P&R 02-05-98CITY OF CUPERTINO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA
10300 Torr¢.Avanue, Cupertino, CA 95014
Telephone (408) 777-3200
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
City Hall Council Chambers
February $, 1998
CALL TO ORDER
1. Regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission called to order at 7:03 p.m.
SALUTE TO THE FLAG
2.
ROLL CALL
3. Commissioners present:
Staff present:
Hopkins, Lohmiller, Shaikh, Stein and Chairman Jelinch
Stephen Dowling, Director of Parks and Recreation
Pamela Eggen, Recording Secretary
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Ms. Tania Tengan, 6471 Prospect Road, San Jose, spoke regarding the Las Madras Club. She explained
the club was a volunteer neighborhood organization. Ms. Tengan said they provide support for mothers
and play groups and fund-raisers. Ms. Tengan said the Las Madras Club is asking for co-sponsorship to
use the Quinlan Center facility because their membership has grown too large to meet at their homes.
(This topic relates to Item No. 6).
Chairman Jelinch asked if there were any more questions.
Chairman Jelinch asked for an action for co-sponsorship. Commissioner Lohmiller motioned and
Commissioner Hopkins seconded. All in favor. Motion carried.
Director Dowling mentioned that this was the 11th Las Madras the city has co-sponsored and that it was
a good service to provide to the community.
PRC #1~4
Approved
Call to order
Salute to
Flag
Roll Call
Co-
Sponsorship
Las Madras
MOTION
NEW BUSINESS
5. Director Dowling spoke on the projects that were discussed at the last Parks and Recreation Meeting, 98-99
January 8, 1998. He asked the commission for suggestions regarding the next budget cycle relating to capital Impr.
the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program. Program
Chairman Jelinch asked if there were going to be any improvements on the seating area at the
amphitheater.
Director Dowling stated he would check to see if improvements could be made without taking away
from the character of the amphitheater. He said staffwould be discussing the amphitheater at the March
Parks and Recreation Meeting.
_ 6. Discussed in Item 4. under Oral Communications.
7. Director Dowling presented the rails to trails concept. He mentioned that Councilmember John Statton
had talked about the feasibility of having an active trail route in the railway corridor in town. Mr.
Dowling stated the issues are quite large. He pointed out on the map were the railway corridor is. He
stated it was identified in the General Plan as an alternate trail route. He mentioned when Kaiser closes
and the railway is no longer needed then the city would take the opportunity to install a multi-use trail
route. He stated that California has strict liability laws. He mentioned that Union Pacific is reluctant to
discuss active trails in active railways. He said other issues to be identified are who actually owns the
corridor and some at grade crossings that would have to be engineered and evaluated for safety. He said
the city's risk management and liability insurance carriers would need to be brought into the loop. He
mentioned the ideal would be a portion that could be used as a connection between Los Altos and/or
Saratoga at some point or could include minMoops between 7-Springs and Varian Park. The concept for
the whole project is to have an active corridor with designated pathways used accordingly with hiking,
biking and jogging. He said this did not make the grant proposal submitted by the Traffic Department.
Mr. Dowling stated that this is one of the City Council's listed goals.
Director Dowling asked if the commission had any questions.
Commissioner Lohmiller stated the Sheriff's Department used to enforce the activity taking place on
the corridor, but to his knowledge the Sheriffs Department was no longer patrolling the area.
Commissioner Stein stated if the designated areas included workout equipment it would attract more
people.
Commissioner Shaikh wanted to know if there were any liabilities.
Director Dowling said currently the city liability is only at the street crossings.
8. Chairman Jelinch asked if the commission goals had been reached for 1997.
Director Dowling said all but two of the goals have been achieved. He mentioned the goals for the
upcoming year included the Five-Year Program, Stevens Creek Trail Feasibility Study (need a
consultant), the Teen Task Force, review the operating budget and investigate another cultural event.
Mr. Dowling mentioned that Commissioner Hopkins is working with two members of the Fine Arts
Commission and will be reporting back with information at the next Parks and Recreation Meeting in
March. Mr. Dowling mentioned the joint meeting with the Fine Arts Commission was held last
summer. He said that a joint meeting with adjacent city commissioners was not deemed necessary. Mr.
Dowling asked if there were any other suggestions.
Commissioner Shaikh asked if a neighborhood day in the park could be held. He wanted to know if this
had ever been done before.
Director Dowling said that the city had previously held these events, but it had not been done in a while.
Mr. Dowling stated that this was consistent with what the Inter-Cultural Committee was working on.
Commissioner Lohmiller suggested he would like to have off-site meetings at the city parks to attain
more awareness of the issues being discussed. He said he would like to meet in the various facilities
throughout the city. Mr. Lohmiller stated this could be one of the commission's goals. The
commissioners agreed to have more off-site meetings.
Rails to
Trails
Commission
Goals °98-99
9. Director Dowllng stated in Ms conversat{on w{th the Don Brown, City Manager, that {t was t{me to Page ~
bring in a consultant for the Teen Task Force. Mr. DoMing said there currently is a consultant working Teen Task
with the 5-C's Group, who had done some preliminary work at the high schools. Mr. Dowling said he vorce
would be willing to meet with the consultants and ask them about the Task Force. Mr. Dowling
recommended a combination of a consultant, councilmember and community person. Mr. Dowling
thought the commissioners should select a chairperson or a co-chair.
Chairman Jelinch asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to be chairperson. He also wanted to know the
commitments the commissioners already had. Following discussion, the commissioners elected to defer
making a selection to the Teen Task Force.
MOTION
10. Motion to approve minutes with corrections noted. All in favor. Motion carried.
11. None.
12. Director Dowling pointed out that in Item 4, programs completed in January, the Ku Fu Club took 3rd
place in an international tournament in China.
13. Commissioner Stein mentioned that someone pointed out to her that one of the parks flooded from
sprinklers. Director Dowling said the sprinkler clocks could be off kilter. He said this would be
corrected by the Public Works Department and gave the number for Commissioner Stein to refer to the
concerned citizen.
14. None.
15. Director Dowling reminded the commissioners of the Commissioners Dinner, February 6, 1998, and commission
described the format of the meeting. Dinner
Director Dowling also reminded the commissioners of the Creekside Park Dedication, March 7th, 11:00
a.m.
16. Commissioner Jelinch moved to adjourn at 7:34 p.m. on the Parks and Recreation Meeting of Thursday,
February 5, 1998 at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
ATTEST:
City Clerk
APPROVED:
Chairperson