AGENDA ALHAMBRA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Emery Park Youth Center 2700 Mimosa Street, Alhambra, CA 91803 September 4, 2014 7:00 p.m. Commissioners Donald Mumford, President Albert Lu, Vice President Clementina Arroyo Bella Flowers Jaime Garcia Daniel Hutchinson Bruce Richetts Margaret Whelan Trent Yamauchi Members Ex Officio Patricia Rodriguez-Mackintosh, Board of Education Mary K. Swink, City Manager Martin Ray, Director of Community Services We welcome you to the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. If you wish to address the Commission during the meeting, please complete a speaker s card and give it to the secretary. The maximum time for addressing the Commission is five minutes. If you wish to address the Commission on an item which appears on the agenda, your comments will be heard during the Commission s discussion of that item. If you wish to address the Commission on a subject which does not appear on the agenda but related to recreation or community service, you may make your presentation under Agenda item VI. Please be advised that the Commission cannot, under the provisions of the State of California s Ralph M. Brown Act, take action on any item which does not appear on the agenda. When making your presentation, please give your name and address for the record, and make your statement as brief as possible. Thank you. I. Roll Call II. Flag Salute III. Minutes of the regular meeting of August 7, 2014 Minutes of the regular meeting of April 3, 2014 Recommended Action: That the Commissioners who were present at the above meetings review the minutes and report any corrections or omissions and recommend the minutes for adoption.
IV. Oral report on Emery Park and Youth Center Facility (tour to follow at end of meeting) V. Monthly Status Report The Director of Community Services will provide updates regarding the items on the monthly CIP status report. Recommended Action: Informational only. No action required VI. VII. Oral Communications Commission Orals VIII. Alhambra School District Communications IX. Adjournment Copies of staff reports or other written documentation relating to each item of business described hereinabove are on file in the Department of Community Services, Alhambra City Hall, 111 South First Street, Alhambra, California are available for public inspection during regular office hours which are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Should any person have a question concerning any of the above agenda items prior to the meeting described herein, he or she may contact Mr. Martin Ray, Director of Community Services, either in person at the Department of Community Services or by telephone at (626) 570-5044.
Unofficial until adopted by the September 4, 2014 Parks and Recreation Commission Action Item III APPROVE MINUTES ALHAMBRA PARKS AND RECREATION AUGUST 7, 2014 The Alhambra Parks and Recreation Commission met at 7:00 p.m. on August 7, 2014 at the Granada Park Pool Building Activity Room, 2233 Whitney Drive, Alhambra, CA 91801 Commission members present: Arroyo, Garcia, Hutchinson, Lu, Mumford, Commission members absent: Flowers, Richetts, Whelan, Yamauchi Also attending: Director of Community Services Martin Ray APPROVAL OF MINUTES There was no quorum at the meetings of May 1, 2014 and June 5, 2014. There were no minutes. DROUGHT SHORTAGE PLAN Director Ray gave an oral report of the water shortage plan the City Council enacted. Director Ray stated that the Alhambra is one of four cities that belong to the San Gabriel Municipal Water District and even though the City of Alhambra still has water available, there is a statewide shortage. As part of the water shortage plan the city council enacted, mandatory water conservation in now in effect as of August 1, 2014. Two of the biggest restrictions will affect the parks because watering will not be permitted between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and the parks will only be watered twice a week. Some of the irrigation stations are not automated and staff has to manually turn these stations on and off. Staff will come in early at each park on the two watering days to make sure the watering is completed by 10 a.m. Each City / Agency is responsible for enforcement in their city. MONTHLY STATUS REPORT Director Ray gave an update on the items listed in the report. GRANADA PARK / FACILITIES REPORT Recreation Supervisor Patrick Young gave a presentation of the programs that Aquatics offers to the community. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Ms. Lola Armendariz complemented staff on the shade covers over the bleachers at Alhambra Pool. Ms. Armendariz noted that the banner announcing Summer Serenade does not have the location listed. She requested that the sound level be kept to a level that the audience in the park can hear but that it does not spill out to the surrounding neighborhood regardless of what the
decibel reading is. Ms. Armendariz stated she did not feel it was necessary to have amplification at these concerts since the bandshell already provides good acoustics. Commissioner Hutchinson asked who does the decibel readings during events such as this. Director Ray informed the Commission that the way the ordinance reads now is that a reading is to be taken from inside the complainant s home with the windows and doors closed and that is how staff intends to follow the ordinance. In the past, recreation supervisor Mike Macias and his staff have been the ones to do readings on the perimeter of the park. Commissioner Hutchinson asked who he needed to call if the sound level was too loud. Director Ray replied that the police department should be called and they are the ones who will take the reading from inside the caller s home. Director Ray said that for the first few minutes of any concert, it is an adjustment period for the sound level. Ms. Armendariz stated that the noise ordinance needs to be fine tuned. She found it hard to believe that an officer has to take the reading from inside someone s home when it is obvious that the caller is calling from their home because the sound it too loud. Commissioner Garcia thanked staff for all of their assistance during their little league tournament. Mr. John Escandon, a resident of Alhambra, runs a youth baseball academy. Mr. Escandon stated that his academy currently is geared toward the youths of San Gabriel High, Alhambra High and Mark Keppel High who do not have anywhere to play during the summer. His program facilitates organized play during the summer for them. Mr. Escandon stated his organization is a non-profit and he is requesting use of the fields at Almansor Park or Granada Park on Sundays or at Granada Park because he has a lot of youths who reside in Alhambra. Commissioner Arroyo asked what the fees were for registration with Mr. Escandon s academy. Commissioner Arroyo stated that the City of Alhambra also offers youth sports for Alhambra youths and there are times when they have had to cancel teams due to low enrollment. Mr. Escandon stated registration is $35.00 for 10 weeks with no fundraisers or other fees. Director Ray confirmed if there was a call for a sport and there were enough participants who live in Alhambra, the City would run the program themselves. Discussion ensued between the Commission and Mr. Escandon regarding his request for field use. Commissioner Mumford stated this issue would be referred back to Community Services Department for further investigation. COMMISSION ORALS
There were none. ALHAMBRA SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS The representative from AUSD was not present at the meeting. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Hutchinson moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Garcia, the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Unofficial until adopted by the September 4, 2014 Parks and Recreation Commission Action Item III APPROVE MINUTES ALHAMBRA PARKS AND RECREATION April 3, 2014 The Alhambra Parks and Recreation Commission met at 7:00 p.m. on April 3, 2014 at the Joslyn Adult Center 210 N. Chapel Avenue, Alhambra, CA 91801 Commission members present: Arroyo, Garcia, Hutchinson, Lu, Mumford, Whelan Commission members absent: Flowers, Richetts, Yamauchi, Also attending: Director of Community Services Cynthia Jarvis Deputy Director Julian Venegas ELECTION OF OFFICERS PRESIDENT Commissioner Hutchinson nominated Commissioner Mumford as president of the Parks and Recreation Commission for the 2014-2015 term. There being no other nomination for president, Commissioner Mumford was elected as president by the following roll call vote: AYES: Arroyo, Garcia, Hutchinson, Lu, Mumford, Whelan NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Flowers, Richetts, Yamauchi VICE PRESIDENT Commissioner Hutchinson nominated Commissioner Lu as vice president of the Parks and Recreation Commission for the 2014-2015 term. There being no other nomination for vice president, Commissioner Lu was elected as vice president by the following roll call vote: AYES: Arroyo, Garcia, Hutchinson, Lu, Mumford, Whelan NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Flowers, Richetts, Yamauchi APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Garcia moved to approve the Minutes of the March 6, 2014 Adjourned Regular Meeting with a correction to show that Commissioner Whelan abstained from voting on the Minutes of 6, 2014 and voted for approval of the rest of the items on the agenda. Seconded by Commissioner Lu the motion carried with the following vote:
AYES: Garcia, Lu, Mumford, Whelan NOES: None ABSTAIN: Arroyo, Hutchinson ABSENT: Flowers, Richetts, Yamauchi OLDER AMERICANS MONTH Deputy Director Venegas explained that May is Older Americans Month and gave a short presentation explaining how this program began. Each year in May the City of Alhambra joins the nation in celebrating Older Americans Month to recognize older Americans for their contributions and to provide them with information to help them stay healthy and active. The Joslyn Adult Center will kick off the month with a brunch on May 1, 2014 for the senior community and all of the Parks and Recreation Commissioners are cordially invited to attend. The Joslyn Center will also host other special events, seminars and activities throughout the month of May. No action was taken on this item. MONTHLY CIP STATUS REPORT Director Jarvis gave an update on the projects listed on the report. Director Jarvis informed the Commission that the Alhambra Picnic Shelter Covers project will begin in the next couple of weeks. It will be an attractive solid cover in a beige and brown color that will blend in very well. Ms. Armendariz stated she had hoped the Commission could have seen what the finished product looked like. PARK ROTATION Director Jarvis explained that each year the Commission is provided the opportunity to hold their meetings at different parks each month where staff will provide a presentation about the business and activities conducted in the park and a tour of the facilities. She asked the Commission to discuss the park rotation concept, determine if that is something they wish to do and if so, provide staff with a priority list of the parks they would like to visit. Commissioner Whelan asked if the meetings could begin at 6:00 p.m. on the months that the Commission tours because it is difficult to see facilities in the dark. Commissioner Garcia concurred. President Mumford suggested that the Commission could do the facility tour first and do the meeting after the tour. Commissioner Hutchinson stated he was non-committed. Ms. Armendariz stated she was also in favor of having the tour first in the event that the Commissioners have questions about the park and facility they tour.
Director Jarvis stated that light should not be a problem if the tours begin in May and the tour is done at the beginning of the meeting. There will be no need to move the meeting time to 6:00 p.m. It is only when the tours are conducted later in the year that light becomes a problem. Further discussion ensued and it was agreed that the time would remain at 7:00 p.m. and the park/facility tours would be conducted before the meeting. Commissioner Whelan moved to begin the park/facility tours first and the meeting after the tour. The Commission will tour Almansor Park in May, Alhambra Park in June, Granada Park in August and Emery Park in September. Seconded by Commissioner Garcia the motion carried with the following roll call vote: AYES: Arroyo, Garcia, Lu, Mumford, Whelan NOES: Hutchinson ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Flowers, Richetts, Yamauchi ORAL COMMUNICATION Ms. Armendariz informed the Commission and staff that she observed a fitness class going on at the Veterans Memorial area at Alhambra Park. She approached the instructor and was informed that it is not a City leisure class and they did not have a permit. Ms. Armendariz informed the instructor that a permit was needed to hold a class at a City facility and she felt that it was disrespectful to use the memorial area to conduct an exercise class. She contacted the Police Department and contacted Community Services staff to inform them as well. A couple of days after this incident, Ms. Armendariz observed small children walking along the edge of the memorial. She stated that the coating on the wall with the emblems is peeling and the emblems are corroding. There are bricks that were installed in front of the memorial and she had not heard anything or read anything regarding the installation of those bricks and wanted to know why the public had not had any input on this matter. Ms. Armendariz commented that there is a tree that was planted on Raymond Avenue south of Alhambra Road several months ago and the straps around it are growing into the tree. The tree is lopsided and unbalanced. She asked which Commissioners called staff to say they would not be attending the meeting. Staff replied that Commissioners Flowers and Richetts did call staff. Commissoner Hutchinson asked if the Commission could remind those Commissioners who do not attend and do not call staff to report an absence that they have a civic responsibility to provide some sort of leadership in the community. President Mumford stated that the minutes would reflect the comments of the Commission and those of Ms. Armendariz.
Director Jarvis stated that the City Council is provided with an attendance record of each Commission every year. It is at the discretion of the City Council if they wish to reappoint a Commissioner or not. Director Jarvis stated that the minutes would reflect the concerns that Commissioner Hutchinson expressed regarding the attendance of the Commission and the lack of some Commissioners calling in if they were not going to be in attendance. COMMISSION ORALS Commissioners Lu and Whelan asked about the date and activities for the Eggstravaganza Director Jarvis informed the Commission about the date, time and activities for this event. She stated there would be press coverage as well. Commissioner Hutchinson stated that Monday, March 31 was a state holiday and as a resident of the Alhambra Park neighborhood he was very concerned and embarrassed by the condition that Alhambra Park was in. The trash cans were overflowing and the park was pretty well trashed. He asked if staff was working on that day. Director Jarvis stated it was not a city holiday and staff was working regular hours. Typically after a weekend the park does have extra trash on Monday morning, and the priority is to clean and open the restrooms before emptying the trash barrels. ALHAMBRA SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS The representative was not present at the meeting. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Garcia moved to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Garcia the meeting was adjourned at 7:37 p.m.