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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.20.2023 PR Comm Minutes CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES FROM TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 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, June 20, 2023, in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Service Building. II. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Camacho, Lock, Uy, DeNardi, Battaglia and Firpo Absent: Commissioner Burgo 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 Kari Jung, Management Analyst I Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant II Philip Vitale, Deputy Director of Capital Projects III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Dave Casagrande 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 Uy / Seconded: Commissioner Lock. VI. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: None present. VII. Old Business A. Capital Projects Update Deputy Director Vitale gives update on the Centennial Trail Improvements. He shares updates to the design since the last meeting including incorporating some wheelchair accessible fitness equipment. Proposed equipment includes a 2-person chest press, a 2- person lat pull and a 2-person vertical press. Additional art opportunities with the Cultural Arts Commission are being explored. Deputy Director Vitale shares that they are pursuing a cooperative purchase agreement for the playground equipment. He explains they’ve recently learned that the pollinator themed playground equipment previously presented has a lead time of 9 months for that project, which is longer than the construction period, so they are taking the approach of the cooperative agreement which allows us to make the purchase sooner, gives a discount and allows us to purchase it directly. Once the contractor comes onboard the materials will be ready to install. The cooperative purchase agreement is being taken to City Council later this month. If everything stays on schedule, the project will go out to bid this fall, Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 20, 2023 Page 2 construction to start early 2024 and complete construction summer of 2024 to meet the requirements of the Clean California Grant. Commissioner Lock asks Deputy Director Vitale to explain a little more regarding the cooperative agreement and would it had been cheaper to use this for the Civic Center playground. Deputy Director Vitale responded that he’s not sure that this cooperative agreement could be used for all the projects but for the LPR project they were able to use piggyback agreements for some items. Commissioner Lock comments that he has a suggestion for Manager O’Brien as the CPRS District 4 President-Elect to put forth an item that all members of District 4 have one shared purchase agreement, where everyone could have that discounted price based on scale. Chair Firpo thanked Deputy Director Vitale for listening to the public last meeting and incorporating the fitness equipment in the design. Deputy Director Vitale then gives update on the Orange Memorial Aquatic Center design development that was presented to City Council last month. The presentation was well received. He shares that they brought up some questions and items they wanted explored further like pursuing an all deep outside pool, reducing the depth of the indoor pool and confirming that the pool is sized to accommodate water polo. The project team and staff went back and explored possibilities and in addition to the base option, in option 2, we explored a 4 feet deep shallow end going down to 7 feet which would have an increase in cost around $65,000. Option 3 is an all-deep outdoor pool which means the whole pool would be a minimum of 7 feet deep. If it is an all-deep pool, it becomes a special use pool, which mean you would need to distinguish it as a particular use. This option has an increase cost of around $300,000. Option 4 would be an all-deep pool with an “L” shaped peninsula that would allow a ramp up to some steps, which means it wouldn’t need to be distinguished as a particular use pool. This option will require us to increase the extra water space and have an increase in cost around $500,000. Deputy Director Vitale shares that they also explored options to have the indoor pool have two shallow ends, which will help create space for “learn to swim” and recreation programming but found that the smaller deep end limited the amount of fitness and recreation programs that require a deeper pool and would restrict the amount of fun beach elements. Deputy Director Vitale shares that staff recommendations are half shallow and half deep for the indoor pool and for the outdoor pool to support option 1 or 2. After meeting with the Aquatics Club they support option 2 because they want to keep 10 lanes in the 25-yard direction and 10 lanes in the 25-meter direction. Not all the lanes need to have a starting block and could just be marked lanes. Deputy Director Vitale states that they took this option to City Council and after hearing from the community and staff they support option 2 as well. If everything goes as planned the project design documents should be completed this summer, the project should go out to bid this fall, construction should begin this winter, pool opening in spring of 2025 and full project completion in summer of 2025. Once the new pool opens, we’ll have about 6 months to demolish the old pool and construct the parking lot and Veterans Memorial. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 20, 2023 Page 3 VIII. New Business A. 2023/24 Annual Co-Sponsorship Renewals Management Analyst Jung gave report on three of the Co-Sponsorship groups being recommended for renewal. The groups include the South San Francisco Historical Society, South San Francisco Youth Baseball Managers’ Association and South San Francisco Italian American Citizen’s Club. The City has an established set of guidelines to regulate the use of City facilities by community groups. Co-Sponsored groups are those organizations that are recreational in nature, bring people of like interest together, and provide opportunities for social exchange and development. Each group is required to have a membership and governing board consisting of no less than 51% South San Francisco residents. Groups are also required to submit an annual report which includes program, membership and financial information based on the 2022 calendar year. South San Francisco Historical Society: 67% of membership consists of South San Francisco residents. Membership fees are $15 per year for individuals and $20 for families. The group hosts a variety of fundraising events for the community including boutiques and tea parties. President of the Historical Society, Dave Casagrande, introduced himself and thanks the City for co-sponsorship status so that they may have the beautiful museums to showcase the City’s history. He also shares that both location on Grand and Chestnut are open every Saturday 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. South San Francisco Youth Baseball Managers’ Association: 62.77% of membership consists of South San Francisco residents. Annual registration fee is $225. The group is a youth baseball league for children ages 11-14 years. Practices and games are held 2-3 times per week, March-June. They host tournament games and one fundraiser per year to raise money for uniforms and a trip to Cooperstown, NY. Vice President of the Youth Baseball Managers’ Association, Mike Madrid, introduces himself and thanks the City for co-sponsorship, the access to the fields and taking care of the fields. Mike Madrid clarifies that the Cooperstown team consist of players that are selected throughout the league and are not necessarily members of the championship team. The Cooperstown players are selected earlier in the season to allow time to start fundraising. Vice Chair DeNardi asks if the organization offers scholarships for people that may not be able to afford it. Mike Madrid responds that they offer an early bird special for people who sign up early and they also have a link on the webpage that tells people to contact the league for the scholarship program. He shares that they don’t advertise it but have never turned down someone who has asked or was interested in playing. Vice Chair DeNardi asks if a discount is offered if registering multiple children, to which Mike Madrid responded that they do offer a family discount as well. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 20, 2023 Page 4 Italian American Citizen’s Club of South San Francisco: 52.04% of membership consists of South San Francisco residents. During the reporting period of 2022, the membership fee was $50 per year. The group offers free bocce ball lessons. The social organization meets on the third Tuesday of odd months. President of the Italian American Citizen’s Club, Leo Pierini, introduces himself and shares that he’s only became president at the beginning of 2022. He shares that a lot of the programs were impacted during COVID and they are still working on how to make things more inclusive. Leo Pierini shares that they still offer scholarships to South San Francisco students. Fundraising is primarily done internally through bocce tournaments. Leo Pierini shares that they have several associations throughout the peninsula who are utilizing the facility and the Parks and Recreation Department is operating a league. During the summer there will be an additional night for drop ins. In partnership with the City of South San Francisco and the Columbia Association they are putting together a Festa Italiana for South San Francisco. Vice Chair DeNardi thanks Leo Pierini for all the activities that have been brought forward at the club and asks why the initiation fee increased by 50%. Leo Pierini responds that it is needed to cover administrative costs and the Board of Directors decided that they would rather increase the one-time initiation fee than the yearly membership. Vice Chair DeNardi responds that City Council halted some fee increases for Parks and Recreation programs and activities and feels like $125 for a new member coming in is a lot. She also asks if they offer scholarships for people who can’t afford the fees. Leo Pierini responded that they do not have a scholarship program for membership at this time. Chair Firpo asks if the fee can be paid overtime to which Leo responds yes. Vice Chair DeNardi then shares that they’ve noticed on Saturdays that the courts are pretty much booked with the tournaments and private parties through the summer and asks how it will be worked out for the community to still be able to come out and play. Leo Pierini responds that they try to coordinate party rentals around the drop-in times and when tournaments are played, they usually leave at least two courts open to the public. Director Mediati adds that the permit process can be look at by staff to ensure there is public use available. Management Analyst Jung shares that they also have pending applications for South San Francisco Aquatics Club, South San Francisco Shetland Pinto Mustang Baseball, South San Francisco Mothers Club, South San Francisco United Soccer League, and San Mateo County Athletic Club which will be brought forward at a future meeting. Staff recommends that Commission approve the three groups presented this evening. Chair Firpo turns to the Commission for a motion to approve co-sponsorship to these three groups. Vice Chair DeNardi makes a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lock. Approved by motion. B. Celebrating July as National Park and Recreation Month Director Mediati shares that for the past 35 years, Parks and Recreation Month has been celebrated in July to promote the importance of parks, recreation, and the impact Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 20, 2023 Page 5 it has on health, wellbeing, environmental stewardship, conservation and equity. He shares that this month the Department will be highlighting the importance of Parks and Recreation on our social media pages, newsletters, and will be hosting Movie in the Park and the Field Day event in Orange Park. In addition, we will be helping to host free programs. Director Mediati thanks Chair Firpo for agreeing to receive the proclamation at the City Council meeting on July 12. Chair Firpo reminds the Commission that there will be no meeting in July. IX. Friends of Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Duldulao shares that she is looking forward to working with Friends for the movie nights. Manager Armanino shares that the intern that is working with them is currently designing the calendar for Parks and Recreation Month as well as the social media outreach. Some of the classes that will be provided at no cost include open gym for basketball and badminton, fine art exploration for seniors, karaoke for seniors, drop in Zumba, some art classes for preschool aged children at the Paradise Valley location, Sign Hill hikes, as well as Sign Hill Stewards activities. There will be knitting, crocheting, open gym, free swim lessons, free open swim, and free rec swim. Manager Armanino states that these will be put on the calendar with links on how to register. Chair Firpo asked if this will be on the website as well to which Manager Armanino responded yes. Vice Chair DeNardi asked if the free bocce lessons will be indicated on there too. Manager Armanino responds that on days they don’t have activities scheduled, there are notices that go out that highlight some of programs. X. Beautification Committee No updates at this time. XI. Items from Commission Commissioner Camacho thanks Deputy Director Vitale and his team for their time and effort that went into communicating the pool design and making sure all the parties that had concerns felt heard. Commissioner Camacho states that she also really appreciated the touring of the new fields at Orange Park and is excited for it to be done. Commissioner Lock seconds Commissioner Camacho’s comments regarding Deputy Director Vitale and staff. He also thanks Director Mediati for the tours of the new fields and the LPR Building. Commissioner Lock shares that he took a walk in Orange Memorial Park recently and it was filled with a lot of people. He believes that it shows how important these parks and facilities are to the community. Commissioner Battaglia apologizes for missing the last meeting and shares that while reading the minutes from the meeting, she was pleased to see the comments that were shared regarding Sign Hill. She appreciates the comments regarding reconfiguration of the trails and is glad it’s being looked at to make them safer and more accessible. Commissioner Battaglia shares that she also thinks that using scouts for volunteering is a Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 20, 2023 Page 6 great idea. She states that she was pleased to see the work at Westborough Park and thinks handrails are a good idea on for the stairs. Commissioner Uy enjoyed touring the ballfields and believes it will be a great addition for residents, and will be the center of our community. He then shares that he went to Terrabay and seen how childcare was running and thinks it looks great and has been getting some good reviews from the families that are sending their kids there. He only wishes that there were more summer camp openings. Commissioner Uy states that he recently celebrated his son’s birthday at Orange Park and although it was a cold day, all the picnic areas and the park were filled. He likes seeing the community out enjoying themselves and the benefits of the parks. Commissioner Uy also shares that he has been checking out the different pickleball courts lately and he noticed that when Parks and Recreation stopped their pickleball program, those people went to other places in nearby cities. A lot of them were going to Washington Park in Burlingame, who has changed one of their tennis courts to four permanent pickleball courts and would like the City to consider making one of our tennis courts into a pickleball area in one of the underutilized locations. Vice Chair DeNardi likes Commissioner Uy’s idea for the pickleball court. She appreciated the tour of the ballfield and will be touring LPR tomorrow. Commissioner DeNardi shares her concerns about the Eucalyptus trees near the fields. She thanks staff for their hard work and dedication to the Parks & Recreation programs. XII. Items from Staff: A. Calendar of Events Director Mediati provided a brief update of the Calendar of Events. B. Administrative Update Director Mediati states that he hopes by the august meeting he will have some dates to share for the LPR opening, Orange Park Ballfields and hopefully some groundbreaking dates for the pool and Centennial Trail. He reports that the City recently received confirmation that it has been approved as an Age-Friendly Community. He thanks the task force members and shares that there are 5 initiatives in the coming year and will formalize a plan to start moving those forward. Manager Richardson gives update that Westborough Park project is completed, and all pathways and staircases have been replaced with concrete and handrails installed. He shares that the Sign Hill Master Plan will be coming back to the Commission for final approval later this summer or fall, so there will be another chance for comments and questions. Manager Richardson then shares that they have finalized signage that needs to be printed for the pickleball courts and the priority hours for pickleball are listed on the signs. He shares that he and Director Mediati have been talking about ideas of potential courts that they can dedicate pickleball too. He shares with Commission that in other areas when the pickleball courts are in close proximity to homes there are a lot of complaints, so that is something that should be taken into consideration when looking at potential locations. Director Mediati adds that doing this as a pilot project is a good idea. Manager Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting of June 20, 2023 Page 7 Richardson says that the courts at Stonegate are not well known and that he is hoping to create a courts map on our website, so the information is more accessible. Commissioner Uy asks if it’s possible for the City to provide nets for pickleball. Manager Richardson responds that he thinks it is and is willing to do it on the pilot program to see how it works out because he has concerns that they will be taken. Vice Chair DeNardi suggests having people check-out the nets like you would a library book. Manager Richardson responds that he was going to suggest something similar where nets could be rented for a week or so and could be checked out from MSB. Manager O’Brien gives a brief update regarding the fees for LPR, the Orange Park Sports Complex and the Oyster Point Marina Picnic tables. The fees were presented to Council and approved at last weeks meeting. The FY 2023-24 budget will be going to Council on June 28. Manager Armanino gives update on summer camps and programs being underway. She reminds the Commission of the Health Fair on June 30 and to keep an eye out for the social media campaign that will be coming out soon. Director Mediati thanks the bocce ball court volunteer, Dan DeNardi, for the great job he did with the first league and is excited to launch another league. He adds that they are looking at adding additional court hours that the Parks and Recreation Department will staff moving forward. XIII. Adjournment: 8:18 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Jeanette Yoshida, Administrative Assistant II Next Meeting: August 15, 2023