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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-30; Parks & Recreation Commission; 0112-12; DEPARTMENT REPORTAB# 0112-2 • INFO MTG. DATE: 01/30/12 DEPARTMENT REPORT \E\ ACTION STAFF: SPICKARD PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION - AGENDA BILL RECOMMENDED ACTION: Receive a presentation from the Parks and Recreation staff. ITEM EXPLANATION: Sue Spickard, Recreation Services Manager, 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 5" DEPARTMENT REPORT ^? PARKS & RECREATION ^ CITY OF CARLSBAD Parks & Recreation October - January 30, 2012 1. Alga Norte Park At their September 27*'' meeting, City Council directed staff to proceed with a "design/build" process for the park. They also awarded a contract amendment to Wimmer, Yamada and Caughey, the original park designers to make some preliminary updates to the plan and act as the city's agents to make sure the final construction plans are in keeping with the original intent. The Property and Environmental Management Department is scheduled to present and ask council to approve the Request for Proposal for design/build firms at the February 14*'' meeting. Start of construction is scheduled for May 2012 with completion anticipated in early fall 2013. 2. The Crossings at Carlsbad Improvements Erosion repairs and drainage improvements began in November with the initial work beginning at hole No. 17 to improve drainage at the northwest side of the fairway and to stabilize an adjacent slope. A minor public works contract will soon be out for bid that will include remaining improvements for paving an access road between hole No.'s 2 and 3 and for drainage and cart path improvements at hole No's. 8 and 9. Design work is underway to add a players' lounge and redesign of the 18th hole at the Crossings Golf Course. The players' lounge will be located within the golf shop and will be exclusively for golfers. The existing Canyon's restaurant is often booked for special events (weddings, parties, etc.) and is often not available to golfers. This will be a dedicated lounge with a bar and a paired down food service menu. This amenity is anticipated to be complete in March 2012. The 18th green redesign is intended to slightly enlarge and soften the undulations ofthe green to make the finishing hole more playable to the average golfer. This work is scheduled to be completed in May. During the reconstruction, a temporary green will be in place. 3. Pine Park IVIadison Properties Planting and irrigation improvements were completed in late October by Western Gardens Landscape at the vacant Madison lots. As part of the contract the contractor is also responsible for the maintenance ofthe newly landscaped areas for 90 days after acceptance ofthe work. The maintenance period will end in mid-February. City owned vacant home - On January 24, City Council approved the demolition ofthe City owned vacant house on Madison Avenue which is in the area ofthe future Pine Avenue Park expansion. Although there is no specified date in the Capital Improvement Program forthe expansion ofthe park, the house has been deemed an attractive nuisance and is not needed for any City use. Work is planned to be completed by City staff. 4. Trails Survey and Trail Count 2010/2011 A trails survey was available on the City website during the month of October, to allow staff to collect feedback on trails. Access to nature, a diverse transportation system and a healthy outdoor lifestyle were all identified by Carlsbad residents recently as part of the "community vision" for the future. The vision was created based on a nearly two-year public outreach and involvement process called Envision Carlsbad. One important priority identified was expanding the city's trail program. A key tool for assisting in the development of a trails program is to conduct trail counts and trail surveys to evaluate current trail use in a community to help determine anticipated needs of trail users. The data from the trail count and the trails survey will serve as a benchmark for evaluating the current status of the trails program and for future development ofthe trails system in Carlsbad. Lo In September, city staff and volunteers completed the trail count and collected data on their usage. Counters documented the number and types of users (pedestrians, bicyclists, dog walkers, etc.) at various times of day and days ofthe week. The trails included in Carlsbad's first trail count were: Carlsbad Oaks North Business Park, Coastal Rail trail. La Costa Glen trail. Veteran's Park and The Crossings trails and the El Fuerte trail and Poinsettia Lane trails in Bressi Ranch. The completed trail count and survey will be posted on the city website and available for viewing. 5. Beaches and Lagoons Dredging ofthe Batiquitos Lagoon - The California Department of Fish and Game awarded a contract to Marathon Construction and its subcontractor, Camenzind Dredging, Inc forthe maintenance dredging of the Batiquitos Lagoon. Equipment mobilization and dredging activities ofthe central basin began in November, with project completion estimated by March 2012. The work plan is to dredge approximately 118,000 cubic yards of sand from the central basin and deposit it south ofthe inlet channel to the lagoon, and to construct minor modifications to the western basin including re-grading of the sand on the beach west ofCarlsbad Blvd to minimize sand blowing onto the bike and travel lanes. Buena Vista Lagoon Restoration Plan - On November 15th the City Council considered a presentation by city staff and representatives from the California Department of Fish and Game regarding the current status ofthe Buena Vista Lagoon Restoration Plan The Council subsequently authorized the Mayor to send a letter to the Secretary ofthe Natural Resources Agency requesting he direct the completion of the EIR. In December, representatives from Carlsbad and Oceanside met personally with Secretary Laird reinforcing the cities' collective desire to see the EIR completed. Sandag Regional Beach Sand Project - Sandag recently received construction bids for the Regional Beach Sand Project II (RBSP II), and is currently working with the participating cities to ensure that the available funding is sufficient to meet the expenditures needed for the lowest responsive bid. RBSP II is anticipated to begin pumping sand onto the region's beaches in March/April 2012, most likely starting in Imperial Beach and progressing northward. The two Carlsbad beach nourishment sites are: north Carlsbad - between Oak Street and the Buena Vista Lagoon, and south Carlsbad - directly west of Palomar Airport Road and Carlsbad Boulevard. It is anticipated the two Carlsbad Beach Nourishment sites will receive an approximate total of 306,000 cubic yards of sand. RBSP 11 is anticipated to reach Carlsbad's beaches during mid to late summer (August/September 2012).Beaches - Sandag recently certified the Environmental Impact Report forthe Regional Beach Sand Project II (RBSP II). The project, which is similar to the 2001 RBSP, will pump approximately 2 million cubic yards of sand from offshore sand deposits to 11 critically eroded beaches in San Diego County. There are two beach sites within Carlsbad - the stretch in north Carlsbad between Oak Ave and the Buena Vista Lagoon, and the segment in south Carlsbad directly westward of Carlsbad Blvd and Palomar Airport Road. RBSP II is anticipated to begin in April 2012, starting in the southern region ofthe county and working northward. 6. Parks Maintenance A partial list ofthe non-routine tasks completed during December 2011 at Calavera Hills, Magee, Hidden Canyon, Pine Avenue, Chase, Aviara, Poinsettia, La Costa Canyon, Leo Carrillo Ranch, and Stagecoach parks included: refurbished multiple planters and slopes; planted several shade trees; over-seeded active and passive turf where needed; re-graded decomposed granite trails/paths and parking lots; installed donated memorial benches and plaques; painted storage buildings, light standards, barbeques, railings, and backstops; and mounted regulatory signage. Also completed during December 2011 was the programmed pruning of trees at Holiday, Oak, Skate, Hosp Grove, and Poinsettia parks. 7. Recreation Program Highlights L.I.T.E Teen afterschoolprogram - We are proud to announce the opening of a second site that now houses the expansion of the L.I.T.E. Teen Afterschool Program. It was discovered that after the initial day of registration our enrollment exceeded our maximum amount of thirty participants at Pine Avenue Park. A waiting list was created with seventeen teens and an additional six have been added to our already growing list. In mid-September we decided to expand to Holiday Park (Holiday House) to service 20 more teens from the waitlist. This new site was opened on October 24,2011. Both locations offer 7 identical program outlines & structure. This expansion is a great opportunity for the youth of Carlsbad to go to a program that offers homework help, leadership opportunities, community service, making new friends, and so much more. Enrichment - is now offering Try it for FREE promotions where anyone can show up and try a new class without the commitment of registering. We have hosted two of these sample weeks and they have resulted in an increase in registrations by 30-34% after each sample week. We provide the facility and promote the free sample classes in the brochure and the contract instructors volunteer their time and program materials for this promotional event. This season the classes were focused on fitness and new dance classes! Enrichment is offering Winter and Spring camps for the first time. Our Toy Store Emporium one day spectacular workshop, in December, allowed parents to drop the kids off to enjoy a day filled with crafts, activities and even the ability to design their own toy. Despite this being added as a late addition we drew 16 new kids and they had a great time! T.R.U.S.T. (Teaching Respect, Unity, and Sportsmanship through Teamwork) Basketball coach meeting was held in October for the coaches and volunteers. They were treated by two special NBA guests. Bill Walton and Steve Kerr at the event. Both shared their stories and advice to our coaches and helped reinforce our programs and create fun for the kids. T.R.U.S.T. was the key. Special thanks to Sue Irey, city volunteer coordinator, for her taking the time to update our volunteers. 8. PERSONNEL On October 31, 2011 Jessica Field, Recreation Supervisor, overseeing special event coordination transferred from the Police Department to the Parks & Recreation Department. At the December Employee Breakfast the following employees were recognized for their years of service. 5-year service pins: • Parks Maintenance - Ron Anderson, Maintenance Worker II • Parks Maintenance - Mark Hogan, Maintenance Worker II • Parks & Recreation Administration - Debbie Jo McCool, Administrative Secretary • Parks Maintenance - Juan Ojeda, Jr., Maintenance Aide • Recreation/Special Events - Rachael Shay, Recreation Supervisor 10 year service pins: • Parks Maintenance - Jason Christman, Maintenance Worker II • Park Planning & Development - Liz Ketabian, Park Planner • Recreation/Harding - Brian O'Grady, Recreation Specialist 15 year service pin: • Trails/Medians/Parkway-Thomas Sanchez, Maintenance Worker III 30 year service pin: • Trails/Medians/Parkway - Bruce Lentz, Tree Trimmer II • Recreation/Monroe Street Pool - Carl Pope III, Aquatics Supervisor 9. Completed Event(s) / Donation(s) 12/31/10-7/1/11 - Leo Carrillo Ranch Donations - The Carlsbad Parks & Recreation Department has received and deposited a total of $4,620.74 in donation revenue to the Carrillo Ranch Trust Fund. The donations, in support of Leo Carrillo Ranch, were in part due to the significant contributions from the following donors: Ms. Martha McCarter, Ms. Esther Hofer, Mr. Ron Young, Good Times Travel, Canyon Lake Garden Club, and Inland Empire Tours. Donations were generated through the sale of gift items and private docent led tours ofthe historic rancho. No single donation was in excess of $500. 9/14/11 - Friends of Carrillo Ranch - Six garden benches were donated for use at Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park, to compliment a bench which was donated a few months prior in memory of former Friends of Carrillo ranch board member, Tony Carter. The total value ofthe in kind donation for all seven 2 benches was $2,550. Each of these benches were placed separately in areas throughout the park for our visitors' enjoyment. 9/17/11 - Family Movie Night @ Stagecoach - The event was a huge success as 1,300 people joined Carlsbad's Parks & Recreation staff at Stagecoach Park. E.T., the Extra Terrestrial was shown on a 35' outdoor screen at dusk. Prior to the start of the movie, attendees participated in themed relay games, crafts, and a photo op of the iconic image of the bike in front of the moon. Attendees had the chance to spin the opportunity wheel for one dollar and win fun prizes. Proceeds from the prize wheel totaled $128 and will support Opportunity Grants. 10/29/11 - Halloween on Elm - Halloween on Elm celebrated its second year on October 29 in Carlsbad Village. This event is a multi-department effort headed up by the housing and neighborhood services department. Parks & Recreation staff played a key role in coordinating the fun zone as well as supplying the decor, all graphics support, and equipment such as tables, canopies, generators, and staff support. The event drew approximately 10,000 attendees to the Village who were able to take part in arts and crafts, trick-or-treating, face painting, a costume contest and more. 11/23/11 - Opportunity Grants Donation - La Costa Youth Sports Organization donated $500 in support the of department's Opportunity Grant Fund. The generous donation was made as a gesture of gratitude for Parks Department staffs completion of a fence extension and enhancement project at La Costa Meadows/El Fuerte (North) athletic field. Staff procured the necessary materials and extended the fence on the 3rd base side of the field to match the extension performed several months earlier on the first base side. This new enhancement will enhance player and spectator safety, and help to minimize wayward baseballs from leaving the playing field. Opportunity Grants provide low income Carlsbad residents the opportunity to send their children to classes, camps, and other recreation activities offered by the Parks & Recreation Department." 12/1/11 - Volunteer Appreciation luncheon - A luncheon was held to recognize the great support of city trail volunteers. The trail volunteers were recognized for over 2,000 hours of volunteer service by 360 volunteers during the 2011 calendar year and for milestone accomplishments to implement Carlsbad's first trail count, trails survey, and for maintaining and improving the 30 miles of open space trails throughout Carlsbad. Over 600 hours of volunteer service had been provided at the Calavera Preserve. High School students from Carlsbad and Pacific Ridge High Schools contributed over 200 hours of volunteer service to the city's trails in 2011. Donated items used at the events were received from Jimbos, REI, Adventure 16, Pete's Coffee, Vanaka Cafe' and Grand Cafe'. 12/3/11 - Holiday at the Rancho - On December 3, hundreds of people joined us to kick off the holiday season at the Holiday at the Rancho community event. Families gathered around the pool area to watch Santa light the tree and carolers kick off the event. The train ride took visitors across a portion of the park donned with animated lights. Santa visited with the children in the Cabana, volunteers read holiday themed stories in the Hacienda, and holiday shopping, fun crafts, face painting and cookie decorating were available to all visitors. The Parks & Recreation Department hosted a Toys for Tots drive at the event and collected over 100 toys. A $200 cash donation by Point Loma Credit Union helped in support of the Holiday at the Rancho event. 12/7/11 - Opportunity Grants Donation - Received a donation in the amount of $1,000 from Rhythm & Hues, Inc. to benefit the Opportunity Grant Program. This generous donation was received upon the conclusion of an Aviara Community Park rental. The $1,000 donation will help to provide recreational opportunities for low income Carlsbad residents age 17 and younger. 12/22/11 - Holiday Candy Grams - Each year during the holidays the Ll.T.E. teens run a program to raise funds by selling Holiday Candy Grams to city staff that allows staff to send holiday cheer along with some candy to other staff members. The candy gram proceeds are then used to purchase small gifts for seniors who receive Senior Center home meals delivered on December 22. This year over 600 candy grams were sent by staff and the event's proceeds were $510 dollars. These funds allowed the L.I.T.E. teens the ability to provide forty seniors with a small gift that was delivered with their holiday home meal. ^ ? 1/28/12 - Teen Scene - The city's largest sponsored teen event, took place on January 28 and brought out over 600 teens to Calavera Hills Community Center. The activities entailed a dance room with a D.J., a teen art exhibit, a film festival with film short written and directed by teens and a luxury video game trailer sponsored by GameTruck. The featured event. Battle ofthe Bands, brought 11 extremely talented bands who competed for the title of 2012 Carlsbad Battle of the Bands Champions along with professional recording time in the Hurley recording studios. Big Bear Mountain Resort lift tickets, a gig at the Rock the Library series and much more. This event brings in our second largest amount of in-kind support from the community donating prizes for our winners valued at $6,620. 10. Trails 9/24/11 - National Public Lands Day Event- 9/24 Lake Calavera - Approximately 30 hikers participated in a 5 mile interpretive hike at the Calavera Preserve. The interpretive hike began at the dam with Sherri Howard, Associate Engineer for the City of Carlsbad and Greg Rubin, President of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, speaking ofthe history ofthe lake and dam, and the importance ofthe Agua Hedionda water shed and the lake's current function as a flood control reservoir for protecting residential and open areas downstream of the lake. Another highlight of the walk included the geological history on Mount Calavera, by geologist, and long-time trail advocate and volunteer leader, Gary Hill along with great tidbits of information on native plant species by Greg Rubin as the hike went from upland areas into the creek bed. Insight into the habitat management, protection and restoration which are overseen by the Center for Natural Lands Management and the City's HMP Land Steward, Rosanne Humphrey, were also highlighted. Participants also learned about the Lake Calavera Trail Master Plan and saw first-hand, the volunteer efforts that have improved the trails in the preserve. 10/15/11- October Trail Hike-Rancho Carrillo Trails -A hike was held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on the Rancho Carrillo trails into neighboring San Marcos. Leading the hike was Walter Konopka, a San Diego History Museum volunteer Canyoneer. Hikers learned a bit about the historic Leo Carrillo Ranch Park from the park staff and then Walter led the hike on the east side ofthe trail system and up the big hill to Simmons Family Park in San Marcos where hikers took in the expansive views ofthe north county coastline. Returning to the park, hikers were invited to stay and explore the ranch. 12/3/11- La Costa Glen Trail Clean Up- Trail volunteer work at this event focused on refurbishing the kiosk at the Levante St. trailhead with a new coat of paint, removing vegetation that was starting to encroach on the trail, as well as repairing erosion and replenishing the trail surface with decomposed granite. All tasks were completed with approximately 30 hours of volunteer service donated that morning. 12/10/11 - Lake Calavera Preserve Trail Improvements -Twenty volunteers were not at the mall, but spent their morning doing various improvements at the preserve including trail erosion repairs and a major drainage improvement at the Skyhaven Lane east trailhead. in addition to trail "dirt work", a special planting effort took place at the 1 acre mitigation site with plants that were lovingly grown from cuttings taken from the preserve, by trail co-captain Bet Fetscher, who contributed 35 native plants that were planted in the 1 acre mitigation site. Special thanks also for this day's volunteer effort goes to Habitat Restoration Sciences for donating their time, equipment and expertise in performing trail erosion repairs on the trail north of the restoration sites at Skyhaven Lane. 1/28/12 - Trail Volunteer Work - Lake Calavera - A general clean-up removing litter, trimming overgrown shrubs and repairing trail ruts on trails as well as a native plant restoration planting project were completed with the help ofthe Solana Ranch Girl Scouts as part of their "Thinking Day" community service project. Erosion control efforts were also a big part ofthe improvements to the preserve, provided by the more rugged and hardy trail volunteers who installed 200 gravel bags to prevent further erosion of areas alongside and near the trails. f 0 11. Upcoming Events 2/11/12 - Second Saturday Trail Work- Santa Fe Trails - Volunteer events are from 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Work for this volunteer event will include further improvements for the timber stairs at the west trailhead at Calle Acervo along with, general erosion repairs, and vegetation clearing. Gloves, tools and snacks are provided by the Parks and Recreation Dept. for use by the volunteers who come out to assist. Further information is available at the City's website. 4/7/12 - EGGstravaganza - Parks & Recreation annual spring special event to take place at Poinsettia Community Park from 10am to 1pm. More details forth coming. 12. ''Feel Good'' Moments Trail awareness at the recent National Public Lands Day event led a participant who came out to ask where there are wheel chair accessible trails with open space here in Carlsbad where she could take her husband. The next day staff received an email from Laura Cunningham, Laura wrote " Thanks for a great National Public Land Day hike at Lake Calavera. Please thank everyone involved in the program. It was educational and enjoyable. Today we took your advice, and my husband and I went to the La Costa Glen trail. Although it is not as exciting as the Lake Calavera, it was easy to do with the wheel chair. I've attached a picture of Bob on the trail." Greg Dauss, Parks maintenance employee was featured in a full page article in the December 2011 Carlsbad magazine. They showcased how he continues to take special care ofthe Carlsbad village area landscape. Way to go Greg! Story of service - Parks Maintenance Team at Aviara - Letter from Park visitor - My name is Ryan Martin and I wanted to express my sincere thanks for the work of two of your employees. Last week, I was in Carlsbad with my family visiting my mother. We took my sons to Aviara Community Park (on Poinsettia and Ambrosia) to play and accidently left our diaper bag at the park. I didn't realize it until the next morning when we were on our way to Legoland and quickly ran back to the park to try and find it. It wasn't where I thought I had left it so asked one of your employees (Jason) if he had any idea where it could be and he quickly dropped what he was doing to try and help me out. He and another worker (Cooper) were able to find the bag in a matter of minutes and were incredibly friendly while doing it. I was extraordinarily thankful for their hard work. The bag had a lot of important things in it and if we had lost it, it would have made things very difficult for us. On a separate note, your park is beautiful. I live up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and though we have lots of nice parks here, I found myself very jealous of the great play area, the nice soccer fields, etc. A story of 3 Homebound seniors at home alone during Christmas - After lunch was delivered today, one of our Home Meal delivery volunteers stopped by to tell me a story and now I want to pass this story on to you. You see, Vivian is one of the volunteer drivers who deliver meals each week to our homebound seniors. Today we asked her to help deliver the wonderful presents that the LITE kids had purchased with the money earned from their Candy Gram sales. Vivian's first stop was a lady who just celebrated her 102nd birthday when she received the present she didn't understand so Vivian showed her the flyer included that explained what the LITE kids were all about. The senior lady was so touched and said: "I didn't think anyone cared". Next stop was a much younger 98 year old lady..... when she opened her present, Vivian said she caressed the mug inside like it was the finest China. Last stop was also very moving because Vivian said that the lady cried she cried with joy because the LITE kids had thought of her at Christmas. Bottom line is that the seniors were thrilled, the volunteer was thrilled, I was thrilled, the LITE Kids were thrilled when Vivian told them the story and now I know that you have that same warm feeling because no matter what your job is in this process we all worked together to make this wonderful Christmas story come true for some homebound seniors that thought "no one cared" that they were alone. For additional events please visit the City web site @ www.carisbadca.gov II