Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.15.2021 PR Comm Minutes CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES FROM TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 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, June 15, 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 Kari Jung, Administrative Assistant II Erin O’Brien, Recreation Supervisor Laura Armanino, Childcare Supervisor Devin Stenhouse, Recreation Supervisor Mike Mulkerrins, Sports/Rentals Supervisor III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Skipped. IV. AGENDA REVIEW: There were no changes to the agenda. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE MAY 18, 2021 MEETING: Approved as amended by motion. Motion: Commissioner Firpo / Seconded: Commissioner Camacho VI. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: None. VII. OLD BUSINESS: A. COVID-19 Response and Modified Operations Update Manager Duldulao shared that staffing is increasing as the department prepares to reopen which requires additional time spent training new staff and retraining returning staff. Administration – August 2nd is the target date for reopening in person counter service citywide. Council meetings will resume in person in August and Commission meetings closer to end of the calendar year. Aquatics operations is slightly different. Reservation program was stopped on 6/21 and the pool was opened back up to drop in similar to how it was prior to the pandemic. The drop-in schedule will be posted on the website. Swim passes are returning, and the department will be honoring balances from prior to the pandemic. 1st session started with a smaller capacity (3 per class) and will be increasing to 6 per class. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 15, 2021 Page 2   Childcare – Summer Camp began 6/7 with 200 children in program (typical would be 330). 1st session was with a smaller capacity per class and will increase over subsequent sessions. Looking towards the fall the department is engaging in active discussions with the school district. Pending negotiations for additional childcare space. Will start enrolling in mid-July. Classes –Summer session started 6/1. The department onboarded our new Recreation Division Admin, Catherine Misener. Devin is putting together Fall Activity Guide. Cultural Arts is remaining virtual through October. Open call for entries for a Study in Contrast with a deadline to submit of 7/9. Rentals – Supervisor Mulkerrins will provide update later in the meeting. All picnic sites are opened to full capacity (except #3 or #5 at OMP due to the stormwater project) – over 400 reservations made online. Indoor rentals will start again mid-July with co- sponsored and blanket groups with lower capacity. Private rentals are being tracked on an interest list. Facilities will reopen in August. Seniors – Still closed, and potentially opening in July. Adult Day Care reopening is pending information from licensing. Piloting soft opening for participants in yoga class and will slowly add more programming. Sports – Jr Giants started Monday, 7/14. Co-ed softball started 7/12 at Hillside Field. Middle school sports meeting will be mid-July and be finalized in August. Open Gym on limited basis for badminton with over 200 online permits, being well managed by Jim Reidy. Tennis court reservations end 6/27 after issuing over 1,200 reservations with a recent decline due to more outdoor activities and staff needing to be reassigned to indoor activities. Chair Uy thanked staff on behalf of the commission for the updates. B. Fiscal Year 2021-22 Budget Update Deputy Mediati shared the updates on the FY 2021-22, focusing on fees and capital projects, reminding the commission that they must review and forward a recommendation on fee increases to council per municipal code. Last year’s fee adjustments (3% increase across the board) were suspended due to the pandemic. Increases support COLA increases and the last was in 2019. Staff has recommended 2% increase for 2021-22 as shown in the attached to report. In prior years, the increases have ranged from 3-5%, this year is lower taking pandemic economic hardships into account. Commissioner Aires inquired if the 2% increase applies to both residents and non- residents and if it has always been that way. Deputy Mediati confirmed that it applies for both and has always been done that way. Commissioner Aires further inquired what the split of participants is. Manager Duldulao estimated that residents makeup Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 15, 2021 Page 3   approximately 80% of participants with variations across programs and specialty classes (like ballet which is a regional type of program). Commissioner Firpo inquired about the capacity of the childcare program. Manager Duldulao shared that both the preschool and after school programs are usually at full capacity (kids aging out may cause intermittent gaps). Commissioner Firpo expressed his support of a 2% increase over potentially higher percentage increases in the future. Commissioner Camacho agreed with Commissioner Firpo, understands keeping up with inflation and would like to see childcare remain lower but understands the costs. ACM Ranals shared that the City is negotiating with bargaining units and COLA increases was originally proposed at 1.6 in the spring and is now 3.8. Deputy Mediati explained that if fees aren’t raised now then the following year will likely be even higher and that slow incremental per year is easier on families. ACM Ranals shared that if the fee survey for following year is higher, we can advocate for more scholarship funds. Commissioner DeNardi shared that 2% is moderate and she supports, indicating that the City’s classes are offered at a bargain for the quality provided. Commissioner Lock concurred that immense value is being provided and expressed that a certain % of population is at bottom of the economic scale and staff should remain mindful of that portion of the population. Chair Uy shared that he doesn’t like fee increases, but if it will prevent future large increases than it is best for the community to support the increase now. Commissioner DeNardi made a motion to support the 2% fee increase. Commissioner Battaglia seconded. The motion was passed unanimously. Deputy Mediati provided brief updates on the capital project, including the Civic Campus, HVAC upgrades, design of a new preschool at Carter Park in the Westborough area, Orange Memorial Park ballfield upgrade, Parks 11 suites of projects, fire mitigation on Sign Hill, replacement of pool at Orange Park, and Westborough Park updates. Commissioner Camacho inquired on the timeline for the preschool which Deputy Mediati confirmed is in design phase now through the end of the year, construction is estimated for eight months to a year, opening in 2023. Commissioner Firpo inquired if these projects are funded? AMC Ranals shared that most are partially funded now with more out-year appropriations and some future bond sales. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 15, 2021 Page 4   Commissioner Aires inquired about the new project number, PF2103. Deputy Mediati explained that it is a portion of the larger Civic Campus project separated out for project management. VIII. New Business: A. Celebrating July is National Park and Recreation Month Manager Duldulao shared that July is National Park & Recreation Month, celebrated nationwide since 1985. This year’s theme is Our Story which Supervisor O’Brien will be assisting to pull this campaign together sharing the City’s youth internship program where we're working with high school interns city wide and the Park and Recreation Department has two that we're onboarding. We’ll be looking for more community members to share their stories and will be launching a social media campaign for free classes and community events, creating a field day event on July 20 from 3:00-6:00 p.m. A proclamation will be issued at the June 23 council meeting. B. Spring 2021 Classes Summary Supervisor Stenhouse shared a brief summary on Classes and the testing of hybrid classes. A majority of classes were below room capacity. Commissioner DeNardi inquired about the Master Gardeners class. Supervisor Stenhouse confirmed that 37 registered and 14 attended. Commissioner Aires expressed his thanks to Supervisor Stenhouse and Veronica Ortiz for their outstanding support. Commissioner Camacho commended the team and asked about Movie Night. Supervisor Stenhouse confirmed that Movie Nights are scheduled for July 16 and August 20 showing Raya and the Last Dragon, and Onward, respectively. Chair Uy inquired about testing a hybrid model and if there were any outbreaks. Supervisor Stenhouse confirmed that there were none in spring and only one positive case in the fall, but that was outside of the program. IX. Friends of Parks and Recreation: Manager Duldulao shared that the Friends are evaluating fundraising for coming year and considering a virtual paint night. X. 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. XI. Items from Commission: Commissioner Lock shared his support for the parks projects on the CIP and under discussion for further development in out years. He further shared a recent trip to the parks where he counted dozens of kids playing and that the breadth of diversity was tremendous. He asked about the looming drought, specifically the green areas around Lindenville and if Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 15, 2021 Page 5   it will become a patchwork of brown lawns. Deputy Mediati shared that staff is waiting to hear what restrictions will be proposed/implemented. Commissioner Firpo commented on the dog park closure for maintenance and now Buri Buri Park is packed with dog walkers. He thanked staff for patience and dedication. Commissioner Aires shared that he was at the steps of City Hall for raising of the LGBTQ flag, bocce ball reopening, and at Brentwood Park he met Joaquin (a friendly and helpful staff member). He asked about any fire prevention steps being taken on Sign Hill (signage or public safety outreach). Deputy Mediati agreed that would be a good idea. Commissioner Battaglia asked about who handles graffiti cleanup and expressed her support of the 2% increase, a little at a time is more tolerable. Deputy Mediati shared that if the graffiti is on private property then Code Enforcement would be involved, but if on a public building, access, then Public Works would handle. Commissioner Camacho welcomed Catherine to the department. She share that the Buri Buri gophers have returned and the trees by Terrabay are looking sad with a lot of wind burn. She inquired if preschool will be at full capacity in the fall? Supervisor Armanino shared that staff is waiting for updated guidelines regarding keeping stable groups as small as possible and how to max out spaces based on changing guidelines. Commissioner DeNardi asked about saving the succulent plants at the MSB to reuse them at another site. Deputy Mediati shared that staff has considered, but have no plans at this time. ACM Ranals shared that depending on the disposition of the property, the City may not be able to harvest the plants. Chair Uy shared that he is happy dog park open, his support for staff that managed the all- day childcare program during the school year and is glad to hear fields are a priority for watering. XII. Items from Staff: A. Calendar of Events. Deputy Mediati and Manager Duldulao provided a brief update of the Calendar of Events. B. Administrative Updates Chair Uy inquired if Commissioners had any questions related to the previously shared administrative updates. None were shared. ACM Ranals shared that Emma Lewis and the Sign Hill Stewards reported seeing a Silver Spot Callippe butterfly which has not been seen since 1989 and is an endangered butterfly. Unfortunately, Emma is leaving us in August and going to Law School. XIII. Adjournment: 8:51 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kari Jung, Administrative Assistant II