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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-23 Parks & Recreation Agenda PacketADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members ofthe public are welcome to attend this public meeting. AGENDA IS POSTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54954.2(a) OR SECTION 54956 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting October 23rd, 2018 AGENDA City Hall Chambers 250 Hamilton 7pm *In accordance with SB 343 materials related to an item on this Agenda submitted to the Commission after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection at the Lucie Stern Community Center at 1305 Middlefield Road during normal business hours. Please call 650-463-4912. Attention Speakers: If you wish to address the Commission during oral communications or on an item on the agenda, please complete a speaker’s card and give it to City staff. By submitting the speaker’s card, the Chair will recognize you at the appropriate time. I.ROLL CALL II.AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS III.ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Members of the public may address the Commission on any subject not on the agenda. A reasonable timerestriction may be imposed at the discretion of the Chair. The Commission reserves the right to limit oralcommunications period to 3 minutes. IV. DEPARTMENT REPORT V. COMMENTS AND ANNOUCEMENTS1. Presentation on Palo Alto to the Sea Hike – Commissioner Moss (15 min) VI.BUSINESS 1. Approval of Draft Minutes from the September 25th, 2018 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting–PRC Chair McDougall – Action (5 min) ATTACHMENT 2. Rinconada Pool Aquatics Contract Update – Jazmin LeBlanc – Discussion (40 min) ATTACHMENT 3.Parks, Trails, Natural Open Space and Recreation Master Plan- Fiscal Year 2018 Accomplishments andFiscal Year 2019 Projects – Peter Jensen – Discussion (60 min) ATTACHMENT 4. Cubberley Fields Seasonal Lighting Proposal – Adam Howard – Action (40 min) ATTACHMENT 5.Other Ad Hoc Committee and Liaison Updates – Chair – Discussion (15 min) VII.TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR NOVEMBER 27th, 2018 MEETING VIII.ADJOURNMENT PUBLIC LETTERS DRAFT Draft Minutes 1 1 2 3 4 MINUTES 5 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION 6 REGULAR MEETING 7 September 25, 2018 8 CITY HALL 9 250 Hamilton Avenue 10 Palo Alto, California 11 12 Commissioners Present: Anne Cribbs, Jeff Greenfield, Jeff LaMere, Don McDougall, and 13 Keith Reckdahl 14 Commissioners Absent: Ryan McCauley and David Moss 15 Others Present: 16 Staff Present: Daren Anderson, Kristen O'Kane, Natalie Khwaja 17 I. ROLL CALL 18 II. AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, and DELETIONS 19 Chair McDougall: Are there any changes, deletions, and anything you want to add to the 20 agenda? If there are no agenda changes, additions, deletions, then we'd like to proceed to 21 Oral Communications. 22 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 23 Chair McDougall: We have no visitors from the public tonight and no Oral 24 Communications. 25 IV. DEPARTMENT REPORT 26 Chair McDougall: I'd like to invite Kristen O'Kane to give us the Department staff 27 report. 28 Kristen O'Kane: Thank you. Kristen O'Kane, Community Services. I have a couple of 29 items, and then I'll turn it over to Daren, who has some additional items to report. First, I 30 wanted to remind everyone that this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. is our first Cubberley Master 31 Plan community meeting. This is, again, a collaborative with the School District and the 32 City and the community to re-imagine what Cubberley might look like in the future. As 33 DRAFT Draft Minutes 2 of yesterday, we had about 220 RSVPs. I'm hoping for 250; that's my personal goal. I 1 think it's going to be a fun, interactive meeting, different than most community meetings 2 that some people have seen in the past. I encourage you all to come out and participate. 3 Vice Chair Greenfield: Excuse me. Walk-up visitors are welcome as well even if they 4 don't RSVP? 5 Ms. O'Kane: Absolutely. Even if people didn't RSVP, they're welcome to just walk in. 6 We're not going to turn anyone away. It's at the Cubberley pavilion. We will be 7 providing childcare for children who are potty trained. That's our one requirement. The 8 item I just wanted to report is an update on pickleball because it's not on the agenda 9 today. I just wanted everyone to be confident that we are working on some alternatives 10 for potential dedicated pickleball courts at some point in the future. We're going to be 11 meeting with the pickleball ad hoc soon. Stephanie Douglas is going to send out a 12 request for different meeting times. We'll present the alternatives then, and then we will 13 also meet with the pickleball and the tennis community to share those alternatives before 14 coming back to the Commission. Finally, I just wanted to provide a very brief update on 15 the aquatics RFP. We did release the RFP, and it did close. Right now we are 16 negotiating with a provider. That's really all I can disclose at this time because we are 17 still in negotiations. We anticipate having that completed by the—we plan on coming 18 back in October to the PRC meeting. That contract would go to Council in November. 19 Commissioner Cribbs: Are we going to get a report from this last year's activities at 20 some point? Is that coming like in December? 21 Jazmin LeBlanc: It should be in November. 22 Commissioner Cribbs: Great. Thank you very much. I'll look forward to seeing it. 23 Ms. O'Kane: That's all that I had. Chair, did you have a question? 24 Chair McDougall: Before you turn it over to Daren, I do have one card. Maybe now 25 would be the appropriate time before we roll into Daren's. Monica, if you'd like to 26 address the Commission. 27 Monica Williams: Hello. Good evening. I'm Monica Williams, President of the Palo 28 Alto Pickleball Club. There were a couple of questions about pickleball from 29 Commissioners at the last meeting that I don't think were answered. I think it was 30 Commissioner McCauley who asked why do we play at Mitchell Park. The answer is 31 because we have no other choice. Pickleball is a noisy game, and the recommendation is 32 to not play within 300 feet of residences. Even though there are 45 tennis courts in Palo 33 Alto, Mitchell Park is the best facility to meet this requirement. Commissioner 34 Greenfield asked what are the requirements for membership in our club. There are no 35 DRAFT Draft Minutes 3 requirements to join our club. Visitors and members are treated the same. These are 1 public courts, and everyone is welcome to play with us. Often people drop by out of 2 curiosity, and before they know it they have a paddle in their hand and they're learning 3 how to play from one of our volunteers. We are a nonprofit entity, and we keep our 4 membership fees low. It's $30 a year and $15 from July to the end of December. As of 5 today, we have 371 members and 147 are Palo Alto residents. We do have some 5.0 6 tennis players who have joined us. We've been teaching City pickleball classes since 7 spring of 2017. Currently, we're teaching on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings, and both 8 classes are full. We're looking forward to teaching a youth class in January. The number 9 of nets we've put up and taken down for the City classes to date number 873. In addition, 10 the number of nets we have put up and taken down for drop-in play for the past two years 11 is approximately 5,400. Given that a net weighs 23 pounds, in the past two years we've 12 moved a total of seven tons of nets. Thank you, Commissioner McCauley, for 13 questioning if we could leave a net up on a court. They do make nets on wheels, which 14 we could purchase. I'm in communication with Adam regarding this possibility. Palo 15 Alto needs to provide dedicated courts for the community. On behalf of all the Palo Alto 16 pickleball players, please consider dedicated courts to be an agenda item as soon as 17 possible. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. 18 Chair McDougall: Thank you. 19 Commissioner Reckdahl: I do have one question. What do other courts do where they 20 have mixed pickleball and tennis? Do you know what other places do? 21 Ms. Williams: What was your question? I'm sorry. 22 Commissioner Reckdahl: Other facilities that have courts that serve both tennis and 23 pickleball, do they have the nets sitting out there or do they not? 24 Ms. Williams: Some of them do—a lot of them do. A lot of the country clubs have nets 25 on wheels. They're just wheeled onto the courts. 26 Commissioner Reckdahl: Do you know of any cities that have both dual pickleball and 27 tennis on the same courts? 28 Ms. Williams: San Jose. Most cities do. They have both tennis and pickleball. A lot of 29 them are converting some of the tennis courts into pickleball courts, and then they can 30 play both tennis and pickleball. 31 Commissioner Reckdahl: Do you know what San Jose does for their nets? 32 DRAFT Draft Minutes 4 Ms. Williams: San Jose AVAC has six dedicated pickleball courts. Some of them they 1 do bring nets on with wheels because it's booming. There's never enough pickleball 2 courts. 3 Commissioner Reckdahl: Thank you. 4 Ms. Williams: Thank you. 5 Chair McDougall: Thank you. 6 Ms. O'Kane: That's all I had so I'll turn it over to Daren. 7 Daren Anderson: Good evening. Daren Anderson with Community Services 8 Department. Let me start with something you've seen in your email, but I'll just highlight 9 it. I don't guess there's anyone from the public interested. We recently completed, as of 10 Sunday afternoon, the Byxbee art project. This is the foraging habitat island. This is one 11 of the work days. You can see a number of different volunteers participated in this 12 process. We got all the wood from our own City Arborist from projects here in Palo 13 Alto. Lots of different people got involved. This is the end result, this beautiful 14 structure. We're going to be monitoring this to see how successful it is in incorporating 15 new prey species, different rodents and insects. What was remarkably cool is on the very 16 last day this burrowing owl flew in just as they were wrapping up in a bioswale that's not 17 more than 60, 70 feet away, which is really, really cool. This is one of the species we'd 18 hoped to provide prey species for. Hopefully, there's more of that to come. It was really 19 exciting. A couple of other updates. The preparation for the 7.7 acres to be opened to the 20 public is nearly complete. We're planning a tour for the ad hoc committee on 21 October 2nd. It should be ready for opening to the public not too much further after that. 22 It's exciting. The Foothills Park Costanoan and Los Trancos Trails, which were closed 23 from the storm damage, are being worked on right now. They should be open by the 24 third week of October, if not sooner. There's a possibility one of them might be done in 25 advance and ready for the public. That one might open a little bit earlier than the other. 26 The new Matadero Creek bridge at Mitchell Park has been installed. It's much safer and 27 much more accessible than the previous one. Lastly, I was going to mention that the—I 28 sent an email again on this one to the Commission. It relates to the pilot project, the Zero 29 Waste Public Works project, at Rinconada Park to condense the multitude of individual 30 trash cans down to four waste stations. You probably saw that in your email. What I 31 didn't have is when we're planning on starting that. That'll be around mid-November. 32 That concludes my report. 33 Chair McDougall: Does anybody have any questions for Daren? 34 Commissioner Cribbs: I do. Daren, what about the trash in the parks? Any update? I 35 know you guys were working really hard on that. 36 DRAFT Draft Minutes 5 Mr. Anderson: I think this is the first step. This is a big one, to transform from that old 1 way of doing business where you had individual trash cans, on occasion there was a 2 recycling tote next to it, but not always, and getting away from that and saying "you're 3 going to have to walk a little ways to a station where it's a little cleaner; you have access 4 to all three, compost, recycling, and trash." If it's successful here, the game plan is to try 5 to implement that in other parks where feasible. In some of them, the layout of the park 6 itself is just not conducive to that. You can't either physically fit in that many or it can't 7 accommodate a big station. You still need to go with the smaller ones. They can't be 8 individual anymore. It's got to be grouped in three, that is compost, recycling, trash. It's 9 coming along. I think the other good thing that comes with this is improved enclosures 10 so we ensure there's no wildlife access, no water getting down in the trash. In a lot of our 11 parks, we've already done that, but not everything yet because it's rather expensive. 12 Some of these enclosures are rather pricey. That's definitely the way we're going, I think. 13 We'll get them all cleaned up and sorted better. 14 Commissioner Cribbs: Thank you. 15 Vice Chair Greenfield: Hi, Daren. What about accommodating large capacity trash for 16 events like a soccer tournament? Palo Alto Soccer Club has a tournament this weekend, 17 and there's going to be people on the soccer fields all weekend long. My experience is 18 there's overflow, and there isn't sufficient capacity to accommodate the garbage for the 19 day. 20 Mr. Anderson: You're absolutely right. We brought this up to Zero Waste, who is not 21 particularly empathetic to our plight for the bigger events. We decided we're going to 22 have to bring out portable totes for those weekends and set them out in different areas. 23 These would be the Rubbermaid—just rubber ones. These aren't your $1,500 expensive 24 ones on concrete, but rather $25 from Home Depot. We'll just group them in three, and 25 then you have the option of doing trash, recycling, and compost, and just have an extra 26 one of those for events like that. 27 Vice Chair Greenfield: Any chance we can get something out at Mitchell Park and 28 Cubberley this weekend? 29 Mr. Anderson: It's possible, yeah. Let me make note of that. 30 Vice Chair Greenfield: Thank you. 31 Mr. Anderson: You bet. 32 Commissioner Reckdahl: I have a follow-up on that. Do they make dumpsters that 33 would be three-on-one dumpsters? You could just haul a single dumpster out there for 34 the big events. 35 DRAFT Draft Minutes 6 Mr. Anderson: It's a mixed bag. As we started searching commercially what's available, 1 even ones we have—we have one that's kind of like that up at Foothills Park. 2 Apparently, they don't make it anymore. That often happens. We'll select a particular 3 trash enclosure type, and then five years later they don't make it. I have to choose a 4 different one, which is a little frustrating. Right now, we're looking at three different bins 5 that would do that rather than one that does all three. What we've added, though, is these 6 aren't the "lift the big, heavy edge of these containers." They've got a smaller, more 7 accessible pedestrian entrance to these larger enclosures. You're not lifting the entire 8 one, but rather a smaller one that could accommodate a pizza-size box and slightly 9 bigger, which is good and a little more accessible for folks. 10 Commissioner Reckdahl: Thank you. 11 Mr. Anderson: You bet. 12 Chair McDougall: Just a couple of follow-ups. I was curious that you said Zero Waste 13 wasn't particularly empathetic. If we're the customer, why can't we determine what they 14 should be sympathetic or empathetic to? 15 Mr. Anderson: The part they weren't empathetic towards was the—I still occasionally 16 need a single trash can. They're saying, "Sorry. That's not allowed anymore." I think we 17 just have to get creative with how we make it work. I'm sure we can. 18 Chair McDougall: I'm sure you can too. My other quick question was what 19 specifically—can you tell me what the plans were to monitor the art? 20 Mr. Anderson: It'll be the Rangers that come up there probably on a monthly basis, take 21 some photos, do some transects of the adjacent areas. You have a control area 22 everywhere around it because there are so few of those kind of things. What I'm 23 interested in looking at is our existing vegetated habitat islands where we've got all the 24 native plants, this foraging island, and the adjacent areas that have been either mowed or 25 we've left weeds and vegetation, coyote brush, that kind of thing, and juxtaposing all to 26 see which one provides the best habitat and which one in general provides more of those 27 kind of prey species. 28 Chair McDougall: We've done or somebody has done some bio blitzes up there, where 29 they've taken Saturday morning and taken three hours. It certainly shouldn't take three 30 hours to evaluate that one particular spot; although, it might if you included all of the 31 environments, habitats that you're talking about. I would encourage that we do 32 something more formal than that. I'm not doubting the veracity of the Rangers, but at 33 some point you're going to get a qualitative analysis as opposed to a quantitative analysis. 34 There are people who are really, really good at that bio blitz thing. I'm sure that we could 35 attract them. You could even set up an iNaturalist site that was specific to that so that it 36 DRAFT Draft Minutes 7 wasn't just a monthly thing. If somebody sees something on Tuesday morning on a hike, 1 they could enter that, and then we'd be collecting the information all along. I think that 2 would be more effective. On the day I was up there and the artist responded to the 3 question of how you're going to monitor it, I really got the impression it was going to be 4 hearsay. I would be a lot more comfortable if we would be more deliberate. We could 5 do that with volunteers and bio blitzes and with iNaturalist. The tools are all there. 6 Mr. Anderson: The Rangers at the Baylands organize those bio blitzes. I think that's 7 definitely doable. 8 Chair McDougall: Get them to arrange it again so it's collected information. I think that 9 would be really good. 10 Mr. Anderson: I think it's probably both those techniques. The Rangers are there. I can 11 count on them. They're using the same style assessment each time. Whereas, as I get 12 volunteers, sometimes it's different each time. Continuity is important for that kind of 13 thing as well, the same methodology. Both make a lot of sense, and I'll follow up with 14 the suggestions. 15 Chair McDougall: As long as you've thought about it, I think something that was formal 16 and we could say there was 23 mice this week and 24 mice next week or something. 17 Thank you very much. Sorry, Jeff. Go ahead. 18 Vice Chair Greenfield: Just one quick follow-up on the overflow receptacles. Since we 19 haven't banned plastic water bottles in Palo Alto yet, there is plenty of need for extra blue 20 cans, recycling cans. It's not just waste. Certainly recycling and to a lesser degree 21 compost bins. If we can spread more out—that might make the Zero Waste people 22 more comfortable to understand it's increased capacity across the board that we're really 23 looking for. 24 Mr. Anderson: That's true. Just an FYI about that. I think the methodology—since we 25 can't do everything at once for all the parks in terms of this transferring, a lot of them will 26 just be new colored lids. We've got three enclosures spread out. We group them 27 together, and one gets a blue lid, one a black, and vice versa. For that short-term one, 28 unfortunately it's a little more difficult than you think getting these lids. It's going to take 29 me a while, and I might not have it for this weekend's event, but I can certainly get at 30 least some trash cans and probably some signs that say this one's recycling. Ultimately, 31 it'll need the right color lid too. 32 Chair McDougall: If there are no other questions and comments on the Department 33 Report, then we can go on with the regular business. 34 DRAFT Draft Minutes 8 V. BUSINESS 1 1. Approval of Draft Minutes from the August 28, 2018 Parks and Recreation 2 Commission meeting. 3 Approval of the draft August 28, 2018 Minutes was moved by Commissioner LaMere 4 and seconded by Commissioner Reckdahl. Passed 5-0, McCauley and Moss absent 5 2. CSD Operating Budget: Follow-Up Report on Questions from July 27th 6 Meeting 7 Chair McDougall: The next item is the follow-up on the operating budget discussion that 8 we had from July 27th. Jazmin LeBlanc is back with us, and Kristen may want to 9 provide an introduction. 10 Ms. O'Kane: Thank you. Kristen O'Kane. Chair McDougall and Jazmin and I met 11 maybe last week to hear what he thought would be valuable information for the 12 Commission to know. That was a little bit more than what we provided last time, which 13 was the July meeting where Jazmin and Daren gave an update and some background on 14 our operating budget and our capital budget. There were a lot of questions at that 15 meeting. What this presentation does is provide a little bit more background, a little bit 16 more detailed information that might be helpful for the Commission to understand. 17 Unfortunately, Commissioner McCauley isn't here, and I know a lot of the questions were 18 his. We can follow up with him separately if he has additional questions. I'll turn it over 19 to Jazmin at this time to give the presentation. 20 Jazmin LeBlanc: Thanks, Kristen. Jazmin LeBlanc with the Community Services 21 Department. As Kristen said, this is a follow-up presentation, and this presentation 22 focuses mainly on the operating budget. I have a few answers to a few questions around 23 the capital budget and municipal fees. I will jump right in. This slide is intended to put 24 some context around the Community Services Department's budget and staffing. In fiscal 25 year 2019, which we're in, the total City operating budget is just over $700 million. The 26 General Fund budget is about $214 million. The remaining $500 million that's not in the 27 General Fund is comprised of funds that support the City's Utilities and Public Works 28 operations, including the airport, electric, fiber optics, gas, refuse, storm drainage, 29 wastewater collection, wastewater treatment, and water fund. That's a very big portion of 30 the total budget. Of that $214 million General Fund budget, the Community Services 31 Department is about $29 million, about 14 percent of the General Fund. The Citywide 32 staffing has a similar story, where nearly half of the Citywide staff, which is about 1,041 33 full-time equivalents, is supporting those special funds in Public Works and Utilities. 34 There's about 585 full-time equivalents in the General Fund, and about 129 of those are 35 in the Community Services Department, about 22 percent of the total staffing. There is a 36 notable difference between the total budget at 14 percent of General Fund and the staffing 37 DRAFT Draft Minutes 9 at 22 percent of General Fund staffing. Our Department has quite a few part-time and 1 entry-level positions, so we skew on the lower cost side when it comes to staffing. It's 2 not on here, but to put all of this in context, there's about $221 million in the capital 3 budget for this fiscal year as well. This next slide comes from the Administrative 4 Services Department. It's part of the presentation they gave to City Council on the 5 budget and really just highlights the different sources of revenue that you'll find in the 6 General Fund. The main drivers are sales tax, property tax, transient occupancy tax 7 which is the hotel tax, utility taxes, and charges for services. The Community Services 8 Department's revenues that we bring in pretty much all fall into this charges for services 9 category. Again, here's a pie that highlights where the General Fund uses are going by 10 department. You can see that the Community Services Department is one of the larger 11 departments along with Police and Fire. Other comprises all of the smaller departments 12 that take up tiny slivers including the Attorney's Office, the Auditor's Office, the Clerk's 13 Office, and so on. Jumping ahead, this table is showing you the revenue and expense 14 associated by relatively high-level categories in our Department. This totals to about $26 15 million, so there's about $3 million that's not accounted for in this table. That $3 million 16 is the costs associated with the Think Fund, which has been previously called the Bryant 17 Street Garage Fund, Cubberley Community Center, Project Safety Net, and Public Art. 18 Those are relatively complicated programs. In some cases like Cubberley, the expenses 19 are captured in the Community Services Department, but the revenues are captured in the 20 Administrative Services Department. That's related to the agreement we have with the 21 School District. Those were a little bit complicated; I pulled them out of this table. What 22 you can see is the net General Fund impact of the majority of our programs. This shows 23 you the General Fund cost recovery level, again, at a very high level of these different 24 program areas. You can see the golf course has the highest cost recovery level at over 25 120 percent. Most of ours are falling in that medium cost recovery level. The Art Center 26 is at 41 percent, Junior Museum at 39 percent, Recreation 56 percent, and then we've got 27 lower cost recovery on what you would expect, Human Services, Parks and Open Space, 28 and Administration. There were some other questions around how the staffing breaks 29 down in the Department. As you can see, it's relatively evenly split between Recreation, 30 Open Space, Parks and Golf, and then Arts and Sciences with a relatively small amount 31 of staffing dedicated to Administration and Human Services. Again, this is a table. In 32 July, there were two tables on the cost recovery. This table tries to align the cost 33 recovery levels with the types of programs that we have in the Department and highlights 34 that the high category can be anywhere from 70 percent to as much as we can charge 35 essentially. There are very few programs that fall into that high category. We pretty 36 much have named all of them here with private lessons, facility rentals for private events, 37 and golf-related fees. There aren't a lot of program offerings that we have in the high 38 category because it's not core to our mission. Most of what we're offering is going to be 39 either low or medium cost recovery levels. I wanted to bring this up briefly just to 40 highlight—I know there were some questions around the capital budget—to give a sense 41 of what portion of the City's capital programming is dedicated towards Parks and Open 42 DRAFT Draft Minutes 10 Space. You can see it's actually a relatively small portion at 8 percent with a vast 1 majority going towards buildings and facilities in this five-year capital project span. That 2 is the presentation. I'm open for any questions. 3 Chair McDougall: Jazmin, thank you. I think you've addressed not only some of the 4 questions—I think all of the questions from last time, some of the conversation we had. I 5 appreciate the effort that you've put into this. I'll start with Commissioner Cribbs. 6 Commissioner Cribbs: Thank you very much for doing this. I appreciate it. Could you 7 go back to the slide—a couple back. I was interested in the staffing, the FTEs for Open 8 Space, Parks and Golf. Does that include the people who are on contract as well or not? 9 Ms. LeBlanc: No, it doesn't. The golf course has only a little bit of staff, higher-level 10 administrative staff allocated to it. 11 Commissioner Cribbs: The new contract for parks maintenance aren't in this 12 determination, right? 13 Ms. LeBlanc: They don't show up in the staffing. I do have an extra slide that is small, 14 but hopefully you can see it. 15 Commissioner Cribbs: This is good. Thank you. This is good. 16 Ms. LeBlanc: This highlights what we've got by program. Daren could probably 17 remember this. I think that we previously had about 14 staff when Parks Maintenance 18 and Landscaping was not contracted out, that would have been in that Open Space, Parks 19 and Golf category. 20 Commissioner Cribbs: With the Sheeper contract for aquatics, how are we understanding 21 the revenue that we're getting from that, and also I guess that would decrease the number 22 of staff that Community Services has? 23 Ms. LeBlanc: Yeah. When we switched to the contract model, we reduced about 11.5 24 full-time-equivalent positions that were in the Recreation programming category. They 25 don't really show year-over-year because part-time positions just show up in that bottom 26 right-hand corner with the 50.56 hourly. That would have been about 11 FTE higher if 27 you looked at it last year to reflect that. 28 Commissioner Cribbs: How many part-time positions do we have that aren't benefited 29 positions so they're under that threshold number of hours? 30 Ms. LeBlanc: That I would have to get back to you in terms of how it breaks out in that 31 50 full-time equivalents. More of them are unbenefited than benefited, but I don't know 32 the exact breakdown. 33 DRAFT Draft Minutes 11 Commissioner Cribbs: There's no hurry. I'm just interested. Thank you very much. 1 Vice Chair Greenfield: Thank you for the last slide. This answers some of my questions 2 like what's the Arts and Sciences. I can see it's the Junior Museum and Zoo. That wasn't 3 intuitively obvious. Thank you for this information. It was very clearly presented and 4 very pertinent and helpful. How does the budget compare to the previous year's budget? 5 Maybe we went through this in July, if you could just refresh our memory. 6 Ms. LeBlanc: We reduced our expenses by a couple hundred thousand dollars, and we 7 grew the revenue very slightly, other than golf actually. Golf increased by almost $3 8 million. That hid other changes that we had in the budget because of this big change in 9 the golf course. If you exclude the golf course changes, we had some relatively small 10 changes, about $80,000, of non-personnel expenses that were cut across every division. 11 We tried to get a little more lean in the budget for supplies essentially. We cut a few 12 positions that were vacant, in Parks in particular. We also had some custodial positions 13 that were in Recreation and that we cut out. As I said, we grew revenue pretty 14 moderately in a couple of programs where we thought we could really achieve that, the 15 Art Center and Recreation in particular. You'll see the decrease in the part-time lifeguard 16 staff. Those are the main things. 17 Vice Chair Greenfield: Thank you. Looking forward to next year, are we anticipating 18 further reductions? Are we hopeful we might be able to add something back, the status 19 quo? Can you give us an idea where the glide path is heading? 20 Ms. LeBlanc: We are waiting to find out more. We are expecting that we'll be asked to 21 make more cuts, but we really have no direction at this point as to how much we would 22 need to cut and if there are any other criteria. We have no idea unfortunately. 23 Chair McDougall: Keith. 24 Commissioner Reckdahl: If we look at our workforce now compared to say five years 25 ago and you also take into account the fact that now some of these full-time workers are 26 now contractors, if you just count the total number of people who are working on the 27 parks and recreation, how has that changed in the last five years? 28 Ms. LeBlanc: I know when I've looked at the last ten years, we have dropped quite 29 dramatically, at least 10, maybe 20 percent. I could come back with a more specific 30 number. We've really slashed a lot I want to say around five years ago. If you looked 31 five years ago to today, you might not see a big difference. If you go back ten years, you 32 would see a big reduction in every program area. That is probably around the same time 33 that we started to try more contracting, but we also cut things that we used to have. For 34 instance, there were several full-time staff dedicated to helping operate the Stern 35 DRAFT Draft Minutes 12 Community Theatre, which now is just pieces of people here and there. There have been 1 some service reductions. 2 Commissioner Reckdahl: Are we building up a maintenance debt in the sense that there's 3 a lot of to-dos that we haven't done and sooner or later we have to fix them or have we 4 just reduced the scope of what the City does? 5 Ms. LeBlanc: The maintenance, I would want to get more insight from Public Works 6 when we're talking about facilities. Daren might be able to answer some things when it 7 comes to Parks and Open Space. The facilities are actually all considered to be managed 8 in terms of their maintenance by Public Works. I unfortunately don't feel like I could 9 speak to any changes they've made. 10 Mr. Anderson: If it'd be helpful, I could explain the answer to at least the Parks and 11 Open Space and golf course. That big change in staffing—remember, the golf course 12 was fully staffed by City personnel. About a decade ago, we outsourced it to Bright 13 View and then most recently to OB Sports. That was ten positions that went away. 14 Some of them were pulled into the Parks Department to fill vacancies, but ultimately ten 15 staff positions went away. To your question of did we have a backlog of maintenance 16 due to that change, I'd say no. I don't think there was any loss in productivity. Maybe 17 some of the quality changed because we lost dedicated staff that were there year after 18 year. In terms of a backlog, I would say that's not the case. The same is true in Parks. 19 They did similar conversions. For example, when I came onboard with Parks, we had 20 City staff caring for both Mitchell and Rinconada, and those are the last couple of 21 regional parks that we still maintained and ultimately removed the staff. There were four 22 staff taken out of there. It was added to the existing Parks contract that already cared for 23 the vast majority of the non-athletic field parks in the City. Again, I would say that it 24 didn't result in a backlog of maintenance. 25 Commissioner Reckdahl: Things like trail maintenance, we still do that at the same 26 frequency? 27 Mr. Anderson: The trail maintenance is a little different. We used to have more bang for 28 our buck in terms of how much money we had allocated to seasonal staff in Open Space. 29 We have the same number of Rangers; that has not changed at all. Going way back, we 30 used to have more naturalist Rangers, and those went away long before I came to the 31 City. The seasonal staff has diminished in size. There is a little bit less work that we get 32 out of them. It wasn't all dedicated towards trails. It was spread evenly and still is 33 amongst all the maintenance needs in Open Space. However, we did add to the contract 34 dollars for trail work. It's hard to say if it's slipped a little, possibly. In some ways 35 maybe it's a little better, and in other ways maybe there are some deferred areas. I realize 36 that's a mixed answer, but I think it varies. 37 DRAFT Draft Minutes 13 Commissioner Reckdahl: It's hard to quantify something like that. Thank you. 1 Chair McDougall: Jeff. 2 Commissioner LaMere: Jazmin, appreciate you putting this together. It's informative. If 3 you can get the last two slides distributed, it would be wonderful as well if you could 4 have those emailed to us. A quick question about revenue versus expenses. In terms of 5 expenses, I'm assuming the expenses include salaries and benefits. What's that 6 percentage of the budget? Just out of curiosity. You can get back to me on that as well. 7 That's not something I need this minute, but I was curious as far as how the expenses are 8 broken down, what portion is going to salaries and benefits and what portion is going to 9 the actual programs. 10 Ms. LeBlanc: We can probably pull that up right away. It's actually one of the main 11 breakouts in the budget book. It's just very slow to download. 12 Commissioner LaMere: You can email that to us or get back to us on that. Thank you. 13 Chair McDougall: Jazmin, I expect if you do that it would be relevant to do it by the 14 dozen or so cost centers that you have here. I suspect that would be a very different ratio 15 in different departments or programs. 16 Ms. LeBlanc: Yeah. Administration is mostly salaries and benefits. 17 Chair McDougall: I simply want to thank you for both the presentation tonight and for 18 putting up with me meeting with you to get this. I do want to say two things. The CSD 19 staffing that shows Administration and Human Services is an FTE, which is I assume 20 close to being real people, of 6 out of the 150 or whatever. I would applaud all of those 21 six for—they're just not overhead. In fact, I would say that's underhead in terms of the 22 management of all of this. That's impressive. The other thing that you and I did was 23 look at each of these programs by whether they were in the category of high, medium, or 24 low. Clearly, everyone of them was well within the range. On the medium ones where 25 they were lower in the range, your understanding is also impressive in terms of the 26 breakdown. It's not just theatres, and it's not just recreation, or it's not just the Art Center. 27 It's what goes on within the Art Center. You're aware of the difference between the 28 pottery and the painting or whatever and which ones have this percentage. I compliment 29 you on that as well. Thank you. Thank you for coming back. 30 Ms. O'Kane: Chair, I can answer Commissioner Reckdahl's question about the 31 percentage. For fiscal year '19's operating budget, $14.4 million is salaries and benefits 32 out of our overall budget. To your other question, in fiscal year '13 we had 75, almost 76 33 full-time employees and 50 full-time equivalent hourly employees. Not too different than 34 today as Jazmin said earlier. 35 DRAFT Draft Minutes 14 Commissioner Reckdahl: Does that include the work that we've contracted out? 1 Ms. O'Kane: No, that's not contract work. 2 Commissioner Reckdahl: It's just employees? 3 Ms. O'Kane: Just employees. 4 Commissioner Reckdahl: That can distort that. It's hard to really answer that question 5 because there are so many ways that work can get done. Full-time, part-time, contractors. 6 Commissioner Cribbs: How many unfilled positions do we have right now? 7 Ms. LeBlanc: We can get back to you on that. It actually is going to be quite a few 8 because so many positions are only filled in the summer. If you're talking about our year-9 round employees, we're actually experiencing some vacancies at the moment. I'm just 10 thinking anecdotally about a number of announcements I can think of in a variety of 11 departments. We can get back to you with a percentage. 12 Commissioner Cribbs: Just a question about what do you three worry about when you 13 look at this budget. What keeps you up at night for the next year thinking about it? 14 Ms. LeBlanc: My biggest challenge is when we are asked to make cuts. As you can see 15 looking at all these different people and all these different programs, $29 million divided 16 by 100 different programs means that we have a lot of very small programs. To come up 17 with $0.5 million that we might want to cut, it's not easy. We don't have six $5 million 18 buckets. We really do have about 100 things. Some of them have $60,000 in there. It's a 19 challenge when we're having to make these choices. Another thing is so many of our 20 programs are tied to revenue. They're not huge revenue makers, but that tells us there are 21 people in the community that want to take advantage. If we cut, we're only cutting 22 maybe $60,000, but we might be impacting 1,000 people. That is a challenge that we 23 deliberate for hours any time we're given direction to cut. 24 Ms. O'Kane: We're a very community-facing Department. That's what we do, interact 25 with the community. We provide services and programs to the community. We all want 26 to make sure we're providing the best customer service we can. Sometimes it's difficult 27 when you have so many competing priorities and limited staff without the ability to 28 expand the staff or have the right amount of budget we would like to have to get some of 29 the work done. We do our best. 30 Chair McDougall: If there are no other questions, Jazmin, thank you very much. 31 DRAFT Draft Minutes 15 3. Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan—Former ITT Area Concepts 1 Chair McDougall: The next item is the Baylands Comprehensive Plan and the discussion 2 on that. I do have one speaker card, but I think it's appropriate that we have the staff 3 presentation and then the speaker comment. 4 Mr. Anderson: Good evening. Daren Anderson with Community Services. We're here 5 tonight to talk about the various conceptual plans that were developed for the former 6 ITT/Renzel Wetlands area; to get feedback from the Commission, which would help 7 guide the development of a preferred alternative conceptual plan. The agenda is really 8 brief. I want to focus the whole thing on these plans and talk through the nuances and 9 explain the feedback we've gotten so far and hopefully come to some consensus to help 10 provide our consultant with some guidance and ultimately to take that guidance, develop 11 that preferred alternative, and then provide us with a cost estimate for those 12 improvements. I'm going to gloss over the steps to date. We can come back to that if 13 you have questions. I'm going to gloss over that and get straight to the four options. We 14 used the feedback from the stakeholders to create these four conceptual plans, and each 15 one had a theme. Option 1 was called habitat restoration. Option 2 had a balanced 16 system. Option 3, the ITT park. Option 4, return to nature. The plans were sent to these 17 stakeholders that helped provide the input. Attachment B in your staff report has their 18 feedback. Although there were four options, we told the stakeholders to please think of it 19 as you're free to mix and match the different improvements to create whatever option you 20 want. Generally, they did. Generally, the stakeholders supported the elements that were 21 found in Options 1 and 4. My personal perspective is it was a little easier for me to think 22 about it rather than as options but to think about it in terms of generally they supported 23 these elements, generally they didn't support these. There were some gray areas where it 24 was mixed reactions and mixed feedback. What I intend to do is walk you through these 25 on Slide 10 and talk you through the elements. The restored hydrology and tidal 26 connections, the dendritic channels. Let me show you. That's these improvements here. 27 You see all the enhanced channels. There are already some channels in there, but the 28 tidal flow, which comes from across the road closer towards Byxbee, is very, very muted. 29 It flows through this area on the back side of the water treatment plant and between 30 Byxbee into this area. It's just very diminished flow. Ideally, you would have a large 31 tidal influx, which would bring lots of nutrients and help the habitat be a much higher 32 value. It's just been very, very muted since its origins. That was one that I would say 33 most the stakeholders supported and thought was a good idea. Another one is this yellow 34 dotted line. You can see this on this page. This is Faber Place. There's a paved bike path 35 that goes along East Bayshore Road, cuts into the preserve, and right now stops at Faber 36 Place. You'll have to go out along the roadside and then down Embarcadero Road to get 37 to the Baylands. For many years, people would say, "It would be great if you connect 38 this up to Byxbee." Right now, it's just salt marsh abutting with the landscaped area of 39 the various businesses that abut the preserve. That, I would say again, was generally well 40 DRAFT Draft Minutes 16 received. There was a little bit of feedback and concern that sometimes that corridor 1 could be used for wildlife, but they thought that could be mitigated if we were able to put 2 it on the other side of the landscaped area, meaning the developed side. We'd have to do 3 more investigations in that, but in general it was very well supported. The other one that 4 was pretty universally accepted was this connection to the remnant marsh. This is a little 5 parcel here that's landlocked, had once been connected to the tidal action. Many, many 6 years ago when the City built the landfill, it changed the area. It was isolated. The 7 concept is can you have flow that would go from the Renzel Wetlands through the marsh 8 here and into the flood basin. That again was well received. Moving down to the next 9 one, this got mixed feedback or mixed opinions. I'll start with the brown dotted line. 10 This is the road that goes out to the existing ITT building. That's an existing maintenance 11 road that was once used by the people that worked at the building. It still exists. It was 12 badly broken-up asphalt. It's since been pulverized and turned into a fairly good-13 condition base rock trail suitable for vehicles to go in and out. There were various 14 iterations. One that stops right at the freshwater marsh end right here. Another one that 15 goes all the way out to the building. I think a third option that stopped right back here. 16 That one got mixed feedback. Different people wanted different things. That would be a 17 great one for the Commission to weigh in with their thoughts. The next one was the 18 purple dotted lines on three different iterations. This line is really about access around 19 that freshwater pond and whether it should just be on the frontage road here, on East 20 Bayshore Road; whether it should be all the way around it or just on the back side. Those 21 were the three various iterations. Again, conflicting opinions on that. The ones that 22 didn't have a lot of support were expanding the freshwater marsh. You saw the previous 23 bulb-out here where they pushed out the boundary of the freshwater marsh. That was not 24 well received. I think by and large people did not support that. In my notes I sent to 25 stakeholders, we mentioned it doesn't have to be that configuration. That was a starter for 26 the conversation. It could be smaller, or it could be in a different location. If people 27 thought it may be more suited for this area over here, that was another option. In talking 28 to the water treatment quality staff, it's not essential that they have more area to discharge 29 water. If it's something the community wants and if it's something that enhances the 30 habitat, it's an option. I'll just speak briefly. When I met with the ad hoc yesterday, they 31 raised a lot of good questions, saying what are the environmental benefits or pros and 32 cons of expanding the freshwater wetland. Without that knowledge, it's hard to say if 33 we're making a net positive, are we helping certain species that otherwise wouldn't be 34 there. I took their good questions to the consultant working on the plan, and they got 35 back to me rather quickly. I'll just summarize it like this. They said expanding the pond 36 and the associated vegetation could increase the nesting habitat for certain species like 37 red-winged blackbirds and marsh wrens. They listed other species that use the freshwater 38 pond, ducks, stilts, avocets, etc. Those species, however, also use the vast majority of 39 time the salt marsh. I wouldn't say it's exclusive to the freshwater marsh. The other 40 poignant thing they mentioned is the con of expanding the freshwater pond; you'd have 41 very low vegetation diversity. The species would be fairly limited, primarily cattails and 42 DRAFT Draft Minutes 17 common reed for the most part, especially given what we know about the maintenance of 1 that pond. The intent is not to let it grow in densely with vegetation, hence decreasing 2 the capacity of that and the intent of that, which is to allow recycled water to go back 3 through the system. We raised the question in general, what kind of balance do we want 4 to seek in terms of freshwater marsh to saltwater marsh. Their response was there isn't 5 really an ideal ratio, to say it should be ideally 80 percent this, and that doesn't really 6 exist in their opinion. They pointed out, however, that ecologically the salt marsh would 7 be higher quality habitat mainly because of the history of that site, the presence of 8 existing plant species, the existing soil that's got salt in it. The original marsh for this 9 area went all the way to 101. That once was historic salt marsh and still is. It's just not 10 functioning well because we have very poor tidal inundation. To summarize the context, 11 at least what I took—perhaps the ad hoc can chime in as soon as I finish my 12 presentation—was that perhaps the salt marsh, especially if we could enhance it, would 13 be of greater habitat value. Expanding the freshwater wetlands might not be that 14 beneficial. The other one that we thought the stakeholders largely didn't support would 15 be maintaining and keeping that potentially historic building, the ITT building. Three of 16 the 11 folks that commented on this wanted to keep it, and the others for the most part 17 wanted it gone. I should note, however, that we've contacted the Planning staff and 18 discussed this and understand that the Historical Resource Board is interested in 19 maintaining and restoring the building. It's likely that the outcome of the plan we put 20 together might not take a strong stance on what happens to the building. I think we've 21 captured the feedback of all our stakeholders. We captured the feedback of the 22 Commission, and that's part of the document. The end result might not be a plan that 23 says the building is gone. That one bears further discussion with the HRB and with 24 Council before we take a stance on that one. At least, that was the strong opinion of our 25 Planning Department. I don't think it interferes by and large with the suggestions we've 26 gotten from our stakeholders. Everything they've talked about, restoration all around that 27 building, stopping access to it if that's the preferred design, is all doable while still 28 keeping the building there for future discussions on what might come of it. There were a 29 couple of other things that didn't quite get much feedback, and that was the ITT-Byxbee 30 connection. This is the one where they had a crossing that we said would get you all the 31 way through. There was some feedback saying definitely don't do that. You're 32 bifurcating the habitat and breaking it into smaller zones, which in some people's 33 opinions depreciates the value by separating the habitat into distinct areas. Others have 34 argued that it wouldn't stop the wildlife from using it. That one was one we either didn't 35 get a lot of feedback or it was a small minority that said in general they weren't in favor 36 for it. I didn't get a lot of people saying it was a great idea, not much of that. The last 37 one I'd hoped to get a little feedback on is—I'd say we also got mixed responses on the 38 overlook areas. We talked about doing some interpretive signage and some overlook 39 areas around the Renzel Wetlands. It was a mixed bag, so that would be another one I'd 40 look to the Commission to help us get some clarity on. Again, my hope is that we can get 41 some feedback to build a little consensus around the desired elements for that preferred 42 DRAFT Draft Minutes 18 alternative. I had a really good meeting with the ad hoc. I don't know if the ad hoc 1 committee would like to share their thoughts before we open it up to the full discussion. 2 Chair McDougall: Keith, would you like to make any comments? 3 Commissioner Reckdahl: Nothing specific. I thought it was a good meeting also. We 4 talked a lot about going forward. There are a lot of options here that we're not going to 5 rehash tonight because it's too far in the future. We want to know what roadmap are we 6 going in the near future, what are we looking into, not necessarily what the conclusion is 7 going to be. 8 Chair McDougall: I particularly like what Daren did to move it from the four options 9 into the likes and dislikes, the mixed opinions, mostly supported, and mostly didn't 10 support. This gives us a much better way of looking at the future or at least what 11 proposals need to be investigated. I like that approach a lot. I would mention something 12 else I mentioned in the meeting. We have initial contact, I would say, with the Audi-13 Mercedes dealership that backs onto the wetland to become a stakeholder and participate 14 in the conversations. They've offered to try and make the back end of their facility 15 consistent with what we do. That's a positive comment. That's valuable. Before we go 16 into open discussion, I'd like to invite public comments. I would start with Shani 17 Kleinhaus. 18 Shani Kleinhaus: (inaudible) 19 Chair McDougall: In the meantime, I'll whistle or something. 20 Ms. Kleinhaus: Good evening. I'm Shani Kleinhaus with Santa Clara Valley Audubon 21 Society. Together with the Sierra Club we have a lot of members in Palo Alto. We sent 22 a letter. It's summarized in number 10 on the summaries that you have. I wanted to 23 explain why we are opposed to keeping the building or bifurcating as Daren said the 24 habitat. I put a picture of what it would look like if it's only habitat. We have the 25 freshwater marsh, and the green is just general habitat. Now, we put in the building, 26 which is here, and we put trails around. That means that we have a buffer area where 27 birds and other sensitive species will not nest. That takes out somewhere between 100 to 28 600 feet depending on what species we're dealing with. If this became activated with 29 trails through, then we're taking additional area here and here. What we had before, 30 which is a huge area, which is undisturbed and birds and other animals can breed and 31 actually have some area that's not disturbed in the area. It's very rare to have that, upland 32 habitat, marshland, which is still not so disturbed. Instead of having all of that now, they 33 only have two pockets. This is why we supported removing the building, not activating, 34 and not keeping trails into it and instead allowing trails around and allowing people to 35 look in but not from inside out and not to cross it just for the sake of connectivity. When 36 we connect something for the people, we disconnect something for wildlife. In this area, 37 DRAFT Draft Minutes 19 that's important. The other reason I wanted to explain why we didn't support the 1 freshwater marsh expansion. Mostly we've seen what it takes to maintain it. We don't 2 have to have that disturbance come in every few years to the Baylands. We've seen what 3 happened recently, so we thought it's easier and less expensive to support the saltwater 4 marsh than the freshwater marsh. We thought that should be the best solution. That's 5 what I have. I do hope you will recommend not keeping that building. The building is 6 only historical because the wetlands were used to broadcast or to reflect the radio waves. 7 Now the wetlands are gone, and we're keeping the building as the important thing and not 8 the wetlands. To me it's an absurd kind of theme, to try and keep the building when the 9 wetlands are no longer there. The building, we can put a plaque and explain what it was 10 like and what it was used for and how it connected to (inaudible) and all of that, and 11 people will probably read it. To keep the building for the purpose of having a building in 12 the middle of where it doesn't belong anymore doesn't make sense. Thank you. 13 Chair McDougall: Thank you. Herb Borock. 14 Herb Borock: Chair McDougall and Commissioners, I support the comments that Shani 15 Kleinhaus and the environmental organizations have made. I also don't believe it makes 16 sense to keep the building or trail to the interior of the property. The idea is to restore the 17 habitat. The way to do that is to not have anything in the interior or access into the 18 interior. As long as there is something there, it will be a nuisance. Even if you fence it 19 off, people will still want to find a way to get around it. Having a plaque that describes 20 the history on the perimeter of the site would be a good thing. Just last week, the City 21 Council, the Mayor, presented a Proclamation to Mary Gordon, who took the leadership 22 over 50 years ago in changing the Baylands from a place that was to be developed to 23 restoring it to open space. Palo Alto took leadership in doing that, and we're lucky to 24 have all that open area. The placed named after Byxbee who was a City engineer who 25 wanted to develop all kinds of buildings and other things there. In fact, it's the 26 community's interest in having that open space. It'd be a mistake at this time to keep the 27 building while the Planning Department or someone else is trying to make up their mind 28 what to do with it. The City Council and this Commission are perfectly capable of 29 making a recommendation and decision about that at this time. Thank you. 30 Chair McDougall: Thank you. Now, I'll open it up to questions and comments from the 31 Commission. I'll start with Jeff, at your end. 32 Commissioner LaMere: Daren, thank you so much for all this work. One initial question 33 I would have is what sort of budgets and timelines are we looking at in terms of trying to 34 do this? How does that impact some of the decision-making process or things we want or 35 don't want? 36 Mr. Anderson: Great question. I don't have a great answer, and I apologize. The next 37 step as we talk about what we want—it is prudent to be thinking in general about the 38 DRAFT Draft Minutes 20 costs associated with these things. That's smart because we don't have an identified 1 funding source, which makes it a challenge. The next steps would be the cost estimate 2 based on what you think is best for the site. We get support for that from the Council, 3 and we'd start seeking funding. I'm guessing grants, honestly, would probably be our 4 most likely bet. A lot go towards restoration areas like that and would be available for 5 that kind of project. Especially the wetlands and improvements and the hydrologic 6 improvements and even some of the limited trail access could be funded through grants. 7 We don't have an identified source for that just yet. 8 Commissioner LaMere: For me personally in looking at things, I came into this favoring 9 the building and connectivity. After listening to our speakers, I'm also wondering what is 10 our purpose of restoring the wetlands and what sort of mission are we looking at as a 11 Commission. We may all have different opinions, but is it complete restoration or 12 providing people more access to be in there? It's an interesting question. As someone 13 who likes connectivity and likes to be able to go from one place to another, I do like 14 being able to go all the way through the ITT property to Byxbee Park. I like the yellow 15 line along the trail that abuts the car dealerships. At the same time, do we have enough 16 trails in Byxbee that the wetlands should really be left undisturbed? I would say I don't 17 have a firm answer or opinion but would also defer to some people who are much more 18 vested and have studied this a lot closer. When I look at the building—you took me on a 19 tour there a while ago. I thought it was a great building that had tremendous potential. I 20 thought it could be an event space or an wonderful museum. That's thinking a lot of 21 human uses, but maybe there are other spaces that can accommodate those things. 22 Initially for me it's about connectivity. Now, I would favor deferring to the rest of our 23 Commission and hearing what they have to say. I do want to thank you for all the work 24 that you've put in and the different plans. If we do expand the freshwater pond and 25 marsh, is that getting cleaned up by grants or when the maintenance has to happen? 26 Would that be something out of the City budget? 27 Mr. Anderson: That would be done with the City budget. 28 Commissioner LaMere: One thing I would have a specific opinion on is to keep the 29 freshwater pond and marsh as is. Again, thank you so much. 30 Mr. Anderson: Thank you. 31 Vice Chair Greenfield: Thank you. Thank you again, Daren, for both the report that's 32 put together thoughtfully and for all the outreach that's been done in the community, and 33 to the Commission regarding the plan. The increased outreach and communication is 34 really appreciated. My first comment is we should be prioritizing habitat restoration and 35 the natural environment. This is a natural open space. It's the intuitive approach. With 36 that said, it's also important to find balance to allow non-obtrusive, appropriate public 37 access. I guess the devil's in the details there in terms of determining what is the 38 DRAFT Draft Minutes 21 appropriate balance. From a parks and recreation perspective, I am not in favor of 1 maintaining the ITT building. It would be nice to figure out some way to honor the 2 legacy of it with some interpretive signage somewhere outside the area, from the base of 3 the pond and marsh or something like that. I don't think there's anything sacrosanct about 4 the land itself. Some way of maintaining the legacy and the history of the site can be 5 done while also allowing the natural habitat to restore itself. That's my opinion. It goes 6 without saying that I wouldn't be in favor of the through access from Byxbee Park. I do 7 really like the idea of figuring out some way to have walking loops within the Baylands 8 in general. Simple recreation paths for people to walk different distances, whether it's a 9 half mile or a mile or multiple miles ideally without having to backtrack. People like 10 that. I see the yellow dotted path as a real useful addition to create a loop around the 11 Renzel Wetlands whether it goes between the pond and the wetlands or on the outside of 12 the pond near Highway 101 and Bayshore. It's important to get the path off Bayshore. 13 For someone who's walking the 3.5 miles or whatever it is around the entire Baylands 14 right now, the endpoints or the part where you're walking Bayshore is in great 15 juxtaposition to the rest of the walk. It's not so fun. From a holistic standpoint, anything 16 we can work towards to be able to provide a loop path off Bayshore for the entire span of 17 that section would be great. Something going behind the Municipal Services Center, for 18 example, further down. I know that's not in the purview of this specific discussion here. 19 In the big picture, that would be great. In the immediate focus, being able to have a loop 20 around the Renzel Wetlands seems like a great opportunity for the people working in the 21 vicinity to take a quick 30-minute walk or whatever it is. We're trying to get people out 22 in nature. At the same time, be as unobtrusive as possible in doing so. I appreciate 23 Shani's remarks. The visual was effective; thank you. Whether or not we can include a 24 path, as I mentioned before, between the pond and the wetlands, that's open for further 25 discussion and investigation. To respond to a couple of questions, as far as the overlooks 26 go, overlooks are great. People like that. Again, in balance with what's the right number 27 to provide people meaningful overlook points without disturbing nature unduly. I'm not 28 in favor of increasing the size of the freshwater pond. I think that summarizes my 29 comments pretty well. Thank you. 30 Commissioner Cribbs: Daren, I really like the way you presented this plan. It's really 31 great. It was very helpful to hear the stakeholder. I'm not in favor of saving that 32 building. It's way too much cost to the City ultimately and something that probably won't 33 be as useful as we could do something someplace else. I love the access, and I love the 34 loops, and I also love getting from here to Byxbee Park. I think it'll be really exciting to 35 see what comes out of this. I am concerned about the budget and the cost and when we're 36 going to start to get numbers for that. It would be great if there was some way to start 37 looking for potential grants because I'm sure they're out there for this kind of thing. 38 Finally, on the list of the next steps and timelines, could you check on the ones at the 39 bottom? That might be 2019, just to change those. 40 DRAFT Draft Minutes 22 Mr. Anderson: I've corrected it. 1 Commissioner Cribbs: Otherwise, it's great. Thank you very much. 2 Mr. Anderson: Thank you. 3 Chair McDougall: If there are no other comments, I'll quickly close. First off, Daren, I 4 totally agree that we should leave the freshwater pond small. The conversation we had, 5 by the way—reminding myself, not you—is that we did come to the conclusion we 6 should not be talking about ponds and wetlands. We should be talking about habitats. 7 When you look at all of this as habitats, you change your attitude towards what you're 8 doing. A pond may be something to view, but a habitat is something for somebody to 9 live in, even if it's the animals. In terms of the public access and the loop around, you 10 remember the drawings we scribbled on yesterday. Part of that would have to do—I 11 appreciate what Shani showed on her visual about the encroachment that you would get 12 from having a path around. There may be something we can do in terms of how far back 13 you can put the path or a way to deal with that. The other thing that you pointed out, that 14 needs to be remembered here, is it's not just public versus wildlife, it's work access. 15 Whatever we do, there still will be an access for trucks and whatnot to get in and out at 16 various times to do the work. That needs to be taken into account. I do have a question. 17 At the time of the landfill being built, did the part of what would have been the initial 18 wetlands associated with the ITT facility shrink? If we look at the map that you've got 19 right in front of you, instead of it being a straight line between the gray and the green, 20 would the green expand into what's now the landfill? 21 Mr. Anderson: My understanding is this was all green, all the way up to the freeway. 22 Chair McDougall: At the time that the facility was being used—that also needs to be 23 remembered. We've already taken two-thirds of it. Maybe we should try and save it. 24 The one other thing that I've been thinking about since our meeting is that pipe. I have 25 two questions about the inflow. There is a pipe, a 27-inch pipe. It's big enough to get a 26 decent flow of water. I'm not sure, if we're interested in maintaining the wetlands as a 27 habitat, how animals or whatever get into the habitat if their only access is through the 28 pipe. That may speak to—I have to say that Commissioner Reckdahl had a good idea. 29 That may speak to the idea that maybe there should be a canal of some sort there that 30 would allow that access. The other thing I heard just a couple of hours ago was 31 somebody saying they had talked to Public Works about the kind of water that was 32 coming into the freshwater habitat. To call it freshwater was a misnomer. It may limit 33 what could exist in there. I'm not sure I'm asking a question as opposed to saying, "Are 34 you"—you probably understand that. 35 Mr. Anderson: Yeah. 36 DRAFT Draft Minutes 23 Chair McDougall: That was a good enough answer. If nobody has any other questions, I 1 guess the next question is can we agree on—you had that slide up that had the next steps. 2 Can we confirm or agree that what preparation we need to do or what we should expect 3 in terms of the next step. I want to repeat what I said at the beginning. The fact that you 4 divided it into things we agree on, things we disagree on, or whatever, if in fact you didn't 5 look at it that way, if you looked at it as things that seem to be in the category of habitat 6 restoration and, therefore, to Anne's point may be grantable, they seem to be in that 7 category, maybe we should start investigating that now. The things that are in that 8 bottom category of we seem to have disagreement on the building, maybe that's the only 9 one that needs some back-of-the-envelope estimation. I wouldn't encourage you to cost 10 out one, two, three, and four or even cost out all the pieces. Maybe that's the one that's 11 going to have the most discussion. If you're HRB and—we should probably change it. I 12 didn't catch it yesterday. It says Human Resources; it should probably say Historic 13 Resources. If we change it, that might be the important discussion with HRB. That 14 would be my … 15 Commissioner Reckdahl: The one comment I'd want to say is I'm not a big fan of the 16 building either. Ideally, we would tear it down and not have anything left there. If it's 17 too expensive to tear it down, we may just have to secure it and leave it as-is. If we have 18 a limited pot, put more money into the restoration portion and not into knocking down 19 buildings. It would be nice to price that out to say how much would it cost to get rid of it. 20 Mr. Anderson: I have a few points that I need a little more clarity on, if you don't mind 21 and if you would indulge me. It's specifically around the preferred access around the 22 pond. I understand loops in general are good, but I could interpret that as the broader 23 loop going all the way around via the yellow trail. You could make this the loop. Do 24 you want and do you support a full loop around the freshwater pond, a limited one on just 25 one side, either the Bayshore side or the marsh side? Your feedback on that would be 26 good. One I forgot to point out was the antennas. One concept was maintaining two 27 antennas as a legacy to what had been there. Some of the arguments against that had 28 been the well-known and established impacts to birds from having wires and striking into 29 those. It's a good reason for not having any wires coming down. The other is they often 30 are used as perches for birds of prey. This is over a salt marsh wetland where you've got 31 saltmarsh harvest mice that they could potentially feed on. Maybe there's a couple that 32 are lower. Any interest in saving those? It'd be great to have some feedback on that as 33 well. That's the two I really could use, feedback on the freshwater pond access points 34 and the antenna. 35 Chair McDougall: Who would like to comment on that? Keith. 36 Commissioner Reckdahl: First about the loops, I agree with Commissioner Greenfield. 37 Walking along Bayshore doesn't feel like you're in nature. I would want some access on 38 DRAFT Draft Minutes 24 the Bay side of that freshwater marsh, ideally trying to keep the saltwater marsh as 1 contiguous as possible. Probably right along the border of that freshwater marsh to get to 2 … 3 Mr. Anderson: Right in here? 4 Commissioner Reckdahl: No, on the Bay side of that. 5 Mr. Anderson: On this side. 6 Commissioner Reckdahl: Yes. If you're walking there, you're going to get a much better 7 user experience than if you're walking on Bayshore. The sad part is that will have some 8 impact on wildlife. I think the glass is half full. If you look at all the green area, we're 9 just impacting a small portion of it. We do have to balance both nature and human use. I 10 think that's a reasonable way of getting some human use in there, having a much better 11 human experience than walking on Bayshore, and having minimal impact to the wildlife. 12 Vice Chair Greenfield: Regarding the loop question, I don't perceive a specific need to 13 have a path all the way around the pond. Either on the Bayshore side or on the Bay side 14 of the pond would be sufficient. If there's a way to put it on the Bayshore side and there 15 are tall grasses and you're up on the berm of the pond, there's a perceived feeling that 16 you're in nature and away from the road. That would be great if we could pull it off. I 17 don't know the answer to that. If it's possible to do that in order to preserve the boundary 18 area between the wetlands and the marsh of this habitat area, then that would be great. 19 Basically I'm looking for a—my thought is to have a larger loop around the entire 20 wetlands habitat, whichever path it may take. 21 Chair McDougall: Daren, that reminds me. I think it was Phil who, in talking about the 22 future of all this, talked about those artificial slopes that they were going to put in. We 23 should probably explore that a bit more because that may inform the decision about 24 where should you or could you do anything. There was something else that went with 25 that, but it just went away. I don't think we answered your second question. We 26 answered your loop around the freshwater habitat. 27 Mr. Anderson: In general, just one side, on the Bay side, would probably work for most 28 folks here, if I got that right. The antennas. 29 Chair McDougall: Does anybody have any comments on the antenna? Keith, do you 30 have any comment on the antenna? 31 Commissioner Reckdahl: I think a nice picture of antennas is going to be sufficient. I 32 would rather see the whole area restored with no antennas than keep the antennas up. 33 That's my opinion. 34 DRAFT Draft Minutes 25 Vice Chair Greenfield: I would need to hear highly compelling arguments in favor of 1 why we need to keep the antenna. 2 Mr. Anderson: Excellent. Thank you so much for all that feedback. To something 3 Commissioner LaMere pointed out and to this comment about the antennas, when we 4 look at the Baylands Master Plan the feedback from the Council when they made this 5 policy, which was many years ago, was very simple. They said restore it and remove the 6 antenna field and incorporate it into the rest of—they called it Byxbee Park but meaning 7 all of the Baylands Preserve. It's in keeping with every bit of guidance you've provided. 8 I think we're in a good spot to come up with a preferred alternative, which I'll be bringing 9 back to you or sending to you relatively soon I hope. 10 Chair McDougall: The only problem with that is the way it was written said to remove 11 the antennas. It didn't say what to do with the building in the way they wrote it. I assume 12 by saying antenna field they implied everything and restore it. Jeff. 13 Vice Chair Greenfield: Perhaps an antenna could be relocated to the perimeter and be 14 located along with some interpretive signage. 15 Mr. Anderson: Yeah. There's one that's blocks of concrete with a date stamp that 16 perhaps could be moved (crosstalk). 17 Chair McDougall: And made a lot shorter. 18 Mr. Anderson: Yes, much shorter. 19 Chair McDougall: Like a 3-foot high remnant of the antenna. I don't think I have 20 anything else. If anybody else has anything else? This is great progress. Can we go 21 back to the question of what do we need to do next or what should we expect next? 22 Mr. Anderson: Thank you. The next steps are—we still have two community meetings 23 that we will hold. Dates to be determined on that, coming soon. One of the core things 24 that that will need to go over is this conceptual plan for Byxbee Park, which will be 25 coming soon. It's such a big area and we did the interim plan and we've learned some 26 things. It just behooves us to talk to the stakeholders throughout there and care about this 27 place to learn from them of what they want, explain what's worked and what maybe 28 should change. That should be coming soon. I'll have the conceptual plan, which of 29 course I'll share, and then we'll hold that public meeting and talk it over as a team. We'll 30 finalize the ITT concepts very soon and these chapters. For example, the opportunities, 31 limitations, and best management practices, the sea level rise and climate change. Once 32 we get those going, we'll send them out and bring them to you for a discussion. The 33 other big step will be the action plan. Those are specific details on what we should be 34 doing, your to-do list if you will for the plan, which is very, very important. That one 35 DRAFT Draft Minutes 26 we'll incorporate into one of those public meetings with the community, either with 1 Byxbee or perhaps the follow-up. Those are the two key ones that really need an in-2 depth discussion. Then, we get into finalizing drafts for the plan itself. In the 3 neighborhood of January, I hope to be bringing you the draft plan. It's ambitious 4 especially when we talk about holding two community meetings in that timeframe and 5 getting this all through. I'll be pushing hard to try to get that to you by January. Finalize 6 this in February and March will be the game plan. 7 Commissioner Cribbs: How much money is there right now in the kitty for this kind of 8 thing? 9 Mr. Anderson: I have no money allocated for implementing … 10 Commissioner Cribbs: No money. 11 Mr. Anderson: I take that back. With the exception for the Byxbee plan. There is a CIP 12 in place to finalize Byxbee. The intent is this project creates the conceptual plan, and 13 then we would come in with the Byxbee money and do construction plans based on that. 14 Probably another round, of course, of the usual bring in the stakeholders, hold a 15 community meeting, that kind of thing. Then, we would take that and implement it using 16 the CIP in place. That one is the one funded. Fortunately, it's a large project. That one is 17 in place. The other action items that you'll see for the rest of the preserve including the 18 ITT is not funded. 19 Chair McDougall: Can you go back to the previous slide? Step number 3, maybe even 20 step number 2. That should be prepare final Renzel Wetlands habitat proposal or 21 concepts. 22 Mr. Anderson: You're absolutely right. The whole area—soon we'll be abandoning the 23 ITT name altogether. It's a misnomer but, if I reference Renzel, to some people it doesn't 24 mean the area around the ITT building. For clarity purposes, I've been using former 25 ITT/Renzel Wetlands. 26 Chair McDougall: Sooner rather than later. 27 Mr. Anderson: Yeah. Sooner rather than later we'll abandon that. 28 Chair McDougall: That's incredibly ambitious. We will be bringing that schedule back 29 to each Commission meeting to remind you. It's incredibly ambitious. I don't know that 30 there's a lot we can do to help. If in any way we could help with the community meetings 31 or anything else, you should insist that the Commission participate. 32 Mr. Anderson: Thank you. 33 DRAFT Draft Minutes 27 Commissioner Reckdahl: I have one question. At the end of this, we'll have a plan, but 1 it's unlikely that we'll have any money for the plan. 2 Mr. Anderson: With the exception of the Byxbee part that I referenced, that's correct. 3 Commissioner Reckdahl: We'll have the plan and, at that point, we'll apply for grants and 4 ask the City Council and try to drip, drip the plan through. Is the plan going to have 5 staged steps that you could have discrete funding for or is it going to be this is the whole 6 plan? If somebody gave you a chunk of money, you could do the whole thing. That'd be 7 a lot simpler than doing piecemeal, but I think our funding is going to be piecemeal, 8 which may affect our planning. 9 Mr. Anderson: My hunch is it would be the latter. That would be piecemeal CIPs for 10 individual things. Some of the action items may be small enough to fund through either 11 existing capital programs or our operating budget. For example, if they're recommending 12 restoration of a given area that maybe we haven't worked on in the past, we'll do that in-13 house with volunteers in our existing budget. It'll be phased in over time. Others like the 14 ITT improvements would be stand-alone CIPs and fairly large ones and probably over 15 several years. 16 Chair McDougall: I'm going to suggest that that would be a really interesting topic for an 17 ad hoc conversation, particularly the idea of are there things that could be granted and 18 how do we subdivide this in such a way that it facilitates that. Unless there are any other 19 really desperate questions, I'd like to thank Daren very much and move on to any other ad 20 hoc committee or liaison updates. Thank you, Daren. Once again, really good. 21 4. Other Ad Hoc Committee and Liaison Updates 22 Chair McDougall: I'll start with Anne. You can say nothing. 23 Commissioner Cribbs: Thank you. I will say something. Daren, when we last met for 24 the dog park or the parks committee, there were a couple of things we were going to 25 investigate in terms of the two potential communities for dog parks. 26 Mr. Anderson: I think we were talking about bathrooms. Is that right? 27 Commissioner Cribbs: Yeah, we were, bathrooms. 28 Mr. Anderson: I was just talking to Howard Hoffman the other day. I ran into him in the 29 City, and he said he would love to talk about the future dog park. I've got an email 30 drafted and ready to send to you and Commissioner McCauley about getting together to 31 talk about dog parks as well, just to plan it. The first iteration, because it's funded for this 32 fiscal year, is the restrooms. What we talked about was that I would reach out to the 33 community on the three top-tier sites that we were looking at. I've reached out to some of 34 DRAFT Draft Minutes 28 the stakeholders for Bol Park. I'm waiting to hear back from them. The initial feedback 1 wasn't "oh, my gosh, no." It was more like "that could be interesting." They were going 2 to take it back to their committee and get back to me. I haven't heard back yet. I still 3 have to reach out to the other two sites, Pardee and—forgive me, I'm forgetting the third 4 location. I'll follow up with that. 5 Vice Chair Greenfield: I have a few comments. The first one regarding Safe Routes to 6 School is an announcement that Sunday, September 30th, is Bike Palo Alto. This is from 7 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Fairmeadow School. It's celebrating Safe Routes in our community. 8 It's also honoring former Council Member Ellen Fletcher, who paved the way to make 9 our community more bike friendly, both figuratively and literally. It kicks off the fall 10 Walk and Roll Week in the PAUSD schools. Regarding park dedication, we're still 11 waiting to arrange a meeting with the City Attorney. Hopefully, we can do that between 12 now and the next meeting to consider dedication guidelines and constraints for properties. 13 The park rules and regulations ad hoc's going to meet with Daren tomorrow to review 14 potential policy updates. Hopefully, we can be ready to come to the Commission next 15 month with an action. Community gardens, there's an agreement for the new garden at 16 the former location of the Common Ground Nursery across the street from Gunn. It's 17 under review within the City, and we remain optimistic that we'll have some positive 18 news soon. Regarding turf management, I met with the City and school staff at JLS to 19 review field layout considerations. I'm working with the soccer stakeholders on field 20 layout and goal storage. Hopefully, we'll make some progress there. I had some 21 comments regarding the letters. I don't know if this is the right time to talk about that. 22 Chair McDougall: I'll bring it back. 23 Commissioner Reckdahl: I go back to Anne's comment about dog parks. In the letters 24 this month, there's a whole bunch of Heritage Park people. What's the next schedule—25 when do we get the next dog park? 26 Mr. Anderson: Next fiscal year (inaudible). 27 Commissioner Reckdahl: FY '20, which starts in the middle of 2019. 28 Mr. Anderson: July (inaudible). 29 Commissioner Reckdahl: Out plan is to have something—to have the planning done 30 ahead of time, so as soon as we get the money we start or is that money going to also pay 31 for the outreach? 32 Mr. Anderson: That's a good question. In the ideal case, we would be doing exactly that. 33 The truth of the matter is we're overburdened with projects right now. I don't think we're 34 going to be able to do that. I don't think we'll have preplanned it. I think we'll be 35 DRAFT Draft Minutes 29 working very hard to get the park restroom in place, and even that may drag into the next 1 fiscal year before we're actually ready to have community meetings wrapped up, gone 2 through the Park Improvement Ordinance process, through Council. I have a feeling it'll 3 take a while. I would like to—I mentioned I'll set up that meeting soon for the ad hoc 4 who works on that particular topic to meet and at least be discussing it, so we won't be 5 hitting it cold. I can do somewhat concurrent. When it comes to the hard staff-heavy 6 work to really get things going, it might be deferred a little bit. 7 Commissioner Reckdahl: Mid-2020 would be when … 8 Mr. Anderson: I think so. 9 Commissioner Cribbs: We also discussed a little bit about looking at the existing dog 10 parks at Mitchell and Greer and Hoover and seeing what we could do to increase them 11 and add maybe some improvements to them as soon as possible, as soon as there's 12 money. 13 Commissioner LaMere: No updates at this time. Although, maybe I can get with you, 14 Daren, or Kristen. I will be meeting with someone from Stanford in the next week or 15 two. If there's any knowledge we have of current arrangements with any field use or field 16 sharing, it would be a great update as I go speak with them and try to sort things out. 17 Probably in the next month or two, it'd probably be good, Kristen, if we had a Master 18 Plan check-in to talk more about it, keep it on our minds. 19 Chair McDougall: In the category of liaison updates, the thing that I would like to add is 20 comments about the letter we so painstakingly and late at night crafted the last time. The 21 first thing I want to say—the reason I asked if I could talk about this rather than either 22 Keith or Jeff is I really want to thank both of them for their initiative and aggressiveness 23 in bringing this forward. Jeff, I know you had some question about the urgency and 24 whether that was important. The three of us met with the joint Council and School Board 25 Commission or meeting that they have. The outcome of that was preempted by the good 26 work that Kristen had done to set up already meetings with the School Board liaison. It 27 also resulted in conversations about whether outreach was sufficient or not. It made a 28 difference to how quickly things were happening. It was a good effort. Everybody 29 worked together on it. I'd like to thank everybody, particularly Jeff and Keith, for their 30 initiative of getting it done, and invite them to add any comments that they would like to 31 add to that. 32 Vice Chair Greenfield: Thank you. I think it was a productive meeting. Part of what we 33 were trying to convey was asking how the Parks and Rec Commission can be more 34 directly involved in the process or what assistance we can offer. There's discussion of 35 having quarterly meetings between Kristen and a counterpart within PAUSD. I'm 36 DRAFT Draft Minutes 30 hopeful that this will be a public meeting that the Parks and Rec Commission could have 1 a liaison attend. 2 Commissioner Reckdahl: This has been a very unfortunate event. Hopefully, something 3 good comes out of this. Perhaps better communication with PAUSD will be a good 4 thing. 5 Chair McDougall: The other thing that came out of it was a belief and understanding or a 6 reinforcement of, number one, the Parks and Rec Commission position as stewards of 7 nature; number two, the fact that getting all of those PAUSD students out into nature is 8 another important part of their education, and we provide them that opportunity. 9 Probably enough on that. 10 VI. COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 11 Chair McDougall: I don't know if there are any other comments and announcements that 12 staff would like to make. If not, then maybe we could talk about the tentative agenda for 13 the October meeting. 14 VII. TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR OCTOBER 23, 2018 MEETING 15 Ms. O'Kane: As was discussed, the amendments to the park rules and regulations would 16 be on the agenda as an action. We had intended to discuss the Master Plan update 17 accomplishments and what's planned for the current fiscal year tonight, but in the interest 18 of time I feel like that might be a long discussion. We're hoping to move that to October. 19 That being said, October is now getting full. We also still need to hear Commissioner 20 Moss' presentation on his hike to the sea. We intend to do an aquatics update. Either in 21 October or November, probably a pickleball update. We have an additional item in 22 November, which is an update on the Renzel marsh work, and a presentation on a 23 conceptual horizontal levee design. I wanted to also bring up that in December we need 24 to pick an alternate meeting date if we're going to have a meeting in December because it 25 does fall on December 25th. Something to consider. That's what I have for the next two 26 months. 27 Chair McDougall: Is everybody okay with that? Is there any additional items that people 28 would like to see us squeeze in? Once again, we've created a couple of 29 October/November agendas that might be longer than we'd like. 30 Vice Chair Greenfield: Did you mention the park rules and regulations review for next 31 month? I wasn't sure if I missed it. 32 Ms. O'Kane: Yes. 33 DRAFT Draft Minutes 31 Commissioner Cribbs: In the Department Report, if you could give a quick update on the 1 golf course and how they're doing in terms of the rounds of golf. I would encourage 2 everybody to go to the restaurant because they have a new menu again. Parking is really 3 easy. It's a lovely place to have a meeting or have lunch. I think we should all support it. 4 I was there today. 5 Chair McDougall: The only thing I see that's not there is the 7.7 acres. Would that be 6 covered in the staff report, Department Report, whatever? Similar with the aquatics, I 7 think we can do that in the staff report. I think that gives us a good outline of future 8 meetings. The next on the agenda would be adjournment. Below adjournment on the 9 agenda is public letters. I wonder if we could add either a separate line item, maybe 10 number 4 or number 3 and change 3 to 4, or make it oral communications and public 11 letters. If Commission members have read the letters and have particular things that have 12 reminded them or stuck out that they can be commented on rather than down here, just as 13 a reminder that those public letters are coming in and are as important to us as oral 14 communications, I would think. 15 Ms. O'Kane: We can look at revising the agenda. Some of the other Commissions 16 include all of the emails that have been received from the past month in one batch. 17 Natalie does send them to you as they come in. It's good to have them included in the 18 agenda, so the public and you can see them altogether. We can look to see where they 19 might fit. 20 Chair McDougall: I applaud that. I applaud the fact that the letters are all there. 21 Whenever we receive a letter, it's really hard to keep track. It's really hard to measure an 22 awful lot of momentum on a particular topic or severity. When you get letter after letter 23 in there that's on one topic, then you get a lot more to it. If we could just be—I think I'm 24 asking that we be given a reminder further up in the agenda that those letters are there 25 and we should have read them and be willing to say "by the way, does everybody agree 26 these letters are important." We need to give those letters a voice. 27 Ms. O'Kane: That sounds good. 28 Vice Chair Greenfield: I have one more question. Last month, I raised the question 29 regarding the annual meeting with City Council. Chair McDougall also mentioned the 30 two-on-two meeting. I wanted to see if there's any progress on that or if we can work 31 towards that. 32 Ms. O'Kane: This is the PRC/Council study session. I can work with the Clerk to 33 schedule that. I'm trying to recall when we had it last year. 34 Chair McDougall: I'll confirm that. I made several notes tonight about some ideas that 35 rather than just a meeting we would have some interesting message. I'm going to suggest 36 DRAFT Draft Minutes 32 that I meet with Commissioner Greenfield and then maybe come to you with some topics. 1 If you could in the meantime investigate with the Clerk when we might be allowed to do 2 that? I know their agenda is a long way out. 3 Ms. O'Kane: Sure. Typically, the intent is to discuss what accomplishments have been 4 made the previous year and what the Commission would like to focus on for the 5 upcoming year. We can keep that in mind as we look to schedule. 6 Vice Chair Greenfield: Thank you. I know the previous meeting was over 12 months 7 ago, 12-16 months ago, something like that. 8 VIII. ADJOURNMENT 9 Meeting adjourned on motion by Commissioner Reckdahl and second by Vice Chair 10 Greenfield at 8:51 p.m. 11 1 TO: PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION FROM: STEPHANIE DOUGLAS, SUPERINTENDENT OF RECREATION COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT DATE: OCTOBER 23, 2018 SUBJECT: CITY OF PALO ALTO AQUATICS CONTRACT UPDATE BACKGROUND Beginning in 2015, the City struggled to hire and retain adequate pool staff to meet community demand for the lap swim, learn-to-swim and family recreation swim programs at Rinconada Pool. In 2015, the Community Services Department (CSD) entered into an emergency contract with an outside vendor to mitigate its staffing shortages. Working on a very short timeline, CSD was able to write and approve a contract with Team Sheeper Inc., a professional third-party aquatics service provider who mobilized quickly to provide qualified professional swim instructors and lifeguards to support the Palo Alto aquatics programs. In search of a more sustainable and reliable solution for community aquatics services, in December 2015, CSD issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to oversee all programming at the pool including: 1) learn-to- swim lessons; 2) the youth competitive swim team; 3) the adult masters swim team; and 4) aquatics facilities operations, including recreational swim, lap swim, and pool rentals. After a careful review of proposals, Team Sheeper was selected as the preferred contractor and was awarded a contract with the City effective January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2018. In this agreement, the City continues to be responsible for facility maintenance and repairs and Team Sheeper provides light cleaning and maintenance each day. Staff and the public have generally had favorable responses towards this new contracted aquatic-services model so on July 18, 2018, an RFP was released to solicit contractors for a longer-term operational contract at Rinconada Pool expected to take effect January 1, 2019. The goal of the new RFP was to identify a long-term partner who will collaborate with the City and the community to provide high quality, accessible, and safe aquatics programming at the Rinconada Pool. The RFP scope was inclusive of all current programming and included the opportunity to introduce new services as well. The RFP closed on August 21st, 2018 with only one bid received from Team Sheeper, Inc. Staff completed an evaluation of Team Sheeper’s RFP response, using the following criteria: • Safety of pool users and aquatics employees • City and Customer Costs • Quality of Service and Customer Satisfaction • Diversity of Programming and Accessibility In conducting this evaluation, staff are confident that entering into a new contract with Team Sheeper will allow the City to continue to provide high quality programming and expanded aquatics services to Palo Alto residents in a safe and welcoming environment at a reduced cost as compared to in-house operations. DISCUSSION Staff is finalizing a new contract with Team Sheeper, Inc. to provide continuation of aquatics programming and services through December 2023. The contract negotiations are nearly complete but there are several outstanding issues to resolve, mainly around insurance requirements. Staff are confident that remaining items will be resolved shortly and anticipate bringing the contract to City Council for approval on November 26, 2018. 2 This contract will include swim lessons, aquatics camps, lifeguard staffing and pool oversight for recreation lap and swim programs. Team Sheeper, Inc. will also maintain a youth swim team and masters swim program. Team Sheeper, Inc. has indicated that they have already established a subcontract with the Palo Alto Youth Swim Club (PASA) to provide the youth swim team programming. Although not yet finalized, Team Sheeper has indicated that they may directly administer the masters swim program. Additionally, Team Sheeper, Inc. plans to introduce some new programming including diving classes and aquatic exercise programs. While the contract is still being finalized, it is likely that the contract will consist of a revenue share model, similar to their current contract. Team Sheeper, Inc. will pay gross revenues of as much as 12% of all revenues collected from all programs provided on behalf of the City of Palo Alto. The exact share of gross revenue they will remit to the City is dependent on their total revenue earned. If total revenues earned are less than $1.25 million, the City’s revenue share is 1%, if total revenues earned is $1.3 million the City’s share is 2% of total revenue; more detail can be found in the chart below. This revenue share formula is similar to the formula currently in place between the City and Team Sheeper, and is also similar to the revenue share terms Team Sheeper has with the City of Menlo Park. Revenue Share Table between Team Sheeper and the City of Palo Alto Annual Total Revenue Dollars Percent of all gross revenue from all programs under this contract owed to City up to $1.25 million 1% $1,250,001 to $1,500,000 2% $1,500,001 to $1,750,000 3% $1,750,001 to $2,000,000 4% $2,000,001 to $2,500,000 5% $2,500,001 to $3,000,000 8% For each additional $500,000 in revenue, the gross revenue percentage will grow 1% point up to a maximum of 12% $5,000,001 and up 12% OUTREACH Staff has engaged residents and Rinconada Pool users to ensure that this contract model is established in a way that preserves Rinconada’s quality customer experience. On March 6, 2018 a formal public forum was held to invite aquatics participants to provide feedback on current aquatics programming and to provide an update on the City’s plan to solicit bids for continuation of services starting in 2019. The overall feedback at that meeting indicated that most customers are happy with Team Sheeper’s operations and that the community feels strongly that PASA should remain the onsite youth 3 swim club at Rinconada Pool. In addition, lap swimmers attended to advocate for preserving lap swim schedules and some community members came out to request year-round swim lessons. On October 16th at various times in the day, staff held informal “snack chats” at Rinconada Pool with residents and customers to solicit feedback on the aquatics program and update customers on the contract process. The feedback at these informal meetings was also generally positive, with users of the lap swim program, swim lessons, recreational swim, and PASA satisfied with Team Sheeper’s management of the pool. The final snack chat, on October 18th will take place after this memo is printed. Operating Changes Associated with this Proposed Agreement Once the agreement is finalized, staff anticipates that there will be several modest changes which are highlighted below. It is the staffs’ goal to maintain current scheduling, programming and pricing with incremental changes over time when warranted. It is anticipated that changes will result in improved customer service, safety or sustainability for the City and Team Sheeper. A summary of notable changes are below: • Slight changes to the weekly programming schedule. Team Sheeper may introduce shared use of the pool on early weekday mornings to allow for both masters programming and lap swim hours • Introduction of an annual administrative fee. Administrative fees will only be charged once per calendar year when customers sign up for swim lessons or masters programming. Team Sheeper provides an extensive “back office” dedicated to maintaining high quality programming and this new fee is intended to offset some of these costs • Increase from $45 to $48 for Monthly Lap Swim pricing • Increase from $20 to $22 for Resident Youth Group Swim Lessons This contract will continue to allow for close cooperation between City staff and Team Sheeper’s staff. Both organizations will work together to determine schedule and program changes, as well as pricing changes and facility improvements, when possible. TO: PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION FROM: KRISTEN O’KANE, COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT PETER JENSEN, PUBLIC WORKS DATE: OCTOBER 23, 2018 SUBJECT: PARKS, TRAILS, NATURAL OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN – REVIEW OF MASTER PLAN GOALS AND STATUS RECOMMENDATION Staff will present a review of the status of achieving the goals and associated policies and programs of the Master Plan to the Commission. No action will be taken. BACKGROUND The City of Palo Alto has 32 parks and four open space preserves covering approximately 4,165 acres of land, including Foothills Park, Pearson-Arastradero Preserve, Esther Clark Park, and the Baylands Nature Preserve. A Capital Improvement Project for a Parks, Trails, Natural Open Space and Recreation Master Plan (Master Plan) was adopted by Council for the 2013 fiscal year to provide the necessary analysis and review of Palo Alto’s parks and recreation system for the preparation of a long-range (20-year) Master Plan. Adopted in August of 2018, the Master Plan provides the City with clear guidance regarding future capital improvement projects and program enhancements aimed at meeting current and future demands on the three main elements of the system: 1) parks, trails and open space; 2) recreation facilities; and 3) recreation programs. Though the Master Plan addresses trails and natural open space, the intent is not to provide specific guidance on how to manage and maintain the City’s trails and open space preserves. Existing plans, such as the Pearson Arastradero Preserve Trail Management Plan (2001) and the Foothills Park Trail Maintenance Plan (2002), provide trail management guidance. Future open space conservation plans will provide guidance on vegetation and habitat management, wildlife management, and wildlife-appropriate public access. This Master Plan focuses on the developed areas within the City’s natural open space areas, such as parking lots, picnic areas and facilities, and provides recommendations on how they can best be enhanced. The Master Plan includes an implementation guide for the near, mid, and long-term as well as potential funding strategies. DISCUSSION The main structure of guidance the master plan provides is found in the six main goals of the document. These overarching goals provide the direction for city staff and the Parks and Recreation Commission to maintain and enhance the park and recreation system now and over the next twenty years. The goals are further support by associated policies and programs that implement the goals. The goals of the Master Plan are as follows: Goal 1: Provide high-quality facilities and services that are accessible, affordable, inclusive and distributed equitably across Palo Alto. Goal 2: Enhance the capacity, quality and variety of uses of the existing system of parks, recreation and open space facilities and services. Goal 3: Create environments that encourage active and passive activities to support health, wellness and social connections. Goal 4: Protect natural habitat and integrate nature, natural ecosystems and ecological principles throughout Palo Alto. Goal 5: Develop innovative programs, services and strategies for expanding the park and recreation system. Goal 6: Manage Palo Alto’s land and services effectively, efficiently and sustainably utilizing quantitative and qualitative measures. Attachment A is a spreadsheet that identifies Master Plan programs accomplished in 2018, and anticipated to be accomplished in 2019 for each of the six goals. This tracking of accomplishments provides insight into how the master plan is being used, as well identifying goals, policies, and programs that have yet to be enacted. Some of the 2018 accomplishments include: Goal 1:  Pickleball classes offered at Mitchell Park  Dedicated the 36.5 acre ITT property as parkland  Mitchell Park Bridge replacement (safe route to school improvement)  Continued to utilize volunteers, Grassroots Ecology and Save the Bay Goal 2:  Hired consultant to assist with Cubberley Master Plan  New park and facility management software being implemented  Cubberley Field lighting pilot program  Added a new dog park at Peers Park  Expansion of Rinconada Garden Goal 3:  Palo Alto designated as an Age Friendly Community  King Plaza rotating art exhibit  Bioswale installation along Ross Rd. and Arastadero Goal 4:  Started the Baylands Conservation Plan process  Foothills Park Hydrology Study  Revising of the Tree & Landscape Technical Manual Goal 5:  Two new Boost Classes provided  Opening of the 7.7 acres  El Camino Bus Terminal connection improvements  JMZ Foundation starts remodeling of the building and zoo Goal 6:  City staff and contractors attend trainings on irrigation and landscaping practices  Rain Garden added to Hoover Park Accomplishment made toward the long term and short term priorities can be found in attachment A. Staff intends to provide the Commission with an annual update on the Master Plan accomplishments. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The proposed CIP recommendations are consistent with Policy C-26 of the Community Services element of the Comprehensive Plan that encourages maintaining park facilities as safe and healthy community assets; and Policy C-22 that encourages new community facilities to have flexible functions to ensure adaptability to the changing needs of the community. ATTACHMENT A. Draft Goals, policy and program accomplishment report 2018 & 2019 Attachment A  Goal 1: Provide high-quality facilities and services that are accessible, affordable, inclusive and distributed equitably across Palo Alto. Policy Program Description FY2018 Accomplishments Anticipated FY2019 Accomplishments  1.A  Emphasize equity and affordability in the provision of programs and services and the facilitation of partnerships, to create recreation  opportunities that: 1.  Advance skills, build community and improve the quality of life among participants, especially Palo Alto youth,  teens and seniors; and  2. Are available at a wide range of facilities, at an increased number of locations that are well distributed  throughout the city. 1.A.1 Periodically evalute the use of effectivenss of the Free Reduction Program for low‐income and disabled residents. Evaluated the fee reduction program for possible inclusion of low‐income  adults (existing program is limited to low‐income children and disabled  residents).  In fiscal year 2019, adults will be added as pilot. Added adults to fee reduction program as a  pilot for fiscal year 2019. 1.A.2 Develop free or low cost teen programs that develop life skills, such as leadership, community service and health.  Added Free Public Speaking seminar for  youth ages 6‐11.  Added low cost public  speaking classes for youth ages 6‐11. 1.A.3 Develop a teen advisory committee to provide feedback on newly proposed parks, recreation and open space projects and programs. 1.A.4 Partner with local recreation providers to relocate existing programs or offer new programs in Palo Alto parks. 1.A.5 Recruit or develop programs for additional and alternative sports that can take place in existing parks and make use of existing outdoor  recreation facilities. Examples include cross country running, track and field, rugby and pickleball Offered a pickleball class in the Enjoy! Catalog, and a youth pickleball class  during the summer at Mitchell Park tennis courts. Added ultimate frisbee class for teens at  Greer Park. 1.A.6 Expand offerings of preserves' interpretive facilities to area schools through curriculum packages (backpacks, crates, etc.) that can be brought  into the field or the classroom. 1.A.7 Evaluate the geographic distribution of program offerings and make adjustments to equally offer programs throughout the City. 1.B Expand parkland inventory using the National Recreation and Park Association standard as a guide (see sidebar) for park development in  Palo Alto’s Urban Service Area.   New parkland should be added to meet and maintain the standard of 4 acres/1,000 residents. Parkland  should expand with population, be well distributed across the community and of sufficient size to meet the varied needs of  neighborhoods and the broader community.  Maximum service area should be one‐half mile.  1.B.1 Develop design standards for privately‐owned public open spaces (POPOS) that clearly set the expectation for public access, recreation  activities and natural elements. (Examples: NY POPS and SF POPOS). 1.B.2 Establish a system in the City's real estate office that identifies land being sold and reviews it for park potential, prioritizing review of land  within park search areas. (See Figure X: Park Search Areas). 1.B.3 Review all city owned land and easements (starting in park search areas) for potential parkland development or connection locations. (See  Figure X: Park Search Areas and Figure X: Bikeways and Pedestrian Routes to Parks and Recreation Facilities). 1.B.4 Examine City‐owned right‐of‐way (streets, which make up the biggest portion of publicly owned land) to identify temporary or permanent  areas for improvements that connect or add recreation activity space. (Examples: California Ave., Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Parklets). 1.B.5 Identify and approach community organizations and institutions that own land in park search areas to create long‐term agreements and  improvements for public park space. (Examples: Friendship Sportsplex, New Riverside Park). 1.B.6 Create usable park space on top of utilities, parking or other infrastructure uses. (Examples: Anaheim Utility Park, UC Berkeley Underhill  Parking Structure, Portland’s Director Park, Stanford University Wilbur Field Garage). 1.B.7 Monitor properties adjacent to parks that are smaller than the minimum recommended size for potential acquisition to expand existing  parks. Monitoring future sale of AT&T property across the street from Boulware  Park. 1.B.8 Increase collections through revised or alternative park impact fee structures that are sufficient to expand inventory. Develop a system to  reserve funds for parkland acquisition and proactively pursue strategic opportunities for expansion. 1.B.9 Acquire and develop a new neighborhood park in each park search area, starting with the most underserved areas and targeting a central  and well‐connected location to maximize access. 1.B.10 Develop a creek walk along Matadero Creek that links parks and creates open space and habitat corridor. 1.B.11  Incorporate other underutilized City‐owned outdoor spaces for park and recreational programming.Installing  planter box(s) at Cubberley  Community Center for educational purposes  in partnership with Imagination School,  Avenidas and Children's Preschool. 1.B.12 Identify and dedicate (as parkland) City‐controlled spaces serving, or capable of serving, park‐like or recreational uses (e.g., Winter Lodge,  Gamble Gardens, Rinconada Community Gardens, GreenWaste Facility at the former PASCO site, former Los Altos Sewage Treatment Plan,  Kingsley Island.)   The 36.5 acres of the former ITT area was dedicated as parkland on On  6/5/2017  1.C Ensure the maximum distance between residents’ homes and the nearest public park or preserve is ½‐mile, ¼‐mile preferred, that is  evaluated using a walkshed methodology based on how people travel.  1.C.1 Maintain the City’s digital map developed during this Master Plan process, updating for new activities and access points. 1.C.2 Establish a review step in the Planning and Community Environment department for any major redevelopment or the purchase/sale of any  City land in the park search areas. 1.D Adopt the wayfinding signage used at Rinconada Park as the standard for Palo Alto parks and provide standardized directory signs for all  large parks, preserves and athletic field complexes.Wayfinding signage was added to Greer Park in March 2018.  Wayfinding signage will be added at Byxbee  Park 1.D.1 Create and implement a signage and wayfinding program that conveys the park system identity, incorporates art, connects bike paths to  parks and enhances the experience of park visitors 1.D.2 Install directional signs at parks that include the walking time to the next nearest park or parks. 1.E Apply universal design principles as the preferred guidance for design solutions in parks, striving to exceed Americans with Disabilities Act  requirements. 1.E.1 Create a process to address adaptive program requests for individuals with cognitive, sensory, and physical disabilities (to be coordinated  with upcoming ADA Transition Plan). 1.E.2  Adopt a standard of universal park design for accessibility and/or upgrade play areas and picnic facilities to meet or exceed the standard.  (Note: a source and reference will be added). 1.F Maintain a Field and Tennis Court Brokering and Use Policy as well as the Gymnasium Use Policy (as well as any subsequent updates) to  guide the allocation of these recreation facilities with a preference for youth and Palo Alto residents. 1.F.1 Periodically review the existing Field and Tennis Court Brokering and Use Policy and Gymnasium Policy and update as needed.Review of Field and Tennis Court Use Policy began to incorporate  pickleball and evaluate how courts are reserved for tounament and match  play. Policy was updated in October 2018 to  include priority times for pickleball and  tennis on some courts. 1.F.2 Develop an annual field usage statistics report, including number of prime timeslots that were unused due to field condition/resting and the  number of requests for field space that were unfilled due to capacity. 1.G  Encourage walking and biking as a way of getting to and from parks, supporting implementation of the Bicycle and Pedestrian  Transportation Plan. 1.G.1 Select parks as destinations along routes for “Ciclovia” or “Sunday Streets” type events where streets are closed to traffic and opened up for  citizens of all ages to interact with each other through exercise, entertainment and fun; 1.G.2 Provide bike parking for cyclists as a standard feature at parks, open spaces, preserves and community centers; 1.G.3 Provide, identify and mark “Safe Routes to Parks” from locations such as schools, shopping centers, libraries, after‐school programs,  community centers, and residential neighborhoods; 1.G.4 Educate residents about the city’s Bike Boulevards – streets prioritized for bicycles – to promote greater use, and plan new Bike Boulevard  projects that connect parks, open spaces and recreation facilities.   Transportaton Infastructure Project 1.G.5 Identify gaps in the walking and cycling network to improve access to parks, open spaces, preserves and community centers, including  sidewalk repairs, easements, trail improvements/repair and improved pedestrian visibility. Transportaton Infastructure Project: Ross Road, Louise Ave.,  Embarcadero, Arastadero,  Mitchell Park Bridge Replacement  1.G.6 Collaborate with school communities to enhance routes to schools, especially where they pass through parks; and Mitchell Park Bridge, Safe Routes to School Coordination  1.G.7 Develop a regular bicycle and walking tour of Palo Alto parks and preserves as a new recreation program. Develop online materials for self‐ guided tours. 1.H  Incorporate cultural diversity in projects and programs to encourage and enhance citizen participation. 1.H.1 Conduct a survey at least every two years of cultural groups to identify gaps barriers to access, preferred design, and awareness in recreation  programming. 1.H.2 Provide multi‐cultural and multi‐lingual recreation programs, signage, and educational information. 1.H.3 Encourage and provide opportunities for civic engagement by directly connecting with cultural groups. 1.I Increase stewardship and volunteerism by creating and promoting opportunities for youth and adults to participate in parks, recreation,  open space events, projects and programs. Open Space and Parks staff continue to provide volunteer opportunities  to our community. In 2017 Open Space Volunteer hours  were 13,460 and  Parks volunteer hours were 1,151. 1.I.1 Create a robust volunteer recruitment and management program.   1.I.2 Continue to offer volunteer habitat and landscape improvement projects, and support partnership organizations that offer volunteer  programs in Parks and Open Space areas. Open Space and Parks staff continue to provide volunteer opportunities  to our community. In 2017 Open Space Volunteer hours  were 13,460 and  Parks volunteer hours were 1,151. Goal 2: Enhance the capacity, quality and variety of uses of the existing system of parks, recreation and open space facilities and services. Policy Program Description FY2018 Accomplishments Anticipated FY2019 Accomplishments  2.A Sustain the community’s investment in parks and recreation facilities. 2.A.1 Collaborate with Palo Alto Unified School District to develop and implement a vision and master plan for the future of the Cubberley  Community Center. Hired a consultant to assist with the master planning process.  Cubberley  Master Planning Process On‐going Master Planning process underway 2.A.2 Continue to program and prioritize projects for existing facilities as identified in the Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission report, and  plan the keep up of new facilities as they come on line, recognizing their expected lifespan and revised based on real‐world experience.On‐going; updating the current inventory and software  2.A.3 Research best practices to design park and recreational facilities that can be maintained with existing budgets. On‐going by City Landscape Architect  2.A.4 Encourage residents to organize and participate in park maintenance and cleanup events to foster a sense of ownership, establish social  connections, and reduce maintenance costs. Gardeners at the City's four community garden contribute to the  maintenance of the garden area. Kiwanis Club frequently help with park  maintenance (fence and bench repairs and painting) at several urban  parks. Staff have worked with a select group of passionate volunteers to  convert passive turf areas to pollinator gardens. The pollinator gardens  are maintained by volunteers. The lawn bowl club helps maintain the  Lawn Bowl.  The Gamble Gardeners maintain Kellogg Park. 2.A.5 Develop a proactive Asset Management Program to identify new, and maintain existing park and recreation infrastructure.New management software being updated  2.A.6 Provide additional lighting to enhance park safety and expand park use to dusk while minimizing impacts to wildlife.A lighting trial was implemented at Cubberley Field during the winter  months of 2017 to extend available hours for youth soccer practice. 2.A.7 Find ways to mitigate conflicts between different trail user groups, particularly in the Pearson‐Arastradero Preserve and Bol Park where  multiple types of users share pathways. 2.B  Provide opportunities for creative expression in park and recreation facilities and programs. 2.B.1 Incorporate artists and art into youth recreation programming, particularly day camps, utilizing the expertise of the Arts and Sciences  Division. 2.B.2 Create outdoor studios and program spaces for creating art in parks (Coordinated with the Public Art Master Plan).Review current and future CIP projects to incorporate these spaces into  the oval design of parks  Baylands environmental Public Art project  was completed in September 2018.   Community members were invited to  participate in the installation. 2.B.3 Encourage the community to participate in more expressive projects lead by the department, such as community mural projects in  facilities, pop up open mics or chalk art programs in parks. 2.B.4 Continue to provide “maker” space to Palo Alto teens to encourage creative thinking and expression. MakeX, located at Cubberley, continues to be a popular program space  for teens. 2.C Design and maintain high quality natural and synthetic turf fields  to support maximum use in parks by multiple organized sports and casual users with areas large enough for practice or play. 2.C.1 Conduct an athletic field assessment and maintenance plan of the City’s natural turf fields, and upgrade fields at select parks to high  quality natural turf standards including irrigation system upgrades, drainage improvements, etc.  The field assessment report should  include analysis and recommendations regarding the soil profile, agronomy, irrigation systems, field slope, drainage, field‐use demand,  and maintenance. Sports Field Evaluation Plan (2017). There is a CIP for Turf Management  that is funded for FY19. CIP for Turf Management plan in FY19. 2.C.2  Continue to monitor and track industry developments and the latest reputable scientific studies regarding synthetic turf to understand  the environmental and human safety impacts of our existing synthetic turf fields.   City set standards for synthetic use at El Camino & Stanford will look to  update those standards when replacing Cubberly 2019/2020 2.C.3 Assess the type of turf (new synthetic turf product or natural turf) that should be used when replacing an existing synthetic turf field that  is due for replacement City set standards for synthetic use at El Camino & Stanford will look to  update those standards when replacing Cubberly 2019/2020 2.C.4 Synthetic turf fields should be striped for multiple sports to maximize use. Whenever possible, synthetic turf playing fields should have  lights in order to maximize use of the field.On‐going  2.C.5 2.D Actively pursue adding dedicated, fenced dog parks in multiple neighborhoods, equitably distributed between north and south Palo Alto. The size of the dog parks will vary, but should strive to be at least .25 acres.  Dog parks should not be placed in Open Space  Preserves.  2.D.1 The City will evaluate and select at least six dedicated, fenced dog parks, equitably distributed across north and south Palo Alto, from the  following list of potential locations:Peers Park Dog Park Constructed 2018 2.D.2 Develop rules and regulations specific to dog parks focusing on safety and limits of use. Dog Park Rules were developed by City & PRC in 2018 2.E The City will actively pursue adding park restrooms in parks that are approximately two acres or larger, have amenities that encourage  visitors to stay in the park, have high level of use, and where there are no nearby public restrooms available.There is a CIP for a park restroom in FY19 2.E.1 Develop a restroom standard, in collaboration with the Architectural     Review Board, for neighborhood parks. 2.E.2 The City will actively pursue adding park restrooms at the following potential locations: Reoccurring CIP established for constructing new restrooms  Reoccurring CIP established for constructing  new restrooms  2.E.3 2.F Develop additional community gardens focusing on underrepresented areas of the City, and provide community engagement  opportunities around gardens. Expansion of Rinconada Garden 2018. Parks staff are in discussions with the Palo  Alto Christian Reformed Church to enter  into an agreement to have the City manage  a community garden on an undeveloped  portion of the Church property. More details  in the Fall of 2018. 2.G  At least every five years, quantitatively evaluate demand and capacity of major recreation facilities including pools, gyms, tennis  courts, and teen centers with appropriate attention to geographical distribution in the city.   Adjust plans as appropriate to  accommodate significant demographic or demand changes.  Cubberley Master Plan may accomplish  some of this. Goal 3: Create environments that encourage active and passive activities to support health, wellness and social connections. Policy Program Description FY2018 Accomplishments Anticipated FY2019 Accomplishments  3.A  Implement the Healthy City Healthy Community resolution with the community’s involvement.  (insert a sidebar or footnote here) 3.A.1 Convene and lead a Healthy City Healthy Community stakeholder work group consisting of other agencies, nonprofit organizations and  citizens to collaborate on initiatives and benefit from existing programs. City led the Healthy City Healthy Community initiative in 2018. YMCA will  lead in fiscal year 2019. YMCA to lead in FY19.  Focus will be on  improving social connections. 3.A.2 Develop an annual plan that supports implementation of the resolution.Annual plan was based on Council's Resolution.  The group added  becoming an age friendly city as an additional initiative. Annual plan to be established at October  2018 meeting. 3.A.3 Achieve designation as an Age‐Friendly Community.Palo Alto was designated as an Age Friendly community in 2018. 3.A.4 Add drop‐in programs (free or BOOST!) focused on physical and mental health in settings that are near home/work and maximize the  health benefits of being outside and surrounded by nature. 3.A.5 Connect walking paths within and between parks to create loop options of varying length that encourage walking and jogging. Working with transportation to implement this into future projects  3.A.6  Enhance seating areas to take advantage of quiet spaces or to create opportunities for social interaction.A number of new park benches have been added at Byxbee Park. 3.A.7 Promote and enforce the ban on smoking in Palo Alto's parks through a marketing campaign and signage program.3.A.8 Upgrade or add drinking fountains with water bottle filling and water for dogs.3.A.9 Develop adult fitness areas in parks including exercise areas for the exclusive use of older adults (seniors).Currently being done for all future CIP projects  3.B  Incorporate art into park design and recreation programming (consistent with the Public Art Master Plan).There is a new public art project (foraging habitat island) at Byxbee. 3.B.1 Promote temporary public art installations in local parks.There is a new public art project (foraging  habitat island) at Byxbee. 3.B.2 Promote interactive public art features that also serve as play features (i.e. climbable sculptural elements integrated into the natural  environment that invite touch and exploration). 3.B.3 Update park design policies to incorporate artistic elements consistent with the Public Art Master Plan. 3.B.4 Commission artwork that interprets local history, events and significant individuals; represents City core values of sustainability, youth  well‐being, health, innovation. 3.B.5 Bring in performance‐based work, social practice, temporary art and community art. Summer Twilight concert series; Movie nights Mitchell Park  3.B.6  Explore suitable art for preserves and natural areas.Baylands Comprehensive plan to review are element in baylands  3.B.7 Incorporate public art in the earliest stages of the design of parks and facilities that may utilize wind direction, sunlight and ambient  sound (Coordinated with the Public Art Master Plan). Art feature proposed for the new JMZ building and public safety building  explore natural elements into the required building art.  3.B.8 Install permanent and temporary installations and exhibits in well‐trafficked parks and plazas, following the guidance of the Public Art  Master Plan.King Plaza rotating art exhibit 2018 3.B.9  Integrate functional public art into play areas, seatwalls and other built features in parks across the system.Currently being done for all future CIP projects  Public art piece (foraging habitat islands) are  being installed at Byxbee Park 3.B.10 Integrate art and nature into bike lanes, routes and paths as appropriate.Bioswale installation along Ross Rd. and Arastadero. 3.C Require that proposed privately owned public spaces that are provided through the Parkland Dedication Ordinance, meet Palo Alto  design guidelines and standards for publicly owned parks, allow public access, and are designed to support recreation, incorporate  natural ecosystem elements and comply with the policies of the Urban Forest Master Plan. 3.C.1 Develop and apply clear expectations and definitions of public access (hours, rules) for privately owned public spaces Goal 4: Protect natural habitat and integrate nature, natural ecosystems and ecological principles throughout Palo Alto. Policy Program Description FY2018 Accomplishments Anticipated FY2019 Accomplishments  4.A  In Natural Open Space, ensure activities, projects and programs are compatible with the protection of nature. 4.A.1 Prioritize development of comprehensive conservation plans for Baylands Preserve, Foothills Park, Esther Clark Park, and Pearson‐ Arastradero Preserve to identify strategies to balance ecosystem preservation, passive recreation, and environmental education.Development of Baylands Conservation Plan underway  Develop Foothills Park, Pearson Arastradero  Preserve, and Ester Clark Park Conservation  Plan 4.A.2 Continue to work with partnership organizations to remove invasive weeds and plant native plants and trees in riparian and natural open  space areas. Partnership on‐going with Grass Roots Ecology, Save the Bay, and other  organizations for restoration work in Open Space Preserves. 4.B Connect people to nature and the outdoors through education and recreation programming. 4.B.1  Expand access to nature through elements and interpretive features that explore ecological processes, historical context, adjacent  waterways, specific plant/animal species that can be encountered onsite and elements tailored to be of interest to youth as well as Refurbishment of the Baylands Boardwalk underway  4.B.2 Update or rebuild interpretive centers with modern interactive exhibits.Capital Improvement Project approved for exhibit upgrades @ Baylands  and Foothills park (2019?) 4.B.3 Improve and increase access to creeks for learning and stewardship experiences by designing access points that minimize impact on the  waterway. Foothills Park hydrology study  recommendation to reestablish the creek  bed  4.B.4 Expand programs such as Foothills camps to connect youth with parks year‐round.   4.B.5  Partner with boys/girls scouting organizations for outdoor education programs and/or the Junior Rangers program.Staff regularly partner with Scouts on Eagle Scout Projects in Open Space  and Parks.  4.B.6  Expand and increase events that educate and promote native plants, species and wildlife. Through partnerships with Save the Bay and Grassroots Ecology, there  are numerous opportunities to participate in native plant restoration  projects.  Staff plan on opening the 7.7 acres area,  which will increase awareness of the  Grassroots Ecology Native Plant Nursery. 4.B.7  Provide shade for play areas using shade trees as the preferred solution. On‐going as aspect of current project planning;  partnering with Canopy  for volunteer tree planting events (Cubberley 2018). Adding a shade  canopy at the Magical Bridge Playground. Shade added over magical bridge  playground. Shade trees weren't suitable.  4.C Connect natural areas, open spaces, creeks and vegetated areas in parks and on public land to create wildlife, bird, pollinator and  habitat corridors by planting with native oaks and other species that support pollinators or provide high habitat values. Through a contract with Grassroots Ecology over 500 oak saplings were  caged and protected at the Pearson Arastradero Preserve. Mentioned in  a prior goal, staff worked with a few passionate residents to transform  areas with aesthetic turf into pollinator gardens: Primrose Pollinator  Garden‐Embarcadero Rd at Heather Lane/Primerose Way Arcadia Pollinator Garden‐ Newell Road at Arcadia Place Island Drive Pollinator Garden‐ On Island Drive between Edgwood Drive  and Hamilton Ave. Guinda Pollinator Garden‐ Embarcadero Rd at Guinda Street 4.C.1 Develop a map that identifies locations for habitat corridors including the appropriate plant palette for each corridor. 4.C.2  Work with local environmental groups to grow native plant species and utilize their network of volunteers to install and maintain planted  areas. Highway 101 Bridge Project working with Grass Roots to grow and  maintain native plants on the Baylands side. Both the Save the Bay  nursery at the Baylands and the Grassroots Ecology nursery at Foothills  Park provides native plants for restoration projects in Palo Alto Open  Space. 4.C.3  Establish low‐impact buffer zones along creeks to enhance habitat value. 4.D Promote, expand and protect habitat and natural areas in parks and open space. 4.D.1 Identify and pursue strategies and opportunities to expand native trees and planting areas in urban parks.On‐going aspect of all new projects. JMZ will maintain and expand  existing oak groove  Incorporating where feasible into all future  park renovation projects  4.D.2  Integrate and implement the Urban Forest Master Plan Policies and Programs as applicable to parkland in Palo Alto. Planning collaboration between Public Works and Urban Forestry  4.D.3  Update the preferred planting palette and approved tree species list.Underway as part of the updated Tree & Landscape Technical Manual  4.D.4 Collaborate with habitat restoration organizations such as Save the Bay, Canopy and Grass Roots Ecology On‐going contract with Grass Roots, Save the Bay and Canopy  4.D.5 Replace low‐use turf areas with native shrubs and grasses, incorporating educational elements about native habitats. On‐going aspect of all new projects: Boulware Park  4.D.6 Support regional efforts that focus on enhancing and protecting significant natural resources. 4.D.7 Utilizing volunteers, expand programs to remove invasive species, and to plant native vegetation in open space, parks, and creek corridors. On‐going with Grass Roots Ecology and Save the Bay 4.D.8 Collaborate with regional partners to control the spread of invasive species and plant pathogens.Utilizing the Santa Clara invasive plant list in update of Tree Technical  Manual  Goal 5: Develop innovative programs, services and strategies for expanding the park and recreation system. Policy Program Description FY2018 Accomplishments Anticipated FY2019 Accomplishments  5.A  Identify and pursue strategies to activate underused parks and recreation facilities   5.A.1 Implement short‐term placemaking improvements (flexible, small scale interventions such as seating, art, programming or planters that  have minimal capital cost) to attract users and experiment with potential longer‐term options.Currently being done for all future CIP projects  Table tennis added to Lytton Plaza.  Will  evaluate success. 5.A.2 Emphasize flexibility and layering uses (allowing for different uses at different times of day, week, etc.) in parks over installing fixed‐use  equipment and single‐use facilities.Providing pickleball lines to existing tennis courts  5.A.3 Expand Day Camp program opportunities, utilizing all preserves and more local park sites and additional topic areas, to meet excess  demand. 5.A.4 Leverage social media and develop marketing materials to encourage “pop‐up” recreational activities in rotating parks. • Mitchell Park Bowl Embrace The Sweat event in May  promoted pop‐up  /drop in exercising in the park and was used to help publicize the BOOST!  Fitness Program • Two NEW BOOST! Fitness classes, Tone & Sculpt and Pilates Total Body  incorporate outdoor fields at Cubberley into their training. 5.A.5 Create small (10‐12 people) and medium‐sized (20‐25 people) group picnic areas that can be used for both picnics and programming.Rinconada Long Range plan propose several new picnic areas for  different group sizes.  Plan to be implemented over the next 20 years 5.A.6 Assess high‐demand park features and identify those that can be added or relocated to low use parks.  5.B Support innovation in recreation programming and park features and amenities. 5.B.1 Review program data based on clearly communicated objectives for reach, impact, attendance and financial performance.   5.B.2 Retire, end or refresh programs that require staff, facility and financial resources but do not achieve program objectives, thereby freeing  up resources for new programs. Informal process of evaluating classes, camps and program successes  based on attendance, revenue and consumer surveys.  Classes that do  not meet expectations established between program coordinator and  program instructors within a specified time period are retired to allow  room for new programs. 5.B.3 Actively develop a small number of pilot programs each year to test new ideas, locations and target audiences. Free Preview Classes are offered for new programs within Special Interest  Classes to give potential students an idea of the program offering. (i.e.  Line Dancing, Communication Academy and BOOST!). Special Interest  Coordinator provides a limited number of new programs every quarter to  test current trends and determine if there is a community interest in new  programs. 5.B.4 Build on partnership with Avenidas to expand intergenerational programming as well as additional older adult programming. 5.B.5 Expand BOOST!, the pay‐per‐use exercise class system to cover fees for any drop‐in classes or facility use (lap swim, drop‐in gym time,  new programs in parks). New fitness classes added for a total of 5  classes:  Barre, Pilates Total Body, Tone and  Sculpt, Zumba (night class) and Senior Low  Impact Exercise 5.B.6 Set a  goal of 10% new program offerings each season; new programs should be offered based on needs assessment, industry trends,  and/or class evaluation data. Fall 2018 Recreation is offering new classes  1) Boys & Girls Ultimate Frisbee for youth 8‐ 14 years. 2) Cooking Around the World for  Youth 3) Gamble Gardens Workshops for  Adults & Seniors 5.B.7 Create a robust marketing and outreach program to highlight new and innovative programs to community. Recreation currently utilizes Facebook, Twitter, Mitchell Bulletin, CSD  Newsletter, flyers/information, marketing plans for specific  demographics for new and existing programs. 5.B.8 Develop short‐term recreation access strategies (such as temporary use agreements for vacant or park like property) and seek long‐term  or permanent park and recreation space in each park search area. Actively recruit property and facility owners to participate in the  development of the short and long‐term strategies. 5.B.9 Explore addition of intramural sports for middle and high school students through a partnership with Palo Alto Unified School District ThinkFund is currently offering intramural basketball at Gunn and Palo  Alto High Schools. 5.B.10 Provide opportunities for "pickup" or non‐league sports activities at City parks and recreation facilities.  5.C Expand the overall parks and recreation system through repurposing public land, partnering with other organizations for shared land,  incorporating public park spaces on parking decks and rooftops and other creative means to help address shortages of available land. 5.C.1 Explore a process to utilize and reserve select public and private lands for "park‐like" functions that allows for more flexibility than formal  park dedication.Staff began exploring this with the City Attorney's Office. 5.D Explore alternative uses for newly acquired parkland to optimize for long‐term community benefit. 5.D.1 Determine optimal usage for Foothill Park 7.7 acres of parkland.Staff plan on opening the 7.7 acres Fall 2018, and then working with the  community and the PRC to make a recommendation to Council. Staff plan on opening the 7.7 acres in Fall  2018, and then working with the community  and the PRC to make a recommendation to  Council. 5.D.2 Evaluate optimal usage, including open space, for 10.5 acre land bank created by golf course reconstruction. Capital Improvement Project for the planning of the 10.5 acres 2019 Capital Improvement Project for the planning  of the 10.5 acres 2019 5.D.3 Evaluate feasible uses for the south end of El Camino Park.Connection between El Camino and Bus Terminal improved 2017/2018 5.E Explore and experiment with parklets and other temporary park spaces for both long and short‐term uses. 5.F Enhance partnerships and collaborations with Palo Alto Unified School District and Stanford University to support access and joint use of facilities, where appropriate for effective delivery of services and programs. 5.F.1 Partner with PAUSD to open middle and high schools recreation facilities for community use (basketball, badminton, indoor soccer,  swimming pools, tennis courts)  during the evening, weekend, and summer hours. 5.F.2 Develop a steering committee that consists of key officials from the City, PAUSD and Stanford to develop partnership agreements and  connect facility managers and programmers. 5.F.3 Increase access to PAUSD public schools (outside of school hours) schools to increase the availability of recreation activity spaces. Target  school sites that are within or adjacent to "park search areas". 5.F.4 Partner with Stanford to create or increase access to athletic facilities and other recreational facilities for Palo Alto residents. 5.F.5 Develop a common reservation system for community access to shared facilities. 5.G  Pursue other/private funding sources for recreation programming, capital improvement projects and facility maintenance. 5.G.1 Encourage foundations to assist with soliciting sponsorships and grants. Friends of JMZ begin remodel of facility in 2018. PRC invited Friends of  the Palo Alto Parks and Palo Alto Recreation Foundation to PRC meetings  to begin conversations about partnerships and potential fundraising  opportunities.   Friends of JMZ begin remodel of facility in  2018. 5.G.2 Create a more formalized annual or one‐time sponsorship program that provides the donor with marketing and promotional  opportunities. 5.G.3 Contract or add job responsibilities for managing fundraising and developing donors for the park system to pursue funding opportunities  and sponsorships. 5.G.4 Engage nonprofit friends groups to seek donor funding, including foundation grants, corporate giving and small and major philanthropic  gifts by individuals, for priority projects and programs. Partner with the Friends of the Palo Alto Parks to expand fund raising  opportunities  5.H Partner with Mid‐peninsula Regional Open Space District and other land conservation groups to expand access to open space through new acquisitions and improved connections. Goal 6: Manage Palo Alto’s land and services effectively, efficiently and sustainably utilizing quantitative and qualitative measures. Policy Program Description FY2018 Accomplishments Anticipated FY2019 Accomplishments  6.A At least every five years actively review demographic trends and interests of city population by segment for critical drivers of facility usage  including school children, teens, seniors, and ethnic groups and adjust programs and plans accordingly. 6.A.1 Create pilot recreation programs to test the public's interest in new types of classes, events and activities utilizing an evaluation process. Free Preview Classes are offered for new programs within Special Interest  Classes to give potential students an idea of the program offering. (i.e. Line  Dancing, Communication Academy and BOOST!). Special Interest Coordinator provides a limited number of new programs every quarter to test current  trends and determine if there is a community interest in new programs. 6.A.2  Initiate a community‐wide focus group on an annual basis to provide feedback on programs, facilities and long‐term roadmaps.   6.A.3 Create a streamlined and effective quarterly survey system that solicits feedback from customers, including program participants, facility renters,  and the general community. 6.B Continue to implement the Cost Recovery Policy for recreation programs, refining the cost and fees using the most current information  available. 6.B.1 Periodically benchmark the City’s Cost Recovery Policy against other Cities’ cost recovery models.Planned for FY19 6.B.2 Invest in and market city facilities to increase revenue for cost recovery. Several improvements to Lucie Stern  Community Center with the goal of increasing  facility rentals for special events and classes.   Brick pathway project, landscaping.  CIP for  interior improvements to Stern in FY19. 6.C Limit the exclusive use of Palo Alto parks (booking an entire park site) for events by outside organizations that are closed to the general  public. 6.C.1 Exclusive use of parks or athletic fields by a private party or corporation for events that are closed to the general public will be considered on a  case‐by‐case basis, and will be assessed using the following criteria:  No exclusive use by private parties is permitted on peak days; Private uses  will be limited to a maximum of five consecutive days, including event set‐up and break‐down; For any mulit day private event notice the  surrounding neighbors 14 days in advance; Cost recovery, including wear and tear on facility should be 100%; Explore establishing incremental  deposits and fees for such use. New cost added to Muni Fee Schedule for  corporate events at parks. 6.C.2 Use of parks for locally focused events, where more than 50% of participants are expected to be Palo Alto residents and that allow registration by  the general public (e.g., events such as, races, obstacle course events, triathlons, etc.) may be considered by staff if consistent with this Master  Plan; 6.C.3 Exclusive use of certain sites and facilities within parks, such as reservable picnic areas, is permitted in accordance with the City's Park and Open  Space Regulations  6.C.4 Events that allow public access are permitted, in accordance with Special Event Permit procedures. 6.D Periodically review and update existing guidance for development, operations, and maintenance of Palo Alto’s Parks, Trails, Natural Open  Spaces, and Recreation system based on the best practices in the industry and this Master Plan, including: Park Rules and Regulations; City of  Palo Alto Landscape Standards; City of Palo Alto design guidelines and standards; and Tree & Landscape Technical Manual. 6.E Incorporate sustainable best practices in the maintenance, management, and development of open spaces, parks, and recreation facilities  where consistent with ecological best practices. 6.E.1 Increase energy efficiency in Palo Alto parks, including allocating funding to retrofit facilities for energy efficiency with increased insulation, green  or reflective roofs and low‐emissive window glass where applicable. 6.E.2 Conduct energy audits for all facilities, establish an energy baseline for operations, benchmark energy performance against comparable facilities,  and implement energy tracking and management systems for all park facilities and operations; 6.E.3 Select Energy Star and equivalent energy‐efficient products for Park equipment purchases; and Parks purchased battery powered blowers 6.E.4 Expand the collection and use of solar power (parking lots, roofs) and other renewable energy sources at parks and facilities (e.g. pools). 6.E.5  Provide convenient and well‐marked compost and recycling receptacles throughout the park system, in recreation facilities and at special events; Adding new receptacles (trash, recycling,  compost) at Rinconada Park with the goal of  moving toward a zero waste system. 6.E.6 Ensure that trash, recycling, and compost receptacles have covers to prevent wildlife access to human food sources.All the trash enclosures in Open Space are covered. We added them at  Ramos, Heritage, and Rinconada. (Many of our existing enclosures do not  have lids that can be added) Through park renovations (Boulware Park),  enclosures will be replaced with covered  versions. 6.E.7 Review purchasing policies and improve employee education to reduce overall consumption of materials throughout the system; 6.E.8 Procure environmentally preferable products (as required by the City’s Environmentally Preferred Purchasing policy) as the “default” purchasing  option; 6.E.9 Initiate composting of green waste within the park system. 6.E.10 Work with Public Works to replace the vehicle fleet with electric vehicles whenever practical; 6.E.11 Install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at park facilities with parking lots; 6.E.12 Enforce a “No Idle” program with vehicles and other gas‐powered equipment;This is standard practice for Open Space, Parks, and Golf staff and  contractors. 6.E.13  Conduct water audits for all parks and recreation facilities and park operations; 6.E.14  Install high‐efficiency urinals, toilets, sinks and showers in all facilities; 6.E.15 Extend recycled water use to more park sites; 6.E.16 Explore water capture opportunities in parks for irrigation and recycling; 6.E.17 Ensure any irrigation systems on public landscapes are run by a smart controller and/or sensors and that staff are trained in programming them As irrigation systems are renovated, they will  be replaced with smart controllers. 6.E.18  Link all park facilities to a centralized irrigation management system to maximize water use efficiency. 6.E.19 Promote urban greening by integrating storm water design into planting beds, reducing irrigation and providing interpretive information about  park contributions to city water quality. 6.E.20 Train City maintenance staff and include specific standards and expectations in maintenance contracts for the care of for low‐water, naturalized  landscapes, natural play environments and other new types of features in the system. City staff and contractors attend trainings on irrigation and landscaping practices for various vegetation types (including low water-use, and native plants) 6.E.21 Ensure project designs for new facilities and retrofits will be consistent with sustainable design principles and practices.  This includes evaluating  all projects for opportunities to implement Green Stormwater Infrastructure such as bioswales, stormwater planters, rain gardens, permeable  pavers and porous concrete and asphalt. 6.E.22 Identify locations and develop swales, detention basins and rain gardens to retain and treat storm water.Rain garden added to Hoover Park There are plans for a rain garden at Bol Park 6.F Strengthen the Integrated Pest Management (“IPM”) policy as written. While some parks may be managed as “pesticide free” on a  demonstration basis, IPM should continue to be Palo Alto’s approach, grounded in the best available science on pest prevention and  management. 6.F.1 Periodically review and update the IPM policy based on best available data and technology. 6.G Strategically reduce maintenance requirements at parks, open spaces, natural preserves and community centers while maintaining Palo  Alto’s high quality standards. 6.G.1  Locate garbage and recycling receptacles in a single‐location that is easily accessible by maintenance staff and vehicles.Pilot project at Rinconada Park. 6.G.2  Explore high capacity, compacting and smart garbage and recycling receptacles that can reduce the frequency of regular collection; and 6.G.3  Select standardized furnishing palettes for durability, vandal‐resistance and ease of repair. 6.H Coordinate with and/or use other relevant City plans to ensure consistency, including:  Baylands Master Plan; Urban Forest Master Plan;  Urban Water Master Plan; Long‐term electric acquisition plan (LEAP); Water Reclamation Master Plan; Recycled Water Project; Bicycle and  Pedestrian Transportation Plan Comprehensive Plan; and Others adopted in the future. 6.I Continue to engage other relevant City departments and divisions in planning, design and programming, drawing on the unique and  specialized skills and perspectives of: The Palo Alto Art Center; Library, including Children’s Library; Junior Museum and Zoo; Children’s  Theatre; Public Art; Transportation; Urban Forestry; Planning; Public Works, and Palo Alto Youth and Teen Leadership. 6.7 Participate in and support implementation of regional plans related to parks, recreation, natural open space and trails, such as: 2014  Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Vision; Clean Bay Pollution Prevention Plan; and Land Use near Streams in Santa Clara County. Priority Projects  Long Term Projects FY2018 Accomplishments Anticipated Accomplishments  Enhance existing sports fields Cubberley restroom Design (2018), New maintenance contract include Replace Cubberley field with new (2019), Field Management  Study (CIP 2020) Plan and design 10.5 Acres Capital Improvement Project for the planning of the 10.5 acres 2019 Capital Improvement Project for the planning of the 10.5 acres  2019 Plan, design and  redevelop Cubberley Community Center Cubberley master planning process (2019) Plan, design  and construct a new gymnasium Cubberley master planning process (2019) Improve the Rinconada Park pool facility  Incorporate the 7.7 acre site in Foothills Park Foothills Park Hydrology Study completed.  Area open in fall of 2018  Staff plan on opening the 7.7 acres in Fall 2018, and then  working with the community and the PRC to make a  recommendation to Council. Acquire new park land 36.5 Acre ITT Site, Discussion with AT&T potential site North Vetura coordinated area plan  Golf course facility improves Golf Course reopened Club house improvements (TBD) Short Term Projects  Develop conservation plans for open space preserves Baylands Conservation Plan( 2018‐2019) Foothills Park, Arastadero preserve & Esther Clark Park  Conservation Plans (2019) Develop new dog parks in underrepresented areas Peers Park Dog Park completion New dog park design and install  Construct new restrooms in Parks Cubberley restroom Design (2018)New restroom design and install (2020 & 2022) Incorporate sustainable practices in maintenance and management of parks, open space and facilities Sustainable landscape maintenance training Smart irrigaiton controller training  Exceed Americans with disabilities act requirements in parks  Applied for County grant for Rinconada and Boulware  playgrounds  Improve trail connections and access New Mitchell Park Adobe Creek Bridge  Develop adult fitness areas in parks Incorporating where feasible into all future park renovation  projects  Integrate nature into Urban parks Incorporating where feasible into all future park renovation  projects  Develop new community gardens in underserved areas Parks staff are in discussions with the Palo Alto Christrian Reformed  Church to enter into an agreement to have the City manage a  community garden on an undeveloped portion of the Church  property. More details in the Fall of 2018. Incorporating where feasible into all future park renovation  projects  Enhance seating areas in parks A number of new park benches have been added at Byxbee Park Incorporating where feasible into all future park renovation  projects  Create way find signage showing safe routes to parks Greer Park wayfinding project  Engage transportation to add to current bike and pedestrian  maps  Establish and grow partnerships and identify and cultivate potential park and recreation donors Initial conversations  with Friends of the PA  Parks Expand recruitment and training of coaches and instructors Expand aquatic programs Contracted vendor to increase programming at pool Collaborate with School District to increase access to school facilities Expand programs for seniors Palo Alto was designated as an Age Friendly community in 2018. Addition of striped and new pickleball courts  Expand non‐academic programs for teens Provide intramural sports program for middle and high school students ThinkFund is currently offering intramural basketball at Gunn and  Palo Alto High Schools. Fall 2018 Recreation is offering new classes 1) Boys & Girls  Ultimate Frisbee for youth 8‐14 years. 2) Cooking Around the  World for Youth 3) Gamble Gardens Workshops for Adults &  Seniors Invest in staff training to enhance therapeutic and inclusive program development Increase the variety of actives available in parks Incorporating where feasible into all future park renovation  projects  Encourage unstructed play at parks and community centers Incorporating where feasible into all future park renovation  projects  Connect youth, teens and families with nature Volunteer programs supported by City for Canopy and Grassroot  Ecology Baylands Boardwalk reconstruction completed (2019) Expand programs related to health and wellness Health and wellness initiative  New fitness classes added for a total of 5 classes:  Barre,  Pilates Total Body, Tone and Sculpt, Zumba (night class) and  Senior Low Impact Exercise Pilot temporary/pop‐up programming in parks Expand community‐focused special events Offer cultural enrichment programs Another aspect of the Master Plan providing guidance for future park and recreation projects and programs is the prioritized projects and programs list. These prioritized projects and programs, pulled from the Goal and policies represent the items that were most important to the community in future improvements and enhancements to the overall parks and recreation system. These priorities projects and programs are broken into two groups: 1. Long Term projects and programs that will last multiple years to complete and require longer initial design and study, 2. Short Term projects and programs that can be implemented into current and future projects. Long Term projects include: Enhance existing sports fields Plan and design 10.5 Acres Plan, design and redevelop Cubberley Community Center Plan, design and construct a new gymnasium Improve the Rinconada Park pool facility Incorporate the 7.7 acre site in Foothills Park Acquire new park land Golf course facility improves Short Term projects include: Develop conservation plans for open space preserves Develop new dog parks in underrepresented areas Construct new restrooms in Parks Incorporate sustainable practices in maintenance and management of parks, open space and facilities Exceed Americans with disabilities act requirements in parks Improve trail connections and access Develop adult fitness areas in parks Develop adult fitness areas in parks Develop new community gardens in underserved areas Enhance seating areas in parks Create way find signage showing safe routes to parks Establish and grow partnerships and identify and cultivate potential park and recreation donors Expand recruitment and training of coaches and instructors Expand aquatic programs Collaborate with School District to increase access to school facilities Expand programs for seniors Expand non-academic programs for teens Provide intramural sports program for middle and high school students Invest in staff training to enhance therapeutic and inclusive program development Increase the variety of actives available in parks Encourage unstructed play at parks and community centers Connect youth, teens and families with nature Expand programs related to health and wellness Pilot temporary/pop-up programming in parks Expand community-focused special events Offer cultural enrichment programs To: Palo Alto Parks and Recreation Commission From: Adam Howard, Senior Recreation Manager Date: 10/23/2018 Subject: Seasonal Lighting Program on Cubberley Turf Field Recommendation: Staff requests that the Parks and Recreation Commission provide feedback on a seasonal lighting proposal on Cubberley Turf Field, and make a recommendation to staff. Background: During the winter months, when daylight saving time ends, there is a high demand for lighted athletic fields in Palo Alto. The City of Palo Alto currently has three fields that are lighted and available for rent; Mayfield Sports Complex (2) and El Camino Soccer Field (1). The three lighted fields are booked 7 days a week, with peak times being 4pm-10pm Monday-Friday. During the peak times there is no available free space. Youth and adult leagues are continually looking for additional space during winter months. Last winter the Palo Alto Soccer Club worked with the City of Palo Alto to initiate temporary winter lighting on a trial basis at the Cubberley Turf Field. This trial was deemed successful by the Parks and Recreation Commission. Discussion: In late 2017, the City of Palo Alto was approached by Palo Alto Soccer Club (PASC) with a proposal for a one month trial that would place temporary lights on the Cubberley synthetic turf field for the month of February 2018. The proposal was presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) on Tuesday January 23rd 2018 and with feedback from the PRC, the trial was approved. Palo Alto Soccer Club provided a proposal that included the following highlights: • 4-6 temporary light stations brought onto Cubberley turf field • Lights are solar powered with generator as backup • Lights only used Monday-Thursday, Sunset to 8:30pm (lights off at 8:30pm) • All additional activity will go through Cubberley Community Center, no pick up/drop off on Nelson Ave • Additional time on field will be used for practice only • Lights are secured and have 24/7 tech support • Lights will be placed to have least disruption to field and track, with safety precautions taken to keep participants and the public safe from running into the lights The trial period began on Monday February 12th 2018 and ended on Sunday March 11th 2018. Prior to the trial beginning, staff conducted outreach to the neighborhood surrounding Cubberley fields. The greatest concerns were limiting traffic on Nelson Drive, limiting how late the fields were used and limiting light pollution. Post-trial Information: The following provides the key points of the trial period: • Roughly 60-80 participants a day (4-6 teams) • 6 light stations were used as it was determined after the first night that 4 stations would not be sufficient. • Solar power provided all the lighting needs. Generators were never used • Schedule of Monday – Thursday, sunset to 8:30pm was followed with no reported incidents. • Minor congestion on Nelson but issues seemed to be well monitored. • Lighting stations had minimal impact on track but could impact full field use. Post-Trial Public Outreach • Staff contact information was provided to neighbors before the trial, during the trial and after the trial. • Staff was contacted one time regarding Nelson drop off, which was immediately remedied. • Staff delivered a post-trial survey to the 18 residents that border Cubberley Field. Residents were provided a self-addressed, pre-paid envelope and had the option to take the survey online as well. City staff received a total of 8 responses. Survey questions and results are below. Next Steps: With the end of daylight savings approaching the Palo Alto Soccer Club has approached the City and is interested in continuing the Seasonal Lighting Plan at Cubberley for winter 2018/2019. This proposal runs for two periods during the time that daylight savings in not in effect, November 5th – December 14th and then again January 7th – March 8th (lights will be removed December 15th-January 7th). Since this program is longer then the trial, there is an increased focus on safety which includes orange safety fencing and high density foam padding on the more exposed sections of the lights. It should be noted that there were no observed or reported safety incidents during the trial last year. During the November – December dates the field is still used for games and lights will be located in such a way that the full field can be used with as little interruption to the field or the track as possible. The side lights will be placed in new areas that will not impact the field or the track but should still provide adequate lighting for the middle of the field. Overhead image of goal locations Picture of proposed location for lights that will not impact field or track use. Community Outreach: Quesitons Yes No Comments Were you aware of the temporary lighting trial on Cubberley Turf Field?8 0 1) Impossible to miss them Did the lights from the trial have any negative impact for you or your family?1 7 1) We hated them. Noisy, bright, and in the way of usage of the field. Soccer is the only one use of the field and lights degraded all other uses 2) Parking and street congestion was well managed 3) Great to have this activity in the evenings 4) No problem whatsoever 5) probably has some cars sometimes on Nelson, but overall not a problem and we want kids to be able to play soccer Would you approve of a smilimiar lighting plan taking place next winter 6 2 1) Please have someone conutnie to monitor- that coaches are telling players/parents to park at Cubberley. Thanks (Janaury - March) with the same restrictions as this year?2)While well intentioned, they were the dominant thing we could see out of the kitchen window or from street. 3) Too Few particiapnts! Possibly precedent setting. And this is not essential City Staff has emailed Greenmeadow and Greendell neighborhood associations and hand delivered fliers to the houses surrounding Cubberley turf field informing them of the seasonal lighting request and requesting feedback at the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting or via email. Attachment A: PASC Seasonal Lighting Plan Attachment B: Survey results from lighting trial Prepared by Adam Howard Community Services Manager City of Palo Alto