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Home My WebLink About01-10-2017 Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes City of Saratoga Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes DATE: Tuesday, January 10, 2017 TIME: 6:30 p.m. LOCATION: Administrative Conference Room 13777 Fruitvale Avenue Saratoga, CA 95070 Call to Order 6:35 p.m. Present: Ping Li, Renee Paquier, Pallavi Sharma, Terry Ward Absent: Rick Pearce Accept Agenda Items: No additional added. Oral & Written Communication: No communication from the public. Approval of Draft November 15 Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) Minutes: • Commissioner Ward motioned to approve minutes • Commissioner Li seconded motion • Motion passed 4-0. Old Business: 1. Age-friendly cities Issue: PRC is now actively involved in the citywide age-friendly initiative. Vice Chair Sharma and Commissioner Ward attended the December age-friendly committee monthly meeting. They will report about the discussion and actions taken. Action: Create one or two objectives to incorporate into the current PRC work plan. Ward and Sharma attended the previous meeting and summarized the highlights. While discussing potential ideas to contribute to the initiative, Paquier iterated that whatever objectives the commission comes up with, it should align with Council’s. Commission came up with three ideas to present to the Age-friendly committee at their next meeting, January 17. 1) For active seniors, lead various walking groups that meet and end at a city park. 2) For less active seniors, using a GoPro camera, film the parks from various viewpoints with background narration and then display the video to groups of immobile (i.e. Adult Day Care). See if a student from SHS or WVC might be interested; inquire about having the narration done in multiple languages 3) Organize a daytime monthly movie screening at the Civic Theater. Pearce and Ward are planning to attend the January 17 meeting. 2. Work Plan Issue: Discuss updates to the work plan, which will be presented during the City Council retreat. Action: Finalize the 2017 work plan. See Exhibit A. 1 In lieu of nesting boxes, add Age-friendly Communities. For “objective,” commission came up with: To provide inclusive, age-friendly opportunities for social interaction and equitable access to parks. For “tasks,” the commission came up with: Organize walking groups; Create virtual parks for less mobile residents; And organize monthly afternoon movies at Civic Theater. 3. Movie Night Issue: Discuss schedule, movie selection, logistics, and changes for Movie Night 2017. Action: Prepare an action plan for Movie Night 2017. Commissioners discussed the pros and cons of having food trucks versus providing snacks themselves, which is what they currently do. If the commission were in favor of having food trucks, Staff liaison Henig will look into the logistics (i.e., number of trucks that can be accommodated, safe location in park, etc.). If adopted, the commission will channel its focus to promotion of city parks and interacting more with the public. Proposed movie choices are: Star Wars: Rogue One (June), Secret Life of Pets (July), Finding Dory (August). o Commissioner Paquier motioned to approve movie selection and inquire about using food trucks at future movie nights. o Commissioner Sharma seconded motion o Motion passed 4-0. Sharma seconded the motion. Commission 4. Volunteer Work at Quarry Issue: Commissioner Li will update the Commission about the November and December Let’s Work events as well as upcoming ones. Also, an update on the progress of locating groups to work on designated dates. Action: Discuss and come up with ways to expand consistent participation of Let’s Work! Li informed the Commission that the December Let’s Work was rained out. For the January Let’s Work event, Li is expecting cooperative weather. She asked that staff leave a first aid kit in the tool shed. 5. City Parks and Project Update Issue: Henig will update the Commission about Quarry Park, including the status of proposed Capital Improvement Projects (CIP), the nesting box project, off-leash dogs at El Quito, park tri-fold pamphlet, and age-friendly playground equipment. Action: No action taken unless directed otherwise. Henig updated the commissioners from his meeting with Public Works director John Cherbone: For Quarry Park, public works staff has submitted a CIP proposal to Council, which will be discussed in March. No action has yet to be taken on the fence around the water tank. The extended trail has been cleared; the volunteer scouts have not yet started on their project (benches and picnic areas) due to inclement weather. For the ADA trail, public works staff had done a lot of clearing and is awaiting a design proposal from PlaceWorks that will provide access to the upper portion of the parks. As of 2 Monday, January 9, the weekend storm had mild impact on the parks. A few tree limbs fell, but nothing to report that was significant. Henig also spoke with Planner Nicole Johnson about the bee ordinance update. Last month, it went to Council but will be reviewed again in March. The City’s current bee ordinance appears to be too cumbersome in regulations and discourages local beekeeping. Staff has examined the City’s existing regulations and researched the regulations of other municipalities and is recommending Council consider amending the ordinance to bring the regulations up to current standards that encourage beekeeping and allow for reasonable and safe beekeeping within the City. Paquier asked that staff look into more accessible exercise stations for the parks. Staff will follow-up at the next meeting. Commissioner & Staff Reports (This includes committee updates and park reports. This section is informational only; no actions will be taken.) Henig informed the Commission of the change for the upcoming Council retreat. Instead, the Commission will meet at another meeting with the Council on February 27 in the evening. More details to come. Also, Henig mentioned that the State of the City will be April 15 at 2:00 p.m. in the Theater, Arbor Day will be May 1 at Madrona Cemetery, and the Commission Recognition Dinner will be on May 31 at 6:00 p.m. at Hakone Gardens. Henig also mentioned that this will be his last meeting. Beginning February 1, he will be working for the City of Gilroy. Commissioner Park Li Wildwood, Foothill Paquier El Quito, Gardner Pearce Bell Grove, Congress Springs, Ravenwood Sharma Beauchamp, Brookglen – Ward Azule, Kevin During commissioner reports, Paquier mentioned that the city parks have received several positive online reviews (Google and Yelp.). There was one negative review about Wildwood Park and the park labeled as “dirty.” Henig will forward the message to Parks. Ward noted that at Congress Springs Park, the tree cutting trucks parked there have their debris blow out onto Joe’s Trail during windy day. Henig will forward that message to the Parks staff too. Agenda Items for Next Meeting March 14, 2017 None Adjournment – 8:37p.m. o Commissioner Ward motioned to approve the adjournment of the meeting at 8:37 p.m. o Commissioner Paquier seconded motion o Motion passed 4-0. Minutes taken by Adam Henig, Parks and Recreation Commission Staff Liaison 3 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION WORK PLAN, MEMBERSHIP, DUTIES Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) Objectives For 2017 • To build stronger community relations and gathering all Saratoga residents by hosting events at City parks • To build stronger community relations by engaging community members in hosted events, dialogues, and activities by the city. • To enhance biodiversity, conservation efforts and greater understanding of urban wildlife. • To continue promoting a healthy lifestyle by informing residents about park and trail locations and amenities Proposed Ongoing Activities Project Name Objective Tasks Movie Night To build stronger community relations between the City of Saratoga and the community and gathering residents by hosting events at City parks Continue outdoor movie night series in the summer of 2017. Survey Community To build stronger community relations by engaging community members and gathering other resources about City Park events and activities Analyze data and discuss solutions with Council for the noted concerns with the goal of improving activities and events for all residents. Nesting boxes To enhance biodiversity and greater understanding of urban wildlife. Will continue working with West Valley College Parks Management Department to monitor the nesting boxes.. – Should PRC continue this effort? Let’s Work! Volunteer Program To continue promoting a healthy lifestyle and engaging community members about new parks and trails in Saratoga. Continue to coordinate the volunteer program at Quarry Park and to help the City advance its effort to extend the existing trails. Age Friendly Communities To provide inclusive, age- friendly opportunities for social interaction and equitable access to parks. Organize walking groups; Create virtual parks for less mobile residents; And organize monthly afternoon movies at Civic Theater. Exhibit A – PRC Work Plan 4