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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-10-19; Parks & Recreation Commission; 1009-2; Department ReportPARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION - AGENDA BILL AB# 1009-2 MTG.DATE: 110/19/09 STAFF: | ELLIOTT DEPARTMENT REPORT INFO ACTION RECOMMENDED ACTION: Receive a presentation from the Parks and Recreation staff. ITEM EXPLANATION: Deputy City Manager Jim Elliott, will report on recently completed and upcoming Parks and Recreation activities, donations and grants, as well as other topics of local interest. EXHIBITS: 1. Department Report ^ CITY OF PARKS & RECREATION tXHIBIT 1 CARLSBAD DEPARTMENT REPORT Parks & Recreation October 19, 2009 1. Drought Response/Water Conservation as Related to Irrigating City Properties - On July 1, 2009, Drought Response Level 2 of City Ordinance No. 44 (Drought Response Plan and Water Conservation Program) became effective. The irrigation restrictions imposed by Response Level 2 are definitely affecting the appearance of city properties. The city's parks, medians planters, downtown streetscapes, and facility landscapes that do not use recycled water, or are not irrigated by a central command/weather based controller, or are not on a drip/micro/stream rotor system, are looking much dryer than normal. The grass in particular yellowed significantly during the heat of the summer at these locations. The condition at these locations may actually worsen during the 'Wet Season' (November through May), as further reductions for this period are currently slated by the ordinance, and the level of anticipated rainfall is unpredictable. Where the infrastructure is in place, the Parks and Recreation staff has been retrofitting the irrigation systems of parks, medians planters, and facility landscapes, from a potable water source to a recycled water source. Calavera Hills Park is the most recent site to have its irrigation converted; recycled water began flowing in the second week of October. This infrastructure, however, is not currently available to the majority of city properties. In the cases where the infrastructure is not available, staff is utilizing its reduced resources to selectively upgrade irrigation systems to central command/weather based controllers, and/or drip/micro/stream rotors. Staff has also recently requested that the city's water district consider changes in the verbiage (or interpretation) of Ordinance No. 44 that would allow for greater flexibility in the management of irrigation, particularly through the Wet Season of Response Level 2. 2. Alga Norte Community Park - At its Oct. 6 meeting, the Carlsbad City Council approved updated plans and specifications for Alga Norte Community Park and to advertise for bids for the grading only of the park site. On April 21, the City Council decided to have the Alga Norte Community Park site rough graded to take advantage of today's lower construction costs and prepare the site for the park's future construction. With this direction, city staff worked with a consultant to make revisions to the park's plans and specifications. The grading work is estimated to cost $3.18 million. The rough grading is estimated to be completed in the summer of 2010. On April 21 City Council meeting, the City Council decided not to authorize construction of the park amenities at this time and asked city staff to provide more information on two options for operating the park and aquatics center. A. City operate (as done currently for other City parks) B. Enter into a lease or management contract with another organization If the city contracts with another company to operate the park, some or all of the operating costs could be borne by that entity. The city is preparing a request for proposals for organizations interested in operating the park to further evaluate this option. 3. Poinsettia Park - The public private partnership for the Poinsettia Tennis Complex is moving forward. Staff is presently developing the contract. Once the contract is completed from a staff perspective, negotiations with the successful bidder will continue. It is planned that this proposal will go before the Commission in November and before the City Council in December for approval. 4. Update on the Request for Increased Police/Security Presence After Hours at Poinsettia Park - During the Public Comment period of the September 21, 2009 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting, Sonja Scofield, a resident adjacent to the Poinsettia Park soccer field, expressed her desire to have increased police or security presence at the site after standard operating hours. In particular, she was concerned over persons being present on the soccer field after 10:00 p.m., generating noise and creating a general disturbance to the adjacent neighbors. In response to this comment, staff relayed Ms. Schofield's report to the Police Department and requested increased patrols of the park after standard operating hours. The Community Policing Sergeant indicated he was familiar with Ms. Scofield's concern, and that he would inform her of the intention to increase monitoring of the site. At this time, neither the Parks and Recreation Department, nor the Police Department, believe that surveillance cameras or other security measures are necessary to address this issue. 5. Pine Park / Madison Property- Trie "Pine/Madison Properties" consist of approximately 1 acre, adjacent to the new Pine Ave Park, and bordering Madison St. A portion of the 1 acre (approx. % acre) was included in the Pine Park Master Plan when it was approved by City Council in January 2003 and was designated as an "ornamental garden" (which would be built in a later phase of the park development). Subsequent to the approval of the Master Plan, the City acquired properties along Madison to make up the remainder of the 1 acre for future development. The homes were removed with the exception of one house that remains. Between April and October of 2006, staff brought forward to the Parks and Recreation Commission, and subsequently in a public workshop, options for the expansion of the park into the Madison properties. The community expressed the desire to expand the ornamental garden concept. The expansion project is currently listed in the Capital Improvement Program as "unfunded" with no specific date for construction. In April, 2009, the Parks and Recreation Commission held a regular meeting at the Harding Community Center and the topic of a potential interim design for the ornamental garden was discussed, with many of the local community present. Since that meeting, the economic forecasts for the City have not improved and a water shortage has strictly limited the use of irrigation for our parks. With this in mind, staff is not recommending that any development take place on the Pine / Madison Properties until it is clear that whatever is installed will be able to be maintained properly. 6. Leo Carrillo Barn Restoration Update - The final report and financial billing statements for the Barn restoration/stabilization project at Carrillo Ranch were submitted to the National Park Service on Friday, October 2, 2009 for processing and payment. This completes the City's obligations under the terms of the grant agreement. 7. Department Training - The vision of the state of California is to see that all Disaster Service Workers (all City employees) receive emergency response training consistent with their responsibilities and seniority. The Parks and Recreation Department has made great strides in achieving their goal to be sure all department employees, both full and part-time, receive the training required. Staff has accomplished this by attending scheduled training courses offered by the City's Emergency Coordinator, David Harrison or independently via the FEMA website. In addition, the Emergency Coordinator has done specialized training strictly for Parks & Recreation staff in the areas of Emergency Response and Care and Shelter. The city has designated three parks and recreation facilities as potential Care & Shelter sites. Those identified are Calavera, Stagecoach, and Harding Community Center's. The Parks & Recreation Department, along with Library and Arts, are also identified in the city's Emergency Operating Plan (EOP) as responsible for the logistics of the care and shelter sites if the need arises. For the first time since the EOP's inception, staff has successfully developed an organizational chart for all three sites identifying shelter managers, shelter supervisors, and a variety of designated Unit assignments. There is a strong confidence that the Parks & Recreation Department, along with Library and Arts, is truly prepared if called upon in an emergency situation. 8. City Manager Realignment Proposal - Lisa Hildabrand, Carlsbad's City Manager, is in the process of evaluating a reorganization plan that she hopes will focus staff efforts on certain service areas, create efficiencies, and flatten the hierarchy of the organization. This plan is still in the development stages, but certain changes appear to be settling into place. This reorganization will affect the Parks and Recreation Department in a number of ways. First, Parks Maintenance will have a higher profile in, and clearer responsibility for, the maintenance of all City owned open space and habitat areas. Exactly how these oversight duties will be carried out has not yet been determined. However, the goal is to reassign people and resources in a way that allows these additional duties to be carried out without an expansion in the total number of city employees. In addition, primary management and processing of special events applications will be shifted from the Police Department to the Recreation staff. This change is intended to shift the focus on special events from a regulatory to a community perspective. The Police Department and Recreation staff will meet to cover the hand off process and other issues related to managing the many special events held within the City each year. 9. Department Personnel Changes - Charles Balteria, Recreation Specialist promoted to Recreation Supervisor at Leo Carrillo Ranch. 10. Donations - LCR Film Festival Series - For the period of September 4th through October 2nd, the Film Festival at Leo Carrillo received $215 in contributions, $1,154 from concession sales and $181 generated in raffle ticket purchases with all totaling $1,550 to benefit Carrillo Ranch Contribution Special Revenue Fund. 77 Donations continued... Adopt-A-Trail - Henry's Farmers Market donated $1,700 cash that they desired to be used towards recreational events in the month of September that coincided with the opening of their new store at El Camino Real. The donation was put to good use with the purchase of an informational kiosk that was installed at Lake Calavera and also towards t-shirts for the National Public Lands Day event held there on September 26th. The eco-friendly kiosk was made from 1,000 recycled milk containers and will be used to inform hikers and trail users about the preserve and allowed trail uses. Opportunity Grants Donation - Received $751 in cash donation from La Costa Glen. 11. Events Completed Last Month - September 26 - National Public Lands Day - Cleanup took place on September 26th celebrating National Public Lands Day with a clean-up event at the Lake Calavera Preserve. Approximately 60 volunteers, and over 200 volunteer hours came out in support of the clean up to assist with a litter clean-up, installation of an informational kiosk and trail erosion repairs to existing trails. The event received a $1,700 donation from Henry's Farmers Market for a large informational kiosk and promotional t-shirts. A donation from Waste Management of a large roll of box for trash that was collected was also received. September 26- Film Festival @ Leo Carrillo Ranch - "Phantom of the Opera" with approx. 200 in attendance. October 2 - Film Festival @ Leo Carrillo Ranch - "Four Frightened People" with approx. 100 in attendance due to inclement weather conditions. October 9 - Pumpkin Plunge @ Monroe Street Pool was a huge success with an event capacity of 400 attendees. Children participated in pool games such as Mutant Fishing, Brain Shoot out, Diving for Treasure, Bone Collector, and Dead Dolphin Races. New this year was a Haunted House that took the brave ones who dared to enter through rooms themed with pumpkins, spiders, cats, bats and rats, body parts, and a House of Heads. Other activities included performances from the San Dieguito Synchro team, Dive San Diego and the Zombie Divers, crafts, face painting, a fun zone, costume contest, trick-or-treating, and of course, the Floating Pumpkin Patch where every child left with their very own pumpkin thanks to the donation of over 300 pumpkins from Henry's Farmers Market 12. Upcoming Events - *Please note that the Fall Festival which would normally take place in November has been moved on the Special Events calendar to May 15th and will now be called the Wild West Festival.