Commissioners Present: Cader-Thompson, Hagen, Kates*, Mobley, McCoy, Ramirez, Tarr

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1 CITY OF PETALUMA RECREATION, MUSIC AND PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, August, 00 Petaluma Community Center : p.m. 0 North McDowell Blvd. Commissioners Present: Cader-Thompson, Hagen, Kates*, Mobley, McCoy, Ramirez, Tarr Staff Present: Jim Carr, Director of Parks and Recreation Jan Mandrell, Recreation Supervisor Sara Stewart, Admin. Secretary, Parks and Recreation Chair* PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: July, 00 James Mobley: Under Director s Report (Fourth of July Fireworks) - Page, Line, the sentence should read: The City may want to rent the fairgrounds next year and turn it into a community affair. Ken McCoy On the Commissioners Park/Facilities Watch Program list, under Ken McCoy include: Prince Park (split with Bob Kates). Bruce Hagen moved that the minutes be approved as amended, seconded by Marja Tarr. AYES:, ABSTEIN: PUBLIC COMMENT: ) Andy Eber- 0 Kent Street Over the last five months, the aquatics group has accomplished the following: The pool hours have been expanded for another two months (May through October). Some revenue for the Swim Center was generated by the Santa Rosa Junior College s new swim program. A PG&E energy audit was conducted free of charge to the City. A swim scholarship program was established, and as a result, children were able to obtain swim lessons this year. Riptides Head Coach Deanne Joslin and Masters Swim Coach Patrick McMillan were able to start the Masters Program which is underway. Flyers were sent out last week to a number of businesses in town about the Masters Program at the Swim Center. Mr. Eber said that although the group of citizens has accomplished a number of things in the last months, an energy plan for the facility needs to be developed and more programs need to be implemented in order to generate more revenue for the facility. Most of the work will rely upon the proposed aquatics director. On behalf of the White Sharks swimmers and their parents, Deanne Joslin,

2 and all the people that have been working on this project, he urged the Commission to consider the proposal for the formation of an aquatics advisory board so that the board can continue with the work. Bob Kates Asked Carr to include this item on the next agenda under Old Business. ) Karen O Brien 0 Page Court In Marin County, there are teams on the swim league, and 00 children participate on each team. Bruce Hagen Asked about the results of the energy audit. Carr Will be distributing the PG&E auditor s report to the Commission. PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS - NONE OLD BUSINESS ) Oak Hill Park Park Council Action (Verbal) Carr Carr On July, 00, the City Council approved the Commission s recommendation to revise the hours at Oak Hill Park when dogs may exercise off leash. The Council asked staff to present the item back in six to nine months to review the entire situation at the park. Carr will present the item in January 00. The City Council was very supportive. They wanted to ensure that the schedule for dogs off-leash was working and not negatively impacting other people in the park. If some problems were to occur, the Council will consider fencing the lower park area. In five weeks, a bulletin board displaying the park rules will be installed at Oak Hill Park as well as at Rocky Dog Park. Ken McCoy Suggested that prior to the six months, the Commission come up with guidelines to evaluate whether the program is successful. Elaine Ramirez Someone has been assigned to monitor the park on weekends to check if it is heavily used during the hours the dogs are supposed to be leashed, and clean up schedules. There are other parks that have dog-park etiquette rules for people. She presented a check list and suggested to place it on the bulletin board once it is installed. Dog owners at Oak Hill Park are starting to do organized clean up days at other parks, i.e. Shollenberger Park. Janice Cader-Thompson Asked for visible signs for animals that are different from other park signs and are consistent for all the parks. Carr Ed Anchordoguy has ordered uniform signs that are a different color than the standard park signs, and they will display the rules for the different areas. Ed Anchordoguy, with Animal Control s assistance, has developed the signs, and they will be presented to the Commission as soon as they are manufactured. Janice Cader-Thompson The neighbors of Oak Hill Park have done a great job and the neighorhood is a model for the whole community.

3 ) McNear Playground Project Update (Verbal) Carr Carr Former Commissioner Steve Arago, Architect Ken Berman, representatives from the Mother s Club and the Rotary Club and staff participated in the interview process and selection of the contractor for the project. On August, 00, the City Council approved the panel s recommendation. Ken Berman is working with members of the Mother s Club on the color scheme for the playground. $0,000 has been budgeted for the project and the actual cost is $,000. Staff and volunteers will be doing a good portion of the demolition work, which will save about $,000. The Rotary Club will be planting trees to commemorate the Club s original founders. Lighting will be added to the interior of the park and a pathway will be developed from the group picnic area to the restrooms. The project is a good community effort with the Rotary Club and is scheduled to start in September. ) Rocky Dog Park Bulletin Board Project Update (Verbal) - Carr Carr The bulletin board has been ordered for the park and will be installed as soon as it is received. ) Brody Project Ryder Homes Update Mobley Carr Referred to the information about this item included in the Commission s packet. Commissioner Mobley has asked that this item be placed on the agenda in light of the two General Plan amendments that this project is requesting. One amendment is to relocate the park from the original planned location; and the second one, is to not require the realignment of Sonoma Mountain Parkway as specified in the Corona Ely Specific Plan. When the Commission reviewed the project, it was in reference to the park issue only, which is the Commission s jurisdiction. James Mobley He was not present when the Commission voted on this issue and he had some concerns. Once he read the information, he felt comfortable with the Commission s decision and recommended proceeding with the project. NEW BUSINESS ) McNear Park Baseball Uses Carr Carr Referred to the newspaper article that appeared in the Press Democrat on August, 00. Carr spoke to the American Legion Program Manager, Rod Moore and expressed his concern regarding the negative tone of the article. The coach was apologetic about the article and expressed his gratitude regarding the assistance City staff has given the league in the past. The American Legion Baseball Team has been using McNear Park in excess of 0 years. They had a two-year absence while they reorganized before starting again four years ago. League leadership has been working with City staff to rebuild the dugouts, which are badly deteriorated, and they hope to replace the grandstand screen, do some structural improvements to the grandstand, and possibly improve the field. Rod Moore has been working with another group, and they are considering painting the grand stand. Basically, this is consistent with the master plan of cleaning up the park.

4 Some of the neighbors were concerned that problems with adult baseball will be returning to McNear Park and they called the Commissioners to express their concerns. Rod Moore Introduced himself as the Manager of the American Legion Baseball and apologized about the article. Casey Gilroy, A former softball player, was quoted in that article but he did not realize that his comment was going to be published in the newspaper. He was relating his historical experience and his wishes for the rejuvenation of the facility. Mr. Moore and his coaches would like to meet with the neighbors to clear up any misconceptions about the program and try to address their concerns. He would like the neighbors to know that they are trying to create some safeguards to keep the balls in the park. Mr. Moore said that currently, $,000 worth of materials have been donated to improve the dugouts. Some local painters are willing to provide cost estimates to paint the grand stands. He has talked to a number of business leaders in the community who are willing to help, and trust management groups who are willing to provide some seed money. As soon as he has more facts and figures he will be making a presentation to the Commission. He mentioned that Fitzgerald Park in Benicia solved their problems with foul balls by replacing the metal grid behind the home plate with netting. He reassured the neighbors that American Legion has no interest in bringing night baseball to McNear Park. He distributed pictures of Fitzgerald Park to the Commission. Mr. Moore indicated that American Legion is planning to use the facility from Memorial weekend to the end of July - approximately weeks. He thanked staff for their cooperation and said that there is no other facility in the community that compares to McNear Park. Angela Dowd F Street Presented safety concerns about plans to remove the backstop and about having one sport taking over the park. For safety reasons, she would like the park to remain a community park. She appreciates that American Legion is trying to work with the community. Ken Berman 0 F Street Presented liability concerns and suggested the possibility of repositioning home plate. Marja Tarr Asked about plans for the softball field once adult softball moves to RESA. She and Ken McCoy would like to see another area for soccer on the west side of town. Carr McNear is the home field for the Petaluma High School Girls Softball. Clare Monteschio 0 F Street Suggested having a master plan for the park so that the neighbors know who is playing at the park and in which area. Bob Kates Since a formal proposal has not been received, the Commission cannot make any decisions at this time with respect to the use of the facility. He suggested public input on this item. Carr Suggested having a public meeting at Cavanagh and inviting the neighborhood to discuss this issue. Bob Kates - He is looking forward to Mr. Moore s proposal before setting up a meeting at Cavanagh. James Mobley Asked Mr. Moore if he could find out from Benicia if they had liability issues.

5 COMMISSIONERS REPORTS ) James Mobley No Report. ) Elaine Ramirez a) Petaluma Swim Center On August, she visited the swim center and noticed that a section of the pool has been marked off with the yellow caution tape because glass beer bottles had been thrown over the fence from the skate park. Staff told her about other vandalism incidences. She asked staff for suggestions to deter vandalism. They suggested locking the fence at the skate park and volunteered to do it when they lock the Swim Center at 0 p.m. She asked if staff would consider this as an option. Carr Believes that skateboarders are not causing the problems but other people that hang around in the parking lot corner. Staff has considered the idea of locking the park; but because of similar problems in other cities, he does not believe the lock will keep the vandals out. The Police Department is enforcing the regulations. The biggest problem is people going over to the park with bicycles. In the next two weeks, Carter Crilly will be installing high posts so that people cannot get their bicycles in the park. Also a light is left on all night in the parking lot and at the Swim Center so that the police can observe the area. b) Shollenberger Park - Noticed that there are no trash cans on the left side of the park. Asked staff to re-position the trash cans since this will help people clean up dog waste. Dog owners were wondering if staff could install the plastic bag dispensers similar to the ones at Oak Hill Park. c) Miwok Noticed that there are no garbage cans along the walk way and they need to be repositioned. ) Janice Cader-Thompson Asked staff to place trash containers in all parks next to the park signs. ) Bruce Hagen a) Robber s Cave Rock Westridge Open Space - Some of the neighbors are forming a committee to save Robber s Cave Rock, a landmark just outside of the open space. They are going to pressure the landowner to make a lot adjustment and put that feature back in the open space. He will keep the Commission posted. b) Lynch Creek Trail Noticed graffiti on the underpass of the trail. Carr There is a graffiti hot line and the number is printed in the recreation brochure. The underpass has been painted and the graffiti hot line will be notified again. c) Petaluma Marsh Park Next month, there is a possibility that Councilmembers and Commissioners may be visiting the Arcada Marsh, which is a similar to the Petaluma water-treatment facility. ) Marja Tarr Visited all of her parks and, for the most part, they were reasonably clean and graffiti free.

6 b) Prince Park After presenting safety concerns, she asked staff to fill a hole which is about a yard in diameter and is located within the playing area of the south soccer field. ) Bob Kates a) Rocky Dog Park Is in good condition. There is always dog waste on the ground, and he hopes that a sign can be placed on the future bulletin board asking dog owners to take care of their animals. b) Wiseman Park Asked if the asphalt is still cracked on the south side of the park. Carr It was removed, and Ed Anchordoguy has done a temporary fix. Staff will be working on a permanent repair, and they are also working on the trail. DIRECTOR S REPORT Jim Carr, Director of Parks and Recreation ) Signs Signs for the dog park and the soccer field have been ordered and they will be ready on August 0, 00. ) Shollenberger Trail Expansion Architect Jeff Peters, who is in charge of the Shollenberger expansion will be extending the trail from the Adobe Creek bridge at Shollenberger to the Marina. ) Lucchesi Park Irrigation Project Has been approved by the City Council. The irrigation project will take care of the mounds and areas around the soccer field. ) Polly Klaas Theater The cost to renovate the facility is about $0,000. So far, Leadership Petaluma has raised $0,000 to help with the renovation, and the firm CSW Stuber/Stroeh has donated $0,000 worth of structural engineering work for the facility. Staff has been working with a number of groups, including Cinnabar Theater technicians. The renovation work will start next Spring. Use of the facility is not allowed until the structural work is completed. ) Petaluma River Authority (PRA) The PRA is working with the Chamber of Commerce to develop an advisory body to work with the City Council and Chamber of Commerce. They have been working very diligently to develop a joint-powers agreement with the Counties of Marin and Sonoma, and the Cities of Novato and Petaluma. Their objectives are to protect the Petaluma River from the turning basin to the mouth of the river, find funding and a long-term solution for dredging the turning basin, which is the key to the Central Specific Plan and the downtown area, and to look at the issue of illegal transient boating that is blocking the navigable waterways. Carr said that he wants the Commission to be aware of this issue since the Petaluma Marina will be impacted. ADJOURNMENT Bruce Hagen moved that the meeting be adjourned at : p.m., seconded by Marja Tarr, unanimously approved.

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