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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-03-09 PRC Minutes1-1 Parks and Recreation Commission MINUTES Council Hearing Room, 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 7:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Jill Lemieux called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Commissioners: Vice Chair Craig Kincaid, Gary Havas, David Hensinger, Kylie Hatch, Ron Regier, and Steve Davis ABSENT: STAFF: Director Betsy Kiser, Marti Reynolds, Shannon Bates CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES: MOTION: (Kincaid/Havas) Approve the May 6, 2009 minutes as submitted with a notation by Vice Chair Kincaid that his intention was for the recommendation a) to reflect the price of merchandise rather than the cost to the golf course (reference page 1-2, paragraph a, last sentence) as he feels it implies a different meaning. Approved: 7 yes: 0 no: 0 absent 1. Public Comment None. 2. Volunteer of the Month The May Volunteer of the Month is Kristen McClay. Kristen volunteered for the Central Coast Monster Skate Park Series this spring, attending five of the six contests and committee planning meetings. Monster Skate is a local skateboarding contest series that holds competitions in six different skate parks around SLO County. She is employed by SLO County Parks and works mostly at the Los Osos skate park in addition to El Chorro Regional Park. Kristen is originally from North Carolina. Her involvement with the Coast Guard brought her west as far as Guam and Hawaii. She me her husband Ryan through the Coast Guard which is what keeps her here on the central coast, as he is stationed out of Morro Bay. Kristen just completed her Associate’s degree at Cuesta College and will be studying Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration at Cal Poly beginning in the fall of 2009. She currently lives in Los Osos with her husband Ryan and their chocolate lab, Kona, where they like to surf, skate and play outside. It is with great appreciation that the Parks and Recreation Commission recognizes Kristen McClay as the Volunteer of the Month. 3. Skate Park Ordinance – Kiser Director Kiser provided a report to the Commissioners explaining the elimination of staffing at the Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes June 3, 2009 Page 2 of 5 1-2 skate park as a result of FY 2009-11 operating budget reductions. In order to protect the City from liability for injuries that may occur at an unsupervised skate park, the City first needs to enact an ordinance that satisfies the California Health and Safety Code Section 115800. The code stipulates that no one shall operate a skateboard within the park unless they are equipped with knee pads, elbow pads and helmet. The code allows cities with unsupervised facilities to comply with this requirement by adopting an ordinance requiring the use of safety equipment and posting signage advising users of the law. Therefore staff has proposed a new Section 12.20.140 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code – Rules and Regulations Applicable to Santa Rosa Park Skateboard Park to meet the requirements of the Safety Code. Signage will be posted at the entrance to the park prior to Santa Rosa Park Skateboard Park becoming an unsupervised facility. Enforcement of the ordinance will become the responsibility of Ranger Services and the Police Department. Under the Municipal Code, enforcement could be accomplished by either an Infraction Citation issued by the Police Department or Ranger Services or an Administrative Citation issued by authorized Parks and Recreation staff. The current Administrative Citation schedule is $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 for the third. Commissioners Hatch and Regier clarified that the ordinance would apply to “coasting devices”, the facility would not be locked at any time, and enforcement would primarily involve drive-by observation. Potential future use of video surveillance equipment was discussed. Chair Lemieux wished to ensure that the public will know where to go to give feedback and bring back to the review process. Feels even though the eventual new park will be more difficult to vandalize, this ordinance will help in the transition. MOTION: (Kincaid/Hatch) Approve and forward a recommendation to City Council to adopt an ordinance of the City of San Luis Obispo requiring any person riding a permitted coasting device at Santa Rosa Park Skateboard Park to wear a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads. Approved: 7 yes: 0 no: 0 absent 4. Staff Report – Bates Recreation Manager Shannon Bates provided a presentation to the Commissioners on recent updates to the Public Art program process which she has managed since 2008. Bates explained the Request for Proposal (RFP) process in use since 1990 where interested artists are invited to submit proposals of defined art. From the artists perspective, RFPs are viewed as though agencies were going shopping for art at the artist’s expense, and that, although it probably made sense at the time, it no longer was a responsible option. Discussed Arts Council and changes within other cities to a new process. As a result, the City recently switched to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) system. The RFQ asks for artist’s qualifications instead of submission of defined art for specific projects. This change opened up a surprisingly larger pool from which to choose. Examples were given of Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes June 3, 2009 Page 3 of 5 1-3 recent projects such as the fountain on Higuera Street where 150 plus applications were received, 50 percent of which were from outside of the state and six total which were outside of the country. A new method of reviewing the art then had to be developed to fit the RFQ process as well. Jurors spent over 20 hours in the review process to choose five finalists. Final artist proposal should be chosen by the end of June. Other new projects include Buena Vista (January 2010), Bridge Railing Project (2010/11) and a donation “Oh Great Spirit” (2010/11). Recreation Manager Bates clarified for Commissioner Regier that the finalists who are required to create a model of their work are reimbursed for their time. This honorarium had been only $150 in the past but was increased to a $500 which is still rather low and would not cover the cost of work or travel to the jury meeting. This honorarium comes out of the total budget for the project; will possibly consider raising in future. Commissioners Havas and Lemieux discussed how the new process is being received by the artists and questioned residency rules. Recreation Manager Bates stated the feeling is that for larger projects more diversity is desired in order to acquire the best for the City. For smaller projects a residency requirement to limit applications would be considered in the future. Director Kiser noted if applications are limited to local artists only, public art has a tendency to become uniform, and although this is not necessarily a negative thing, diversity in art is better. 5. Director’s Report– Kiser Director Kiser briefed the Commission on the following projects: Budget Hearings begin tomorrow, June 4 at 7:00 p.m. for General Fund Operating Programs; June 9 for CIP; and June 11 for Enterprise Funds; final adoption of budget scheduled for June 16. The Golf Fund will be reviewed at 4:00 p.m. on June 11. A report will be posted at the Golf Course. All Commissioners are welcome. July is Parks and Recreation Month. Staff will be taking a proclamation to Council on July 7 at 4:00 p.m. Chair Lemieux will attend and assist staff with receiving the proclamation from the Mayor and Council. The Senior Center kitchen renovation and parking lot dedication was held last Thursday and was well attended by Council members, staff, and the seniors. Attendance by the neighbors was low although over 800 were invited. Council is scheduled to award a contract for the construction of the Santa Rosa Hockey Rink on August 4. Capital Improvement Projects: a) Laguna Lake restroom project began June 1; old restrooms have been demolished; port- a-potties have been placed on site. Project will continue through end of summer. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes June 3, 2009 Page 4 of 5 1-4 b) Playgrounds – RRM Design is working on the designs for Meadow and Throop Parks; staff is attempting to move Laguna Lake playground replacement forward; additional CDBG stimulus funding enabled staff to move forward with Mitchell and Meadow Parks restroom replacements, which are already designed and will go forward immediately. Johnson Ranch dedication was held on Friday, May 22. Great turnout of Commissioners and community. Trails have been heavily used ever since. Park Tour is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24 at 12:45 p.m. and leaving from Laguna Lake Golf Course. Invitations are forthcoming this week; prepare appropriately for the barbecue, RSVP’s will be needed from all. The SLO Swim Center will be celebrating its 30th birthday on June 26 at 6:30 p.m. Invitations are forthcoming. Commissioner Hensinger clarified Throop Park stage of design in equipment replacement. Received request for toddler swing which Director Kiser will discuss with designer. 6. Committee Reports Commissioners provided the following reports: Tree Committee – Kincaid Joint Use Committee – Hensinger Youth Sports Association - Davis Jack House Committee – Hatch Open Space – Havas Golf – Regier Bicycle Committee – Havas Commissioner Kincaid reported on the last meeting of the Tree Committee stating there are two new committee members and new criteria for evaluating applications. Mayor’s Youth Task Force meetings are suspended. Commissioner Havas reported on Open Space although he was unable to meet with Natural Resources Manager Neil Havlik. The Johnson Ranch dedication was May 22 – commends this delightful hike. Ranger Services will be adding a bridge intensive second loop. Commissioner Havas attended the Bicycle Committee and relayed future plans for the Railroad Bicycle Safety Trail which will eventually traverse from the south end of town, over Highway 101 to Cal Poly. Commissioner Hensinger was unable to attend the Joint Use Committee. Director Kiser informed the Committee is looking at priority use policy for Sinsheimer Park (most uses including pool and stadium are fine; looking more closely at tennis.) Tennis group will attend the JUC meeting next month. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes June 3, 2009 Page 5 of 5 1-5 Commissioner Hatch reported on the last Jack House Committee meeting stating a watercolor painting was donated and $150 was authorized for repair prior to placing in the Gift House. The Historical Society clothing donation continues to be a topic for discussion. Over 180 people toured the Jack House on Mother’s Day which may be a record. Director Kiser attributed the increase in numbers to a change in marketing approach. Waiting for budget decisions to determine sprinkler replacement. Commissioner Regier reported on the Laguna Lake Golf Course stating rounds are up and revenue is up seven percent from last year – approximately $21,000 total revenue. Currently implementing the new online tee-time reservation system which allows scheduling up to seven days in advance. A new concession, “That Caribbean Restaurant”, is in operation at the course Thursdays through Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This mobile cart food service began May 21 – 10 percent of gross goes to the golf course. 7. Communications None. 8. Adjourned The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. to the June 24, 2009 Park Tour and Special Meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission. Next full meeting is August 5, 2009. Approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission on August 5, 2009. /Sgd/ _________________________ Martha M.S. Reynolds Supervising Administrative Assistant