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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.16.18 CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION Tuesday, October 16, 2018 I. CALL TO ORDER: 7:02 p.m. A regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission of the City of South San Francisco was held on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at the Municipal Services Building, 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, California. II. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Camacho, Garrone, Flores, Holt, Lock, and Uy Absent: Battaglia Staff: Sharon Ranals, Director of Parks and Recreation Greg Mediati, Parks Manager Angela Duldulao, Recreation Manager Danielle Sanderson, Business Manager III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. AGENDA REVIEW: No changes. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE JULY 17 & AUGUST 16, 2018, MEETINGS: The minutes were approved by Commissioner Flores with a second by Commissioner Camacho, unanimous. VI. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: A. Armando Lei spoke about Pickleball. He provided a history and overview of the health benefits of playing Pickleball. He expressed interest in seeing additional courts, both indoor and outdoor, in South San Francisco. VII. OLD BUSINESS: A. Concert in the Park Recap Manager Duldulao provided a report back via PowerPoint presentation on Concerts in the Park which included a discussion on the location, estimated number of attendees, musical acts and statistics on the number of attendees who participated in the Family Fun Zone (1200 waivers signed). The presentation highlighted the changes that were implemented this year such as additional funding provided to support the Family Fun Zone and creating a section on the grass for attendees who brought tents and canopies. Lastly, she gave a special recognition and thanks to the Parks and Facilities staff who worked to clean up the park before, during and after the event. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of September 18, 2018 Page 2 Manager Duldulao recognized the Friends of Park and Recreation for participating in beer and wine sales, as well as the Full of Fun group for selling snacks at the Family Fun Zone. Manager Duldulao reported that the Department received $20,000 in sponsorships from local businesses which allowed for long-term purchases, such as the ice cream cart, to support future concert events. Manager Duldulao reported results of the Department conducted survey provided positive feedback from 92% of respondents. Commissioner Flores asked clarifying questions about the survey methodology, suggesting that future survey materials be bi-lingual. He also provided feedback on the food vendors and offered the following suggestions: include food for people with dietary restrictions where possible, expand options and quantity since some food vendors ran out of food and other vendors had very long lines. Commissioner Flores also suggested longer hours for the Family Fun Zone and said he would like to have a future discussion about parking accommodations since it appeared that parking was available in restricted areas and it could have been opened up to the public. Lastly, he suggested engaging more on social media during the event to attract more people. He concluded his comments by thanking the volunteers and staff for making it a successful event. Commissioner Holt thanked staff and commented that he was impressed with the event and how clean the park was. He stated that he walked around the entire event, saw the different zones and thought the event was well run and well attended. Commissioner Lock stated he spoke with many community members who loved the new features and was very happy with the event. Commissioner Camacho stated that the feedback she received on the Family Fun Zone was great. She suggested that publicizing the program earlier to the community could be helpful in drawing more people. She praised the partnership with the Full of Fun group and suggested healthier snack options for sale next year. She commented on the long food lines at the food trucks and suggested more options to purchase Mexican food. She agreed with Commissioner Flores’ comment about engaging on social media more during the event and said that the hats and t-shirt sales were popular and well received. Lastly she mentioned obtaining credit card readers for purchases in future years. Chairperson Garrone inquired about the amount of snack shack revenue that was collected and mentioned that the Family Fun Zone was very busy, praising staff for their work Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of September 18, 2018 Page 3 before, during and after the event. He agreed with Commissioner Flores’ comment about keeping the Family Fun Zone open longer. Director Ranals replied to commissioner comments by stating the additional funding of $15,000 was one-time at the direction of Council to host a Family Fun Zone. Continuing this portion of the event would depend on future funding, but staff will follow up with Mayor Pro-Tempore Matusmoto on funding for next year. Director Ranals described the logistical challenges with leaving the Family Fun Zone open longer but suggested moving it closer to the main stage next year. She provided an explanation about health permitting requirements vendors are required to follow when selling food to the public in an outdoor setting and the challenges with finding vendors who can meet those requirements. The Commissioners engaged in a conversation about the future of the Family Fun Zone and all were supportive of continuing this portion of the event; the necessity of waivers for the Family Fun Zone and the possibility of forgoing them or completing them on-line in advance of the event. Director Ranals stated she will work with the City Attorney and the vendor to see what can be done moving forward. Director Ranals also mentioned soliciting donations for the Family Fun Zone in future years if the City Council does not provide additional funding. VIII. NEW BUSINESS: A. Community Advisory Committee for the General Plan Steering Committee Principal Planner, Tony Rozzi with the City’s Planning Department addressed the Commission to ask for a volunteer to participate on the community advisory committee to assist with the General Plan update. He explained the General Plan process and stated this is when the City will re-evaluate its investment in development and transportation. Per Council direction, the committee will be made of up 10 residents and one member of the Park and Recreation Commission. The commitment would be at least two years long with one meeting per month in the evenings to start, with meetings occurring more frequently as the process continues. Commissioner Flores asked about the process, including if bi-lingual materials will be available. Mr. Rozzi stated that participants need to be able to speak and understand English but they are interested in having residents from all five different neighborhoods participate. He mentioned that they often have trouble recruiting volunteers who are not native English speakers and appreciated the feedback about reaching out to their communities. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of September 18, 2018 Page 4 Commissioner Lock asked who this committee would report to, and Mr. Rozzi explained the committee would report back to the City Manager who would report to the City Council. Commissioner Camacho expressed concerns with the information being filtered and she wanted to make sure the City Council heard as directly as possible from the committee and community. Mr. Rozzi stated that the committee meetings would be public and the committee would follow public meeting notice and reporting requirements. Chairperson Garrone appointed Commissioner Camacho to the committee and he will be the secondary commissioner. He followed up his comments by mentioning he would speak with Commissioner Battalgia about becoming the secondary person since he will not be returning as a Commissioner and is considering applying to participate as a resident instead. B. Aquatics Program Update Aquatics Supervisor Devin Stenhouse provided an update on the City’s Aquatics Program. The update included: information about the pilot membership card program that has been taking place at the pool since June; notification of pool closures in December for routine maintenance; an update on staffing with the recent departure of long-term employee, Jeri Ward and acknowledgement of staff person Brian Noche who is a certified pool operator and certified lifeguard trainer; acknowledgement that the City received a $5,300 donation from Bimbo Bakery which was used to host a Family Night at the pool, upgrade equipment and offset the cost of pool maintenance; and an update on the staffing software, Digiquatics which is very useful when scheduling pool staff. Commissioner Uy praised the children’s aquatic group classes. He asked about hoses left out in the men’s locker room after the children’s aquatic group classes, which block the sink. Supervisor Stenhouse said he believes they are left out from staff trying to get a jump on the evening cleaning duties and he will speak with them about it. Commissioner Flores asked how the City was notifying the community of the pool closure and Supervisor Stenhouse said it would be done through CivicRec, social media and that staff will provide a list of other facilities in the area that are open during the closure. Commissioner Camacho mentioned hosting more special events like ones she’s seen in other cities to attract more patrons to the pool. Supervisor Stenhouse said he would keep that in mind and encouraged the Commissioners to continue thinking of other fun activities to support the pool. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of September 18, 2018 Page 5 IX. Beautification Committee Margie Casagrande provided an update on the Beautification awards. The City Council was interested in seeing signs homeowners can put up in their yards to announce the award. The Committee is currently reviewing the costs. The Committee is also interested in additional ways to promote the awards either on social medial or in the newspaper. The Committee received a staff update on the Circle 3.0 project and is very excited to see the program roll out. X. Friends of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Holt thanked everyone for a great event at Concerts in the Park and said they would be writing thank you cards to the Full of Fun group. He mentioned that the Friends of Parks and Recreation donated $250 to each High School Band that performed at Concerts in the Park. XI. Items from Commission Commissioner Holt reported that he attended Jeri Ward’s retirement party, the Liberty Park Ribbon Cutting, the City Council Candidates Forum and the Cultural Arts Commission’s Day of the Dead event, which he noted had a great turnout. He also attended the Improving Public Places planting event and thanked Manager Mediati and staff for a great event. He thanked staff for the San Felipe stairs and stated he wanted to hear feedback on the ballfields meeting. Commissioner Lock reported that the non-profit organization California Association of Parks and Recreation Commissioners and Board Members (CAPRCBM) is accepting nominees for their 2019 recognition awards for staff and commissioners. He mentioned the City of San Bruno is a member again and the City of South San Francisco should participate. Additionally he requested the Food and Toy drive be added to the calendar. Lastly, he requested that City staff add Pickleball and an update of the ballfields meeting to a future agenda. Director Ranals stated that we will provide a summary of the notes taken at the meeting and staff will add this item to a future agenda. She also mentioned that there was no money to move forward with the Parks 11 program at this time except for Gardner Park. Commissioner Uy reported that he participated in a panel for South San Francisco businesses and topics included a discussion on immigration raids on employers and the concerns of the community that this is occurring. He also discussed his recent travel experience to Singapore and the Philippines and recounted the differences and similarities of parks in those countries to parks in the United States. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of September 18, 2018 Page 6 Commissioner Flores reported he attended Concerts in the Park, the Liberty Park Ribbon Cutting event and that he wants to see more opportunities to engage with local youth and have them visit the trailhead. He also attended the Friends of the Library meeting, the Cultural Arts Commission Day of the Dead event and the Boys and Girls Club Teen Center unveiling. He reported that he’s heard a lot of feedback about the ballfields meeting from residents who feel it is all talk and no action. He requested that staff follow up with this item and add it to a future agenda. Commissioner Camacho thanked City staff person, Sheri Boles, for her work at Concerts in the Park. She reported that she attended the Day of the Dead event and thought it was amazing with a great turnout. She also attended the Liberty Park Ribbon Cutting, the IPP planting event, the Friends of the Library meeting and the ballfields and Buri Buri meetings. She requested a write-up from staff that highlights what Park and Recreation staff is doing to address resident’s concerns raised at the ballfields meeting. She also inquired about the agreement between the City and the Boys and Girls Club after she received a concerning report that a child was not picked up by after school program staff. Commissioner Camacho requested that minutes relating to the development of the Civic Campus be detailed so the City Council can fully understand the discussions amongst the Commissioners and also requested staff narrows the monthly calendar of events to only include events that the City of South San Francisco sponsors. She requested that staff remove birthdays from the calendar. Chair Garrone inquired about the Sunshine Gardens meetings, and requested when staff re-mulch the around the fences at Orange Park that they pull back the old mulch. XII. Items from Staff Director Ranals reported that the Youth Commissioners were invited to the meeting tonight but couldn’t attend and that hopefully they could attend next month. She reported that the City received a grant for Sign Hill interpretive projects and the City will run a program for underserved children. She further reported that the City accepted a grant from San Mateo County for Sign Hill weed abatement and at the Environmental Sub- Committee meeting, Councilpersons Addiago and Gupta indicated support for a plan to collect storm water under the ballfields at Orange Park. This would lead to the ballfields being out of commission for at least 12-18 months. Director Ranals recapped the most recent school board meeting where it was reported that the district will spend $5.5 million dollars on ballfields, which would include moving the baseball and softball fields to South San Francisco High School. Director Ranals noted that there are a lot of moving parts at Orange Park and staff would need to finalize and confirm those decisions before Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of September 18, 2018 Page 7 developing a plan for the future of Orange Park. Lastly she added that the City Council reorganization was moved to December 11, 2018. A. Calendar of Events- no additional discussion occurred on this item. B. Administrative Updates- Staff reviewed the recent updates with the Commission. Commissioner Camacho asked follow up questions about the Avalon replanting and if the City would use the same wood signs. Manager Mediati reported that the City received quotes that we very expensive and have opted to do the work in- house. XIII. Adjournment by Chair Garrone at 9:06 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Danielle Sanderson, Business Manager