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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