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Home My WebLink About2001-04-16; Parks & Recreation Commission; 401-1; Commissioner's ReportPARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION - AGENDA BILL 1 AB# 401-1 I TITLE : MTG. DATE: 4-16-01 I COMMISSIONER'S REPORT I INFO ACTION STAFF: PRICHARD RECOMMENDED ACTION : Accept and file. ITEM EXPLANATION : - Attached is the Commissioner's Report for April 2001. EXHIBITS: 1.. Commissioner's Report - April 2001 ,010 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSIONER'S REPORT r I April 2001 AQUATICS Conspiracy theorists are having a field day with the energy crisis in California and plummeting stock prices. We have all heard the allegations that lurking behind the simple issue of macroeconomics there is a more sinister explanation for rolling blackouts, exorbitant power bills and sinking 401K plans. Carlsbad Aquatics faces that dark presence on a daily basis and its name is.. ."Certified Water Safety Instructor Shortage". Don't bother going back to reread that sentence, you got it right the first time ... all the nation's current woes are derived from an emergency shortage of swim instructors. How can mutual fund managers possibly be expected to invest huge sums of money in Qualcomm when they are spiritually crippled by the fear of not finding swim lessons for their children? How can California's power grid managers be expected to keep the juice flowing when their kids may not learn elementary about staying "afloat"? If you know anyone certified by the American Red Cross in Water Safety Instruction and interested in helping Carlsbad Aquatics save the American Dream, please have them call us at 602-4685. The Aquatics Supervisor is teaching a Water Safety Instructor certifi- cation course between April 14 and May 17. The class is full with a healthy waitlist, and we hope to bolster our ranks with as many of the graduates as our dynamic staff can entice into employment. - backstroke this summer? Is it mere coincidence that most of the '.corn" companies are worried Operations at the Swim Complex are about to become a bit shadier than usual. Within the next two weeks Aquatics will see the installation of a very attractive and functional shade structure over a large portion of our spectator area. This addition is a response to years of patron re- quests for UV protection for the multitude of families (many with babies and toddlers) that enjoy watching their children enriched by our Aquatic programs. Lifeguard Training Instructor Trainer (read as "teacher of the teachers") is one of the many American Red Cross Instructor certifications held by Carlsbad's Aquatics Supervisor, Carl Pope. In this capacity, Carl is currently involved in helping San Diego County area Lifeguard instructors update their skills and classes to reflect recent sweeping changes to American Red Cross Lifeguard Training and CPR. A noteworthy example of the expertise that Mr. Pope is sharing with Carlsbad Aquatics staff and other aquatic professionals is the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AED's). While we do not yet have this equipment at the Swim Complex, it will eventually become the Standard of Care for our community and we will be ready. Despite unruly spring weather, available spots in Spring Swim Lessons can be counted on my /I fingers (I have the usual number of digits). The onslaught of interest in the summer lessons has already begun. We will be accepting Carlsbad resident registrations via mail postmarked be- tween May 10 and May 15. 1 -01 P . c ADULT SPORTS Sportsmanship: "Play hard, Play tough, Have fun and play like a role model. Sportsmanship is on the high level of the totem pole of the Adult Sports Division as well as the entire Recreation Department to implement a criteria for all recreation programs to increase fun, family values and responsible competitiveness and to minimize un-sportsmanship and "a win- ning at all cost attitude". During this implementation we will educate all participants of the Reo reation Department as well as all other youth groups in the community. The adult softball and basketball seasons are at the halfway point with seven weeks of play re- maining while soccer has six weeks of play left. During the half way point we evaluate all leagues to ensure proper team skill levels and to keep all leagues balanced. Evaluations are done by examining all scores to see if there is a high run differential between teams. If there is a certain team who is dominant or a team that does not have the high skill level for that league, we will place them into a different league. Overall, the adult softball, basketball and soccer leagues had an increase of 120 new partici- pants that registered with teams during the season and we were also able to place 60 individu- als that were on our "phone in list" onto a team. Every week we have at least twenty calls from citizens interested in participating in Adult Sports. It's that time of year! Get ready for our Seaside Slam Basketball Tournament. The Adult Sports office is in the process of coordinating a 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament to be held during Triathlon weekend of July 28 & 29, 2001 in the Tamarack Surf Beach parking lot. So tie up those laces commissioners and sign up! We offer men's, women's and youth divisions. CALAVERA HILLS PARK The City of Carlsbad has provided contributions totaling $5,000 to the Grad Nite Committees of our area high schools. The donations are based on the percentage of Carlsbad Resident High School Seniors at each school. Below is a list of the amount donated to each school. Hiqh School # of Carlsbad Seniors "/o Amount Carlsbad High 436 54% $2700.00 La Costa Canyon 206 26% $1 300.00 San Dieguito High 142 18% $900.00 San Marcos High 18 2% $100.00 P 2 F ENRICHMENT CLASSES Taking Advantage of the rich heritage, culture, and diversity of landscape that Carlsbad has to offer, this summer we will present an art class in Plein-Air painting. Painting in Plein-Air (in the open air) provides an unusual opportunity not just for painting exciting landscape scenes but also more importantly for enjoying the camaraderie of fellow artists. On four consecutive Sat- urdays, instructor Lori Escalera will meet with students at a selected site. A brief history on the background of that particular site will be presented by a docent or another knowledgeable rep- resentative before setting up easels to re-create the vision in paints on paper or canvas. Some of the sites being considered are Batiquitos Lagoon, Aqua Hedionda Lagoon, Hosp Grove Park, the Preserve at Calavera, Lake Calavera, Magee Park, the old train depot and St. Michael’s Church Our brochure for summer has taken on a whole new look and the look is fantastic! I’m sure you will all agree when you see it. A special thanks to Kathy Kairdolf for taking on such a huge task shortly after starting her job with us and having such limited time to accomplish it. HARDING CENTER FACILITIES The Harding Auditorium is becoming quite a showpiece. A new floor and new wall paneling have been recently installed. With the three-day closure of the Auditorium, Recreation staff worked with the Senior Center staff to relocate the department’s classes and rental groups. A special thank you goes out to Sue Spickard and her staff of Me1 . Murray and Frank Ferraro for helping the Recreation Department continue to run smoothly. More improvements to the Auditorium are on the way - stay tuned. In addition to the remodeling, staff provided facility use at the Safety center Conference Rooms for the Carlsbad Education Foundation sponsored event, “Kids are Worth a Million” telethon. The event was locally telecasted and raised over $36,000 to be used in Carlsbad School. Hard- ing Center’s staff (Brian O’Grady, Robert Martinez and Mark Lopez) did a great job providing facility assistance and customer service to this event. The month of March at the Harding Center played host to other special events including three wedding receptions and a private birthday party. BALLFIELD STAFF The Ballfield Maintenance crew continues to be busy prepping the infields now that all sport seasons are underway and the wet weather has subsided (according to our weather man). The crew has also adopted a new procedure in base peg repairs. Just another example of our ef- base pegs within 24 hours notice. Staff has stocked the maintenance shed with Bolco and Hol- lywood base pegs in case repairs are needed. - forts to improve our customer service levels, staff has challenged itself to repair any damaged SENIORS On March 1 , seniors were treated to animals from the Helen Woodward Animal Center that was used in the animal center's pet therapy program. The members of the audience got to interact with a golden retriever, bunny rabbit and guinea pig. A lot was learned about the therapy program involving animals and all had a good time! An urologist from Tri-City Medical Center lectured a large crowd on March 21 about prostate problems. Dr. Michael Guerena presented a PowerPoint lecture covering everything from detection to treatment. There were many questions and all in atten- dance seemed satisfied with the information. Additionally, Dr. Randy Fulton, a well-known chi- ropractor, spoke to the seniors on March 22 about improving their mobility and longevity through chiropractic practices. Interesting speaker, interesting methods. We had a large crowd on March 29 as San Diego Gas & Electric came by to exchange light bulbs and halogen floor lamps for more conservation smart fluorescent products. An SDG&E rep also spoke to the low-income seniors about their CARE program where 15% discounts on monthly electricity bills may, be available. Over 500 light bulbs and 80 floor lamps were ex- changed! Great success! On March Is', "Oklahoma" at the Welk Resort was a real treat to the avid theater buffs. Great seating, good shopping and a fabulous lunch at the buffet. A week later on March 8", we tried our first mystery trip. WHAT A SUCCESS! Our first stop was the San Diego Floral Trade As- sociation for a tour and a bouquet for all to take home. Second stop was Birdrock Tropicals in Aviara, a nursery that caters to the growing of tropical plants. We also got a plant to take home with us. The final stop was the Bernard0 Winery for wine tasting, lunch, a style show and a bit of shopping. No one knew where we were headed for the day - it was a lot of fun. On March 16Ih the New Shanghai Circus at the Performing Arts Center in Escondido enthralled us. We were dazzled by the artistry and athleticism of these performers. Many times we all gasped at the feats! The Rancho Santa Fe area was in store for March 22. We traveled to the Covenant and did a bit of shopping and had lunch at the Inn (which was absolutely wonderful). We were then entertained by all of the animals at the Helen Woodward Animal Centers and their trainers. March 23d - we were finally not rained out and did the Gas Lamp District in style. The midday tour of the district was excellent as we learned about the history, colorful past, restoration and new growth plans. After our tour we walked to the Horton Grand Hotel for a wonderfully pre- pared Victorian high tea. 4 DAYTRIPPERS Ramona Pageant, where the love story of Ramona and Allesandro is annually reenacted. - May excursions are scheduled to the Golden Nugget Casino in Laughlin, Nevada and the PARKS Spring is here and so are the weeds. Weed abatement has begun in full force all over the city by Parks and Tree Crews. In addition we will be using the scheduled Spring Break for Carlsbad Unified School District to_ have field closures at all school sites for renovations. Additionally, the Palms on Carlsbad Blvd. are being trimmed to beautify the beach corridor. The Pac Bell cellu- lar site at Calavera Park begins construction the second week in April. Parks replaced 15 lamps on ballfields 1,2, & 3 at Calavera Park and also replaced the three handrails at the Police Department. To conserve energy, we have reduced our lighting of the tennis courts at the high school, Laguna Riviera Park, and La Costa Canyon Park. NEW EMPLOYEES & PROMOTIONS: Larry Ferris transferred from Parks Division to the Tree Crew. Morgan Rockdale was promoted to Tree Trimmer Ill Lead worker. Jason Christman, who was part-time, is now our new Park Maintenance Worker I. POlNSElTlA COMMUNITY PARK The opening day for Carlsbad Youth Baseball spring season was successfully held at Poinsettia Park. The North County Men's Senior Baseball League started their Sunday night games in March. The Oceanside/Carlsbad Men's Soccer League kicked off their 2001 season. Also, the Lightning Soccer Club held tryouts for individuals interested in playing for their competitive teams. .- J SPRING EGG HUNTS The Carlsbad Annual Spring Egg Hunts are back again. This year we will be hosting at Calav- era, Holiday, and Stagecoach Parks. The hunt begins at 10:OOam sharp on April 14,2001 with a bundle of festive activities provided by our sponsor, Coldwell Banker. Every kid 11 yrs. and under is sure to leave with a basket full of candy and a chance to win a great variety of prizes. (We have over 1,000 prizes available) The Spring Bunny will also be visiting the parks this year to take festive photos with kids and adults. SPRING KIDZ CAMP Spring Camp is right around the corner! We have 85 kids anticipating the fun that awaits in this years Spring Kidz Camp. The camp will be held at Calavera Community Center from April 9" through April 13". Along with the fun of daily games and crafts, the kids will be visited by Lizard Wizard Entertainment where they will get a hands on view of Giant Monitor Lizards, Iguanas, Large Snakes and various exotic insects. We will also be taking two field trips this spring. One trip will be to the Movie theatre to see Disney's newest release Spy Kids, and the climax of the week will be a trip to Universal Studios. STAGECOACH A variety of community meetings were held at Stagecoach and Levante Community Centers. Organizations conducting meetings included 8 scout groups, 7 youth sports clubs, 6 community homeowners associations and 9 other community group meetings. There were 22 picnic area reservations during March. Adult open play badminton is again being offered in the gym on Wednesday nights from 5:30pm until 8pm with three courts available for play. The La Costa 35 Athletic Club recently started their men's softball Spring season Sunday league. SUMMER CAMP Summer is coming soon! That's right, the Summer Kidz Camp Program is right around the cor- ner. This summer there will be nine weeks of fun crafts, games, special events, competitions and field trips. There will be camps offered at Stagecoach, Holiday, and Calavera Parks. We have already started to receive hundreds of inquiries concerning registration and a schedule of events. We are anticipating another sold out summer of Kidz Camp in 2001. JILL PRICHARD c: Recreation Director City Manager Assistant City Manager All Department Heads 6