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P&R 05-06-10 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION CITY OF CUPERTINO Regular Meeting May 6, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. Community Hall Council Chamber 10350 Torre Aver .ue, Cupertino 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Stauffer called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. in the Community Hall Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, CA. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL Commissioners present: Debbie Stephens Stauffer, David Lee, Jeanne Bradford, David Greenstein and Darcy Paul Staff present: Mark Linder, Donna Henriques, John Bisely 4. MISCELLANEOUS — NO ACTION REQUIRED A. Staff oral reports Director Linder said that Item 7A, the CIP Budget, will be deferred to the June 3 meeting because the budget has not yet been approved by the City Manager for release. Director Linder said that Blackberry Farm opened for the 100 -day season on May 1, and that all went well. The weekend was well - attended and there was no overflow parking. He also said that the World Journal Festival will be on May 8 and 9 and that the Parks and Recreation Department has added more staff to help with the event. The noise level has been lowered from 65 db's to 60 db's. The new team for the World Journal has been working with Mark and the Department to help the event ru better this year. The hope is that it will work well for the neighbors in that area. Director Linder concluded by saying that Commissioner Paul had invited him to speak at the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee meeting on Friday, May 7 at noon. 1 Commissioner Stauffer asked Director Linder if the Quinlan Fountain project was on schedule. Director Linder said there had been a few weather delays but that the fountain has been removed and the new project is called "Quinlan Terrace ". A trellis will replace the fountain and is scheduled to open in July. B. Commissioner contacts Commissioner Greenstein said he attended the Cherry Blossom Festival and it was a nice festival and very well - attended. He also attended opening day at Blackberry Farm and thought it was a little slow but he thinks that people are not used to having Opening Day for residents. He thinks we should continue having free food and swimming for Cupertino residents on the first weekend in May every year. He visited again on Sunday, May 2 and that the parking appeared not to be a problem and he complimented staff on doing a good job on the parking issue. Director Linder said that Blackberry Farm will again be having Cupertino Community Day on July 4 and there will be free food, swimming and live music. Commissioner Paul said he attended the Mayor's meeting in April and highlighted the activities and community events of the various Commissions. 5. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING A. Regular meeting of April 1, 2010 Action: Commissioner Bradford moved to accept the minutes and Commissioner Lee seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 6. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS — None 7. NEW BUSINESS A. CIP Budget - deferred to the June 3, 2010 Commission meeting 8. OLD BUSINESS A. Discuss bird and geese issue in Memorial Park Director Mark Linder referred to his staff report and said that the attached educational flyer will be posted at Memorial Park, Quinlan Center and Senior Center. 2 Director Linder introduced John Bisely, Grounds Supervisor for the City, who said he talked to a commercial sales representative from Liquid Fence Company. The representative said that the non -toxic spray should not be used over such a wide area as Memorial Park and is primarily used to "corral" the ducks and geese into a specific area. Director Linder asked John if there was an area available to try to move the ducks and geese to at Memorial Park and John said there are so many different activities going on that there isn't a specific area available. John said that the sales representative told him that if the City didn't initiate a "no feeding ordinance ", that includes a punitive penalty, the geese and ducks would stay and never leave the area because they are continually being fed and the weather is nice. Director Linder said that the City of San Jose used Geesebusters Dogs (Border Collies) at Lake Almaden and they chased the ducks and geese away. Commissioner Bradford asked staff what the annual cost is to maintain the ponds. John said that the Elnwood work furlough group helped with the maintenance so some of the cost is deferred but there are also two staff people at approximately $25K each per year, and a minimum of $1500 per month in chemicals. Cupertino Resident, Jim Black, proposed that the Cupertino dog group offer their services to help alleviate the geese and ducks. He said the group would be willing to try this on a trial period. Commissioner Bradford thanked Mr. Black for his offer but she thinks the community feels that using the group's dogs would be a contentious issue. She would like staff to come back with the cost of using Geesebusters. But she also feels that staff could have a conversation with the Cupertino dog group with reasonable guidelines. Since the problem at Memorial Park is much worse than it has been, she feels that the Commission should strongly recommend to City Council that there should be fines imposed in order to get the geese to move out of the Park. Action: Commissioner Bradford moved to recommend to the City Council: A) that feeding the waterfowl be a fine -based ordinance; B) to investigate Geesebusters as a solution; and C) to work with Jim Black and other people that he deems to be appropriate to work with staff to find an alternative plan to use residents and their pets as a potential solution. Commissioner Greenstein seconded the motion. 3 Commissioner Greenstein said that he saw people feeding ducks at Memorial Park and asked them to please stop feeding and they ignored his warning and continued feeding them. He feels that more punitive measures may need to be taken so that people will stop feeding the waterfowl. Commissioner Paul asked if the Commission should discuss a fine structure for this issue and Director Linder said that staff would work on a proposed fine structure based on existing fines in other ordinances. Commissioner Paul said the fine should not be excessive and should be minimal. Commissioner Lee said he doesn't feel the fines should be immediately imposed and that there should be notification that if the feedings continue, then there is a potential of a fine being imposed. Action: Chair Stauffer called for a vote on the motion and the motion passed 4 —1, with Commissioner Lee voting no. 9. ADJOURNMENT - Chairperson StaufFer adjourned the meeting at 7:44 p.m. Respectfully submitted, G Donna Henriques, Administrative Assistant Minutes approved at the June 3, 2010 regular meeting 4