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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-09-1997 Parks and Recreation Commission Priority Revision (2),f . especially segments that will link to County Park and Open Space Preserves. The Commission realizes that only means that this will be accomplished without additional financial burdens will be to continue with the volunteer efforts. To accomplish this, the Commission is proposing establishing a City Grant Program to aid volunteer groups to maintain existing trails segments and the possibility of constructing new segments. The program would consist of volunteer groups submitting applications to the Parks and Recreation Commission for review and final recommendations for funding be submitted to council for final approval. A) Have a consultant update the Trails Master Plan and develop a map to show all existing segments and proposed segments that will link to County Parks and Open Space Preserves. $ 10, 000 FY 97/98 4. Projects that were listed on the Parks and Recreation Development Fund but are recommended to be tabled at this time for the following reasons: A. Civic Theater Improvements • The Commission stated that the theater is in need of remodeling but felt that at this time the many needed improvements should be funded from the established ticket surcharge. S~ B. SaratocLa Hiah School Swimming Pool tSMis ~ The Commission felt that although this may be a needed project, it was not ranked high on the priority list recommended by the community task force and the original use policy adopted by Council. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED PROJECTS 1. Community Center Facility Renovation $ 500,000 2. Kevin Moran Park/Gardiner Park Play Areas 160,000 3. Wildwood Park Restrooms 100,000 4. Heritage Orchard Improvements 50,000 5. Improvements to the Warner Hutton House 5,000 6. Playfield Improvements at Existing School Sits 1,000,000 7. Trail Improvements 100,000 8. Hakone Restroom (currently in design phase) 100,000 9. Hakone Handrail System (under construction) 4,000 TOTAL $2,019,000 File 92060 Adopted on: August 7, 1996 • POLICY ON USE OF PARKS AND RECREATION DEVELOPMENT FUND BACKGROUND: In March, 1996, the Saratoga City Council requested that a Community Task Force be developed in order to recommend what needs should be addressed by the Parks and Recreation Development Fund. The task force was comprised of two Parks and Recreation Commissioners, Jenny Crotty (Chair), and Kay Whitney; one Council Member, Gillian Moran; two community members, Jack Mallory and Fran Franklin and one alternative member who served as secretary, Monique Drumm. In addition, Rich Hughes was contracted by the City of Saratoga as a consultant. On June 8, 1996, approximately 70 members from the community attended a workshop to help determine and prioritize the needs of the City. Based on the results of that meeting, the Task Force makes the following recommendations. RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Community Center Expansion - $100,000 for the initial phase This expansion is based on a concept that there is a need to have a community hub which would meet the needs of all the community and would include a variety of facilities. Create a master plan for a Community Center Hub $100,000 to hire an architect/consultant to consider • * A new or expanded Community Center and its location * Possible relocation of the corporation yard * Possibility of including an indoor sports center * Joint use/joint development of gym with Redwood School * Possibility of partnering with private organizations to develop joint use agreement for facility use for Seniors * "Just-for-Teens" facility * Method for funding the development or operation of this new facility (tax/bond issue). 2. The Community emphasized a strong interest in meeting the needs of .___youuth~ This included a concern about teen programs, development of ~.. , . , .. new tie'~d~s~ 'g`rid -upgrade oi'''' existing field usage:. at school sites. Althougk~ the workshop did nc~t discuss location for these recomrne dations,~ the task `force looked at existing resources and is makirig~.the 'following recommendation: - . Playing fields for youth sports: 3 new acrd 4 ,renovated - '$1, 000, 000 a. Joint use playing fields at school sites - $700,000 -('Phere are 7 fields fc~r possible ~ renovation listed alphabetically) * .~ Argonaut School 1~renov~.ted field - multi-use * Blue Hills Sch./Azule Pk.1 new, 1 renovated - " " • * Foothill School 2 renovated fields - softball * Marshall Lane School 1 or more field - multi-use * Saratoga School 1 renovated field - multi-use * McAuliffe School 1 renovated field - multi-use b. Sports fields at City parks - $300,000 r This would expand the number of fields currently available * Azule Pk./Blue Hills Sch. 1 - 2 new fields - multi-use ~' c. Teen programs and needs were strongly emphasized by the Workshop. The City should continue to make the Warner Hutton House available for teen programs and find a way to fund low cost activities for teens. 3. Improvements to existing parks - $500,000 Because of possible development of sports fields at Blue Hills and Azule, special considerations should be given to those areas. a. Azule Park (undeveloped) * Trees, picnic tables, BBQ * playground area, paths * Landscaped, off-street parking area b. Kevin Moran Park * Trees and benches * Picnic benches, BBQ * Playground equipment for older children * Community garden or garden plots * Landscaped off-Street parking area (to support both Kevin Moran and Azule users) c. Gardiner Park * New Playground equipment i d. Hakone Garden * Replace hand rails if existing are unsafe * Replace restrooms 4. Reserve Fund - $400,000 a. Use to complete projects 1 through 3 above (if under-funded) b. Create a long term plan for developing and funding parks, recreation areas, trails and open space. * Park and open space acquisition e.g. Mountain Winery, school sites, etc. * Trail improvements. 5. The above projects are not stated in priority order. See attached minutes of 7/17/96 and 7/23/96 for discussion on priorities. • 2 ' Partial Minutes of July 23, 1996: • G. Self-Evaluation of Previous Meeting Councilmembers felt the meeting of July 17th went very well. Mr. Peacock indicates that the Council will be finalizing the park development project priorities on August 7th but as yet staff has received no direction as to which project should go first only that the concept of creating a master plan for the civic center hub is not at the top of the list. It was agreed that the City should talk to the three school districts first to see who is ready to do what. Vice Mayor Moran indicates she will help out with getting the various parties together. Partial Minutes of July 17, 1996: Councilmember Tucker clarified that the recommendations are not in order of priority or execution. C • 3 • ~~ c~,t~~4~ ~~p~ o ~ ~ A D A ~0~~ 13777 FRUITVALE AVENt~~ E SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA 950 7 0 • (4081 86S-I'?00 C'OL'\CIL ~IEJiBERS Sian 5ooos:~ar Fau; _ ~a~r.~,~ U,Illi I7 n90 ~c3" ,nm Sh~~; Donald L. Wong July 15, 1997 Dear Task Force Participant: A little over a year ago, you and other interested community members spent part of your Saturday developing a priority list for Saratoga's Park Development Fund. At the conclusion of that day, we had reached a consensus on the needs of our community. Those needs were entrusted to the Parks and Recreation Commission to act upon as soon as the City Council approved the list. Unfortunately, we have been in a holding position while other City issues have been addressed. (This included the defeat of Measure L which resulted in City reorganization and budget restructure). On July 22 at 7:30 PM, the Park and Recreation Commission and the City Council will have a joint meeting at the Adult Care Room of the Senior Center. We are hopeful that the City Council will give the Commission a green light to begin making the Park Development fund priority list a reality. There is concern, however, that some groups may ask the City Council to reconsider how the $2,000,000 fund is spent and ask that funding be provided for other projects. We need you at that meeting to reenforce the importance of the priority list that was developed by you and other community members. We appreciate your patience, support and your commitment in working on this project and we hope to see you on Tuesday, July 22. Sincerely, Saratoga Parks and Recreation Commission Attachment; c: City Council • • • CITY OF SARATOGA Treasurer's Report of Fund Balances June 30, 1997 PRELIMINARI~ CLOSE J Fund Audited Adjustments Year to Date Year to Date As of Number Description 6/30/96 & Transfers Revenues Expenditures 6/30/97 0001 GENERAL $4,121,080 ($1,260,015) $8,701,396 $7,121,867 $4,440,593 0010 T.D.A. 0 0 0 4,950 (4,950) 1 0012 H.C.D.A. 101,955 (35,625) 128,715 243,793 (48,748) 1 0013 TRAFFIC SAFETY 21,148 8,985 21,358 11,556 39,935 0014 GAS TAX 0 101,415 695,618 601,654 195,379 0015 ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMS 361,849 (76,900) 361,540 376,855 269,634 0016 HILLSIDE STREET REPAIR 99,163 0 2,517 98,873 2,807 0017 SUP. LAW ENFORCEMENT 0 0 68,829 48,331 20,498 0021 LIBRARY DEBT 1,730 0 101,130 103,060 (200) 1 0022 STATE PARK BONDS 4,340 0 0 0 4,340 0024 CERTS OF PART. 221,791 915,890 0 206,646 931,035 0031 PARK DEVELOP 1,277,039 0 905,554 4,000 2,178,593 ~"'"""`~"'~~~ 0040 RECREATION FUND 0 346,250 671,941 1,000,513 17,678 0060 HERITAGE 5,675 0 0 0 5,675 0061 OUARRY CREEK TRUST 29,961 0 445 3,541 26,864 0062 C.A.TV FOUND TRUST 46,294 0 570 0 46,864 0063 PARKING DISTRICT #2 12,563 0 12,175 12,841 11,898 0064 PARKING DISTRICT #3 0 0 170,088 171,593 (1,505) 0066 DEFERRED COMPENSATION 2,747,465 0 0 0 2,747,465 0067 SARATOGA PUB. FIN. AUTH. 192,326 0 0 0 192,326 0068 DEPOSIT AGENCY FUND 893,134 (561,464) 0 0 331,670 0071 LANDSCAPE/LIGHT DIST. 86,912 0 146,468 170,543 62,837 0073 PKG DIST BONDS #1 & 4 (47,644) 0 0 0 (47,644) 1 Dols LEONARD ROAD ASSMNT. a2,57o 0 11,ss2 13,742 ao,52o Total 510,219,352 ,__5561,464) 812000,036 X10,194,358 __11,463.566 NOTE: * Trust and agency balances are treated as a liability versus fund equity for financial statement purposes. Accordingly, the balances shown are for informational purposes only. 1. Negative fund balance expected to be cleared prior to final close. Year end closing adjustments will have a material affect on fund ba{ances. Submitted by: rP • wM~fivLv Approved by Q VIEPORtV NNYYIFB. W Kt p~gpy, (IJr18UCI ItP, (~ Ra_sUItS) ~• r l - :. _ ~ x t'9 H IGt~~ • June 26, 1997 Ii,.G ~ i .'~: f; i , ~V ~~~' ~~~ ~~~~t~ ~ ~ The Honorable Gillian Moran Members of the Saratoga Council 13777 Fruitvale Avenue Saratoga, CA 95070 Dear Mayor Moran and Members of the Saratoga City Council: SARATOGA HIGH SCHOOL Principal: Kevin Skelly, Ph.D. Assisranr Principals: Karen Hyde, Jerry IvlcCloskev .N f 0 ": . ~0?00 Hernr.:an .~~~cnue Jararoea. C~ ~~;p'p-~•'.,a Phene -SOS/R6"- ~a ; Fax ~O8;8G"~?;-- f ` i i i r! ~F ~ .~ ~ F~ - F ' I ~ } ~. r~ 1G i ~} " ~yplr: d f~ ~ _ `iF ``.i ..- R ~ ~~.' -~• % ~ ` ~t.: t . 2 ~ h` ',} ~; ,~ , Ti~:e yu:~vsc of l~iis lc~-er is is fallow up ~n the earlier letters we sent to you regarding our ~ ~~ z _ `, continuing efforts to build a new community pool to be operated by our school district here at Saratoga High School. As you know, the Pazks and Recreation Committee has placed a ` ,, ' ~` community pool built as a joint effort between the city and the high school district as a low ~` '~' priority in their budgeting for the parks and recreation development fund. ;. ,~ _ ~ ~ ;.. • , - ;. This letter asks that the City Council allocate $400,000 to $500,000 to the school district in ~1ti¢ F1 ~ ~,~ 4 the form of a challenge grant. This money would be available to the school for one year for , ~ ~ ~' the purpose of building a pool. It would be our responsibility to raise the additional money ` • rt'i from other sources. If, at the end of the year, we have not been successful in raising the '~ " addirional money, the City Council could allocate this money for some other recreational ' ~ ' j t f` use. `X'..= ' : Vv e have previously outlined to you and the Parks and Recreation Committee the rationale for this program. We are including this with this letter. While the details would have to be negotiated, we believe that, unlike other uses for Development Fund monies, this pool project would help the City's recreation department financially. At your meeting or_ July 22, Karen. Hyde will be present to answer any questions you might have regazding this issue. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, • azen Hyde A3~ist~t-Principal Kevin Skelly Principal A DISTINGUISHED CALIFORNIA SCHOOL NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE ,, .,,~=~ s - t~ ~ l~t~r • SARATOGA HIGH SCHOOL Principal: Kevin Skelly. Ph.D. Assistanr Principals: Karen Hyde, Jerry McCloskey TO: Members of the Parks and Recreation Committee FROM: Kevin Skelly~Principal, Saratoga High School SUBJECT: Request for Funding for Community Pool to be located at SHS DATE: Mazch 3, 1997 _'0300 Hcrr:man A~~erue ~arato~a, CA x50'0~.~aa Phone 40R; 8C:'-?-~ 1 ax 408; 8G'-3`"- I would like to expand on the letter that I wrote to Mayor Gillian Moran and the presentation I made at your joint meeting with the City Council last Tuesday regarding my request for $700,000 towazds the construction of an Olympic size pool at Saratoga High School. I would like to provide some of the rationale for this project as well as why I believe the construction of this community asset will help the long-term viability of the .ia.iuiilga i~eCr~;u~lvn Ltyart111ent. I have outlined below five reasons why I think this project has particular benefit for our community at this time and why it is perfectly suited for funding from the Parks and Recreation Development Fund. 1. Leveragin og f City Resources Our educated estimate is that it will cost slightly over $1 million dollars to build this 50 meter by 25 yazd pool. If the Parks and Recreation Committee decides to fully fund this project, I am confident that our school community will raise the additional $300,000 that it will cost to build. We have been discussing this project at length during this school yeaz, but decided that the cost was Inore than we could raise. It seems that neither the Recreation Department nor the school district has the financial resources to build a pool, but through our joint efforts we can make this happen. For the Recreation Depaztment, they will see a facility with a cost of over $1 million built through an investment of $700,000. 2. Enhancing Recreation Deparnnent Funds While our school board would have to approve this, I feel confident that we would be willing to guarantee the Recreation Department income for many years to come. A possible scenario would be that the school distract guarantee the recreation department a funding level of $15,000 for twenty years from the rental and use of the pool. Rental income (area high schools and junior colleges chazge between $40 and $55 per hour for their pools) would revert to the Recreation Department up to this amount. Money above this threshold =.•:;;:ld he sl;i.'t b~t:;'~e^ ~ ~ Ci ;~ i::.? t',^.~ 5~:::ri;l uis:t;;i :~'iti1.:.~y s'L.c;ITSaiI I!IQLIe Up Cveniy 'uY the district and the Saratoga Athletic Booster Club. In October, the Recreation Department paid our district $10,000 towazd their use of SHS facilities. We will have "paid down" this amount by about $7,000 by the end of this summer from recreation use. Subject to board approval, I believe our district would be willing to consider $70,000 of this $700,000 in lieu of payment. This means that the Recreation Department would have around $7,000 worth of "in-kind" donations to their operations by tree school district for roughly the next ten years. Last s-.Immer the YMCA rented our pool and son!e a;' our other facilities. The number of cllildrer. here was overwl-ielming. With an outstanding pool as its cornerstone, I see no reason why the Saratoga Recreation Department could not build a summer program on our • campus that would be a trernelldous support for our parents, a source of employment for our youth, and a revenue source for the Department of Recreation. A DISTINGUISHED CALIFORNIA SCHOOL NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE • 3. The Pool as a Fixed Asset Unlike other recreation facilities, I believe the pool can be considered a fixed asset by the Parks and Recreation Department, with little or no on-going costs. We will pay for design, bidding, and other costs associated with the pool's construction. Maintenance and utilities associated with the pool would also be borne by the district. 4. Readiness to Build I believe that if we are to receive full funding from the Recreation Committee, we can begin construction as early as May. Our school athletic booster club assumed a $80,000 debt eighteen months ago to build our all-weather track. This debt is now down to $14,000. The Saratoga Athletic Booster Club is ready and willing to help with another major community facility improvement. The pool would be an ideal project for this group. 5. The Pool as a Source of Community Buil 'ng If one passes by our school on a typical Saturday morning, they will find our athletic facilities heavily used -- people are playing tennis and roller hockey. The Recreation Department is probably using our gym for basketball. The track has many runners/walkers and other fields are filled with soccer and baseball players. We believe strongly that our facilities should be used by the community whenever possible and add to the richness of living in Saratoga. Anew pool would greatly enhance our school as a center of community. • Partial Funding? I realize this is an extremely large request. However, this amount reflects the recreation fund contribution I believe is necessary to make this project possible. If the committee chooses a smaller amount to grant to this project, it will, at the minimum, delay the project and has the potential to unravel it. I hope that you will consider carefully this request. Thank you. • PRIORITIES (FROM JUNE 1996 WORKSHOP) 1. COMMUNITY CENTER EXPANSION /RENOVATION "HUB" CONCEPT 2. PLAYFIELD IlvIPROVEMENTS AT EXISTING SCHOOL SITES 3. DEVELOPMENT OF MULTI-USE SPORTS FIELDS 4. TEEN FACILITIES 5. LAND 8c PARK AQRJISITION 6. PARK IP-KPROVEMENTS AT EXISTING SITES 7. TRAII. IMPROVEMENTS & C014'Il1diJNI1'Y CONNECTING PATHS 8. INDOOR SPORTS & ACTIVITY CENTER 9. COMMI3NITY GARDEN 10, DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE COMMt1NITY PARK 11. HAKONE • 12. SW~IvjING POOL (IF PART OF HUB) 13. DOG RUN PARK •