with all-star competition continuing until August. All facilities are used Monday through Friday afternoon and evenings and Saturdays. 17 Z-32 t A,CHMENT- The biggest concern expressed by this program was scheduling conflicts that have arisen with turf sports, especially club soccer. For example, because the school district schedules its fields on a first come, first served basis, without consideration for the type of program, club soccer was given access to CL Smith School, tying up two baseball diamonds normally given to Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Baseball. The baseball program is also having to alternate days with soccer at Sinsheimer School and can only use Taylor Field two days per week because rugby is scheduled there, too. AYSO Soccer and other baseball programs have not created scheduling problems like club soccer has. Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth would very much like to see synthetic turf placed at Stockton Field, as it would provide flexibility for all types of sports to participate at the field and it could be used for tournaments. The program believes that synthetic turf at Stockton Field was part of the trade-off it would receive in exchange for the Damon -Garcia Fields all being dedicated to turf sports. However, the program's representative agreed that the natural turf at Stockton Field is in good shape and that it might make more sense to put synthetic turf down on another field, such as Daryl Damon Field. Doing so might create some political issues with Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth parents, though. 6. Central Coast Men's Baseball is a men's league for players ages 18 and up. It currently uses the SLO Baseball Stadium all day on Sundays between January and May, Monday through Sunday evenings and all day Saturday and Sunday in August through September. The league also uses the stadium on a limited basis from May to August, when it is not being used by other teams. While this schedule was worked out with the Blues and Rattlers through mediation, Central Coast Men's Baseball is still unhappy that they cannot use the stadium as much as they used to do. They are unable to play there as much as they would like in June and July or mid - September through April due to a combination of Blues and Rattlers play and winter field maintenance. As part of the mediation, the Blues and Rattlers paid the excess cost for Men's Baseball to use other facilities in the summer of 2007, but that subsidy has not continued. They would like to see a return to the scheduling status that existed prior to the Rattlers using the stadium. Central Coast Men's Baseball does not think that synthetic turf in either Stockton Field or SLO Stadium would help their scheduling needs. 7. The Hancock College Men's Baseball Program uses the SLO Stadium for an all -day Wednesday and Thursday baseball tournament during the Easter school break. The coach indicated that he has no W. Z 33 4TTN QENT problems with scheduling or the stadium; everything is great. The Program would have no problem with the City installing synthetic turf in the stadium, but it is not necessary for its use. 8. Cuesta College Baseball also uses the stadium only for a tournament one Friday and Saturday in February and is very satisfied with its use. The program may be interested using the stadium mid- week during baseball season for lighted evening games, but will address that interest at a future time. Synthetic turf would be fine for game play, but if such turf is installed, it should also cover the infield to avoid a dirt "lip" from being created. 9. Cal Poly Baseball uses the SLO Stadium and Sinsheimer batting cages for a youth baseball skills camp one week each month in June and July. The camp program is very low maintenance and does not use the mound or home plate. At this time, this program has no unmet facility needs. Figure 11 below summarizes the highest priority needs of the diamond users. SUMMARY OF DIAMOND USER NEEDS Ages :Organization. Cal P01 Baseball Cam Youth No. of - 60 No unmet needs N/A Cal Ri ken/Babe Ruth Baseball Youth 500 Conflicted scheduling with turfsports 8-9 ast Mens Baseball Adult 150 Access to SLO stadium in summer 10 lt Softball Adult 800 Makin EI Chorro fields safer; 5 OHancock Rain makes Santa Rosa field unusable le e Baseball Adult 250 No unmet needs N/A all Association Youth 110 Conflicted schedulingwith turfsports 4 olle e Baseball Adult No unmet needs N/A Mission Pre Girls Softball Youth Draina a at Santa Rosa softball field 7 SLO Blues Adult 30 Easier access to stadium for business ur oses 2 SLO High Varsity Baseball Youth No unmet needs N/A SLO Rattlers Adult 35 Inabilit to use concessions and BBQ area 4 T-ball, Coach/Pitch YMCA Youth 200 No unmet needs N/A Figure 11 ire z :37 RCHMENT VI. Strategies for Addressing Identified Field User Needs A. Potential New Public Agency or Private Partnerships As suggested in the discussions above, sports programs occurring in the City of San Luis Obispo are not confined just to parks and fields owned by the City itself. For many years the City and the San Luis Coastal Unified School District have operated within the terms of a joint use agreement that allows City Parks and Recreation Department programs to utilize certain school district fields and vice versa. A number of the sports organizations also schedule the use of other school district fields directly with the district. More recently, the City has developed another joint agreement with the County of San Luis Obispo, after the City paid to install lighting at the County's El Chorro softball fields. Additionally, as the number of sports groups and programs has grown over the years, and the availability of City and school district fields has become more impacted, organizations have turned to Cuesta College, the Laureate School and Talley Farms for new playing locations. In order to discover whether there were additional partnerships that could or should be developed between the City and outside organizations to meet growing field demand, the consultant met with administrators of these organizations, or other appropriate individuals, to discuss the possibilities. The following information summarizes those conversations. 1. San Luis Coastal Unified School District The consultant met with Russell Miller, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services for San Luis Coastal Unified School District, and also Brad Parker, the District's Director of Building, Grounds & Transportation, to discuss possible new partnerships beyond those existing in the current joint use agreement. Specifically, the consultant broached the possibility of the City installing synthetic turf at Taylor Field, San Luis Obispo High School's upper field, or financially assisting the volunteer group proposing to renovate the high school's football stadium, referred to as Holt Field. Mr. Miller made it very clear that the District has no interest in the installation of synthetic turf at any of its playing fields at this time. Due to its current financial situation, the District's only concern is to maintain its existing grass fields at a level adequate for athletics. Specifically, Mr. Miller pointed out that the volunteer Holt Field renovation project has not been sanctioned by the District at this time. While the proposed synthetic turf field, all-weather track and new bleachers would be a wonderful addition to the high school, the District has no funding to replace the synthetic turf after its estimated 10-12 year life, or to maintain the other new facilities that might be added as part of the project. Before any renovations could occur, the volunteer group would need to show that it could generate about $1,000 per week in income to create a field refreshment fund 20 2�35 iAUHMENT of $50,000 per year for ten years to replace the synthetic turf. Similarly, should the City consider putting synthetic turf down at Taylor Field, it would need to provide replacement funding, as well. Mr. Miller also indicated that the District is not motivated to replace natural turf at the high school, as it would not see any water cost savings from synthetic turf. The school's fields are currently watered from an on -site well that does not cost the District anything to use. In discussing scheduling problems that have occurred with District fields in the past, Mr. Miller stated a willingness to work with either the Youth Sports Association or directly with the City to schedule Laguna Middle School fields. He agreed that it was not productive to allow one sports program to tie up all the fields for the whole year just because its request came in first. However, he also said that the District wants to maintain control of its own fields. It particular, he is unwilling to see any adult sports scheduled for Holt Field because adult play brings with it issues such as alcohol use. He is willing to be somewhat more lenient about adults using Taylor Field, but his preference is still away from adult play. Taylor Field is used primarily as the District's Title 9 field for girls' sports, and that takes priority over any outside use. The outcome of this conversation is that the District is unlikely to be receptive to any new partnerships with the City that involve financial commitments from the District, including the installation of artificial turf or lights. However, it is willing to consider changes to the process of scheduling fields to make things work more smoothly and equitably. 1. RECOMMENDATION: At this point, no new partnerships with San Luis Coastal Unified School District are recommended. 2. Cuesta College Cuesta College owns four turf fields, one located within the track, and the other three adjacent to it. The fields are covered with hybrid Bermuda grass that was installed about thirty (30) years ago. The grass goes dormant in the winter, but is annually over -seeded with perennial rye for cosmetic purposes. There is a general consensus among those groups that have played on the fields that the quality of Cuesta's fields is the best in the San Luis Obispo area. There are two factors that lead to this high quality. The first is that the turf is very well established and maintained. The fields are closed for a month between mid -December and mid -January for recovery and as needed when it rains. They are also closed from June to mid -August when school is not in session. Fields are thatched every three to five years on a rotating basis. In the past, consultants have been used to check for soil compaction, etc., but at this point the fields are in such good shape that they are simply maintained by 21 I tACHMENT Cuesta College staff. After a two-day soccer tournament, staff tries to let the field rest for a bit, but there is no hard and fast rule for closures after tournaments. When Cuesta women's soccer starts in the fall, the direction of the playing fields are rotated to prevent wear spots from occurring. The second factor is that the amount of use allowed is carefully controlled. The fact that the fields are unlighted also reduces the amount of use they receive. The Cuesta women's soccer team practices on the fields Monday through Friday for about two hours from August to November and has games on about half the weekends during that time. Cuesta physical education soccer classes use the fields in the spring and fall four days a week for about 2-1/2 hours a day. In addition to these in-house uses, Cuesta allows the San Luis Soccer Club ("The Flames") occasionally to use the fields for an August tournament; the San Luis Obispo Blues and Rattlers baseball teams sometimes use the baseball stadium during the summer and fall; and the Madrid Soccer Club practices in the fall from 4-6 p.m. and plays a few Saturday games on the field. No rugby, football or pick-up games of any kind are allowed on the field. In speaking with Scott DeMello, who manages the fields for Cuesta's Physical Plant Department, Scott indicated that he was concerned about the increased number of requests that he is receiving from outside organizations wishing to use Cuesta's fields, especially in the fall and for weekend tournaments. As a result, Cuesta will be turning down all requests for use during the summer of 2008 and any other requests that conflict with Cuesta's own use. Mr. DeMello was not particularly supportive on the suggestion that the City might pay to install field lighting in exchange for being allowed use of the fields to meet some of its sports programming needs. It was clear that he has a high interest in limiting field use in order to maintain the quality of his fields. On the other hand, when the consultant spoke with Bob Mariucci, Cuesta's Athletic Director, he was quite receptive to the idea of a joint effort to light the field inside the track, as well as to the addition of bleachers for this field. From his standpoint as athletic director, lights would be helpful, but are not enough of a program priority for him to request them through Cuesta's budget process. In following -up further with Ed Maduli, Cuesta's Vice President of Administrative Services, Mr. Madulie indicated that he would be willing to discuss the possibility of the City lighting Cuesta's fields in exchange for a joint use agreement. Since most of the turf field users interviewed by the consultant were highly enthusiastic about the concept of lighting some or all of Cuesta's playing fields, this is a possibility that certainly needs additional exploration. 2. RECOMMENDATION. Meet with Ed Maduli, Vice President of Administrative Services to discuss the possibility of lighting the Cuesta College's baseball diamond and/or one or all of the turf fields. Cost of lighting the diamond is in the range of $500,000 - $700,000. Cost of 22 Z-37 " KHRIEtdT lighting the fields would depend on the number of fields lit and could cost about $100,000 for installation and $28,000 per fixture. 3. County of San Luis Obispo The County of San Luis Obispo and the City of San Luis Obispo currently have a joint use agreement relating to the softball fields located at El Chorro Regional Park. While the County owns the fields, the City paid to install the lighting, in exchange for the ability to use the fields for its recreational softball programs. The consultant talked to Pete Jenny, Deputy Director of General Services/Parks, about field use and any potential changes that need to be made. Mr. Jenny stated that he believes the agreement is generally working very well. However, he suggested that the two agencies would benefit from holding regularly scheduled quarterly meetings to discuss any problems that arise. Currently, County rangers resolve issues at the softball fields without much City input. Particularly with the continued development of the neighboring Botanical Gardens, Mr. Jenny feels that additional problems could start to arise, and regular meetings with the City would be helpful. Mr. Jenny also indicated that the County is not in a financial position to make any improvements to the softball fields at this time. If the City believes that a higher fence is needed along the highway edge of the fields, then the City would need to pay for the installation. Mr. Jenny also discussed possible joint uses with the City relating to Cuesta Park on the north end of town. The park is not a good location for baseball games, as baseballs are hit too hard and could become a safety issue. However, it could be used for girls' softball or Cal Ripken players under the age of 12. Recently, the County planted trees throughout the field area that could have been used for youth soccer. The trees were added to prevent Cal Poly from using the area for "sloshball" games in the winter when it rains. Even during the dryer times of the year, university students brought a lot of drinking to their pickup football and soccer games. Neither the City nor the County seemed to have the resources to properly patrol the area to prevent these problems, so the County planted the trees to change the area from a sports field to a casual play area. The County would be willing to entertain use of the park for City athletic programs, including removing the trees so the playing field could once again be used for turf sports. However, all costs for removing trees and improving the field surface, including the possible addition of synthetic turf, and field maintenance would have to be assumed by the City. Additionally, the issue 23 2,38 = UCNMENT of patrolling the field to prevent misuse, especially evenings and at night, would also become the City's responsibility. 3. RECOMMENDATION: Using Cuesta Park as a turf field is not a good idea at this time due to the cost of removing trees and difficulty of keeping Cal Poly students from abusing it. However, this is a possibility that could be considered in the future if the need for turf fields continues to grow. It would be a good idea to determine the actual measurements of this field for future consideration. 4. RECOMMENDATION: Set up quarterly joint use meetings with the County of San Luis Obispo relating to the softball fields at Rancho El Chorro Regional Park. 4. Mission School Mission High School has a field that has been newly turfed using a hybrid sports Bermuda grass. It is in its first year of use, and has not yet been overseeded because of the expense of doing so. A baseball infield has just been cut into the grass, and that will affect its use for football and soccer. Those sports will have to play over the infield cuts. The field is used for football, boys and girls soccer and boys baseball. It is also used a few periods a day for physical education classes. These programs basically tie up the field from 3:30pm — 6:OOpm during the school year, plus game times on weekends or evening. That use amounts to about 150 hours per month. The field will be closed from mid -June for about six weeks, opening again for football practice in mid -August. Brady Lock, Athletic Director at Mission School, is very concerned that the new field be used judiciously, since it must meet all of the school's needs for football, baseball and soccer. Therefore, while Mission is open to partnering with other schools or with the City, currently it would only like to make the field available on an overflow basis, rather than for regularly scheduled outside use. There is currently no Sunday play on the field, so that would be a good time for overflow use. Because the field is so new, Mr. Lock is waiting to see how much playing time it can actually tolerate. He is also open to the possibility of the City using the baseball diamond for its adult baseball program. Mr. Lock was not unreceptive to the idea of an outside partner paying to install synthetic turf. However, he indicated that Mission School has no such resources, especially since the new grass itself was installed by volunteer efforts. He agreed that synthetic turf would allow for additional use, and would be helpful because there would no longer be field closures due to rain or overuse. 24 z-V ACEMENT Right now, Mission School's biggest problem is a lack of practice space for its football and soccer teams. The girls' softball team practices and plays games at Santa Rosa Park and the baseball team is able to practice on Mission's own diamond, so these programs are in good shape. Last year, the turf sport teams practiced at Pacheco School's field, but it is in very poor shape. They have also used Emerson Park and Meadow Park. If synthetic turf were installed at a Damon -Garcia field, Mr. Lock would love to have access to it for football or soccer practice. In conclusion, due to the newness of its grass field, Mission School would likely only be amenable to making its turf area available for overflow play by outside soccer teams. However, it would consider allowing the City's men's baseball team to use its baseball diamond. 5. RECOMMENDATION: Pursue a joint use agreement with Mission School for use of its baseball diamond for Babe Ruth teams and for overflow use of the turf field when Damon -Garcia fields have unanticipated closures. 5. Laureate School The Laureate School, located off O'Connor Way, has two adjacent field areas. The soccer field is actually a leach field for the school, and the other is a completely undeveloped 5-acre area next to the soccer field. Although a sprinkler system is in place, the soccer field is currently not irrigated due to lack of water resources, and is in rough shape. The current field is not large enough for regulation soccer play, but could accommodate youth play. The fence at one end of the field could be moved into the open space area to enlarge the field. Lack of water is the main problem with improving the soccer field. Each time the field is irrigated, it requires three days for the on -site water tank to refill. There is more water available in the tank during the rainy season, but that is when irrigation is not needed. The school would like to become environmentally LEED certified, and is considering installing a gray water rain collection system that could be used to water the field in the future. The 5-acre field nearby is completely undeveloped. It has been used in the past by one of the adult rugby programs on an as -needed basis. The school envisions this site as a possible location for building a high school, but recognizes that there will be difficulties in doing so, and would be willing to have the field become a community sports venue if another location could be found for the high school. The field could accommodate a full-sized soccer field, a track and possibly a cross-country running trail. The consultant met with the Headmaster, Uwe Gemba, Assistant Head of School, Roz Reymers, and the Business Manager, Stephanie Conner, to 25 2-7V ,.I ACHMENT discuss a possible partnership with the City. All three individuals were highly enthusiastic about such a partnership if it could help solve the school's water problems. Currently, the school is located within the County and does not have access to the City's water system, although it is relatively close to existing City waterlines. It is part of a neighborhood groundwater system, and uses its full allotment of water for its operations. The on -site well used for irrigation is not potable, and cannot be used for other purposes. The school would be happy to consider some sort of exchange that would allow use of either or both of its fields in return for access to potable or reclaimed City water. If such a joint project were to go forward, the school officials had no strong feelings about whether it was used for adult or youth sports, or whether lights were installed. However, they recognize that neighborhood concerns would have to be addressed. Significant field improvements would be needed before the soccer field could be brought up to the standards of the Damon -Garcia fields, and the 5-acre parcel is completely undeveloped. The discussion with Laureate School staff did not cover who would pay for field improvements, and that issue could be a deterrent to any future plans. Even more critical is that fact that the City has a very strong policy about not providing water to properties outside the City limits. The consultant's discussion with retiring Utilities Director, John Moss, confirmed that the policy is still very much in place. Without the ability to offer the school water in exchange for field use, it may be difficult to reach any sort of agreement. 6. RECOMMENDATION: Do not pursue use of Laureate School fields at this time, due to the City's policy of not providing water outside City limits. However, should changes be made to this policy, or the property be annexed to the City, jointly developing the Laureate fields could be extremely beneficial to both the City and the school. 6. Cal Poly University Cal Poly University used to make some of its playing fields available to the City for various sports programs. However, as the demand by its own student club and intramural programs has increased over the years, it is no longer willing to do so. To meet this growing demand, the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) approved allocating funding to convert three fields to synthetic turf. The original estimate was that this conversion would be completed by September 2008, although there is now some concern about meeting this deadline. The consultant met with Larry Kelley, Vice President of Administration & Finance. He indicated that at this point, ASI is not sure how much pent up demand for the fields exists. Once the synthetic turf is installed, it will take about a year to determine whether or not there may be any available time for 26 " ACHM ENT outside use during the regular school year. For now, the fields will definitely be closed to outsiders between September and June. Mr. Kelley said that he was not "closing the door' to the possibility of other agencies being able to use the fields in the future during the school year, but he would not be in a position to do so at this time. However, he recognizes that the university needs to create some sort of sinking fund for synthetic turf replacement in 10-12 years. In order to provide income for such a fund, the university might be amenable to renting the fields to other agencies during the summer months starting next year. Right now, the City of San Luis Obispo's greatest need for additional turf fields is during the fall and winter, when Cal Poly is unwilling to provide outside use of its fields. However, as the university evaluates how well the synthetic fields meet its own needs over the next few years, it may reconsider availability to outside parties. Therefore, the City should continue to monitor this situation in the future. 7. RECOMMENDATION. Pursue further discussion with Cal Poly University about using their synthetic turf fields, after the fields have been in place long enough for the university to have a good sense of their own internal level of use. 7. Talley Farms Fields There are currently two private fields, Pennington Field and River Bottom Field, developed by Talley Farms for its employees to use for soccer or rugby. On an as -needed basis, the Talleys have allowed these fields to be used by other teams that have an affiliation with their employees. The consultant spoke with Todd Talley about the possibility of developing an agreement with the City to allow use of these fields for City sports programs. Mr. Talley was very sympathetic to the City's needs but indicated, that they must rein in the use of their fields because of County requirements for parking, etc. He is also concerned with being sensitive to the near -by residential area that is being developed. If the fields were to become available for use on a wider basis, they would require permitting from the County, and Talley Farms does not want to move in that direction. Allowing organized on -going play by groups such as AYSO soccer would "open a Pandora's box" for the Talleys. For that reason, as well as to maintain the quality of the fields, they must limit their use by the community. There does not appear to be any future possibility of the City partnering with Talley Farms for use of their fields. At this time, several of the rugby programs may continue to use them on a overflow basis, but that appears to be the extent of possibilities. 27 2'4z 4 iAD MENi B. Potential Development of New Athletic Fields As evident in the discussion of feedback received from user groups, the most consistent needs expressed were for additional playing time at the Damon -Garcia fields, and prevention of the turf sports, especially soccer from encroaching on the baseball and softball diamond fields. One possibility of meeting both these needs would be the addition of new or improved sports fields to the community. Accordingly, the consultant met with several volunteer organizations that are working to develop or remodel facilities, as well as with City staff to discuss proposed fields to be included in the Margarita and Orcutt expansion areas, the last developable areas under the City's current General Plan. 1. Chevron Fields (Tank Farm Road) Chevron Corporation has offered a group of volunteers, headed by Clayton U. Hall, 14-15 acres of land on the north side of Tank Farm Road as a potential location for three baseball diamonds and supporting facilities. The diamonds would be surfaced with grass initially, but eventually covered with synthetic turf. The complex would consist of one field for Babe Ruth games and two for Cal Ripken players. Since this property lies within the area of the old Unocal tank farm, Chevron has agreed to assume responsibility for whatever environmental remediation would be necessary to make the land usable. RRM Design Group is working on developing the field design and the Janssen Foundation has been heavily involved with the funding aspect of the project. Chevron Corporation is currently working on development plans for the whole tank farm area, and will be presenting proposals to the City Council in the near future. At that time, the proposed ball fields will be included in the presentation for conceptual approval. Following that step, Chevron Corporation will provide the volunteer group with a letter of intent to perform the necessary remediation and will give the group fee simple title to the property. Once the letter of intent is received, the group will have three years to complete the project. Chevron Corporation has made it clear, however, that it does not want any of its own development plans tied to the baseball diamond project. Funding for the work completed to date by RRM Design has come from the Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth programs. Once an actual timeline is developed, a special group dedicated to finding funding for the project would be created. The group believes that the diamonds would become a baseball destination for Central Valley teams that want to get away from the summer heat. Tournaments such as those sponsored by the Field of Dreams program could help off -set costs. 28 z-y3 ACHMENT This ambitious project would be a significant boon to local baseball programs, and would likely go a long way to relieving competition for existing baseball diamonds. However, there are many serious problems with the proposal that are likely to prevent its completion. In addition to the difficulty of raising the significant funding needed to build the complex, the property lies in an area that is covered by restrictions due to the airport's flight zone. At this point in time, the Airport Land Use Commission has not yet reviewed the proposal, and could very likely deny its development due to safety concerns. Several environmentally important wetland areas are also located on the property and the City's Natural Resources Manager, Neil Havlik, has indicated that he would oppose any construction on the sites, and other environmental regulatory agencies will likely do the same. All things being considered, this project, while exciting, has many hurdles in its path. Even assuming that it does receive the letter of intent from Chevron Corporation in the relatively near future, it would likely take the full three years allowed by the letter before any ball fields would be completed —and that assumes that the project can overcome the significant environmental and airport safety issues. 8. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to monitor the approval process for the Chevron Corporation property to determine the viability of the proposed baseball complex. Consider participating in the project at some future date only if it receives approval from all permitting agencies and other funding is assured. 2. Renovation of San Luis Obispo High School's Holt Field Holt Field is the football stadium, surrounded by a track, located at San Luis Obispo High School. The existing facilities are in very poor shape, and over the past decade various volunteer groups have stepped forward with proposals either for renovation or with plans to build a complete new complex in a different location. The consultant spoke with Steve Poquette, Rick May and several other members of the most recent group to discover their plans. This group hopes to use one of two approaches, remodeling or new construction, to create a facility that could seat 5,000 people, with a new concession stand, bathrooms meeting Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, increased parking, a synthetic turf playing field for soccer and football and an all-weather track. The group believes that such a resource would attract tournaments and possibly event USA track and field championships, bringing in funding for maintenance and eventual turf replacement. They envision that the completed complex would also become a community asset that could be used for other activities, not just sporting events. 29 -y4 %:T i ACH MENIT In addition to applying for non-profit profit status, the group is currently evaluating which direction is better —renovation or new construction. The answer will likely depend on costs, the ability to fundraise and approval by the school district. Current cost estimates run between $4 million and $11 million, with renovation at the lower end of the scale. If the renovation approach is chosen, the synthetic playing field and all-weather track would replace the existing field and track first, followed by a new stadium built around them and finally the addition of a new concession stand and ADA bathroom. Increased parking would also need to be addressed. The group's goal is to have something built within 2-4 years, with an outside completion date of 10 years. Unfortunately, there are a number of significant hurdles to be overcome before this project can become a reality. The most significant issue is that at this point the San Luis Coastal Unified School District board has not agreed to support the proposal, and District staff is decidedly unsupportive. As indicated earlier in this report, the District is unwilling to accept any donation of synthetic turf placement without a guaranteed source of funding for replacement at the end of its lifespan. Second, the project is very ambitious, and fundraising will not necessarily be easy. Third, even if a new facility is built, the District is very protective of the location as shown by its current prohibition of any outside use, especially outside adult use, at the site. It would remain to be seen exactly what kind of activities would be allowed, and whether or not the finished project would actually provide any increased field capacity for the community. 9. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to monitor the progress of the Holt Field project. Consider participation only if it receives approvals from the school district and the funding is in place to make it possible. 3. Margarita Expansion Area The Margarita Area has recently been annexed to the City of San Luis Obispo, and has a City Council approved Specific Plan that calls for residential development, including a neighborhood park. (See Appendix B for a schematic of the proposed park.) The Margarita Area is located off Broad Street at the southern end of the City, and the proposed park would be located about '/4 mile from the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields. According to Michael Codron, Associate Planner for the City of San Luis Obispo, actual development of the site still lies in the future, with likely build out occurring between 2012 and 2016. Currently, the park development shown in the plan is more programmatic than specific. However, the plan does anticipate a multi -use playing field, neighborhood park and playground area. Because the park site lies within an area with restrictions placed upon it by the Airport Land Use Commission, the multi -use field must remain unlighted, and may not be used in a way that would encourage large gatherings of people on a regular basis. As a result of these restrictions, the field would not be a candidate for Kit: 2-45 TAMWENT regularly scheduled turf sports practices, games or tournaments. Its best use would be as a site recommended by the City for pick-up games. 10. RECOMMENDATION: Consider including the multi -use field in the Margarita Area as a recommended site for pick-up turf sport games. 4. Orcutt Expansion Area The Orcutt Area is currently located in the unincorporated county, southeast of and adjacent to the City limits. Residential development would take up approximately half of the total area, with open space, recreation, mixed -use development and public facilities located on the other half. The neighborhood park component shown in the area's Specific Plan includes a centrally located park and a shared park/school playground facility. (See Appendix C.) While the design of the park is still schematic, it includes a youth soccer sized playing field and a ball diamond that would likely accommodate softball or Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth play, although the actual outfield may be a bit undersized for older Babe Ruth play. While it might be possible to require that the playing field be upgraded to the quality of a true sports field, it would not be of tournament size and the additional cost for construction would likely be a burden resisted by the developers and/or homeowners. Accordingly, the best use of this park area would likely be for turf sport practices, pick-up soccer games and softball and Cal Ripken programs. It should be noted that the Orcutt Area annexation is not likely to be finalized until January or February of 2009, and Michael Codron anticipates that it will probably 2012-2016 before enough infrastructure is in place to begin to develop the parkland. 11. RECOMMENDATION: Consider using the multi -use field in the Orcutt Area as a recommended site for pick-up turf sports games. Schedule softball and Cal Ripken games on the diamond upon its completion. 5. De Tolosa Development There is a drainage field in the De Tolosa Development on Madonna Road south of Los Osos Valley Road that is maintained by the homeowners association. However, because this area receives more rain than any other part of the City, it is unlikely that it would be usable as a playing field. 31' _T;rG!i JIEPIT _ C. Changes to Existing Scheduling Practices Many of the concerns expressed by the user groups interviewed related to scheduling problems that occur, especially when playing seasons for different sports overlap. As shown in Figures 7-9, the facilities with the greatest amount of use are the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields, the San Luis Obispo Baseball Stadium and the fields and softball diamond at Laguna Middle School. It is apparent that adding additional playing fields to the list of those currently available to sports groups will only happen far in the future. However, the consultant believes that many of the users' complaints could be resolved though improvements to the scheduling process, including better coordination with the school district. Accordingly, the following recommendations are offered. 12. RECOMMENDATION: Rigorously apply the City's current policies on field sign-up priorities and make sure the policies are distributed to and understood by all field users. The City currently has a policy for field scheduling that applies to the Damon - Garcia Sports Facility and gives the following priority: a. Parks and Recreation Department activities, youth and adult programs b. Special league play, tournaments or special events by a group based within the City limits of San Luis Obispo, with youth having precedent over adult activities c. Public recreation use based on field availability, with youth having precedent over adult activities, and residents having priority over non-residents. The scheduling policy for Stockton Field provides for the following priorities: a. Parks & Recreation Department Use 1) Regular league and playoff games 2) Practice (except that revenue generating events take priority) b. Special games and tournaments (revenue generating) 1) Parks & Recreation Department sponsored 2) School District sponsored 3) Youth group sponsored 4) Other groups sponsored c. Regular season games and playoffs first, then practices 1) School District sponsored 2) Youth Groups sponsored 3) Other groups sponsored d. Public recreation use 32 a-y7 AEACHMENr Scheduling policy for the San Luis Obispo Baseball Stadium establishes the following priorities: a. Special games and tournaments 1) Youth groups sponsored (Babe Ruth is first priority) 2) School District sponsored 3) Parks & Recreation Department sponsored 4) All other groups sponsored b. Regular games and playoffs 1) Youth group regular season and league playoffs, excluding practices (Babe Ruth is first priority.) 2) School District regular season, excluding practices 3) Parks & Recreation Department use, excluding practices 4) Other groups, excluding practices. c. Practices are not allowed at the stadium 13. RECOMMENDATION: Include staff from San Luis Coastal Unified School District in a joint semi-annual scheduling process that eliminates the District's practice of scheduling fields on a first come, first served basis. 14. RECOMMENDATION: Hold semi-annual scheduling meetings in the evenings when working adults are better able to attend them. Be sure that all users know the time and date of the meetings, as well as what information needs to be provided in requests and when it should be provided. 15. RECOMMENDATION: Work with the school district to develop a policy that provides for sports playing within their traditional annual seasons to have priority over others, e.g. baseball or softball would have priority over soccer in the spring. Do not allow one program to reserve fields for a full year at a time. Do not allow turf sports to use baseball/softball diamonds unless they are not needed by traditional users. It should be noted that soccer could practice in the outfield of Stockton field at certain times of the year. 16. RECOMMENDATION: Parks and Recreation Staff should work more closely with Public Works staff to insure better coordination on field - closures for maintenance and rain, and to assure that appropriate standards of wear are being considered for each field that is scheduled. In the recent past, there has been poor communication and coordination between Parks and Recreation staff and Public works staff on scheduling and maintenance of fields. Recent steps have been taken to assure that this 9191 Z- 70 iTA,,CHMEN? problem is addressed. It is important that staff continue to improve the relationship of the two departments relating to these issues. A jointly developed policy on field use should be created that includes industry wear standards for each sport and establishes an appropriate level of field quality, i.e., should all fields be kept at "A" quality or would a lower level be acceptable if it allows more use. This policy should also formalize the current agreement of limiting the use of any turf field to no more than 40 hours per week. 17. RECOMMENDATION: Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff should work together to establish a rain closure hotline that provides up-to-date field closure information to users. 18. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to reserve the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields for athletic games and tournaments only, excluding practices and pick-up games. Additionally, exclude all non -sport events such as festivals or shows. While it is possible to schedule non -sports events on the fields without causing scheduling conflicts, these events create more foot traffic on already overused fields. There are other locations within City facilities that can be used for these events while reserving the Damon -Garcia fields for their best and highest use. 19. RECOMMENDATION: Work with San Luis Coastal School District to assure availability of Taylor Field to adult rugby. Currently, the school district allows adult rugby to be played at Taylor Field, and that is very satisfactory to the program. However, this is a change from past district policy, and should the district change its mind, the rugby program would be left without a viable location to practice. 20. RECOMMENDATION: Work with the County of San Luis Obispo to create one -stop scheduling of the El Chorro softball fields and payment for use of the lights. 21. RECOMMENDATION: Determine those fields that are appropriate for pick-up play and assign their use on a rotating basis, either by month or day of the week. Post that information at the fields and make it available to users in other ways as well, perhaps through a recorded hotline message. 22. RECOMMENDATION: Consider requiring soccer teams using the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields to provide and set up their own goal cages. 34 2-0 Several of the adult soccer teams that use the Damon -Garcia fields complained that the equipment room was not opened in a timely way by City staff, so they were unable to set up nets. However, City staff indicates that often what occurs is that the teams show up earlier than the time requested for staff to arrive, and then call to have someone open the equipment room. Since the teams pay up front for City staff time, it is inappropriate for staff to arrive earlier than the agreed upon time. This problem could be remedied by requiring teams to provide their own nets —an approach used by other cities. D. Other Recommendations There were several other concerns that were expressed by the various user groups that cannot be addressed by new partnerships or improvements to the scheduling process. However, the following recommendations should enable the City to address most of those concerns. 23. RECOMMENDATION: Develop a collaborative approach with the San Luis Obispo Blues and Rattlers to fund the following improvements to the stadium: • Rebuild the press box • Bring the concession stand and barbecue area up to health codes • Improve the dugout stairs on the left side of the stadium field • Improve the backstop area of the stadium • Provide on -site internet connection 24. RECOMMENDATION: Consider methods to address the drainage problems at the Santa Rosa softball field by using French drains or other drainage approaches similar to those being implemented at Laguna Middle School. Estimated cost is $250,000. 25. RECOMMENDATION: Investigate the possibility of creating a turf sports practice field to replace the linear park that currently runs along the fence line behind the backstop at Meadow Park. This recommendation comes with the understanding that there could be significant problems in developing this area into a viable sports field. There may not be enough width to the area. The softball diamond backstop would likely have to be moved, which may shorten that field to an unacceptable size. A number of large Monterey pines would need to be removed. And the neighbors may object to the area being used as a playing field. On the other hand, it is property already owned by the City, and if a playing field were possible in the available space, it would help to alleviate the need for additional turf sports practice fields or places for pick-up games to occur. 35 2-50 "TACHMENT i 26. RECOMMENDATION: Advise the SLO Youth Football program to present the need for portable bleachers to the Joint Use Committee for possible financial assistance from a facility use grant. VII. Evaluation of Damon -Garcia Sports Fields Use When the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields were opened, they fulfilled a long-awaited demand for quality turf sports playing fields in the City of San Luis Obispo. Even though they were initially intended only for actual games and tournaments, the level of use for these purposes was extremely high in the first year. The fields were also used for scrimmages, pick-up games and for other non -sports activities such as dog shows and movie nights. This high level of utilization was coupled with difficulties arising from the manner in which the fields were seeded, complications arising from the use of reclaimed water and a learning curve for City staff relating to the maintenance of high quality sports fields, rather than City parkland. The end result of these factors was that the condition of the fields deteriorated badly in the first year. Field B and most of Field A were seriously damaged before play on them was halted. The original design for the turf called for a mix of annual rye grass and hybrid Bermuda grass to be seeded. The intent was that the rye grass would germinate first in the spring to provide a quick coverage, with the Bermuda grass competing it out as it germinated in the warmer summer weather. Unfortunately, the rye grass did not die back, and the Bermuda grass did not take over. The rye grass shaded the Bermuda grass out, and the temperature in San Luis Obispo is not really as warm as it should be for successful Bermuda grass growth. It is also more difficult for grass to germinate on a sand base like that at the Damon -Garcia fields, and with only one year from planting available before play on the fields began, the grass was not as well -established as it might otherwise have been. Additionally, rye grass does not have the same spreading root structure as Bermuda grass, and is easily pulled up in clumps during play. In order to save what was left of Fields A and B, they were taken out of service in 2007, causing Parks and Recreation staff to freeze all scheduling at its existing level. No new activities or teams were allowed on the fields. Pick-up play was eliminated completely. With Cal Poly no longer allowing outside use of its fields, and with the number of available Damon -Garcia fields cut in half, the user groups became unhappy and frustrated. That frustration is reflected in the needs assessment, where lack of access to the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields is listed as the highest need by 7 out of the 13 programs that use turf fields. The best way to fix the Damon -Garcia field turf has become somewhat of a conflict between the Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments, and some of the sports teams, themselves. The Parks and Recreation Department feels that the present turf should be removed and replaced with a hybrid Bermuda grass that is tCi ,,ACHMENT designed for San Luis Obispo's temperate climate. This approach would cost about $75,000 for seeding and $300,000 to $400,000 for sodding the fields, and would require taking the fields out of service until the replacement grass is strong enough to withstand play. The Public Works Department, with the help of Michael Kline, a consultant from the Wilbur Ellis Company, has developed a rehabilitation plan that involves working to make the existing grass as strong as it can be by application of fertilizers and other products. (See Appendix D.) It is difficult to say which of the two approaches is the best, but agreement between the departments was reached that the rehabilitation approach would be employed first. At this time, the grass is growing very quickly, and Fields A and B were just reopened for use, allowing the Parks and Recreation Department to meet all scheduling requests for the next six months. It remains to be seen how well the fields will hold up through the busy fall soccer season. By the end of the year, the field conditions will be evaluated and a decision will be made as to whether or not the rehabilitation has been successful. If not, the two departments will need to determine the next steps to be taken. At that time, serious consideration should be given to replacing the grass on Daryl Damon Field with synthetic turf, rather than a different type of grass, assuming that sufficient funding is available. VI11. Best Practices for Damon -Garcia Fields The consultant appreciates the fact that the Public Works Department is currently working with Michael Kline from Wilbur -Ellis Company on improving the Damon - Garcia turf, and agrees that it is important at this time to continue forward on the management plan he has proposed. However, the consultant also spoke with several other agencies about the practices they use to assure the best possible condition of their natural turf fields. Based on these conversations, it appears that there may be some further steps that could be taken by the City to assist with the current rehabilitation program. The first step is to recognize that there must be a limit placed on the amount of time the fields can be used. While there is no magic number as to what this limit should be, there seems to be a generally accepted belief that cool season grass fields with sand based profiles can tolerate approximately 360 to 390 hours of factored field use per year; cool season grass fields with native soils can tolerate approximately 425 hours; and warm season grass fields grown in a moderate climate such as Northern California and supported with reinforced sand profiles may tolerate up to 500 hours of use. (City of San Carlos field study report prepared by Mark M. Mahady & Associates, Inc.) The Damon -Garcia fields are sand based. Factored use is an important concept in determining the amount of use allowed on a field. As indicated in Appendix E, some sports are more damaging to a field than others. With walking or standing having a basic factor of 1, a football team practice would have a factor of 3.25. The highest damage, at 4 comes with activity on the field during or after rain. 37 'iTACHMENT I_ —.— Based on totals provided by Parks and Recreation Department staff, the unfactored total use average on each Damon -Garcia field in 2006 and 2007 was about 865 hours. This number is significantly over the limit of 390 hours recommended for grass fields of the Damon -Garcia type, and if these average hours were factored by the type of sports use, it is likely that the number would be higher. Turf professionals go so far as to say that after 680-816 hours of annual play, natural turf becomes unplayable. After considering the information in the City of San Carlos report provided to them by this consultant, Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff agreed to address the issue of overuse during the most recent scheduling process by limiting field use on each of the Damon -Garcia fields to no more than 40 hours total per week during playing seasons. This is a reduction from the average of 54 hours per week during playing seasons allowed in the past. As indicated in Recommendation 16 above, Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff should continue to work together to refine scheduling on the Damon -Garcia fields. The current 40-hour limitation should be evaluated for its effectiveness, and weighting factors should be applied to the various sports activities. One of the areas of complaint heard from the user groups was a City policy that automatically closed down any Damon -Garcia fields used for tournaments for the following five days. This approach was used to allow the fields to rest after heavy use. By instituting the 40-hour weekly field use limitation, the automatic five-day closure rule has been lifted, since the longer tournament use has now been included in the 40-hour limit. Another area of change that should be considered by Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff is moving the annual field maintenance closures for Damon - Garcia fields to a later time in the year. Currently, fields are closed beginning in December. On a rotating basis, one field is down every two months from December to June for maintenance, with the exception of all fields being opened briefly for a February soccer tournament. By reassessing user needs, it may be possible to find a better window for maintenance in the spring or early summer. This change would have the advantage of allowing the grass to recuperate during the warmer summer weather when it grows better. The Public Works Department has indicated that it would actually prefer a March start to field maintenance. 27. RECOMMENDATION: Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff should assess the possibility of closing the Damon -Garcia fields for maintenance starting in March of each year, rather than in December. Many agencies also move the alignment of their playing fields to prevent wear patterns such as those occurring in front of the goals or along the sidelines where referees run. Such wear patterns are most significant on Damon -Garcia Fields A-C. The original intent was that the playing surfaces on these fields could be shifted annually. Unfortunately, because of their current configuration, realignment is not 38 2-53 `:TTAMNIENT possible. Two internal light poles were added to the fields to improve a flaw in the lighting coverage. However, these poles, and one in particular, do not allow changing of the playing fields. 28. RECOMMENDATION. City staff should assess the possibility of moving at least one of the internal light poles to allow for greater field alignment flexibility. Such a move would necessitate finding alternative solutions to providing adequate lighting and would cost in the range of $20,000 to move the light. Additional costs could be required depending on whether alternative lighting sources are required. Finally, at some point the City may want to consider installing synthetic turf on Daryl Damon field, which could almost double its usability. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Fields A-C must act as drainage fields in case of potential flooding, synthetic turf would not be an option at these locations. However, as discussed in the following section, making the decision to install synthetic turf at any location is complicated, and is not recommended for Daryl Damon field at this time. Vill. The Pros and Cons of Installing Synthetic Turf Although the concept of replacing turf at Stockton Field, a baseball diamond located in Sinheimer Park, with synthetic turf was endorsed by the City Council in 2005, it is important to reconsider the pros and cons of such turf before making a recommendation as to whether this approach is still the best way to meet users' needs. A. Why Synthetic Turf? Synthetic turf has come a long way from the days of the Astroturf we still find used in doormats. Problems with Astroturf, such as increased injuries, have given rise to a new generation of synthetic turf systems that replicate the look and playability of natural grass, but allow for significantly more playing time. An NCAA study comparing injury rates during the 2003-2004 academic year showed that the injury rate during practice was 4.4% on natural turf and 3.5% on the new synthetic turf. However, the main reasons that many cities and school districts are turning to synthetic turf in significant numbers relate to cost savings and increased field use. Manufacturers of synthetic turf tout the following advantages over regular grass. • All weather availability - synthetic turf can be used within hours of installation, in all types of weather. No significant downtime is required in case of rain, drought or other climate conditions. • Increased playing hours - In most climates, synthetic turf fields can be used for 3,000 hours or approximately 58 hours per week over a four -season year with no damage to the turf. 39 ,2,5 ',1 TACHMENT • Reduced maintenance - Synthetic turf maintenance costs can be two to three times less than natural turf. No mowing, irrigation or chemicals are required. • Excellent playability— Synthetic turf does not inhibit or deflect the bounce or roll of balls. Traction, rotation and slip resistance, surface abrasion and stability meet the rigorous requirement of most sports leagues and federations. • Environmental friendliness — Using synthetic turf eliminates the need for water, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. The infill of used auto tire rubber recycles 25 million auto tires per year that would otherwise end up in landfills. B. Disadvantages of Synthetic Turf While there is general agreement that synthetic turf will continue to be very popular, issues are starting to be raised in the literature that should be considered before any decision is made to change out grass fields. Many of these concerns were also reflected in a conversation with Reese Thompson, Director of Facilities at Santa Maria School District, where synthetic turf fields have been installed over the past few years at its three high schools. • Installation is costly — Estimates for installation of a synthetic turf fields can be as much as two and one-half to three times more expensive to install than grass. • Elevated heat — Synthetic turf fields can be up to 60-degrees hotter than grass fields, depending on the climate, resulting in a need to provide some • sort of watering or misting system to reduce the heat during summer play. Further, studies have shown that such heat reduction is only temporary. • Potentially toxic content— Synthetic turf, such as FieldTurf, is made of a blended polyethylene -polypropylene material woven to simulate blades of grass. The "grass" is held upright and given some cushioning by adding a layer of infill made of recycled tire crumbs. Testing is still being done to determine whether or not these materials are potentially toxic to players. Senator Abel Maldonado has introduced SB 1277 in the California State Senate requiring the State Department of Public Health to prepare a study by 2010 on the effects of synthetic turf and natural turf on the environment and public health. (See Appendix F.) • Sanitation challenges — Because synthetic turf is a non -absorbent surface, there are infection concerns about blood, sweat or other bodily fluids on the carpet. Proper maintenance of synthetic turf requires that the fields be sanitized to remove these fluids, as well as animal droppings. Some synthetic turf owners disinfect their fields as often as twice a month, depending on use. • Fields are not maintenance free — In addition to concerns about sanitation, fields need to be washed down periodically to remove dust, and other foreign particles such as sunflower seeds. If a sprinkler system is not it place, hosing down the fields can take significant staff time. Gum .m 2-65 must be removed manually. Fields should be "fluffed" monthly, and in agricultural areas, fields need to be swept weekly to remove dust, • Fields must be replaced in 10 to 12 years — Manufacturers are promising a lifespan for synthetic turf of 10 to 12 years. However, this generation of artificial turf has not been around long enough to know if this promise will be met. Manufacturers tend to discount their warranties considerably after about 6 years, which is disturbing. Questions also arise as to what will be involved in properly disposing of the old synthetic turf after its useful life. Disposal costs could range between $40,000-$50,000, according to one manufacturer. C. Cost Comparison of Natural vs. Synthetic Turf It is difficult to develop an exact cost comparison between synthetic and natural turf without looking a specific project. However, using estimates provided by several cities, synthetic turf manufacturers and the Turfgrass Resource Center, the following ranges of costs can be provided for a typical unlighted, full-size soccer/multi-purpose field of approximately 80,000 square feet. New Construction on unimproved ground $262-300,000 $625-860,000 Conversion from existing turf field N/A $400-600,000 Initial maintenance/equipment start-up costs $80-150,600 $24-125,000 On -going annual maintenance/utility costs $25-40,000 $8-29,000 Lifespan before replacement N/A 10-12 yrs. Replacement Cost N/A $180-340,000 Figure 12 D. Synthetic Turf and the City of San Luis Obispo Although the City Council conceptually approved the installation of synthetic turf at Stockton Field in 2005, it wisely questioned the appropriateness of that decision based on the current estimated installation cost in the proposed capital improvement project of $950,000 and the City's present financial situation. While there is no question that installation of synthetic turf at one or more of the City's sports fields would make additional playing time available for field users, there are many cost-free or low-cost recommendations that have been made in this report that should be implemented before any further consideration is given to installing synthetic turf. Further, given the fact that turf rehabilitation is still in progress at the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields, it is difficult to fully determine what the optimal availability of the fields will be. Finally, given the questions still remaining as to the lifespan of synthetic turf fields, the health concerns for players and the environmental factors and cost of replacement, waiting to install synthetic turf on City of San Luis Obispo fields is an excellent idea. However, should the current rehabilitation plan at the Damon -Garcia fields prove to be ineffective, replacing the grass on Daryl Damon field with synthetic turf, rather than a hybrid Bermuda grass, should be seriously considered. 41 ,2-5& 4TTACHMENT 29. RECOMMENDATION. Do not install synthetic turf at any City playing fields at this time. However, if the current rehabilitation plan at Damon -Garcia Fields fails and if funding becomes available, the City should first consider installing synthetic turf at Daryl Damon Field, rather than at any of the baseball diamonds. Clearly the most consistent need expressed by the current users of playing fields in and near the City of San Luis Obispo was for more access to the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields for sports such as soccer. With the potential introduction of lacrosse at some point in the future, these fields could become even more impacted. The need expressed was for game and tournament locations, not for more practice fields. While it might be possible to incorporate a full-sized soccer field into the outfields of the SLO Baseball Stadium or Stockton Field, doing so would be expensive, would not necessarily be in the best interest of the diamond sports, and would only be available for turf sport use during non -baseball seasons. Optimally, installing synthetic turf on one of the lower Damon -Garcia fields would be the best choice. However, given that these fields must remain able to act as drainage basins, Daryl Damon is the recommended field for any future synthetic turf. Synthetic turf could allow for about 50% more playing time on the field, as well as opening the possibility of its use by more damaging sports such as football or rugby. IX. Conclusion After meeting with both turf and diamond sports field users of city and neighboring fields, exploring new partnership possibilities with other agencies, examining best practices that would help improve the natural turf at the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields and considering the pros and cons of artificial turf, the following set of prioritized recommendations are made to the City of San Luis Obispo. A. Highest Priority Recommendations, to be Implemented as Soon as Possible 4. RECOMMENDATION: Set up quarterly joint use meetings with the County of San Luis Obispo relating to the softball fields at Rancho El Chorro Regional Park. 5. RECOMMENDATION: Pursue a joint use agreement with Mission School for use of its baseball diamond for Babe Ruth teams and for overflow use of the turf field when Damon -Garcia fields have unanticipated closures. 12. RECOMMENDATION: Rigorously apply the City's current policies on field sign-up priorities and make sure the policies are distributed to and understood by all field users. 42 cJ�7 Z� j HMENT 13. RECOMMENDATION: Include staff from San Luis Coastal Unified School District in a joint semi-annual scheduling process that eliminates the District's practice of scheduling fields on a first come, first served basis. 14. RECOMMENDATION: Hold semi-annual scheduling meetings in the evenings when working adults are better able to attend them. Be sure that all users know the time and date of the meetings, as well as what information needs to be provided in requests and when it should be provided. 15. RECOMMENDATION: Work with the school district to develop a policy that provides for sports playing within their traditional annual seasons to have priority over others, e.g. baseball or softball would have priority over soccer in the spring. Do not allow one program to reserve fields for a full year at a time. Do not allow turf sports to use baseball/softball diamonds unless they are not needed by traditional users. 16. RECOMMENDATION: Parks and Recreation Staff should work more closely with Public Works staff to insure better coordination on field - closures for maintenance and rain and to assure that appropriate standards of wear are being used for each field that is scheduled. 17. RECOMMENDATION: Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff should work together to establish a rain closure hotline that provides up-to-date field closure information to users. 18. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to reserve the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields for athletic games and tournaments only, excluding practices and pick-up games. Additionally, exclude all non -sport events such as festivals or shows. 19. RECOMMENDATION: Work with San Luis Coastal School District to assure availability of Taylor field to adult rugby. 20. RECOMMENDATION: Work with the County of San Luis Obispo to create one -stop scheduling of the El Chorro softball fields and payment for use of the lights 21. RECOMMENDATION: Determine those fields that are appropriate for pick-up play and assign their use on a rotating basis, either by month or day of the week. Post that information at the fields and make it available to users in other ways as well, perhaps through a recorded hotline message. C63 2-60 ACHMENT 22. RECOMMENDATION: Consider requiring soccer teams using the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields to provide and set up their own goal cages. 23. RECOMMENDATION: Develop a collaborative approach with the San Luis Obispo Blues and Rattlers to fund the following improvements to the stadium: • Rebuild the press box • Bring the concession stand and barbecue area up to health codes • Improve the dugout stairs on the left side of the stadium field • Improve the backstop area of the stadium • Provide on -site internet connection 26. RECOMMENDATION: Advise the SLO Youth Football program to present the need for portable bleachers to the Joint Use Committee for possible financial assistance from a facility use grant. 27. RECOMMENDATION: Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff should assess the possibility of closing the Damon -Garcia fields for maintenance starting in March of each year, rather than in December. B. Lower Priority Recommendations for Future Consideration 2. RECOMMENDATION: Meet with Ed Maduli, Vice President of Administrative Services to discuss the possibility of lighting the Cuesta College's baseball diamond and/or one or all of the turf fields. Cost of lighting the diamond is in the range of $500,000 - $700,000. Cost of lighting the fields would depend on the number of fields lit and could cost about $100,000 for installation and $28,000 per fixture. 7. RECOMMENDATION: Pursue further discussion with Cal Poly University about using their synthetic turf fields after the fields have been in place long enough for the university to have a good sense of their own internal level of use. 8. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to monitor the approval process for the Chevron Corporation property to determine the viability of the proposed baseball complex. Consider participating in the project at some future date only if it receives approval from all permitting agencies and other funding is assured. 9. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to monitor the progress of the Holt Field project. Consider participation only if it receives approvals from the school district and the funding is in place to make it possible. 44 2'S`7 10. RECOMMENDATION: Consider including the multi -use field in the Margarita Area as a recommended site for pick-up turf sport games. 11. RECOMMENDATION: Consider using the multi -use field in the Orcutt Area as a recommended site for pick-up turf sports games. Schedule softball and Cal Ripken games on the diamond upon its completion. 24. RECOMMENDATION: Consider methods to address the drainage problems at the Santa Rosa softball field by using French drains or other drainage approaches similar to those being implemented at Laguna Middle School. Estimated cost is $250,000. 25. RECOMMENDATION: Investigate the possibility of creating a turf sports practice field to replace the linear park that currently runs along the fence line behind the backstop at Meadow Park. 28. RECOMMENDATION: City staff should assess the possibility of moving at least one of the internal light poles to allow for greater field alignment flexibility. Such a move would necessitate finding alternative solutions to providing adequate lighting and would cost in the range of $20,000 to move the light. Additional costs could be required depending on whether alternative lighting sources are required. C. Actions Not Recommended at This Time 1. RECOMMENDATION: At this point, no new partnerships with San Luis Coastal Unified School District are recommended. 3. RECOMMENDATION: Using Cuesta Park as a turf field is not a good idea at this time due to the cost of removing trees and difficulty of keeping Cal Poly students from abusing it. However, this is a possibility that could be considered in the future if the need for turf fields continues to grow. It would be a good idea to determine the actual measurements of this field for future consideration. 6. RECOMMENDATION: Do not pursue use of Laureate School fields at this time, due to the City's policy of not providing water outside City limits. However, should changes be made to this policy, or the property be annexed to the City, jointly developing the Laureate fields could be extremely beneficial to both the City and the school. 29. RECOMMENDATION: Do not install synthetic turf at any City playing fields at this time. However, if the current rehabilitation plan for Damon - Garcia fails, and if funding becomes available at some point, the City should first consider installing synthetic turf at Daryl Damon Field, rather than at any of the baseball diamonds. 45 ,2'&0 Appendix A I' 7ACHrJENr Outdoor Facility Users Questionnaire 1. Name of organization: a. Type of sport or activity: b. Contact person: c. Mailing address: d. E-mail address: e. Phone Number: 2. How many members in your organization? 3. Which facilities within the City of San Luis Obispo does your organization use, including City parks, school fields and private areas: - Damon Garcia Sports Fields _Leguina Youth Baseball Field _Stockton Baseball Field _Throop Field _Islay Hill Park _Bishop Peak Elementary School _Hawthorne Elementary School _CL Smith Elementary School _SLO Senior High (Holt Field) _Pacific Beach High School _Laureate School Other: 4. When do you use the facility(ies)? Facility _Santa Rosa Softball Field _Meadow Part Softball Field _SLO Baseball Stadium _French Park _Emerson Park _Silveira Field (Old Pacheco) _Sinsheimer Elementary School _Taylor Field _Laguna Middle School softball fields _Laguna Middle School football field _Mission High School Month(s) Day(s) Time(s) 241 ATTACHMENT What are your organizations unmet facility needs? 6. What is your organization's highest priority need? 7. How severe is this need on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most severe? 8. Do you have any creative ideas on how to meet this need? 9. Other thoughts? 47 Appendix B N Y N a v c m m U (6 Q Q) C N CL C (6 d U J N L Q ?TiACHMENT Eu. -& 3 ':TTAC I MENT Appendix C DRAFTORCUTPAREA SMIFIC PLAN 2Conservatton, Open Space and Resmoon FfGURE 2,5 NEIGHBORHOOD PARK PLAN December 2007 49 City of Soya Luis Obispo AopcErtr mlix February 22, 2008 PURPOSE: How and why the project came to be. Since its opening, the Damon Garcia Sports Fields have been fulfilling a long awaited demand for quality playing fields within the City. There has been a high volume of requests for events, games and tournaments which have not been able to be accommodated, and an ongoing need to provide quality maintenance and care so that the fields do not suffer from overuse. Recently, the fields have shown signs of significant wear that has been attributed a combination of overuse and the type of grass installed. There is a need to create a management plan for the facility to govern its use and care into the future. OBJECTIVES AND DELIVERABLES: Specific outcomes from the project Creation of a Damon Garcia Sports Fields Management Plan that balances optimum play opportunities with a high quality field surface. The plan should address issues such as: Programming — how often should the fields be open, what events and turf activities should be allowed. Maintenance — What type of grass is needed for the turf activities, how often the fields need to be closed for maintenance and renovation? Operating Guidelines — How should the City staff the fields during use, which Department should be on site, during what hours to ensure the users needs are addressed. Security — What security is needed to keep the fields from being overused, what physical improvements are needed to keep non -permitted uses from the fields. Future Needs — What needs to be planned and budgeted for in the future? Major turf replacement, artificial turf, more parking, staff needs, etc. Education of the various sports groups that will be using the fields in understanding the reasons for a management plan and the importance of compliance with its requirements. BACKGROUND For many years, there has been much public testimony concerning the need for additional sports fields in the City. The City Council adopted, as a Major Council Goal, the creation of additional youth sports fields in June 1997. The 1997-99 Financial Plan reflected this goal and included a $3,000,000 project entitled "Youth Athletic Fields" (the budget was later increased by $391,000). This project was to include the City as a partner with Cal Poly in the construction of Athletic Fields on the Cal Poly campus, and would provide City Park and Recreation Department's sports leagues access to Cal Poly's sports fields. The terms of this proposed agreement with Cal Poly could not be worked out, and the City did not enter into an agreement with Cal Poly for the shared use of their sports fields. The City Council then directed staff to pursue the development of a City -owned facility to be used by sports leagues. Following that directive, in 1999 the City purchased two adjacent properties on the west side of Broad Street north of Industrial Way, specifically for the development of this needed sports field facility. Between 1999 and early 2002, the project took shape in conceptual planning and by significant review from City advisory bodies. Consensus was reached with various community sports groups on not only the layout but also the format of use. The fields would be used for turf sport activities, while diamond sports will occur elsewhere 50 ��/ �,.nacitr�r— t Damon Garcia Sports Fields Project Plan Page 2 in the City. With a final layout in hand, City staff began the process of environmental review and acquisition of needed regulatory agency permits. Needed permits were obtained and in early 2002 the City Council certified the environmental impact report, officially named the sports fields after the Damon and Garcia families, and authorized the preparation of the plans, specifications and estimates for construction of the sports fields. Construction started in early 2003 and the fields were planted with grass in spring of 2004. After a year to establish the turf, the fields were opened for play in the spring of 2005. The original design for the turf called for a mix of annual rye grass and hybrid Bermuda. The intent was for the rye grass to germinate first in the spring, later to be out competed by the Bermuda grass in the warmer weather. The rye grass did not die back, and as a result, the Bermuda grass has not become established. Staff has worked diligently to keep the turf in top shape for playing, but because it is not a durable type of grass; the rye has suffered from overuse and is not responding to turf recovery strategies. We have reached a point where a decision needs to be made about the direction to take for the future of the fields in order to ensure a quality turf surface for the users. PROJECT STRATEGY AND SCOPE Project Strategy: The approach that will be used Parks & Recreation and Public Works staff will collaborate to create the management plan, which will be based on best practices from other agencies as well as what works best for our unique situation. There truly is not a "one size fits all" approach that can be taken, but we can learn from the mistakes and successes of others, and apply them to our complex. City staff is united in their desire to see the sports fields be viewed by the community as a model of success in both programming capability as well as field quality. Project Scope: Where the project begins and ends The purpose of the project is to develop a Damon Garcia Management Plan to guide the use and care of the complex. During this process and at the completion of the task, staff will continue their normal roles as they relate to the sports fields: Parks & Recreation staff will be responsible for programming and staffing events at the site, and Public Works Parks Maintenance will be responsible for maintaining the turf and grounds. KEY PROJECT ASSUMPTIONS 1. Programming levels are not meeting the expectations of the user groups. 2. Turf durability is not as expected. 3. Field shut downs for repair are more frequent than expected. 4. Activity/event types are not being allowed. 5. User complaints are rising. 6. The intended field turf has not grown in as designed. 7. There are other agencies that have similar complexes to manage. 8. PROJECT CONSTRAINTS AND LIMITATIONS 51 A tACiMENT_ Damon Garcia Sports Fields Project Plan Page 3 Project Constraints Limited staff time to pursue changes due to other priorities Insufficient budget for field changes and staffing increases Not enough field down time to facilitate changes Increasing demand for field usage City staff lack of experience with this type of facility and its needs Project Limitations No other facility to put users while changes are made Insufficient budget Field changes cannot be made "overnight' PROJECT ORGANIZATION AND TEAM Parks & Recreation Department Betsy Kiser, Linda Fitzgerald, James Bremer, recreation staff Public Works Department Jay Walter, Barbara Lynch, Todd Beights, maintenance staff STAKEHOLDERS AYSO Soccer Club Soccer Rugby Youth Sports Association Joint Use Committee Parks & Recreation Commission City staff PROJECT TASKS AND SCHEDULE M Task Who When 1. Research and visit other sports field sites January 2008 2. Create draft Management Plan March 2008 3. Meet with user groups March 2008 4. Decide acceptable uses at site April 2008 5. Decide on turf changes needed Winter 2008 6. Implement Turf changes Spring 2008 7. Decide programming schedules May 2008 8. Finalize Management Plan July 2008 52 AriACHMENT Damon Garcia Sports Fields Project Plan Page 4 PROJECT RESOURCES Management Plan Implementation Staff for site management 50,000 Turf Improvements 350,000 Total $0 $400,000 Appendix E ': A011NENT Field Wear Index Handout Activity Multipliers Activity Multiplier Walking and/or Standing on a field. i Baseball and/or Softball 1.25 Parked Cars 1.5 Sport Camp: Baseball/Softball 1.5 Marching Band Practice 1.75 Soccer wo/cleats 2 Field Hockey 2.25 Football wo/cleats 2.25 Lacrosse & Team Practice 2.25 Rugby 2.5 Soccer w/cleats & Team Practices 2.5 Sport Camp: Lacrosse 2.5 Tournaments 2.5 Ultimate Frisbee 2.5 Football w/cleats 2.75 Sport Camp: Soccer 2.75 Sport Camp: Football 3 Football Team Practice 3.25 Activity before/after Turf Dormancy 3.75 Activity during/after Rain 4 Turf Species Multiplier Certain types of turf grass grow more aggressively then others. The Turf Species Multiplier takes this fact into account. Multiply the Adjusted Wear Value Total by the below multiplier. Species Multiplier Kentucky Bluegrass I Perennial Rye Grass 1.25 Bermuda Grass 1.5 54 Z.&q Appendix F TACHNIENT AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 8, 2008 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2008 SENATE BILL No. 1277 Introduced by Senator Maldonado February 19, 2008 An act relating to synthetic turf. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1277, as amended, Maldonado. Synthetic turf. Existing law requires all new playgrounds open to the public built by a public agency or any other entity to conform to the playground -related standards set forth by the American Society for Testing and Materials and the playground -related guidelines set forth by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. This bill would require, on or before September 1, 2010, the Integrated Waste Management Board, in consultation with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the State Department of Public Health, to prepare and provide to the Legislature and post on the boards Internet Web site a study on the effects of synthetic turf and natural turf on the environment and public health. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State -mandated local program: no. The people of the State of California do enact as follows 1 SECTION 1. (a) By September 1, 2010, theSfateDepar-tment 2 rn t l r t t it _ _a _... 1 , meluditt 3 Integrated Waste Management Board, in consultation with the 4 Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the State 5 Department of Public Health, shall prepare and provide to the 6 Legislature and post on the board's Internet Web site a study that 7 compares the effects of synthetic turf and natural turf on the 8 environment and the public health. 9 (b) For purposes of this section, synthetic turf means any 10 composition material that itteltides eruntb Fdbber used to cover or 11 surface a field as an alternative to grass. 55 2� Appendix G ACNMFN? FIELD USERS INTERVIEWED Adult Softball AYSO -al Poly Baseball Camp al Ripken & Babe Ruth Baseball entral Coast Adult Soccer entral Coast Men's Baseball entral Coast Women's Soccer oast Soccer Club :uesta College Baseball slag Football lancock College Baseball Madrid Premier Soccer 4ission Girls Softball )ld Dogs Soccer remier Affiliated Soccer LO Blues LO Rattlers LO Rugby LO Soccer Club LO Women's Soccer LO Youth Football LO Youth Rugby LO Youth Sports Association LO/LO Girls Softball LOHS Boys Baseball Rich Ogden Todd Cooper Larry Lee Dan Sutton Tim Townley Dan Ainsworth Patti Grimes Pete Phillips Bob Miller Rich Ogden Chris Stevens Mike Roese Marshall Ochylski Alex Crozier Joe Astorga Mike Lara Dave Hite Lief McKay Steve Davis Michelle Dortch Doug Forker Gary Nichols Jim Neville Bill Anderson Vic Ecklund Terry Conner Katie Allison 781-7305 544-2920 459-0422 541-4821 546-9925 773-2388 260-9262 441-6246 712-8504 781-7305 922-6966 x 3456 473-1297 544-4546 547-1251 239-1406 440-1917 544-1902 801-5323 784-0753 610-5679 549-9451 476-2620 541-6245 440-2138 544-5770 543-1969 543-8235 1•i z,J/ ATTACHMENT FIELD PROVIDERS INTERVIEWED Poly University .nty of San Luis Obispo sta College School lion School Luis Coastal Unified School District Farms Larry Kelley Pete Jenny Scott DeMello Bob Mariucci Ed Maduli Uwe Gemba Roz Reymers Brady Lock Russell Miller Brad Parker Todd Talley CITIES OR SCHOOLS CONTACTED of Arroyo Grande of Costa Mesa of Glendale of Palo Alto of San Carlos of Santa Maria a Maria High School District Doug Perrin Bruce Hartley Koki Panossian Paul Thiltgen Barry Weiss Jim Davis Reese Thompso 756-1111 781-5200 546-3100 x2518 546-3207 546-3120 544-2141 544-2141 543-2131 x327 549-1200 596-4105 473-5474 714-754-5123 818-548-2000 650-463-4952 650-802-4382 925-0951 x267 922-4573 x4701 OTHER INDIVIDUALS INTERVIEWED Organizations Chevron Property Group Clay Hall 544-3830 City of San Luis Obispo Michael Codron 781-7170 John Mandeville 781-7170 Jay Walter 781-7207 Todd Beights 781-7220 Jeff Hendricks 781-7220 Linda Fitzgerald 781-7253 James Bremer 781-7295 Holt Field Group Steve Poquette 441-5583 Rick May im 2.73