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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.16.2021 PR Comm Minutes CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES FROM TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2021 I. CALL TO ORDER: 7:00 p.m. A regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission of the City of South San Francisco was held on Tuesday, February 16, 2021, via teleconference due to the COVID- 19 pandemic and local shelter in place health orders. II. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Aires, Battaglia, Camacho, DeNardi, Firpo, Lock, and Uy Absent: All were present. Staff: Sharon Ranals, ACM/Director of Parks and Recreation Greg Mediati, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Angela Duldulao, Recreation Manager Joshua Richardson, Parks Manager Tony Rozzi, Chief Planner Kari Jung, Administrative Assistant Laura Armanino, Childcare Supervisor Kimberly Morrison, Assistant Childcare Supervisor Philip Vitale, Deputy Director of Capital Projects Devin Stenhouse, Classes Supervisor Mike Mulkerrins, Sports/Rentals Supervisor Bill Stridbeck, Sports Coordinator Kelli Jo Cullinan, Seniors Supervisor III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Skipped. IV. AGENDA REVIEW: Chair Uy requested that recognition of retiring employees be moved to the top of the agenda so that they would be able to leave / attend to other commitments after their item. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 19, 2021, MEETING: Approved by motion. Motion: Commissioner Camacho / Seconded: Commissioner Battaglia. VI. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: ACM Ranals acknowledged Councilmember Flores in attendance. Councilmember Flores offered his thanks to staff and the Commission for their work and reflected that he started his service with the Parks and Recreation Commission. He offered additional appreciation to the retirees who have given such amazing years of service to the city. VII. BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE Deputy Director Mediati reported that there has not been a Beautification Committee meeting since February of last year and there is nothing new to report. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 2 VIII. OLD BUSINESS: A. Presentation of CPRS District IV Award Recipients Deputy Mediati presented the four nominees and recipients for the CPRS District IV awards: • Award of Excellence: Gardiner Park • Volunteer and Sponsor Citation Award: Jesus Ruiz • Professional Merit Award: Susan Filereto • Key to the Community: Full Day Childcare Program Jesse Ruiz was not able to attend but shared the following written statement: “Thank you Commissioners for this recognition, and I must add that this opportunity to serve our community has been a reward all on its own.” Susan Filereto expressed her thanks for the honor. Commission Battaglia offered congratulations to the group. Commissioner Firpo shared that the honors are well deserved. Commissioner Camacho also thanked and congratulated the award winners. Chair Uy offered thanks for the dedication and amazing work over the years and highlighted the amazing work of the childcare program which is a huge lifeline to our Community. Supervisor Armanino shared the acknowledgement with her staff, noting they are there every day for 11 hour days working with the kids and navigating virtual learning and juggling multiple schedules making sure that the kids are logging on at all the different times they have to get on. It’s an incredible team with an incredible mentor in Kelli Jo Cullinan. Deputy Mediati gave kudos to Deputy Vitale for his efforts managing the Gardiner Park project. B. Caltrain Station Update Chief Planner Rozzi shared a presentation on the design aspects of the Caltrain Station plaza. ACM Ranals thanked Tony for attending and reminded the Commission that the design of the station is complete. Commissioner Camacho inquired if the walkway is separate just for that tunnel. Chief Planner Rozzi clarified that the walkway and the cycle connection are one in the same and that clear and obvious signage will be part of the final construction that instruct riders to disembark and walk your bike through the tunnel. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 3 Commissioner Aires further commented on the bike and pedestrian paths and inquired about bike storage lockers and adequate lighting throughout. Chief Planner Rozzi explained that the bike lockers will be provided by the Caltrain team on both the eastern and western plazas as well as the parking lot area, final locations to be determined at the end of the project when the landscape designs are completed. Pretty extensive emergency lighting and aesthetic lighting is planned throughout the project. Some retrofit options will be available at the end of this project, related to adding gates if we need roll down gates on each side of the tunnel. Chief Planner Rozzi shared that the Caltrain team will have a new set of cameras and the City has set aside some extra budget assuming we might need to add additional lights in the parking lot. Commissioner Firpo inquired about the maintenance of the landscaping and on the east side of the tunnel if you can see through the tunnel from the street with the elevation difference. He further inquired about the location of the parking lot. Chief Planner Rozzi shared that the parking lot remains exactly where it is with some changes happening that may result in a joint parking structure that will be shared by both Caltrain users and the new office complex. The eastern plaza is definitely below grade you actually go down it's a set of stairs that gets you to the to the tunnel under the platform and there's a bit of a blind corner coming out of the tunnel and then going north out of that narrow passage. Commission Lock inquired about cleaning of the tunnel, considering the wind blowing garbage through the area. Chief Planner Rozzi shared that they are eliminating the through turn lane to the right that brings you on East Grand as well as tighten up the intersection to make it a safer crossing for everyone. There is maintenance budgeted into the project and he deferred that plan to Deputy Mediati who explained that it will be part of the Parks and Recreation endeavor to maintain the landscaping and amenities in the area. Commissioner Lock inquired about removal of water accumulating in the tunnel. Chief Planner Rozzi shared that the tunnel in engineered to remove storm water through the site. He didn’t have specifics to share about how it was engineered, but that was an important consideration in the design. Commissioner Lock further inquired about pedestrian navigation through and out of the site. Chief Planner Rozzi shared that there’s a pedestrian sidewalk on the eastern side with a stoplight beacon so that anyone who's crossing will actually be able to press and control and direct red lights so it's going to mostly be set on caution light for vehicles coming off because you do have the ability to travel north on Poletti Way. But pedestrians, will be able to turn it into a red and have a safe crossing. Commissioner Battaglia inquired about the width of the tunnel and wanted to know if the wall lights would be on all the time, so that pedestrians can see into and through the tunnel as they approach. Chief Planner Rozzi shared that the intention is to have the lights on whenever there's access to the tunnel and that a brightness design is supposed Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 4 to be uncomfortably bright so that no one will want to dwell and hang out in the plaza with those really bright lights shining on you. Chair Uy thanked Chief Planner Rozzi for the presentation. C. COVID-19 Response and Modified Operations Update Manager Duldulao reviewed that the region was under a Shelter at Home order and the City’s policy was not to hold any in-person programs aside from childcare and food delivery. As the Shelter at Home order was lifted in the middle of the winter and spring periods, not much had to be cancelled so there wasn’t much to reactivate. Starting on January 25, staff did bring back private tennis lessons, allowed co-sponsored groups to resume some of their sports clinic activities, and brought back some essential indoor trainings that are critical to staff trainings including CPR and lifeguard training. Indoor activities will not resume until we move into the red tier, and then with room capacity limits. Staff is currently planning for that next phase, while currently proceeding with outdoor activities. This spring we're looking forward to the start of our spring quarter of recreation activities that formally begins on March 22 with registration starting next week. Going over through each program: Aquatics programs are still closed. The pool could open for private lessons on the current tier, but we have some maintenance work planned. Staff is hoping that by the summer session the maintenance work will be complete and we move up a tier being able to offer expanded programs at the pool. Childcare has been going well. Unfortunately spring camp will be cancelled for the same reason we canceled winter camp, related to maintaining our stable cohorts is not possible with the one week spring camp model. We have announced our registration for next year's after school program which will take place by lottery again. The details for what the next school year will look like are still to be determined, but we'll proceed with the registration which will tell us the order in which we're able to register new participants into the program. We are still waiting on one detail, which is for the South San Francisco Unified School District, to confirm the use of the Ponderosa School site. One thing to note about summer camp is that, instead of registering for one week at a time we're going to be holding it in three weeks sessions. Classes – Spring session will be starting on March 22. Cultural Arts – our e-newsletter went out on February 14 announcing the opening of our Living In Virtual Times Photography Show that's also posted on the Cultural Arts website. We're looking forward to hosting a youth art show similar to the Dia de Muertos Photography Show that we're looking to partner with our childcare program as well as open up some opportunities to local children. This is an event we've partnered Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 5 with the school district on for many years and unfortunately, and understandably, the teachers just couldn't commit to producing that quantity of art this year, but we're still partnering with them to get the word out and hopefully we'll get some good art for the community to enjoy. Rentals – We're planning to bring back the tennis court reservation program in March based on popular demand. Responding to inquiries about where people can hold their events and spaces so right now we're just we're focusing on some of our church groups who have reached out to us and are trying to find alternative outdoor spaces for them and this includes some of our blanket rental groups, so people who come who depend on our facilities for their church services. Seniors – We're pleased to announce our continued partnership with the AARP tax aid program. Kelli Jo and her team have been really busy with calls for help with tax service. This program is limited to people who have had their taxes done in the past with AARP and that's a requirement on their part. Sports – We’re not likely to resume any kind of middle school or adults sports for the rest of the school year. But if we are allowed, we will bring back sporting events within our South San Francisco School District community and e-sports is still something we're working on and we'll get some details on that soon. Supervisor Stenhouse shared the team’s excitement about the plan to proceed with a modified version of our Easter Egg Hunt. Preregistration will be required, comparable to what we did with the Winter Wonderland in December, where families are registering in advance for a free event. We're going to take about six families per 10 minute registration period and they’ll have a couple minutes take a picture with the Easter Bunny on March 27, in front of the Eucalyptus Shelter at Orange Park. We will have some prepackaged plastic eggs for families as well. Commissioner DeNardi inquired if the timeslots will categorized by age groups so like toddlers won’t be mixed in with older kids. Supervisor Stenhouse shared that there wouldn’t be groups of aged kids, but small family groups going through and that the eggs would be dropped, or set out, for each family group, so that every kid would have an opportunity to collect their eggs. Commissioner Aires expressed his excitement to see the social media for the upcoming egg hunt and asked about the decrease in enrollment for winter session 2020 over 2019 due to the pandemic. Manager Duldulao shared that she didn’t have those numbers on hand and inquired if supervisor Stenhouse had a sense of the changes in enrollment. Supervisor Stenhouse shared that the changes in enrollment are extreme, taking into account that the last regular in person program period that we were able to conduct was Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 6 winter and spring 2020 was the first period we actually canceled everything do the pandemic. We're currently in the middle of the winter period for this year and every single class that we're offering, with the exception of tennis is virtual. Manager Duldulao suggested that staff will do a year in review and look into some of those numbers. ACM Ranals expressed that when looking forward to restoring services and programs to keep in mind that all part time staff was furloughed last July and any vacant full time positions were frozen. With any program restorations, as well as new facilities coming on line, Parks and Recreation are starting with a staffing deficit. Commissioner Firpo echoed Commissioner Aires comment about the Department’s ability to pivot and has done an amazing job. Commissioner Camacho commended staff on pivoting and finding a way to make this Easter Egg Hunt work in a socially distanced fashion. She further inquired about the previous staff positions that had been lost even prior to the pandemic and requested that information to be included in the report. Deputy Mediati shared that staff is working on budget proposals now and will come before the Commission soon with recommendations for review and feedback. Chair Uy echoed that it would be important to see what those frozen and eliminated positions are. He further inquired about what sports clinics will be running in the fall. Supervisor Mulkerrins shared that the staff are hoping to offer basketball clinics. Cornhole sets were recently purchased for open gym, but if we can't get in the gym we want to take it outdoors and start kind of teaching people how to play cornhole who don't not play. Flag football was very successful. Soccer and baseball are being offered by our co-sponsored groups. Chair Uy shared that club sports are out there doing skills clinics and they maintain those through an entire season, instead of having the season and wanted to know if that is something that we've looked into for our other programs like basketball and volleyball. Supervisor Mulkerrins shared that the weather is a big factor as far as teams go and will look into skills camps as weather conditions allow or if indoor activities are restored. D. Co-Sponsored Renewal Update Deputy Mediati updated the Commission on the status of the co-sponsored group agreements and recommended that the Commission extend the current agreements through June 30, 2022, to allow the groups more time to rebuild their programs and allow staff additional time to guide the groups through new changes as they occur in relation to the pandemic and changing orders/tiers. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 7 Commissioner Firpo moved to extend the agreements for existing co-sponsored groups through June 30, 2022 and Commissioner Camacho seconded. The motion carried unanimously IX. New Business: A. Recognition of Recreation Division Employees who are Retiring from the South San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department Supervisor Stenhouse introduced the hourly staff that have recently retired from the Department: Romeo Agloro, Millie Aranda, Anthony Balunsat, Helena Saco, William Thomas and Paul Tuason. Romeo Agloro has been the Department’s Kenpo Eskrima instructor since 2001. He passionately taught lessons for both children and adults for 19 years. Romeo has always been a very passionate instructor. Throughout his career, he has hosted karate tournaments, organized summer picnics for his students and their families, performed during the City’s Day in the Park celebrations, Parks Alive/Streets Alive event, Asian Alliance events, as well as other City functions. He has created a family-like environment during his lessons and has even taught students how to break bricks with their hands and feet. It is worth noting Romeo was thoughtful enough to train his assistant throughout his final few years of instruction to ensure the Kenpo Eskrima program could continue in South San Francisco after his retirement. Millie Aranda has taught Hawaiian Hula and Tahitian Dance since 2000. Her total time spent teaching with the City is 20 years! Millie originally began teaching at Terrabay Gymnasium but due to the overwhelming popularity of her classes, had to be moved to the Social Hall in the Municipal Services Building (MSB) to accommodate demand. Millie and her students have also performed at City events such as Day in the Park and Youth Art Shows, as well as hosting a bi-annual performance which would include live music, custom costumes of her own design, and delicious post-performance potlucks that made her class participants that much more vested in class and each other. Millie was also sure to train her assistant over the course of a few years to ensure Hawaiian Hula classes would be able to continue through the South San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department. Helena Saco has taught voice and piano classes since 2012. Her voice classes were for children and young teens and she organized quarterly recitals for family and friends. Her piano classes always filled to capacity. Helena has been very great to work with as she was always very accommodating and flexible with management who found it challenging to accommodate all instructors and their needs when creating seasonal schedules. Helena was always a “team player” when working with others. Naturally, Helena was extremely patient and enthusiastic with young children, teens and was very accepting of adults who were new beginners. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 8 William “Gene” Thomas has been our Tai Chi and wellness instructor since 2005. He was a student in the SSF Tai Chi program for many years and when his former instructor asked Gene to take over his classes when he retired from the program, Gene took advantage. Gene built a community of Tai Chi enthusiasts and classes were always filled to capacity. He was phenomenal at creating a warm, personable environment amongst his students. Gene served tea and snacks after each class to help build friendships and give students the opportunity to share their enjoyment of Tai Chi. Gene was also thoughtful enough to leave the program that he had built in capable hands upon his retirement from the City. Supervisor Stridbeck shared the following about his retiring staff: Anthony Balunsat has been working with the Department since 2006. He was a fixture at the Terrabay Recreation Center where he coached many basketball and volleyball teams over the years. There were many seasons staff could not find enough coaches and Anthony was willing to “step up” and coach as many as three teams during a particular season. On the weekends, Anthony would open and close Terrabay for open gym basketball, badminton, as well as work the rental parties. Anthony enjoyed working the middle school dances, Halloween Extravaganza, and assisted in the Junior Giants Program. The Parks and Recreation Department wants thank Anthony for all that he has done over the years for the City of South San Francisco and in particular our youth! Supervisor Mulkerrins shared the following about his retiring staff: Paul Tuason has been working with the Parks and Recreation Department since 2007. You could see him most weekdays as a Building Attendant for classes, and on weekends working facility rentals at the Westborough Recreation Building. Paul learned from multiple supervisors (John Wong, Elaine Porter, Mike Mulkerrins, Erin O’Brien, and Devin Stenhouse) through his career and was able to train any new staff that came aboard during his 13 years! Paul was also very valuable recently in the new outdoor programs that the Department offered during the pandemic. Paul will be moving to Arizona with his wife and two children. Millie Aranda expressed her gratitude and how much fun it has been over the past 20 years. Helena Saco also expressed her thanks to all of her wonderful supervisors over the years. She really enjoyed working for the Parks and Recreation Department. She wishes everyone the best and thanks for the opportunity. Supervisor Stenhouse shared that the comments were a compilation of compliments from all of the supervisors they’ve had over the years, including Elaine and Erin. And that they're sending their wishes as well. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 9 Anthony Balunsat shared that he’s been working for various groups in the Parks and Recreation Department over the past 12-13 years, and he’s grateful for the learning opportunities. Paul Tuason further expressed his gratitude for the opportunities he’s had with the Department. Chair Uy thanked the group for their amazing work over the years. Commissioner DeNardi thanked all for their dedicated service. Commissioner Firpo echoed the gratitude to the group. Commissioner Camacho shared her personal gratitude to the instructors that she has taken class from and to the group overall for their hard work and dedication. Commissioner Lock echoed the sentiments and shared that he recognizes how much of their hearts they have put into their work. Commissioner Battaglia echoed the sentiments and offered to the group to enjoy the new chapter of life. X. Friends of Parks and Recreation: Manager Duldulao shared that there are no updates at this time. XI. Items from Commission: Commissioner DeNardi asked how the youth yoga was working out. She also suggested that new classes may be of interest related to gardening. Additionally, she shared that her seat on the Commission replaced former Commissioner Flores and is up for renewal and she plans on submitting to Council for another full term. Supervisor Stenhouse shared that he is very pleased with how well the youth yoga classes were progressing and that both the instructors and the participants were growing and improving from class to class. And, in the spring we're going to be offering a yoga tween class for ages 10 to 14, offered Tuesday afternoons at 3:30 so just when kids should be out of school or hybrid learning. Commissioner Camacho commended staff on putting together this very thorough report on childcare for Councilmember Coleman. She requested further details on the FTEs and how many part time people were actually filling those positions along with the fully weighted costs. Commissioner Battaglia shared her concerns about the Seniors Program, and the need for them to socialize. Commissioner Battaglia congratulated the people that have retired. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 10 Commissioner Aires echoed Commissioner DeNardi’s suggestion for gardening classes. He shared that he is a UC Master Gardener for San Mateo and San Francisco counties and it's part of their mission statement to provide classes to the public. He'd be happy to make any introduction needed to help that along. Additionally he expressed that the more information that the commission has compiled related to budgets, positions, and programs offered the better armed they are to advocate for the department. Commissioner Firpo shared his thoughts about the green spaces around Oyster Point. He also has looked through the online photography exhibit and it was very interesting. Commissioner Lock commended staff for efforts at Orange Park, upkeep of the tennis courts, the dog park and surrounding areas. He reported a lot of graffiti at the skate park and wanted to know what the timeline for getting that cleaned up will be. Manager Richardson shared that staff is working on cleaning up the ramps this week. Commissioner Lock further commented on the concrete planters over by the artists’ studios that have been tagged as well and wanted to know if they can be painted by artists similar to the utility boxes around town. Commissioner Lock expressed that he’s thrilled with the Agents of Discovery app and hopes to see that program expanded further. Chair Uy echoed his support of all the commissioner’s comments. He shared that the Department is the heart and soul of South San Francisco. XII. Items from Staff: A. Calendar of Events. Deputy Mediati provided a brief update of the Calendar of Events highlighting: • Spring registration begins on the 22nd • Spring session begins in March • Easter Egg Hunt will be on the 27th and • April will probably have at least some sort of tree planting event to celebrate Arbor Day. B. Administrative Updates Chair Uy inquired if Commissioners had any questions related to the previously shared administrative updates. Commissioner Lock inquired about the status of Sign Hill. Manager Richardson shared that tree work and erosion control been occurring on Sign Hill over the past weeks with about another week of work before all the erosion control efforts are finalized. The Ridge trail has been cleared of hazardous trees and will be reopening. The Seubert trail and the Eucalyptus loop are clear of hazardous trees and will be reopened as well. Staff is working on updating signage for the other closed trails, the Letters trail and the Irish trail. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of February 16, 2021 Page 11 ACM Ranals shared that the Cultural Arts Commission will review the revised plan for the Gardiner Park mural on Thursday. Commissioner Firpo inquired about what the little animals represent? ACM Ranals shared that the artist explained that they're his trademark and his signature element that he puts in all of his murals. XIII. Adjournment: 9:21 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kari Jung, Administrative Assistant II