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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission - Meeting Date: 10/21/2013CITY OF GLENDALE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION FOOTHILLS RECREATION AND AQUATICS CENTER 5600 W. UNION HILLS DRIVE GLENDALE, AZ OCTOBER 21,2013 6:00 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Robert Portillo, Chair John Krystek Barbara R. Cole James Baribault MEMBERS ABSENT: Mike Buettner, Vice Chair David Moreno OTHERS PRESENT: Erik Strunk, Executive Director Eugene Kraus, Parks Manager Gwen Benoit, Senior Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Portillo called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Chair Portillo took roll call. It was noted that Commissioner Moreno and Vice Chair Buettner were absent and excused. New Commissioner Cole was welcomed and took the Loyalty Oath administered by Chair Portillo. III. APPPROVAL OF MINUTES—SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 Commissioner Krystek motioned, seconded by Commissioner Baribault, to approve the September 9,2013 meeting minutes as written. Motion carried 4—0. IV. BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR None. V. NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS Ms. Opal Evans, of the Glendale Citizen Corps, announced that September was National Preparedness Month. Ms. Evans stressed the need for citizens to be prepared in case of various disasters in the community. Ms. Evans gave a Power Point presentation which included the following information on Glendale Citizen Corps(GCC): 1 GCC was created to help coordinate volunteer activities that will make our communities safer, stronger and better prepared to respond to any emergency situation. GCC provides opportunities for people to participate in a range of measures to make their families, their homes and their communities safer from the threats of crime, terrorism, and disasters of all kinds. The mission of the Corps is to coordinate and support effective collaboration and partnerships between government, non-profit agencies, faith-based organizations and Glendale citizens in order to build a disaster-resistant community prepared for tomorrow. A whole community approach is utilized: o Understand community complexities o Recognize community capabilities and needs—Develop plans o Foster relationships with community leaders—Meet people where they are o Build and maintain partnerships—Build trust through participation o Create space at the table with first responders and decision makers o Empower local action—Let public participation lead o Leverage and strengthen social infrastructure,networks and assets Support functions include: o Survey the community to assess increased awareness and participation. o Identify ways in which community volunteer resources can help meet the needs of our public safety organizations. o Spearhead efforts to offer citizens new and existing volunteer opportunities, educational information, and training to address crime, terrorism, public health issues, and natural disaster risks. o Promote volunteer opportunities that engage citizens. o Recognize all activities that promote prevention, preparedness and response training to encourage new endeavors. o Work with existing neighborhood leaders, businesses, school and rental communities to create a neighborhood leadership structure to design a systematic approach to educating the public throughout the community. o Encourage community-level volunteerism. o Create an action plan to involve our community in prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery activities and to mobilize the community in large-scale events. o Organize special projects and community events to promote Citizen Corps activities and recruit volunteers. o Foster mutual support by working with Citizen Corps Councils in contiguous or regional communities and jurisdictions to be able to share resources in times of need. Various ways exist whereby residents can volunteer in affiliated programs or by unaffiliated participation. Disasters can include biochemical, floods, major hazmat,terrorist, severe weather, and pandemic incidents. Develop a Household Preparedness Plan: o Be Informed o Make a Plan o Assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit o Get Involved o Get Trained More information can be found at www.Ready.gov and www.glendalecitizencorps.org. Ms.Evans stated that in case of disaster,citizens who want to volunteer to help during disasters should be credentialed. Ms. Evans estimated that a training program would be offered in spring 2014 for training and credentialing of community disaster volunteers. Ms. Evans explained that this type of training is 2 important for volunteers to learn how to work and communicate with first responders and also for background screening. Ms.Evans stated that the Glendale Citizens Corps is sponsored by the Glendale Fire Department. Ms. Evans distributed a survey to the Commissioners for completion and informational pamphlets from FEMA. Ms. Evans invited all Commissioners to a Glendale Citizen Corps Meet and Greet on October 25th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Glendale Regional Public Safety Training Facility. Ms. Evans noted that at this event which will honor community leaders, attendees will be able to meet representatives from the Glendale Emergency Management Team and the Citizen Corps Affiliated Program Coordinators. The Commissioners thanked Ms.Evans for her presentation. VI. WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN Mr. Kraus stated that water cost is the highest expense in the Parks and Recreation budget and therefore,water consumption must be well-managed. Mr. Kraus provided the Commissioners with the Landscape Management Plan document and discussed implementation of the plan. Highlights of Mr. Kraus' presentation included: An Effective Water Management Plan o Water Accounting— Appropriate budgeting, monitoring and reporting o Best Management Practices— Water during optimum windows Maintain good soil structure through turf management such as aeration, fertilization and mowing practices o Water Management— Determine baseline irrigation requirements and amend for climate variances Maintain current controllers Consider purchase of new Smart controller in regards to cost versus savings Objectives o Water Management— Potential use of Smart controllers, which could be turned on and off remotely from a computer,tablet or smart phone Continue system repairs Perform irrigation system checks and tune-ups during off-season Monitor of 73 parks, 20 retentions, 6 sports facilities and over 20 special- use facilities such as fire stations and City Hall Establish budget Perform inspections Design and install irrigation systems Water Efficiency o Hardware Water meters 3 Controllers Components o Management Application—slopes, cycles, reduce run-off and standing water Penetration Repair and upgrades Budget Analysis o Plants Use plants from appropriate plant pallet Employ beneficial mowing practices Perform turf repair as necessary Commissioner Cole wondered if the department recycled water. Mr. Strunk explained that reclaimed water is used at Arrowhead Lakes Amenities, Dos Lagos and Oasis Park and is planned for use at Glendale Heroes Regional Park. Mr. Strunk added that flood irrigation is also offered in some areas, but there is a cost associated with flood irrigation and the practice does have some drawbacks. Commissioner Cole asked if monsoon water was collected in some manner. Mr. Strunk replied in the negative. Chair Portillo wondered if staff had details on the potential cost savings using the Smart controllers. Mr. Strunk stated that detailed figures have not been compiled yet in regards to the use of Smart controller. Mr. Strunk stated that staff is working to put in place a pilot program for the use of Smart controllers in six locations. An RFP will be used to select a contractor for the pilot program. Mr. Strunk explained that the pilot program will give a very good snapshot of cost savings. VII. FIELD ALLOCATION PLAN This agenda item was tabled. VIII. IGA WITH ARIZONA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT Mr. Strunk provided information on the IGA with the Arizona Game and Fish Department in regards to urban fishing lakes. Mr. Strunk stated that the Arizona Game and Fish Department would like to include Bonsall Park South in the urban fishing program. The cost to the City would be $3,600 for a two-year agreement. Mr. Strunk stated that the lake would be stocked every other month with fish. Mr. Strunk commented that the Parks and Recreation Department would host several fishing clinics and a fishing derby at the site in late January or February. Mr. Strunk will keep the Commission apprised of the status of this agenda item. IX. BONSALL HOMELESSNESS Mr. Strunk stated that over the past several months, there has been increasing homeless and transient activity at Bonsall Park at 59th Avenue and Bethany Home Road. Mr. Strunk provided the following details: 4 From January through July 2013,there have been: o 65 acts of vandalism, hazard and maintenance reports o 782 verbal warnings for late hours o Maintenance issues—food and trash left behind o Criminal issues—fighting, drugs,urban camping, alcohol o Health issues—human and dog waste left behind o Ramada rental issues and enjoyment of the park diminished In September,there were 23 incidents involving transients/homeless. Mr. Strunk stressed that safety of patrons and the enjoyment of the park is of major concern. Mr. Strunk commented that there are some faith-based and/or non-profit organizations bringing food, clothing and supplies to the park for the homeless. Mr. Strunk understood the need to help the homeless, but noted that there are other ways to reach out and assist this population. Mr. Strunk displayed pictures of the trash,waste and other items left behind at the ramadas. Mr. Strunk announced the following action plan: October: Brief the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission November: o Establish contact with social service agency o Establish contact with faith-based organizations o Begin educational campaign with transients/homeless o Brief Community Development Advisory Committee December: o Outreach begins—weekly social service visits o Enforcement begins—to include trespass and reservation system o Partner with Police Department on criminal violations January—April: Continue monitoring, outreach and enforcement Commissioner Krystek wondered if staff has spoken with other valley cities experiencing the same issue. Mr. Strunk replied that in July, members of staff did attend a meeting in Phoenix to discuss what the City of Phoenix is doing to combat these types of situations. The plan put in place by Glendale staff is very similar to what the City of Phoenix is doing. However, the City of Phoenix has a whole initiative to address the homelessness issue in parks due to the size of the situation in Phoenix. Chair Portillo thanked Mr. Strunk for an excellent briefing. X. STAFF UPDATES Mr. Strunk discussed the archery range which is under consideration as an enhancement at Glendale Heroes Regional Park. Mr. Strunk provided a map of the park with an illustration of where the proposed archery range would be. Mr. Strunk stated that Council would be open to an archery range if there was no cost to the City of Glendale. Mr. Strunk added that due to budget constraints, the cost of the soccer field is too prohibitive at this time. Mr. Strunk estimated the cost of an archery range to be $50,000 and sponsors or donors would have to be garnered. 5 Chair Portillo stated that the archery range was not included in the original Master Plan for the park. Chair Portillo felt that the archery range would be dangerous in the park. Chair Portillo commented that some people have told him that they would like a dog park. Mr. Strunk commented that the enhancements in the original Master Plan are not in the budget and may not be for the foreseeable future. Mr. Strunk explained that the archery range was a suggestion so the space at the park could be utilized until the larger enhancements could be made, such as the soccer field or ball fields. Chair Portillo noted that the proposed location for the archery range is in the middle of a proposed ball field. Chair Portillo wondered what would happen once the funds for the ball field are eventually in the budget. Chair Portillo felt that the archery range would then have to be moved. Chair Portillo stressed that the opinion of the residents near the park should be obtained in regards to their desires for park enhancements and their feelings regarding the archery range. Chair Portillo stressed that arrows from the archery range could be dangerous. Mr. Strunk stressed that staff or the city would not put a dangerous enhancement in the park. Mr. Strunk added that safety would be a major factor in design of the archery range. Commissioners Cole and Baribault also expressed concern in regards to the safety of the park patrons if an archery range were to be installed. Commissioner Krystek did not feel that there was an overwhelming request for an archery range. Chair Portillo recalled that the initial suggestion was made by one or two people and that the archery range would only meet the needs of a small group of people. Mr. Strunk stated that he did inform the Council that the Commission was concerned about the safety aspect of the archery range. Mr. Strunk noted that there are a few other archery ranges in the valley that are very safe and well-used. Chair Portillo commented that there is a dog park in the area (Northern Horizon Park) which is not really being utilized due to its isolated location. Chair Portillo suggested that the dog park there should be moved to Heroes Park and an archery range could then be installed in the previous dog park location. Mr. Strunk will research the possibility of this suggestion. Mr. Strunk announced that the Touch-A-Truck event at Westgate was very successful with approximately 4,500 participants. Mr. Strunk displayed pictures of right-of-way clean-up and improvement. Mr. Strunk also commented on the following: The renewal process for Accreditation will begin soon. APRA Recognition Award: Mr. Chris Gallagher received the President's Award. 23,000 AZSTA Grant for Thunderbird Conservation Park Trail Enhancement Project was received. November 2nd: Wildflower Event with Leadership West Staff is completing the Non-Profit Facility Rental Policy The Glen Lakes Golf Course RFP will be on the Commission's December agenda 6 The November Commission meeting will be a special joint meeting on the ADA Audit. The Open House at the Elsie McCarthy Sensory Garden was very successful. XI. COMMISSION COMMENTS & SUGGESTIONS No Commissioner comments were made. XII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:04 p.m. by consensus. Respectfully submitted, Denise Kazmierczak 7