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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission - Meeting Date: 1/13/2014 CITY OF GLENDALE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING FOOTHILLS LIBRARY 19055 N. 57TH AVENUE GLENDALE,ARIZONA 85308 JANUARY 13, 2014 6:00 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Robert Portillo, Chair James Baribault David Moreno Samantha Johnson Robert Irons Barbara R. Cole MEMBERS ABSENT: Yesenia Rascon John Krystek OTHERS PRESENT: Mike Gregory,Parks and Recreation Manager Chris Gallagher, Recreation Manager Lori Bye,Recreation Manager Gwen Benoit, Senior Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Portillo called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Chair Portillo welcomed new Commissioners Irons and Johnson, who each gave a brief background of themselves. III. APPROVAL OF MINU l'bS Commissioner Baribault motioned, seconded by Commissioner Cole, to approve the October 21, 2013 and November 19,2013 meeting minutes as written. Motion carried 6—0. IV. BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR None. V. Commission Goals Mr. Gregory facilitated discussion on the progress of Commission goals. The status update included the following: • Commissioners park visits are still to be completed. • The Commissioners are to participate in a tour of the Foothills Recreation and Aquatics Center, Sahuaro Ranch Historic Area and/or Glendale Adult Center. 1 • The Commission is to participate in one Department or city-wide hosted special event. The Commissioners discussed manning a booth at the Folk& Heritage Festival, which will be held on March 23rd and March 24th. Participation in the Chocolate Affair, which is held February 7th through the 9th'was also discussed. • The Commission participated in the Wild Flower Project at Thunderbird Conservation Park. Mr. Gregory reported that at the event, 36 trees were planted, the main trail head was established, the area that was burned in 2006 was leveled, seeds were planted and they are now germinating. Mr. Gregory reported that the event was very successful. • The Commission attended another City of Glendale Commission meeting with the Commission on Persons with Disabilities. The Commissioners will attend another City Commission meeting as private citizens. • The Commissioners conducted a meeting at the Foothills Library and at the Glendale Adult Center. • The Commission will participate in the Partners 'N Parks program by adopting Glendale Heroes Regional and Orangewood Vista parks and will conduct one clean up event at each location. Staff will provide dates for the schedule. Chair Portillo suggested that the events should be held on the same day and half of the Commission work at one park and half at the other. Mr. Gregory thanked the Commissioners for their hard work on goal completion so far. VI. FIELD ALLOCATION PLAN Mr. Gregory discussed the process of field allocation and stated that the goal of field allocation was to enable the largest number of city residents to have access to the public fields andto maximize the use of available resources in a fair and equitable manner. Mr. Gregory stated that the field allocation is managed by the Sports and Health Division. The Commissioners each received a copy of the Field Allocation Procedure manual prior to the meeting. Mr. Gregory discussed the following: • Status of the user: Non-profit, resident and youth. • Basic Services of free playgrounds and open space versus Special Services such as use of tennis courts, ball fields, golf courses and swimming pools. • Daily Allocations, such as ramada reservations, versus Long Term Allocations, such as for an organized sports season. • Field allocation priorities and fees were noted as in the procedure manual. • Field allocations for tournaments are available. Typically, the City hosts 40 to 60 tournaments each year. Chair Portillo inquired as to the most challenging aspect in the field allocation process. Mr. Gregory replied that the groups that follow the reservation and allocation process are typically responsible users. Mr. Gregory stated that the difficulty lies with the users who have not reserved the fields. Mr. Gregory explained that there are some organized groups that utilize neighborhood parks without reservation. Mr. Gregory noted that these groups can dominate the park facilities, thereby limiting the pleasurable use of the park for other users. Commissioner Irons inquired as to which staff member worked with the user groups. Mr. Gregory stated that Mr. Mike Davis, Recreation Coordinator, leads the Sports and Health Division and works with the groups requesting field allocation. 2 Chair Portillo thanked Mr. Gregory for the presentation. VII.ARCHERY RANGE PROJECT OPEN HOUSE AND ENGAGEMENT UPDATE Mr. Gallagher briefed the Commission on the status of the Archery Range concept at Glendale Heroes Regional Park and the upcoming outreach to the public. Highlights of the update included the following: • A public meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 22nd at 6:00 p.m. at the X-Court Building at Glendale Heroes Regional Park. This will be an informative meeting with archery experts. The public is invited to ask questions and provide commentary. The meeting will include a review of the park's conceptual master plan, the proposed location of the temporary archery range and an overview of archery. • A public archery demonstration will be held on Saturday, January 25th at 11:00 a.m. at the park. The public can view professional archers in action. The proposed archery range will be outlined to show the size and location. USA Archery Arizona representatives and other archery experts will be available to answer questions. A question and answer session will be held and public comments will be recorded. • In speaking with local archery groups, it was noted that an archery range'in the west valley would be beneficial. • Staff recently toured the archery ranges at Paseo Vista in Chandler, the Papago Ranch in Phoenix and El Oso Range at 75t"Avenue south of Indian School. • Statistics show that there is a much higher chance of injury on a golf course than on an archery range. • There is no documented case whereby anyone has been shot by an arrow at an archery range. • There is increasing interest in archery as a hobby. Commissioner Moreno wondered if the public was aware that the archery range would be placed in an area where softball fields were previously planned. Mr. Gallagher stated that this would be discussed at the public meetings. Commissioner Moreno inquired about the advertisement of the public meetings. Mr. Gallagher explained that postcards were sent to approximately 800 households around the park, information was posted on the City website, a news release was completed and there were various other methods of advertisement. Chair Portillo inquired as to the expected amount of participants at the archery range. Mr. Gallagher was unsure but stated that there are 4,000 registered archers in the valley. Chair Portillo asked about liability insurance necessary for the archery range. Mr. Gallagher stated that the archery club that would run the range would have to provide a certificate of liability and also the City's insurance would be sufficient as well. Chair Portillo asked for the estimated cost of the archery range. Mr. Gregory replied that the estimated cost is $50,000 and the City is looking for partners to fund the range. The $50,000 cost includes fencing, target stands, site grading and compacted soil. Mr. Gallagher stated that there would be very little ongoing maintenance costs to the range. Commissioner Cole wondered if the softball fields would be built in the future. Mr. Gallagher commented that with the current budget restrictions, it could take at least ten years to obtain the funding 3 in the budget for the softball fields. Mr. Gallagher added that, even then, costs may increase and the capital improvement plan priorities might be different at that time as well. Commissioner Johnson asked if archery lessons would be available at the range. Mr. Gallagher stated that lessons would be available either through the archery club or the Parks and Recreation department. Chair Portillo asked about usage at El Oso Park. Mr. Gallagher explained that the archers indicated they do not use El Oso a lot because it is hard to access. Commissioner Irons expressed safety concerns in regards to the archery range. Commissioner Irons mentioned that a colleague ran a ranch which offered mounted and standing archery. Commissioner Irons stated that the ranch served as a rescue for horses while offering mounted archery and suggested that staff look into this possibility for Glendale. Chair Portillo thanked Mr. Gallagher for the update. VIII.ACCREDITATION 2014 UPDATE Ms. Bye presented information on the renewal process for the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) accreditation. Ms. Bye announced that in October 2009, the Glendale's Parks and Recreation Department became the 80th parks and recreation agency in the nation and internationally to earn agency accreditation and just the second in the state. Ms. Bye stressed that this is one of the most prestigious honors in parks and recreation. Ms.Bye added the following information: • Currently there are 118 accredited Parks and Recreation agencies in the nation. Four are in Arizona: Glendale, Scottsdale, Mesa and Tucson. • In 2009, there were 144 standards established, of which 36 are fundamental and must be passed with a 100%score. • In 2009,the Glendale Parks and Recreation Department achieved 100%on all 144 standards. • There is an annual renewal process. However, every five years, there is a re-accreditation process which the department is currently working through. • Currently, there are 151 standards, of which 40 are fundamentals and must be passed with a 100% score. • Staff began the re-accreditation process last summer and is now working on the self-assessment phase. In July,the accreditation team will visit the department to finalize the process. • Staff is very proud of the accreditation achievement and is working very hard to maintain accreditation. Commissioner Moreno inquired as to any cost for the accreditation. Ms. Bye commented that it costs approximately $800.00 annually and for the re-accreditation, the city must also pay for the visit of the three-person accreditation team. Commissioner Cole wondered how the Commissioners could help staff with the process. Ms. Bye explained that when the accreditation team visits in July, the Commissioners would be involved in some manner. 4 Commissioner Cole asked if the achievements of the Commissioner goals were considered in the accreditation process. Ms. Bye replied in the positive. Chair Portillo praised staff on the hard work it is doing to maintain accreditation status. IX. STAFF UPDATES Mr. Gregory provided an update on the January 4th Rose Pruning event held at Sahuaro Ranch Park. Highlights included the following: • The event was held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with approximately 70-75 people in attendance. • The program is now 41 volunteers strong with 15 of the 28 rose beds adopted by individuals. • Patrons had the opportunity to ask questions and glean information from the Glendale Arizona Historical Society, Glendale's Water Conservation Program, the Master Gardener's Program and the Rose Society of Glendale. • Mayor Weiers and Councilmember Sherwood presented accolades to donors and supporters in addition to participating in the pruning festivities. • Commissioner Moreno was in attendance. • Plaques were presented to Mr. Tyler Francis, Arizona Rose Growers, Berridge Nursery, Gro- Well/Western Organics, the Glendale Civic Pride Ambassadors, Glendale Arizona Historical Society and Ms. Candy Shepherd of the Glendale Rose Society for donations and/or achievements. Mr. Gregory also commented on the following: • The design phase is complete for the backwash project at the Rose Lane Aquatics Center. The backwash system was originally designed to flow into the retention basin and needs to be re- aligned to flow into the storm sewer system. The item will go to the Council soon. • Ms. Michelle Yates is working with a group that will be adopting the Foothills Dog Park. • Mr. Pete Lavander has resigned from his position as crew leader and will be working for the City of Maricopa. He will be missed and is wished well in his future endeavor. His last day is January 24th. Ms. Bye provided an update on the following items: • On Wednesday, December 18th, the Adult Center hosted the Annual Holiday Luncheon from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Entertainment was provided by Mr. Bobby Freeman and lunch was served to approximately 200 participants. Caremore was the sponsor of the event. • In December, the Desert Mirage GRASP Afterschool participants created Christmas Angel Donation Boxes and placed them at several local locations. A total of$279.13 was collected in the boxes,which was used to purchase gifts for children who would otherwise not receive a gift on Christmas morning. • During the week of January 6th through the 11th, the Foothills Recreation and Aquatics Center offered a Winter Fitness Sampler Series. This event showcased a variety of special interest classes. Approximately 175_individuals participated. • Pickleball continues to experience an increase in participants and therefore two additional days of play have been added to the schedule at the Foothills Recreation and Aquatics Center. • The Commission on Persons with Disabilities will host a clean-up event at the Elsie McCarthy Sensory Garden on February 1st 5 X. COMMISSION COMMENTS Commissioner Cole enjoyed the meeting, is planning on attending the public meetings for the archery range and is interested in manning the booth at the Folk&Heritage Festival. Commissioner Irons will also try to attend the archery range meetings and also would like to participate in the Folk& Heritage Festival. Commissioner Moreno commented that the El Oso Park archery area was intentionally built toward the back of the park for safety purposes. Commissioner Moreno noted that access is limited, which was the intent of the location. Chair Portillo inquired about the status of the homeless situation at Bonsall Park. Mr. Gregory stated that staff is currently working with faith-based groups, the police and other organizations in regards to the issue. An update will be provided at a future meeting. Chair Portillo asked about the status of the Glendale Gallery at Westgate. Ms. Bye noted that recently an initial meeting was held to discuss the renewal of the annual contract. Ms. Bye stated that Westgate is very pleased with the Glendale Gallery and would actually like the program expanded. XI. ADJOURNMENT Chair Portillo thanked all of the Commissioners and staff for a great meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:23 p.m. by consensus. The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, February 10 at 6:00 p.m. at the City Hall Municipal Office Complex,Room B3, 5850 W. Glendale Avenue. Respectfully submitted, Denise Kazmierczak 6