Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-15; Parks & Recreation Commission; Minutes1 of 6 (i) PARKS & RECREATION M. 1nutes . COMMISSION Minutes of: Time of Meeting: PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION 5:30 P.M. Date of Meeting: Nov. 15, 2021 Place of Meeting: Zoom Meeting CALL TO ORDER Chair Luna called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Absent: Chair Luna, Vice Chair Martinez, Commissioners Simons, Allemann, Steketee and Sebahar Commissioner Thorp was absent PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ANNOUNCEMENTS None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes for the Sept. 20 meeting will move to the next agenda for approval. PRESENTATIONS Parks & Recreation Director Kyle Lancaster recognized Commissioner Simons for his service on the commission from Feb. 2, 2011 to Dec. 20, 2021.Commissioner Simons received a plaque in advance of the meeting in appreciation of his commitment in making Carlsbad the best place to live, work and play. There will be a City Council proclamation presented to Commissioner Simons on Dec. 7, 2021. Mr. Lancaster personally thanked Commissioner Simons for his years of service to the City of Carlsbad and the community and stated it had been a pleasure to support him the full ten years. He was look- ing forward to seeing him at many of the Parks & Recreation Department events, program and activ- ities in the future. Commissioner Simons thanked Mr. Lancaster and commented it had been a fun ride and Mr. Lancas- ter had been a great partner in this program. Commissioner Simons stated what makes this commis- sion good is the connections between the commissioners and the staff to make sure that we really are connected. Commissioner Simons stated there were many things accomplished in those ten years and he started because he wanted to be a part of the Alga Norte Community Park project as that site is in his backyard. He stated that was how it all began and here we are many years later, with lots of projects behind us. Chair Luna thanked Commissioner Simons for everything he has done with the Parks & Recreation Commission. 2 of 6 CONSENT CALENDAR: None PUBLIC COMMENT Patrice Smerdu a volunteer for the community garden collaborative provided an update on the three city community gardens in the City of Carlsbad. She also gave a brief history on the creation of the city's com- munity gardens. Ms. Smerdu expressed an interest in having more city community gardens available in the south area of the City of Carlsbad, DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS 1. SR# 1121-1 NOMINATION OF COMMISSIONERS TO SERVE ON THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Parks & Recreation Director Kyle Lancaster introduced Principal Planner Eric Lardy to present provide a report on an advisory committee and advised he will be asking for nominations and selections for a primary and an alternate member of this commission to serve on that committee. Mr. Lardy agreed the recommended action is to nominate two commissioners to serve on the Growth Management Update Advisory Committee. One of the City Council goals this fiscal year is to engage the community through a citizen's committee to create a new plan to manage growth and maintain the excellent quality of life in City of Carlsbad. The city's growth management plan was adopted in the 1986 and consists of the growth management ordinance, citywide facilities and improvement plan and voter approved Proposition E. The plan in- cludes a number of components, including limiting the number of homes that can be built in the city. There are eleven performance standards for public facilities such as parks, open space, circulation and fire services. The plan has been an important tool and providing a high quality of life by managing the impacts of new development on public facilities and by limiting residential growth. There are a number of converging factors that mean it is time to have a new plan. • City is 90% built out • Recent state housing laws • Community participation is critical On Sept. 28, 2021 the City Council approved a charter for the growth management plan. Create an update advisory committee to promote a balanced consideration of the range of perspectives on is- sues affecting the future growth. The committee will consist of 19 members and 19 alternates. The first group of members will be representing the applicable boards and commissions. There will be two members representing each City Council District and two at large members appointed by the Mayor. Staff anticipate beginning with committee meetings about February 2022 . The committee will meet twelve times in about a 1-year process, concluding with a report to City Council to work on key ele- ments that should be included and a new plan to manage growth. Staffs recommendation was to nominate two commissioners, one primary and one alternate to serve on this committee. ACTION: Nomination by Chair Luna for Commissioner Allemann to serve as the primary on the Growth Management Plan Update Advisory Committee. 3 of 6 AVES: Chair Luna, Vice Chair Martinez and Commissioners Simons, Allemann, Steketee and Sebahar NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Commissioner Thorp ACTION: Nomination by Chair Luna for Commissioner Steketee to serve as the alternate on the Growth Management Plan Update Advisory Committee. AVES: Chair Luna, Vice Chair Martinez and Commissioners Simons, Allemann, Steketee and Sebahar NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Commissioner Thorp 2. SR# 1121-2 DEPARTMENT REPORT Recreation Services Manager Mike Pacheco, Parks Services Manager Tim Selke and Parks & Recreation Director Kyle Lancaster reported on recently completed, ongoing and upcoming Parks & Recreation Department programs, events and park projects. Mr. Pacheco gave an update on the lifeguard staffing shortage and stated it had been two months since the city had to temporarily reduce the hours at the Monroe Street Pool during the weekdays. The city had pursued the following measures: • Created four new full-time Lifeguard positions • Increased the hourly pay rate of all existing part-time Lifeguards and part-time Senior Life- guards • Increased the starting hourly pay rate for Lifeguards • Expanded the Lifeguard Academy offerings • Waiting for the State of California to get an emergency determination that would allow beach Lifeguards to be qualified as pool Lifeguards • Received City Council approval on Oct. 12, 2021 to execute a memorandum of understanding with Carlsbad Unified School District Mr. Pacheco reported on the following few events that were recently held: Super Hero Obstacle Race, Pumpkin Plunge and Festival of Lanterns. Mr. Pacheco stated the next event would be the Holiday at the Rancho on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Mr. Selke gave an update on several projects. Mr. Selke stated the Calavera Hills Gateway project is moving along and there are shade structures and fitness stations already installed the project is near- ing completion. Mr. Selke stated that Village H South off leash dog park design development phase is continuing. The consultant ran into a little bit of an unknown while working on the environmental documents and geotechnical reports. During the site review for the preparation of the environmental documents it was discovered that the site contains Critical Course Sediment Yield Areas, which are impacting the project. City staff from Land Development Engineering and the project team need to determine if/where the sediment is deposited and further evaluate flow. This is just a little speed bump the city encountered on this project, but it is still moving forward. 4 of 6 Mr. Selke stated that the LED lighting project is substantially complete and there are still a few punch- list items. All the new poles, footings and fixtures are in place. Calavera, Stagecoach and Poinsettia Parks have new led parking lot and pathway lighting and it has made a big difference, the more mod- ern elements and the extra bit of light. Mr. Selke stated that Veterans Memorial Park project reached a milestone at the end of Sept. when the city officially submitted the draft environmental documents as well as the entitlement applica- tions to the planning division. He further stated the dog park, parking lot and restrooms project has started at Poinsettia Pa rk and is looking forward to having some pictures reflecting more improvement at the next meeting. Mr. Lancaster presented information on the South Shore Agua Hedionda Lagoon Trail. He provided some background that the city leased this 96-acre piece of land commonly referred to as Hub Park and it has never been developed into a park. The initial lease term is 60 years; it expires in 2035, and there are 2 extensions available which could take the total lease to 2074. With the adoption of the. Trails Master Plan in August 2019, staff identified a trail segment to go through the Hub Park property and connect both to the west and the south. In September 2019, a capital improvement program project for this trail was approved by City Council. The overall layout of the original design from the Trails Master Plan was about a 2.4 mile passive recreation trail. The trail did loop around the strawberry fields and occupy a fair amount of open space, both on Hub Park leased property to the west and further to the east. It also connected, via underground underpasses to the south side of Cannon Rd. to other trails. Staff went to City Council previously to show them the constraints of the property in habitat restricted areas. Construction within those areas can be allowed, however you typically need to mitigate for any sort of impacts to those habitat areas. Tim Selke explained the city went to City Council in June to provide an update on the initial design for the scope of the project. He further explained some of the constraints. SDGE requested the trail stay within the Hub Park property, but the city did not have that in mind when the Trails Master Plan was adopted. Mr. Selke stated the length of the trail would need to be shortened from 2.4 miles to 1.4 miles to keep within the Hub Park property boundary. The inability to utilize the access roads for the trail necessitated that the new trail design would encroach upon the habitat preserve in a few areas. There was only one access for pedestrians and no parking available on the site or off site nearby. Thus, there would be no trailhead parking lot. Mr. Selke stated that the City Council directed staff to further pursue planning the trail and return with an update in the fall. City Council's request was to include parking, construction mitigation re- quirements and habitat area restoration and management costs in the update. He further explained the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation declined to allow city use of the Discov- ery Center parking lot as a trailhead and SDG&E declined to allow city use of the strawberry fields parking lot as a trailhead and as a pedestrian access. The design team revised the scope or the trail to meet some of the constraints from SDG&E, specifi~ cally not to utilize the access roads. The trail would now need to be constructed with substantially 5 of 6 increased costs. Along with higher construction costs, there would be habitat mitigation costs re- lated to the construction of the trail. Estimated Construction Costs: • Trail construction • Construction management and inspection • Insurance, bonding, overhead • Construction contingency Estimated Total Estimated Habitat Mitigation Costs: • Wetland mitigation • Upland mitigation Estimated total $1,736,800 $347,360 $521,040 $173,600 $2,778,800 $201,831 $469,247 $671,078 SDG&t currently provides the ongoing management and they do wish to continue in the role . The city would likely need to assume some level of long-term management of the site. Mr. Selke stated the project team took the initiative to send notification letters about the project to the local tribal communities and five tribes were notified. There was a general consensus from the tribal groups that it would be their desire to preserve the landscape in its current form. Mr. Selke explained staff will be presenting tomorrow to City Council the following three options: 1. Continue pursuit of trail within only the Hub Park property, taking into account the con-· straints and concerns noted. 2. Cease pursuit of trail, taking into account the above, which could reallocate resources to other high priority projects. 3. Suspend pursuit of trail within only the Hub Park property and reengage with the entities to gain greater flexibility. Chair Luna appreciated the update on the events over the last couple of months and he realizes how much work goes into managing these projects. Commissioner Simons is excited to see everything move forward and is happy to see Poinsettia Park dog park finally break ground and can't wait to see what happens at Veterans Park. Vice Chair Martinez stated that she just wanted to thank Commissioner Simons for his service, and it was a pleasure to work beside him. Commissioner Allemann stated that it's been nice to work with Matt. Commissioner Sebahar asked about the fiscal analysis and the appropriations needed for ongoing costs $13,500-$46,000. 6 of 6 Mr. Selke responded that cost would be for ongoing management and monitoring of the preserve land on the site. The placement within the range would vary depend on the scope the city was re- quired to take on . Currently, SDG&E is doing the work. Mr. Lancaster added that a determination will be made by the resource agencies at a later time, should we receive direction to continue the pursuit of this trail. Commissioner Sebahar mentioned it seems if there is no parking that's a real heavy blow to a com- munity trail. Mr. Lancaster agreed that parking at Veterans Memorial Park would add to a person's total hike. COMMITTEE/CITY COUNCIL REPORTS None AGENDA ITEMS FOR FUTURE COMMISSION MEETING Work Plan for 2022 Elections for the Chair and Vice Chair for 2022 ADJOURNMENT Adjourned at 6:32 p.m. Charlene Buckalew Minutes clerk