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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.18.2024 - PR Comm Minutes CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES FROM TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2024 I. CALL TO ORDER: 7:14 p.m. A regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission of the City of South San Francisco was held on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in the Council Chambers at the Library | Parks and Recreation Center. II. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Battaglia, Camacho, DeNardi, Uy and Lock. Absent: Commissioner Burgo Staff: Greg Mediati, Director of Parks and Recreation Angela Duldulao, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Laura Armanino, Recreation Manager Joshua Richardson, Parks Manager Philip Vitale, Deputy Director of Capital Projects Kari Jung, Management Analyst I Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant II III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Completed. IV. AGENDA REVIEW: Item five on agenda moved to item two. V. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: None present. VI. PRESENTATIONS 1. Capital Projects Update: A. Centennial Trail Park South Deputy Director Vitale shares that the new park along the trail between Spruce Avenue and Huntington Avenue will include an outdoor learning space, a pollinator themed garden and playground, nature play space, picnic areas, skate park, bike track and new lighting and improvements to the existing paved trail. Construction started in January of this year and installation of the granite slabs at the skate park and paving/grading for the new bike track is underway. Concrete curbs and sidewalks are in progress. The Evohelix art sculpture is currently located on PUC property but will be relocated within the new park near Spruce next month. Deputy Director Vitale shares that next month work will need to be done on the trail itself so a detour plan will be put in place and the closure of that segment of the trail is expected to take 3 weeks at most. Neighbors have started to receive notices of temporary closure and alternate routes; signs have been posted in the area and emails will be sent out. He also shares that since construction started in the winter there were several days of rain delays, so instead of opening in the middle of summer, it will open at the end of summer or beginning of fall. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 18, 2024 Page 2 B. Oyster Point IIC Deputy Director Vitale shares that the location of this project is located at the end of Oyster Point Boulevard and the improvements here will include refreshing the landscape irrigation system, the roadway, the upper parking lot, building new pathways and widening of the bay trail. It will also include a fitness area, refreshed picnic area, new lighting and interpretive signage and a new dog park that will be divided into a large and small area. The construction contract was awarded last year, and construction began early this year. During construction closures are being made in phases. The southern portion of the trail was closed in phase one and that closure was expanded in phase two. Deputy Director Vitale shows on the screen a temporary detour path that was installed during the closures. Work is being completed on that part of the Bay Trail and the southern segment should be opening in the next month or so. Project opening is aimed for late this summer and a ribbon cutting will likely happen shortly after. C. Orange Memorial Park Aquatic Center Deputy Director Vitale shares that this project will bring a new 10 lane outdoor pool, 7 lane indoor pool, zero beach entry with fun features, two sets of men’s and woman’s locker rooms, family changing rooms, an activity room and office space for staff. The construction contract was awarded in late February, notices of closure of segments of the park for construction were posted around the park and given to neighbors located within 500 feet radius of the construction. The sidewalk along Orange Avenue is intended to stay open during construction except for a month during the time that work will take place just adjacent to the sidewalk. The eternal flame sculpture has been removed, crated and is stored off site. The flame will be refurbished and brought back into the project in the new veteran’s memorial plaza. Mid-summer of 2025 is still the target for the opening of the new facility and full project completion in early 2026. Director Mediati adds that both the Centennial Trail and Oyster Point IIC projects are largely funded through grants and dedicated funding through the former redevelopment agency and were dedicated funds for specific projects and areas. Commissioner Lock asked if there are any complications coordinating with the developer making improvements near Huntington Ave. Deputy Director Vitale responded that parks staff was able to review proposed improvements and were able to coordinate those improvements with the ones done as our part of the City project. Commissioner Lock comments that he is looking forward to the project, especially the wider path. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 18, 2024 Page 3 2. Fiscal Year 2024-25 Co-Sponsorship Renewals (Administrative Business) Management Analyst Jung gives update on the co-sponsorship renewal agreements and shares that each group has met the requirements for co-sponsorship, including exceeding the 51% membership requirement. A representative from each group is asked to speak about their organizations. South San Francisco Historical Society: Board Member Bill Zemke thanks the commission for the support they have received. They recently hosted Victorian tea and boutique which had 120 people in attendance and helped raise funds for the Plymire-Schwarz House and Museum. South San Francisco Italian American Citizens Club: Club President Leo Pierini shares that the group has a long history with the City. They offer seasonal bocce leagues and tournaments and also host other organizations and associations for their fundraisers. Within the last year, the Parks and Recreation Department has offered a Recreation league on Thursday nights. Leo Pierini explains that the bocce court is maintained by volunteers. The club held South San Francisco’s first Festa event last year and plan to have it again this year on September 29. Chair DeNardi shares that there are some community members who are not available to come on Monday – Friday during open hours because of work and would like to suggest possibly opening the courts to the community on Tuesday evenings. She also suggests scheduling tournaments on Sundays so that community members could also come from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm on Saturdays. Leo Pierini responds that it is something they will look into. Commissioner Uy asked if there is a reason why the courts aren’t always open during business hours instead of open only when the Italian American Club opens them. Leo Pierini responds that it’s due to staffing; there are no paid staff, just volunteers and because of past issues with vandalism they like to have someone on-site. Court maintenance is labor intensive, it’s best to have someone there to keep an eye on it. South San Francisco United Youth Soccer League League President Patty Gomez shares that the league provides youth soccer programs in Spring, Summer Fall and Winter for boys and girls, ages 4-12. Chair DeNardi asked what the price listed for the subcontractors was for. Patty Gomez responded that it is the price for the summer coaches and referees and Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 18, 2024 Page 4 explained that the rates for them increased for the referees because there is now a summer and winter program. South San Francisco Youth Baseball Manager’s Association Association Director Cliff Callero provides an overview of the group, that the league serves children ages 3-14, and that the league absorbed the Pinto Mustang Group to have all age groups centralized under one league. Management Analyst Jung shares that staff would like to request approval from the Commission by motion to approve co-sponsorship renewal agreements for these four groups. Applications from the Aquatics Club and the South San Francisco chapter of the San Mateo County Athletics Club were received on time and staff had additional questions and will most likely be brought to the Commission at the next meeting. Motion to approve Co-Sponsorship Agreements: Approved by motion. Motion: Secretary Camacho / Seconded: Chair DeNardi. All in favor. 3. Celebrating July as National Parks and Recreation Month in 2024 Deputy Director Duldulao shares that the theme for this year’s Park and Recreation Month proposed by the National Recreation and Parks Association is “Where you Belong.” As done in past years, City Council will be presenting proclamation recognizing July as Parks and Recreation month. Chair DeNardi or her designee is invited to accept the proclamation at the City Council meeting on June 26. Parks and Recreation Month encourages everyone to reflect on the value parks and recreation professionals bring to communities. Members of the public can look forward to a full calendar of activities to participate in through the month of July. Manager Armanino shares that a park and recreation month activities calendar will be coming out soon in the newsletter. She lists some of the free activities that will be offered during the month of July. 4. Calendar of Events Director Mediati gives a brief update of the Calendar of Events. 5. Administrative Updates: Director Mediati shares the budget that was presented to the Commission last month, was approved by City Council last week and fees will be going to Council at the next meeting on June 26th. VII. FRIENDS OF PARKS AND RECREATION No updates. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 18, 2024 Page 5 VIII. BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE No updates. IX. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS 1. Motion to approve meeting minutes from May 21, 2024. Approved by motion. Motion: Secretary Camacho / Seconded: Commissioner Battaglia. All in favor. X. ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION Commissioner Uy shares that Director Mediati has been very responsive to the pickleball community and had a quick response to other issues. He thanks the staff for doing a great job. Commissioner Battaglia shares that she has attended several functions and also thinks that the Senior Center has done a great job with updating the newsletter. She shares that she saw a flyer for crime and fraud prevention for seniors at the library and she would like to see a little more collaboration between the Library and the Senior Center in sharing information and flyers of upcoming events or informational seminars like this. Chair DeNardi comments that she heard the same comment from other people. Secretary Camacho shares that her father had attended that informational session and he said it was very useful. She also shares that she was able to get out and play pickleball and talk to some of the other people there and noticed that there are a lot of people from San Francisco, Daly City and Burlingame also playing in South San Francisco. She thanked Director Mediati and Manager Richardson for putting up the paddle rack to help with queueing in the pickleball courts. Commissioner Lock commented that AARP used to be part of the Senior Center and asked if they still are. Director Mediati responded that they used to be a co-sponsor group and a few year ago they folded because no one was interested in taking the leadership role anymore. Commissioner Lock shares that AARP provides a lot of different information sessions that are free, and it would be good to eventually have this available. He then shares that next Tuesday the City will host a bike and pedestrian outreach and recommends everyone to share their needs. He would like to see some of the new bike lanes that are being put in to be connected to each other to have continuous continuity and eventually a continuation of Centennial Trail into the Linden area. Chair DeNardi thanks recreation for some new yoga classes that started this summer session and for the mindfulness for toddlers’ session. She also likes that there have been more classes added at the Senior Center. Chair DeNardi shares that the teacher, Monica, is great and because so many people want to attend her class, she hopes if it fits in her schedule, another session of the strength with weights can be added to accommodate all the people. She enjoyed the coffee and chat and the coloring classes and thanks staff for offering those and other classes at the Senior Center. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 18, 2024 Page 6 XI. ITEMS FROM STAFF Director Mediati shares that there was some question about taking another month off from meeting during the summer, but the staff will need to come before Commission in August regarding outreach/engagement for Linden Park. XII. ADJOURNMENT: 8:27 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant II Next Meeting: August 20, 2024.