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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMins 2007 01 Jan_DraftUNAPPROVED MINUTES Board of Recreation and Parks Minutes of January 24, 2007 Meeting Page 1 of 9 BOARD OF RECREATION AND PARKS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING January 24, 2007 CALL TO ORDER Southwest Senior Center 2201 W. McFadden Ave. Santa Ana, California 5:38 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE T. Whitacre ROLL CALL BOARD OF RECREATION AND PARKS MEMBERS AND STUDENT REPS PRESENT: Frank Acosta, Robin Christenson, Joshua Havlik, Max Madrid, Wendy Tobiska, Timothy Whitacre, Edmund Martinez STAFF/CONSULTANTS PRESENT: Gerardo Mouet, Executive Director Ron Ono, Administrative Services Manager Mike Lopez, Parks Superintendent Lorraine McCarty, Community Affairs Manager Jenny Rios, Recreation Superintendent Jose Sandoval, Senior Assistant City Attorney Athena Martinez, Board Secretary PRESENTATIONS EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH AWARD – FEBRUARY, 2007 Adolfo Ochoa was not able to attend. Park Superintendent Mike Lopez received this award on the employee’s behalf at the employee’s request. CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION: T. Whitacre SECOND: J. Havlik VOTE: AYES: Acosta, Christenson, Havlik, Madrid, Whitacre (5) NOES: None (0) ABSENT: (at voting) Nguyen (1) 1. MINUTES Approve Minutes of Regular Meeting on December 13, 2006. 2. RECORDING SECRETARY’S REPORT The January 24, 2007 agenda was posted on the doors of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Agency Headquarters office and the doors of the Southwest Senior Center on January 18, 2007. 3. ABSENCES Excuse the absence of K. Nguyen ** END OF CONSENT CALENDAR ** UNAPPROVED MINUTES Board of Recreation and Parks Minutes of January 24, 2007 Meeting Page 2 of 9 BUSINESS CALENDAR NEW BUSINESS 1. TEMPLETON LITTLE LEAGUE District 30 Little League Commissioners Denny Curran and Ron Foster were present to present on the recent dissolution of Templeton Little League. Primary reasons were:  Templeton enrollment numbers had been declining over the years – only 52 enrollments this season. Other leagues in the surrounding areas remain stronger in numbers.  Obtaining field time at Madison Elementary for Southeast Little League had become increasingly difficult.  District 30 realigned boundaries of Santiago, Southeast and Valley Little League’s to absorb the players from Templeton Little League.  Home field for Templeton had been Jerome Park, which will now be the home field for Southeast Little League who also has Madison Park.  These arrangements had been finalized early-mid December. PUBLIC COMMENTS Albert Perez, 1635 W. 9th Street, Santa Ana, CA (President of Santiago Little League)  Stated that he disagrees with District 30’s decision.  Feels that this decision is unfair to the other leagues.  Questioned what will happen to the children who live in the neighborhoods of the other parks.  Stated it was news to him that junior teams will now be playing on Jerome fields.  The players affected by the dissolution of Templeton Little League should go to the Little Leagues closest to Jerome Park and not to Leagues that are across town.  Stated that the children in the neighborhoods surrounding Jerome Park will be left out of Little League.  Stated that this plan does not make sense. Hazel Cox, 614 S. Diamond, Santa Ana, CA (Bella Vista Neighborhood Association)  Stated that she disagrees with District 30’s plan.  Understands why some of the Templeton players will go to Southeast Little League, but what about the children residing in the Townsend and Myrtle areas?  Stressed the need to keep children off the streets and out of gangs by keeping them involved in something. Making it difficult to participate in Little League makes the other options more appealing.  Would have appreciated that the Templeton Little League president advise the Bella Vista Neighborhood residents that this was going to happen before the decision was made.  Stated that players from Templeton Little League should not have to go across town.  Suggested that the City should provide Spring Ball at Jerome Park for the children affected by the dissolution of Templeton Little League.  Would be willing to assist Marlene Gomez in getting Templeton Little League up and running again.  Does not have a problem with fields being shared between leagues as long as all children in the area are being served. Peter Zapata, 3101 S. Fairview, Apt. 61, Santa Ana, CA  How will the redistribution of players make the leagues more competitive? UNAPPROVED MINUTES Board of Recreation and Parks Minutes of January 24, 2007 Meeting Page 3 of 9 Leon Raya, 941 Sharon Road, Santa Ana, CA (Player Agent for Santiago Little League)  District 30 has always been very supportive of Santiago Little League.  This particular decision is not in the best interest of the affected neighborhood or league.  The realignment of boundaries basically affects only Jerome Park, making it difficult for the children living around this park to use it.  The issues between Madison Elementary and Southeast Little League are more joint use related.  Santiago Little League home field is shared with Fremont Elementary, and have been very supportive of the league.  This issue should be handled on an administrative level by the City, the Little League District and the School District.  Monroe Elementary should be considered as an option for Southeast Little League so they don’t have to take Templeton’s home field.  The Little League program should be competitive outside Santa Ana, and not within Santa Ana. Vanessa Ochoa, 1615 N. Towner Street, Santa Ana, CA  Stated that it does not make sense to take the kids out of their own area to play in Little League. Ruben Prieto, 1818 Nancy Lane, Santa Ana, CA  Bringing kids from across town to play at Jerome Park is not a good idea and unfair to the kids that reside near this park. Beatrice Calderon, 1238 S. Clara Street, Santa Ana, CA  Unfair for the Templeton Little League players to have to go across town. Many of these families do not have cars, which will cause them to stop playing Little League.  The New Horizon Neighborhood Association has worked hard to build itself up. This would be a big setback George Madrid, 1606 Marian Way, Santa Ana, CA (President, Northwest Santa Ana Little League)  Transportation should not be a problem since all the leagues are currently inter-leaguing. Oscar Rocha, 1615 N. Towner Street, Santa Ana, CA (Santiago Little League parent)  Currently provides rides to 4-5 players of other leagues.  Many of the Templeton players do not want to play in the Leagues they are being assigned to.  This decision is a power trip of the decision makers. Marlene Gomez, 4250 W. First Street, Apt. 107, Santa Ana, CA 92708  Father ran Templeton Little League for many years.  She took over a few years back and resigned simply because her sons had grown and no longer played Little League.  She would be willing to assume the role of president for Templeton Little League to keep it alive if there are willing volunteers.  Stated that the academic success of her sons who are now preparing for college is due largely in part to being involved in Little League. UNAPPROVED MINUTES Board of Recreation and Parks Minutes of January 24, 2007 Meeting Page 4 of 9 Bobby Vidana, 2005 S. Center Street, Santa Ana, CA (President of Valley Little League)  Much of the public participation at this meeting is due to field use issues.  New leagues have always tried to get more park space and Templeton has always had great fields with lights at Jerome Park.  Valley Little League is only seeking permanent field time at Jerome.  The high school fields are no longer available to Little Leagues.  Many other schools are not providing fields as they are all being used for soccer.  Consider only use of one field for Majors and Juniors at Jerome Park. Acting Chair F. Acosta reiterated the fact that this item was informational only. District 30 Little League is governed by the National Little League organization and the Board could not direct the District as to action. Q & A: Q: Requested the explanation of Templeton’s 52 registrations. A: Southwest Little League actually lent players to Templeton Little League at one time to keep Templeton going. The decision to realign is not a “power trip” and was only done in the best interest of the leagues and to retain as many players as possible. The goal of the District is to ensure that each player is local to their home field. Q: Does the Committee on Field Use (CoFU) have any say in this decision? A: CoFU’s purpose is primarily to assist with process improvement of reservations, policies and procedures. District 30 is under the jurisdiction of a national program and not obligated to get permission from the City to realign leagues. Q: Who ultimately has authority to allow Little Leagues to use City fields? A: The City has authority. Executive Director G. Mouet comments:  The proposed realignment is being made by District 30.  After the Agency was made aware, this item was put on the agenda in the interest of public awareness.  All concerns raised by the public should focus on what is best for the children.  Suggested that the Agency facilitate a meeting between District 30 and those present to address further how to keep children off the streets and out of gangs.  It is understood that Little Leagues depend on volunteer leadership.  Perhaps the City can assist District 30 with the Madison Elementary issues. 2. REQUEST FOR BOARD ACTION – CELL TOWERS AT ADAMS, JEROME AND MADISON PARKS Adams Park Cell Tower was opened to public for discussion. Pat McGuigan, 5642 Kilson Avenue, Santa Ana, CA  In the past, City Council had previously dealt with each carrier individually.  It is her understanding that in the current agreement between the City and a newly contracted company, all cell tower revenues are deposited into the General Fund and do not stay with the parks in which the revenue is generated.  Suggested that the contract wording should state that some of the revenues should be returned to the park for improvements to that park. UNAPPROVED MINUTES Board of Recreation and Parks Minutes of January 24, 2007 Meeting Page 5 of 9 Steve McGuigan, 5642 Kilson Avenue, Santa Ana, CA  Expressed his concern that graffiti on cell towers is not addressed within the 48 hours as indicated in the lease agreement.  Stressed the importance of cell carriers adhering to the maintenance of graffiti as dictated by the contract.  Stated that revenues generated by cell towers in parks need to go back to the park and not the General Fund in order to stay on top of deferred maintenance needs. Motion to continue the decision on the Adams Park Cell Tower to the February Board meeting until negotiations are finalized. MOTION: T. Whitacre SECOND: J. Havlik VOTE: AYES: Acosta, Christenson, Havlik, Madrid, Whitacre (5) NOES: None (0) ABSENT: (at voting) Nguyen (1) Jerome Park Cell Tower: Cell towers currently exist as original lease agreement was with T- Mobile, who was required to build two mono-palms. Metro PCS will co-locate with T-Mobile at this site. Metro PCS will reimburse T-Mobile for the initial cost of construction and fees paid to the City at the time of construction. Staff recommends that the Board approve this agreement. Q&A Q: Does the 20% for ATS come from previously contracted agreement? A: Yes it does. Q: Can there be more than one carrier on a tower? A: Yes, however the maximum is two carriers per tower. A third carrier will need to enter negotiations with the City to build new cell towers. Q: Are the total fees requested by the City split between co-locating carriers, or does each carrier need to pay the full amount? A: Each carrier must pay the requested amount. Motion to approve the lease agreement with the condition that revenues generated by the cell towers at Jerome Park remain in Jerome Park. MOTION: J. Havlik SECOND: M. Madrid VOTE: AYES: Acosta, Christenson, Havlik, Madrid, Whitacre (5) NOES: None (0) ABSENT: (at voting) Nguyen (1) T. Whitacre stated that the 20% commission paid to ATS is an excessive amount to pay annually after the first year. Madison Park Cell Tower: Same scenario as that of Jerome Park Cell Tower. Motion to approve the lease agreement with the condition that revenues generated by the cell towers at Madison Park remain in Madison Park. UNAPPROVED MINUTES Board of Recreation and Parks Minutes of January 24, 2007 Meeting Page 6 of 9 MOTION: W. Tobiska SECOND: T. Whitacre VOTE: AYES: Acosta, Christenson, Havlik, Madrid, Whitacre (5) NOES: None (0) ABSENT: (at voting) Nguyen (1) 3. AGENCY BUDGET PRESENTATION Executive Director G. Mouet showed a PowerPoint presentation with handouts. Handouts on file with Recording Secretary for review. 4. NOMINATIONS FOR SPECIAL SERVICE AWARD TO THE YOUTH AND COMMUNITY OF SANTA ANA Motion to recognize Lewis Bratcher (Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education at Santa Ana Unified School District) for offering volunteer tennis coaches from Santa Ana Unified School District to assist Agency with tennis programs. MOTION: J. Havlik SECOND: W. Tobiska VOTE: AYES: Acosta, Christenson, Havlik, Madrid, Whitacre (5) NOES: None (0) ABSENT: (at voting) Nguyen (1) UPCOMING EVENTS Event calendars for February and March, 2007 were reviewed and discussed, of special note: February 23rd at 3:00 p.m., groundbreaking at the Stadium for the installation of synthetic turf. STATUS/UPDATES 1. COMMITTEE ON FIELD USE (CoFU) Meeting of January 24th had a great turnout. The committee has been working on finalizing revisions to the Policies and Procedures document, which will be presented to the Agency’s Reservation TQS Team and then to this Board in February. 2. OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE – J. Havlik As presented at the November meeting, the community around the Concord/Cambridge reservoir site would like to see a park or recreational area developed at that site and is requesting that the Agency provide the maintenance of that site if/when developed. This item will be placed on the February agenda. 3. SANTA ANA HEALTH AND FITNESS TASK FORCE – R. Christenson The walking club map is close to completion. 4. FUNDRAISING/PARTNERSHIPS SUBCOMMITTEE – W. Tobiska Moving ahead with plans for Orange County High School of the Arts to produce children’s show on April 29, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. at the Santa Ana Zoo to raise funds for the Kiwanis Barrier Free project. 5. GRAFFITI/VANDALISM RESTITUTION At the February 5, 2007 Council Meeting, Councilmembers will be considering whether or not to purchase a new graffiti tracker system which captures images and can analyze information, compare to other incidents and can connect a repeat offender to multiple taggings. This system has been very successful in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. 6. CABLE UPDATES UNAPPROVED MINUTES Board of Recreation and Parks Minutes of January 24, 2007 Meeting Page 7 of 9 Both City Council meetings are now held in Council Chambers and are televised. 7. COMMUNITY CONTACT REPORTS AND UPDATES – Reviewed and discussed. 8. PENDING ITEMS/ACTION ITEMS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS Discussion regarding the Cambridge Reservoir site COMMENTS PUBLIC COMMENTS Steve McGuigan, 5642 Kilson Avenue, Santa Ana, CA  Thank you to Gerardo Mouet and Mike Lopez for providing the Santa Ana Senior center to host the Relay for Life kick-off on January 26, 2007. The relay is scheduled for May 19, 2007 at the Hector Godinez High School in Centennial Park. Pat McGuigan, 5642 Kilson Avenue, Santa Ana, CA  Thank you for taking interest in graffiti and for moving forward.  Prior to the Santa Ana Zoo’s accreditation visit, the Zoo had been badly hit with graffiti. It would be great if the proposed system will help Police identify repeat offenders.  Park Rangers are really watching over the graffiti problem at the Zoo as there has been no graffiti since the accreditation visit. Thank you to Gerardo Mouet and staff. Eusebio Rios, 3412 W. Chestnut, Santa Ana, CA  Thank you to Staff for hearing the voice of the Santa Anita Neighborhood Association.  Soccer teams are now working together.  Santa Anita and Cesar Chavez Campesino parks are also having big problems with graffiti and is aware that the Agency is doing what it can to clean it up, however more staff needs to be put there as some graffiti has been there for more than three weeks.  Would like to know if the maintenance staff working in the parks reports graffiti for removal.  Requested better maintenance of restrooms at both Santa Anita and Cesar Chavez Campesino parks. STAFF/CONSULTANT COMMENTS L. McCarty  Invited all Commissioners to the Founders’ Banquet scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 27, 2007 at the Southwest Senior Center.  Invited all Commissioners to participate in the Orange County Multicultural Black History Parade on Saturday, February 3, 2007. M. Lopez  Little League season is starting.  The annual Presidents’ Meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on January 25, 2007 at the Southwest Senior Center. R. Ono  The Agency received word from the State that they will be conducting site visits for five of the grants submitted. This is usually a good sign but does not guarantee that all grants applications will be funded. J. Rios  Andrea Rico is leaving the City to work for the City of Pomona as a recreation supervisor. Her last day with us is February 1. UNAPPROVED MINUTES Board of Recreation and Parks Minutes of January 24, 2007 Meeting Page 8 of 9  There will be a Teen Dance from 5:00 p.m. -9:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 17, 2007 at the Salgado Center and Commissioners are invited to volunteer as chaperones. G. Mouet  The AZA accreditation tour took place at the Zoo last week. A list of concerns was presented to Zoo staff at the end and there was nothing considered “major”, only minor improvements needed. Positive feedback received regarding the City’s commitment to the Zoo and staff morale.  There will be some changes to the Board’s membership. This will be Robin Christenson’s last meeting but will still be involved in serving the community. Tish Leon, who will take her oath of office at the February 5th Council meeting, has been appointed by Councilmember Michele Martinez to replace Robin.  Ron Dryva has been selected as Employee of the Month for March.  It was very necessary to make the District 30 Little League changes transparent to the Board and community and to clarify that the decisions made by the District were not made by the Agency. BOARD COMMENTS W. Tobiska  The Santa Ana College Children’s Theater Program is a great way to introduce the very young to theater arts. Cost is $4.00 for children four and up, $8.00 for adults.  Good-bye to both Robin and Tim, great working with both. J. Havlik  Good job to Gerardo and staff on the proposed budget. The monies being requested for youth services are greatly needed for kids. T. Whitacre  This will be his last meeting as well. It has been eight years! Will be stepping back to focus on family.  It has been a pleasure serving the community.  Urged the Board to continue to question staff and hold to high standards…they’re great.  Indicated that he will be around as he will be involved in other things in the City.  Claimed that pet projects while on the Board were the community contact forms in the centers and urged commissioners to keep pushing for the uniform policy.  Staff cannot do what the Commissioners can, and the Commissioners need to be mindful of how to assist staff. M. Madrid  To Robin and Tim, have really enjoyed working with you.  Saturday, January 27th is the second week of five for Netz for Life. First week had a great turnout and group is still seeking donations.  Welcomed Tish Leon to the Board.  Invitations to all Commissioners to retirement party. R. Christenson  Tish….you are going to have a great time.  Gerardo, you are an amazing leader. Have learned much from you and have applied many things learned to personal and professional life.  Everyone is so impressive and have loved every minute of serving on the Board. E. Martinez UNAPPROVED MINUTES Board of Recreation and Parks Minutes of January 24, 2007 Meeting Page 9 of 9  Thanks to the Board for allowing me to serve as Student Representative.  Would like to wish Robin and Tim good luck. F. Martinez  It has been a pleasure working with Robin and Tim and don’t stay too far away. NEXT MEETING Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. at the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Agency’s Administration Building, located at 888 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana, California. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:42 P.M. _____________________________ Athena Martinez Recording Secretary