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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.16.2023 PR Comm Minutes CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES FROM TUESDAY, MAY 16 , 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, May 16, 2023, in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Service Building. II. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Burgo, Camacho, Lock, Uy, and Firpo Absent: Commissioner Battaglia and DeNardi 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 Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant II Philip Vitale, Deputy Director of Capital Projects Anthony Ballinger, Facilities Supervisor Brian Noce, Aquatics Supervisor Mike Mulkerrins, Recreation Supervisor III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Supervisor Mulkerrins led the Pledge of Allegiance. IV. AGENDA REVIEW: There are no changes to the agenda. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE April 18, 2023, MEETING: Approved by motion. Motion: Commissioner Camacho / Seconded: Commissioner Uy. Abstention: Commissioner Lock. VI. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: Armando Leigh speaks about the growth of pickleball. He is the ambassador for USA Pickleball and the in-house instructor for pickleball at the Terrabay Gym. He asks for assistance in making South San Francisco a welcoming and safe destination to play pickleball. There are currently pickleball court lines painted on tennis courts at Buri Buri, Westborough, and Stonegate parks. The court rules signs at these locations have not been updated to include pickleball use. He shares that he has been working with the Parks and Recreation Department since October of last year and there is still no signage posted at these facilities. Armando Leigh goes on to say that in addition to missing signage there is a serious safety issue with the current benches at Buri Buri and Westborough parks. These benches are located less than 2 feet away from the pickleball courts and need to be addressed before a serious injury occurs. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 2 Alan Garaygau shares that he was invited by Commissioner Burgo to speak on specific wheelchair accessible exercise equipment that he has been able to find in Burlingame. He asks that the City consider putting these types of equipment in parks. Alan Garaygau brought pictures of the equipment that he has been using to share and offers to make himself available if there are any questions regarding opinions on the types of equipment. Chair Firpo asks that he leave the pictures and contact information with the staff. VII. Old Business A. Capital Projects Update Deputy Director Vitale gives update on the Orange Memorial Park Aquatics Center. The scope of the project remains the same since last presented in January. There have been some engagements done through the design development stage that included some meeting with the South San Francisco Aquatics Club who reviewed the design of the pool. They provided some feedback on how the design of the pool could be improved. They also provided a layout on how they would set up the pool during competitions. A presentation was also made to the design review board, and we will be coming back to them in June after some refining of building materials and signage. There is a Cultural Arts Commission meeting coming up to look at where there is opportunity for public art. Deputy Director Vitale shares that they also had a veteran’s stakeholder meeting and have been talking with Peninsula Clean Energy about opportunities to bring solar into the project. He states that the budget is still within the $49 million-dollar base project budget. Funds will be used from the bridge replacement at Orange Park or playground for the $3 million dollar soil mitigation that needs to be addressed. Deputy Director shows slides of the overall design of the Aquatics Center which is similar to what was presented previously. The overall footprint may have tightened up a little bit to cut costs. The pickup and drop off area is where the existing pool is located now and will have accessible parking stalls and vehicle charging stations. He goes on to share a slide that shows the building layout. While explaining each area, he states that they went from 3 to 2 family changing rooms as a cost saving measure but adds that one of those is sized to accommodate an adult size changing table. He explains that the indoor pool continues to be 7 lanes with a zero-beach entry and some fun water features. The outdoor pool remains the same since last presented with 10 lanes in the 25-yard direction and 5 lanes in the 25-meter direction that will be marked and can have starting blocks added to them. Deputy Director Vitale then shows a slide of the views at schematic design of what the refined building materials and finishes will look like. He explains that they thought to move forward with more of the earth tone colors to relate more to the park and the Fernekes Building and fit more within the neighborhood but will keep the aqua blue accents. The signage to the building has been refined and will be mounted on a concrete wall using some of the aqua and metal steel colors from the rest of the building. One of the requests from the Cultural Arts Committee was to see if some decorative lighting element can be added, so we are exploring bringing some lighting to the corner that will have some reflections of water look to it. We’ll have to see if we can fit that into the base budget or if it would be an element that would need to be added separately. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 3 Deputy Director Vital then shares slides of the interior of the pool. He explains that they will use some of the same wood from outside but because it is more costly than traditional drywall, it will be kept in just the entrance area. The windscreen outside will be made up of composite wood because it has higher durability than traditional wood and doesn’t require as much treatment. Deputy Director Vitale shares that they had a meeting with the veteran’s memorial stakeholder group to talk about relocating the eternal flames sculpture as well as some plaques and the flagpole and the potential locations. Because they are currently where the new Aquatics Center will be, they need to be relocated. He states that we want to preserve the eternal flame sculpture and flagpole elements and making sure it has high visibility was a request from the stakeholders. In addition to making sure we provide space for events, we want to provide opportunities for reflection and contemplation, and that the new memorial has accessible services. We also want to continue to have opportunities to keep the existing plaques there but also have the potential to add more in time as needed. As part of the Orange Memorial Park Master Plan there is the idea to make a pedestrian connection from the pool that will connect to the playground, the Fernekes Building and the basketball courts. As part of the project there will be a pathway to the new veteran’s memorial area. Deputy Director Vitale explains that the veteran’s memorial area will be a paved space that will be in a high traffic pedestrian zone so people who are entering the park will have an opportunity to experience the memorial, will be adjacent to a flat area so during events we can expand out with chairs, and is really close to the accessible parking stalls. Feedback that is received by the stakeholder group, Council and this Commission will continue to help refine the design. There is information about the stakeholder meeting on our webpage; veterans and the community are encouraged to continue giving feedback on the design and the website will continue to be updated with all information. Commissioner Uy shares that he likes the updated design for the pool. He asks what type of seating is being considered for the veteran’s memorial. Deputy Director Vitale responds that they have an upcoming meeting with the landscape architect to see what kind of seating would fit within our project budget but still be durable and suitable for that space. Commissioner Lock asks how high the wall that holds the plaques at the veteran’s memorial will be. Deputy Director Vitale responds that it will probably be tabletop height, but the design is still in the conceptual stage and feedback heard here and from the stakeholder’s meetings will help decide. Commissioner Lock states that from the drop-off/pick-up area you would clearly see the memorial but says when other big events are happening in the park it wouldn’t attract people to come and view it from that side of the park and suggests maybe having a curvy wall and use of colors to attract people to the area. Commissioner Camacho gives input on the wall at the veteran’s memorial. She states that there is so much that can be done with the low wall idea using curves and elevation to make it more visually interesting or go the route of having a wall to sit on. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 4 She then asks if the cost listed is just to pave and relocate the memorial. Deputy Director Vitale explains that there is an overall cost estimate of $250 to $500 thousand for the project and that would include the relocating, building a pedestal, and set the space up, the paving of the area, the wall, and effort of installing those pieces. Commissioner Camacho then asks if they are able to have different plans laid out with the cost estimates for each so if there is an outside association, grant or individual who wants to donate, those plans could be shared with them. Commissioner Camacho then shares that she loves the colors and wood for the aquatic centers design. She asks if there will still be a children’s area for the pool. Deputy Director Vitale responds that there still is in the indoor pool and that there will be some kind of bubblers at the shallow end and will have some play elements on the side of the pool. Commissioner Camacho then asked if the zero-beach entry will be like a ramp so it’s accessible for wheelchairs to which Deputy Director Vitale responded that it’s just like a ramp. Commission Camacho also suggests that they put family/all gender changing room signs for the locker rooms for people who may not feel comfortable using gender specific changing area. She loves the idea of art lighting. She also shares that she is disappointed that they took $3 million from the playground replacement. Deputy Director Vitale responds that it is the most economical way to address soil mitigation. Director Mediati adds that with the pool fun features they are looking at other equipment, for example inflatables, stand up paddle boards or exercise bicycles. He also shares that Deputy Director Vitale and Director Gilchrist are looking at the park fee cash flow analysis to look for other opportunities to bring some money back into the park for the playground or elsewhere. Deputy Director Vitale shares that they are also exploring opportunities for grants that can help to offset the base cost which would mean less money that they would have to take form some other projects. Commissioner Burgo shares that she has similar thoughts as Commissioners Camacho and Lock and asks if the Commission will be getting more updates after the stakeholders again before anything is finalized. Deputy Director Vitale responds that they can come back to refine the design before finalizing. Commissioner Burgo asks about the sitting area near the outside pool. Deputy Director Vitale used the slide to show the area of the outdoor pool where there would be concrete and synthetic turf. Chair Firpo shares that in regard to the pool he appreciates how things were tightened up for the budget. As for the veteran’s memorial he would like to see the largest flag we can support. Deputy Director Vitale now gives update on the Centennial Trail Improvement Project. He shares that they have moved quickly because one of the requirements of the grant is that they complete this project by the end of June 2024. The segment between Spruce and Huntington is the area where this improvement will take place. The area is adjacent to future residential property and some community services building. He shares a slide that shows at the conceptual level the play area, central lawn, skate area and bike pump track. He states that they’ve had several community engagement events meeting with a lot of community members and bike and skate stakeholders. Some surveys were done and what they’ve heard from a lot of people is Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 5 that they want the skatepark to be for people of all skill levels and want it to be more of an open skate space and not a skate park. The park area will have a pollinator theme and a nature play area using some reclaimed trees. It will also have a picnic area and a pollinator garden with native plants. With the skate stakeholder group there was a lot of interest in the Barcelona Plaza, so a lot of our queues came from that which is more of a plaza feel. Deputy Director Vitale explains that they are trying to wrap up construction documents this summer, go out to bid mid to late summer, start construction this fall and wrap up construction by June 2024. Commissioner Burgo emphasizes that it would be good to get some wheelchair accessible exercise equipment somewhere along the Centennials Trail. Deputy Director Vitale responds that they are still refining what exact equipment they will have in that area. Chair Firpo talks about there being no parking lot in that area of the trail. Deputy Director Vitale said that it was explored during the Master Plan phase to carve out an area for parking but would end up losing some of the park space. There will be mid- block connections from the new development at 1477 Huntington, they will have a pathway that connects Huntington Avenue to the trail. Chair Firpo adds that he was thinking about the wheelchair accessible equipment being there and wonders how people would get there with no adjacent parking lot. Commissioner Camacho ask if there will be connections from the AT&T site and County services building. She suggests maybe trying to work out a partnership that their parking lot be available during off hours. Director Mediati responds that the County Services building is rented by the county, but they can still look into it. The hope is to have more transparency to Huntington with the new development at 1477 Huntington which will have a few hundred units, the redevelopment at the old theater across the street, and the Southline Project. Commissioner Camacho asks in addition to the accessible fitness equipment, can we also explore seamless connection for mobility ease and to make it more accessible along Centennial Trail as each section is improved. Deputy Director Vitale responds that all the elements will be accessible and won’t have more than the 2% slope on the regular pathway. Commissioner Camacho would also like to make sure that when it comes time to redo Francisco Terrace, it is kept in mind what the residential makeup of the new housing development is. That way we can meet the needs and services of the new residents in the area too. Commissioner Uy asks what type of lighting will be used at the bike pump track and skate plaza and will it be usable at night. Deputy Director Vitale responds that lighting will be increased all along the segment of the trail. The existing poles will be used with new LED lighting and a few more poles will be added around the area of the skate plaza and bike pump track as well as in the picnic area. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 6 Commissioner Lock asked if the lighting was going to be solar powered. Deputy Director Vitale responds that they explored solar power but believes that the capacity of what we can get from a light and how much would be needed for the area, the LED option was the best fit. Commissioner Lock then asks about problems that have arisen on the trail in the past and what the plan is to deal with those if they arise again, especially in an area that is now going to more heavily utilized. Deputy Director Vitale responds that they have been working with the IT department to discuss where they could potentially locate cameras and incorporate WIFI in this area. Commissioner Lock asks if the pathway is going to be widened, Deputy Director Vitale share that the asphalt that is there will be improved, and the buffer side will be widened too. Commissioner Lock then asked if there is a plan to mitigate the high winds that may affect people using that area, particularly the playground area. Deputy Director Vitale responds that there will be some increased vegetation along the edge which should help mitigate and once the new developments are built it should help create a natural buffer to the wind. Commissioner Lock asks if there will be restrooms in the area. Deputy Director Vitale explains when working on the master plan they explored the best locations for restrooms along the trail and this was not one of the segments not identified and would not ne within the project budget. Conceptually the next phase has a restroom in the master plan. Commissioner Lock asks what the age range will be for the school age playground, to which Director Mediati responded it will be for ages 5- 12. Commissioner Lock goes on to say when looking at the rough design of the play structure it does not look like something 9–12-year-olds would be happy with. Deputy Director Vitale responds that this play structure has a lot of vertical and upright features which gives a lot of play feature on one structure. Chair Firpo states that he would like to see cameras installed because the area is isolated and emergency phones would be a nice added amenity. B. Proposed Library / Parks and Recreation Community Civic Campus and Orange Memorial Park Sports Complex Rental Fees Manager O’Brien shares proposed fees on L|PR facility and the Orange Memorial Park Sports Complex. We took feedback from the last meeting and some comp surveys for similar facilities from neighboring cities to help form these proposed fees. Manager O’Brien points out a few changes proposals. • One of the fees being proposed is one that is new. For the more popular rental spaces, is a peak weekend minimum hour rental time. • With the feedback from the previous meeting regarding resident versus non- resident rates it was decided to propose a $30 fee increase for the non-resident rate on both the L|PR facilities as well as the Sports Field Complex. • Non-profit rate for L|PR rooms will be the sane as the current rate which will be $15 reduction from the resident rate per hour. Chair Firpo shares that he appreciates the staff looking into the fees for non-residents and believes they can be even higher. He feels that we are going to have a state-of-the-art facility and wants residents to get the benefits of it. Chair Firpo asks how it works if a Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 7 team wants to use the field and one person lives in South San Francisco, but the rest don’t. Director Mediati responds that he thinks it will be treated like a building reservation would be, in that whoever is the permit holder would be the responsible one paying the fees. Commissioner Uy states that the fees seem well thought out and will be a deterrent to organizations who do not have primarily South City members. There is going to be a big demand with having such great fields and we need to make sure that there is preference to organizations serving primarily South San Francisco residents. He feels comfortable with the fees proposed and believes this is something they can revisit later if the increase becomes an issue with outside organizations renting the majority of the fields. Commissioner Camacho agrees with Commissioner Uy. She states that she is fine with the fees proposed but is also amenable to increasing it more for non-residents. She would like to prioritize our residents using these facilities. Commissioner Burgo asked what the process is for renting facilities. Manager O’Brien responds that the deposits are part of the master fee schedule and those were part of the approval that went through last month. Field rental - $25 permit rental fee Facility rentals - $89 permit rental fee Commissioner Camacho asks if there is a custodial fee to which Director Mediati and Manager O’Brien state that the custodial fee is built into the rental fee already. Supervisor Mulkerrins adds that currently they are taking indoor facility rentals 6 months from the desired date but in January will probably go back to 11 months from the desired date which is what was happening pre-covid. He states that once they have a permit in hand and meet with the renter a $300 deposit is due at that time, which goes towards the balance due; balance is due 30 days prior to the event. The refundable deposit, which is $350 to $500 depending on the facility rented, is due 30 days prior to event date. The refundable deposit is given back 72 hours after their event as long as there is no damage to facility, and they left on time. Commissioner Lock shares that he believes the non-resident fees should be higher based on what the new L|PR building, and the Sports Field will have to offer. It will also help in making sure residents are not being blocked out from using those facilities. He also adds that the rental fee for the Council Chamber should also be higher. Supervisor Mulkerrins responds that there is also an application fee of $89 and an audio/visual fee of $55 that all add up on top of the $120 hourly rate for the Council Chambers rental. Director Mediati adds that there are also some limitations on the rental of council chambers like no food or drinks and no parties. Commissioner Lock then asks if any non-profits get the discount or if they need to be a registered South San Francisco non-profit group. Director Mediati responds that the practice is that they need to be a non-profit with an address based in South San Francisco to receive the non-profit rate. If the non-profit has an address other than South San Francisco, they pay the resident rate. If the non-profit does not have an Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 8 address in South San Francisco but it is a City sponsored event then there is a waiver because it is city sponsored. Commissioner Lock asks if the field attendant fee of $30 covers all the cost of that person. Director Mediati responds that it does, plus maybe a little of the overhead. Commissioner Lock comments that with the features that will be offered in the new building there are no other facilities in the area comparable and the demand will be high, we should charge higher fees. Chair Firpo shares that he agrees that fees should be priced higher and fairly but wants to make sure that South San Francisco residents can still use it. He asks if there will be a field attendant assigned to each field or in general just for the sports field complex. Supervisor Mulkerrins responds that early on, to be able to see the demand and how many people who may come from the outside, there will be an attendant Monday thru Sunday. Chair Firpo states that he thinks the rates are reasonable but would still like to see the non- resident rate a little higher. Director Mediati shares that there is a sports field rental policy that spells out who has priority in the order listed: • City groups • School district • Co-sponsored groups • Residents • Non-residents Director Mediati suspects that there is going to be so much demand from our co- sponsored groups and city sports league which will leave little time to rent out outside of those groups. Even then it will be more revenue to support the field and help create a capital reserve to be used towards things like maintenance and turf replacement. Supervisor Mulkerrins adds an example of a softball team that comes in and pays the resident fee but will have a $12 non-resident fee added on per player who is not a resident. Director Mediati shares that sometimes there are people who take advantage of the resident rate and then the day of the party there are issues because its not the permit holder that is requesting everything to be changed. Commissioner Uy suggests checking with the city attorney to see if a clause can be added to the agreement that says staff is only required to communicate and take directive from the permit holder or if the person that rented the facility is not using it based on that primary resident, then the event is subject to termination or additional fees. Commissioner Uy makes a motion to keep the resident fee as presented and increase the non-resident fee by $40. Commissioner Lock seconds. Approved by motion. VIII. New Business A. Sign Hill Master Plan Update: Natural Resource Specialist Candance LaCroix talks about the Sign Hill restoration project. She states that they are working on restoring habitat on Sign Hill for a couple of the endangered species and increasing awareness of the natural resources in the community. She gives background on the project starting in 2019 with funding from San Mateo County’s Measure K. We are now funded through some grants and the part- time budget. One of the grants received helped address fire hazards as well as to Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 9 implement a Sign Hill Master Plan. In late 2022, Gates & Associates and WRA were hired to draft the plan. John Baas from WRA presents slides of the study area which is Sign Hill and a piece of private parcel to the north of the Sign Hill property that the City owns, which is 65 acres. He shares that the purpose is to look at 3 broad areas of public access to have the intent of guiding future development for trails, to give the public safe and enjoyable experiences, to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources, and look at wildfire hazards. Documents of the City’s General Plan, the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, the City’s Urban Forest Master Plan, biological resources study, and information on the culture and history of Sign Hill were all looked at. Once a draft plan is in place, all recommendations in the plan will be consistent with the policies and goals in the plans previously mentioned and will also be consistent with local, state and federal environmental regulations. Focus areas will consist of: • Habitat restoration – endangered butterflies • Trail improvements • Safety • Reducing wildfire fuels • Improve awareness and appreciation. John Baas shares that a cultural resource assessment, an update to the 2015 biological resource study, a fire fuel evaluation, a trail and visitor use assessment and community outreach were all done. Robin Graham shares preliminary results of the assessments and studies done. A cultural resource firm was brought in to assess some key trails on site and do some archival research. It was found that there is no history of structures on site and a low likelihood of buried archeological or historical resources. They noted that the Sign letters are on the national registrar of historic places. She shares that any maintenance or work on the letters needs to follow the world historic preservation standards, so it was recommended that an architectural historian to evaluate the letters or work plans for maintenance. Robin Graham shares that the biologist have found that the work that they City is already doing should continue as in removing the invasive species and the trees that have been planted there. Through database research they also found high potential for a couple rare plants to occur and recommend that focus surveys be done before any ground disturbing work is done. Another recommendation is to expand the restoration area for the 2 endangered butterfly species. Robin Graham reports that WRA staff also assessed the trail system and evaluated the level of erosion on designated trails and mapped visitor created trails. 3 key areas with high levels of erosion were identified on the Letters Trail, the Iris Trail and the Ridge Tra il. Recommendations on this assessment are: • Improve drainage on the Letters Trail. • Rerouting on the Iris Trail as erosion control may not be enough. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 10 • Erosion control and drainage features on the Ridge Trail and potentially some rerouting where it cannot be fixed. • Decommissioning and restoring some of the visitor created trails. A study on the visitation to the park was done. Automated counters were used to develop estimates of 100 visits per day on weekdays and around 170 visits on weekends. A high proportion of visitors are walking their dogs on Sign Hill. Daniel Schafir-Shor from Gates & Associates shares about the community outreach portion. It was divided into two parts. Round one was data collection of demographic data, user data, frequency of use of the park, as well as questions. Round one was completed and consisted of online digital media, an online survey, and a pop-up event at Sign Hill. Preliminary finding show: • Primarily visited by locals • Majority of visitors live in the immediate area • Nearly 90% have already visited Sign Hill • Majority of users are adults over the age of 35 • Demographics: 50% Caucasian, 18% Hispanic, 17% Asian Daniel Schafir-Shor shares that they gathered data based on what people currently like at Sign Hill which by far was the view and scenery, walking trails and native flora and fauna. The features that are desired by the community to be implemented in the future are: • Tr ail enhancements – making them safer, reducing erosion, adding steps where needed • Signage – educational interpretive signage • More seating areas Most important characteristics of Sign Hill are: • Natural beauty • Sustainability and conservation • Opportunities for exercise John Baas reports on some of the recommendations. Signage for people to navigate between the trails, interpretive signage and programs and safety improvements. He shares that WRA will meet to go over various trail route alternatives and then will have more consultation with Parks & Recreation staff. An open space management plan will be drafted somewhere in the middle of June, they will then come back to City Council for some input and will host a town hall sometime in the summer. He goes on to say that after all that is done, they will have an almost final plan that they will bring back to this Commission as well as City Council to have the plan adopted. Commissioner Burgo asks if the slide that had preferences listed on it was in order of most liked or just a list of top preferences. Daniel Schafir-Shor answers that they were listed in the order of most preferred. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 11 Commissioner Lock asks what’s envisioned when they talk about erosion control and drainage improvements. John Baas responds that the general idea for erosion management is to get the water off the trail. There will be a list of options and recommendations made to do that. Commissioner Lock shares that on the steepest incline of the Ridge Trail, he has noticed water coming down there and asks if that is an area they will try to mitigate. John Baas responds yes, that is one of the areas that will be recommended for some erosion control improvements. Commissioner Lock then asks if Cal Water is the other owner of the piece of land in the middle. Director Mediati responds that there are two parcels there that are both Cal Water property. To the North of that there are two private properties that are owned by the same estate. Commissioner Camacho shares that she hopes when they talk about the importance of preserving Sign Hill and the stewardship ethic; the value of open space, the impact on mental health and the impact on the environment can be added in to show the importance of Sign Hill. That way when we do things like spending money on Sign Hill and trying to preserve the features, there will be more support for it. Questions she would have like to see asked on the survey were, what would get you to utilize Sign Hill more, or what is a barrier to using Sign Hill more. Robin Graham responds that they received input from people at the pop-up events, like the trails being too steep. One of the goals is to make some of the trails more accessible and the other will be way finding improvements to get people there. Commissioner Camacho suggests with the marketing side of things adding a little “how-to” guide for people to use. Commissioner Camacho then asks if improving trailhead accessibility was part of the plan. Robin Graham responded that making the trailhead more of a place than an access point is the goal. Commissioner Camacho adds that she goes through Ridge Court where the first hill is really steep and suggests there be something to look at along the way to break up the walk up that hill. Robin Graham agrees and says that is where having interpretive signage and seating would come in. Commissioner Camacho finishes by adding a request that if steps are put in, that they be deeper steps and not too narrow. Commissioner Burgo asks if there will be any lighting added to the trails which Robin responded that there are no plans to add lighting. Commissioner Burgo adds that some signage next to the lit tree with information and the history behind it would be a nice addition. Commissioner Uy shares that he believes improving the stairs will be welcomed by the community. He suggests maybe adding difficulty rating signs to the beginning of the trails is a good idea so when people go, they know ahead of time how difficult the trail may be. Robin Graham responds that it is something they are considering because it is part of the improving safety and improving signage areas and thought not only having the difficulty but the time it would take to walk the trail is helpful. Chair Firpo shares that he accesses through Ridge Court and there is an area to the left of the asphalt road. He asks if a switchback would be considered in that area. He shares that he filled out the survey online and was pleased to see some interest in putting some Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 12 seating up there. Maybe it could be used for a small summer class for little kids. He shares another thing to be considered would be some kind of shelter to protect from the wind near the seating. Commissioner Camacho adds that having a vista map installed for kids to look at would be a good idea too. B. Joint Advisory Committee for the Child Care Master Plan (JACCCMP) Manager Armanino gives update on the Child Care Master Plan and the formation of the Joint Advisory Committee. Included in the approved Child Care Master Plan were recommendations on how to improve it, and starting that process was the formation of the Joint Advisory Committee. Manager Armanino shares that Mayor Flor Nicolas and Councilman James Coleman went through 28 applications and selected 12 members and 3 alternates to make up the committee. There will be 5 meetings and 2 community meetings. She shares that the first meeting was last night and consisted of parents to people who work in a professional capacity, representing all 5 districts throughout the city. The dates of the community meetings will be shared with the Commission once scheduled and a list of the members can also be shared with the Commissioners. Commissioner Burgo shares that there was talk about having one Commissioner be part of this committee and asked if that was considered. Manager Armanino responds that Commissioner Camacho applied and is part of the committee. Commissioner Camacho shares that she welcomes any thoughts or ideas on topics that were discussed. Topics included are the lack of workforce for childcare, affordability for childcare, expanding childcare, and the City’s ability to communicate information about childcare. The top two topics were the workforce and affordability of childcare. She shares that there is representation on the committee from YMCA, Skyline College, family day cares, 4 C’s, and Ed Trust West. Manager Armanino adds that the goal is to have the meetings in person to build a sense of community. IX. Friends of Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Duldulao reports that Friends of Parks and Recreation provided a $1,000 scholarship through the Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Program. Friends will also be supporting at both of the movie nights with a snack bar option. Deputy Director Duldulao add that they will also be tabling at the Farmer’s Market on July 15th. X. Beautification Committee No updates at this time. XI. Items from Commission Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 13 Commissioner Uy shares that he’s been visiting a lot of the tennis courts and the ones at Orange Park seem to get full starting around 4pm through the evening. He shares that he’s amazed on how the pickleball program has grown. One of the things he heard while there was that it would be great to have reserved pickleball courts on weekends and if it would be possible to line the courts at Terra Bay for pickleball. Commissioner Lock shares that he was skeptical about the free bicycle program but now sees children riding their bikes every morning and afternoon to Park Way but sees the majority not wearing helmets and is fearful that someone will get hurt when they are riding in the opposite direction. He then shares that he has seen a lot of tagging on the concrete barriers at the skate park at Orange Park and hopes they will be removed soon and thought that there would be some additional railings installed. Director Mediati responds that there are some additional boxes currently being manufactured off site and pending delivery. He goes on to say that with the barricades, they were hoping to do a public art installation there with some artists. Commissioner Lock suggests possibly getting the Skyline group to paint butterflies on them. Manager O’Brien adds that they did give them that site as one of the options for the sites they were looking at, but it was not selected for this go around. Commissioner Lock then asks about the City helping the school district with the field on Park Way and thought that one of the conditions is that they keep the field open for public use. He states that the field has been chained and closed off. Director Mediati responds that the City did not financially support Park Way but did support Bur Buri School, so that school is the one that needs to stay open. Commissioner Lock then asks if the water reclamation is now working. Director Mediati responds that he believes it is processing and filling the cistern but doesn’t believe we are drawing from it yet. Commissioner Camacho formally congratulates Laura, Bill and Devin on their new positions. She shares that she attended the Arbor Day Event and thought the scope of work Manager Richardson planned out was great but thought there were fewer volunteers than usual. Commissioner Camacho then responded to Commissioner Locks comments about Park Way school not being open and shares that individual residents can email the principle directly and ask if they can keep it open. She also thanked Commissioner Burgo for asking Alan Garaygau to speak today because hearing public comment is impactful. Commissioner Burgo shares that she believes we have a lot of opportunities to add the wheelchair accessible equipment with the changes happening around the city. She also shares that she attended the CPRS dinner and enjoyed the event. Chair Firpo shares that he attended the Arbor Day Event and enjoyed the event but doesn’t understand why there aren’t as many volunteers. Director Mediati states that Rotary use to bring more people but this year weren’t able to bring as many. Chair Firpo suggests if South San Francisco has eagle scouts or other groups that do projects, maybe they can use these kinds of events as their project. Another idea he has is if they can have a switchback by Ridgewood Court it could be a trail making project for eagle scouts. Chair Firpo attended the Parkside bike giveaway and also the one at Sunshine Garden and received a lot of people complaining that there is no park in the area. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of May 16, 2023 Page 14 XII. Items from Staff: A. Calendar of Events Director Mediati provided a brief update of the Calendar of Events. B. Older Americans Month Proclamation Director Mediati reports that this was presented to Council on April 26th. Manager Armanino adds that the theme this year is “Aging Unbound”, which explores the various aging experience and opens communication on how to combat stereotypes. Commissioner Camacho asks if Chair Firpo should be at the Council meeting to accept the proclamation for July as Parks and Recreation month. Director Mediati replies that it will be done on the 28th of June and that they would love to have Chair Firpo present. C. Administrative Update Deputy Director Duldulao gives update on the Teglia Center. She shares that it is still closed, and repairs are still being made. Director Mediati adds that there may have to be a phased opening. There are a few things that have delayed the opening. The cost for the work was higher than expected and required bidding for the repairs, the timeline for sourcing materials is also taking longer than expected along with the fire department review. XIII. Adjournment: 9:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant II Next Meeting: June 20, 2023