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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/07/2000 BAKERSFIELD Jacquie Sullivan, Chair Patricia J. DeMond Randy Rowles Staff: Alan Christensen SPECIAL MEETING NOTICE COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE of the City Council - City of Bakersfield Tuesday, March 7, 2000 4:00 p.m. City Manager's Conference Room 1501 Truxtun Avenue, Suite 201 Bakersfield, CA AGENDA 1. ROLL CALL 2. ADOPT JUNE ~2, 1999 AND JANUARY 18, 2000 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORTS 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. STAFF UPDATE AND COMMITTEE DISCUSSION REGARDING ENTRY SIGNS AND BEAUTIFICATION OF ENTRANCES - Christensen B. STAFF UPDATE AND COMMITTEE DISCUSSION REGARDING ICE SKATING FACILITY PROPOSED BY MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY - Tandy C. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING TRAFFIC MEDIAN STANDARDS THROUGHOUT THE CITY - Tandy 5. ADJOURNMENT AC:jp S:~AC\CSCommittee\cs00mar07agen.wpd FILE COPY DRAFT BAKERSFIELD ~ ~/'"~ Jacquie Sullivan, Chair Alan Tandy, City Manager Patricia J. DeMond Staff: Alan Christensen Randy Rowles AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Wednesday, June 2, 1999 6:30 p.m. City Hall Council Chamber 1. ROLL CALL Call to Order at 6:35 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Jacquie Sullivan, Chair; and Randy Rowles Absent: Councilmember Patdcia J. DeMond 2. ADOPT MARCH 11, 1999 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT. Adopted as submitted. 3. PRESENTATIONS None 4. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None 5. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. DISCUSSION OF SKATEBOARD PARK ALTERNATIVES Recreation and Parks Director Stan Ford stated that staff held a meeting on May 5th at Franklin School on Truxtun Avenue. Notices were sent to neighbors and businesses within 500 feet of Beach Park. Forty-eight people attended and all were in favor of the proposed skateboard park; none were opposed. It came to staff's attention that Vans is building a private skate park facility at the site of the former Ice Palace. Staff has been in contact with their corporate office who shared information that their facility would be a for-profit operation. Vans indicated their "theme-type" facility and the City's proposed public facility would be a good match since there is a need for both types DRAFT AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Wednesday, June 2, 1999 Page -2- of skate parks. Vans is very supportive and has offered to help with design and possibly a financial contribution. The meeting was open for public statements. Cathi Guerrero, Herbie Benham, Ben Smith, Blanca Anderson, Byron Stickler, Paul Anderson, Susan Benham, George Doderlein, Karen Frederick, Shawn Moran, Art Doland, Emily Evincula, and Terd Eunice all spoke in support of the skateboard park. No one spoke in opposition. In response to Committee questions, Mr. Ford responded that at the first public meeting on May 5th staff compiled a list of volunteers, including young people, who would give input and ideas during the design process. Staff's research indicates that construction of a park would take an average of 120 days. Including design, the project could realistically be completed in six months. City Attomey Bart Thiltgen summarized the liability issues and a survey done of numerous cities throughout the state. He discussed the limited immunity given by state law for users over 14 years of age, but youths under 14 cannot be excluded from using the park as it must be open to anyone who wants to use it. Mr. Ford stated that the estimated cost to build the skateboard park is $174,000. Based on expected demand, the proposed facility may be fully utilized from day one, but it is propedy sized for the location. A larger facility would create additional problems such as parking. From the sale of the racquetball facility there is $95,000 available that can be used for improvements in Beach Park, but as this is the City's most used park, staff would like to retain some funds for improvements such as barbecue grills and picnic tables. ' The Committee thanked the audience for their participation and encouraged them to continue with their fund-raising efforts and urge further active community support at the next two Council meetings for this project. The Committee was very supportive of building a skateboard park and approved (with Patricia DeMond absent) this project moving forward .to the full Council on June 16th. The Committee directed staff to prepare a report to the Council with the following recommendations: 1) support building a skateboard park in Beach Park using Option A location, 2) use $80,000 from the $95,000 fund available for Beach Park improvements, 3) find an additional $94,000 funding in the General Fund or other measures to fund this project, and 4) form a committee of interested individuals to be a part of the design group and direct staff along with the skateboard park design group to move forward with a time line of January 1, 2000 to complete construction and open the park. The Committee requested when Council gives support for this project to move forward, that the Committee receive updates at their meetings dudng the six-month window from design to completion. DRAFT AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Wednesday, June 2, 1999 Page -3- 6. NEW BUSINESS A. COMMUNITY SERVICES MEETING SCHEDULE The Committee approved adopting the proposed calendar. 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. City Staff in Attendance: Assistant City Manager Alan Chdstensen; City Attorney Bart Thiltgen; and Recreation and Parks Director Stan Ford. cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council S:~C\CSCommittee~cs99jun02summary.wpd DRAFT BAKERSFIELD AI~"~ Tandy, City Manager Patricia J. DeMond Staff: Alan Christensen Randy Rowles AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT SPECIAL MEETING COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Tuesday, January 18, 2000 4:00 p.m. City Manager's Conference 'Room 1. ROLL CALL Call to Order at 4:10 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Jacquie Sullivan, Chair Councilmember Patricia J. DeMond (leaving at 5:20 p.m.) Absent: Councilmember Randy Rowles 2. ADOPT JUNE 2, 1999 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Deferred to the next meeting. ADOPT OCTOBER 22, 1999 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. STAFF UPDATE AND COMMITTEE DISCUSSION REGARDING ENTRY SIGNS AND BEAUTIFICATION OF ENTRANCES Alan Tandy updated the Committee on the City's application for TE money to put two entry signs with landscaping on the north and south entries to the City on Highway 99. This is a program that Kem COG controls with a three stage review process for certain kinds of grant monies that come through. Unfortunately, the City's project did not come through the first committee review level with a recommendation to fund. Although this is not the final decision as it still must go to the Kern COG board, it does not look favorable. There were 32 applications for projects Countywide and funding for only 6 .or 8. DRAFT COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Tuesday, January 18, 2000 Page -2- B. STAFF UPDATE AND COMMITTEE DISCUSSION REGARDING ICE SKATING FACILITY Alan Tandy stated that staff has contacted most of the firms regionally that own and operate ice skating dnks. Four of them came here and have expressed some level of interest, but it has become clear that we are a developmental market for ice skating because we do not have a history of ice here, such as you would have in Michigan where families grow up ice skating. It is not possible for someone to come in, buy and pay for a new building and operate it as a private sector business enterprise and make a profit, so it will require public assistance and possibly some private assistance to get an ice skating facility located in Bakersfield. There is a need for free land and some vehicle to discount capital costs for the building to get someone interested in locating in Bakersfield. A discussion was held on the different funding that may be available. The second issue discussed was possible locations and the need for a safe secure location so that parents would feel comfortable dropping their children off and choosing a central location so the entire population of the City would be served. Staff suggested one possible site between "M" and "N" Streets that fronts California and "M." This site is immediately across "N" Street from the proposed CitY Center project. If the City Center project is built, it would enhance this location with visibility and good traffic flow. The third issue discussed was whether it should be built minimally and small for ice only or a dual purpose building with two sides. Different uses were suggested for 'a side by side facility with ice on one side and the other side used for indoor soccer, roller hockey, indoor volleyball and after school programs. Mr. Tandy concluded that staff will need future direction from the Committee on the funding vehicles the Committee feels Council would consider undertaking, the size of the facility, land or Ioc~tion suggestions, and the need for donors or contributors from the private sector. The business portion of the Committee concluded at 5:20 p.m. as Committee member DeMond had to leave for a prior Council commitment and Committee member Rowles was absent. However, information was provided by the public to Committee Chair Sullivan. Barbara Gdmes, Lod ©hama and Pete Yackley from the Bakersfield Blades Figure Skating Club all spoke about the need for an ice skating rink and offered suggestions. Stan Dodson spoke about the interest and need for an ice facility. Shaun Sigrest spoke about he and his father being interested in opening an ice skating facility. 5. NEW BUSINESS (This item was heard first.) A. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING TRAFFIC MEDIAN STANDARDS THROUGHOUT THE CITY Alan Tandy explained that this referral was to address the condition of the street medians in what could be characterized as the older parts of the City and the disparity in quality and appearance/attractiveness that exists between the older sections and the newer developments. COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Tuesday, January 18, 2000 Page -3- For some years the City's policy has been where the majodty of property owners in an area have petitioned the City, a maintenance district was formed and the medians were changed to a higher-level of improvements, such as on Chester Avenue. But those petitioned conversions to maintenance districts are extremely hard to form. In some cases public utilities or canal districts own adjacent land and cannot be compelled to be part of a maintenance district. Staff would like to propose a policy that could be adopted to begin upgrading the older unimproved or minimally improved medians throughout the City. It was suggested that using a long-term plan, each year $150,000 in gas tax money and $150,000 in Block Grant funds could be budgeted. Staff is working on a census tract eligibility establishment process and Block Grant money is available if an area is entirely within a qualifying census tract. The parallel equity issue of financial support of the medians by maintenance districts was discussed. If the amount of landscaping improvements in the unimproved areas were to be increased, then there .would be a need to increase the contribution to the maintenance distdct areas from the. General Fund so that the general City tax-payer would be paying the same proportion of improved value no matter where they live. Staff proposed plans using hard-scape treatments with plants and trees of different height variation and color with a reduction in asphalt area. Grass was not being considered because of its high upkeep with mowing and watering. Raul Rojas discussed several schemes that were designed and presented by Don Hoggatt. With the least expensive proposal, $300,000 would upgrade about 1-~ linear miles per year. Mr. Rojas estimated that with a long-term project if all the streets were upgraded, the cost would be about $22 million. Mr. Tandy suggested that since this is a big decision, Public Works could do a sample strip of median, so Councilmembers could drive by and see a finished product before making a final decision on a median standard. A discussion was held about different trees, shrub heights, plant color, new concrete with planter boxes, irrigation systems and the different hard-scapes using asphalt, exposed aggregate concrete, stamped concrete and dver rock. The Committee (with Randy Rowles absent) definitely did not want to use asphalt and expressed a desire to choose as good a standard as is economically possible. Public Works was directed to focus on the preferred schemes and bring more detailed drawings to the r~ext Committee meeting. 6. ADJOURNMENT. The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m. Attendance: Staff: City Manager Alan Tandy; Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen; City Attorney Bart Thiltgen; Assistant City Manager John Stinson; Public Works Director Raul Rojas; Fire Chief Ron Fraze; Public Works Engineering Services Manager Jack LaRochelle; Public Works Civil Engineer Ted Wdght; Public Works Park and Landscape Designer Don Hoggatt; and Assistant Recreation and Parks Director Allen Abe. Public: Barbara Grimes, Pete Yackley, Stan Dodson, Lori ©hama, and Shaun Sigrest. cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council S:~C\CSCommittee\cs00jan 18summary.wpd By: COB Recr-eal:lon & Par'ks; 6618610864; Feb-8-00 4:35PM; Page 1/3 DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION AND PARKS '~ ~ DATE: February 8, 2000 TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Stan Ford, Director SUBJECT: Ice Rink Event A temporary ice rink, such as that set up in Los Angeles' Pershing Square, is suitable for a special event in the winter time when weather conditions are appropriate, and also when consistent high attendance can be anticipated to offset the very large start.up and operating costs. Ice will not stay frozen, in direct sun, unless the temperatures are cool. Indoor set-ups can be engineered, but an outdoor set-up with a canopy cannot compensate for warm temperatures. In addition, the .temporary construction of the rink rails cannot withstand hockey - the rink is suitable only for recreational skating and hockey clinics. A representative of Willie Bietak Productions affirmed that the Pershing Square event is fairly typical, although different communities run their events differently. Pershing Square was 50' x 90' and ran for nine weeks. The cost to construct the rink platform and rent the rink was $65,000. Substantially the same cost is incurred each year, because the portion of the platform which can be taken apart and stored represents little of the set-up cost. The weekly cost for Bietak to maintain the ice and staff the operation was $25,000. Electricity is not included: the cost was absorbed by another division and an estimate is not available from LA. Nor was Bietak able to provide an estimate, as the cost vades greatly depending on the temperature and humidity. Attendance in Pershing Square was maximized by holding the event as a holiday activity. Entertainment drew additional participants, however, attendance'was always Iow during the weekdays. The fact that school was out for almost three full weeks for winter vacation r helped with participation. Attendance vaded from 200 on weekdays to 800 on weekends and vacation days. . Additional information about the Pershing Square Ev. ent is attached. P:~lce®v®ntmemo.wl3d February 8, 2000 Page 2 Location: Pershing Square, Los Angeles Event: 'Free Skate" for 9 weeks from Thanksgiving to through. MLK weekend Financial Armngement~ Selection of vendor Bids submitted by two operators, one specializing in indoor skating and the other one, accepted, from Bietak productions, which specializes in temporary outdoor events. Basis of operation A permit issued for operation, then letter of agreement outlining what each entity (City and vendor) would provide. Cost to city $25,000 per week was guaranteed to the vendor. This paid for staff, including rink manager and ice engineer, and lodging for ice engineer. Weekly receipts exceeding the guarantee were retained by the city. Utility costs were not tracked separately. $65,000 rink construction cost is in addition. Revenue sharing The city kept 100% of the gate receiPts and 50% of the skate receipts. Facility Size 50' X 90' rink (rink size limited by available space) Capacity 190 persons per hour Structure Specialized construction, built by vendor's crew at city's expense Cost: $65,000 Built above a turf area Uncovered Must be re-built each year: subsequent year costs are only slightly lower Utility requirements Refrigerator truck running 24 hours a day. Electrical upgrade needed, including a transformer. Cost of electricity not known - absorbed by city. Weather constraints Temperature reached to 85° - problems at mid-day in the direct sun Rain results in lost revenues P:~ce~ventmerno.w~J February 8, 2000 Page 3 Operation Staff Attended by staff of vendor. Group sales and special , promotions coordinated by city staff. Cost $6 per 1 hr session $2 to rent skates. 90% of skaters rent. .-Rates up to city, Set Iow for affordability Discounts offered for groups associated with city's 135 centers (day cares, etc.) Attendance Varied from :~00 on weekdays to 800 on weekends and vacations. Christmas day had highest attendance at 1000 Revenue Limitations For safety, ice is cleaned for ½ hour after every 1 hour skating, so for 113 of operating hours, ice cannot be used. Weekday attendance is Iow but ice must be kept continuously frozen. Disruption factor Not too noisy - concerts also conducted, Neighboring hotel was'pleased - did not complain. Other Satisfaction with Vendor Beitak Productions extremely safety conscious, high- image company. Event-Associated Costs $104,900 spent on entertainment, decorations, .... advertising, printing, etc. Sponsorships LA Kings Hockey, est. $200,000 cash and in-kind Dasherboards sold for advertising. Food vendors Permits provided in exchange for their commitment to be present during all hours of operation. Tables and chairs purchased by city for lounging spectators P :~,lceeventrnerno.wpd