HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.21.2023 PR Comm Minutes
CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
MINUTES FROM TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2023
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, March 21, 2023, in the Council Chambers at the Municipal
Service Building.
II. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Battaglia, Burgo, Camacho, DeNardi, Uy, Lock, and Firpo
Staff: Greg Mediati, Director of Parks and Recreation
Angela Duldulao, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Joshua Richardson, Parks Manager Erin O’Brien, Business Manager Devin Stenhouse, Acting Recreation Manager
Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant II
III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Manager O’Brien led the Pledge of Allegiance.
IV. AGENDA REVIEW: Change made to agenda regarding presentation of Recognition of
Francisca Guevarra who was not able to attend. This will be acknowledged with the CPRS District 4 Award Nominations in item nine on the agenda. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE February 21, 2023, MEETING: Approved by
motion. Motion: Vice Chair DeNardi / Seconded: Commissioner Battaglia. Motion carried
unanimously, with the exception of Commissioner Lock who abstained due to being absent at the previous meeting. VI. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:
None were present.
VII. PRESENTATION Francisca Guevarra was not available to attend the meeting this evening. Her acknowledgement will be included in item nine on the agenda.
VIII. Old Business A. 2022-23 Mid-Year Budget Update Manager O’Brien gives update on the 2022-23 mid-year budget requests and announces that at the February 22 City Council meeting all requests were approved. A lot of the
requests were in preparation for the move into the new LPR building. The additional
request for the joint master plan between the Library and Parks and Recreation is planned to go before Council in the next few months. Manager O’Brien goes on to say staff are also working on the budget requests for the
upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year. Some requests will be moving forward and have been
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submitted to the Finance Department for review and will be shortlisted from there. Some
of these requests include hourly staff for oversight and programming for the Orange Memorial Park Sports Field, additional hourly staff for park maintenance, permanently funding the Natural Resources Specialist, additional minor maintenance funding to enhance ballfield maintenance and repairs, citywide parks deferred maintenance study, updating of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, additional staff support for the Cultural
Arts Program, and matching funding for the congregate meal program. Currently, they are slated to go before the budget subcommittee June 1. Vice Chair DeNardi asked what the $50,000 requests for each bathroom at the tennis courts and basketball courts are for.
Director Mediati responded that they’ve just begun to do the assessment and the thought would be to replace flooring, having a unitary wall material, new mirrors, maybe new fixtures as needed, new paint, and adding ventilation.
Commissioner Lock asked what the funding for activities at Paradise Valley Recreation Center is planned for. Director Mediati responded that they just started working with architects from Group 4 in
to do a condition assessment of the facility to have them determine how much deferred
maintenance exists, what the assigned value is for that maintenance / renovations. He is currently waiting for a quote from them. Following that assessment, the team will need to do some more community outreach to see what kind of programming the community would like to see there. We understand that this is going to take some time, so the hope is in the
meantime to continue classes model for afterschool program for at least the next nine or so
months, until there is a better understanding of what the community wants to see in that building. Director Mediati goes on to say they’ve carried over the existing funding that they have for that classes model afterschool program.
Commissioner Lock asked if funding includes the necessary dollars to do the assessment.
Director Mediati responds that the funding for the assessment was allocated in July or August of last year, which was outside of the normal budget cycle. When we learned that the Boys and Girls Club was forfeiting the building, we then requested the money to do
that assessment.
Commissioner Lock asked if there has been a significant uptick in registration there. Director Mediati responds that it wasn’t significant and believes maybe four children were
enrolled last session. Acting Recreation Manager Stenhouse added that the program maxed
out with 4 children enrolled for one day and that session ended prior to the new year. They are currently looking into recruiting new instructors. Chair Firpo adds that unfortunately this mid-year budget was approved prior to the pool
boiler going out. His understanding is luckily there was some funding available for that.
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IX. New Business Manager O’Brien presents that California Parks and Recreation Society District 4 will honor unique innovation, and outstanding individuals for their professional and volunteer contributions to the fields of parks, recreation, and human services. She shares the South San Francisco’s nominees for 2022 who will be honored at the awards dinner on May 11.
• Award of Excellence – South San Francisco Oyster Point Marina Park –Improvements to the Oyster Point Marina Park, creating nearly 30 acres of new parkland along the San Francisco Bay. The project features a rehabilitated beach,
trail raised to address sea level rise, new state-of-the-art restroom facilities, open
space areas, a large turf field, picnic and gathering areas, parking lots, and a plaza.
• Key to the Community – South San Francisco Restoration of Operations Plan
(ROOP) Committee – When the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a nationwide shut
down, City Manager Ranals assembled a committee comprising of City department heads and key staff who would guide the city’s continuity of operations of all city departments. Looking beyond COVID-19 and considering the city has reached operational stability, the ROOP Committee formed a template for the city to respond
to other emergency situations such as wildfires causing poor air quality in the Bay
Area and the recent storms in January 2023. The team of dedicated staff are readily on standby in the event that the group is needed.
• Professional Merit – Francisca Guevarra – Fran retired after 17 years of service in
the Parks and Recreation Department – Senior Services Program. She helped write and develop the volunteer program manual as well as securing and tracking volunteers. She assisted with the planning and implementation of special events such as the Senior Health Fair, Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, Holiday Boutique
and has been the leading force behind the Valentine’s for the Troops event for many
years. Throughout her 17 years here, Fran has been involved with day to day operations of the classes, programs and activities at the Senior Center.
• Volunteer & Sponsor Citation Award – Sign Hill Stewards – Sign Hill Stewards
protect the environment for the people and wildlife of South San Francisco. In 2022, volunteers contributed over 450 hours of hard work on Sign Hill removing invasive plants, clearing scrub and tree encroachment, and planting native plants. Sign Hill Stewards exemplify how thriving communities can support healthy ecosystems.
X. Friends of Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Duldulao speaks about Friends of Parks and Recreation collaborating with the Cultural Arts Commission to host beer and wine sales at the San Francisco Opera event in the park. The event was intended to take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday but was only
able to happen on Friday and Saturday due to the rain on Sunday. Over the two days, even though they might still be tallying up the final numbers, they had $800 in sales tallied thus far for beer and wine sales. It was a nice amenity for all guests. They sold beer, wine, water,
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coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. In addition, the Cultural Art’s Commission was selling South
San Francisco logo sweatshirts and picnic blankets, which are still on sale at the MSB office. Chair Firpo comments that he attended that event and even though it was pretty cold, thinks it was a successful event.
Vice Chair DeNardi commented that it was nice to have the food trucks there. She attended both Friday and Saturday and thanked all the staff for the beautiful set up. Was impressed with the pivoting that staff was able to do with moving the setup from the field to the parking lot. She thanks everyone involved with the event.
Commissioner Lock heard great things about the event. A question that he heard was if it was possible to have moved the event to one of the schools to be indoors because of the weather.
Manager O’Brien responded that the opera had built a container stage which was an old
shipping container they had converted into a stage. Their intent was to have an outdoor feel and the theme was “out of the box,” so at that time it was not a consideration to move indoors.
Commissioner Camacho went to the event on Saturday and had a great time and loved
having the food trucks there. She heard a lot of community members asking if they could do something like this again but maybe with the ballet next time. Commissioner Battaglia added that she has heard the event details announced on the radio
and was impressed. She had also heard that the other cities scheduled to host this event were
cancelled due to the weather. She had a lot of fun when she attended. Commissioner Burgo had planned on going on Sunday but unfortunately, it was cancelled due to rain. People she had talked to said they had a great time.
XI. Beautification Committee Director Mediati reports there are no items at this time.
XII. Items from Commission
Commissioner Uy comments on the summer camp registration and says that considering how long the list was, he thinks it went really well and people were appreciative that they were able to get in to a lot of the different summer camp programs. He feels that the way it was administered was good for the community. He adds that he thinks the staff has done a
great job dealing with all the weather-related issues.
Commissioner Burgo comments that she just completed her first year on the commission in February and it’s been a great experience so far. She asked if there was a date in place for National Night Out and said she’s heard from some people in the community if it would be
possible to move it a week out, because of the weather.
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Director Mediati responded that he is not aware of the date yet. Typically, it’s the 1st or 2nd Tuesday in August. He will ask the Communications Director, who is the one to organize it, and will follow up with Commissioner Burgo. Commissioner Burgo then comments that she heard from a resident that there is not enough
tanbark at the Orange Park Dog Park and just wanted to mention it to staff. Commissioner Lock thanks staff for all their work through the difficult weather we’ve been having. He asks if on El Camino, on the westside, if that land is the state or city’s responsibility.
Director Mediati asked if Commissioner Lock is referring to the slide area and responds that the area is Caltrans property and responsibility. He also notes that it has been reported to them for follow up and he did receive an acknowledgement from Caltrans that they are
aware of the issue.
Commissioner Lock asked about the area on Sister Cities, West of Terrabay. He wanted to know if the plot land was the city’s or the development area.
Director Mediati responds that he believes the area is the HOA area and was not aware that
there is a slide there. Some of that area is private and some belong to the school district. Commissioner Lock asks if the Master Plan for Linden has gone through yet. Director Mediati responds that it has not been adopted yet and knows that there is a work group
meeting scheduled for next week. Commissioner Lock said he is confused because there
was talk about building necessary infrastructure to ensure that there is Park and Rec activities available in that neighborhood and yet the Planning Commission recently reviewed a development opportunity. He would like to know if we’re pushing forward on something that has yet to be approved.
Director Mediati responds that he knows that the plan has not been adopted and they are still drafting the recommendations. He doesn’t know when the plan will be approved but can follow up and let the Commission know. Commissioner Lock will send Director Mediati the information of the specific project he is speaking of. Director Mediati adds that they
cannot rightfully hold entitlements while doing the master planning process.
Commissioner Camacho is amazed at how many trees she’s heard of coming down in the storms and would like to know if the Department is tracking the number of hours used for maintenance and recovery due to the storms. Director Mediati explains that for additional
work, outside of the typical maintenance schedule and during a declared state of emergency,
we do track and ask for reimbursement from FEMA or the state. Preliminary damage assessments were filed last week.
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Commissioner Camacho would like to see the Parks crew somehow recognized for all the
work that they have been doing during the storms. The sheer numbers of trees and recovery work being done is incredible and most people don’t realize how much goes into it. Manager Richardson adds that they are also keeping track of every incident reported whether it’s private or public. Commissioner Camacho responds that she would like to see that final tally of private vs. public.
Chair Firpo adds that when trying to get reimbursement from FEMA, you must meet a certain threshold, so it’s good to keep track and get that information out to the public. Commissioner Camacho added that even the storm water drain program ties into it and would be a great time to communicate all those aspects to the community.
Commissioner Camacho talks about reading the Little Steps letter of appreciation and though it was a beautiful way of highlighting the importance of all childcare programs. She goes on to ask about the maintenance needs assessments in the parks and if it will include a
needs assessment for conservation and restoration.
Manager Richardson adds that the tree inventory that was just completed did include general health and condition of trees.
Commissioner Battaglia says that she attended the youth art show and was impressed by
the kindergarteners art. Commissioner DeNardi appreciates how the trees were taken care of at Avalon Park and comments that the park always looks well maintained. She thanks staff for making Terrabay
available for pictures for the baseball leagues since it was raining. She was amazed to see
the talent from TK and kindergarteners at the youth art show. She also thanked the Parks crew for the quick response to the tree that came down at Orange Park. Commissioner DeNardi asks Director Mediati on the update of the yellow tarp surrounding the bocce facility.
Director Mediati responds that staff met with the contractor to cost out replacing the tennis courts and bocci facilities screens all at once. There is currently a sample panel at the courts if anyone would like to check them out. One suggestion that is being proposed is an 80% shading factor that would mitigate most of the wind but still allow transparency in and out
of the courts. The IACC has been told that they are tasked with removing the current
windscreen, but we have not received a date from them. Director Mediati has a meeting with the president tomorrow and will try to get a firm date then. Commissioner DeNardi comments that she has seen the sample and during the day you can
see through it but at night you cannot see. She then asks why we are going through the
expense to put a windscreen there at all. She suggests that at least 50 feet along the sculpture garden does not get covered with anything so that people are able to see in and out. She feels by covering it up it makes it look private to outside people and that is not the look that the Department would want and also feels that it is a safety and security issue.
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Commissioner DeNardi added that there are a lot of volunteers that she’s sure would be
willing to assist in taking down the yellow tarp if IACC doesn’t do it. Commissioner Battaglia adds that she was impressed on how fast staff were able to move the senior programs to different facilities when the Robert Teglia Center flooded.
Commissioner DeNardi comments that she went to the Alice Bulos Community Center to see the programs that were moved there. She said that the pivoting the staff did to keep the programs going was amazing. Commissioner Uy asks if staff have received any reports or complaints from people
regarding exclusionary behavior from people using the bocce courts or the tarp making it look private and feeling unwelcome. Director Mediati responds that via Vice Chair DeNardi there have been complaints.
Commissioner Camacho asks what the privacy percentage of the sample that is there now.
Director Mediati responds that the sample is an 80% windscreen. It is similar to what is currently at the tennis courts and is the City’s standard product for tennis courts. Chair Firpo says that it may be appropriate to agendize this item.
XIII. Items from Staff: A. Calendar of Events Director Mediati provides a brief update on the calendar events.
B. Administrative Update Director Mediati summarizes how great the Opera in the Park was and acknowledges all the great work staff did. He also adds that the Age Friendly Initiative task force and the City met again today and shortlisted six projects for the next year to work on. Those projects will
be incorporated into the application for age friendly status with AARP.
Manager Richardson shares that on April 1, there will be a pop-up event for the Sign Hill Master Plan. He shares that there is also a dog park survey online to get information on what people would like to see in the dog parks. That survey will be ending March 31. Manager
Richardson gives updates on storm related issues. There have been some tree failures with
the last few storms; a big tree that fell across Memorial Drive, a big oak tree at the back of the park and another tree near the play structure at Orange Park blocking Tennis Drive. There were two more trees that came down at the back of Memorial parking lot. The one that came down by Fernekes did take down some powerlines and has been reported to
PG&E. Once PG&E addresses the powerlines we can get staff to clean up the tree. Manager
Richardson shares that there have been some private trees that have come down blocking roadways. The tree crew is here late tonight to try to take care of these failures. At Brentwood Park, two more trees came down and the park will most likely see more failures. Expect to see significant changes at the park with a total loss of approximately eight trees
already.
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Manager Richardson then shares that the Arbor Day event is scheduled for April 29. They’ll work on the Italian section at Sister Cities. Staff will start converting the area to a planting area later this month. He then talks about the new baseball league reps and how they have been very engaging and willing to help and work with the city.
Chair Lock asks if a private tree falls does the city help with those trees. Manager Richardson responds that they do not typically help with fallen private trees. If a private tree falls and is blocking a roadway or sidewalk, they will help clear the right of way but anything else is the property owner’s responsibility.
Commissioner Uy shares that he is happy to hear that the City and leagues are working together. He would like to know if there would be a way to more formalize the expectations on what the league can and cannot do and maybe give them training to help maintain the fields. Manager Richardson answers that the city typically provides things like soil and field
fines, which they’ve been doing for years. He also shares that Director Mediati had proposed
something similar as far as training in a meeting last week. Acting Recreation Manager Stenhouse shares that the Aquatics class registration has been cancelled. The pool has been out of commission for a few weeks because of the pool heater.
Installation of the new heater was completed today and the hope is that the pool will be
heated to the appropriate temperature soon. There is a meeting scheduled with the Aquatics Supervisor to come up with a plan to redevelop the spring schedule. Once that is done, we can determine new registration dates. Acting Recreation Manager Stenhouse also shares that the former Sports Coordinator, Bill Stridbeck, has accepted the Childcare Assistant
Supervisor position.
Deputy Director Duldulao gives update on staff recruitment in the Recreation Division. The recruitment for the position of Recreation Manager is underway with a list of good candidates for this position, and they are in the final stages of the interview process. She
also thanked staff for all the work that went into the Opera event. Manager O’Brien added
that she’s glad everyone seemed to enjoy the event and also wanted to give kudos to all the staff that helped.
XIV. Adjournment: 8:23p.m. Respectfully submitted by Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant II Next Meeting: April 18, 2023