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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-04-15; Parks & Recreation Commission; 402-1; Commissioner's ReportPARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION -AGENDA BILL L TITLE : AB# 402-1 INFO MTG. DATE: 4-15-02 COMMISSIONER’S REPORT STAFF: PRICHARD I I ACT’oN RECOMMENDEDACTION : Accept and file. ITEM EXPLANATION : Attached is the Commissioner’s Report for April, 2002. EXHIBITS: 1. Commissioner’s Report - April, 2002. I Recreation News , Aquatics Calavera Hills Community Partnerships Daytrippers Enrichment Heritage Hall Park Development Parks Poinsettia Park Preschool Senior Center Stagecoach Park Stay ‘n Play Youth sports 4 ! 1; 1 2&3 3 2 2 6’ 4: 1 5, STAY N P LAY BY RICHARD NAVARRO This March, the Stay n Play children ventured to the San Marcos Stadium 18 Cinema as a reward for their continuous efforts in homework completion and participation in the program’s activities. On March 14, the Recreation Department chaperoned 176 Stay n Play children to see Disney’s new feature “Return To Never Land”, leaving only 16 empty seats in the theatre! Teachers at Buena Vista and Jefferson Elementary Schools have expressed to the Stay n Play Staff that they have noticed an increasing improvement in academics in certain Stay n Play children who were formerly under achievers. The Homework Point System is proving to be a success and Stay n Play Staff are very proud to have the opportunity to make a difference in these children’s lives. The Stay n Play children are enthusiastically anticipating the end of the year field trip to Knott’s Berry Farm. They have been continuously striving to accumulate as many homeworklparticipation points as possible to be eligible for the trip. The homeworklparticipation points are exceptionally high at both Stay n Play sites and this year may prove to be the largest end of the year field trip attendance in Stay n Play history! CALAVERA HILLS PARK BY DEREK DENKERS March was an eventful month at Calavera Hills Community Center and Park. We started the month off by hosting some of the youth basketball playoff games to determine who would go on to represent Carlsbad at the regional tournament. The singing class held their recital here, singing songs for the parents and guests that attended. A babysitting certification course was also held at Calavera, where the American Red Cross taught skills to assist the teenage babysitter. The Living Stream Community Church held an open house at Calavera, which was well attended. They had an astro jump, many activities, and a small church service. Calavera Park was the site of one of the City’s Spring Egg Hunts. All three ballfields were used to allow the kids to get all of the candy and plastic eggs that they could. The Calavera Staff participated in a fire safety training course where they learned the proper tech- niques to putting out different kinds of fires that could possibly occur in and around the community center. EXHIBIT 1 The reopening is anticipated by community organizations, special classes and it is well used for private parties and weddings. The upgrade’s timing is perfect with the City’s 50th Anniversary in July. Recreation staff hopes to tie in a ceremony, at the Heritage Hall building, in conjunction with the Parade and 50th Anniversary Antique Car Show and Festival on July 27th. I ._ .. ..... . - -., , __ -. . .~ i. .. .- . . . ”._ ..-... .. . -,.. ~ .” ., . ~,. ~ 7,. . .~.. . . . . . . .~ , .. - :- ., COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS BY CIAN LAURO This month, the Safety Center Conference complex hosted the Carlsbad Education Foundation, “Kids Are Worth A Million” telethon. This was the Znd annual event for the Carlsbad Education Foundation Telethon. The event was locally telecasted, and raised over $36,500 for Carlsbad schools. A special thank you goes out to Harding Center staff Brian O’Grady, Robert Martinez and Bryan Synder for assisting in set-up and breakdown of the facility. ENRICHMENT CLASSES BY BETSY KENNEDY Ask the staff at Calavera what class they enjoy the most and I can guarantee that the unanimous vote would be for the Spring Cooking Camp. After all, they get to sample all of the delicious culinary creations prepared each day by the junior chefs. And, if over sampling becomes a problem, we have a perfect solution, Racy Ladies. With the beautiful weather that spring brings it’s the perfect time to reap the benefits of walking or jogging. Our class, Racy Ladies, has proven over the years to be one of our most popular exercise classes, with enrollment being consistently high. Besides burning calories and improving cardio fitness, it tones the entire body with the added benefit of being low impact. Any good reason not to “spring” into action? Did you know that out of thousands of organizations that offer lifelong learning opportunities to the general public, Recreation Departments are listed as one of the top ten. The reason for this is because they move beyond traditional recreation and into subjects offering a diversity of classes such has parenting or computers and provides activities to kids, teens, adults and the senior community. DAYTRIPPERS BY DAVE MILLIKAN Excursions in March were to Ensenada, the Santa Anita Racetrack, and Glory of Easter play at Garden Grove’s Crystal Cathedral. In May, trips are planned to Anza Borrego desert and the Getty Museum to view the great works of art. Recently, Carmen Lopez, coordinator of the Daytripper program, had surgery on her knee and is recuperating at home. Get well soon Carmen! COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS BY JILL PRICHARD The Challenged Athletes Foundation was created on the belief that people of all abilities should have the opportunity to pursue a life full of physical activity and of sports. Be they recreational or in pursuit of a gold medal at the Paralympic Games, people with a physical disability are limited only by their access to funding. As one of the very few charities that provides grants directly to athletes with a physical disability, the Challenged Athletes Foundation has raised over 2.7 million dollars and directly assisted 875 challenged athletes world wide. A small endowment fund has also been created to ensure challenged athletes will always have a place to go for funding. The Carlsbad Triathlon has partnered with the Challenged Athletes Foundation by encouraging our sponsors to donate funds directly to CAF. We also provide a venue for CAF to conduct a silent auction during our weekend of events. The Carlsbad Triathlon has helped CAF raise over $3,500 over the past two years. Another example of building community pride and promoting recreational activities for all abilities of people. ADVENTURES IN PRESCHOOL BY BRENDA ELG Our adventures in Preschool bring us to the Parent Toddler 1’s class at Calavera Hills Community Center. This class is designed for parents who have toddlers who are 18-24 months old. This wonderful activity is guided by it‘s bubbly and caring Preschool Instructor, Susie Becker. Susie is our newest instructor at Calavera and is completing her second year with the City this spring. She also teaches parent-toddler classes at the Scout House at Holiday Park. Susie has an extensive teaching background and brings a great knowledge of early childhood development to our program. February was a busy month for our Toddlers at Calavera Hills Center. Just to mention a few activities, our fearless toddlers learned how to throw or kick a ball, sang and played “This is the way to wash our hands”, decorated Valentine’s Bags for their Valentine’s Party and learned all about The Five Little Kittens, and explored A Mother‘s Love at story time. Parents discussed helpful parenting topics such as thumb sucking, crib to bed and the all-consuming toddler statement “mine”. All in all, the Toddler 1’s and their parents had a great month! Join us next month as we continue our Preschool Adventures at Kruger House Preschool! Page 4 Recreation News ,. Forgotten memories were stirred up March 20' at the Senior Center when a Life Story Preservationist visited. Chuck Tyler took the seniors through a group of fun exercises on how to trigger and record those valuable yet forgotten memories to share with family, present and future. Both an orange and an onion were cut open so people could remember certain memories associated with the odors ... and a handkerchief was soaked in Old Spice to bring up more childhood thoughts. Preserving your life story through journal writing is a lost art, one which Mr. Tyler and the audience attempted to bring to life! A Respiratory Care Practitioner visited the Center on March 21'' and spoke to people about coping with lung disease, including asthma, emphysema or chronic bronchitis. Kevin McQueen spoke of basic lung anatomy, the causes of shortness of breath and techniques to decrease this with activity. This was a crucial issue and it served several people well! March Travel Of our four scheduled trips for the month, one of the very best was on Sunday, March 17th to the Performing Arts Centre in Escondido to see Burt Bacharach and the San Diego Symphony. An absolutely wonderful performance. Swim Complex Construction Photo Update New swim lane tiles are laid during the 5th week of construction. Projected re-open date is April 20th. STAGECOACH PARK B Y DAVE MILLIKAK Starting April 4, a curtain is scheduled to be installed in the gymnasium. The curtain will be used to divide the gym in half so various activities can be programmed at the same time. This will expand the versatility of the gymnasium at Stagecoach. The parking lots located near the community center and ballfields were recently paved. Carlsbad High School alumnus Robert Melendez is the newly hired Senior Recreation Leader at Stagecoach Community Center. Robert will be assisting in the processing of facility reservations and instructional class registrations. Hope Church will soon be moving their Sunday services from Stagecoach to the newly opened Encinitas Community Center. The La Costa Youth Organization held their opening day ceremonies on March 16 for the boy's baseball and girl's softball divisions. In March the picnic areas were reserved for seventeen (17) family picnics, three (3) company picnics and Easter church services. POINSETTIA PARK BY DAVE MILLIKAN The baseball fields at the park were : heavily used in ~ March. Users included the Roanoke College men's lacrosse team, Carlsbad Storm AABC boy's baseball I team, Badside Girl's : Softball Association, Carlsbad High School boy's base- ball, La Costa Youth Organization, Carls- bad Youth Baseball, : North County Men's Senior Baseball, and Recreation Depart- ment coordinated i adult softball league play. IC " YOUTH SPORTS BY LORI SWENCK The final chapter of the 2001/2002 Youth Basketball season has come to an end. And what a chapter it was. Out of the 5 teams that went to the SCMAF Tournament March 16 & 17, one came out on top! Yes, Ken Alexander's Division A (7" & 8* Grade) from Stagecoach Park won their respected tournament. A Spring Valley team gave them a run for their money in the semi-finals but they stayed focused and prevailed. They will now go on to the Federation Tournament March 23 & 24 in Orange County. Our Division C (3d & 4* Grade) team, also from Stagecoach Park, won the Consolation Bracket Championship with Coach Joe Ross at the helm. All of the teams had a great time. Everyone who participated were winners in our eyes. Congrats! It appears that our diligence regarding Sportsmanship issues is paying off and is being recognized by our peers all over Southern California. The SCMAF organization has asked the Youth Sports, Recreation Supervisor, to speak at the Youth Sports Forum on April 23, 2002 in Cerritos. Approximately 200 Youth Sports Professionals are expected to attend. Our focus will be to educate the audience on the philosophies and policies that have been implemented into our Youth Sports programs here at the City of Carlsbad, discuss what our struggles and successes have been, and give some insight on how to implement a successful coaches and parent training program in their respective cities. We're both honored and excited to be recognized. PARKS DEPARTMENT BY DOUG DUNCANSON At our new Zone 5 Park the Streets Dept. installed driveway and a parking area. The Parks Division surveyed and graded the new swale area and it was deter- mined that it needs some handwork. We've also re-installed the bleachers from the Safety Center, two players' benches, and hauled telephone poles for parking area. Protective netting will also be installed along the Is' base side of the field to help contain fouled balls. The field was fertilized and top-dressed. Upgrades of the Buena Vista Ecological Reserve (Duck Pond) are in process. We've recently installed the 3d new telescope, for viewing the water foul. The Carlsbad Kiwanis Club volunteered to plant Bougainvilleas and Cape Honeysuckle on the North Bank of Calavera Park along the fence line. They also planted on the front of the gym with Lantana. Page 6 Recreation News . .. PARK DEVELOPMENT Alqa Norte Park Master Plan Master planning for the 32-acre park located in the Southeast Quadrant, is now underway. Wimmer, Yamada., and Ciughey (WYAC), the City’s design consultant, has made several visitations to the site for an inventory and analysis of the existing field conditions. Using this information, they will be creating some preliminary park concepts and alternatives to be presented at upcoming community workshop meetings. In addition to the master plan being underway, the purchase of the park land is being finalized with the developer for Villages of La Costa. Following a preliminary geotechnical investigation in late July 2002, the property acquisition is projected to be complete in August 2002. Alga Norte Community Park is anticipated to serve as the location for the City’s second aquatic complex, while also providing typical park amenities which may include; multi-use athletic fields, a hard court play area, a tot lot, picnic areas, trail connections, and parking. The master plan process will ultimately determine the precise program for the park. Phase I of the project will include the master planning of the park and the construction of the entire park, less the aquatic complex. Phase I is scheduled to be completed in 2005, and has a budget of $8,250,000. Phase 11, the construction of the aquatic complex, has a budget of $5,300,000 and is currently scheduled to occur be- tween 2006 and 201 l. Aviara Community Park On March 12, 2002 the name “Aviara Community Park” was approved by City Council and officially became the name of the park once known as Zone I9 Park. Construction plans and specifications for the project have been submitted to the city for review and should be finalized by June 2002. Following final plan approval, the project will be advertised for contractor bidding, which will lead to start of construction in October 2002. Situated at the intersection of Poinsettia Lane and Ambrosia Lane, in the Aviara community portion of the Southwest Quadrant, this 22-acre park will include a community center, soccer fields, a ball field, picnic areas, a tot lot, and parking. The community center will feature a large multi-function room, several meetina rooms, a senior citizen area, and offices. Completion is scheduled for 2004, with a budget of $1 1,000,000: . .. ... ~.. ~ ..~ .,. ~~ -. ~ . .. ._= ... _L . ~. . ._:. . ., . ._ . , .... ,. . I -,. . ~, ., ~. Carillo Ranch Construction Photo Update -. . Grading continues on the Carillo Ranch project