AGENDA ALHAMBRA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Joslyn Adult Center 210 N. Chapel Avenue, Alhambra CA 91801 April 2, 2015 7:00 p.m. Commissioners Albert Lu Clementina Arroyo Glenn Barnett Frank Bodeman Daniel Hutchinson Veronica Martinez Bruce Richetts Margaret Whelan Members Ex Officio Patricia Rodriguez-Mackintosh, Board of Education Mary K. Swink, City Manager Martin W. Ray, Director of Community Services. We welcome you to the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. If you wish to address the Commission during the meeting, please complete a speaker s card and give it to the secretary. The maximum time for addressing the Commission is five minutes. If you wish to address the Commission on an item which appears on the agenda, your comments will be heard during the Commission s discussion of that item. If you wish to address the Commission on a subject which does not appear on the agenda but related to recreation or community service, you may make your presentation under Agenda item VIII. Please be advised that the Commission cannot, under the provisions of the State of California s Ralph M. Brown Act, take action on any item which does not appear on the agenda. When making your presentation, please give your name and address for the record, and make your statement as brief as possible. Thank you. I. Roll Call II. Flag Salute III. Introduction of new Commissioners IV. Election of Officers President Vice president V. Minutes of the regular meeting of March 5, 2015 (Only those Commissioners present at that meeting may vote)
VI. Dog Park in Alhambra To request that the Parks and Recreation Commission make a recommendation to the City Council regarding the establishment of an Off-Leash Dog Park in the City of Alhambra. RECOMMENDATION: That the Parks and Recreation Commission consider the options outlined and make a recommendation to the City Council. VII. Monthly Status Report VIII. Oral Communications IX. Commission Orals X. Alhambra School District Communications XI. Adjournment Copies of staff reports or other written documentation relating to each item of business described hereinabove are on file in the Department of Community Services, Alhambra City Hall, 111 South First Street, Alhambra, California are available for public inspection during regular office hours which are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Should any person have a question concerning any of the above agenda items prior to the meeting described herein, he or she may contact Mr. Martin Ray, Director of Community Services, either in person at the Department of Community Services or by telephone at (626) 570-5044.
Unofficial until adopted by the April 2, 2015 Parks and Recreation Commission Action Item III APPROVE MINUTES ALHAMBRA PARKS AND RECREATION March 5, 2015 The Alhambra Parks and Recreation Commission met at 7:00 p.m. on March 5, 2015 at the Joslyn Adult Center 210 N. Chapel Avenue, Alhambra, CA 91801 Commission members present: Flowers, Hutchinson, Lu, Mumford, Whelan Commission members absent: Arroyo, Garcia, Richetts, Yamauchi Also attending: Director Martin Ray Deputy Director Julian Venegas APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Armendariz requested that the minutes be corrected on page one, paragraph two, sentence two under Monthly Status Report to read.. new covered enclosure for the equipment at Alhambra Park because it is exposed to the elements year round. She stated that she had concerns regarding insufficient lighting in the play area, as well as on the northwest corner where it is quite dark. Commissioner Hutchinson moved to approve the Minutes of the December 4, 2014 Adjourned Regular Meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Lu the motion carried by the following roll call vote: DOG PARK PRESENTATION Director Ray gave a power point presentation on the potential location for the dog park. He stated that a resident of the neighborhood submitted a letter with a petition against the dog park signed by residents who live in the neighborhood surrounding the location. Two additional letters were submitted to the department voicing opposition to the location of the dog park. The City mailed a letter to the residents of the neighborhood as well as to those who signed the petition inviting them to the Parks and Recreation meetings of March 5th and April 2 nd where this project will be discussed. MONTHLY STATUS REPORT Director Ray updated the Commission on the items listed in the report. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Bonnie Kwan, resident of 1117 New Avenue spoke in opposition of the project and cited the following reasons; not good for the neighborhood, noise, unsanitary, air pollution, added traffic, more cars parked in the neighborhood, non residents using the facilities but not paying taxes,
cost, insufficient city staff to clean Almansor Park and a dog park, the City should spend money to benefit all the residents and not just dog owners, depreciation of the value of their homes. Ms. Kwan stated there was no good side to this project at the proposed location. Danny Chau, resident of 1015 New Avenue spoke for himself and his neighbors who do not speak English. He opposed the project and cited insufficient parking, traffic, foreign people in the neighborhood, bad air quality, depreciation of property values and said the project was bad for the area. Sammy Wong, resident of 1025 New Avenue opposed the project and cited potential danger from aggressive dogs, hazard from dog related injury, potential lawsuits from dog fights on city property, diseases, dogs vs aggressive dogs, parasites, impulse control, area not large enough to separate small dogs from large dogs, dog owners not picking up after their dogs, dogs engaging in inappropriate behavior, noise, liability issues. He asked staff to consider the maintenance, rules and regulations, enforcement and maintenance. Ignacio Torres, resident of 1109 New Avenue opposed the dog park and said a better location for it would be inside of Almansor Park. Lola Armendariz withdrew her speaker request card. Mary Hosakawa, resident of 1037 S. New Avenue opposed the dog park and cited traffic congestion, a fatal accident involving a pedestrian, Vons, Staples and other amenities have been taken from the neighborhood and City, dog parks are not clean, her son has asthma and this would aggravate it. Ms. Hosakawa asked what type of studies were done for this project and who determined the need for a dog park in this neighborhood? What is the cost involved to build and maintain the dog park? Ms. Hosakawa asked staff and the Commission to be considerate of the residents who live in this neighborhood and have been good neighbors and are tax payers. Chuan-Ming Liu, a resident of Alhambra opposed the dog park project and concurred with the previous speaker regarding traffic, shortage of staff to maintain the area clean and unhealthy air quality. Donovan Chau, resident of 1015 New Avenue opposed the dog park because it is not an ideal location for it and more than 42 residents signed the petition opposing the project. He cited existing traffic congestion, additional traffic this project would create, insufficient parking in the existing city parking lot because the Fire Dept. training facility also uses this lot, liability due to dog related injuries and decreased property values. Mr. Chau presented the Commission photographs and printouts of two areas within Almansor Park that he believed would be more suitable for the dog park as well as photographs showing city and contractor vehicles parked in the parking lot adjacent to the proposed area. COMMISSION ORALS President Mumford thanked the audience for their input.
Director Ray asked those residents who were not already on the mailing list and who wished to receive notices of the next Commission meeting to write in their names and addresses on the list staff was providing. Commissioner Hutchinson thanked the residents who attended tonight to voice their concerns. He stated that the information presented tonight would be forwarded to the City Council for their consideration. The attendance of the residents tonight shows that they care about their community. Commissioner Flowers thanked the residents who attended to voice their concerns and said this was important in order to make determinations for the well-being of everyone. Commissioner Lu thanked the residents and assured them that staff and the Commission were here to listen and pay attention to their concerns. He asked Director Ray how this location was decided as the preferred location. Director Ray stated that staff gave a presentation to the City Council about a year ago in which several locations were discussed. The City Council determined that this was the best suited location at that time and directed staff to explore this location further. The City Council has not made the decision that this will be the location for the dog park, only that they would like to move forward and explore this location more. These meetings are to gather information and ask for community input. Commissioner Lu stated he looked forward to exploring this further and hoped that they could meet in the middle and welcome a dog park eventually at a location that is more agreeable. ALHAMBRA SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS The representative was not at the meeting. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Whelan moved to adjourn the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Hutchinson, the meeting was adjourned at 7:36 p.m.