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HomeMy WebLinkAbout062107 PR Comm MinutesApproved 07/19/07 CITY OF ATASCADERO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES Thursday, June 21, 2007 - 7:00 P.M. Regular Meeting REGULAR SESSION: 7:00 P.M. Chairperson Sechrist called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. and Commissioner Mathews led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Butz, Istenes, Marks, Mathews, and Chairperson Sechrist. Student Representatives Buck -Moyer and Carden Absent: None Others Present: Recording Secretary Grace Pucci Staff Present: Community Development Director Warren Frace, Deputy Public Works Director Geoff English, and Recreation Supervisor Jennifer Fanning. OATHS OF OFFICE: 1. Administration of Oaths of Office — Newly appointed Commissioners Daniel Chacon and Ann Hatch will be sworn in by Deputy City Clerk, Grace Pucci. PRC Minutes 06/21/07 Page 1 of 9 Deputy City Clerk Grace Pucci administered the Oaths of Office to Commissioners Chacon and Hatch. COMMUNITY FORUM: Eric Greening welcomed the two new commissioners and thanked outgoing Commissioner Sandy Jack for his service and continued support. Mr. Greening announced that next Wednesday the U.C. Cooperative Extension will present an educational conference on upper Salinas water shed issues regarding trees and fish. He also asked that the issue of Ernie Del Rio's request to abandon a trail be placed on a future Parks and Recreation Commission agenda so that all sides could be presented. Sandy Jack stated he hoped to attend many future Parks and Recreation Commission meetings and would be available to assist the Commission in any way needed. He urged the Commission to take on an update of the Arts in Public Places policy as soon as possible. Chairperson Sechrist closed the Community Forum period. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: MOTION: By Commissioner Butz and seconded by Commissioner Marks to approve the agenda. Motion passed 7:0 by a roll -call vote. Chairperson Sechrist stated he would miss outgoing Commissioner Jack's presence on the Board and hoped to see him involved and at future meetings. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION REORGANIZATION: 1. Commission Appointment of Vice -Chairperson — Nominations from the Commission. MOTION: By Commissioner Marks and seconded by Commissioner Mathews to nominate Commissioner Butz to the position of Vice -Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Motion passed 7.0 by a roll -call vote. COMMISSION/ YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REPORTS: PRC Draft Minutes 06/21/07 Page 2 of 9 Commissioner Butz said that Commissioner Jack was a real stimulus for getting a lot of things going, and because he is still serving on the Planning Commission she hoped he would keep the Parks and Recreation Commission posted on city issues. Commissioner Mathews thanked outgoing Commissioner Sandy Jack for the great job he did on the Commission, and stated he was a good example of individual service to the community. Commissioner Istenes requested staff clarify the location of Boulder Creek on city maps. Vice Chairperson Butz made several announcements: 1) the Chamber of Commerce Tuesday night barbecues at the Lake Park have begun and a calendar of hosting organizations was distributed, 2) the Atascadero Wine Festival Dinner will be held tomorrow night at the Lake Pavilion, and wine tasting will be this Saturday from 11:30 to 4:00 p.m. at the Lake Park, and 3) "Four Seasons Cooking with Friends" will be held on July 22nd at the Idlers Paso Robles store, money raised will go to victims of domestic violence through the Women's Shelter. Commissioner Istenes indicated she is interested in touring the Paloma Creek Park arena area, the Home Depot equestrian arena and Heilmann Park in the future. She referred to an article in the Tribune lamenting the lack of opportunities given to children for hiking, walking, fishing, beach play and gardening and commented that Atascadero lacks hiking opportunities. Commissioner Istenes expressed concern regarding the legal roadblock the Resource Conservation District has hit with Cal Trans regarding trail intersections where traffic lights are located and suggested staff prepare a report to the Commission regarding this issue. She also asked staff to follow up on a call she had placed to the City Attorney regarding the limits placed on her ability to vote on issues before the Commission. Deputy Public Works Director Geoff English responded to Commissioner Istenes requests. Commissioner Hatch asked for clarification on her voting limitations due to her involvement with the Veteran's Memorial Park. Commissioner Marks thanked staff for the tour of park facilities and stated it was very informative. Commissioner Mathews also thanked staff for the tour, and commended the parks crew for their effectiveness despite their limited numbers. Commissioner Hatch requested that the issue of the Highway 41 purchase be placed on a future agenda as she has concerns regarding potential financial impacts to the city and safe access at the trail head. PRC Draft Minutes 06/21/07 Page 3 of 9 There was Commission consensus to place the Highway 41 purchase and future financial impacts on a future agenda. A. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes — May 17, 2007 ■ Staff Recommendation: Commission approve the Parks and Recreation Commission minutes of the May 17, 2007, meeting. MOTION: By Commissioner Mathews and seconded by Vice Chairperson Butz to approve Item #A-1. Motion passed 5:0 by a roll -call vote. (Hatch, Chacon abstained) B. MANAGEMENT REPORTS: 1. Native Tree Mapping and Inventory Project Final Report Presentation ■ Fiscal Impact: None. ■ Recommendation: Informational item only. [Community Development] Community Development Director Warren Frace gave the presentation and answered questions of the Commission. Director Frace stated a meeting is planned in mid-July to discuss the next phases of implementation, and he encouraged Commissioners to email him with any concepts or ideas they may have. PUBLIC COMMENT Sandy Jack stated he has been trying to regenerate oak seedlings on his property for many years, and this year there has been a dramatic increase in the blue oak seedlings. He encouraged development of an incentive program for property owners with adequate space to care for seedlings so they can become saplings. Eric Greening stated this report was an excellent investment of tree mitigation money, and suggested the next step should be a dialog with the Fire Department regarding vegetation clearance for fire protection. He commented that there should be a change to the mitigation formulas under the tree ordinance as the smaller younger trees now get less mitigation, and value should be placed on years of growth for younger trees. Mr. Greening stated the Commission should be part of community workshops giving out information on this inventory and suggested open community dialogs based on habitat needs to find community consensus. PRC Draft Minutes 06/21/07 Page 4 of 9 Barbara Combs questioned how the 2 million trees in 30 square miles compares to other areas in the county, whether sudden oak disease is a problem here, and suggested sharing this information with the Chamber of Commerce as it is a good asset for tourism. Director Frace answered Ms. Combs' questions. Chairperson Sechrist closed the Public Comment period. Commissioner Mathews stated that ANTA puts out a "Save our Seedlings" brochure to give homeowners information on how and why they should protect their oak seedlings when doing weed abatement. He commented that the native oak genetic stock in nurseries has resistance to diseases and pests, and spoke of a past ANTA project that had a native tree nursery at the High School and suggested it could be a project to raise funds for the school and inform the public. Commissioner Hatch suggested a good senior project for Cal Poly would be the creation of an incentive program to encourage saving the seedlings. Commissioner Butz commented on the importance of educating elementary age children on tree issues and suggested a booth at the Children's Day in the Park with small trees available for children to take home. Student Representative Buck -Moyer stated that if the Commission were interested in partnering with the High School in a tree program, to let her know so she can get it jump started for next year. There was Commission consensus for Ms. Buck -Moyer get information about what the ANTA program was, why it failed in the past and who would be available to do a similar program at this time, and that it be placed on a future agenda. 2. Placement of Paddle Wheeler Boat in Atascadero Lake ■ Fiscal Impact: None. ■ Recommendation: Commission review and discuss a request by Lloyd Reeves, the Atascadero Lake Boat Rental Concessionaire, to place a replica Paddle Wheeler on Atascadero Lake. [Community Services Deputy Public Works Director Geoff English explained the purpose of this item and stated that he would be making a list of Commission comments and concerns so that all issues could be investigated and discussed prior to staff coming forward with a recommendation on this proposal. Lloyd Reeves presented his proposal to the Commission and answered their questions. PRC Draft Minutes 06/21/07 Page 5 of 9 Commissioner Comments: 1. The neighborhood / community should be involved in the decision making process. 2. Issues to be considered include, docking, refueling, noise, hours of operation, vandalism/security, safety, conflict with other activities at the lake, water quality / environmental concerns, scale of proposed project, and city liability. 3. Commission would like to see the list of issues raised when a submarine request was proposed in the past. 4. Broad public notice should be given of any future meetings concerning this request, particularly to the lake residents. PUBLIC COMMENT Eric Greening stated he believed the city should not set a precedent of breaking the ordinance relative to horse power and motor craft in the lake. His concerns included aquatic type motors that tend to leak unburned fuel into the water, scale of the project, and that this request does not come back until there has been a meeting at which all neighbors as well as the stakeholders who participated in the creation of the Lake Park Master Plan are in attendance and all issues hashed out. Barbara Combs, Lake View Drive resident, stated her concerns with this proposal including, lack of sufficient notification time for lake residents to have a meeting, the Holiday Walk, which is an alcohol free event and she would not like to encourage a party boat with alcohol on the lake during that event, hearing the same type of music all the time, and carrying of voices over the lake especially if alcohol is served on the boat. Chairperson Sechrist closed the Public Comment period. Student Representative Carden suggested that before any meeting is organized for the neighborhood, Mr. Reeves should outline what would be on the boat. Mr. Reeves stated that no alcohol would be served on the boat; the only exception would be if a non profit organization rented the boat and served wine. Chairperson Sechrist recessed the hearing at 9:40 p.m. Chairperson Sechrist called the meeting back to order at 9:48 p.m. 3. Memorial Object Placement Request, Tree Dedication at Atascadero Lake Park ■ Fiscal Impact: None. ■ Recommendation: Commission recommend approval to the City Council of a request by Marj Mackey to dedicate a formerly planted PRC Draft Minutes 06/21/07 Page 6 of 9 tree at Atascadero Lake Park in memory of Kirk Dennis Phillips. [Community Services] Deputy Public Works Director Geoff English gave the staff report. PUBLIC COMMENT — None MOTION: By Vice Chairperson Butz and seconded by Commissioner Marks to recommend approval to the City Council of a request by Marj Mackey to dedicate a formerly planted tree at Atascadero Lake Park in memory of Kirk Dennis Phillips. Motion passed 7.0 by a roll -call vote. 4. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Senior Student Projects ■ Fiscal Impact: None. ■ Recommendation: Informational item only. [Community Services] Deputy Public Works Director Geoff English gave the staff report and answered questions of the Commission. Commissioner suggestions for student projects: 1. Look at the feasibility of developing Stadium Park into something that would work within the environmental and historical aspects of the area with presentations on the park, trees, wildlife, etc. 2. Art in the park especially in the design of park equipment. 3. Improvements to street frontage along Highway 41 in front of the Atascadero Zoo. PUBLIC COMMENT Eric Greening stated the idea of doing things artfully is a good one and commented that the County Arts Council's Arts in Public Places Committee and the art department at Cal Poly could be tapped for suggestions. He questioned whether the Atascadero Creek fish barrier removal at Curbaril would mean removal of the pedestrian and bicycle crossing. Deputy Director English stated the pedestrian crossing would remain. Chairperson Sechrist closed the Public Comment period. D. COMMITTEE & LIAISON REPORTS: 1. Atascadero Youth Task Force - No Meeting July 3, 2007. (Next mtg.8/7) PRC Draft Minutes 06/21/07 Page 7 of 9 2. Next Commission Chair & Vice Chair Quarterly meeting with Mayor & Mayor Pro -Tem to be held 6/25/07. E. STAFF COMMENTS/ ANNOUNCEMENTS: Commissioner Marks stated several months ago she received complaints regarding the interaction between golfers and walkers in Heilmann Park and had drafted a letter with the Commission's agreement to the County Parks Commission asking that this problem be addressed. She stated the response from Ernie Del Rio of the County Parks Department was not encouraging. Deputy Director English stated he could approach Mr. Del Rio to look at options for connecting the Jim Green and de Anza trails with Heilmann Park and actually walk the area with him. Commissioner Mathews explained that the letter sent by this Commission did not get to the County Commission; it went to staff then came up as a topic for the County Trails Committee. The County refers to the area in question as "hole 13", that it is part of the golf course and as such is their property, therefore, when a trail runs through it people are trespassing and that increases the county's liability. He suggested exploring the option of rerouting the trail. There was further Commission discussion and it was decided that Deputy Director English would make an appointment for Commissioners Marks, Mathews, Istenes and himself to meet with Mr. Del Rio. PUBLIC COMMENT Eric Greening suggested inviting Mr. Del Rio here to a noticed public hearing so all would have the opportunity to discuss this. He stated he was disturbed that a letter addressed to the County Parks and Recreation Commission did reach them. Chairperson Sechrist closed the Public Comment period. Recreation Supervisor Jennifer Fanning reported on the following items - 1 . tems: 1. Summer City Magazine/ Recreation Guide 2. Ice Cream Zoofari- July 14, 2007 3. Movies in the Park start July 28, 2007, Sunken Gardens 4. Community Services Department "Volunteer of the Month" Program 5. Pools open 6/18 6. Chamber BBQs at Lake Park start 6/19 7. Summer Concerts in the Park start this Sat. 6/16 8. Community Forum on Youth Internet Safety on 8/15 PRC Draft Minutes 06/21/07 Page 8 of 9 F. ADJOURNMENT: Chairperson Sechrist adjourned the meeting at 10:25 p.m. to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission on July 19, 2007. MINUTES PREPARED BY: Grace Pucci, Recording Secretary PRC Draft Minutes 06/21/07 Page 9 of 9