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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-27-1998 Parks and Recreation Quarterly Update to CouncilCity Council Meeting • Quarterly Update October 27, 1998 The K-12 Trip Reduction Project: ALTRANS has continued their outreach program, attending school assemblies and designing education and incentive plans to encourage use of alternative transportation. The biggest improvement in this year's project is the new shuttle service being offered. The ALTRANS shuttle service began on September 8, 1998 to and from Redwood Middle School. At the present time the program is transporting twenty-one children to Redwood Middle School. The shuttle program currently utilizes two vans; one belonging to ALTRANS and the other van on loan from the City. The shuttle service has received favorable comments from parents because of the personal service of home to school pick-up. The number of families that will be able to utilize the service will be increasing after the first of the year since two additional vans have been ordered. This will give ALTRANS three vans to operate within the City of Saratoga. The City recently received funding from the Office of Traffic Safety in order to fund a Saratoga Youth Bicycle Safety Education Program. The Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) and staff have been working with ALTRANS to fold this Safety Education Program into the K-12 Trip Reduction Program. Since the K-12 Program is already established in the schools, both the staff and the BAC felt this to be an • appropriate vehicle in which to incorporate this Bicycle Safety Program. As children are being encouraged to use alternative modes of transportation, it is important to also educate them to the safety issues related to these other options. In addition, the Saratoga K- I Z Trip Reduction Program has been named the Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation's Business Environmental Award winner for 1998 and will be recognized at a special reception on October 30, 1998. 2. Park Development Projects (Project Fund 9704) Playfield Development Project: After the Council approved the request to modify The Beals Group's, formerly Beals Landscape Architecture, original scope of services as Project Manager for the Playfield Development Project at the September 22, 1998 meeting, they went straight to work on the schematic plans. The Beals Group presented their first draft of the schematic plans to the Saratoga, Cupertino and Campbell School District representatives at a meeting on October 13th. Task Force members were also invited to attend to discuss and review the schematic plans. Subsequent meetings were arranged so that the schematic plans could be altered and refined before they were shared with the public. Three Public Information meetings have been scheduled for the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed project sites; Blue Hills Elementary/Azule site, Marshall • Lane School site and the Foothill School site. These Public Information Meetings have been scheduled with the intent of hearing the ideas and concerns of the surrounding community and attempt to respond to and/or incorporate these ideas • during the schematic stage of development. Three Public Input Meetings have been scheduled. The dates and times of the meetings are listed below and all meetings will take place at the particular school sites. • Foothill Elementary: Thursday, October 22, 1998 (6:30-8:00 p.m.) • Marshall Lane School: Tuesday, October 27, 1998 (6:30-8:00 p.m.) • Blue Hills Elementary/Azule Park: Thursday, November 1 Z, 1998 (6:30- 8:00 p.m.) Neighbors living within a 500 ft. radius of the three sites received a notice of the meetings in the mail and there has been notification of the meetings printed in the Saratoga News. After the Public Information Meetings, we will address the public concerns and ideas into the final plans that will go before each of the three School Boards, the Task Force, the Parks and Recreation Commission and finally to the City Council. 2. Wildwood Park Restrooms: Staff has narrowed down the search for turn-key operations to two vendors that staff feels most closely meets the needs of the City. Staff is making arrangements for the Commission to meet with these vendors so a recommendation can then be made to Council regarding the restrooms at Wildwood Park. • 3. Kevin Moran/Gardiner Park Play Equipment Replacement: Staff is in the process of having drawings drafted for each site. The Commission will have an opportunity to interview the vendors who have submitted responses to the City's Request for Proposal. After the preliminary designs have been sketched, a neighborhood meeting will be scheduled to allow residents to share ideas and any concerns related to the new play equipment which will then be incorporated into the final design of the site. This project will receive first priority after the Playfield Task Force has disbanded and the final project has been approved. 4. Community Center Renovation: At the last joint meeting with the Commission, Council requested information regarding costs associated with a feasibility study for improvements to the Community Center before any decisions were to be made about the future of the facility. Pamela Anderson Brule, of Anderson Brule Architects, was asked to perform a preliminary assessment of needs for the Community Center. This assessment will provide information needed to draft a Request for Proposals for a Feasibility Study and Master Plan for the renovation, addition to or rebuilding of the Community Center. A questionnaire was distributed to all instructors and contractors who utilize the Community Center to receive their input related to the facility. When the assessment is complete, this information will be presented to the Council who can then determine what they feel should be done to the existing facility. 5. Trail Improvements: Over the past six months, the Commission has received a large amount of correspondence regarding trail conditions and trail concerns as they relate to new developments. As a response to this, the Commission has designated a Trail Sub-committee, (Commissioners Swan & Iannou) ,who have • dedicated themselves to researching trail concerns. The sub-committee follows up on concerns raised by the public in addition to being pro-active in their attempts to secure existing trails and insist that new developments upgrade trails to the level outlined in the Parks and Trail Master plan. To date, the Trails Sub-committee has met several times with Planning staff and will continue to do so in order to clarify some concerns that exists with trails and the new development process. In addition, the Parks and Recreation Commission is finalizing their Trails Grant Program. In the past, volunteers have approached the City and volunteered their time to clean up and improve certain sections of existing trails. The City would then supply the volunteer group with the necessary materials for their particular project. The Commission believes that by formalizing this process, it will encourage more residents to volunteer their time to make improvements to the trails they most use. Also, by establishing a formalized process, the Commission will be better able to document when and where the trails have been improved and those sites that still need attention. 6. Heritage Orchard Improvements: There have been no new developments with this project. The Commission will continue to explore other opportunities that can be arranged for the Heritage Orchard and how it is cared for . • • SARATOGA RESIDENT SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS as of October 1998 Campbell Union School District Capri 2 Forest Hill 29 • Marshall Lane 149 Rollins Hills 91 total: 271 Campbell Union High School District Blackford 4 Leigh 3 Prospect 100 Westmont 83 total: 190 Cupertino Union School District • Blue Hills 437 Collins 1 Eisenhower 1 Hyde 14 Faris 12 Christa McAuliffe 43 John Muir 15 Miller Jr. High 118 Nimitz 1 Portal 14 Re~nart 0 total: 668 Fremont Union High School District Cupertino 3 Fremont 1 Homestead 1 Lynbrook 279 Monts Vista 119 Alternative Pro grams 8 total: 411 Moreland Union School District Baker 21 Castro'MS 33 Moreland continued Country Lane 154 Discovery 5 Easterbrook 4 Latimer 1 Payne 5 Rogers MS 41 total: 264 Saratoga Union School District Argonaut 578 • Foothill 549 Redwood 817 Saratoga 327 total: 2,271 Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint High School District Los Gatos H.S. 15 Saratoga 998* total: 1,105 St. Andrew's Parish Day School 110 of 320 families attending reside in Saratoga. Approximately 140 students Sacred Heart Catholic School 126 of 210 families attending reside in Saratoga. *excludes all inter-district transfers & students from Monte Sereno, Los Gatos and unicorporated areas