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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-18-2014 Approved P&CS Minutes PARKS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Minutes CITY OF DUBLIN August 18, 2014 The August 18, 2014 Regular Meeting of the Parks and Community Services Commission was called to order at 7:00 PM at the Dublin Civic Center, Dublin, California, by Chair Totaro. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Totaro led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Commissioners (Cm.) Present: Ballesteros, Elias, Mack, Totaro, Tran Commissioner Absent: Boboc ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 3.1 BRIEF INFORMATIONAL ONLY REPORTS FROM THE SENIOR CENTER AND YOUTH ADVISORY COMMITTEES Senior Center Advisory Committee Ms. Holly Ito, Senior Center Advisory Committee Member, reported the Advisory Committee was presented with the Spring Quarterly report and discussed ideas to attract more people to the Senior Center. Ms. Ito reported the Dublin Senior Foundation raised $3,000 with the 4th of July fireworks booth and $160 at the Annual Ice Cream Social in July. The Advisory Committee is currently considering a Code of Conduct Policy for the Senior Center, and effective July 1, 2014, Open Heart Kitchen began providing lunch services for the Senior Lunch Program. Ms. Ito informed the Commission that the Annual Senior Information Fair will be held on October 4, 2014 and the Annual Holiday Boutique, which is a partnership with the Dublin Senior Foundation, will be held on November 15, 2014. Youth Advisory Committee Cm. Tran, the Parks and Community Service Commission liaison to the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), reported on the July 23, 2014 meeting when the Advisory Committee discussed the Tri-Valley Health Fair Carnaval de la Salud, which will be held in Livermore on August 23, 2014. Ms. Mary Ayers from the Dublin Library provided information on teen events and activities for the summer and the YAC reviewed the Advisory Committee's objectives for 2014-2015. 3.2 PUBLIC COMMENTS- None APPROVAL OF MINUTES 4.1 July 21, 2014 On a motion by Vice Chair Mack, seconded by Cm. Ballesteros, and by a vote of 4-0-1 with Commissioner Boboc absent, the Commission voted to approve the minutes of July 21, 2014, as presented. Cm. Elias abstained from the vote due to his absence during the July 21, 2014 meeting. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS—None PUBLIC HEARING—None P&CSC Minutes—August 18, 2014—Page 2 of 5 UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None NEW BUSINESS 8.1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Presentation Mr. Ferd Del Rosario, Senior Civil Engineer, presented the specifics of the item as outlined in the Staff Report. Chair Totaro asked about the next steps for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan (BPMP). Mr. Del Rosario stated that Staff would present the BPMP to the Planning Commission on August 26, 2014 and to City Council for adoption on October 7, 2014. Cm. Ballesteros inquired about maintenance for the proposed bicycle lanes. Mr. Del Rosario stated the Class II bike lane re-painting would be included with the Street Maintenance Program. Cm. Ballesteros asked if the $10.6 million funding includes the widening of street curbs and the maintenance. Mr. Del Rosario stated the $10.6 million fund includes only the development and construction of the proposed 35-miles of bikeways, of which 14-miles would be funded and implemented by private developers. The cost of City sponsored bikeway capital projects is estimated at $2.8 million. The Downtown Dublin Pedestrian Project cost is approximately $5.0 million, excluding Amador Plaza Road and Village Parkway. Cm. Ballesteros asked if the Downtown bike lane construction would start in October 2014, pending City Council's approval. Mr. Del Rosario stated the implementation of the BPMP is subject to City Council's direction to Staff. Chair Totaro asked if the bike lane classifications are standard classifications between cities and counties. Mr. Del Rosario stated the bike lane classifications are standard between cities. However, there are new designs being proposed. The National Association of City Transportation Officials and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials have recommended the new designs. Mr. Del Rosario pointed out a Class III bikeway is a shared-use travel lane for both bicyclists and motorists. Staff is proposing to install "sharrow° pavement markings (sharrows provide for shared-use travel for bicyclists with motor vehicle traffic) to help motorists to be aware of bicyclists using the travel lane as well. Typically, sharrows are used if there is limited width in a traffic lane. Cm. Ballesteros asked about the advanced stop bars. Mr. Del Rosario stated advanced stop bars are another marking that would help prevent cars from encroaching over a pedestrian cross walk. Staff is proposing the advanced stop bars so vehicles will be placed 10-feet away from the pedestrian cross walks. Vice Chair Mack asked if matching local grant money is needed before City Council could approve funding for a Capital Project to implement the BPMP. Mr. Del Rosario stated typically, on a federally funded project, the Federal Highway Administration requires an 11.5% or 20% local match. The City will be receiving a grant from the Measure B funds, which would come out of the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) sales tax. Staff would be able to use this grant as the 11.5% match to receive the Federal dollars. Staff has been successful with past projects in collecting the matching grant amounts through different funding sources. Cm. Elias asked how the new development at Persimmon Place, on the corner of Hacienda Drive and Dublin Boulevard, was planned in conjunction with the BPMP. Mr. Andy Russell, Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer, stated that every project stems from the City's General Plan, which establishes the goals and policies for how the City will grow. In the General Plan there is a transportation element P&CSC Minutes—August 18, 2014—Page 3 of 5 that includes the hierarchy of streets and multimodal, bike and pedestrian plans that guides how the project develops. Cm. Elias asked if there are currently Class II bike lanes near the Persimmon Place development on Dublin Boulevard, and Mr. Russell said yes. Class II bike lanes were originally planned for Dublin Boulevard from San Ramon Road to the Civic Center on Civic Plaza. Due to the lack of pavement width for the level of traffic, the plan proposes to use the sharrows instead. With the Downtown Multimodal Project, Staff is looking into alternative routes for citizens to travel Downtown other than on Dublin Boulevard. Cm. Elias commented that finding an alternate route for Dublin Boulevard should be a priority. Cm. Elias asked if there are any plans for bike lanes through Camp Parks from Tassajara Road. Mr. Russell stated the Dublin Crossing Development was approved with a specific plan including some public streets that will have bike lanes and wider sidewalks to expand connectivity between eastern and western Dublin near Dougherty Road and Arnold Road. Cm. Elias asked about the design guidelines for the bike lanes and striping. Mr. Russell stated there are certain limitations as to what the City can do with respect to the California Vehicle Code (CVC). If City Council directs Staff to create a Way Finding Program, Staff would use the CVC to proceed with the design. The City's Branding Campaign would also influence the design. Cm. Tran commended the Bike to School Day programs and the bicycling classes and events offered by Dublin Police Services and by the League of American Bicyclists. Chair Totaro asked if the City partners with the bicycle stores in Dublin. Mr. Del Rosario stated a few of the Dublin bicycle stores provided support as well as donations during Bike to Work month in May. Chair Totaro mentioned Measure B barely passed on the previously ballot. Mr. Del Rosario stated the ACTC approved a transportation measure that will be going to the ballot in November 2014. The measure (Measure BB) is almost identical to Measure B; the difference being the new measure will have a sunset clause in lieu of a perpetuity clause. The measure would provide additional funds for bike and pedestrian projects. Chair Totaro asked if any funding has been factored into the BPMP, assuming the measure passes. Mr. Del Rosario stated Staff could use the additional transportation measure funds to build capital projects and as local match for Federal Funds. Chair Totaro asked if there is still time during the current Fiscal Year to implement a new project. Mr. Del Rosario stated some of the proposed projects included in the Downtown Connectivity Project are less in- depth, such as striping projects, and may be feasible, subject to City Council approval and directive Chair Totaro asked if there are any efforts being made to motivate children to bicycle to school to reduce the amount of vehicles on Village Parkway. Mr. Russell stated the City is currently undertaking the 2014 Annual Slurry Seal Program that includes Village Parkway. Buffered bike lanes would be added when the contractor restripes the streets. If the City Council approves the BPMP with the overlay project on Village Parkway, bike lanes for the block between Dublin Boulevard and Amador Valley Boulevard would be included. Chair Totaro asked if Village Parkway is a priority street to implement the bike lanes. Mr. Russell stated the City must maintain the streets according to schedule; if bike lanes can be implemented at the same time of an overlay or slurry seal project, Staff may be able to accomplish this simultaneously. P&CSC Minutes—August 18, 2014—Page 4 of 5 Connectivity to schools, parks and transit centers are a high priority and also feeds into the Safe Routes to Schools Program run by Alameda County, in which the City participates. Cm. Ballesteros commented that the maintenance construction has already started on Village Parkway. Mr. Russell stated that the road would be striped to include buffered bike lanes as Village Parkway has room to accommodate buffered bike lanes both northbound and southbound. Although the Master Plan has not been approved yet, City Council was asked to consider the bike lane striping when the 2014 Annual Slurry Seal Program Project was awarded. Chair Totaro opened the floor to public comment. Mr. Rich Guarienti, Dublin Resident, stated he wants to make sure there is a continuation of public input to the BPMP in order for Staff to hear what the residents' priorities are. Mr. Guarienti also suggested that Staff make a presentation on the status of the Plan to the Parks and Community Services Commission every two years. Chair Totaro closed the floor to public comment. The Commission received the report and thanked Staff. OTHER BUSINESS 9.1 BRIEF INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS FROM PARKS & COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSIONERS AND/OR STAFF Cm. Tran reported she attended the Picnic Flix movie night at Emerald Glen for "Remember the Titans." Cm. Elias asked about the volunteers for "splatter" as the event date conflicts with Dublin High's Homecoming event. Ms. Cronin, Assistant Director of Parks and Community Services, stated Staff is aware of the Homecoming date, which will cause "splatter" to have less Dublin High School student volunteers. Staff has other resources and strategies and will be able to proceed as usual. Chair Totaro commented he was glad to see the water feature operating at Shannon Park. Vice Chair Mack reported she attended the McCormick Rose Garden Dedication and the Shamrock'n Sundays concert for "Take 2." Cm. Ballesteros reported she attended Farmers' Market and the McCormick Rose Garden Dedication. Cm. Elias asked about the location of the Farmers' Market during the Emerald Glen Recreation and Aquatics Center construction. Ms. Cronin stated the Farmers' Market may relocate in the park. Chair Totaro asked about the attendance at the City's summer events. Ms. Cronin stated the summer events have done well and attendance had increased, with Picnic Flix "Frozen" being the most popular. Cm. Tran informed the Commission there is a 5K Color Run at Dublin High on October 19, 2014. Ms. Cronin provided program and project updates. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:13 PM. P&CSC Minutes —August 18, 2014 — P 5 of 5 Respectfully submitted, Jennifer Krans Senior Office ssistant APPROVED: Chairperson