Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout072000 PRC MinutesFul leto 1 *1 CITY OF ATASCADERO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION JULY 20, 2000 ITEM 1— CALL TO ORDER: Madam Chair Butz called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. ITEM 2 — ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Madam Chair Butz Vice Chairman Hood Commissioner Dempsey Commissioner Gobler Commissioner Kock Commissioner Kudlac Commissioner Mathews STAFF PRESENT: Geoff English, Community Services Manager Ellen Perkins, Administrative Secretary Claudia Collier, General Zoo Curator IIil04uIRM Il X0LIIMBIN x Commissioner Kudlac led the flag salute ITEM 4 — PUBLIC COMMENT: Eric Greening, 6600 Lewis Avenue, Atascadero, CA reported on the noise level in the Stadium Park with the opening of the new highway. He was happy to report that he was not able to detect any serious acoustic problems and it will probably be okay for outdoor acoustics. Truck traffic has not been determined, according to Eric's preliminary investigations, but more than likely the truck traffic on the bridge will occur at a time when the bowl is not being used for outdoor concerts. ITEM 5 — MINUTES OF MAY 18,2000: MOTION: By Commissioner Kudlac and seconded by Commissioner Mathews to approve the May 18, 2000 minutes as presented. Motion passed 7.0 ITEM 6 - OLD BUSINESS: ITEM 6A - AD HOC COMMITTEE - PRINTERY/MASONIC TEMPLE BUILDING: Upon recommendation by the Parks & Recreation Commission, the City Council has decided to reconvene the Printery Building Ad Hoc Committee to consider and forward alternatives for future uses of the Masonic Temple Building. The Printery Building Ad Hoc Committee will be made up of representatives from the following organizations: Atascadero Masonic Temple Association Parks and Recreation Commission Atascadero Recreation Center Committee Atascadero Historical Society Parks and Recreation Commission Page 1 of 7 Atascadero Main Street Association Atascadero Chamber of Commerce Atascadero Realters Association Printery Building representative Atascadero City Councilmembers Mr. English said that the first meeting is tentatively set for Thursday, August 3, 2000 at 4:00 p.m. at the Masonic Temple Building. Mr. English asked the Commission to recommend someone to sit on the Ad Hoc Committee. Vice Chairman Hood nominated Commissioner Mathews, Commissioner Kock seconded the nomination. Vice Chairman Hood moved to close the nominations and the nomination was passed unanimously 7 Ayes, 0 Nos. Mr. English said he would send out a notice regarding that meeting with an a Agenda to include discussions for potential options for future use of the Masonic Temple building. ITEM 7 — NEW BUSINESS: ITEM 7A —BOY SCOUT EAGLE PROJECT - DISTANCE MONUMENTS AROUND LAKE PARK Eagle Scout candidate, Tucker Zappas briefed the commission on his project to place monuments around the lake. The purpose of these markers is to provide walkers with a way to determine the distance they have walked, jogged or biked. The markers around the lake will indicate a quarter mile. There will also be a map provided for the public to follow. Vice Chairman Hood asked who would be making the markers. Tucker responded that he would ask a friend in the Boy Scouts to make them. Commissioner Kock asked where the markers would be placed on the path. Tucker said he thought between the street and lake on the lake side, but he is open for suggestions. Commissioner Gobler asked where the beginning would be. Tucker said a sign will mark the beginning, which he thought would be near the Pavilion, but again, he is open to suggestions. Commissioner Kock asked about the material to be used. Tucker said perhaps a sign with plastic laminated on top but that was not a final decision. Mr. English informed the Commission that Boy Scouts usually work with staff on their projects, but because of the high visibility around the lake, he wanted to bring it before the Commission. Mr. English asked the commission to make recommendations and suggestions and they can then work with Tucker to finalize this project. Vice Chairman Hood asked if this was the City's idea, or if Tucker planned it. Mr. English said that Tucker came up with the idea on his own. He also reminded the Commission that $162,000 in grant funds was earmarked for expenditure this year to improve the pathway around the lake park, and an architect will be hired to look at Tucker's project and to include it in the Lake Master Plan. The markers can be moved if necessary, they are not permanent. A distance wheel can be used to mark the quarter mile distance. PUBLIC COMMENT: Eric Greening, 6600 Lewis Avenue, Atascadero, CA complimented Mr. Zappas and liked the fact that a resident not only came up with an idea, but is taking steps to implement it. Mr. Greening hoped Tucker would make a presentation to the lake neighborhood. He then suggested that perhaps the starting point could be where the dam intersects Marchant and Portola, then place a sign near the Pavilion to mark a quarter mile Alan Thomas, 9520 Marchant Way, Atascadero, CA said that the folks around the lake support the project and that everybody is behind the project completely. Mr. Thomas suggested that he measure the quarter -mile locations before placing the markers, to make sure there is ample room to put a marker. Madam Chair Butz closed the Public Comment and opened the item up to discussion by the Commission. Parks and Recreation Commission Page 2 of 7 11IRTGUR"1130 Commissioner Gobler asked if staff would work out the details. Mr. English said he would take the comments from the Commission and make sure all issues are addressed before the project is started. Commissioner Mathews warned against using plastic due to the intense sunlight, he suggested using some kind of material that was UV resistent. MOTION: by Vice Chairman Hood and seconded by Commissioner Kudlac to approve the Eagle Scout Project as proposed. Motion passed 7.0 ITEM 7B — BOY SCOUT EAGLE PROJECT - LAKE PARK PATHWAY Mr. English reported that Eagle Scout, Brighton Hushing -Kline was not present, so he would table the item. Mr. English told the Commission that a year and a half ago Brighton came to the City with this idea. The City had previously planned to put a decomposed granite in the area that Brighton is proposing, which is used now by the public as a walking path. Mr. English will contact Brighton and place this item on a future agenda. ITEM 7C - PARKS & RECREATION FACILITIES CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT LIST Mr. English presented a list of Capital Improvement Projects to the Commission, which was generated by himself,General Zoo Curator, Claudia Collier, and Public Works Director, Steve Kahn.. This list was compiled to show the Commissioners an inventory of what the City is facing in the future, as well as potential cost.. .T is has been brought before the Commission to get the Commission's recommendations, comments or additions. Mr. English suggested they look at all funding options for the Youth/Community Center and would like the City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission to know about the issues involved in this project. Approximatley $225,000 will be allocated to the City of Atascadero for parks and recreation rehabilitation. If we don't use the funds for the Youth/Community Center, another group may come along and request funding for their projects. Mr. English said they included all projects that have been in the works for a number of years, but have not been completed. Mr. English went over each item on the list which was given a category according to priority. The Youth/Community Center is taking priority and is funded as well as the lake park water quality. There is also money available this year to refinish the Pavilion floors, which gets an enormous amount of use. Additional projects recommended by Claudia Collier, for the Charles Paddock Zoo but not included on the original list, were passed out to the Commissioners. Commissioner Mathews asked about the Stadium Park Master Plan. Mr. English said it was omitted, but will go on the list in Section "D". Madam Chair Butz asked about water to stadium park right now, for the plants. She is aware that this will be included in the Master Plan, but until that is complete, there needs to be water. Mr. English informed Ms. Butz that staff was planning on putting in some kind of pipeline after the roadwork was done. He added that ALPS has money set aside for that purpose. He assured Ms.Butz that this will go on the list. Commissioner Dempsey asked about dredging the lake. Mr. English stated that they did some preliminary testing on the condition of the bottom of the lake and found that it did not warrant dredging the lake. Additionally, they were concerned tht if they dug too closely to the bottom of the lake, they may puncture the bed lining and drain the lake. If, in the future, they find the lake does need dredging, that issue will be addressed at that time. have approval to put lights in but no money. Rick asked about the lights being tied in with the original lighting project. Geoff is the memorial field the same as little league? ... at Paloma? Rick said along with purchase open space do the appropriate research to protect trees, Parks and Recreation Commission Page 3 of 7 (Ellen get the list to put into the binder) Geoff said commissioners have questions? Recdommendations? Some are wish list, Put on list — water to stadium park Pat asked about dredging the lake. Geoff said it could be included in the lake water quality. If we dig too far, we could puncture the bottom of the lake which would drain it. Pat asked about by alvord, putting in a culvert and put turf over it to expand the park. Geoff said master plan item. Eric asked about a bmx park Geoff said staff tried to organize a group of bmx parents to build a facility. Land was leased from the water corn 1 acre on sycamore, put up fencing and is not used as much as they had hoped. It is too far from town for kids to get to easily. Geoff said there isn't really a good site. Nobody has come back to discuss it, but can be dealt with by the bmx club itself. They are a private non-profit group, the bmx club. PUBLIC COMMENT: Eric greening, 6600 Lewis Avenue, Atascadero, Caliornia suggested tree mitigation funding and tree planting projects for the Stadium Park. He mentioned that there was money available some time ago in the Community Projects fund grant with about $1200 or $1500 specifically for the water line. Mr. Greening also inquired about the Davis property Archeological survey, and the money allocated for the Phase I survey. He asked if any of the money was earmarked for a Phase II survey. Mr. English said the money on the list was only for the Phase I survey and depending on the results, there may not be a Phase II survey. The Phase 1I survey was not listed. With regard to the Youth/Community Center money, he wondered if the $250,000 mitigation money from the lakes project was set aside for building the Youth/Community Center and mentioned the $500,000 from the state budget. Additionally, he thought there was a $20,000 private donation as well. Geoff said including the mitigation money from the lakes project for the Youth/Community Center is not a decision that has been made, but he will prepare an update at a future meeting. He continued by saying that he hoped the City Council would look favorably on using the $500,000 that was approved through the state budget to help build the Youth/Community Center. He added that there will still be a need for additional funding. (Get answer from Geoff on the $20,000 donation) Mr. Greening also indicatd that he would like to encourage them to look at the tree mitigation funds as possible sources for the Open Space Purchase. Alan Thomas, 9520 Marchant Way, Atascadero, California commented on the Youth/Community Center and the 1.2 million price tag and asked if that then creates a shortfall. Mr. English answered by saying that in August, staff will be going to the City Council with a financial strategy for the Youth/Community Center and a determination will be made at that time. The next item that Mr. Thomas commented on was the water quality study. He was excited that this item has been brought to the table and he suggested that Cal Poly help analyze the water quality and look at ecology issues. He added that he thought that solving the water quality issue could be cheaper than building a pool. Mr. Thomas asked Mr. English what he was hoping to get out of a water quality study. Mr. English said he was hoping to get solid specific recommendations about what to do to enhance the quality at the lake for a certain amount of money. Mr. English reminded the Commission that this list was compiled just to provide information to the Commissioners and the City Council to help make financial decisions. Parks and Recreation Commission Page 4 of 7 Madam Chair Butz commended staff on the good job on the list and report! ITEM 7D - ZOO FREE ADMISSION POLICY Claudia Collier, General Curator for the Charles Paddock zoo brief the Commission on the zoo free admission policy. Ms. Collier reported that prior to 1987, there was no charge for admission. Once there was an admission fee, there was a determination on when the admission would be free. It started out with one day a week, then one day a month, then recently, 2 hours on the first Tuesday of each month, with the purpose to make it available to people who couldn't afford the fee. These organizations included the Women's shelter, foster children, and other non-profit groups, with a written request. In January 2000 the free time was eliminated. She is looking for a recommendation from the Commission due to the fact that, in her opinion, the requests are getting out of hand. Last year they provided free admission to 1100 people for the two hours every Tuesday. Vice Chairman Hood asked if we are gaining from letting them in free and if they would pay if they didn't come in free. Is this lost revenue? Ms. Collier said that is how she feels. Commissioner Dempsey said there is one free day, sponsored by Longs, on Sept 9, for the memory walk day. They are donating $1,000 to cover free admissions. Commissioner Mathews asked what the yearly attendnce was. Ms. Collier said last year it was 75,000. She continued to say that the attendance is up this year, but not revenue due to things like memberships and free attendance from people from other zoos. The following suggestions were given: ➢ Corporate sponsorship - at the beginning of the year Corporations set an amount for donations, ask them to sponsor a day at the zoo ➢ Laminated cards for each organization ➢ Ask sponsors to buy blocks of tickets to give out to their people, with an expiration date ➢ Ask local clubs to purchase the tickets to give out to the low income organizations ➢ Use a percent of the total yearly attendance as a base line. ➢ Exhibit sponsorship program. PUBLIC COMMENT: Eric Greening, 6600 Lewis Avenue, Atascadero, California suggested possible avenue for sponsorship from the County supervisors community projects funds to provide free admission for needy or deserving groups. ITEM 8 — COMMITTEE REPORTS: ITEM 8A — ARCO: The next meeting will be July 27, 2000 at 6:30 p.m., at the Youth Center. ITEM 8B —YOUTH TASK FORCE: The next meeting will be August 1, 2000, 7:00 a.m. at the Youth Center: ITEM 9 - CORRESPONDENCE: None Parks and Recreation Commission Page 5 of 7 ITEM 10 - COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: Commissioner Kock asked to consider recognizing Hope Lutheran Church for their community service work at the lake. He said they do weed eating and pick up trash for about four or five hours a week. Mr. English said they could present them with an appreciation plaque at the next Commission meeting. MOTION: by Commissioner Kock and seconded by Commissioner Mathews to present a plaque of apreciation to Hope Lutheran Church for their community service work at the Lake Park facility. Motion passed 7.0 Madam Chair Butz said we should keep our ears and eyes open for more things like that ITEM 11— STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES COMMENTS: Not present ITEM 12 — STAFF COMMENTS: I F040V 1W"t 01 W-141 Claudia Collier, General Zoo Curator, informed the commission that both tigers were euthanized. Their health had deteriorated and their bodies were sent for necropsy reports, and she should have the report within the next two weeks. She reported that she found a pair of young tigers in Cincinatti this morning, but the deal was not complete yet. Commissioner Mathews asked about the cost of a tiger. Ms. Collier said that they are not bought, they are donated or loaned, but the shipping costs are considerable. ITEM 12B - CHARLES PADDOCK ZOO MASTER PLAN - INFORMATIONAL ONLY Claudia Collier, General Zoo Curator, put up a master plan map on the overhead and gave the commission a brief report. She reported that this is just a preliminary plan and should have the finished plan within the next month. Commissioner Gobler asked if the Zoo Master Plan could be on the Capital Improvement Project list. Mr. English said we could put it on as Zoo Master Plan upgrades, with a ball park figure. Claudia said she could put some of things on the list, because there is funding for other items. PUBLIC COMMENT: Eric Greening, 6600 Lewis Avenue, Atascadero, California said awesome job and great vision on the Zoo Master Plan. He asked if John Olst's show of hands going to stay in the same place. Other concerns of Mr. Greening were whether or not the current shade trees would be preserved, and if there would be benches provided for the public to utilize. Madam Chair Butz noted that at one Zoo Master Plan meeting, the shade trees and benches were discussed and thought very important. Commissioner Dempsey said some trees may have to go, but new trees will be planted. Ms. Collier said the "show of hands" will probably be moved to another appropriate place. This was discussed with the artist before the art work was placed due to the Master Plan being developed. ITEM 12D - CRUISE NITE Mr. English said the city is now sponsoring this event. The City has already received 6 or 7 sponsors. To participate in the cruise is only $5.00, there will be barbecues up and down El Camino Real and a dance at Bonemas. Madam Chair Butz asked about Danielle Disarufino and Special Events Coordinator. Mr. English said for this event, Ms. Parks and Recreation Commission Page 6 of 7 Disarufino is the coordinator because there was no money in the budget for a full-time coordinator at this time. However, Ms. Disarufino is putting in more hours and is the coordinator for this project only. PUBLIC COMMENT: Eric Greening, 6600 Lewis Avenue, Atascadero, California voiced his opinion about the buses running late and perhaps interfering with the Cruise Nite. He talked about an alternative plan and hoped the City would send out a public notice to alert the public riding the buses between the hours of the cruise that there will be an alternate route. The City needs to coordinate with the county transit folks. Park and ride off Curbaril could be used and perhaps something at the north end. Additionally, Amtrack and Greyhound buses, too. ITEM 12E - YOUTHICOMMUNITY CENTER UPDATE Mr. English said this item will go to the City Council in August. The questions presented to the Council will be how are we going to pay for it, how do we manage the project and how do we maintain it from year to year. Madam Chair Butz asked if we will look into optional construction. Mr. English said yes they will look at other options. Commissioner Mathews asked if a Project Manager could be hired. Mr. English said he will be recommending that the City hire an individual on a part time basis for that purpose. With regard to the maintenance, one option being sent to CC is to contract with an outside organization like the Boys and Girls Club or YMCA and pay them an annual fee to maintain and operate the building. Commissioner Gobler asked about the plan to move the Jr High School in connection with the redevelopment plans. Mr. English said that one of the funding options mentioned would be the redevelopment agency and that moving the Jr High School was not something that had been decided on, but whether the Jr High School is in its present spot or not, the location chosen for the Youth/Community Center will accommodate the youth of Atascadero due to its central location and close to downtown. ITEM 13 — CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Ms. Collier mentioned the "Wild Night at the Zoo' being held at the Charles paddock Zoo on Wednesday, July 26, 2000. Commissioner Gobler asked about the walk around the lake at Christmas, Commissioner Kock said it was definitely going to be put on this year, but no date yet. ITEM 15 — ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: by Vice Chairman Hood and seconded by Commissioner Dempsey to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Motion passed 7.0 MEETING RECORDED AND MINUTES PREPARED BY: Ellen M Perkins Administrative Secretary Department of Community Services /emp Parks and Recreation Commission Page 7 of 7