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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-21-2003 Approved PCSC Minutes ,a CITY OF DUBLIN' " PARKS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES' ERVICES COMMISSION MINUTES OF: APRIL 21,2003 The April 21, 2003 meeting of the Parks and Community Services Commission was called to order at 7:47p.m. at the Dublin Civic Center,Dublin, California,by Vice-Chairperson Guarienti. Pledge of Allegiance Vice-Chairperson Guarienti led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call Commissioners Present: Guarienti,Hildenbrand, Cain, Jones and Young Commissioners Absent: Flores Oral Communications-None Approval of Minutes Cm. Guarienti referred to page 2,last paragraph, 4th line, indicating that the word"my"should be"by". ON A MOTION BY CM. JONES, SECONDED BY CM. CAIN AND BY UNANIMOUS VOTE, THE COMMISSION VOTED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MARCH 17,2003 AS CORRECTED. Written Communications-None Public Hearing-None Unfinished Business-None, New Business 8.1 Sports Field Use Policy Lowart reported that on October 15, 2002, on the recommendation of the Commission, the City Council approved revisions to the Sports Field Use Policy. In addition to general policy revisions that encompassed all the facility use policies in'the City related to user group classifications, security deposits, cancellations,etc., fees for the use of the fields were also revised. Prior to this revision, field use policies and fees had not been revised since 1993. Subsequent to the October meeting, at the March 31, 2003 City Council Budget Study Session, Councilmember Oravetz proposed that field rental fees be waived entirely for Dublin Youth Sports Leagues. This was due to a concern about the fee increases that had been voiced to him by Dublin Little League. Although the City Council did not support waiving field rental fees,they referred the matter of fee increases back to the Parks and Community Services Commission for consideration. On April 2, 2003 Dublin Little League submitted a request for improvements and additions. In addition to requests for field improvements one of the requests is for a reduction in fees for the use of the fields commensurate with what is paid in San Ramon/Pleasanton/Danville $5.00 an hour or$15.00 per child per year. Director Lowart reviewed a table showing the field rental fees for youth sports leagues in the Tri-Valley and the City of Dublin field rental fees. She indicated that at the time that Staff did the survey of fees for the Field Use Policy, San Ramon was contemplating an increase in fees similar to what was subsequently adopted by the City of Dublin, $7.50 per hour. However this fee increase did not materialize. Based on the current survey information, Staff would recommend that the Commission consider maintaining the current fee of$5 per hour for Group 2, 3, 4 and 5 and recommend to the City Council that the fee increases for these groups scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2003 be rescinded. The estimated lost fee revenue by not implementing the new fees is estimated at $8,667.50 which is based on the estimated rental hours used in preparation of the Fiscal Year 2002-2003 Budget. Cm. Guarienti opened the meeting for Public Comment. Jim North, President Dublin Little League, stated that the league submitted a request to the City of Dublin to keep the fees as they have been, as the impact to the league would greatly affect their current budget. MINUTES—APRIL 21,2003 PAGE TWO Being no additional public comment, Cm. Guarienti opened the meeting for Commission comment. Cm. Jones asked if the user groups were notified of the proposed fee increases. Lowart stated that a Youth Sports Liaison Committee meeting was conducted at which the fee increases were discussed and the leagues were given advance notification of this meeting. Cm.Hildenbrand asked if the groups at that time indicated any concern of the fee increase. Lowart replied,no. North stated that he was elected just last August and did not have any comprehension or idea of what the liaison meeting was about until it was too late. He reported that the league has been mandated to split into 2 leagues' starting next year with the dividing line being Dougherty Road. They anticipate start up costs of approximately $10,000. Even though the league is aware that the fees have not changed for almost ten years, the timing of the increase.in fees is not good for the league or the City at this time. Sr. Advisory Committee member Silvas asked if he could provide input. Cm. Guarienti stated that public input is closed and he would like to complete the Commissions input at this time. Cm. Guarienti asked Staff to provide a little more information in regards to the survey done. Lowart stated that we look at two things when we look at fee increases. First we look at our maintenance costs and how much they have increased. In fact in the ten years since the last increase, cost to maintain our parks per acre have gone up 72%which is quite a substantial increase. Secondly we look at the other fees that are being charged in the area. When Staff looked at the survey, we assumed that San Ramon's fees were going to go up to $7.50 because their fees like ours had not increased for 10 years. We know that we will never recoup the costs for maintenance but we do look at what the market will bear. Cm. Guarienti asked if Livermore and Danville have increased their fees in the last five years. He understands that Livermore charges per game and therefore it would be hard to determine the hourly charge or per player charge. Lowart replied that she does not know if Livermore or Danville have increased their fees. If you have per hour charge for field use, you book only the hours you need. If you have a per head charge you don't have to be concerned with the fact that you are being charged by the hour,unless you have a cap on the hours you can have. North stated that Dublin Little League pays $18,000 per season with averages about $30 per child. In Livermore the league solely maintains the fields with volunteers. Lowart pointed out that the City of Livermore does not own any of the fields, they are owned by the Livermore Area Recreation Department. Two years ago the City waived field use fees for the sports groups because at the time there was a surplus in the budget. What we found was that the hours of use doubled. Cm. Guarienti asked what would be the cost to the City if we kept the fees the same for all. Lowart replied, minimal,probably about 5% of our rentals are by groups other than the youth sports organizations. Cm. Guarienti felt that if we make an allowance for Dublin leagues, we might want to keep the same fee for other resident groups and increase the fees for non-residents. Cm. Cain stated that is it correct that the City Council waived the use fees for two years. Lowart replied, no. The City Council waived the use fees two years ago for only one year, which was a one-time gesture based on the budget surplus. Cm. Hildenbrand stated that as we bring on more parks there would be more field usage. Wouldn't the maintenance costs therefore go up, and if so, would we be re-evaluating this in a few years. Lowart stated that it would be prudent to get into a cycle of reviewing every one to two years instead of doing it every ten years. She recommended that we should schedule to review the fees every two years. The Commission concurred. MINUTES - APRIL 21,2003 • PAGE THREE Cm. Hildenbrand stated that as a resident of Dublin she would be a Group 6 and churches would fall under a Charitable and Welfare Organization, is that correct. Lowart stated that Dublin residents would be a Group 6, however churches must meet the residency requirements of 51%, otherwise they would be considered a non- resident group. Cm. Hildenbrand stated that she does not have a problem with raising fees for Groups 6 & 7 and feels comfortable with a review in the next two years. Cm. Cain felt that if we are going to rescind the fees,there should be a designated period of time specified. Cm. Jones stated that he has a problem waiving fees for one group over another. If we do it for Dublin Little League, we need to do it for Dublin United Soccer, CYO etc. We need to think about doing fees on a sliding scale, maybe 5% in three consecutive years. The groups will then know what to expect. Times are rough, field maintenance has increased 72%, which is too much for the City to be burdened with. He recommended that we keep the fees at $5.00 for the next two years for Groups 2, 3, 4 & 5 and that the fee increase for Groups 6 & 7 be maintained. Cm. Guarienti stated that he would go for the raising of the lighting fee. Lowart stated that under the Capital Improvement Program, we are looking at adding additional lighting to the. sports grounds next year to one of the baseball and soccer fields. She suggested that if this project goes forward, that we do an analysis of the lighting costs at that time. The new lighting will be state of the art and we would be able to better determine what our energy costs will be. She recommended that we keep the fees as proposed with . the caveat that when we look at the lighting next year we will bring the costs back to the Commission for review. North asked if the league is to share the specifications and electrical lighting standards to be used. Lowart stated that the project has not started yet. However if it continues to be funded in the budget next year, Staff will be conducting meetings with the user groups to make sure that what is proposed is what the groups need. Cm. Guarienti clarified that the other items addressed in the leagues letter not on the agenda,therefore we can only discuss them without action. Lowart stated that these items would be on the next agenda. North inquired as to the next scheduled Parks Commission meeting. Lowart replied,May 19. . ON A MOTION BY CM. JONES, SECONDED BY CM. HILDENBRAND AND BY UNANIMOUS VOTE, THE COMMISSION VOTED TO MAINTAIN THE FEES FOR GROUPS 2, 3, 4 & 5 AT THE CURRENT HOURLY FEE AND THAT THE HOURLY FEE FOR GROUPS 6 & 7 BE INCREASED AS PROPOSED EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2003. STAFF IS DIRECTED TO BRING THE SPORTS FIELD USE POLICY BACK TO THE COMMISSION IN TWO YEARS FOR REVIEW 8.2 Classic Affair Event Overview John Turner reported that as recommended by the Commission at its November 18, 2002 meeting,the 2003 Classic Affair is scheduled for May 17, 2003, from 7:00-9:OOp.m. at the new library. The event will benefit the Dublin Senior Center Foundation. Checkers Catering is once again providing an excellent menu and a variety of hors d'oeuvres and desserts. The event will feature a variety of wines and premium beers. To liven up the event this year, the event will spotlight "Wally's Swing Combo', playing a variety of 30's, 40's and 50's swing music. Attendees will have the opportunity to bid on silent auction items, as well as view artwork created by local artists. Cm. Guarienti asked how many tickets would be sold. Turner replied, 125. Cm. Cain asked how many tickets were sold last year. Turner replied, 75-80. Cm. Hildenbrand stated that having the event indoors should improve attendance. How will this event be advertised? 1VMINUTES - APRIL 21,2003 PAGE FOUR Turner stated that we have found that typical mass advertising in past years did not really target the audience that we wanted to target. We have therefore created new flyers and distributed them by direct mail pieces to the mailing list of the Dublin Senior Center Foundation and local nonprofit groups in the city and also to certain group of dignitaries. A more targeted effort as opposed to mass advertising. The Commission accepted the report as presented. 8.3 Adopted 2003-2004 Goals and Objectives—Parks and Community Services Lowart reported that on March 31, 2003 the City Council conducted the annual Goals and Objectives Study Session. She reviewed the list of objectives relating to Parks and Community Services and pointed out that Objectives 8, 9 and 10 were not on the original list considered by the Commission at the February 10, 2003 meeting; these objectives were added by the City Council. The Council eliminated "community garden" from Objective 5 and added Objective 16 to deal with this independently. Objectives 7, 9, 10, 11 and 13 require additional resources beyond the current service level. Consequently higher service level budgets will be prepared for consideration by the City Council at the budget hearing scheduled for June 24, 2003. Objective 2 will also require additional resources and will be developed as a capital project for inclusion in the City's Five Year Capital Improvement Program. • Cm.Guarienti requested Staff to briefly explain the budget process. Lowart stated that at the time we prepare the budget we look at the programs and services we offer within our current budget capabilities, which is our current service level. We conduct a goals study session. Any goals and objectives that are added to the list that will require additional funding, staffing or resources over and above our current service level, we prepare a higher service level. As part of the budget process we provide the City Council with the costs to implement the higher priority objectives. Cm. Hildenbrand asked if the property identified for the historic park on Donlon Way is still under a moratorium. Lowart stated that she did not believe that the Council approved a moratorium for the property. She said a proposal for a consultant to do an inventory of the historical significance of the site was going to be presented to the Council in May. The Council will then decide if they want to pursue a specific plan of the area. If it were decided to make it a park the city would have to purchase the land. Cm. Cain asked if burial plots are still available. Lowart replied,no. Other Business 9.1 Brief INFORMATIONAL ONLY Reports from Parks &Community Services Commissioners and/or Staff Cm. Cain inquired as to the date and time for the Commissions tour. McCreary stated that the tour has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 7 at 1:00p.m. to start at the Civic Center. The tour will include a drive by the parks, facilities and go out to Eastern Dublin to see Emerald Glen Park and future park sites. The tour should take more than about three hours. Cm.Young indicated that she might not be able to attend because of school commitments. Lowart stated that Staff will need a final head count by May 1, as the tour will have to be noticed as a meeting. If only three Commissioners were going,we would not have to notice it. Cm. Cain inquired as to the upcoming Commissioners dinner. Lowart stated that the dinner has been scheduled for Thursday,May 15. Invitations will be mailed tomorrow. Cm. Guarienti inquired as to business cards for the Commission. Lowart stated that the process requires a minimum order. Once the minimum has been reached an order will be placed. Cm. Guarienti reported that he attended the 2003 California Southwest Training Conference in San Jose. He thought that the conference was outstanding. Some of the programs he attended included Orientation for New MINUTES—APRIL 21,2003 PAGE FIVE Commissioners, Cultural Resources, Conflicts of Regional Trail Planning, Promoting Wellness Programs, and Parks,Arts and Recreation. Cm. Hildenbrand stated that she enjoyed the conference. She attended a Youth program attended by 50% adults and 50% youth. The program basically addressed how to get youth involved. She reported that she attended the library opening and thought it was a nice event with a lot of children in attendance. She reported that she did not attend the last Sports Liaison meeting due to illness. Lowart stated that the Sports Liaison Committee meeting was basically informational only. Maintenance of schools and fields and some outstanding issues were discussed but no action was taken. Cm. Young stated that she was not able to attend the library opening. Cm. Jones stated that he thought the library preview was a very nice event. Cm. Cain stated that the Senior Advisory Committee met today and received a presentation on the general plans for the senior housing. Paul Silvas reported that the Sunshine Luncheon held at the Senior Center was sold out and all had a good time. Staff Reports-Lowart 4Commissioner Dinner is scheduled for Thursday, May 15 in the Community Room at the new Dublin Library. The social hour and tour begin at 6:00p.m. with dinner at 7:00p.m. 4The Classic Affair has been scheduled for Saturday,May 17 from 7:00-9:OOp.m. 4The Dedication of the Murray School Bell Tower has been scheduled for Tuesday,April 29 at 6:30p.m. 4The City Council will be hosting a reception for the outgoing Commissioners and Committee members whose terms ended in January 2003. The reception is scheduled on Thursday, May 29 at 6:30p.m. at the new library in the Community Room. 4The Iron Horse Trail Dedication for the portion of the trail from Amador Valley Boulevard to the BART Station is scheduled for Thursday,May 31 at 11:00a.m. 4.The Armstrong Garden Opening is scheduled for Thursday,May 1 at 5:30p.m. Staff Reports- McCreary 4The Spring Eggstravaganza was last Saturday,April 19 with over 350 in attendance. 4The Dublin Swim Center opened today. Cm. Jones stated he would not be able to attend the tour on May 7 due to work commitments or the Commissioners Dinner on May 15 as he will be attending his son-in-laws graduation at Fresno State. Adjournment Being no further business,the meeting was adjourned at 8:56p.m. Respectfully submitted, Char J.Young,At ynistrai Technicia 4 AP ROV(E/D1�: iVU ( ,' Chaff j