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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-01-25 Parks & Recreation Summary MinutesAPPROVED Approved Minutes 1 1 2 3 4 MINUTES 5 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION 6 REGULAR MEETING 7 January 25, 2022 8 Virtual Conference 9 Palo Alto, California 10 11 Commissioners Present: Chair Anne Cribbs and Vice Chair Greenfield; Commissioners Nellis 12 Freeman, Shani Keinhaus, and Amanda Brown 13 Commissioners Absent: Jeff LaMere 14 Others Present: Council Member Tom DuBois 15 Staff Present: Daren Anderson, Lam Do, Kristen O’Kane, Sarah Duffy 16 I. ROLL CALL 17 Chair Cribbs noted that the first meeting of the year represents new opportunities, new 18 beginnings and new possibilities. She welcomed Commissioner Kleinhaus and 19 Commissioner Freeman to the Parks and Recreation Commission. 20 II. AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS 21 Chair Cribbs requested to move the Election of Chair and Vice Chair to before the tentative 22 agenda for February, since Commission LaMere would be joining the meeting later. 23 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 24 IV. DEPARTMENT REPORT 25 V. Mr. Anderson welcomed the new Commissioners. He reported that on Foothills Nature 26 Preserve there was a washout on Los Trancos Trail in one of the areas where debris from 27 storms commonly washes down and covers part of the trail. It has been restored. He 28 reported that the Rinconada Park project capital improvements project is going well and 29 is on target and scheduled to be completed by the end of February. He advised that the 30 damaged synthetic turf has been repaired. Some resurfacing of a bike path that had some 31 uplifted sections of asphalt between Hoover Park and Middlefield has also been 32 completed. 33 APPROVED Approved Minutes 2 Mr. Anderson gave some updates on Recreation programs. Winter classes began in 1 January, with many classes sold out the weekend that winter registration was opened, and 2 wait lists were established. He said despite the Omicron variant, winter classes are taking 3 place in person with most classes operating as scheduled. CSD (Community Service 4 Department) has not seen an increase in the number of withdrawals from classes in the 5 winter of 2022 session that began in January, compared to the fall of 2021. 6 The summer camp Enjoy catalog will be mailed to all Palo Alto residents the following 7 week. Registration will open for Palo Alto residents on February 3rd and for non-residents 8 on February 10th. The City is actively hiring for camp counselors. The Junior Museum and 9 Zoo opened with its full schedule – Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – on 10 December 21st, and all of the dates in November and December were sold out. Mr. 11 Anderson reported that the Omicron wave has caused some to stay home, and weekday 12 visitation has dropped slightly; however, weekend dates continue to sell out, with over 13 1,000 memberships sold since going on sale in October of 2021, with sales on track to 14 reach 2,000 memberships, which is the goal for FY 2022. 15 Mr. Anderson gave updates on City Council plans. Foothills Fire Mitigation and Safety 16 Improvement Strategies will go to Council on their Consent calendar on January 31st. The 17 topic of a new community gymnasium project, or wellness center, was planned to go to 18 Council on January 31st. Due to Mr. Arrillaga’s passing the item has been deferred. He 19 will advise the Commission of the new date. The City Council retreat will be Saturday, 20 February 5th. Staff has sent out a Doodle poll to collect Commission feedback for their 21 retreat, which will be held after the Council’s retreat. 22 Mr. Anderson reported that updates on Cubberley will go to City Council on February 23 14th, including status updates on the Cubberley Master Plan and other Cubberley topics. 24 Chair Cribbs invited questions from the Commissioners. 25 Vice Chair Greenfield asked if the Cubberley updates are a City Council action item. Mr. 26 Anderson believed it was, and said it is not on the Consent Calendar. 27 Chair Cribbs asked what the mask policy is in regard to the winter classes. Mr. Anderson 28 deferred the question to Sarah Duffy, Community Services Department, who advised that 29 masks are required for all indoor classes, although she thought they may be optional for 30 outdoor classes they may be optional. 31 Commissioner Kleinhaus asked if the maintenance of trees and vegetation at Cubberley 32 is the City’s or the School’s responsibility. Mr. Anderson replied that it is with the City. 33 VI. BUSINESS 34 APPROVED Approved Minutes 3 1. Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing Use of Teleconferencing for Parks and 1 Recreation Commission Meetings During Covid-19 State of Emergency 2 MOTION 3 Motion to approve the Resolution was moved by Vice Chair Greenfield and seconded by 4 Commissioner Brown. The motion carried, 5-0, by roll call vote. 5 Vice Chair Greenfield asked if it was appropriate for the Commission members who are 6 not part of the meeting to vote on the item. Deputy City Clerk Vinh Nguyen replied that it 7 would be more appropriate to conduct the Oath and then do the vote on the Resolution. 8 2. Administering the Oath of Office 9 Chair Cribbs noted that Councilmember, Tom DuBois, was in attendance. She announced 10 that Mr. DuBois will be the PRC’s Liaison, and she welcomed him to the meeting. 11 Mr. Nguyen read the Oath of Office and administered the swearing in of Mr. Nellis 12 Freeman and Ms. Shani Kleinhaus. 13 Mr. Do stated that there were two additional Commissioners serving new terms, and asked 14 if they also needed to be sworn in. Mr. Anderson said he had received guidance from the 15 Clerk’s Office that this should take place. 16 Mr. Nguyen read the Oath of Office and administered the swearing in of Chair Cribbs and 17 Vice Chair Greenfield. 18 Mr. Nguyen advised that the printed document would be emailed to each member installed, 19 to be signed and returned to him. 20 4. Approval of Draft Minutes from the December 14, 2021, Parks and Recreation 21 Commission meeting 22 Chair Cribbs invited comments on the minutes. Hearing none, she invited a motion to 23 approve. 24 MOTION 25 Approval of the draft Minutes was moved by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Vice 26 Chair Greenfield. The motion passed, 5-0, by roll call vote. 27 5. Ad Hoc and Liaison Updates 28 Chair Cribbs reminded the Commission that the Ad Hoc Committees and Liaisons will be 29 reviewed and updated at the retreat in a couple weeks. 30 APPROVED Approved Minutes 4 Foothills Nature Preserve: Since Commissioner Reckdahl and Commissioner Moss 1 finished their terms at the last meeting, Vice Chair Greenfield reported that the Ad Hoc 2 completed its goals and responsibilities for the year at the last meeting, with the motion 3 recommending changes to the policy at Foothills Nature Preserve that will be going to City 4 Council. Chair Cribbs commended the committee for their excellent work on policies 5 developed in the previous year. 6 Baylands Tide Gate: Chair Cribbs advised that this Ad Hoc will transition to a Liaison 7 function, as it had served its function with the recommendation for the work to be done on 8 the Baylands Tide Gate, which has been delayed for a calendar year. No changes are 9 anticipated to what has been set in progress. 10 Fund Development: Chair Cribbs advised that they have a number of suggestions they 11 look forward to working on with staff which are of no cost, but perhaps a little time, to be 12 implemented in the near future. 13 CIP Review: Commissioner Brown had nothing to add since the last discussion. 14 Racquet Court Policy: Commissioner Brown had nothing to add since the most recent 15 presentation, but advised that there will be a recommendation to the Commission on the 16 February agenda. 17 Dog Park and Restrooms: Chair Cribbs said they will probably do a review of the 18 restrooms that have been finished, those in the works and in the CIP, and the same applies 19 to the status of the dog parks. She said, given the priorities of the City, these may be 20 dormant for the next six months. Mr. Anderson added that in the CIP discussion at the last 21 meeting there was concern about delays around the Cubberley Field restroom. He 22 discussed this with Public Works staff, and they have a new staff person who is beginning 23 work on that. They could not give an estimated time for completion, but there are staff 24 working on it, and they understand that restrooms are a priority. 25 New Recreation Opportunities: Chair Cribbs said the committee will continue to work on 26 the four opportunities discussed in the past. When discussion regarding the gymnasium 27 goes to the Council, they will support that as well. 28 Sidewalk Vendor Policy: The committee became a Liaison role several months ago. 29 Mid Pen Regional Hawthornes Area Planning: Vice Chair Greenfield remarked that this 30 has always been a Liaison role. 31 Commissioner Kleinhaus asked what the four new recreational opportunities are. Chair 32 Cribbs responded that they are capital discussions, including the 10.5 Acres; the First Tee 33 at the golf course; the city gymnasium/wellness center; and the skate park. 34 APPROVED Approved Minutes 5 Aquatics Liaison: Chair Cribbs indicated there would be a report later in the meeting. 1 Baylands 10.5 Liaison: Chair Cribbs had nothing to report. 2 Community Gardens Liaison: Mr. Anderson said they were still recruiting for the vacant 3 position, which was previously managed by Catherine Bourquin. He and Mr. Do are 4 keeping an eye on it and relying on the excellent Liaisons who are keeping it running. 5 Cubberley Liaison: A report will be going to Council on February 14th. Kristen O’Kane, 6 Community Service Director, shared that this item will be providing basically an update 7 on various things related to Cubberley. The main focus will be the temporary relocation 8 of the two elementary schools to the Greendell Campus. It will be either an action item or 9 a study session. Chair Cribbs appreciated knowing this in advance and commented that 10 this has been an item of great interest to the Commission. 11 Field Users Liaison: Vice Chair Greenfield said Mr. Anderson’s report covered this topic. 12 Golf Liaison: The item would be presented by Commission LaMere later in the meeting. 13 GSI Liaison: The item will be rolled into Sustainability. 14 Palo Alto Recreation Foundation Liaison: Chair Cribbs will be at their meeting on 15 Thursday. 16 PAUSD/City Liaison: Ms. O’Kane said there is the City/School Liaison Committee which 17 consists of two Councilmembers and two Board of Education members who meet monthly 18 to discuss projects or updates that affect both the District and the City. Currently Cubberley 19 is a focus. There is also the field maintenance agreement coming to Council on Consent 20 in February. 21 Safe Route to School Liaison: Vice Chair Greenfield said there was no update. 22 Sustainability/GSI Liaison: Commissioner Brown said there was a meeting for the 23 Sustainability Climate Action in January on wildfires and sea level rise. She reviewed the 24 materials, which are available on the project website, as well as a recording of the meeting 25 for anyone interested. There is also a community survey on the website, which she 26 encouraged Commissioners to participate in. 27 Skateboard Park Liaison: Chair Cribbs said there has been a conversation with one of the 28 stakeholders who is trying to get some information about one of the other skateparks, 29 which is a historic park in Santa Cruz. Mr. Anderson said that staff also reached out to the 30 City of Santa Cruz to learn about Derby Skatepark, an older skatepark where they had to 31 figure out how to resolve the maintenance challenge with it. Staff has some information, 32 but are trying to gather more. 33 APPROVED Approved Minutes 6 Urban Forestry Liaison: Vice Chair Greenfield gave an update on the formalization of the 1 relationship between Parks and Recreation and Urban Forestry. This was based on a City 2 Council motion in November. The agreement has been approved by Directors O’Kane of 3 Community Services and the Director of Public Works as well. There is a formal 4 agreement which they will forward to members of the Commission. There will also be a 5 link placed on the Parks and Recreation Commission webpage. The document outlines the 6 purpose and function of the community forum, the role of the Parks and Recreation 7 Commission, and limitations. 8 Ventura Plan Liaison: There was no new information on this. 9 Youth Council Liaison: Chair Cribbs said they have resumed their regular meetings, which 10 are in-person. 11 Mr. Anderson pointed out that the Commission should go back and approve the 12 teleconference. Chair Cribbs agreed that they should. Vice Chair Greenfield suggested 13 checking with Councilmember DuBois for comments on the Liaison and Ad Hoc reports. 14 Chair Cribbs asked for a motion adopting the Resolution authorizing the use of 15 teleconferencing for the Parks and Recreation Commission. 16 MOTION 17 Vice Chair Greenfield moved to authorize the use of teleconferencing. Seconded by 18 Councilmember Brown, the motion carried, 5-0, by roll call vote. 19 Chair Cribbs invited comments or questions on the Ad Hoc and Liaison reports from 20 Councilmember DuBois. 21 Councilmember DuBois welcomed and congratulated the new members. He was glad to 22 be the Parks and Recreation Commission Liaison this year and he will try to attend to as 23 many of their meetings as possible. He welcomed members to contact him on any issue 24 they want to discuss. Regarding the gymnasium, he said he hoped the Council will weigh 25 in on the level of priority they want for it and possible locations as soon as possible, 26 whether they have a private donor or not. He understands this has been looked at by Ad 27 Hocs for a long time. 28 6. Aquatics Annual Report 29 Sarah Duffy, Senior Management Analyst, Community Services Department presented 30 this item. Tim Sheeper was in attendance to present the results from the Annual Report 31 and User Survey. The report is done yearly, as required by the contract, and includes 32 performance highlights. The full Aquatics Report was presented in the agenda packet for 33 anyone wishing to review it. Ms. Duffy said there have been many accomplishments in 34 APPROVED Approved Minutes 7 the Aquatics program during a continuing unpredictable time for recreation and for small 1 businesses. She was appreciative of having Mr. Sheeper and his team as a partner in the 2 Aquatics program. Rinconada Pool has remained open throughout most of COVID, when 3 many other pools were not able to be open as much. Team Sheeper has continued to 4 develop and grow the Aquatic programs, and the survey conducted indicates the programs 5 are very well received. They look forward to upcoming aquatics activities this year, 6 including group lessons in the spring and the summer camps for 2022. 7 Chair Cribbs invited Mr. Sheeper’s comments and presentation of the report. 8 Mr. Sheeper of Team Sheeper presented highlights of the annual report submitted to the 9 City via a short slide show. He said two numbers jumped out at him within the report. 10 First, of the 209 survey respondents, there were 163 that were lap swimmers, so from the 11 survey, 78 percent were lap swimmers. Of that 78 percent, their lap swimming experience 12 was 89 percent satisfied with the overall experience. Those were two numbers that were 13 gratifying for his team to see, that the work is being accepted and the community is 14 gratified and gracious with it. He pointed out that 91 percent are satisfied with the safety 15 measures; 76 percent are satisfied with the amount of pool time and scheduling; 73 percent 16 are satisfied to very satisfied with the fee structure. The fee structure was completely new 17 for 2020-2021. 18 Mr. Sheeper said since most of the users of the Rinconada pool are lap swimmers and the 19 aquatics industry and methods of surveying the aquatics community have changed, they 20 wanted to do a comparison and investigate what was happening in aquatics in the Bay area, 21 specifically the San Francisco Peninsula. They looked at 12 pools from as far north as 22 South San Francisco all the way as far south as San Jose and Camden. Of the 12 pools, the 23 lap swim availability was measured in hours per week that a pool is open to the community 24 for lap swim. Palo Alto’s Rinconada has nearly 70 hours, which is second only to Menlo 25 Park. Regarding the space available, the size of the pool, he pointed out a number of six-26 lane and eight-lane pools, with Palo Alto near the middle with 14 lanes available, and the 27 20-lane pools being the Olympic-sized 50-meter pools. Mr. Sheeper felt this indicates that 28 Palo Alto is on the leading edge of what it is providing to the community in regard to lap 29 swimming. He said this was eye-opening for him to see. 30 Mr. Sheeper’s team also did a comparison on fees. From their analysis, they saw that the 31 usage of Rinconada Pool is mostly by their monthly pass members. The data shows that 32 the average use is 9.5 times from those monthly passes for lap swimming. Most of the lap 33 swimmers are members, as opposed to drop-in swimmers. Using the 9.5 swims per month, 34 illustrates that the per-cost time would be between $5 and $6. Compared to fees in the 35 open market, the cost is one of the lower ones for lap swimming. He said he felt they have 36 a somewhat unique model with the monthly fee, which means the more people use the 37 pool the more the per-time cost is lowered. They could see that many swimmers are using 38 APPROVED Approved Minutes 8 the pool very often, especially through the pandemic. Some area pools still just have one 1 cost per visit, with reservations required. 2 Mr. Sheeper talked about challenges at the Aquatics program. One was the challenge was 3 the restrictive COVID guidelines, along with lack of staffing, and amount of time they 4 have been able to open the pool for open swim, and restrictions on swim lessons. They 5 have seen a significant decline in the lesson program and in the family open swim 6 programs. In addition, with the labor shortage during the pandemic they lost 70 percent of 7 their staff, and are still building back from that, which continues to be something they are 8 working on. 9 Mr. Sheeper spoke about Palo Alto Swim and Sport goals for 2022. The first goal is to 10 retain the existing staff, to make sure the working conditions are stable and safe and wages 11 are competitive with the market. The second goal is to hire new staff so that they can 12 provide programs which have declined or disappeared, including youth group swim 13 lessons and an abundance of open swim times. This requires a lot of staff for lifeguarding, 14 baby pool and swim instructors. 15 Chair Cribbs invited comments from the public. 16 Suzanne Jewel congratulated the new Commissioners and thanked the Commission for its 17 work. She said she has been a long-time swimmer in Palo Alto, swimming at Rinconada 18 since 1989. She said they are blessed to have such a magnificent facility and to have Team 19 Sheeper doing such a great job in operating swim programs. She appreciates all Mr. 20 Sheeper has done to keep the pool open and safe, knowing firsthand how difficult running 21 a business is at this time. She is delighted to that so many swimmers are enjoying the pool. 22 She said, unfortunately, she is not among them, as she has been prevented from going to 23 the pool for the past six months because she feels discriminated against by the 2021 price 24 increases. A non-resident adult is paying 23 percent more than they did pre-lockdown, 25 where she, as a resident senior, is being asked to pay 71 percent more. Residents are seeing 26 a discount of seven to eight percent, compared to the pre-lockdown discount of 20 to 25 27 percent, which is consistent with discounts in neighboring cities. Additionally, she said 28 master swimmers have seen no price increases. She said the structure of the swimmer 29 satisfaction survey gave her no ability to voice these feelings. She said she has talked to 30 Mr. Sheeper and the City Aquatics in this regard for six months, and there has been no 31 resolution. She asked the Commission to help find a resolution to distribute any needed 32 fee increases more fairly across swim groups. She wants to get back in the pool, and Mr. 33 Sheeper and Marla want her back in the pool. She said the $54 she is being asked to pay 34 is reasonable and the prices themselves are fine. However, she sees the prices as being 35 disproportionate across swim groups, and she objects to paying to be discriminated 36 against. 37 APPROVED Approved Minutes 9 Hearing no further public comments, Chair Cribbs invited comments from the 1 Commission. 2 Vice Chair Greenfield thanked staff, Sarah and Tim for their work and for keeping the 3 pool open for the community to enjoy. He said now that there is a general sense that 4 COVID is not going away anytime soon, and he asked how this is changing the philosophy 5 about working through challenges at the pool and coming up with a plan going forward. 6 Mr. Sheeper said they have had to adopt a new philosophy and business model to operate, 7 and it is a totally different business than it was in 2019. He said 2020 was a rebound year 8 to see if they could operate, with half of 2021 being very restricted and half mostly 9 unrestricted. He said they have had to change operations to be sustainable. They needed 10 staff that was durable, could multi-task and could be counted on to show up and do what 11 was necessary. They had to rely on what previously were managers of a greater volume of 12 entry level staff for swim lessons and lifeguards, and require them to provide the entry 13 level jobs in a stable manner. Higher-quality and more experienced staff were relied upon 14 for stability in the company, and they needed to compensate those people to stay on the 15 job. 16 Vice Chair Greenfield asked what services look like for people using the facility and how 17 he sees the experience changing with the different adaptations of who is allowed, and 18 when, and reserving times. Mr. Sheeper said he thought they were past the point of having 19 to reserve time. There are some pools still doing that in the community, but with their 20 volume of people moving through for lap swim and master swim he said it will move 21 closer to the previous model, but will take time. He felt the transition to return to what was 22 previously normal would take another year or so. They are also changing the business 23 model of swim lessons. It will take a long time to build up the instructor force that they 24 hope to have. They previously were sharing instructors from Menlo and Palo Alto and had 25 up to 30 instructors. They are now down to three instructors, and the number of job 26 applicants as been zero, so they are using higher-level managers and instructors, and 27 training them to be more coaches and less of the one-on-one, in-water instructors and 28 having to build their swim schools from the top down rather than from the bottom up. It is 29 no longer one-on-one teaching water safety, because the don’t have the individuals to do 30 that, but they have higher-level coaches and managers who can stand on the deck and 31 coach 10 to 20 youth at a time once they are able to be in the water safely. This is what 32 they are doing in Menlo and hope to do in the spring. 33 Vice Chair Greenfield appreciated hearing more insight into the issues they are 34 experiencing. He asked about the concern raised about a disproportionate price increase 35 for some groups, and said it is not the first he has heard of this. He asked to hear from Mr. 36 Sheeper as well as staff whether this is something they acknowledge, and if so, if 37 something can be reasonably remedied or adjusted. Mr. Sheeper said there are a lot of 38 ways to look at it. He said he had tried to lay out the numbers to illustrate what is going 39 APPROVED Approved Minutes 10 on in the aquatics community as a whole. The comparison of lap swimmers to masters is 1 one that is difficult for him, because he sees the lap swimmers with a lot of time and space 2 in the pool, 70 hours a week, where the masters is a much smaller program in comparison, 3 about 13 hours a week. He said when the pandemic started they put only lap swim back in 4 the pool and cut out masters completely. When they brought it back on two to three months 5 into the reopening, they opened it for three 45-minute sessions per week, but still charged 6 the same price, which was $88. People were paying it, and it was what the program needed 7 to move forward. With the masters, they have moved from three very small workouts, 8 slowly adding time, from 2.5 hours per week up to 13.5 hours per week. They tried to do 9 this strategically and with great sensitivity to the lap swimmers. 10 Mr. Sheeper shared that it is difficult for their scheduling team to hear that there is some 11 distrust, dislike, disillusionment of their operations, which was never their intent. He said 12 what they are trying to do is serve both groups as equally and equitably as possible. They 13 are on the cusp of rebuilding a master’s team and trying to breathe life into the group. A 14 price increase to the masters did not seem right when they had cut their program drastically 15 and they are still adding back to what they were paying at that time. He said possibly in 16 time they will be able to add more masters swim times and availability. At that time, the 17 price will potentially increase. However, the programs that retained their amount of time 18 and space in the pool, like lap swim and rentals, their price did increase. He said to increase 19 the masters was not fair, and his mind when he is organizing or operating a pool there are 20 no favorites, only objectively looking at what is best for everyone in the program and the 21 community. There is no benefit to himself or anyone to have one be favored over the other. 22 Mr. Sheeper said he doesn’t align with the comments that were made, though they have 23 been talking about it for six months. He said right now the basic users of the pool are lap 24 swimmers, because they don’t have other user groups any longer. Those programs were, 25 in a sense, subsidizing what they were able to provide for the lap swimmers, so currently 26 the revenue for lap swimmers and the cost of staff to run the pool are not aligning and are 27 in a deficit because there are no other programs at this time of year. In the past few months 28 they are running a deficit because they are only running lap swimming with some rentals 29 to PASA and some to masters. Without the other programs, lap swimming cannot sustain 30 it, so to be able to pull back on the pricing right now, he said, cannot fiscally be done. 31 Vice Chair Greenfield appreciated Mr. Sheeper going into the level of detail about the 32 situation. He was interested in hearing where Chair Cribbs would go, being the Liaison 33 and more intimately involved with the details. He expressed concern about groups like 34 seniors being treated differently than other groups and wanted to make sure they are 35 moving forward in the most equitable way possible for all groups. He appreciated the 36 efforts of Mr. Sheeper and his staff, and expressed that there is no playbook to explain 37 how to move forward. 38 APPROVED Approved Minutes 11 Commissioner Brown appreciated the presentation and shared that she knows that 1 swimming has been an outlet during this time. She appreciates the flexibility of the City’s 2 programs and the availability of space and hours. She applauded the survey results, in 3 which only two percent were mentioning better communication, which is a win when there 4 is community overload about different protocols and what is open and what is not. She 5 asked CSD staff to speak to the high level of the City’s fee schedule and what the City is 6 legally allowed to charge in terms of fees, what the policy is in terms of cost recovery 7 goals, and how often the fees are evaluated, as well as flexibility in individual fees set by 8 Mr. Sheeper as well. 9 Ms. Duffy responded that in Aquatics, the contract explicitly states that the fees can be set 10 and can be adjusted in collaboration between the contractor, Team Sheeper, and the City. 11 Since she has started in her role, CSD and Mr. Sheeper have talked quite a bit the fees, and 12 listened carefully to what they are hearing about the lap swim increases in fees, particularly 13 the senior fees. She said what they would like to do is get through the end of the fiscal year 14 and see how the financial outlook looks for Aquatics after group lessons have happened, 15 and after they see what the summer camp registration looks like. Then they can see if it 16 feels like a reasonable time to re-evaluate the fees. 17 Ms. O’Kane added, regarding Commissioner Brown’s question, that there is a cost 18 recovery policy in place. They set the cost recovery based on whether a program or service 19 is reaching a large group of individuals or providing a service to a large group of 20 individuals who don’t have another location or place to get the same service. For example, 21 utilities is something that residents can only get from one source. With respect to 22 Community Services, they also look at whether there is a program or service that is only 23 serving an individual. Those would have higher cost recovery levels versus something that 24 is serving a larger group. An example would be the golf course. It is providing a service 25 to an individual playing golf, versus something that is providing a service to a larger group 26 of individuals. 27 Commissioner Freeman appreciated the presentation and understood the pain of trying to 28 retain staff and challenges that all have had to face over the past two years. Going back to 29 the way things were in 2019 is a challenge for all organizations trying to adjust to what 30 will be the new normal, and to be nimble in the process. He asked how the prices compare 31 to some of the other swim facilities in the area for swimming programs. He said people 32 talk, and if they feel that the City is 80 to 90 percent over what some of the competing 33 cities offer, then it is a challenging debate. 34 Mr. Sheeper pointed to the slide with this information and said this is limited to lap 35 swimming. There is not that much going on at the pool for lessons or for open swim. Many 36 pools don’t offer master swimming, and/or swim teams, so they were focused on 37 comparing lap swimming at Rinconada to other pools. He pointed to the lowest cost for 38 APPROVED Approved Minutes 12 lap swimming, in Mountain View, where the cost is very low. However, it is not always 1 apples-to-apples on cost, because Mountain View has a small pool without a lot of lane 2 availability. It is not open as much, and the number of hours for lap swim availability is 3 rather low, so the opportunity to get in and use it is not the same as the opportunity to swim 4 at Rinconada. If people could show up and swim at any time from 6:00 a.m. until 4:00 5 p.m., there is high likelihood of getting into the pool and get either an open lane or to share 6 a land, and a senior would pay in the $5 range with a membership, or $6 range if not a 7 senior, where it is $8 or $9 to do a random drop-in without a monthly pass. Compared to 8 other pools in the area, Rinconada is in the middle to lower end of the comparisons. Other 9 pools like Campbell, Sunnyvale, San Jose or Burlingame there is a much higher cost per 10 use, without the availability and space. He said they were proud of this because this is not 11 how it was always set up in Palo Alto but is what they have moved to developing in the 12 past five years. Previously there were a few hours in the morning, a few in the afternoon 13 and a few in the evening, and you had to adjust your schedule to swim, so they tried 14 opening the pool for the longest period of time, and the results were as presented. 15 Commissioner Kleinhaus appreciated the presentation and answers to the questions to the 16 Commissioners and the public. 17 Chair Cribbs thanked Mr. Sheeper and his team for their work during the pandemic, saying 18 it has not been easy for anyone, not for people trying to run a pool and not for people trying 19 to swim in the pool. She wished to hear more in the future about assessing fees in the 20 summertime, especially the senior fees and is confident everyone will work together to do 21 that. She felt it is important to keep senior fees to where people feel like they can afford 22 them and can continue to swim, because it is so important for everyone’s health. She was 23 concerned regarding the lack of ability to offer as many swimming lessons to beginners 24 learning how to swim. She asked for clarification that they are not doing any lessons in 25 the water with kids. Mr. Sheeper said that is correct. They have no lessons going on at 26 Rinconada at present because of space and temperature. They have two swim instructors 27 in the water teaching learn-to-swim lessons in groups and in private in Menlo Park. 28 Chair Cribbs asked how many kids they teach at a time in the water. Mr. Sheeper said up 29 to four. He said, for perspective, in the past ten years their average number of lessons per 30 week was 1,100 splashes into the water per week. They are currently doing about 100, so 31 they are down about 1,000 lessons per week, which has wiped out almost a generation of 32 kids learning hands-on swimming in a municipal pool setting, mainly because of labor. 33 They have not been able to fill the positions, and there have been no candidates applying 34 for the positions. They are consistently recruiting but it is the result of the labor shortage 35 currently and people choosing not to do this type of work. He feels that there will be a 36 point where people will have to go back to work and not have the choice they have at 37 present, so he thinks they will get there, but it won’t be in the next six months. 38 APPROVED Approved Minutes 13 Chair Cribbs said teaching kids and making sure people are drown-proof and water-proof, 1 adults as well, is a very important value of hers. She appreciated Mr. Sheeper’s candidness 2 about the staff shortages and how he is handling the lessons. She said she would like to 3 see the Commission delve into this a bit more in the future, because of the importance of 4 opportunities for swimming and swimming lessons, working together to provide it for both 5 kids and adults so that fear of water does not get passed on from generation to generation. 6 Vice Chair Greenfield asked regarding the lack of instructors and the difficulty finding 7 them for summer classes and programs, if they are seeking both full-time and temporary 8 instructors. He said in the past there have been high school and college youth involved in 9 instruction. He wondered if they are reaching out to these groups, or if they are no longer 10 available because of COVID as well. He wondered what the breakdown was between 11 permanent and temporary. Mr. Sheeper said they are moving away from temporary and 12 more into the stable, durable, long-term, full time employee. This changes the business 13 model and compensation structure, as well as the fee structure for the end user. He said 14 this is how they can get a higher-level instructor with more experience teaching more youth 15 at a time. He concurred that they need to find a way to make the young kids drown-proof 16 and water-safe. 17 Vice Chair Greenfield said while understanding the challenges with temporary, he 18 wondered if temporary instructors were potentially available as a stopgap right now while 19 they are not able to find the level of permanent instructors they need. Mr. Sheeper said 20 neither are available, but with full time an employee’s lifespan with the company will be 21 longer and there will be less turnover for the end user, so that is what they are focusing on. 22 He said the model is new for them, but it is working, and they have large wait lists, putting 23 one instructor teaching 20-plus kids at a time who are already drown-proofed, which 24 becomes more like a small youth swim team at a low level. 25 Ms. Duffy said the did hear the feedback around wanting to explore the senior fees, 26 specifically, and they will put a flag on this to do at the end of the fiscal year when they 27 have a better picture of the full year of revenue, and it can be a priority for CSD. Chair 28 Cribbs requested that, when looking at it, that they look at the learn-to-swim kinds of 29 swimming lessons and pursue figuring out a way to support, perhaps from a private entity, 30 doing something creative so that this generation of kids does not lose the opportunity to 31 learn to swim. 32 Chair Cribbs reiterated thanks to Mr. Sheeper and his staff for their work and the services 33 provided the community amid the challenges they have gone through during COVID. 34 7. Golf Performance Annual Report 35 APPROVED Approved Minutes 14 Mr. Do, Superintendent of Open Space, Parks and Golf, presented the golf performance 1 report, along with a supplement to the report by Matt Malloy, Senior Vice President, OB 2 Sports, the contracted golf management company operating the golf course. 3 Mr. Do shared a brief history, saying that Palo Alto has operated a municipal golf course 4 since 1956. Since then it had remained the same, with conditions aging over the years. The 5 course had some improvements primarily related to irrigation; however the course layout 6 remained the same, with wide open fairways, playing up and down. Starting in 2012, there 7 was consideration to redesign the course at a time when there was also a need for the 8 adjacent San Francisquito Creek to expand its width for flood control mitigation. This 9 resulted in the golf course transferring seven acres of its footprint to the San Francisquito 10 Creek Joint Powers of Authority for their project, and at the same time yielding 10.5 acres 11 for future recreation use. This necessitated a full course re-design, for which Council 12 selected Forrest Richardson and Associates to provide options for partially and fully re-13 designing the course. Ultimately, a full course re-design was selected in 2013. Interest in 14 pursuing a links style golf course had to do with integration into the Baylands location and 15 pursuing an open space, open nature environment, which coincided with the links style 16 course as well. Environmental opportunities to be more sustainable were also pursued in 17 enhancing wildlife habitat, improving wetland areas, and a key factor was the selection of 18 turf grass which is more tolerant of salt. This allowed for less reliance on potable water 19 and higher use of recycled water. 20 Mr. Do said once the design was selected, the City went through the permitting process 21 and in 2016, the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course was closed for two years during 22 construction of a new course. In May of 2018 the course re-opened and was rebranded as 23 the Baylands Golf Links. Changes were also made in operation and management of the 24 golf course, restaurant and golf shop. The golf course had historically been operated with 25 multiple operators for maintenance, restaurant and golf shop. With the re-opening, a single 26 golf course operator was chosen to provide full golf course management services including 27 managing golf play, maintenance of the facility, operating the golf shop on the City’s 28 behalf, and providing food and beverage service. The single operator is OB Sports. The 29 City is the owner/operator of the golf course. The golf shop is managed by OB Sports. The 30 food and beverage service is licensed out to OB Sports to lease the Bay Café as part of 31 their business operations. 32 Mr. Do said in the three years since re-opening, there has been fluctuating revenue and 33 expenses due to multiple factors. The first fiscal year they had revenue of $3.4 million 34 against $3.7 million in expenses. It was a challenging first year, not only bringing back the 35 customer base after the closure, but also there were challenges in 2019 into 2020 related 36 to weather conditions, wildfires and air quality conditions. They did succeed with 54,000 37 rounds of golf. The following year, fiscal year 2020, they had different challenges resulting 38 in a significant drop in revenue, dropping down to $2.8 million in revenue, and decreased 39 APPROVED Approved Minutes 15 rounds of golf play largely were due to the pandemic. Their region was the first in the 1 country to implement a shelter-in-place health order by the County, resulting in the golf 2 course being closed for almost a full season during the spring. Re-opening was only partial 3 due to state and county mandates related to social distancing and number of players 4 allowed on the course, and the reopening was for limited course play. 5 Mr. Do said fiscal year 2021 showed quite a different picture, with golf being a high-6 demand outdoor activity, and social distanced golf rounds jumped almost 50 percent, 7 resulting in a much higher revenue stream. They benefitted from the golf environment, 8 bringing in revenue of $5.2 million, which is slightly higher than shown in the staff report, 9 because it focused on revenue from golf play and the driving range. The figure shown in 10 the presentation included miscellaneous sales, merchandise sales and lease of the Bay Café 11 to OB Sports. Mr. Do said they are currently in a positive revenue environment, and it is 12 currently tracking in favor of the golf course fully recouping its operating expenditures, 13 which is what they initially set out to do with the re-design of a new regional golf course 14 that could draw and would ideally perform well annually. While they hope to remain on 15 this path, as the pandemic continues and changes, the golf environment changes as well. 16 Mr. Do shared the profile of who is playing the golf course. The hope was to position the 17 course as a regional draw as opposed to local only in order help recoup the investment in 18 the golf course. He showed that the two counties, San Mateo and Santa Clara, comprised 19 86 percent of the golfers. This figure is higher than prior years, possibly because of less 20 commuting due to the pandemic. The trending now is at roughly 70 percent of players 21 coming from the Palo Alto and Santa Clara County. Mr. Do said their goal was to establish 22 a premier course, and they have been recognized several times, including named third 23 place for Public Course Renovation in Golf, Inc., magazine. The California Parks and 24 Recreation Society recognized the course for environmental sustainability in course 25 design, which Mr. Do said is a reflection of the golf course architect and builder. The 26 course also received recognition in Golf Week magazine regarding enjoyment of playing 27 the course. Mr. Do indicated his availability for questions, as well as Matt Molloy, operator 28 of OB Sports. 29 Chair Cribbs said it was good to hear news like this. The golf community she 30 communicates with are very high on Palo Alto and the golf course, coming in to play 31 Pebble, Harding and Baylands, which is pretty good company. She said they have done a 32 very good job. 33 Chair Cribbs welcomed Commission LaMere to the meeting. 34 Chair Cribbs invited comments from the public on the presentation. Hearing none, she 35 invited questions and comments from the Commissioners. 36 APPROVED Approved Minutes 16 Commission LaMere thanked Mr. Do for all of his work with the golf course and his 1 detailed presentations. He asked about community involvement regarding the relationship 2 and use of the golf course by First Tee, by high school teams, and also by any youth 3 students who have taken advantage of the use rate, and if there is any data on that. 4 Mr. Do responded that prior to the course renovation and once the new course was opened, 5 for the past three years, they have maintained their relationship with the First Tee of Silicon 6 Valley, whose programs are held seasonally throughout the year. Each season they run an 7 eight-week season, and staff provides them with a practice facility, on-course time and 8 driving range stalls. Most recently they did have a slight change in how First Tee’s 9 presence is facilitated. They are currently charging them a nominal fee to participate. This 10 was implemented in the past fiscal year. Regarding support of high school programs, they 11 have also made a slight change. Currently Paly and Gunn high schools are supported. 12 There was a brief time when it was difficult for other private schools to find open courses 13 to get on, so they provided them support as well. However, now that most golf courses are 14 open, they have gone back to just the two public high schools in the area. Mr. Do advised 15 that he will research and get back to the Commission with more data in this regard. 16 Mr. Molloy concurred with the information given. He said the Youth on Course is a 17 popular program. Although he did not have data, he offered to pull it together and get it to 18 Mr. Do to share with the Commission. He commented that the First Tee program is crazy, 19 sharing that on Monday through Thursday at 5:00 it’s like a carnival, with 15 kids, all sorts 20 of youth practicing, dads and their kids, and it is great to see. The involvement from the 21 community on the high school teams has been well-received as well. He called supporting 22 these kinds of things their “sales pipeline,” developing customers for the future. 23 Commission LaMere followed up, asking if the nominal fee charged to First Tee is 24 something that had been done in the past, or what the decision-making process was in 25 terms of implementing a fee. Mr. Do replied that there was a fee in the past of a two dollars 26 and it was difficult to continue at the two dollars. At the same time, the First Tee also 27 wanted certain pre-determined times to be on-course, as opposed to the previous flexible, 28 as-available basis, so they were asked to help defray some of the operating cost. 29 Commissioner Kleinhaus referred to the slide discussing the course redesign. The intent 30 in creating the new golf course in 2013 was to provide a more interesting layout for golfers 31 of all levels with enhanced wildlife habitat, improved wetland areas and sustainability in 32 terms of reduced potable water and pesticides. She wondered about the enhanced wildlife 33 habitat goal and how it is functioning, as well as the improved wetland areas. She remarked 34 that, in terms of the studies using salty water tolerance, there were some concerns of 35 invasion into the wetlands, and she wondered if they had seen any evidence of that. 36 Mr. Do noted that the prior golf course had a lot of irrigated turf and wide fairways, so a 37 majority of the golf course was irrigated. With the redesign, the acreage of turf was 38 APPROVED Approved Minutes 17 reduced, which reduced irrigation, and the remaining areas were left for natural growth, 1 resulting in less irrigation and more habitat for wildlife and also adding more wetland areas 2 than before. The approach of having more habitat, more wetlands and less turf made for 3 less irrigation. Particularly, the irrigation with potable water was reduced even further 4 because the type of grass, Paspalum, that was selected, which is a warm weather grass 5 which is coastal, and salt tolerant. With its salt tolerance, they have been able to decrease 6 the amount of potable water used, and increase the amount of recycled water used. Another 7 benefit of Paspalum is that, in using recycled water, there is salinity in it, and it also acts 8 as a natural herbicide, which reduces the amount of pesticide use needed. They have been 9 fairly successful in working with this grass. It has characteristics that some consider 10 desirable, and some do not. This has to do with the dormancy of the turf. It is a warm 11 weather grass, but as the temperature cools, the grass goes dormant and the color changes 12 from green to a yellow to a brown. Some consider this a natural look, but some consider 13 it undesirable and feel the course should look lush and green at all times. Mr. Do said their 14 desire is to be a links style course and also to fit in with the Baylands as well. 15 Commissioner Kleinhaus asked again about the wildlife habitat and wetlands, wondering 16 if they are indeed used by wildlife, if native plants are still there, or if they have been 17 replaced by weeds and invasive species. Regarding the Paspalum, she wondered whether 18 they see any invasion into the Baylands of this salt tolerant coastal plant that was brought 19 into the area and could potentially invade the Baylands. She asked if there was any 20 monitoring or information about whether the grass is invading the Baylands, and if not, if 21 there is a way to start monitoring to find out if there is a problem or not. She said since it 22 is a warm weather grass there may not be a problem. She hoped there was no problem, but 23 said it is a concern that was brought by the community when the project was approved. In 24 terms of the enhanced wildlife habitat, she said just because there are places for wildlife 25 to go, does not mean it is working. Regarding the idea of planting various types of native 26 plants and allowing the animals to be able to use some of it, she wanted to know if any of 27 that is happening, because much of the habitat was lost when the golf course was modified, 28 but the idea was that the new course would have some enhanced wildlife habitat. If it is 29 not functioning, she wondered how to get information on that. 30 Mr. Do said the native plant palette initially planted had a difficult time taking off. They 31 then did a second round of planting, with some success, but they have also lost some of 32 those plants. He said trying to maintain a full set of native plants has been a challenge, so 33 they do have native and non-natives on the course, as do other areas in the Baylands as 34 well, and it is a constant struggle to establish the native. Regarding the wildlife habitat and 35 a measure of its success, he said it is an area that they need to work on. They do not have 36 an active way of monitoring the habitat. In regard to the Paspalum, the observation is that 37 it is not growing into the non-desired areas, but this is another area that they are working 38 on as well. 39 APPROVED Approved Minutes 18 Commissioner Brown appreciated the presentation and thorough report. She commented 1 that there was proposed legislation last year related to municipal golf courses, to try to 2 incentivize the development of affordable housing on them and to strip away their 3 environmental protections. She said the legislation died last year, but it has been brought 4 back this year in a different version. She hoped it is something that staff could ask their 5 legislative consultant, to see if it is something that they are monitoring and to provide 6 updates through staff as golf liaison on that legislation and how it unfolds. She thought the 7 Commission could potentially recommend a position to the City Council if needed. Mr. 8 Molloy responded that the bill is AB 672, and he thought it had just died again, according 9 to information he got from the California Golf Course Owner’s Association, of which 10 Baylands is a member. He will send the report to Mr. Do, and all of the information. He 11 said his company operates upwards of 40 golf courses in the state of California, so they 12 monitored that situation very closely as well. He will forward the report that came through 13 the CGGOA. 14 Vice Chair Greenfield thanked Mr. Do and Mr. Molloy for the presentation and Mr. 15 Molloy for joining them at the meeting, as it is helpful to get his direct insight. He asked 16 him to talk about his specific role, especially with respect to their course. Mr. Molloy said 17 he has been a general manager for about 20 years with the company. He moved into a 18 regional role and managed a portfolio of courses for OB Sports, about 15 different courses, 19 from municipal to privately-owned, to public daily fee, and private. He works with the 20 team to support the employees and the operations. He works with Mr. Do and the City to 21 keep in constant communication about the operation and with budgets and financials, and 22 enjoys visiting Palo Alto every month-and-a-half or so. 23 Vice Chair Greenfield said it was great to see the numbers the course has served in the 24 local community last year and this year, serving Santa Clara and San Mateo County, with 25 more locals than not. He asked how the Bay Café and the pro shop are doing this year. 26 Regarding merchandise, Mr. Molloy said that the previous concessionaire was very strong 27 on hard goods; however, shortly before the course opened, PJ Superstore opened, and 28 leading into the pandemic, off-course retailers dominated because of ease of purchase, and 29 buying online. Mr. Molloy had thought they would see a slow death for those retailers, but 30 unfortunately the pandemic propped them back up. The shelter-in-place and the 31 restrictions and mandates in the communities and counties and the State had a big effect 32 on the merchandise. He felt people were apprehensive about buying merchandise and 33 shopping, but they have seen it rebound in the current fiscal year, with a little over $4 per 34 round spent on merchandise, where it was at about $1.50 before. He said getting golf balls 35 and goods continues to be a struggle, as with all businesses and supplies. The Bay Café 36 has been affected tremendously because of indoor dining mandates and masks mandate 37 indoors. It has not met their expectations to date, but in the past three months they are 38 seeing some nice momentum of the golfers visiting the café before and after. They are 39 APPROVED Approved Minutes 19 starting to get the local community, the Honda dealership employees and programs and 1 some of their customers, coming over as well. 2 Vice Chair Greenfield said it was good to hear. He wondered if there was a specific niche 3 that the pro shop was aiming for. Mr. Molloy said the main thing was the logo 4 merchandise, logo apparel and accessories, ball markers, keepsakes, et cetera. He said as 5 people come to call Baylands their home course, they like to wear the apparel, hats, jackets, 6 shirts. They have three or four very qualified golf instructors that do a great job of club 7 fitting, where most clubs have moved away from heavy stock in merchandise – golf clubs, 8 putters, wedges, et cetera – and moved towards more of the custom fitting. The shop has 9 all of the major brands that they can fit for as well. The fitting is free, so it is a very easy 10 process and the same price as buying clubs off the rack. 11 Vice Chair Greenfield inquired whether any rewards or honors had been earned in the past 12 year. Mr. Molloy noted that their superintendent won an award from the local Golf Course 13 Superintendent’s Association for quality of the grass that he is providing, so they are very 14 proud of the job he has done. Vice Chair Greenfield said it would be helpful to see such 15 awards in annual report coming from the past fiscal or calendar year. Also, something like 16 the table included in the presentation, indicating the increased revenues and comparison 17 numbers would be helpful also to include in the annual report, as it is good news and it 18 would make it more visible. 19 Chair Cribbs was interested in the youth involvement and asked if it was possible to 20 estimate the ratio of boys to girls who are taking advantage of the youth program, the First 21 Tee and the high school teams. She asked if both high schools had female teams. Mr. Do 22 said they support both boys and girls golf teams. He would look for the information and 23 breakdowns. For the Youth on Course program, he didn’t think that data was tracked, but 24 he would look into a way to do so. He said the First Tee is the majority of the youth 25 participants, and they have those statistics. For the high schools, he thought it was probably 26 an even split. Mr. Molloy added that they can get the local enrollment numbers of Youth 27 on Course, but they have not tracked individual Youth on Course users at Baylands. Chair 28 Cribbs said it would be interesting to see the numbers if it was easy to get. 29 Chair Cribbs asked if she is correct in her understanding that COVID restrictions allow for 30 two golfers to now sit in the same golf cart. Mr. Molloy confirmed this. He said it has 31 helped them in the rounds, and they are looking to expand the fleet of golf carts when the 32 lease is up, late this year or early next year, to go from 60 carts to 72. Chair Cribbs inquired 33 if regular COVID restrictions included indoor dining, and if everything else is almost back 34 to normal. Mr. Molloy thought the mask mandates indoors in any space was correct. He 35 added that golf has actually been a beneficiary of COVID in many ways. Rounds are up 36 across the country and across the world, and they are fighting to keep all of them engaged. 37 Chair Cribbs asked about their plans for the future to continue the numbers on an upward 38 APPROVED Approved Minutes 20 trajectory. Mr. Molloy said one thing they are seeing right now is there is no short term 1 letup in any of the golf play. There was a small dip from the COVID highs of 2021, last 2 summer. Then it plateaued and stayed there for quite some time. They assume that it is 3 going to dip again, but think that the plateau after the next dip will be above pre-COVID 4 levels. They continue to drive programs to get people involved, to improve their skills and 5 their game, because the better they are at golf, the more they like it, but also because golf 6 is not always about keeping score. It is about spending time outside and about work/life 7 balance and having fun with friends and family outside, which is a big message they are 8 sending also. It’s not about the rules and the drops that can, and has, kept people away 9 from the game. 10 Chair Cribbs asked if there were any plans for the future regarding the café – making it 11 bigger, adding another banquet room, a redesign or something in partnership with the City. 12 Mr. Molloy thought the patio could potentially be made into more of an indoor/outdoor 13 space so that it could be utilized in inclement weather, with walls that completely open up 14 or can be closed so that the space can be more climate controlled. They are trying to drive 15 the message on banquets. The banquet space is nice, but there is still apprehension in the 16 public for the larger-style gatherings. They are seeing the 20’s and 30’s but not the 80’s 17 and 100-person event sizes. 18 Councilmember DuBois said the Commissioners do a great job of asking questions, but 19 he asked Mr. Molloy if the finances are the City finances. He wondered how OB Sports 20 did financially through COVID, in Palo Alto and as a company. Mr. Molloy said as a 21 company, with COVID and the amount of golf play, it has been beneficial. Since they are 22 a third party management company, they earn revenues from monthly fees and incentives, 23 so with the increase in revenues, incentives have bumped up a little bit. He said Baylands 24 is a massive success story for them, and they love being a part of the operation. The Bay 25 Café aside, it has been a great relationship so far. He said that COVID has been great for 26 everyone in the golf space. 27 Commissioner Freeman asked if they are seeing a trend starting, as there have been with 28 some companies like Peloton and Zoom, but now things are starting to change with people 29 starting to go back to work. He wondered if the numbers were continuing to trend in the 30 latter part of 2021 and continuing into 2022. Mr. Molloy said they were tracking to meet 31 or slightly beat the revenues from fiscal 2021 through almost seven months. He said the 32 play is strong, and there is a void of new golf courses in that area of California. To build a 33 golf course today, he said he could imagine what it would cost with the prices of acreage. 34 As a result, that competition is not there, although there are people that are renovating golf 35 courses and putting some of the gains they made during COVID back into their operations 36 to take care of a lot of deferred maintenance from the past 10 or 15 years. That is making 37 for some competition, but they’re not seeing anywhere right now any letup in the short 38 term. 39 APPROVED Approved Minutes 21 Commissioner Freeman said he saw that the numbers increased, looking at the number of 1 Palo Alto and Santa Clara folks going up. He felt they were not necessarily going to lose 2 those people if they start going back to work. If they’ve developed an interest in golf during 3 that time they will probably continue that interest and bring other people along with them. 4 Mr. Molloy said the surveys they do are showing the work/life balance, and he felt they 5 can’t undervalue that, as it is a big thing that has come out of COVID. Also, the availability 6 to work from home may free up time because of not commuting and on the weekends as 7 well. Chair Cribbs reflected that the comment about work/life balance and the importance 8 of it serves the Commission very well, and they should be thinking about that as they look 9 at different recreational programs and opportunities. 10 Chair Cribbs thanked Mr. Do for his great report and good numbers and thanked Mr. 11 Molloy for his attendance and comments. 12 4. Election of Chair and Vice Chair 13 Chair Cribbs read from the protocol for election of the new Chair and Vice Chair and 14 listing the roles, tasks and duties of the Chair. She then read the procedure for nomination 15 and election of the new Chair and Vice Chair. 16 Chair Cribbs opened the floor for nominations for the position of Chair. 17 Commissioner Kleinhaus nominated Vice Chair Greenfield. Vice Chair Greenfield 18 accepted the nomination and said he would be honored to have the opportunity to lead the 19 group and looked forward to working with a new group and to getting another 20 commissioner appointed to the group. 21 Chair Cribbs asked if there were further nominations for the position of Chair. Hearing 22 none, she asked for a motion to close nominations. 23 MOTION 24 Commission LaMere moved to close nominations. Seconded by Commissioner Kleinhaus, 25 the motion carried, 6-0, by roll call vote. 26 Chair Cribbs called for the vote. 27 Vice Chair Greenfield was elected unanimously as Chair. 28 Commissioner Cribbs congratulated Vice Chair Greenfield and thanked the 29 Commissioners with whom she served the past year, stating that she has had a wonderful 30 time as Chair. She feels they have a strong Commission with good, smart, thoughtful and 31 kind people. She turned the meeting over to Chair Greenfield. 32 APPROVED Approved Minutes 22 Chair Greenfield thanked Chair Cribbs for the effort, enthusiasm and energy she brought 1 to the Commission in her role as Chair. He felt it has been a very successful year and she 2 led the Commission to make great progress on big ticket projects as well as furthering 3 discussions with partners in funding recreations and opportunities for the community. He 4 said he looked forward to working with the new group, with new ideas and new energy. 5 He observed that this is the most people changing on the Commission since he started on 6 the Commission, and he looked forward to seeing what the group will accomplish in the 7 coming year and in aligning their goals with the goals City Council will be setting forth. 8 He appreciated their trust in allowing him to be the leader of the group. 9 Commission LaMere thanked Chair Cribbs for her service, her action and her desire to 10 push ideas through and the ability to run meetings and generate ideas. He appreciated 11 working with her and was glad that she remains with the Commission going forward. 12 Commissioner Brown thanked Chair Cribbs and said she only knows the Commission with 13 Chair Cribbs as Chair. She appreciated her being so welcoming to both her and members 14 of the public that have attended, and how well-organized and planned the meetings have 15 been. 16 Mr. Anderson expressed gratitude on behalf of staff for Chair Cribbs’ service and 17 outstanding leadership and said it has been a real pleasure working with her. 18 Chair Greenfield concurred with all of the comments. He continued the meeting, inviting 19 nominations for Vice Chair. He shared the Vice Chairperson’s role. Regarding agendas, 20 Chair Greenfield said the way the Commission has worked the past few years, very 21 effectively, is that both the Chair and Vice Chair meet with the staff liaison to plan, and 22 take a very active role. He looked forward to that continuing to be the case. He also pointed 23 to the Vice Chair’s role of quietly helping guide the Chair during the meeting when 24 necessary. He said it is great to get a nudge when the Chair is missing something or going 25 in the wrong direction. 26 Chair Greenfield opened the floor to nominations for Vice Chair for the coming year. 27 Commissioner Cribbs nominated Commission LaMere for Vice Chair. She stated that she 28 has had the pleasure of working with Commission LaMere on several Ad Hoc committees 29 and has always appreciated his opinions and enthusiasm, especially his concern for youth 30 and youth programs. During Commission meetings he always has good questions and 31 thoughts and ideas. She felt he would make a great Vice Chair. 32 Commission LaMere accepted the nomination with thanks to Commissioner Cribbs. 33 Chair Greenfield invited further nominations for Vice Chair. Hearing none, he asked for a 34 motion to close nominations. 35 APPROVED Approved Minutes 23 MOTION 1 Commissioner Brown moved to close nominations for Vice Chair. Seconded by 2 Commissioner Cribbs, the motion carried, 6-0, by roll call vote. 3 Chair Greenfield called for a roll call vote for the role of Vice Chair. 4 Commission LaMere was elected unanimously as Vice Chair. 5 Chair Greenfield congratulated Vice Chair LaMere and expressed that he looked forward 6 to working with him in the coming year. He appreciated his contributions to the 7 Commission in years past, and was happy to see him take a step forward into a leadership 8 role. 9 Vice Chair LaMere thanked the Chair and the Commission and said he is excited to take 10 the role as Vice Chair and work with Chair Greenfield, the rest of the Commission and 11 staff to help the community. He felt the Commission can have great impact in many areas 12 of the community, and he is excited to be in a leadership role. 13 Chair Greenfield invited further comments from the Commission or the public. 14 Winter Dellenbach congratulated the new Chair and Vice Chair and said the PRC has a lot 15 of good work to do in the next year, and she was pleased that Jeff Greenfield is at the helm 16 again. She looked forward to great things coming from the Commission this year, and she 17 congratulated and wished them all well. 18 Councilmember DuBois offered congratulations to the Chair and Vice Chair and looked 19 forward to working with them this year. 20 VII. TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR February 22, 2022 21 22 Mr. Anderson said one item for the tentative February agenda is for Adam Howard to bring 23 the court usage discussion. They would also like to bring the Park Development Impact 24 Fee Study as an action item for the Commission to review. After the Commission looks at 25 it, it would go to the Finance Committee and then to Council in March or April. There 26 were two other potential items – the Bayland Comprehensive Conservation Plan to bring 27 back to the Commission, and potentially the tree protection topic. 28 Chair Greenfield asked if there were any other agenda suggestions from Commissioners 29 for February or the near term. Commissioner Cribbs said they had talked about putting the 30 Youth Council on the agenda to make a presentation in March. Mr. Anderson said he had 31 an email in to Adam Howard about setting that up, but has not heard back from him. 32 VIII. COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 33 APPROVED Approved Minutes 24 Chair Greenfield said, based on the Doodle poll, the clear winner for the retreat date would 1 be February 11th, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. which would be the preferred time for all 2 of the Commissioners and most staff and Council Liaison to attend. Hearing no comments 3 on this date, he suggested they plan on that date. He assumed it would be over Zoom. He 4 said he looked forward to meeting in person again, but that is not right around the corner. 5 He asked Mr. Anderson if there was any specific planning they needed to do regarding the 6 retreat. In general, for the new Commissioners, Chair Greenfield said the focus of the 7 retreat was to have discussions on their priorities for the coming year and to work on 8 aligning their priorities with the priorities established by the City Council as their guiding 9 principles. They will also talk about which Ad Hocs they want to create for the coming 10 year based on their priorities and on the input from staff on feasibility in terms of staff 11 resources, and priorities from City Council and staff, as well as the interests of their group. 12 They will create and appoint members to the Ad Hocs and appoint Liaisons as well. 13 Chair Greenfield asked Mr. Anderson if he had any information on when they could expect 14 to add another Commissioner to their body. Mr. Anderson replied that he heard from the 15 Clerk’s Office that this would be done during the spring recruitment, and he has let them 16 know that they are interested, and to keep him informed. He will pass on information as 17 he receives it. 18 VIII. ADJOURNMENT 19 Chair Greenfield said they have taken a motion to adjourn the meeting in the past, and he 20 asked Councilmember DuBois if they needed to do that. Councilmember DuBois’ advice 21 was to simply adjourn the meeting. 22 Meeting adjourned at 9:38 p.m. 23