Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-21-2006 Approved PCSC Minutes • CITY OF DUBLIN PARKS AND COMMUNITY SER VICES COMMISSION MINUTES OF: AUGUST 21,2006 The August 21, 2006 meeting of the Parks and Community Services Commission was called to order at 7:00p.m. at the Dublin Civic Center,Dublin, California,by Chairperson Flores. Pledge of Allegiance Chair Flores led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call • Commissioners Present: Flores, Guarienti, Jones,Muetterties, Cain and Deering Oral Communications Brief Informational Only Reports from Senior Center and Youth Advisory Committees • Senior Center Advisory Committee Cm. Cain reported that walk-in traffic at the Center has increased; hopefully the visitors will become active at the Center. Youth Advisory Committee Cm.Deering stated that there was no meeting conducted last month. Presentation about Day on the Glen Recreation Coordinator Lorri Polon provided the Commission with an oral report on the upcoming Day on the Glen festivities. Cm. Cain asked what the date was for this year's event. Polon replied Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17. Cm: Guarienti asked if the City booth will be in the same location this year. Polon stated that the City booth location will be straight ahead along the promenade area instead of off to the right. Cm. Guarienti inquired as to the status of the bocce ball court, will it be rebuilt? Parks & Community Services Director Diane Lowart stated that additional materials are being added however there are no plans to rebuild it. Cm. Guarienti stated that he checked it out last week and the surface was still very rough with loose materials. He understands that there is a bocce ball class and tournaments coming up soon and assumes that the courts will be ready by then. Cm. Cain asked whether a shuttle would be necessary with the new additional parking area. Polon replied that the shuttle will not be offered as there are 200 additional spaces in the new parking lot and parking along Gleason and Central Parkway. Signs will be posted around the festival area directing people to the parking lot. Approval of Minutes ON A MOTION BY CM. MUETTERTIES, SECONDED BY CM. CAIN AND BY MAJORITY, THE COMMISSION VOTED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JULY 10, 2006 AS PRESENTED (CHAIR FLORES ABSTAINED) Written Communications-None Public Hearing-None Unfinished Business-None Minutes—August 21,2006 Page 2 of 5 New Business 8.1 Art in the Parks—Bray Commons Heritage and Cultural Arts Supervisor John Hartnett presented the staff report. He reported that as part of the Adopted 2003-2004 Goals & Objectives, the City Council requested Staff to work with the Dublin Fine Arts Foundation to complete an Art in the Parks project for Bray Commons Neighborhood Park. On February 27, 2006, a selection committee comprised of members of the Dublin Fine Arts Foundation Board and a representative from both the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission and Parks and Community Services Commission as well as community members from the Bray Commons neighborhood reviewed submitted materials from 15 artists. The Art Selection Committee selected five artists to prepare proposals and maquettes for the park artwork. The maquettes were placed on display in the Civic Center Lobby with an opening reception including the artists on May 24th. The public was encouraged to make comments regarding the pieces. At the end of the display period the Art Selection Committee met,reviewed the public comments and selected the proposal by artist Bill Gould. Hartnett introduced Lynne Baer, Consulting Director of the Dublin Fine Arts Foundation, who reviewed the proposed artwork and presented a brief power point presentation of artist Bill Gould' work. A maquette of the artwork was presented to the Commission. Hartnett reported that on July 27, the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission reviewed the artwork and unanimously recommended approval to the City Council. Cm. Cain stated that the artwork looks like a pretty solid structure. Chair Flores asked what the diameter of the leaves was. Baer replied from 8"to 12" and all the branches will have leaves even though the maquette shows only one branch with the leaves. They will not only provide shade, but will move in the wind creating sound. Cm. Guarienti stated that the Selection Committee was overwhelmed with this art piece work and felt that it fit the park. ON A MOTION BY CM. CAIN, SECONDED BY CM. GUARIENTI AND BY UNANIMOUS VOTE, THE COMMISSION VOTED TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL TO THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE ARTWORK ENTITLED "WIND,SHADE,LIGHT=TRANQUILITY"BY BILL GOULD FOR BRAY COMMONS. Cm. Cain asked what the timeframe for the piece was. Baer replied that it would hopefully be installed by this spring. Cm. Jones asked if it would be possible to place a picture of this art piece on the internet so the residents can see the artwork that was selected for Bray Commons. Lowart stated that it would be possible. Baer suggested that the approval process be complete before putting it on the internet. 8.2 Location of St.Patrick's Day Events Recreation Coordinator Lorri Polon presented the staff report with a brief power point presentation of last year's event. She reported that the Dublin's St. Patrick's Day Festival has been a community tradition for the past 24 years. During this time as the event grew and the community changed, the event was relocated on several occasions. Prior to the current location on Amador Valley Boulevard the festival had been held at the former Albertson's Parking Lot, Shannon Park and Community Center,Dublin High School,the former strip mall between Target and Montgomery Wards(currently Expo Design), Shamrock Village, and Regional Street. Polon has been in contact with the private property owners along Amador Valley that have provided space for the events in the past. The owner of Shamrock Village indicated that due to the increased number of merchants the festival and fun run will not be able to return to the shopping center. In addition, the owner of the parking lot in front of Fast Signs has also indicated the festival can not continue on that piece of property due to the impact on the emergency veterinary clinic. She stated that the City could continue to hold the event on Amador Valley ,Minutes—August 21,2006 Page 3 of 5 Boulevard,however this would reduce the size of the festival, reduce event revenue and increase the net cost to the General Fund. Polon stated that several alternate locations for the festival were reviewed by Staff including Regional Street, Amador Plaza Road, Civic Plaza and Arnold Road. After review, Polon indicated that Staff believes the Civic Plaza is an ideal location for the St. Patrick's Day Festival. It is centrally located in the community and would provide outstanding exposure for the event from Dublin Boulevard and the freeway. The site would allow the City. to continue to expand the festival in the future. Polon reviewed the aerial map showing the conceptual layout of the proposed 2007 festival site and a map showing the proposed routes for the parade and fun run. Cm. Muetterties asked for clarification on the parade route. Polon stated that the staging area will be at Amador Plaza in front of Target and proceed east on Dublin Boulevard to the Civic Center. It will not longer go north on Village Parkway. Cm. Guarienti stated that the main thing tonight is to look at the change in location for the St. Patrick's Festival this year. However he also thinks that the Commission needs to make some suggestions on the route of the parade and fun run. One of the options he would suggest is to reverse the direction of the parade. He would hate to lose the atmosphere along Village Parkway where most of the residents view the parade. Chair Flores stated that one of the advantages of having the event at the Civic Center is that people will be able to see the event from the freeway, which may prompt them to attend. She asked if the property owners along Sierra Court,particularly Alameda County Auction,have been contacted. Polon stated that the auto auctions are held on the first weekend of the month. Church services at Crosswinds are at 9:00am. Staff has not pursued talking to everyone at this point,pending council approval. Letters would be sent to all the owners and agreements made to utilize their parking lots. Cm. Guarienti stated that there are two things that would be lost if the fun run were relocated. First of all we would lose a nice fast and popular course and also the participation of the neighbors along the run. He suggested that the registration area be in the permit parking area and that Dougherty Road and Sierra Court be avoided. To do this, he suggested either coming down the Iron Horse Trail or the Alamo Canal Trail, run underneath Dublin Boulevard to end at Civic Plaza. Lowart asked Cm. Guarienti if he knew whether the East Bay Regional Parks allows runs on their trails. Cm. Guarienti replied that they did. Polon stated that the run is a sanctioned run and the location would have to be approved as a good and safe course. Cm. Cain stated that the timing of the fun run, the parade and the use of major thorough fares will probably affect business to a degree. If the run starts at 8:30am and church services at Crosswinds starts at 9:00am, the run along Sierra is going to block people going to church. If the parade is going to be on Dublin Boulevard, the Police are going to have a heck of a job trying to keep traffic out of the way of the parade. Polon stated that the Police feel that the route on Dublin Boulevard will not be a problem. Cm. Jones stated that he likes the location for the festival and feels that locations for the fun run and parade can be worked out. The fun run is only one hour and the parade is only two hours, held only once a year. People just need to calm their jets for one day out of the year. Cm.Deering stated that she likes the location suggested for the festival. Minutes—August 21, 2006 Page 4 of 5 Chair Flores stated that she concurs with Cm. Guarienti and the consideration should be given to having the parade go down Village Parkway. The City is putting a lot of money in making improvements on Village Parkway and it would be a shame to neglect this location for the parade. She also thinks the fun run course needs to be changed to keep it off Dougherty Road. Lowart pointed out that the parade will be going East on Dublin Boulevard, therefore traffic will be able to go West during the parade. She recommended that the Commission make a recommendation tonight for the Council. If the entire Commission recommends that Staff should look into other options for the fun run and parade, then it should be reflected in the motion and Staff will forward the options to the Council. Lowart asked Cm. Guarienti if his recommendation for the parade was to go East on Amador Valley Boulevard then South on Village Parkway, crossing Dublin Boulevard and end up on the same side of the street as proposed? .Cm. Guarienti replied,yes. ONA MOTION BY CM. GUARIENTI,SECONDED BY CM. MUETTERTIES AND BY UNANIMOUS VOTE, THE COMMISSION VOTED TO RECOMMEND TO THE CITY COUNCIL THE RELOCATION OF THE FESTIVAL AND RECOMMENDED THAT STAFF LOOK INTO OTHER ROUTE OPTIONS FOR THE FUN RUN AND PARADE AS DISCUSSED. Other Business Brief INFORMATIONAL ONLY Reports from Parks&Community Services Commissioners and/or Staff Cm. Guarienti commended staff on the Murray Schoolhouse exhibit. He attended the dinner and reception the night before the opening. There were a lot of great comments received from those in attendance. He was just astounded when he walked inside the museum. It is something the City can really be proud of. Cm. Guarienti reported that he has been named to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee of the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority. Cm. Guarienti stated that the City of Dublin and City of Pleasanton have contributed money for the Alamo Canal Trail BART under crossing study. A meeting regarding this is scheduled his Wednesday 7:30-9pm in the Library Community Room. He stated that it was his understanding that the Bicycle Master Plan is scheduled to be on the Parks Commissions next agenda. Lowart stated that she cannot guarantee that it will be on the Commission's next agenda as it is still under staff review at this time Cm. Guarienti stated that at the time the Bicycle Master Plan is presented to the Commission, he wants the Commission to look at continuing the Steering Committee or forming an Advisory Committee from those members. Cm. Jones asked why there is a security guard at Iron Horse Trail and Amador Valley Boulevard. Cm. Guarienti stated that the Iron Horse Trail was closed for several weeks due to a leak in the gas pipeline that occurred behind the housing there. It was reopened and then closed again. The security guard is there to keep people from parking there, allowing the trucks to turn in and out of the area to do clean-up of the contaminated soil. Cm. Jones stated that a few weeks ago he took his family to Kolb Park and noted that the park benches are in really bad condition. Lowart stated that the City is in the process of doing a multi-year park furniture replacement project. This year it is Alamo Creek and Stagecoach Park and next year, Kolb Park. There is also routine maintenance projects on the benches scheduled. She will report the condition of the benches at Kolb Park and ask if something can be done. • , Minutes—August 21, 2006 Page5of5 Cm. Jones asked if all the parks have the dog scooper bags. Lowart stated that they are available at Alamo Creek and the new parks in the east,but there are none in the older parks. Cm. Jones stated that there was a church group using the covered picnic area at Kolb Park and the two MCE gentlemen that worked that weekend were very good about bringing extra garbage bags to them. He just wants to make sure that they receive kudos for their efforts. Cm. Muetterties stated that she attended the National Night Out conducted in her neighborhood. It was a great event. It is a good idea to get together once a year and encouraged people to host one. She also attended the Heritage Reception and commended staff on a job well done. She attended a few concerts and felt that the turnout was more than last year. Chair Flores stated that she had a meeting with the Dublin Pride, Integrity in Action Committee. Tim Sbranti is heading the committee and Mayor Lockhart is on the committee, as well as the new school superintendent and principals of all the schools. It is a partnership between the City and the School District to promote integrity at our schools. Each month it will promote an attribute for the kids to emulate. The first month will focus on the "I" in integrity and the attribute would be "I am Respectful". It was the Mayors suggestion at the meeting today that the program be referred to the Parks and Community Services Commission. Lowart stated that it is already scheduled on the next City Council agenda. Chair Flores requested that this item be placed on the next Commission meeting. Staff Reports 4The City Council did take action on the Commissions recommendations for the Shannon Community Center and the Area F Neighborhood Square and staff is proceeding with construction documents. +Summer programs are winding down. There was a great summer at the pool, the sports camps and playground programs. Cm. Cain asked if there was any timeframe for tearing down Shannon Center. Lowart stated that it is anticipated that we will be going out for bid in January. • Adjournment Being no further business,the meeting was adjourned at 8:25p.m. Respectfully submitted, Char J.Young . Administrative Tec i ian APPROVED: ealr'y Chairperson .