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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.21.2024 - PR Comm MinutesCITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES FROM TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 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, May 21, 2024, in the Council Chambers at the Library | Parks and Recreation Center. II. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Battaglia, Burgo, Camacho, DeNardi, Uy and Lock. Staff: Greg Mediati, Director of Parks and Recreation Angela Duldulao, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Erin O’Brien, Business Manager Laura Armanino, Recreation Manager Joshua Richardson, Parks Manager Mike Mulkerrins, Recreation Supervisor Brooke Bayangos, Recreation Coordinator Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant II III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Completed. IV. AGENDA REVIEW: No changes. V. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: None present. VI. PRESENTATIONS 1. Middle School Sports Awards: Supervisor Mulkerrins introduces Coordinator Bayangos who shares background on how recipients for the awards are chosen. With the help of coaches, Coordinator Bayangos presents the awards to the recipients. 2. 2024 Concert in the Park Update: Manager Armanino gives update on Concert in the Park. The location has changed to the picnic meadow at Orange Memorial Park due to construction of the aquatic center. Some activities will take place on the new sports field. There will be a variety of food trucks in the parking lot close to the picnic area and concert. Because of limited space, the Department is looking at having only one main stage and is working to secure the performances. The vendor booth footprint will be similar to 2022. Manager Armanino shares that they have received suggestions in the past of exploring alternative names for the event and asks the Commission if they have any suggestions or preferences on the name. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 21, 2024 Page 2 Vice Chair Burgo suggests “South City Community Fun Fest.” Secretary Camacho asked if there is a theme and suggests keeping “Concert in the Park” as the name is already established and adding a byline to the end. Commissioner Uy asked what kind of music there will be to which Manager Armanino responded that they are still reaching out to performers. Details will be shared soon. Chair DeNardi asked if there has ever been any tribute bands and Director Mediati responded that they have, most recently in 2021 at City Hall. Secretary Camacho asked if staff will be reaching out to the school district to see if the high school band can perform. Manager Armanino responded that because of the limited space and there only being one stage it would be difficult to do on the stage during sound checks. It might be something they can entertain on the sports field to help draw people in. Secretary Camacho endorses Vice Chair Burgo’s name suggestion: “Concert in the Park – A Community Fun Fest”. Chair DeNardi asked if we’ll be able to use the Boys and Girls Club’s lot for parking and Director Mediati responded yes, noting it is a City owned lot. Vice Chair Burgo asked if the Concert in Park event will be in mid-September. Manager Armanino responded it is planned for September 21 from 12-5pm. Commissioner Lock comments that in the past, limited food trucks have been an issue with the large crowds and would like to see more trucks available. He also asks if Friends of Parks and Recreation will host the beer and wine booth again. Manager Armanino responded that at this time they have declined, and staff are looking to see if someone else could lead that effort. 3. Calendar of Events Director Mediati gives a brief update of the Calendar of Events. 4. Administrative Updates: Director Mediati shares there is no update other than memos included in packet. VII. FRIENDS OF PARKS AND RECREATION No updates. VIII. BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE No updates. IX. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS 1. Motion to approve meeting minutes from April 16, 2024. Approved by motion. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 21, 2024 Page 3 Motion: Secretary Camacho / Seconded: Vice Chair Burgo. All in favor. 2. Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Parks and Recreation Operating Budget Submission Update and Fee Review: Manager O’Brien gives update on the Department’s operating budget for next fiscal year. She shares that at the Special Budget Standing Subcommittee meeting on April 9, 2024, it was presented that the fiscal year 2024-2025 is projected to have a deficit. Following the meeting, City Manager Ranals directed departments to reduce their operating budgets and requested that the budget requests not impact the bottom line of the City’s General Fund. In addition to identifying reductions to the Department budget, it was also requested that the City’s fees be increased by 2.4% across the board, consistent with the cost of living index. Manager O’Brien shares and explains the list of General Fund and non-General Fund requests. She also reviews the list of the Department’s proposed budget reductions, which include freezing the Arborist Technician and 25% of the Building Stationary Engineer positions, the Cultural Art Grant for 2025 and field trips for summer 2025. Commissioner Uy comments that he would like to see other alternatives to freezing the field trips because it would be detrimental to the kids in the program. He believes fees should be raised to prevent the freezing of that part of the program. Commissioner Lock agrees with Commissioner Uy that field trips shouldn’t be frozen because they are an important element of the program. Secretary Camacho asked since Cultural Arts is moving from a working commission are they looking at reducing the number of commissioners. Manager O’Brien responded that they will be presenting at the City Council meeting moving the number of members from 11 down to 9 which will be done as they term out. Secretary Camacho comments that if they must freeze field trips, she suggests staff do like they did in the past when they’ve had to be cancelled. Deputy Director Duldulao responds that they are looking into doing something like what they did during Covid, for example doing additional activities in town or bringing activities to the sites. Secretary Camacho shares that she is concerned about the Arborist Tech position being frozen, especially after all the hours staff put in during the winter storms in the past couple of years. Director Mediati responds that the position has been in queue for six years and thinks for the next year they can get by. There will still be a four-person tree crew and the Arborist Technician position would be somewhat an administrative role to help alleviate the burden on Manager Richardson. Chair DeNardi comments that change is good, and the ideas staff have put forward in the past have been received well by the community. Having activities in the fields and parks sounds like a good idea. She suggests looking into what the cost would Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 21, 2024 Page 4 be to send a printed activity guide to every residence in the city or guides available in the departments for people to look at or take. Director Mediati responded that they look at studies periodically that show that the amount of revenue lost is much greater. Deputy Director Duldulao adds that they are trying to manage the cost of the guides and that they are into having a smaller number of guides available onsite to look at but not necessarily take home. Director Mediati says that they are looking into issuing an RFP for printing and services. Vice Chair Burgo agrees with the other commissioners that the field trips are important and suggests combining some offsite trips with some onsite activities. She also understands having to raise fees but would like to see more scholarships for those who might not be able to afford it. Manager O’Brien shares the proposed master fee schedule with the 2.4% increase across the board and staff recommendation for minimal new fees and improved existing fees. The Department’s fees in the 2023-2024 fiscal year did not increase. Commissioner Lock believes that the 2.4% increase will not make a dent in the City’s deficit. He’s noticed that some of the residents of South City are having a difficult time and feels that if increases need to be made raising the non-resident fees is a better alternative. Director Mediati responds that $75,000 sounds may sound minimal but if things don’t pencil out, services will have to be limited, or they will go away. Non-resident fees have been looked at in the past and they will increase them, but don’t want to increase too much and lose people altogether. Commissioner Uy comments inflation is increasing by 3.6%, and fee increases proposed don’t even track inflation. We need to understand that to keep our programs running, these small increases are probably what is needed to avoid losing programs in the future. Chair DeNardi agrees with Commissioner Uy. Would like not to increase fees but in reality, it has to be done to keep these programs. The programs that we offer compared to neighboring cities will still be very reasonable. Secretary Camacho sees both Commissioner Lock and Commissioner Uy’s points and suggest maybe varying the increases for example increasing residents by 2%, non-residents by 3%, sports organization field rentals by 4% and keeping childcare on the lower end of the increase. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 21, 2024 Page 5 Commissioner Uy asked if it has been considered to base childcare fees on a sliding scale. Director Mediati responds that some fees in the Department are, but require a lot of administration and staffing to manage. Staff will look into this again. Vice Chair Burgo comments that she use to manage registration for the Boys and Girls Club and when they switched to a sliding scale system is was a lot of work. Some families were not comfortable submitting information, but one could use eligibility to participate in free or reduced lunch programs as a basis for scholarship. Chair DeNardi comments that the bocce facility rental fee is very low and suggests keeping that same fee for the rental of only two of the courts and leaving the rest of the courts available for the community. If they want the whole facility, it should be a higher rate. She liked Secretary Camacho’s comment about raising fees for sports organizations. Manager O’Brien adds that there have been comments about raising fees in different increments and that is something they would not be able to do in this timeframe. She also shares that currently the sports field is used by co-sponsored groups, the public and rec groups; there are no outside organizations paying to use the field so increases in that area really wouldn’t be there at this stage. Manager O’Brien asks for a recommendation from the Commission regarding the fee increases. Motion for the 2.4% rate increase across the board: Commissioner Uy / Seconded: Commissioner Battaglia. In favor: Commissioners Battaglia, Burgo, Uy, and DeNardi. Not in favor: Commissioners Camacho and Lock. X. ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION Commissioner Battaglia shares that she attended the health fair. Commissioner Lock asked if the Centennial Trail project is still on schedule. Director Mediati responded that it is on schedule and project completion will likely be in August. Commissioner Lock then asked if the stormwater treatment equipment at Orange Memorial Park was working and if the water is being utilized. Director Mediati responded that it is working, and it is being used to irrigate Orange Memorial Park, a portion of Centennial Way, and Sister Cities Park. Commissioner Lock asked if construction at the southernmost end of Centennial Way was a City project. Manager Richardson responds that it is a private development, Southline, and they are rebuilding the plaza. Manager Richardson is working with them to coordinate construction. Commissioner Lock asked about the new bike lane on Hillside Blvd. Manager Richardson responded that it is part of a Public Works project. Commissioner Lock asked if an additional bike and pedestrian trail could connect South San Francisco BART and Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 21, 2024 Page 6 Centennial Way to Hillside along Lawndale Blvd. Staff noted they would share this with Public Works staff, and they believed Lawndale Blvd. was in Colma. Secretary Camacho shares that Arbor Day was a great event with a good turnout. Vice Chair Burgo asks for an update on the dog park wood chips. Manager Richardson responded that the crew was busy getting ready for the Memorial Day baseball tournaments and they might be able to replenish the woodchips in a couple of weeks. She also shares that she attended the CPRS Award event and really enjoyed it. Commissioner Uy comments that as summer approaches and the sports leagues are ending it would be nice to have more free play available on the turf field. He thanks Director Mediati and staff for all the great work going towards the pickleball program but is disappointed at the vandalized nets. He believes that nets should be put back up at Westborough and Sellick Parks. Chair DeNardi shares that she was stopped by a resident who shared with her that they were not able to use the turf field because it was closed and that it should be available for the community. Director Mediati responded that every Friday the field is closed until noon for maintenance. Chair DeNardi also shares the opening of the bocce court to the community on more days and for more hours. She thanks staff for advertising the additional days and hours. She asks if there is a possibility of having tournaments/events scheduled on Sundays so that it opens more hours for the community to use on Saturdays or leaving one Saturday per month when no tournaments/events are scheduled. That way people that work during the week who are not available to come in between the hours of 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Monday – Friday, can still have a day during the weekend to come in. She also shares that she attended the mock youth council meeting and the Linden Park community outreach meeting. XI.ITEMS FROM STAFFManager Richardson gives update on the sport court renovation at Clay Park. Asphalt hascured, and painting is complete. Additionally, the damaged light pole at Hillside Ballfieldwill be replaced in the coming weeks. Staff are preparing ballfields for the Memorial Daybaseball tournaments. Chair DeNardi asks if the roof on the restrooms between the tennis and bocce courts hasbeen fixed. Manager Richardson responds that it has been fixed. Deputy Director Duldulao shares that on Thursday, May 23, the LPR building will not be open to the public until 10:00 a.m. due to the water being shut off to repair the leakingbackflow. She announces that they have filled the position of Community Resource Analystwith Han-Ching Wong, who was a program manager for the library. XII.ADJOURNMENT: 9:16 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant IINext Meeting: June 18, 2024.