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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.16.24 - Equity and Public Safety Commission Meeting MinutesCity of South San Francisco Minutes of the Commission on Equity and Public Safety Monday, September 16, 2024 City Hall: City Manager Conference Room 6:00 p.m. Committee Members: Present: Arnel Junio, Bianca Bedigian, Krystle Cansino, PaulaClaudine Hobson- Coard, Steven Yee Absent: Ruby Harrison Staff Members: Present: Devin Stenhouse, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Greg Mediati, Director of Parks and Recreation Angela Duldulao, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation CALL TO ORDER The Meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. AGENDA REVIEW Commissioner Cansino requests to start with item #2 under Matters For Consideration since she will be leaving this meeting early. ITEMS FROM STAFF MEMBERS 1. Report regarding a presentation on the City of South San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department’s programs and services. Director Mediati provides a presentation covering all aspects of the Parks and Recreation Department. He gives an overview of the two commissions involved with the Department. He informs what the vision and mission of the Department is and mentions the various master plans that have been implemented. He talks about the budget and funding. Director Mediati breaks down each of the four divisions that make up the department (Administrative, Facility Maintenance, Parks, and Recreation). He talks about the volunteer needs and the volunteer groups involved. He dives deeper into the various programs within the Recreation Division. Questions Chair Junio asks if the Department has a dedicated grant writer. Director Mediati says there isn’t one; everyone pitches in. There is an external consultant who assists with some of the grant writing, but the departmental management team handles the majority of it. Vice Chair Hobson-Coard asks what the minimum age requirement is to qualify for the senior services offered. Director Mediati says the nutritional program is for those 60 and up. The other senior programs are 50 and up. There is a senior scholarship program for those 62 and up. Commissioner Sanders asks about the free program offerings. Deputy Director Duldulao lists the facility amenities and programs available at the gymnasium as well as the senior center. Director Mediati clarifies that the gymnasium is open to people of all ages; the majority of the free programs are located at the senior center for those 50 and up. Commissioner Cansino asks if there are any City-sponsored adult sports teams. Director Mediati explains that there are sports programs offered, and the City has worked with other teams, but there currently is no adult league sponsored by the City. Commissioner Cansino asks if a tragic incident occurs, can people have access to Parks and Recreation sponsored events. She gives a hypothetical example, in the event of a school shooting, can Parks and Recreation provide staff to take children to the park? Director Mediati explains that in special circumstances, those in need are placed in a higher priority for Parks and Recreation services. Officer Stenhouse talks about previous incidents where residents were displaced due to fires, and City facilities were opened for their needs. He also mentions times where the air quality is poor or when there is extreme heat, and the City opened facilities to offer safe spaces for people to gather. Commissioner Cansino asks if Parks and Recreation offer disaster preparedness classes. Director Mediati says yes. He explains that the Department is part of the EOC (Emergency Operations Center). The Recreation staff are mostly assigned to care, shelter, and resource management. They work with the Red Cross, manage donations, find food and water, etc. The Parks staff are in the field, mitigating issues like downed trees, downed power lines, or flooding. Commissioner Cansino inquires further about disaster preparedness training for the public. Officer Stenhouse says the Fire Department offers that in conjunction with the County. Commissioner Cansino points out that since the Parks and Recreation staff are in regular contact with the public, that maybe they should be trained in psychological first aid. Director Mediati says that the Child Care staff are trained in mental health first aid, and so are some of the management team. He says there are CPR/first aid classes, but nothing in the mental health realm, which is something they may look into. Officer Stenhouse talks about how the Aquatics staff are CPR/AED certified and are present at events to offer emergency services if needed. Commissioner Cansino expresses a desire to get schools to teach CPR to students. Officer Stenhouse confirms that would fall within the school district’s jurisdiction. Commissioner Yee mentions that he received training from the County on mental health first aid. Director Mediati and Deputy Director Duldulao says that Parks and Recreation staff received the same training. Commissioner Bedigian says she’s familiar with competitive nature of the registration process and wonders if there are spots reserved for individuals who do not have internet access. Deputy Director Duldulao says they have not reached that point yet, but the issue is on their radar to explore. Commissioner Bedigian thinks it is great there are scholarships available. She asks if that information is published and where it can be found. Deputy Director Duldulao says there is a blurb in the activity guide, and they have been pushing the information out through their electronic newsletters. Commissioner Bedigian recommends posting at preschools and libraries. Commissioner Cansino thanks the Parks and Recreation Department for the detailed report and for all the services they provide to the residents. Commissioner Yee asks what has been carried over from the pandemic in terms of digital practices. Director Mediati says there are a handful of instructors who wish to continue to teach virtually. For the Library | Parks and Recreation Center, they have had to reassess all the technology in the building. Every room in the Parks and Recreation side have live stream capabilities. Officer Stenhouse talks about the challenges of finding instructors who are able to teach both in person and virtually effectively. Commissioner Yee asks if there have been inquiries regarding hybrid class options. Deputy Director Duldulao says they haven’t received inquiries relating to that matter. She has seen greater desire for in person events. Commissioner Cansino asks if instructors are volunteers or if they get paid. Deputy Director Duldulao says there are both paid and volunteer instructors. Director Mediati and Officer Stenhouse explain how many instructors volunteer to teach a subject they are well versed as an experiment to see if residents are interested in learning more about the subject. Commissioner Cansino expresses interest in volunteering to teach psychological first aid. Commissioner Yee asks if there is a senior driving class. Director Mediati says there is a driving safety course. Deputy Director Duldulao says the course is on the regular schedule. Director Mediati says they are looking at the age gap (around 18-30) that they can help serve more. The Department is great at providing services to children and older adults but seem to be missing the middle group. They are working on a focus group to figure out how best to communicate to this age group and find out what their needs are. He says there is also a task force to help determine ways to better serve the senior community. Deputy Director Duldulao shares there will be outreach efforts to gather more information on the needs for young adults. Director Mediati explains there is a list of priorities in the plan to make the City “age friendly.” Deputy Director Duldulao says the results of the outreach will inform the priorities moving forward. Commissioner Yee asks what the greatest equity-related challenge is they are facing. Director Mediati says demand seems to be the greatest challenge. They offer a lot, but there is still more demand. He says another challenge is meeting cultural needs. There are residents with different needs that are more difficult to reach and communicate with. Officer Stenhouse talks about the collaborative effort between the City, the school district, and other non-profit organizations to help the children in South San Francisco. Commissioner Sanders brings up the topic of encouraging more people to ride their bikes and asks if there are ways for Parks and Recreation to get involved. Director Mediati shares that Councilmember Nagales had an idea to organize bike buses to schools. Parks and Recreation will act as the facilitator to get the right people and leadership together. The community and all parties involved need to agree and support the effort to make it happen. Commissioner Yee asks if there is a bicycle version of the Thanksgiving Fun Run. Director Mediati says that is a good idea. Commissioner Yee suggests incentivizing people by offering prizes to those who attend multiple race events. Commissioner Sanders envisions cool places to stop along bike paths. Officer Stenhouse and Director Mediati mention there was a feature in the South City app that could be reintroduced for this purpose. Commissioner Yee thanks Parks and Recreation for what they do. Director Mediati gives credit to the amazing team of staff. 2. Officer Stenhouse announces upcoming events. Officer Stenhouse reminds everyone of Concert in the Park. He also tells the group about the opening of Matsumoto Plaza. Director Mediati and Deputy Director Duldulao leave the meeting at 7:24 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comments were made. MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION 1. Approval of Minutes for August 12, 2024 meeting. Commissioner Yee motions, and Commissioner Sanders seconds. The Commission votes to approve the minutes 6-0. 2. Approval of Commissioner Hobson-Coard as Vice Chairperson. Officer Stenhouse gives a summary of the history behind this item and explains why a new Vice Chair needs to be elected. Commissioner Cansino motions, and Commissioners Bedigian and Yee second. The Commission votes to approve Commissioner Hobson-Coard as Vice Chair 6-0. 3. Discussion on this year’s annual retreat. Chair Junio asks about potential venues for the upcoming retreat. Officer Stenhouse recommends deciding on a date for the retreat first. From there, he can look at availability at different facilities. He wants to know the topics of discussion for the retreat so that he may start to draft an agenda. The group discusses possible dates for the retreat and decides to go with October 21 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Commissioner Cansino leaves the meeting at 7:39 p.m. The commissioners want to review priorities at the retreat. Commissioner Sanders wants to discuss care for animals in the City, “community pets.” Commissioner Bedigian wants to include something to get to know each other, similar to an ice breaker. Officer Stenhouse talks about the equity report and possibly giving an update on that. Vice Chair Hobson-Coard suggests reviewing Robert’s Rules of Order. Officer Stenhouse recommends narrowing down to 2-3 subjects to be included in the agenda. Commissioner Bedigian wants to discuss how to increase visibility of the Commission and to make a plan of action. Commissioner Yee mentions an article about the National League of Cities equity grant. Officer Stenhouse informs him that a speaker has been invited to talk to the Commission at a future meeting. Commissioner Sanders asks about the status of the bios for the website. Officer Stenhouse says Commissioners can submit their bios whenever they are ready. Officer Stenhouse lists the topics that can potentially be added to the agenda for the retreat. The Commissioners pick their top choices. Vice Chair Hobson-Coard wants to review Robert’s Rules and to receive equity training. Commissioner Bedigian wants an update on the equity report. Chair Junio wants to review priorities and Robert’s Rules. Commissioner Sanders wants to discuss community pet care and increase of Commission visibility. Commissioner Yee wants to review priorities and receive equity training. Officer Stenhouse says he can invite one of the city attorneys to go over the Brown Act. The Commissioners like that idea. The topics of reviewing priorities and equity training will be added to the retreat agenda. Officer Stenhouse asks what the third topic should be. Vice Chair Hobson-Coard asks for clarification on the community pet care topic. Commissioner Sanders says she wants to discuss and learn about services available that can address the issue, like TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return). Vice Chair Hobson- Coard says she would like to add this topic to the retreat agenda. Commissioner Bedigian wants to include reviewing Robert’s Rules in the agenda. Chair Junio wants to include Robert’s Rules in the agenda. Commissioner Sanders says she wants to review Robert’s Rules. Commissioner Yee wants to include Commission visibility in the agenda. Officer Stenhouse asks if there are any food requests. He suggests supporting local South San Francisco businesses. The group decides to go with Thai Satay. 4. Review remaining schedule for commission meetings through January 2025. Officer Stenhouse lists the upcoming scheduled Commission meetings in October, November, December, and January. The October meeting date will be the retreat. The group decides to keep the November 18 and December 16 meetings as scheduled. They discuss possible dates for the January meeting as the regularly scheduled date of January 20 is a holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day). Commissioner Yee motions to schedule a meeting on January 13, 2025 in lieu of the January 20, 2025 meeting. Commissioner Bedigian seconds. The Commission votes to approve 5-0. ITEMS FROM BOARD MEMBERS, COMMISSIONERS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS There are no items. ADJOURNMENT Chair Junio adjourns the meeting at 8:19 p.m.