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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-05-14 PRC MinutesParks and Recreation Commission MINUTES Council Hearing Room 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Wednesday, March 5, 2014, 5:30 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Davis called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Chair Davis and Commissioners Craig Kincaid, Jeff Whitener, Susan Updegrove, Ron Regier and Michael Parolini ABSENT: None COUNCIL: None STAFF: Shelly Stanwyck, Melissa Mudgett, Dave Hix, Anne Fairchild, Carrie Mattingly Public Comment None. 1. Consideration of Minutes MOTION. (Updegrove /Kincaid) Approve the February 5, 2014 minutes as amended Approved: 6 yes: 0 no: 0 absent 2. Champion of the Community Award for Adam Stowe — (Chair Davis) Presentation of the California Parks and Recreation Society (CPRS) Award to Adam Stowe, General Manager of the SLO Blues Baseball team. Adam remains very active in the community. He has been the champion of the Professionals Network group which was central to revitalizing the Laurel Lane community gardens. Adam continues to put the community first, and for that he was awarded the CPRS Champion of the Community award. 3. Q &A About Recycled Water and Its Use on City Facilities (Dave Hix, Deputy Director Utilities and Anne Fairchild, Laboratory Manager) The impetus of this conversation was to discuss the challenges of managing turf and park facilities with recycled water when exacerbated by drought conditions. Dave Hix, Deputy Director of Utilities, presented information about the City's Water Reclamation and Recovery Facility (WRRF) and the recycled water process (clarifying, bio treatment, filtering, disinfecting, dechlorinating, and discharging). Dave Hix stated as part of the City's approved National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, a required daily minimum of 1.6 million gallons of treated water must be returned to San Luis Creek. Anne Fairchild, Laboratory Manager, presented the Commission with information about the composition of recycle water and its composition in comparison to potable and well water. 1 -1 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes — March 5, 2014 Page 2 of 5 Chair Davis asked about the cost of recycled water. Dave Hix responded that recycled water is 90% the cost of potable water and that utility rate setting is a public process with many community stakeholders involved. Commissioner Updegrove asked if recycled water is used for purposes other than landscaping. Dave Hix noted that recycled water is used for construction, irrigation and dust control as part of the City's approved NPDES permit, although irrigation is the typical use. Commissioner Whitener asked about the City's other recycled water customers. Dave Hix responded the City has approximately thirty (30) recycled water customers with Costco, Home Depot, Target, Banks, and Las Verdes being a few examples. Commissioner Parolini asked if gray water was being used in the City. Dave Hix responded that Apple Farm Inn & Restaurant is a large user for gray water. Hix also noted that gray water has treatment challenges as it must be contained on -site. Dave Hix provided the Commission with information about the new WRRF upgrades and anticipated changes to recycled water treatment in 2020. Chair Davis expressed concerns with the challenges of recycled water during drought conditions. Commissioner Parolini commented that the 2020 WRRF upgrades were a longer -term solution and asked about the short-term plan. Parks and Recreation Director, Shelly Stanwyck, responded that Public Works, Parks and Recreation and Utilities Department staff has been meeting over the past few months to discuss short term solutions, which may assist with the flushing of the fields with fresh water to help sustain the plants, trees, fields and turf in the interim. Shelly added that solutions need to be specific to the location, soil composition and designated use. Chair Davis asked staff to return to the Commission meeting with a "plan" outlining these communication processes. Dave Hix invited the Commission for a guided tour of the City's WRRF facilities. He mentioned the popularity of these tours as they are a great educational opportunity to see how recycled water is analyzed and treated. 4. Review and Discussion of Parks and Recreation Element Sections 1.0 (Vision) to 2.0 (Introduction and Goals) General Plan pages 7 -4 to 7 -8 (Chair Davis) The purpose of this action item was to bring back portions of the Parks and Recreation (P &R) Element for review. Parks and Recreation Director, Shelly Stanwyck, provided a brief background of the P &R Element. The document was drafted in the late 1990's by a consultant and was arrived at after a significant community input of what were the "top issues" of that time. Commission Kincaid expressed that the document was wordy and could benefit from being pared down. Commissioner Whitener agreed and also stated the document was inconsistent in that it was a mix of both specific items and broader issues. Shelly agreed and noted that elements are typically used as policy documents and are often broader in approach, thereby providing flexibility to be responsive to community trends. Commission Parolini stated that elements /general plans are typically updated every 20 -25 years and in that regard, the P &R element is a "younger" document. Chair Davis asked the Commission if it felt there was merit in updating the P &R element at this time. Commissioner Updegrove asked about the consequence of not updating the element. Shelly responded that while the P &R element is outdated, the needs of the community ultimately drive the action priorities. Commissioner Regier asked the Commission if there was merit is having a facilitator assist with a public workshop to help update the goals /vision of the P &R Element. The Commission agreed this would be a proactive approach in assessing the scope of work and identify the vision/goals /strategies of 1 -2 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes — March 5, 2014 Page 3 of 5 the element. Director Stanwyck responded that she will return to the Commission at its April 2014 meeting with a proposal for a half -day Saturday facilitated public workshop. Shelly further recommended this P &R Element workshop occur in May 2014 to coincide with the new appointment to the vacant Commission seat. 5. Appointment of Craig Kincaid to Tree Committee (Chair Davis) MOTION. (Chair Davis) Appoint Commissioner Kincaid as liaison to the Tree Committee. Approved: 6 yes: 0 no: 0 absent 6. Director's Report (Stanwyck, Mudgett) Director Stanwyck provided the Commission with "save the date" postcards for the SLO 35th Anniversary Triathlon. She noted this has been a great way to gain interest with volunteers. Shelly also provided the Commission with the SLOCAPRA Annual Conference on Saturday, March 22, 2014 from 8:30am — 2:30pm. The conference will be held at the Morro Bay Natural History Museum and will be centered on advocacy for healthy living within our communities. Facilities & Pool • Pool Use lots of swim meets for high school season • Private Lessons are underway • Rec Swim at Spring Break — end of the month • Special Events are coming — SLO Marathon to BBQ parties • Field Closures still but Baseball Season has started Rangers • Reservoir Canyon Bridge Reinforcement. Dan Dixon & Gary Havas saved the City $75,000! • Lots of effort to clean the creeks before the rains came 4.5 tons removed • Patrolling parks, open space, creeks, and school district daily. • Starting new trail in Froom Ranch • Steelhead spotted spawning in Mission Plaza creek section last week Youth Services • Minimum days this week and lots of added work with the kiddos • Spring Break Camp • April 11 Kids Night Out • Enrichment Classes — new this quarter Sports • 35th Anniversary of the SLO Triathlon! July 27, 2014. • Arts Cyclery Title Sponsor for Triathlon • Softball Season started this week and brought the RAIN • Laguna Middle School — Volleyball and Track and Field Community Services • Senior Center Great Valentine's Social 1 -3 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes — March 5, 2014 Page 4 of 5 • Gazebo and Bathrooms are under construction • Skatepark BIDS have been received, 3 under engineer's estimate. Currently in bid protest period. Anticipate Council approval April 15, 2014. • Egg Hunt, Mother's Day, Monster Skate — all being worked on Other • Slack lining approved by Council on February 18, 2014. The second read on March 18, 2014 • Public Art Jury selected the final piece for the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) memorial public art project. 7. Committee Reports Commissioners provided the following reports: • Tree Committee — Kincaid • Natural Resources — Kincaid • Jack House Committee — Updegrove • School District — Parolini ■ Golf - Whitener • Bicycle Committee — Regier • Damon- Garcia Sports Field - Parolini • Youth Sports - Davis Acting Chair Kincaid attended this month's meeting and reported that Public Works Director, Daryl Grigsby, presented to the Committee about Measure Y. There were 7 applications for tree removals and 5 were approved. The Grange Hall has been working on mediating the damages caused by illegal tree removals. The Grange Hall fine will be suspended for one year to allow the Grange Hall to implement this mediation plan. Commissioner Kincaid reported he did not meet with Natural Resources staff, Bob Hill, on Open Space. There is nothing to report at this time. Commissioner Updegrove reported the Jack House gazebo is presenting more issues than previously thought. The Jack House Committee developed a policy for the handling of "non- Jack Family" donations. A list of repairs were developed and provided to City staff. There is a need for the re- shingling of the roofs and painting of the Jack House. Commissioner Updegrove recommended the Jack House be on the list of SLO Walking Tours. Commissioner Parolini stated he had been unable to get a hold of the School District representative and there is nothing new to report on the School District since the January PRC meeting. He has not spoken with Public Works staff in regards to Damon Garcia's current condition. In addition to the Utilities staff presenting on recycled water this evening, there was nothing new to report for the Damon Garcia Sports Fields. Commissioner Whitener asked for Shelly's assistance in reporting on the Golf Course as his notes were unavailable. The Golf Course completed a tournament with special needs youth. Rounds were slightly down in February, but up overall for the year. Shelly reported three (3) recent tree removals where the trees had died as a result of drought and disease. Staff has met with the City Arborist to receive suggestions on the replanting of tree species for this area. Shelly mentioned that adjacent residents have recently become concerned about gopher activity at their residences. 110 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes — March 5, 2014 Page 5 of 5 Commissioner Regier reported there were two vacancies on the Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting. He mentioned he has an employee that was recently hit by a car while on her bike and she may now be interested in sitting on the BAC. Commissioner Parolini reported that he witnessed a near miss of another vehicle/bicyclist accident. Commissioner Davis reported there was no Youth Sports meeting in February and therefore nothing to report at this time. 8. Communications Commissioner Parolini asked if there was a way to track the usage of our open spaces through a manual counting system located at trailheads as this would be a great way to collect data and develop trend analysis. He mentioned that this may be a low tech and affordable way to collect this data regarding the usage. Shelly said she would pass this information along to the Natural Resources Manager, Bob Hill. Commissioner Parolini followed -up on his request for QR codes to be placed on utility box art as an interactive way to learn more about the art and artists. Commissioner Updegrove mentioned she had seen a large transient group at the Jack House during recent construction. Shelly responded that staff had noticed this transient group as well and that the Parks & Recreation Facilities staff, Rangers and the Police CAT (Citizen Action Team) are aware and are providing routine patrols of this area. 9. Adjourned The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. to the April 2, 2014 regularly scheduled meeting which will be located at the Council Chambers. Approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission on + Z. • 14 Melissa C. Mudgett, Parks and Recreation Department Manager 1 -5