HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-01-1999 Park and Recreation Commission Minutes Saratoga Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Administrative Offices, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga
March 1, 1999
7:30 p.m.
Action Minutes
I. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m.
II. Roll Call
Commissioners Present: Alberts, Clabeaux, Friedrich, Ioannou, Olsen, Swan,
Whitney
Commissioners Absent: None
Others Present: Joan Pisani, Irene Jacobs, (please see attached list)
III. Report on Posting of the Minutes: Pursuant to Government Code 54954.2 the
agenda was properly Posted on February 26, 1999.
IV. Approval of Minutes of February 22, 1999 Meetings: The approval of the
minutes were tabled until the next Commission meeting.
Administration:
Katherine Funk, Project Manager for the Montalvo cottage project~ was
present to share her availability for meeting times with the Commission to
meet on site to discuss the affects that the project would have on the existing
trail sites in Saratoga.
Oral & Written Communication: Three members of the public addressed the
Parks and Recreation Commission on the Playfield Project. The concerns voiced
. by the public revolved around traffic, safety and quality of life issues that they
felt would be greatly affected should these playfields be developed or improved.
The Commission thanked the public for their ideas, concerns and shared
opinions and the oral communications portion of the meeting was closed.
VI. Old Business:
A) Community Center Improvements~ Joan Pisani gave a quick summary
regarding the Community Center Needs Assessment and what had occurred
during Phase I of the process. She then requested that the Commission
approved recommendation of Phase II of the Community Center Needs
Assessment to the City Council. Phase II of the process would consist of a
costing out of the items identified in Phase I. Commissioner Clabeaux made
a motion that the Commission recommend to the City Council approval of
Phase II of the process that would cost $5,000 from the Park Development
Fund. Commissioner Whitney seconded the motion and the motion passed.
( Commissioner Swan abstained from the vote due to her affiliation with
the Community Center as the Pre~school Program Coordinator). The
Community Center Needs Assessment is an approved project on the Park
Development Fund project priority list.
B) Playfield Project Meetings - Questions from the public revolved around
concern that the user groups attending the meetings would have more
representation that the neighbors from the surrounding areas. There was
discussion among the group and Commissioner Swan made a motion that
the Commission would make an effort to have the site meeting consist of the
following breakdown of representatives when possible. All should keep in
mind that the breakdown for each site meeting would be different
depending upon the number of user groups interested in the site and the
response that staff received from the neighbors when requesting a
representative. The make-up of the groups should resemble the following as
much as possible ( User Group representatives- 3; Commissioners- 2; School
representatives- 1; Facilitator- 1; City Staff -2; Community Representatives-
3) Commissioner Ioannou seconded the motion and the motion passed.
(6/0)
C) Joint Meeting with the Council- From previous direction from the
Commission, staff had prepared a list of agenda items to discuss with the City
Council at their joint meeting with the Parks and Recreation Commission on
March 9, 1999. The Commission made some adjustments to the list and staff
was instructed to forward the list to the City Clerk for posting.
VII. New Business:
A. Playfield Community_ Meetings- Facilitator Proposal: Staff had outlined in a
memo that had been included in the Commission's packet, her reasons for
recommending a third party facilitator be retained. There was discussion
among the Commission regarding the pros and cons. Commissioner
Whitney made a motion to authorize the use of a professional facilitator to
lead the site meeting discussions regarding the playfields. Commissioner
Swan seconded the motion and the motion passed. (5/1)
Commissioner Friedrich made a motion that the Commissioner allow staff to
select a facilitator on behalf of the Commission in order to save time in the
process. Commissioner Clabeaux seconded the motion and the motion
passed. (6/0)
B. Congress Springs Park/Contract Renewal: Staff had outlined in a memo to
the Commission her recommendation to maintain the status quo in regards
to the contracts between American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO),
Saratoga Little League and the City for the seasonal use of Congress Springs
Park. Both user groups currently pay the City a fiat rate of $1,500 for the
use of the field for the entire season. Staff made a recommendation to the ·
Council to increase user fee some eighteen months ago. It was not well
received by the community and the Council at that time did not approve the
increase but they did request that the then newly hired Playfield Project
Manager discuss the issue in the Task Force environment.
Staff's recommendation to the Commission was to maintain the status quo
since both user groups had shown a good faith effort to improve the
situation by serving on the Task Force for over a six month period of time.
Since the playfield issue had not yet been resolved there would be no use in
increasing the fee at this time. Commissioner Swan made a motion to
support staff's recommendation to charge the standard $1,500 for the use of
Congress Springs Parks at this time. Commissioner Alberts seconded the
motion. There was further discussion after the motion but, the motion did
not pass. (2/3)
VIII. Reports:
Commissioner Reports: Commissioner Ioannou reported that she and
Commissioner Swan had written a response letter to Steve Enders from the
Saratoga News clarifying some points from a recent article regarding the most
recently approved trail grant.
Commissioner Clabeaux also pointed out to the Commission that a scout troop
had participated in hauling gravel for trail improvements as a community
service project.
Ci.ty Hall Update: none
Recreation Department Status Report: none
IX. Adjournment
Commissioner Whitney made a motion to adjourn the meeting and
Commissioner Clabeaux seconded the motion. The motion carried and the
meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. (5/0)
Prepared By:
I~.~ne M. jacobs
City staff Repres&qtative