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Home My WebLink About05-12-2009 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes City of Saratoga Parks and Recreation Commission MINUTES DATE: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 TIME: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. LOCATION: Saratoga City Hall Senior Center – Magnolia Room 19655 Allendale Avenue Saratoga, CA 95070 Call to Order – 6:35 p.m. Roll Call Present: Goldberg, Bruno, Soukup, Wilson Absent: None Staff: Morrow Members of the Public: Mark Johnson, Nagbushan Veerapaneni Report on Posting of the Agenda: Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2, this meeting was properly posted on May 6, 2009. Accept Agenda Items: No additional items may be added pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2. ‐ BRUNO: MOVED TO ACCEPT AGENDA ITEMS ‐ GOLDBERG: SECOND ‐ APPROVED: 4‐0 Oral & Written Communication: Any member of the public may address the Commission about any matter not on the agenda for this meeting for up three minutes. Commissioners may not comment on the matter, but may choose to place the topic on a future agenda. ‐ Commission reviewed letter from Youth Commissioner Kia Fariba Commissioner Announcements ‐ Goldberg announced that the work at Kevin Moran Park is moving forward nicely and the park is looking good. Approval of Draft Minutes: Draft Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) Minutes for March 10, 2009 meeting. ‐ WILSON: MOVED TO ACCEPT MINUTES ‐ BRUNO: SECOND ‐ APPROVED: 4‐0 Reports: (This section is informational only; no actions will be taken.) 1. John Cherbone, Director of Public Works ‐ Morrow told the Commission that Cherbone could not attend the meeting and reported on his behalf. ‐ Morrow noted that work on Kevin Moran Park is moving forward as scheduled. The park is expected to be complete in July. ‐ Morrow added that the improvements at El Quito Park are now finished. ‐ Morrow mentioned that work on Joe’s Trail will likely begin in the fall, after the City has received the necessary permits from the Santa Clara Valley Water District and puts the project out to bid. ‐ Morrow informed the Commission that improvements to the play equipment at Ravenwood have still not been started, as the City is waiting for the funding for the project to come through. ‐ Morrow said that during the May 20, 2009 City Council Meeting, the Council is expected to accept funds from the City of Monte Sereno that will be used to pay for installation of a petanque court in Azule Park. 2. Denise Goldberg, Pedestrian, Equestrian, and Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee (PEBTAC) ‐ Goldberg reported that the PEBTAC submitted a new bicycle map of the City for Council consideration. The map was created to be added to the City’s General Plan. ‐ Goldberg indicated the map will be added to a future agenda, but the date has not yet been scheduled. ‐ Soukup suggested that the PEBTAC might want to consider adding City parks to the bike map. ‐ Goldberg commented that the PEBTAC is working on trail maps for the City and agreed to share the suggestion to highlight routes to the City parks on the maps. 3. Crystal Morrow, Staff Liaison ‐ Morrow reported that on May 20, 2009, the City Council will be appointing new Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mark Johnson, discussing the proposed budget, and reviewing the revised Commission Handbook. ‐ Morrow added the City Council adopted a new parliamentary procedure, which will take effect on June 6, 2009. Morrow passed out copies of the new rules of order. ‐ Morrow informed the PRC that the City Council will be holding a joint meeting with Saratoga homeowners and neighborhood associations on June 17, 2009. Old Business: 4. Selection of Commission Chair and Vice Chair Issue: The terms of the current Chair and Vice Chair expire this May 2009. Per the City of Saratoga Municipal Code, the Commission is required to select a new Chair and Vice Chair. Action: Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) will select a new Chair and Vice Chair, who will assume their positions immediately. ‐ Soukup requested nominations or volunteers for the position of Chair and Vice Chair. ‐ Goldberg volunteered to be the Commission Chair. ‐ Bruno nominated Wilson to the position of Vice Chair. ‐ Wilson accepted the nomination. ‐ BRUNO: MOVED TO SELECT GOLDBERG AS CHAIR AND WILSON AS VICE CHAIR. ‐ SOUKUP: SECOND ‐ APPROVED: 4‐0 5. North Campus Naming Process Issue: The Council has directed the PRC to lead a public process to name the North Campus. Action: PRC to continue planning the public process to name the North Campus. ‐ Bruno noted that Nagbushan Veerapaneni, AYSO representative, was present at the meeting and proposed moving ahead to Item 6. ‐ SOUKUP: MOVED TO DISCUSS ITEM 6 BEFORE ITEM 5. ‐ BRUNO: SECOND ‐ APPROVED: 4‐0 ‐ Wilson presented the naming process communications plan, which reflected input given during the last PRC meeting. The plan included background, key audience objectives, key message points, channels of communication, and a timeline. ‐ Morrow noted that the opening of Fellowship Hall has been postponed and would likely be delayed until July or August. Morrow suggested that the PRC move forward with the naming process independently of the Fellowship Hall opening. ‐ Soukup mentioned that he had been unable to meet with Goldberg after the last meeting to discuss rules for submittal and evaluation of proposals. He added that the two would meet in the next few days to create an outline for what is an acceptable name, guidelines for submission and methods for selecting top proposals. ‐ Goldberg volunteered to create form for submissions. ‐ The consensus of the group was to move forward with the naming process independently of the Fellowship Hall opening event, collect submissions for the month of June, and use the guidelines and rules created by the naming process rules committee. New Business: 6. Informational Report on Field Use Issue: In January 2009, the PRC established its work plan for the 2009 calendar year. The Commission expressed an interest in learning more about field use and scheduled an informational report on the matter for the May 2009 meeting. Action: Informational item, no action necessary. ‐ Morrow reported on the status of field usage in the City ‐ Goldberg noted that there was some concern about people parking in the neighborhoods behind Prospect High School for games. ‐ Soukup asked the AYSO representative, Nagbushan Veerapaneni, if AYSO is happy with current field use conditions. ‐ Nagbushan Veerapaneni said that AYSO is happy with the current arrangements and wanted to know if there were any problems or concerns he could report back to AYSO. ‐ The Commission concurred that it appears field use needs are being met. 7. Preparation for Joint Meeting with Saratoga City Council Issue: The City Council conducts joint meetings with each Saratoga Commission. The PRC is scheduled to meet with the Council on June 3, 2009. Action: PRC will select and prepare several discussion items for the joint meeting. ‐ Bruno had suggested asking the Council if the Commission should be pursuing an award that recognized the City for its efforts to be healthy and active. ‐ Bruno said she felt the purpose of the vision has shifted away from policy and more towards promoting parks and recreation in Saratoga. ‐ Goldberg agreed that the purpose of the Commission has changed and she sees it as more of a Commission focused on engaging the community and getting people active and into the parks. ‐ Soukup said that seemed to be good focus for the Commission, since it appears that there is no need for the Commission to participate in capital projects and policy matters have been resolved for the most part. ‐ Goldberg proposed adding event planning to the Commission’s focus. ‐ Soukup mentioned that music in the park events have been mentioned and the Commission might want to plan some music‐related events in the parks. ‐ Bruno suggested proposing this new direction to Council during the Joint Meeting. ‐ Goldberg added that the Commission should be thinking about how it can stimulate enrollment in Recreation Department programs. Goldberg gave the example of Yoga in the Park, where an instructor would lead a yoga session in one of the parks and then staff could help people register for a regular yoga class. ‐ Wilson felt this was a good idea and suggested doing a traveling program – Recreation in Your Park – to highlight various recreational programs and the parks. ‐ Mark Johnson, member of the public, commented that he felt the Commission should be concerned with increasing Recreation Department program enrollment. He said that many residents are unaware of the programs and services available through the City’s Recreation Department. ‐ Consensus of the group was to present the Commission’s new vision, to serve as a way to promote parks and recreation through increased marketing and small events, to the Council during the Joint Meeting. Agenda Items for Next Meeting ‐ No additional agenda items for the next meeting. Adjournment – 8:13 p.m. ‐ SOUKUP: MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING ‐ BRUNO: SECOND ‐ APPROVED: 4‐0 Minutes submitted by: Crystal Morrow, Administrative Analyst II City of Saratoga – City Manager’s Office