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P&R 05-03-12 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION CITY OF CUPERTINO Regular Meeting May 3, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Community Hall, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, CA Note: This meeting will be televised 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson David Greenstein called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Hall Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, CA. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL Commissioners present: David Greenstein, Marcia St.Clair, David Fung Commissioners absent: David Lee, Darcy Paul Staff present: Mark Linder, Timm Borden, Donna Henriques 4. MISCELLANEOUS—NO ACTION REQUIRED A. Staff oral reports Director Mark Linder said that Cupertino Day is this coming Saturday, May 5, at Blackberry Farm Park from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. A free lunch will be offered to residents from noon to 1:00 pm and the Blackberry Farm Café will be open all day for food and beverage purchase. There will be free swimming from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. Also, there will be Tai Chi, Hula Dancing and Yuan Chi demonstrations. Information booths will be set up for the Sports Center, Senior Center and Parks and Recreation activities and programs. B. Commissioner contacts Chair Greenstein read an email report from Commissioner Paul that said he participated in the Big Bunry Fun Run and said it was well-coordinated as usual. Commissioner Fung said he also attended and said the new Bunny suit was great and the raffle prizes were amazing! 5. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING A. Regular meeting of April 5, 2012 1 Action: Commissioner Fung said he noticed the numbers for Linda Vista Ponds costs were incorrect and should be corrected to the following: Concept 1 estimated cost is $1,180,000; Concept 2 estimated cost is $1,100,000; Concept 3 estimated cost is $1,043,000. All three Concepts include the additional estimated cost of$570,000 for ADA Access Improvements. Commissioner St.Clair moved to accept the minutes with the modifications to the three costs of improvement to Linda Vista Ponds. Commissioner Fung seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0 with two Commissioners absent. 6. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Deborah Jamison, Cupertino resident, asked to speak on the Council's discussion regarding the Commission's recommendations for the McClellan Ranch Master Plan. She feels that the McClellan Ranch and Nature Preserve has been neglected for many decades and that many other City projects have been completed during this time. She commended the Commission and City staff for piloting the most recent process that included obtaining public comment and putting together the recommendations for City Council. She said that Council approved the CIP projects but only approved the name change to McClellan Ranch Preserve and the Simms property to McClellan Ranch West, by a 3-2 vote. She thinks this long Council discussion shows that some people clearly have other uses in mind for the Preserve. She said the Mayor's statement shows that he thinks that the name "Preserve" will mislead people or future councils about what can be done there. She said in Ordinance 710, mission statement, and in the 1993 Master Plan, the words "Preserve" or"Park" were clearly defined and have not been changed or rescinded. The uses and restrictions are clear and well-documented for both names. Since the City of Cupertino does not have a Conservation Commission, Ms. Jamison feels that the Parks and Recreation Commission is the closest group to performing that role. She implored the Commission to protect McClellan Ranch Preserve from other uses that do not fit its mission that may be coming up in the future, and to please advocate for the improvements to finally be funded and completed so the Preserve can better fulfill its mission. 7. OLD BUSINESS A. TICC Commission update on cell tower locations in City Parks Director Linder said that there was nothing new to report from the TICC Commission. There are no new current applications or requests to place cell towers in any of the City parks so there is no action to be taken by the Commission at this time. 2 B. Our City Forest update Director Linder said he was follow]ng up on the Commission's request regarding Our City Forest's volunteer program to plant new trees and take care of them over time. The City Council has decided not to fund such a program at this time. However, Chair Greenstein had expressed interest in having Director Linder check with the Public Works Department to see if they had any ideas on this. They suggested the possibility of a long-term planting of trees in the City street medians. Chair Greenstein asked if that project would be funded by the City. Director Borden said Public Works will be on a 4-year planting program to fill all the vacant tree areas in the City. He said it might be possible to also use outside sources, such as Our City Forest, to help with tree planting, possibly in resident's front yards, rather than on City right-of way areas. Chair Greenstein said the purpose of having Our City Forest's help is to coach the volunteers and to involve the community and bring them together in this project. Director Linder said he will ask Our City Forest if they would be interested in helping with this project, with the existing budget and with additional budget funds, and report back to the Commission. Commissioner Fung said even if it didn't work out for Our City Forest to help with a community tree planting event, he would support having them available to help the residents with planting trees on their private property. Commissioner St.Clair said she liked the idea of Public Works tagging City trees so residents can use the "QR" code to identify the species and location of the tree. 8. NEW BUSINESS A. CIP Budget projects Director Linder said that the Council Study Session on the 5-year CIP Budget and the FY 2012-2013 Operation Budget is set for May 30, the first public hearing will be on June 4, and the final Council action on the budget will be on June 19. Director Borden gave a presentation on the proposed Parks Capital Improvement Program projects for FY 2012-2013. A list of the CIP projects had been given to the Commission as a staff report. The list has recently completed projects, proposed projects for 2012-13, and proposed projects as placeholders for later years or on the unfunded list. 3 The design and permitting of the Stevens Creek Corridor Park and Creek Restoration, Phase 2 is on schedule to begin construction around this time in 2013. After his presentation, Director Borden asked the Commission for any questions on the projects and for their input in regards to moving projects from one list to another. Commissioner St.Clair asked about redoing the double driveway in front of Blackberry Farm Golf Course and Director Borden said it would be included in the Phase 2 Restoration project. Commissioner Fung asked if there was information as to what the estimates of cost would be for each of the projects. Director Borden said he could get that information to the Commissioners. Commissioner St.Clair asked if the Commission could go on a tour of the projects and Chair Greenstein agreed that it would be beneficial for all the Commissioners to see these projects. Director Linder said a tour could be arranged and that staff will put a list together so the Commissioners can decide which projects they would like to tour. Commissioner Fung said he would specifically like to see the proposed Lawrence/Mitty Park area. Chair Greenstein asked Director Borden where the water for the golf course irrigation comes from for the ponds. Director Borden said they get the water directly from the San Jose Water Company system and that it is drinking water. Chair Greenstein asked what sort of renovations are planned for the McClellan Ranch barn. Director Borden said the plan was to "rehabilitate" the barn. They would have to learn from the historic analysis and then determine what renovations need to be done, and under what Codes they would fall. Chair Greenstein asked if the outdoor gathering area at McClellan Ranch Preserve is a temporary or permanent area and what kind of structure is would be. Director Linder said programmatically, it would be the Environmental Education Center indoors, and the outdoor structure would be covered so it would not be a temporary structure, but used for outdoor programs. Chair Greenstein asked if the retaining wall at the Sports Center tennis courts is located between residential homes and whether or not it is a potential problem for the residents. Director Linder said it is located between the tennis courts and the residents' yards and the dirt from their yards is pushing the retaining wall into the tennis courts and making it lean and unstable. He would like a resolution to this problem in the next 1-2 years. 4 Chair Greenstein asked about the renovations scheduled for the Tank House. Director Linder said the renovations would include water and sewer connections, adding bathroom facilities and outdoor landscaping. Deborah Jamison, Cupertino resident, asked to speak on this item. She said she thought that all the historical buildings in McClellan Ranch Preserve should have an integrated aesthetic according to the period of the ranch as it was when it was originally purchased. She has worked at several environmental education centers as a naturalist and therefore, she is concerned about what the functionality of the new environmental education center a McClellan Ranch Preserve will be. She would like to see it have a wetlab, several classrooms, plenty of office space, space for office supplies and equipment for classes, space for volunteers, and some modern exhibits. She also hopes the barn will be renovated and remain a barn with appropriate uses such as storing hay or equipment for 4H. She asked why the renovation of the McClellan Ranch West property wasn't on the list of proposed projects for later years. She said she has explained the history and mistreatment of this property many times and said she would be happy to meet with the Commissioners to explain it to them. She also said that the Stevens and Permanente Creek Watershed Council was looking for office space and may be interested in using the Tank House. Commissioner St.Clair said that the McClellan Ranch West property should be added to the proposed list for future projects. It should be assessed with the other properties at McClellan Ranch Preserve. Commissioner Fung agreed that the McClellan Ranch West property should be added to the proposed list so that a number can be affixed to renovating or demolishing the house on the property. He felt that many of the projects on the proposed funding list are actually studies that would look into establishing the state of the buildings. He thinks it would be good to try to identify the cost of some of the buildings separately so that they can be investigated and put on the future projects list and try to assign it a dollar amount. He also thinks the retaining wall problem at the Sports Center tennis courts should be moved up on the list before the wall falls down. Commissioner St.Clair said that in the larger projects there are lots of smaller details that might be overlooked. Director Borden said they have kept the list of those items on their Operating Budget that can be done by Public Works and he will come back to the Commission in six months to report on what has been completed. Chair Greenstein said he is pleased to see the progress and completion on a lot of these projects, like the Stocklmeir Orchard irrigation that has been needed for quite some time. He agrees with Ms. Jamison regarding bringing the Environmental Education Center updated to the twenty-first century and asked 5 if that means a building will have to be taken down and rebuilt. Director Linder said that they might be able to fix up the existing Nature Museum Building or move some things to a new building. Chair Greenstein also agrees with all the suggestions proposed by Ms. Jamison for the structure of the building. He agrees with the order of the rest of the list of projects and would like to see the sport court completed at the Sports Center. Director Linder said there is a question regarding the possible uses of this area that has been added to the Godbe resident's survey and the results should be back by Election Day in June. Chair Greenstein asked why McClellan Ranch West is not on the list of projects proposed in later years. He thinks that it should be kept in the limelight so that Council doesn't lose sight of it. Commissioner Fung said maybe it could be added as a study so that it can be addressed by the Commission and make suggestions as to the use of the property. Director Linder said it could be added to the Commission's work plan for next year so that it can continue to be discussed. Chair Greenstein would like to add the wording to the projects list that McClellan Ranch West would become a part of the Preserve as to extend the Preserve property. Commissioner Fung said it could be called a"transitional plan"to cause discussion to happen and hopefully some progress can be made on this project. Action: Commissioner Greenstein made a motion to accept the Staff Report as the Commission's recommendation with the following additions to the Environmental Education Center: a wet-lab, office space, equipment storage space,volunteer space, and exhibits. There should be the addition of a project planned for later years to expand the Preserve to include McClellan Ranch West. Commissioner Fung seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0 with two absences. 9. ADJOURNMENT - Chair Greenstein adjourned the meeting at 8:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted, C —1 -� Donna Henriques, Administrative A j'Stant Minutes approved at the September 6, 2012 regular meeting 6