Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/19/24 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Packet November 19, 2024 | 6:00 PM Page 1 of 3 Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Agenda CITY OF GILROY PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING AGENDA TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2024 | 6:00 PM CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL 7351 ROSANNA STREET, GILROY, CA 95020 Chair: Patricia Bentson Vice Chair: Theresa Graham Commissioners: Luis Ramirez and Sam Bozzo Staff: Recreation Manager Adam Henig Mission Statement The Parks and Recreation Commission of the City of Gilroy is committed to enhancing the quality of life for its citizens by promoting planning, acquisition, development, and sustainability of parks, trails, cultural, historical and other recreational areas. The commission embraces wellness and recreation, park safety, and inclusiveness for all ages and abilities because Parks Make Life Better. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. If you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to the meeting at (408) 846-0204 or cityclerk@cityofgilroy.org to help ensure that reasonable arrangements can be made. Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the City of Gilroy Parks and Recreation Commission after distribution of the agenda packet are available with the agenda packet on the City website at www.cityofgilroy.org subject to Staff’s ability to post the documents before the meeting. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE GILROY OPEN GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE Government's duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. Commissions, task forces, councils and other agencies of the City exist to conduct the people's business. This ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people's review. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE OPEN GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE, TO RECEIVE A FREE COPY OF THE ORDINANCE OR TO REPORT A VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCE, CONTACT THE OPEN GOVERNMENT COMMISSION STAFF AT (408) 846-0204 Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Agenda Page 2 of 3 November 19, 2024 | 6:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT GUIDELINES: During the PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA portion of the meeting, each person wishing to speak should prepare a presentation of not more than three (3) minutes. Persons wishing to address the Commission are requested, but not required, to complete a Speaker’s Card located at the entrances. Completion of this speaker’s card is voluntary. All persons may attend this meeting and speak, regardless if a card is completed or not. Speaker’s slips should be submitted to the Secretary BEFORE this portion of the meeting begins. Anyone wishing to address the Commission on any other item on this AGENDA is requested, but not required, to fill out a speaker’s slip as well and submit it to the Secretary BEFORE the Commission takes action on the item. The agenda for this regular meeting is as follows: 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL 3. FLAG SALUTE 4. SECRETARY'S REPORT 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 5.1. October 15, 2024 6. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 7. INTRODUCTIONS 8. PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA 9. NEW BUSINESS 9.1. Proposed Special Event to be Added to Current Work Plan 1. Staff Report: Adam Henig, Recreation Manager 2. Public Comment 3. Possible Action: Commission comment and motion to add a special event to promote environmental awareness to the current work plan. 9.2. Approval of the 2025 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Schedule 1. Staff Report: Adam Henig, Recreation Manager 2. Public Comment 3. Possible Action: Motion to approve the 2025 meeting schedule for the Parks & Recreation Commission 10. OLD BUSINESS 10.1. Review of FY24 and FY25 Parks and Recreation Commission Work Plan 1. Staff Report: Adam Henig, Recreation Manager 2. Public Comment 3. Possible Action: Receive and comment on the FY24 and FY25 Parks and Recreation Commission Work Plan. Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Agenda Page 3 of 3 November 19, 2024 | 6:00 PM 11. DEPARTMENT UPDATES 11.1. Recreation Division Updates 11.2. Status of City Parks 12. COMMISSIONER PARK REPORTS & COMMENTS 13. STAFF COMMENTS 14. FUTURE COMMISSIONER INITIATED ITEMS 15. ADJOURNMENT Page 1 of 4 City of Gilroy Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 15, 2024 | 6:00 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER Meeting called by Chair Bentson at 6:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Attendance Attendee Name Present Patricia Bentson, Chair Theresa Graham, Vice Chair Luis Ramirez, Commissioner Salvatore Bozzo, Commissioner Absent None 3. FLAG SALUTE 4. SECRETARY'S REPORT The agenda was posted on August 16, 2024. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 5.1. August 20, 2024 and September 17, 2024 RESULT: Pass MOVER: Luis Ramirez, Commissioner SECONDER Theresa Graham, Vice Chair AYES: Chair Bentson, Vice Chair Graham, Commissioner Ramirez, Commissioner Bozzo 6. APPROVAL OF AGENDA RESULT: Pass MOVER: Luis Ramirez, Commissioner SECONDER Theresa Graham, Vice Chair AYES: Chair Bentson, Commissioner Graham, Commissioner Ramirez, Commissioner Bozzo 7. INTRODUCTIONS – none. 8. PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA There were four public comments: 1. Michelle Wexler – Talked about the Santa Clara County Public Health Department Walking Loop program, which encourages people to exercise. She encouraged the commissioners to participate in the program. 2. Connie Rogers – Promoted the idea of having the Commission collaborate with the AAUW on an Earth Day event at Christmas Hill Park. She would like the City to co-sponsor it. 3. Jan Guffey – Also a member of AAUW and supports the Earth Day event idea with the City of Gilroy. Wants to raise awareness about climate change. October 15, 2024 6:00 PM Page 2 of 4 Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes 4. Janice Felipa – Also, a member of AAUW who mentioned several community-based partners that would be interested in supporting the Earth Day event. 9. NEW BUSINESS 9.1. Proposed 2016 VTA Measure B Encouragement and Education for Fiscal Year 2024 Henig reviewed the staff report and explained the Commission’s role in overseeing the 2016 Measure B Bicycle and Pedestrian Education and Encouragement Fund. Henig reviewed the two program projects that the City had submitted for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025: Bike to Wherever Day and a GIS Bike and Pedestrian Route Map. Although it wasn’t included in the packet, Henig shared a second attachment, the annual reporting document, which provided an update about the projects from FY24. For Bike to Wherever Day, for example, an energizer station was established on the levee at Christmas Hill Park to encourage residents to use a bicycle to commute to work, do errands, or ride to school. For the GIS Bike and Pedestrian Route Map, a consultant was hired to complete the project. The payment to the consultant occurred after the fiscal year, which is why it was not included in the reporting document. It will be included in next year’s reporting. 10. OLD BUSINESS 10.1. Ranking of Parks for Potential Pickleball Courts Atkins discussed his findings from the scoring of park locations that was submitted by the commissioners. Using the commissioner scoring sheets, there were 15 parks that were ranked based on their suitability to serve as a future site for a pickleball court. The top four sites were (in this order): Las Animas, Christmas Hill, Gilroy Sports, and Christmas Hill Ranch Site. A public comment was made by Mike Vizzosi. He did not want to see existing tennis courts be repurposed exclusively for pickleball. He was also not in favor of building pickleball courts at Sunrise Park due to lack of parking and increased traffic. Ramirez motioned to make a recommendation to City Council that the top four ranked park locations be the focus of a future potential pickleball site and remove all the other park sites from consideration. In addition, Bentson added an amendment to encourage the City to look into developing user agreements with Gilroy Unified School District and Gavilan College to allow public usage of their existing courts, as well as denoting in the recommendation that the other 11 parks are not recommended for pickleball courts based on their evaluation of the criteria. Bozzo seconded. Motion passed 4-0-0. RESULT: Pass MOVER: Luis Ramirez, Commissioner October 15, 2024 6:00 PM Page 3 of 4 Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes SECONDER Salvatore (Sam) Bozzo, Commissioner AYES: Chair Bentson, Vice Chair Graham, Commissioner Ramirez, Commissioner Bozzo 10.2. Review of FY24 and FY25 Parks and Recreation Commission Work Plan Henig reviewed the Work Plan and the following topics were mentioned: • Arbor Day – Will be held on Thursday October, 24 at 11:00 a.m. at Rainbow Park. Commissioners are encouraged to wear their commission polo shirts. • Pickleball – Commissioners have completed the assignment of reviewing potential pickleball locations. • Storywalk – Henig informed the Commission that the City is currently reviewing the MOU. He also showed the Commission a possible pathway for the StoryWalk markers at Christmas Hill Park. 11. DEPARTMENT UPDATES 11.1. Recreation Division Updates Henig provided the updates for the Recreation Division as described in his staff report. 11.2. Status of City Parks Parks Supervisor Sousa provided the updates for Park as described in his report. 12. COMMISSIONER PARK REPORTS & COMMENTS The following comments were made by commissioners: • Bozzo – nothing to report. • Graham – Parks look beautiful. • Bentson – Cydney Casper looks good. Del Rey needs mulch and there are still uneven cement issues. Ranch site looks good. • Ramirez – Observed graffiti on a bridge at Las Animas Park (near Hanna Street parking lot). San Ysidro Park looks good. The Sports Park looks fantastic. 13. STAFF COMMENTS Henig informed the Commission that Commissioner Doc Davis has resigned from the Commission, effective Monday, October 14. 14. FUTURE COMMISSIONER INITIATED ITEMS Ramirez requested that the Commission consider partnering with an outside organization to host a special event at Christmas Hill Park. He suggested AAUW since they already have the idea for Earth Day. Graham would like to incorporate the Red Barn into the event. The Commission was in favor of it. Henig will add it to a future agenda. 15. ADJOURNMENT October 15, 2024 6:00 PM Page 4 of 4 Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes Bentson adjourned the meeting at 7:25 p.m. ___________________AH__________________ Adam Henig, Recreation Division Recording Secretary City of Gilroy Parks and Recreation Commission STAFF REPORT Agenda Item Title:Proposed Special Event to be Added to Current Work Plan Meeting Date:November 19, 2024 From:Adam Henig, Recreation Manager RECOMMENDATION Commission comment and motion to add a special event to promote environmental awareness to the current work plan. BACKGROUND At the most recent commission meeting, there were three public comments from members of the Gilroy chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) who inquired about collaborating with the Parks & Recreation Commission in hosting an Earth Day event at Christmas Hill Park. Their intent is to raise awareness about climate change within the community. For their event, they have said there are multiple community-based partners that would be interested in supporting it. Ideally, they would like to host it on Earth Day 2025, which would be Saturday, April 19 at the Ranch Site at Christmas Hill Park. During “Future Commissioner Initiated Items,” Commissioner Ramirez requested that the Commission consider adding this item to the November agenda. Graham concurred, adding that she would like to incorporate the Miller Red Barn into the event. All four commissioners supported adding it to the agenda. ANALYSIS The Commission will need to decide if they want to move forward in collaborating with the AAUW on this proposed Earth Day event in April at Christmas Hill Park. If so, they’ll need to determine what will their role be. Will it be marketing? Tabling? Recruiting speakers? Soliciting sponsors and/or vendors? Commissioners should expect to participate in a series of meetings that are held outside of the regular monthly commission meetings. PUBLIC OUTREACH Proposed Special Event to be Added to Current Work Plan City of Gilroy Parks and Recreation Commission Page 2 of 2 November 19, 2024 This item has been included on the publicly posted agenda for this meeting. City of Gilroy Parks and Recreation Commission STAFF REPORT Agenda Item Title:Approval of the 2025 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Schedule Meeting Date:November 19, 2024 From:Adam Henig, Recreation Manager RECOMMENDATION Motion to approve the 2025 meeting schedule for the Parks & Recreation Commission. BACKGROUND At this time of year, the Parks and Recreation Commission adopts the upcoming calendar year’s meeting schedule. The commission meets on the third Tuesday of every month. Historically, the Commission has gone dark (i.e., not held a meeting) twice a year, typically during the months of July or August and December. Below are the dates of the third Tuesday of the month in 2025.   •January 21 •February 18  •March 18 •April 15 •May 20 •June 17 •July 15 •August 19 •September 16 •October 21 •November 18 •December 16 City of Gilroy Parks and Recreation Commission STAFF REPORT Agenda Item Title:Review of FY24 and FY25 Parks and Recreation Commission Work Plan Meeting Date:November 19, 2024 From:Adam Henig, Recreation Manager RECOMMENDATION Receive and comment on the FY24 and FY25 Parks and Recreation Commission Work Plan.  BACKGROUND On February 20, 2024, the Parks and Recreation Commission adopted a new Work Plan for the remainder of FY24 and for FY25.  At each monthly meeting, the Commission review the Work Plan to ensure the assignments are completed or in the process of being completed.       The Commission agreed to adopt the following items on their Work Plan:       •Hosting Arbor Day (suggestion was to have it in the Fall);     •Training opportunities for Commission members (i.e., webinars, conferences, etc.);     •Participate in citywide events (i.e., Breakfast with Santa and Bike to Wherever Day);     •Monitor city parks;     •Establish guidance for a future pickleball court at a city park;     •Study opportunities for parks and recreation services to have dedicated funding sources; and,     •Work with Gilroy Library to bring about a Storywalk to a park or a trail.   The Commission Work Plan is attached and offers the most recent updates. Attachments: 1. FY24 & FY25 Parks and Recreation Commission Work Plan as of 11.8.24 FY24 and FY25 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION WORK PLAN Project Name Work Lead Commissioner/ Staff Deliverable in June 2025 City Council Priority Status Host Arbor Day Develop a community event around Arbor Day to retain Tree City USA designation Sam Working with staff to Identify park to host and celebrate Arbor Day event. Maintain and Improve City infrastructure COMPLETE: Arbor Day was hosted at Rainbow Park on Thursday, October 24, 2024. Training Opportunities for Commissioners Participate in parks and recreation related training opportunities Pat Inform commissioners about upcoming opportunities; participate in trainings N/A No update Participate in Citywide Events Meet and greet residents at special events in the City; inform residents about the Commission & parks and recreation All Commissioners Table or participate in citywide events such as Breakfast with Santa, Bike to Wherever Day and or a Downtown Gilroy event N/A COMPLETE: Participated in Bike to Wherever Day 2024 on May 16, 2024 at the Christmas Hill Park Levee. Will support Breakfast with Santa on December 7, 2024 too. Monitor City parks Share observations about parks at monthly meetings; commissioners are responsible for reporting on their park assignments at monthly meetings; utilize checklist All Commissioners Commissioners have been assigned two or more parks to report on at each meeting Maintain and Improve City infrastructure Commissioners will continue to monitor and report their observations of their assigned parks to staff Review of establishing a Pickleball facility Establish guidance for a future pickleball court at a city park All Commissioners Participate and provide input in survey of pickleball locations and types of amenities Maintain and Improve City infrastructure IN PROGRESS: Commissioners submitted their scoring of potential pickleball locations. Staff will provide a final summary of their results and forward your recommendation to City Council. Study opportunities for parks and recreation services to have dedicated funding sources Research how a dedicated funding source can be available for funding parks and recreation services and facilities Pat and Luis Publish memo to identify opportunities to develop dedicated funding source for parks and recreation services. Ensure Neighborhood Equity Bentson met with Public Works Director Guindy and will share additional information with Commission. Work with Gilroy Library to bring about a Storywalk to a park or a trail. Identify and recommend a park or trail location that is suitable for a StoryWalk in Gilroy. Support the City to install a Storywalk at a park or on a trail. Maintain and Improve City infrastructure IN PROGRESS: Staff is working with the Santa Clara County Library District on an MOU for the StoryWalk project that will be constructed at Christmas Hill Park. Revised November 14, 2024 1 City of Gilroy Recreation Division 7171 Hanna Street | (408) 846-0460 Rec@cityofgilroy.org | www.cityofgilroy.org/recreation Below are the following updates from the Recreation Division. I.Halloween Events - On October 25, the Adaptive program hosted a Halloween Dance. More than 80 participants danced the night away. Also, on that same night, at San Ysidro Park, in collaboration with the South County Youth Task Force and Santa Clara County Neighborhood Services Unit, the Recreation Division co-hosted “Spooky Night,” a celebration of Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos. There were over 400 residents who enjoyed free activities, access to community resources, an altar, and a haunted house. II.Senior Services - VSP Vision Eyes of Hope mobile clinic stopped at the Senior Center on October 23. The mobile clinic travels throughout the US to increase equitable access to eye care and eyewear to low-income and uninsured Americans. About 60 Gilroy residents, all of whom are senior citizens, were able to take advantage of the free eye exam and receive a set of glasses. 2 III.Upcoming Events - On Saturday, December 7, the Recreation Division will be hosting the annual Breakfast with Santa event at the Senior Center. There will be seatings: 8:30am and 10:30am. Breakfast will be prepared by the members of the Parks & Recreation Commission. Santa will be available for picture taking. IV.Youth Basketball - The Winter Youth Basketball League has 110 participants registered. Games will begin in December at Solorsano Middle School Gym. V.New Recreation Guide – the 2025 Winter Spring Recreation Guide will be available on November 19. City of Gilroy Parks and Landscape Division 613 Old Gilroy St. | 408.846.0283 Tree Trimming •Las Animas Park completed •Overflow parking Christmas Hill Park •Carriage Hills Park completed •Silvas crossing, and Uvas Creek trail Service Requests •38 service requests since last meeting •4 mainline repairs •Graffiti abatement throughout parks •Lighting issues •Restroom plumbing repair. •Hometown Heroes Banners •Weed Abatement •Replaced 4 BBQs at Christmas Hill •Picnic tables painted Hanna playground •Completed Arbor Day Planting Rainbow Park •Completed West Council chambers patio