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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission - Meeting Date: 8/12/2019cs� Glendale A L O N A MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION FOOTHILLS RECREATION AND AQUATICS CENTER BOBCAT ROOM 5600 W. UNION HILLS DR. GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85308 AUGUST 12, 2019 6:OOP.M. CALL TO ORDER Chair McConnell called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Sam McConnell III, Chair Gayle Schiavone, Vice Chair Ronald Beye, Commissioner Kristina Cadena, Commissioner Macie Chrisman, Commissioner Jessica Edgar, Commissioner Absent: Aaron Walls, Commissioner Also Present: James Burke, Director Timothy Barnard, Assistant Director Kimberly Larson, Marketing and Communication Program Manager Stephanie Miller, Program Manager 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS If citizens wish to speak on a matter concerning the Glendale Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission that is not on the printed agenda, please complete a Citizen Comments Card and provide it to the designated staff person prior to the beginning of the meeting. Once your name is called by the Commission Chairperson, please proceed to the podium and state your name and address for the record. Please limit your comments to a period of three minutes or less. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES a. Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes of May 13, 2019. Motioned by Vice Chair Gayle Schiavone, seconded by Commissioner Ronald Beye to approve the May 13, 2019 Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting minutes as written. [Commissioner Edgar was not yet present.] AYE: Chair Sam McConnell III Vice Chair Gayle Schiavone Commissioner Ronald Beye Commissioner Kristina Cadena Commissioner Macie Chrisman Passed 5. NEW BUSINESS a. INFORMATION: OVERVIEW OF CITY OF GLENDALE'S NEW WEBSITE Ms. Larson announced that the City's new website went live in early June and she gave an interactive, online tour of the new site, with specific focus on Parks and Recreation pages, menus, and content. Ms. Larson asked the Commissioners to review the site at their convenience and to provide any suggestions or feedback. Chair McConnell complimented the new website and wondered who created the new site. Ms. Larson stated that a team of staff throughout the City was responsible for content and built specific pages while a contractor was responsible for software and site implementation. Mr. Burke commented that there are staff members now designated as content managers for specific geographic areas tasked with keeping the content current. b. INFORMATION: CIGARETTE LITTER PILOT PROGRAM RESULTS [Commissioner Edgar entered the meeting during this agenda item.] Ms. Miller gave an update on the results of the Cigarette Litter Pilot Program, which included the following: • This pilot program was created in response to a Council Item of Special Interest regarding cigarette litter in Glendale parks and ran from September 2018 through May 2019. • Signage was created and installed at seven City parks: Clavelito Park, Desert Valley Park, Rose Lane Park, Sahuaro Ranch Park, Foothills Park, Heroes Regional Park, and Murphy Park. • The anti -cigarette litter campaign ran from Winter 2018 through Spring 2019. • Results — Cigarette litter counts: • Pre -Campaign 9/5/18: 1,264 • Post -Campaign 1/10/19: 1,987 • Post -Campaign 3/20/19: 1,385 • Post Campaign 5/15/19: 875 • It is inconclusive that the campaign contributed to the decrease in cigarette butts. • Next Steps • The signs installed at the parks will remain. • No additional counts are planned. • Anti -litter messaging will continue. Chair McConnell asked if the pilot program could be considered a success. Ms. Miller commented on the inconclusive results as the counts increased from September to January after implementation, but did decrease March and May. Chair McConnell noted that the increase could have been due to seasonality. Mr. Burke commented that this is a nationwide issue. Mr. Burke relayed that staff is looking into the potential for using cigarette butt collection devices, but there is an expense to this for purchase and maintenance. Commissioner Beye asked if the cigarette butt issue was a question on the Park Inspection forms. Ms. Miller will find out. Vice Chair Schiavone inquired if the results have been reported to Council. Mr. Burke replied in the negative, stating that the results were presented to this Commission first. The agenda item was concluded. C. ACTION: FOLLOW UP TO REQUEST TO AMEND DESERT MIRAGE GOLF CONTRACT Chair McConnell asked Vice Chair Schiavone to chair this agenda item so he could more fully participate in the discussion. Mr. Barnard gave an update on the request to amend the Desert Mirage Golf Contract, which included the following: • At the May 13, 2019 meeting, the Commission voted to table action on this item. • Since that time, the Commission members had an opportunity to tour the Desert Mirage Golf Course and receive more information before making a recommendation. • This request was from the current operator of the golf course, Ready Golf, to reduce the monthly fee payment to the City from 5% of gross revenues to 2% of gross revenues.This change equals a decrease of 60% in payment to begin September 1, 2019 and would continue through the remainder of the contract in 2032. • Details on monthly revenue from January 2014 through June 2019 were provided. Chair McConnell noted that the contract allows for two 10 -year options as well. Chair McConnell proposed to reduce the rent by a flat amount, instead of decreasing the percentage. Chair McConnell proposed to decrease the rent by $7,500.00 each year for the next three years, which is approximately what the difference would have been for the 2018 year if the fee was 2% of gross revenues. Mr. Burke asked if Chair McConnell would consider a decrease of $7,700.00 since the figure would have been approximately $7,653.00. Chair McConnell declined. Commissioner Edgar noted that the revenues for 2019 were actually trending upward. Chair McConnell shared the following observations: • The decrease in fees should be limited in timeframe. • When the Commission toured the golf course, it did not look that nice, some turf areas looked great, some did not. • The current operator should make very clear what they are doing at the golf course and do a better job of it. • When asked what the operator would do with the savings, they did not know and were not specific. • The current lease calls for monthly inspections. After the fourth or fifth time noticed, the roof was still leaking. One main reason for closure of the Glen Lakes Golf Course was the roof. The current lease states that the inspection will be conducted by the Director. Chair McConnell suggested that the lease should state that the inspection would be conducted by the Director or his designee. Chair McConnell indicated that he was asked not to address a change in inspection or oversight in a recommendation. Mr. Burke commented that the focus at this time is on the monthly fee paid to the City, but other comments and feedback could be made outside of this scope. Motioned by Chair Sam McConnell III, seconded by Commissioner Jessica Edgar in regards to the Desert Mirage Golf Course, to: • Keep the monthly fee to the City of 5% of gross revenue; • Give a rent credit of $7,500.00 per year for the next three years; • Revisit the monthly fee at the end of three years; • Begin the change on September 1, 2019; and • Require the golf course operator to provide a yearly report of how the $7,500.00 monthly fee reduction was utilized. AYE: Chair Sam McConnell III Vice Chair Gayle Schiavone Commissioner Ronald Beye Commissioner Kristina Cadena Commissioner Macie Chrisman Commissioner Jessica Edgar Passed Vice Chair Schiavone asked staff to consider a change to the inspection provision in the contract which would allow for inspections by the Director or his designee. Vice Chair Schiavone commented that the terms of the contract are too long. Mr. Burke did not disagree. Commissioner Cadena inquired as to how the City uses the funds it receives from the golf course. Mr. Burke explained that the money goes into the City's General Fund, and explained the General Fund in brief. Chair McConnell resumed chairing the meeting. d. ACTION: COMMISSION MEETING DATES AND LOCATIONS Ms. Miller distributed a tentative list of Commission meeting dates and locations for review and adoption. Motioned by Commissioner Jessica Edgar, seconded by Commissioner Macie Chrisman to approve the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission FY2019-2020 meeting calendar as provided. AYE: Chair Sam McConnell III Vice Chair Gayle Schiavone Commissioner Ronald Beye Commissioner Kristina Cadena Commissioner Macie Chrisman Commissioner Jessica Edgar Passed 6. STAFF UPDATES Mr. Burke announced that there are two new Board and Commission Policies, implemented by the Government Services Committee (GSC) to create uniformity. The policies were distributed to the Commissioners. Mr. Burke explained the following: • The first policy requires that recommendations for Chair and Vice Chair for the upcoming year are to be made by the Commission and the recommendations must be sent to the City Clerk's Office no later than October 31 st of each year. The GSC will consider the recommendations at its meeting on the first Tuesday in November.Appointments will be made by Council at one of its January meetings. The term for the new Chair and Vice Chair will begin on February 1 St of each year. For example, the terms for recommendations made submitted in October of 2019 would begin on February 1, 2020. • The second policy requires that an agenda item for Commission meetings in February will be Goal Setting for the Upcoming Year. The goals and topics of discussion approved by the Commission will then be sent to the City Clerk, which will then be forwarded to Mayor and Council. Chair McConnell commented that February is not good timing for a change in the Chair or Vice Chair as most of the current Commissioners will be gone by then and past knowledge would be lost. Ms. Miller explained that some of the reasoning in the timing is that new Commission appointments are made in January. Chair McConnell commented that the upcoming agenda should have input from a person on the Commission now, who has information on current topics. Vice Chair Schiavone stated that as new Commissioners join, they do not know the past intents and need to be better oriented to the goals of the Commission. Ms. Miller relayed that new Commissioners are provided with a binder of the minutes and agendas of the last three meetings and a copy of the current work plan. Chair McConnell complimented the work of staff, but expressed concern about the timing of the new policies. Mr. Barnard announced that tomorrow evening, there is a Council agenda item to approve a contract with a consultant, Green Play, LLC, in regards to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Mr. Barnard explained that Green Play will initially conduct a great deal of data mining, budget reviews, staff interviews, and community input. Mr. Barnard noted that Commissioner Edgar and Chair McConnell had previously volunteered to participate in the Master Plan, and they will be on -boarded when the consultant is ready for that phase. Mr. Barnard noted that staff is very excited to move forward with this project. Mr. Burke provided a general update on the Glen Lakes Park concept: *Aerial mapping and diagram of proposed park was provided. • The concept was the result of two public meetings. • The City Manager is working on the sale of the property. • The concept is for linear parks to be on the sides of the parcel, with interior of the parcel to be sold for residential development. Chair McConnell asked if the park would be only for the residents who would live in the development. Mr. Burke replied that the park would be for the public at large. Chair McConnell asked if there would be picnic tables or restrooms. Mr. Burke replied that there would most likely not be restrooms, but would be some benches or tables. Mr. Burke stated that the comments from the residents living near the park were that they did not want to draw a lot of people to the area due to the size of the park. Commissioner Edgar suggested considering urban gardening for this park. Mr. Burke commented that urban gardens are wonderful, but are challenging because of the need for inexpensive water and people to maintain the gardens. Ms. Larson had provided each Commissioner with a Glendale@Play magazine and noted that all information is on the City website. 7. COMMISSION COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Commissioner Chrisman asked if there were plans for shade at the Glen Lakes Park. Commissioner Chrisman noted that her brother and his friends play at the park a lot and she is concerned about them getting too hot and not having water. Mr. Burke relayed that the plans are not at a detailed level at this time, but trees will be planted and ramadas will possibly be included. Mr. Burke stated that this would be considered at a later phase. Commissioner Edgar commented that the playground structure at the bottom of the Grand Canal Linear Park is old and does not look good and inquired about any plans. Mr. Burke noted that Sands Park was just improved. Mr. Burke added that Council has asked staff for recommendations for Parks and Recreation for a proposed bond. A consultant is currently assessing costs of new irrigation, security lighting, and individual location amenities. The consultant will then prepare a needs assessment. Mr. Burke relayed that there are no plans for playground improvements in this current fiscal year. Mr. Burke explained that Council will be appointing citizens to work on the proposed bond and until further bond capital is acquired, what Commission Edgar is seeing is more common than not. Mr. Burke added that in addition to new capital improvements, operation and maintenance costs must also be considered. Chair McConnell requested that current Commissioners help set the agenda to be considered in February 2020. Chair McConnell stated that a community garden could be installed at the experimental field in Sahuaro Ranch Park, where there is now cotton and corn as there are other sections that are available. Chair McConnell relayed that there are volunteers who would run the garden and to pay for the seed. Vice Chair Schiavone asked for a copy of the City's approved plant list and noted that there is an opportunity to identify plants so that the City could be designated as tree-, bee-, bird, and/or butterfly -friendly. Vice Chair Schiavone offered to go through the list to identify plants as such. Mr. Barnard replied that there is not an actual approved list of plants, but there is more of an unofficial, preferred list based on longevity and sustainability due to the climate. Mr. Barnard will send the list to Vice Chair Schiavone 8. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission will be held on September 9, 2019 at 6:00 p.m., at Sahuaro Ranch Historic Park, Fruit Packing Shed located at 9802 N. 59th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85302. 9. ADJOURNMENT Motioned by Commissioner Macie Chrisman, seconded by Commissioner Ronald Beye to adjourn the meeting at 7:33 p.m. AYE: Chair Sam McConnell III Vice Chair Gayle Schiavone Commissioner Ronald Beye Commissioner Kristina Cadena Commissioner Macie Chrisman Commissioner Jessica Edgar Passed The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting minutes of August 12, 2019 were submitted and approved this 10th day of September, 2019. Gwen Benoit Administrative Support Specialist Denise Kazmierczak Recording Secretary