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10.14.98
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Meeting Type: City, Sch. Dist., Users Project Name: City of Saratoga Park Devel.
Meeting Date: 10.13.98 Project Ref. No.: 98-12
Meeting Time: 4:00-6:00
Meeting Location: Saratoga City Offices
From: Jeff Kreps Attendees: Various Task Force members
Copy to: ®All Attendees
All other Task Force members
This report, if not corrected within seven (7) days after receipt by any party in attendance, shall be
acknowledged as an accurate report of the events that took place at this meeting.
Meeting Context: The project has been revised to include additional services. This meeting is
part of that revision and deals with site costs and designs at a more specific
level.
Meeting Purpose: 1) Review proposed modification/development of selected sites;
2) Present and discuss associated costs;
3) Begin discussion regarding partnering and tentative lease/maintenance
. agreements;
Intended Results: 1) An understanding of design options and resulting construction costs
involved for project sites;
2) To reach agreement on designs;
3) Understanding of options for development and maintenance leases;
4) Reach tentative agreement on lease language.
Note: A revised schedule for the remainder of the project is enclosed with this report.
Action items resulting from this meeting are listed at the end of this report.
INTRODUCTION
Due to the slight delay since the last Task Force meeting, Jay Beals gave a brief overview
of the revised project scope and schedule to help re-orient everyone. In brief, this meeting
was the first of two in which the City, School Districts, and affected User Groups could sit
down and talk about a specific site for 1/2 hour. The four sites discussed--Congress
Springs, Foothill Elementary, Marshall Lane Elementary, and Blue Hills/Azule--arose directly
from the last Task Force meeting wherein the various attendees prioritized all 10 study sites
based on anticipated need and community benefit as well as potential cost; the above four
sites were at the top of the resulting list (though not in the order above).
Between this meeting and the next one just like it, there will be a series of public meetings--
. held at the respective school--at which the proposed renovation/development project can be
presented. It is intended that these meetings be presentation oriented, and that they not be
F:Wobs98198-12 Saratoga ConsultinglMeetingReport10.14.98doc.doc
Meeting Minutes for: City, School Districts, Users Project Name: City of Saratoga Park Devel.
Meeting Date: October 13, 1998 Project Ref. No.: 98-12
Meeting Location: Saratoga City Offices
• a forum for design and cost discussion. On the other hand, we hope to gain valuable
information regarding any concerns that various neighbors and/or parents might have.
Based on this information, we will go back for the second meeting mentioned above and go
through each site again. At this second meeting, designs and costs will have been further
refined and tentative lease/maintenance agreement language will have been written up, so
that pointed discussion can occur.
Following this second meeting will be the Final Task Force Meeting (#4) at which the "final"
designs and costs will be presented and, it is hoped, lease language can be finalized.
II. SITE REVIEW-CONGRESS SPRINGS
At the last Task Force meeting it was proposed that if a new "soccer only" facility were to be
developed at Blue Hills, then perhaps Congress Springs could be used as a "baseball only"
facility to help ease the burden on the fields. At last night's meeting it was strongly felt that
this would not work. The primary reason was stated to be current and anticipated growth of
soccer in a number of leagues: AYSO, CYSA, and rapidly growing adult leagues needing
places in the City to play.
An AYSO representative stated that, to meet his demand in the coming years, he would
need 1 more field next year, and 1 more every two years after that-especially for the
younger players where participation is highest.
It was therefore recommended that Congress Springs remain amulti-use site. One
• possibility mentioned was that, if Blue Hills gets developed for soccer, then perhaps it might
be set aside for the older kids with all the younger kids playing at Congress Springs. From
a maintenance standpoint, this might be beneficial to the City since the younger kids tend to
have less impact on the fields than the older ones. And maintenance at this and other sites
is still a primary issue.
The discussion closed with the following understanding: that the Congress Springs
proposal would include complete turf renovation-including irrigation, and repairs to the
backstops, chain-link fencing, foul-ball fences, etc. Regarding maintenance, it was felt that
all users were going to have to continue to share the burden of increasing costs, but as far
as who does the maintenance, there was no total resolution. The City can continue to do it,
but they are going to have to receive increased fees to accomplish the maintenance to the
level that will be expected after renovation. Once again, Jay recommended the formation of
anot-for-profit organization that could oversee maintenance and fundraising.
III. SITE REVIEW-FOOTHILL ELEMENTARY
There was concern that the proposed renovation and development of this site was more
than what the users really needed. The Los Gatos/Saratoga Girls Softball (LGSGS)
representative said that their primary concern was for "amenities" and that they would gladly
trade the cost of turf renovation if it meant that they could have such things as--listed in
order of priority--a small concession/restroom facility, drinking fountains, batting cages, and
covered dugouts.
Following the above items, the next level of need was stated to be a renovation of the
• existing fields and backstops. The inclusion of a new practice field was also considered to
be low on the priority list, and fell after renovation on the list of priorities. Last on the priority
F:Wobs98198-12 Saratoga ConsultinglMeetingReport10.14.98doc.doc 2
Meeting Minutes for: City, School Districts, Users Project Name: City of Saratoga Park Devel.
Meeting Date: October 13, 1998 Project Ref. No.: 98-12
Meeting Location: Saratoga City Offices
list was the proposal to re-organize the fields and to build a completely new "premier"
backstop facility.
Regarding a partnership with the other User Groups, LGSGS stated that they would be
willing to partner so long as financial commitment was distributed equitably among the
groups. The concern was that LGSGS was comparatively small and shouldn't be asked to
contribute as much as the organizations with 1500 kids. This is point that will have to be
worked out before any 501-C3 can gain full support.
As far as maintenance is concerned, Saratoga Union School District is in the enviable
position of having nice equipment, but as always, manpower is in short supply. The
Maintenance Director for the District was asked if it would be possible to "share" this
equipment with other sites to help make their maintenance more effective, and he said that
that was something that would have to be carefully worked out--but that it wasn't
impossible.
Two other maintenance issues were also brought up. The first was the reminder that all
fields need time to rest, and that effective scheduling can help relieve the pressure on the
turf. The second point suggested that a set of "rules and guidelines for use" be written up
and distributed to coaches and others. This document would outline the basics of turf
maintenance and show how the coaches could aid the City and School District maintenance
staffs through "proper use" and field layout, scheduling, etc. Who would draw the
document up was not decided, but the idea was felt to be worth pursuing.
• IV. SITE REVIEW-MARSHALL LANE ELEMENTARY
The proposal for Marshall Lane generated concerns from both the Quito Little League
representative, and from the School District. To begin with, Quito Little League said that
they really didn't need two full-size little league fields, and that they would be content with a
T-ball field and a Farm League size field. Making these adjustments to the proposed
design would open up the available turf area significantly--helping to keep the outfield area
available for soccer practice--and would also reduce or eliminate the need to cut into the
existing asphalt hard-court area at the school (which was the School District's concern).
Other concerns were raised about the amount of traffic a "formal" baseball site would
generate, where the participants would park, and how/if the school could restrict adult
weekend use of the fields. The School representative also stated that any asphalt that was
demolished would have to be replaced somehow, and that was something that would have
to be taken up with the principal of the school.
Another area questioned was that of field layout and placement. Optimizing safety and
playability for the kids is the primary concern, with a secondary concern being the
surrounding neighbors, cars, etc. It was suggested that the T-ball field be moved more
toward Sobey Rd. and that he other field be pulled the other direction to try to maximize the
turf area. We will attempt to schedule a meeting with other QLL members to try to answer
some of the layout questions.
Quito LL stated that no matter what the field layout and type, a restroom facility of some
• kind was desperately needed. The School District said this would be possible as long as
the neighbors didn't object.
F:1Jobs98198-12 Saratoga ConsultinglMeetingReport10.t4.98doc.doc 3
Meeting Minutes for: City, School Districts, Users Project Name: City of Saratoga Park Devel.
Meeting Date: October 13, 1998 Project Ref. No.: 98-12
Meeting Location: Saratoga City Offices
• V. SITE REVIEW-BLUE HILLS ELEMENTARY/AZULE PARK
Both proposals for this site involve using the Azule Park site in conjunction with the School
area to develop a "soccer only" facility that would help ease the burden on the other soccer
fields in the area. Both proposals called for a large "flat grass" area with parking off-street,
picnic areas, and restroom/concessions facilities.
Each proposal was supported by the members present (CYSA needs to be contacted for
input) but there were concerns over parking, field layout, and field orientation. As mentioned
above, it was suggested that maybe this site would be marked and used for upper division
games, while the younger divisions would continue to play at Congress Springs.
Regarding parking, some members felt that any parking that parallelled Goleta Ave.--even if
it was off street--would be met with resistance from neighbors. It was then brought up by
the School District Representative that one of the original discussions between the District
and the Mayor had proposed extending the existing parking into the asphalt hard-court area
behind the modular classrooms. If this scenario were to take place, the parking would
indeed be farther away from the neighbors, but there would be considerable cost involved in
relocating the modulars and in replacing the asphalt used by the school for its educational
purposes. It was suggested that both options be given serious consideration.
Maintenance at this site would have to be worked out carefully since two different parties
own the land. However, it would make sense if only one group were taking care of the
whole site. It was suggested that, from the standpoint of efficiency, it might be best if the
District were to maintain it. The District stated, however, that they were already short of
manpower and that they couldn't take on the whole site. On the other hand turning over
maintenance to another group would run into opposition from the worker's Union on the
issue of "taking work away" from them. Therefore, the City and the District will have to work
out some type of agreement on this issue.
VI. NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
Jay presented the potential benefits of forming such an organization. These include: equal
representation for all user groups, centralized scheduling, fundraising capacity, financial
prioritization for mutual benefit, etc. Members present felt that, while it was a great idea,
they were concerned that there wouldn't be anyone with enough spare time to take charge
of such an organization to ensure that it got off the ground. Clearly, this discussion is
ongoing.
VII. NEXT MEETING-See enclosed schedule
Item Action Responsible Party
1) Meeting minutes Provide to Task Force members thebealsgroup
2) Field requirements Provide to thebealsgroup ASAP AYSO
3) Meeting w/Quito LL Set up prior to Marshall Lane meeting thebealsgroup
4} Designs/costs Make revisions to both according to feedback thebealsgroup
5) Cost breakdown Break general costs down into specific items thebealsgroup
6) Parking at Cong. Spgs. Study to determine needs at Blue Hills thebealsgroup
End of Report
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F:IJobs98198-12 Saratoga ConsuttinglMeetingReport10.t4.98doc.doc