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Home My WebLink About11-15-2016 Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes City of Saratoga Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes DATE: Tuesday, November 15 , 2016 TIME: 6:30 p.m. LOCATION: Administrative Conference Room 13777 Fruitvale Avenue Saratoga, CA 95070 Call to Order 6:38 p.m. Roll Call Present: Ping Li (late), Renee Paquier, Rick Pearce, Pallavi Sharma, Terry Ward Absent: none Accept Agenda Items: No additional added. Oral & Written Communication: No communication from the public. Approval of Draft September 13 Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) Minutes: • Commissioner Paquier motioned to approve minutes • Commissioner Ward seconded motion • Motion passed 4-0. Old Business: 1. Age-friendly cities Issue: At the last meeting, during the topic’s discussion, Staff Liaison Henig recommended to the Commission that they invite SASSC Director Tyler Taylor, who could inform the commission about what’s already available and what is needed. Action: Mr. Taylor will present to the Commission about the latest happenings on age-friendly communities. Mr. Taylor reported that SASSC has collaborated with the City to establish guidelines to make Saratoga an age-friendlier town. As a result, Saratoga has been awarded the status as an Age- friendly City as defined by the guidelines set by the World Health Organization and AARP. Taylor wants to take it further by providing even more resources than is required, citing more accessibility to the city’s parks (transportation and usage). Members of the PRC expressed interest too in that initiative and would like participate in the city’s Age-friendly Committee. For example, having “golf carts” available for older and handicapped adults to reach the top of Quarry Park, so all residents can enjoy the valley views. Commissioner Ward mentioned bringing back the Lets Walk! Event on a monthly basis and rotate the location to a different park each month. It also is an opportunity to get feedback. A member of the PRC will attend future Age- friendly Committee meetings. Also, the PRC will add the initiative to its work plan. 2. 60th Anniversary Parade 1 Issue: The Commission participated in the 60th Anniversary parade on Saturday, September 17, 2016. Action: Discuss event, pros and cons of participating in future parades. The parade went very well. Other groups wished they had a banner like the PRC. Having the karate group accompanied them helped. 3. Work Plan Issue: Discuss updates to the work plan, which will be presented during City Council retreat in January. Action: Make proposed changes to the work plan to better reflect the current happenings of the Commission. See Exhibit A. The Commission made modifications to its 2017 work plan. See Exhibit A. 4. Parks and Recreation Commission tri-panel pamphlet Issue: Staff liaison Henig has copies of the pamphlet. Action: Commission will discuss how to distribute and another print run to correct the pixelated images. Staff liaison Henig explained the printing mistake that occurred in the recent batch of pamphlets. PRC suggested to cover the street names (which is difficult to read) with tiny labels. Staff will look into doing it. Also, Henig informed the PRC that he will print another 200 copies. 5. Community Feedback/ survey Issue: Commission will present its findings to the City Council at upcoming Joint Council meeting, Action: See Exhibit B. Set a date to meet with Council to share results. Chair Pierce proposed continuing the survey. However, he thought that spending the next year analyzing data while preparing a new survey and then follow up with collecting data would make the most sense. Commissioner Paquier agreed and asked if the city could hire an intern to help collect and analyze the data. 6. Volunteer Work at Quarry Issue: Commissioner Li will update the Commission about the October and November Let’s Work events. Action: Discuss new ways to expand community participation of Let’s Work! During the October Let’s Work! event, only 1 volunteer showed up. At the November Let’s Work, 7 volunteers showed up, comprising of high school student from the Interact Club and their parents. Commissioner Li and Paquier felt that reaching out to groups makes more sense than blanket advertising (such as using street median banners) would be more practical. Li will reach out to a local church. Other commissioners would reach out to other community groups. Also, Paquier believed that groups should commit in advance so Li always has a core group of volunteers that will assist with Quarry Park. 7. Quarry Park Update Issue: Henig will update the Commission about Quarry Park since the last regular meeting. Action: No action taken. 2 Henig discussed the upcoming projects that local Eagle Scouts are working on at Quarry Park (benches built in upper viewing area). A third scout will construct a fence around the water tank. Recently, Public Works staff met with an architecture design firm to discuss ideas about the ADA access trail at Quarry Park. Also, City Council will update its bee ordinance. Public Works Director Cherbone asked Henig to solicit ideas for potential Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) for the upcoming fiscal year. PRC mentioned a pond at Quarry Park (which was part of the park’s master plan) and exercise equipment/stations at a park that is intended for older adults (in conjunction with the age-friendly initiative. Henig will follow up with Cherbone about the PRC’s ideas. 8. Nesting Box Project Issue: Commissioner Paquier and Henig received an update about the West Valley College partnership with the Park Management department’s nesting boxes project. Action: Paquier and Henig will provide an update. See Exhibit B. The Commission was disappointed that it took so long to get the results from WVC’s Parks Department chair. They would have liked the project to have continued on a regular basis, but that has not been the case. They have asked Henig to check with the city clerk (who will check with the Mayor) to see if the commission should even continue working on this project. Henig will provide an update at the next meeting. Commissioner & Staff Reports (This includes committee updates and park reports. This section is informational only; no actions will be taken.) Commissioner Park Li Wildwood, Foothill – looks good Paquier El Quito, Gardner – Paquier heard from neighbors that there is a concern that El Quito is overrun with soccer groups, preventing residents from utilizing the park during the after school hours and weekends. Also, she expressed concerned about dogs off leash. Henig recommended Paquier contact the city’s new code enforcement officer, Paige White. Pearce Bell Grove, Congress Springs, Ravenwood – pleased the graffiti has been abated Sharma Beauchamp, Brookglen – looks good Ward Azule, Kevin Moran - observed that morning time at Kevin Moran Park is best for seniors and young children since there is little organized activity taking place. Agenda Items for Next Meeting January 10, 2017 New: Movie Night Adjournment – 8:48 p.m. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you are a disabled person and you need a disability- related modification or accommodation to participate in this meeting, contact the Adam Henig at 408.868.1272 or ahenig@saratoga.ca.us. Requests must be made as early as possible and at least one full business day before the start of the meeting. Parks and Recreation Commission Agenda Note: 3 In accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act, copies of the staff reports and other materials provided to the Parks and Recreation Commission by City staff in connection with this agenda are available at the office of the City Manager at 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, California 95070. Any materials distributed by staff after the posting of the agenda are made available for public review at the office of the City Manager at the time they are distributed to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Certificate of Posting of Agenda: I, Adam Henig, Recreation Supervisor for the City of Saratoga, declare that the foregoing agenda for the meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission of the City of Saratoga was posted on November 9, 2016 at the office of the City of Saratoga, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070 and was available for public review at that location. The agenda is also available on the City’s website at www.saratoga.ca.us. 4 Exhibit A – PRC Work Plan 5 6