Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-16-2007 Approved PCSC Minutes CITY OF DUBLIN' PARKS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION MINUTES OF APRIL 16,2007 The April 16, 2007 meeting of the Parks and Community Services Commission was called to order at 7:05 p.m. at the Dublin Civic Center,Dublin, California,by Vice-Chairperson Jones. Pledge ofAlle2iance Vice-Chairperson Jones led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call Commissioners Present: Jones, Guarienti,Muetterties, Elias and Deering - Commissioners Absent: Flores Oral Communications Brief Informational Only Reports from Senior Center and Youth Advisory Committees Senior Center Advisory Committee Diane Bonetti reported that the Committee did not meet on April 15`,because they conducted a special meeting on March 29. At that time the Committee discussed the new LIFE (Learning Information for Empowerment) event scheduled for May 19 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Committee Members are assuming lead volunteer roles to help with the event. This event is going to be wonderful with an impressive list of vendors. She encouraged the Commissioners to help get the word out as they are trying to get about 1,000 people to attend the event. Youth Advisory Committee Alex Deering reported that at the meeting in March, the Youth Advisory Committee discussed the Tri-Valley Teen Job Fair. Members were asked to volunteer to assist with the event which is scheduled for April 21 in San Ramon. The event will be advertised on the teen website, and through announcements at the high school. The City's Public Works Department will be donating cleaning supplies for the Community Cleanup at the Heritage Center. The Committee also discussed upcoming events including the middle school dance,Youth Music Showcase and themes for the Dub Town Jam event. Some suggestions included a sports or Hawaiian theme and to distribute hacky sacks and serve food. The meeting time of the Youth Advisory Committee was also changed from 7:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Presentation about Youth and Teen Programs Henry Siu, Recreation Coordinator, gave a presentation to the Commission about the Youth Programs offered by the Parks and Community Services Department which includes the After School,Recreation, Fun in the Sun, Camp Emerald Glen and After School Enrichment Programs. The outcomes of these programs are to develop and enhance physical and social skills through recreational activities, provide a positive avenue to express oneself and to learn to work with others, provide a fun, comfortable and safe environment, and strive to achieve full participation in all activities. Robert Beasley, Recreation Technician, gave a presentation to the Commission about the Teen Programs offered by the Parks and Community Services Department which includes the Student Union, Total Rec Live, Junior Leader Program, Youth Advisory Committee and Teen Special Events. The Student Union features homework, tutoring by credentialed teachers, indoor and outdoor sports events, arts and crafts and guest speakers. Total Rec Live features sports, enrichment activities, excursions to local and non-local venues and swimming. The Junior Leader Program is a volunteer program, assisting with summer camps and preschool programs where volunteers learn valuable job skills for the future. The Youth Advisory Committee provides input on youth services, assists in the implementation and promotion of youth activities and addresses issues that affect youth. The Committee is comprised of youth and adult members appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. Minutes—April 16, 2007 Page'2 of 5 Cm. Guarienti asked if the Job Fair was held at the Senior Center last year. Beasley replied, yes. The Tri-Valley Job Fair includes the cities of Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Dublin. The goal is to travel to each city, rotating each year. Cm. Guarienti stated that there may be a conflict with the date this year because of a competing job fair in Livermore on that day. He asked if there is any idea as to what the turn out will be. Beasley stated that the event has been well promoted and there are a lot of kids that are interested in getting summer jobs. They are anticipating a good turn out. Cm. Guarienti stated that today is a very sad day because of what has occurred at Virginia Tech. It is important that we respect one another and life. It is very meaningful to him that the City is providing programs like this. He commended staff on a job well done. Cm. Elias stated that Dublin has one of the best youth and teen programs in the entire Tri-Valley. Staff is to be congratulated. He stated that there are always ways to improve and make things better. Even though the Commission does not have control over budget, they do have some leverage in lobbying the City Council. He asked Beasley what he would like to see and how can we help you do your job better in the future. Beasley stated that one of the things Staff appreciates is the open mindedness of the City to try new programs. It allows Staff to create new experiences and go out and be involved with the youth. Siu stated that in regards to youth programming, he felt that the budget is sufficient right now. Even though there is a good relationship with the schools, the City does not have dedicated space for the programs, which is problematic. He would like to see the City continue to work closely with the School District and principals to get dedicated space for the programs. That would allow Staff to create more programs, activities and enhance existing ones for the participants. Cm. Muetterties asked Beasley if there were there any key ideas he learned at the CPRS Conference that he plans to implement in the programs. Beasley stated that youth obesity and health is a real concern these days and he plans to implement more fitness activities and to provide healthier snacks in the programs. Cm. Deering stated that being a teen herself, the programming offered seems to improve each year and more teens are getting involved. Vice-Chair Jones stated that our youth need these types of programs. He commended Staff on a job well done. Public Comments-None Approval of Minutes—March 19, 2007 McCreary pointed out that the date indicated on the agenda for the minutes of the regular meeting, including the dates specified on the March minutes and the agenda are all different and incorrect. Staff will update the forms with the correct dates for the record. Cm. Guarienti referred to Page 5, Paragraph 6, 2nd sentence. Delete the word "To", correcting the sentence to read.....The title of the presentation was "Take the Path to Wellness". ON A MOTION BY CM. ELIAS, SECONDED BY CM. DEERING AND BY UNANIMOUS VOTE, THE COMMISSION VOTED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MARCH 19,2007 AS CORRECTED. Written Communications-None Public Hearing-None Minutes—April 16,2007 ' Page'3 of 5 Unfinished Business-None New Business 8.1 St.Patrick's Day Festival Re-cap • Recreation Coordinator,Lorri Polon,presented the Staff report. The 2007 St. Patrick's Day celebration was held on Saturday& Sunday,March 17 & 18 at the Dublin Civic Center with an estimated attendance of over 65,000 participants: Changes to the 2007 Festival included; re-locating activities to the Dublin Civic Center, holding the Pancake Breakfast at the Civic Plaza on Saturday morning, and re-routing the Dublin Lion's Club Parade to end at the Civic Center. Polon reported that there were a total of 18 sponsors who donated $46,000 in contributions. Fun & Games reported that carnival sales were up 33% from last year with an increase from 11 to 18 carnival rides and games this year. Arts & Crafts Booths totaled 110 vendors which were down from 122 vendors in 2006. Commercial Vendor Booths totaled 35. Food booths were increased with two more restaurants/caterers and two additional snack carts. Non-Profit Booth space filled quickly with a total of 23 organizations participating. Entertainment seemed to be well received. Dublin Library Staff reported no real issues with the exception of heavy restroom use throughout the weekend. Alameda County Firefighters reported over 1,100 attendees at the Pancake Breakfast. The Shamrock Fun Run and Walk garnered similar participation as in previous years with mostly positive feedback on the new route. The parade had a record number of entrants and was another huge success. Staff is requesting input from the Parks&Community Services Commission regarding next year's event. Cm.Deering stated that the event was very good this year. Cm. Muetterties stated that she really enjoyed the event this year. The flow after the parade was very congested. She asked how the City could reroute back to Target. Polon stated that it will stay in the same area; however the Lions Club recommended extending the route for more visible space to view the parade. Cm. Muetterties asked whether parking was adequate down Sierra Court. Polon stated that Sierra Court offered the most parking we have ever offered at a festival. Cm. Muetterties stated that she did not see the bleachers located by the Food Lab being used that much. People seemed to want to view the parade from the sidewalk. Polon stated that we have not had bleachers for the last three years, because Camp Parks did not have them available. We were able to get the bleachers this year because of the shortened parade route. Bill Burnham reported that by the end of the parade the bleachers were full. McCreary stated that any of the routes that we consider for the future will need to be reviewed and approved by the City's Traffic Committee,which will seek ways to ease congestion at the end of the route. Cm. Elias stated that he thought the event was a tremendous success and overall it was a great move to make the transition to the Civic Center. He had concerns regarding routing parade participants back to Target,because you will lose some participants who won't make it all the way back to the festival. He felt that the City should also utilize the Sports Grounds fields for the event. He commented on the congestion at the intersection of Dublin Boulevard and Civic Plaza. He parked along Sierra Court and found himself and his three children walking along the street,due to a lack of sidewalks in certain areas. Another issue he addressed was dogs at the festival. There are a lot of dogs in the parade which end up at the festival. It seems that there were concerns regarding dogs around the food booths. Vendors were concerned about being sited because of having dogs in the area of the food. Perhaps signage is needed. Minutes—April 16,2007 Page'4 of 5 One of the things he heard as feedback was that the cost for the carnival rides was expensive for what they were getting. Each ticket was $1.00 and the rides were$4.00 to $5.00 each. He asked what control the City has in terms of how much the rides cost. McCreary stated that the City negotiates a contract on a commission basis for the carnival rides. He stated that it is not uncommon for a festival of this size to put a cap on prices charged by vendors for rides or even food. Staff will certainly look at the rates charged. Cm. Guarienti stated that he commented on this event at the last meeting. He felt overall that it was a great change in venue. He is concerned about the possible change of the parade route back to Target, that almost half of the people that normally would attend the festival would be lost. Better signage is required for restrooms,particularly along the Fun Run course and at the Library. The restrooms in back of the Library were not being used because no one knew they were there. He noted the dog issue as well. There have been a lot of good suggestions made and he knows that Staff has learned a lot from the first event. Overall, Staff did a great job. Vice-Chair Jones stated that another beverage booth is needed next year as the lines were really long. Overall he felt it was a good event. Polon pointed out that based on the number of people that used the onsite ATM's, there were over 40,000 people who attended the event on Saturday alone. 8.2 Family Sports Fest Parks and Community Services Manager, Paul McCreary presented the Staff report. One of the City Council's high priority goals for Fiscal Year 2006-2007 is to offer four family oriented events for the community. The first event was an outdoor movie night. The second event proposed by Staff is a Family Sports Fest to be held on the afternoon of May 20 at Emerald Glen Park. The Festival will feature youth competitions in Major League Baseball's "Pitch, Hit and Run" as well as the Junior Olympic sports of basketball, soccer and track and field. Other individual competitions for both youth and adults will be held in basketball,bocce and volleyball. The picnic area will be utilized for refreshments, face painting and some carnival style games. A City booth will be setup to distribute information about summer camps and sports programming. Preliminary program plans have been developed for the remaining two events, which will be held in the summer. The Community Father's Day Picnic will be held on Sunday,June 17 at the Emerald Glen Park Group Picnic Area. The final event will be the Overnight Family Campout on July 7 and 8 at Alamo Creek Park. Staff is requesting input from the Parks&Community Services Commission on the Family Sports Festival. Cm. Guarienti asked if the events were for youth and adults to compete. McCreary stated that the sports competitions are all youth, with three age categories. The family events will include basketball free throw, volleyball and bocce ball. Cm. Elias stated that movie night was great, even though it was cold that evening. The kids loved it. Has there been any thought in allowing the local non-profit groups to sell concessions at the event, as a fundraiser? McCreary stated that for the Summer Concerts Staff has offered snack concessions to the local non-profit groups, however only the Women's Club has come forward and does it more as a service than a fundraiser for the group. Cm. Muetterties asked if Staff has considered contacting the Girl and Boy Scout Troops in the area to assist with the campout. McCreary stated that he will pass this suggestion to Staff, as volunteers are always needed at events. Vice-Chair Jones felt that the upcoming events planned are great. Minutes—April 16,2007 Page 5 of 5 Other Business Brief INFORMATIONAL ONLYReports from Parks & Community Services Commissioners and/or Staff Cm. Guarienti reported that he reviewed the environmental report regarding the gate going into San Ramon on the Alamo Creek Trail. He brings this up because the Commission needs to push the recreational aspect of trying to get the gate open. The environmental report is out and he has submitted his comments to Staff. The Path Wanderers Walking Group from the Senior Center goes out to that location at least once a month. The last time they were there, they noticed that a hole had been cut into the fence for the second if not the third time. The gate is going to be an issue if it is going to be locked at night. Even if Alamo Creek continues to be closed at night, there will still be people coming off of BART riding their bicycle to that point and it will be locked. Vice-Chair Jones reported that he attended the Youth Sports Liaison meeting last Wednesday. Both Little League and Soccer are very excited about the Family Sports Fest coming up, as they have both volunteered to help. Joe Benjamin from the School District was in attendance and he was able to address the leagues' concerns. Staff Reports D Demolition of the Shannon Community Center will begin in another 3 to 4 weeks. D The Area F Square was over budget;however the Council funded the difference to begin construction. D The Eggstravaganza was conducted last Saturday,April 7 at Emerald Glen Park with 330 in attendance. D On Thursday, April 19, the Volunteer Luncheon will be held at the Senior Center starting at 11:30 pm. If interested please contact staff or the Senior Center to RSVP. Adjournment Being no further business,the meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Char J.Young Administrative Tec ician APPROVED: Chairperson • •