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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-05-28 Parks & Recreation Commission Summary MinutesAPPROVED APPROVED 1 1 2 3 MINUTES 4 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION 5 REGULAR MEETING 6 May 28, 2024 7 In-Person & Virtual Conference 8 Palo Alto, California 9 10 Commissioners Present: Chair Amanda Brown, Vice Chair Nellis Freeman, Commissioners 11 Anne Cribbs, Shani Kleinhaus, Joy Oche, Bing Wei 12 Commissioners Absent: Commissioner Jeff Greenfield 13 Others Present: Council Member Vicki Veenker 14 Staff Present: Kristen O'Kane, Steve Castile, Sarah Robustelli, Javod Ghods 15 CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL 16 Chair Brown called the meeting to order. A roll call was done. 17 PUBLIC COMMENT 18 Star spoke about ways to educate people in the community about taking care of larger 19 trees, which can be expensive. She described a video by a Paly student about improving 20 El Palo by planting certain plants underneath it and having a vertical mister. She 21 suggested collaborating with neighborhood associations and City Council for workshops 22 to teach people how to care for trees. 23 Andrea hoped her group's stance on artificial turf would help persuade City Council to 24 institute a ban. She noted they would be happy to do a formal presentation at a future 25 meeting on why they request a ban on this material. She explained that artificial turf is 26 not recyclable. 27 Leanne asked to agendize a ban on artificial turf in Palo Alto. She noted it was the 28 opposite of sustainable as it pollutes soil, air, and water for its entire existence. It uses 29 more water than natural turf, and the water then becomes contaminated with 30 microplastics and PFAS. She stated there are safer sustainable alternatives to artificial 31 turf. 32 APPROVED APPROVED 2 Sue spoke about the effects of artificial turf and requested the opportunity for a more 1 comprehensive presentation at a future meeting. She described serious associated health 2 harms and the contamination of waterways and soil by artificial turf runoffs. 3 AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS, AND DELETIONS 4 There were none. 5 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 6 1. Approval of Draft Minutes from the April 19, 2024, Parks and Recreation 7 Commission Special Meeting 8 Vice Chair Freeman made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Cribbs, to approve the 9 minutes of the April 19, 2024, Parks and Recreation Commission Special Meeting. The 10 motion passed, 5-0-1, with Commissioner Wei abstaining. 11 2. Approval of Draft Minutes from the April 24, 2024, Parks and Recreation 12 Commission Regular Meeting 13 Commissioner Oche felt the word "questioned" on page 2, line 10 should be changed to 14 "asked." 15 Commissioner Kleinhaus noted that Dashiell of the Sierra Club expressed concern with 16 electric bicycles on unpaved trails and the minutes did not reflect that concern. 17 Commissioner Kleinhaus made a motion, seconded by Vice Chair Freeman, to approve 18 the minutes of the April 24, 2024, Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting 19 with the above-noted changes. The motion passed, 4-0-2, with Chair Brown and 20 Commissioner Wei abstaining. 21 CITY OFFICIAL REPORTS 22 3. Department Report 23 Kristen O'Kane, Director of Community Services, introduced new team member Steve 24 Castile. 25 Steve Castile, Assistant Director of Community Open Space, Golf, and Parks, stated he 26 has been getting to know the Staff and parks and felt welcomed by everyone. 27 Sarah Robustelli, Division Manager Open Space, Golf, and Parks, listed upcoming 28 special events, including Family Movie Night at Mitchell Park and a Chili Cook Off. 29 APPROVED APPROVED 3 Summer camps will start June 3, with 39 camps offered this summer. Current revenues 1 are $330K. She provided photos of where the Nature Notes are located at both preserves. 2 The next step for the skatepark project is to begin fundraising for the design and 3 construction. 4 Division Manager Robustelli then provided updates on Capital Improvement Projects. 5 The El Camino Park Synthetic Turf Replacement project is currently on hold based on 6 the Finance Committee meeting. The upcoming budget approval will provide more 7 clarity on this decision. City Council awarded a contract for design for the Foothills 8 Nature Preserve Improvement Projects to BFK on April 15. The contractor will meet 9 with the ad hoc, and there will be an update to the full PRC at an upcoming meeting. The 10 Mitchell Dog Park Project and Ramos Park Improvement Project construction contracts 11 are agendized for the June 17 Council meeting, with estimated construction completion 12 of both in the fall. The Rinconada Restrooms Project site work is underway, and 13 installation will take place in late summer. Once approved by Council, the construction 14 for Greer Park Basketball Court Resurfacing is estimated for Summer 2024. The 15 Baylands Entrance Gate Replacement Project is moving forward with the contract in 16 place. Signs were installed last week for the Cameron Park Improvement Project, with 17 construction estimated to complete in fall. The Cubberley Field Restrooms Project 18 building permit was received, and PAUSD accepted the school detour. There will be an 19 upcoming invitation for bid, targeting fall construction. The utility work is complete on 20 the Boulware Park Improvement Project and completion is targeted in fall. The Foothills 21 Dam Seepage Investigation found no issues. The consultant is providing a 22 recommendation for potential future weir design and installation. 23 Commissioner Cribbs asked about the process for the Mitchell Park permanent restrooms 24 and whether there would be a community discussion on where to place them. 25 Division Manager Robustelli responded that the Mitchell Park restrooms were not yet an 26 official project on the CIP plan. 27 Director O'Kane explained that restrooms are budgeted in FY '26 and '28 but the official 28 exercise with Public Works has not been done to determine timing and outreach. 29 Vice Chair Freeman asked how this year's summer camp waitlist compares with previous 30 years, whether the same programs are popular year to year, and what is being done to 31 rectify the waitlists. He was interested in a breakdown of repeat versus new participants. 32 He questioned if the stakeholders were notified that the synthetic turf replacement was 33 on hold. 34 Division Manager Robustelli stated there were 36 camps last year with 919 on the 35 waitlist. There were 3 additional camps this year, and there is still a waitlist of 1167. She 36 stated the teams that rents out the fields were aware of the turf replacement project being 37 APPROVED APPROVED 4 on hold. 1 Director O'Kane listed three factors influencing the camp waitlist: budget and contract 2 limits, space, and instructors. The budget issue was brought forward at Finance 3 Committee with a referral for Staff to work on resolving that. The space issue is a 4 limiting factor for classes like ceramics, theater, or cooking. She did not have 5 information on the amount of new participants each year but explained Staff was looking 6 for solutions to make selection a more equitable process. 7 Commissioner Cribbs asked if the study on turf versus grass was going ahead. 8 Division Manager Robustelli responded that the study needs to be approved by City 9 Council. 10 Commissioner Wei asked if there was data about the age range of the kids on the camp 11 waitlist and whether they were residents. She asked if there was a policy for popup 12 summer camps and also if camps could be held outdoors when indoor space is limited, 13 such as for dancing or theater. 14 Director O'Kane answered that the demographic data exists in the registration software 15 system but is not looked at every year. She noted that there are not popup camps. It is 16 possible to hold camps outdoors, but the problem is having enough instructors and 17 people to monitor the children. 18 Commissioner Oche wanted clarification on the dates for the skatepark project. She 19 asked why the El Camino Park Synthetic Turf Replacement Project was paused. She 20 wondered about leveraging partnerships with businesses and nonprofits that might be 21 willing to sponsor or partner with the City on summer camp programs in terms of space 22 and instructors. 23 Division Manager Robustelli answered that the skatepark is currently not a project in the 24 CIP at the moment. Once the dollar amount is fundraised, it can potentially be added to 25 the five-year CIP plan. She explained the El Camino project was paused because of 26 discussions at the Finance Committee. 27 Commissioner Kleinhaus questioned progress on the turning off the lights installed on 28 the trees by Adobe Creek. She stated the lights were damaging to the wildlife in the 29 creek and installed in a way that looks very unsafe. She asked if the final EIR for the golf 30 course had been posted on the webpage yet, as the final report had a lot of changes from 31 the draft. 32 Division Manager Robustelli would follow up on both of those items. 33 Chair Brown thanked Staff for all the work that goes into the presentation. 34 APPROVED APPROVED 5 1 BUSINESS 2 4. Review name of Tower Well Park at 201 Alma Street – Kristen O'Kane – Action 3 – (30 min) 4 Kristen O'Kane, Director of Community Services, explained Staff recommends 5 considering renaming Tower Well Park as directed by City Council. She recapped the 6 original naming of the park as recommended by the Palo Alto Historical Association. 7 City Council referred to HRB and PRC to consider renaming to Frederick Eyerly Tower 8 Well Park, and HRB recommended retaining the name as Tower Well Park. 9 Chair Brown invited public comment. 10 Herb Borock supported the recommendation of the Palo Alto Historical Association that 11 the park should be named for Fred Eyerly. There is a policy for renaming, and he felt the 12 Committee had to determine if the Council's actions in referring this and the notice of the 13 meeting met the requirements of the renaming policy. He did not feel the size of the park 14 should have any bearing on the length of the name. He suggested that once the issue is 15 settled, it would be time to consider the ideas of former Mayor Eyerly to use the Tower 16 Well as a demonstration site. 17 Chair Brown noted she was on the ad hoc and clarified at the first meeting Fred Eyerly 18 was never discussed in detail. There had been a lot of material online citing it as Tower 19 Well Park, and then more information became available about the name. 20 Commissioner Kleinhaus asked Mr. Borock to speak briefly about Fred Eyerly. 21 Mr. Borock described that Mr. Eyerly was on the City Council and the Utilities Advisory 22 Commission. Later in life, he lived at 101 Alma where he had a view of the site and 23 suggested it be a demonstration site where the pump be displayed and have the Tower 24 Well be a museum. During his time on UAC, he established having verbatim minutes in 25 addition to action minutes and provided the oversight that Council could not do for the 26 financial operations of the City. 27 Director O'Kane stated there is additional information on Mr. Eyerly in the staff report. 28 He was on the Council and on the Utilities Commission for 8 years and was Mayor in 29 1982. There is also a footnote to an article about him. 30 Chair Brown added that the March 4 meeting public comments included a lot more detail 31 on the background. 32 APPROVED APPROVED 6 Commissioner Kleinhaus believed it seemed Mr. Eyerly and the Utilities, which the 1 Tower Well Park symbolizes, are pretty strongly associated and felt it was right to 2 respect him and include his name in the name of the park. 3 Commissioner Kleinhaus made a motion to rename Tower Well Park to Fred Eyerly 4 Tower Well Park, seconded by Commissioner Cribbs. 5 Commissioner Cribbs stated she had planned to vote to keep the name Tower Well Park 6 but given the situation, she felt Mr. Eyerly should be honored. She was in favor of the 7 motion. 8 The motion passed, 6-0, by a roll call vote. 9 5. Parks and Recreation Commission Work Plan – Chair Brown – Action – (120 10 min) 11 Chair Brown described that each of the ad hocs would discuss any proposed suggestions 12 or changes for the work plan, which is included in the meeting packet. She first reviewed 13 the goals and priorities for the Master Plan Ad Hoc. She noted that Community Services 14 is not necessarily the lead department on many of the items, so it will require work with 15 other Staff to determine how to get the high-priority items revisited. 16 Commissioner Kleinhaus added that a lot of the policies, goals, and programs were not in 17 the purview of Parks but also recognizing a lot of change in Staff. Some of the load had 18 to be changed to reflect the ability of Staff. 19 Commissioner Cribbs asked if there would be time during liaison reports for the rest of 20 the Commission to be updated on the Master Plan. She felt it was important to 21 acknowledge in the Master Plan that there will be more need for recreational space with 22 all of the housing being built and expected population increase in Palo Alto. 23 Chair Brown expected there would be regular reporting to the Commission for every ad 24 hoc. She believed the need for recreational space was in the Master Plan on a larger level 25 but not that specifically. Commissioner Kleinhaus explained many interests in the 26 community were not in the plan but changing the plan is not in the purview for this ad 27 hoc. 28 Commissioner Oche asked for a ballpark number of high-priority policies. She 29 questioned if the resources needed extended to other staff and commissions. 30 Chair Brown did not have a number and would need to look at the items where 31 Community Services is the lead. She noted there were some natural partnerships between 32 other commissions but did not think it was in the ad hoc's purview to dictate who will 33 work with this Commission. A lot of the high-priority items have had progress or are 34 APPROVED APPROVED 7 even complete, and it is about looking at the list holistically and tracking 1 accomplishments and what rises to the top as a key priority. Commissioner Kleinhaus 2 also did not want to deprioritize other critical ongoing projects. 3 Commissioner Wei updated on the Park Dedication Ad Hoc and described that there was 4 a list of parks already dedicated potentials as well as future possibilities. Director O'Kane 5 suggested the staff time required be changed to moderate. 6 Commissioner Cribbs asked about the dedication of the Greer Park Sewer Project. 7 Commissioner Wei did not have an update on that item currently. 8 Chair Brown opened up public comment. There was none. 9 Commissioner Kleinhaus reviewed the Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan 10 (BCCP) Ad Hoc plan. The BCCP was previously developed but not completed. She 11 discussed some of the work to be done. 12 Chair Brown asked if the ad hoc or Staff would be doing the work on the high-priority 13 item of reviewing the draft BCCP and doing inventory and review. Commissioner 14 Kleinhaus responded that the ad hoc expects to do a review and then discuss further with 15 Staff. 16 Director O'Kane felt the ad hoc could review initially but the detail of the work to update 17 the document, review status of CEQA is the Staff's responsibility. She felt the ad hoc 18 could help to identify those items that were felt to be missing from the document and 19 recommended changing staff requirement to moderate to high. 20 Commissioner Kleinhaus suggested changing the wording of the high-priority items to 21 add "Work with Staff" to each of the three items. 22 Chair Brown stated that Commissioner Greenfield wanted to add under State 23 Mandated/Local Law/Council-Approved column, "Parks Master Plan Program 4.a.1," to 24 align with the other work plan items. 25 Commissioner Oche asked for clarification on low to moderate to high resources. Chair 26 Brown noted that it was recognizing where ad hocs were reliant on Staff for input or 27 expertise. She felt realistically all ad hocs require moderate to high Staff time. She stated 28 the Commission did a good job at the retreat of narrowing the scope of the ad hocs to 29 focus on the high-priority items. 30 Regarding the Nature Preserve Access Policy Ad Hoc, Commissioner Kleinhaus felt the 31 name should be limited to the nature preserves that are included, Baylands and 32 Arastradero. With Council interest in examining the possibility of more access, the ad 33 APPROVED APPROVED 8 hoc will look at the policy and come up with recommendations. She reviewed the 1 priorities on the plan. 2 Vice Chair Freeman added there was still clarification needed as to whether things were 3 on track to resolve some of the issues discovered as far as bicycle and equestrian access. 4 Chair Brown noted a comment from Commissioner Greenfield suggesting to add 5 "provide input to Staff regarding an appropriate response to the February 27, 2023, City 6 Council referral," so it is spelled out as a charge of the ad hoc. Commissioner Greenfield 7 also suggested adding under State Mandated/Local Law/Council-Approved, "Parks 8 Master Plan Policy 6.d and Program 2.a.7." 9 Commissioner Cribbs reviewed the Recreation Wellness Center Ad Hoc work plan. The 10 resources needed included the Community Services and Public Works Staff time. She 11 explained the prioritized items on the plan. She stated the Friends group is an official 12 legally organized nonprofit and is allowed to raise money once the City Council 13 approves. 14 Vice Chair Freeman added the Friends group has been working aggressively and things 15 are on hold until seeing what happens with the PAUSD and the City. The eventual site 16 selection will then lead to next steps. 17 Commissioner Oche pointed out that fundraising was also a measure of success but was 18 unsure where things go from here. 19 Commissioner Kleinhaus noted the idea of completion of the facility was more than 20 aspirational and thought a more realistic timeline would be good. She stated the 10.5 21 acres was listed as an option and explained that the final EIR for the golf course, which 22 addressed what can be done with that land, removed the gym that was proposed from the 23 EIR due to lack of support from the public and significant, unavoidable impacts the City 24 was not willing to assume. She recommended not looking into that again. She wondered 25 if it was possible to create partnerships with existing gyms to make those facilities 26 available to people right away. Commissioner Cribbs stated the ad hoc appreciated that 27 idea. 28 There was further discussion about the 10.5 acres. It was decided to add, "and others, 29 including partnerships existing facilities," to the site list so as not to limit any new 30 possibilities that may become available, to deemphasize the listed sites as the only ones 31 being considered, and to open the possibility of partnering with private facilities. 32 Chair Brown also felt the language about completion of the facility was too ambitious 33 and suggested softening to something like "visioning for the facility." She noted 34 APPROVED APPROVED 9 Commissioner Greenfield's comment to add "Parks Master Plan Goal 1, Policy 4.a, and 1 identified priority major project." 2 Vice Chair Freeman reviewed the Playing Fields and Racquet Courts Ad Hoc plan and 3 wanted to discuss whether to keep these two items together. Some items will need to be 4 changed depending on what is happening with the synthetic turf fields. 5 Commissioner Cribbs felt it was a good idea to raise the resource time to high based on 6 changes that have occurred since this was written. 7 The ad hoc members commended and were grateful for Adam Howard and all the work 8 he has done for the court issues. There was discussion about whether to keep Playing 9 Fields and Racquet Courts on the same ad hoc or split them. Chair Brown was in favor of 10 keeping it as one ad hoc and paying more attention to prioritization. 11 Commissioner Oche questioned the difference of the items in both high and low priority 12 listed as "Meet with stakeholders for feedback." 13 Director O'Kane explained the higher priority item related to Fields and the second 14 related to Courts. She felt the labor would be spread across Parks and Recreation, 15 particularly for the Field work. 16 Commissioner Kleinhaus stated she would not accept placing the plan on consent 17 because the 10.5 acres needs to be discussed. 18 Director O'Kane stated nothing would be developed on that 10.5 acres that was not first 19 reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission, a recommendation made to Council, 20 and Council approval. 21 Commissioner Cribbs made a motion to approve the work plan, seconded by Vice Chair 22 Freeman. The motion passed, 5-0-1, by roll call vote. Commissioner Kleinhaus abstained 23 as she was not comfortable with including the 10.5 acres for consideration. 24 6. Ad Hoc Committees and Liaison Updates – Vice Chair – Discussion – (15 min) 25 Chair Brown noted the updated liaison and ad hoc assignments with Staff assignments 26 would be posted on the website once the work plan is approved by City Council. The 27 current updates would be based on prior assignments. 28 Commissioner Oche mentioned there will be a meeting within the week to get alignment 29 on next steps. The Youth Council has currently ended. The new liaison does not just 30 cover Youth Council but extends to the youth. She looked forward to opportunities for 31 mentorship. She noted the PAUSD came up with a great training if other commissioners 32 were interested in a presentation by the facilitator. 33 APPROVED APPROVED 10 Commissioner Wei stated she is on the Mayor's Youth Mental Health Taskforce, which 1 is concluding some recommendations right now. She hoped the park space could be 2 leveraged for youth performances. 3 Regarding Golf, Vice Chair Freeman updated that the agreement is still being discussed 4 on First Tee. On the Wetlands Compliance, the City continues to work with the 5 ecological consultant to develop a condition assessor report, hoped to be completed and 6 sent to the Water Board by summer. 7 Commissioner Cribbs stated today was the day of the Cubberley mediation and hoped to 8 hear something soon. She noted the Master Plan still says a dog park is needed in North 9 Palo Alto and hoped to be working on that in the next couple of months. She stated the 10 First Tee agreement and the skatepark have been in process for years. She could not 11 understand why it was taking so long. She described a successful recent pickleball 12 tournament at Mitchell Park; the following week, high school students threw eggs at the 13 park, which was destructive. She hoped the schools would contact Community Services 14 to help with this issue. 15 Commissioner Kleinhaus stated she and Commissioner Greenfield met with Staff at 16 Foothills Park to look at some projects there. They expect discussion of that to come 17 back to the Commission at a later date. 18 COMMISSIONER/BOARD MEMBER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, 19 ANNOUNCEMENTS, OR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 20 21 Chair Brown noted that would be a PIO on the agenda in June for tide gate. She asked if 22 July was a realistic time for the Foothills update. 23 24 Director O'Kane noted the Foothills update would be discussed when doing agenda 25 planning. 26 27 Commissioner Kleinhaus noted there were speakers who asked to give a presentation 28 about the artificial turf. Chair Brown stated the ad hoc would look into recommending 29 that for the full commission or to do initial outreach. 30 31 ADJOURNMENT 32 33 Meeting adjourned at 09:27 P.M. 34