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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/17/2003 B A K E R S F I E L D Jacquie Sullivan, Chair ~(fan~l'a~,~, Ci~'Manager Sue Benham Staff: Alan Christensen Irma Carson AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, December 17, 2003,1:30 p.m. Suite 201, City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 1. ROLL CALL Called to Order at 1:36 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Jacquie Sullivan, Chair; Sue Benham and Irma Carson 2. ADOPT NOVEMBER 12, 2003 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. Staff report and Committee recommendation on Aquatic Renovation Plan Interim Recreation and Parks Director Alan Christensen explained this issue was continued from the last Committee meeting and staff had planned to come back With an entire aquatic renovation plan, but given the uncertainty of the budget the focus is on one pool closure at this time. Staff is recommending closure of Wayside pool and construction of a sprayground at Wayside Park, which would open in time for the 2004 summer swim season. The Council's direction some months back was to close an additional pool in · preparation for the 2004 swim season. The pool closure decision needs to be made fairly soon in order for repairs at other pools to be completed in time to open for the summer swim season. The recommendation to close Wayside pool was based upon attendance, expensive repairs required to open it and the recognition that it has exceeded its useful life. It will cost at least $200,000 in improvements just to open Wayside pool for this summer. Agenda Summary Re~ort Community Services Committee Meeting Wednesday, December 17, 2003 Page - 2 - Construction of a sprayground at Wayside Park would provide a recreation alternative that has proven very popular in other communities. A design-build construction format, which would expedite construction, costs approximately $300,000 for a 2,000 square-foot sprayground. Wayside Park is not in the Southeast Redevelopment Project Area, so it is not eligible' for redevelopment funds, but due to its Iow-income census information, should be eligible for CDBG funding. The following CDBG projects could be reprogrammed: Stramler Park Playground EquiPment $ 80,000 Kern-Tech Business Loan Repayment 35,000 Lowell Park Recreation Trailers 125,000 Business Loans $ 377,000 Committee Member Carson stated before making any decision regarding closure of Wayside pool and building a sprayground, she wanted to meet with the community. A meeting has been scheduled fOr January 5th.'' This would provide an opportunity for input on closure of Wayside pool and a presentation on spraygrounds to see how the community responds. Ms. Carson requested demographic information on the ages of children in the area to know if a sprayground is suitable. She also expressed concerns about liability at spraygrounds since supervision is not required and wanted more information about spraygrounds and how they operate. Committee Chair Sullivan asked staff when it would be necessary to start on a sprayground for Wayside Park to have it open for summer 2004. Public Works Director Raul Rojas responded work would need to start on the design plan in January 2004, but Council approval is required on the funding. The design plan for a sprayground will cost approximately $35,000. Staff reported the bids to renovate Martin Luther King, Jr. and .Jefferson pools came in too high to do both pool renovations and the spraygrounds. The planned. pool renovations will only be done at Martin Luther King, Jr. this year. Staff will review the project funding available for Jefferson Park to see if there is funding to construct a sprayground; however, there is funding for the design plan. Committee Member Carson made a motion to forward a Committee recommendation to the Council to: 1) approve and appropriate up to $35,000 Kern- Tech Business Loan Repayment for the design plan for a sprayground at Wayside Park; 2) approve moving forward with the design plan for a sprayground at Jefferson Park; and 3) if funding is in place, approve construction of a sprayground at Jefferson Park. The Committee unanimously approved the motion. Agenda Summary Rep~0~rt Community Services Committee Meeting Wednesday, December 17, 2003 Page - 3- B. Staff report and Committee recommendation on naming of the "Rio Vista" park (This item heard first.) City Manager Alan Tandy explained most neighborhood parks are named by the developer. This park is not like a neighborhood park in a subdivision. It is being built by the City with Park Development Fees and other revenue sources. When completed, it will be a 32-acre park with two lakes and an amphitheater located at Stockdale Highway south of Kern River near the Stockdale Bridge. Rich O'Neil, Kern River Parkway Foundation, spoke regarding the naming policy. The Kern River Parkway guidelines state the name for a park or other element should be of historical cultural significance as it relates to the Kern River.~ Mr. O'Neil requested the name "Rio Vista" be eliminated from consideration as it does not fall within the guidelines. Copies of a letter were distributed from the Kern River Parkway Foundation. In the letter the Foundation suggested two names: Park Rio San Felipe, which is the first name given to the Kern River in 1776 by Padre Garces; and Park Winatun, a Yokut name given to the person in the village designated to greet visiting guests to the village sites along the Kern River. In response to a question from Committee Member Benham, Mr. O'Neil responded it would be acceptable to the Parkway Foundation to shorten the name to San Felipe Park. Committee Member Benham made a motion the Committee recommend the name San Felipe Park to the City Council for consideration. Committee Member Carson suggested the name of Condor Park, which would give recognition to the Condors hockey team. She requested Committee Member Benham amend her motion to add Condor Park as a second option for the City Council to consider. Committee Chair Sullivan expressed a lot of thought went into the name Rio Vista- Park. She felt it was a great name for the park and people visiting Bakersfield who do not know the history of Kern River would relate to a good sounding name. She asked the Committee to consider the name Rio Vista Park and naming the two lakes with the other suggested names. Eugene Albitre, Native American Heritage Preservation Council of Kern County, spoke about the list of Native American names they had submitted earlier in the year to the Committee. One of the names was "WE, E-ITCH," which is the Native American name for Condor. He expressed the name Condor Park with the Native American translation on the signage would be acceptable to their Council. Mr. O'Neil stated as there is history of condors existing along the Kern River, the name Condor Park would fit within the Parkway naming guidelines. The Parkway Foundation would have no preference between the names San Felipe and Condor, as they both follow the Parkway guidelines for naming. Agenda Summary Report Community Services Committee Meeting Wednesday, December 17, 2003 Page - 4- Committee Member Benham amended her motion to recommend the Committee forward to the City Council two names for consideration, San Felipe Park and Condor Park (the Native American translation for Condor is WEE-ITCH), with a recommendation to remove the name Rio Vista from consideration as it does not follow the Kern River Parkway naming guidelines. Committee Chair Sullivan made a motion to recommend to the Council the existing name Rio Vista Park and as a compromise naming the two lakes with the other suggested names, San Felipe Lake and Condor Lake, with Native American translation (W~EE-ITCI-I) and signage including explanation of the origin of the names. City Attorney Ginny Gennaro recommended the Committee take a vote and submit a majority and minority report to the City Council. The Committee voted on Committee Member Benham's motion with Committee Members Benham and Carson voting "aye" and Committee Chair Sullivan voting "no." The Committee unanimously agreed to forward to the City Council a majority report to include Committee Member Benham's motion and a minority report to include Committee Chair Sullivan's motion. 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Committee recommendation on 2004 Committee meeting calendar The Committee unanimously approved the 2004 Community Services Committee meeting schedule, subject to change during the year due to Committee Members' scheduling conflicts. 6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS Committee Member Benham commented she had received a request regarding tree removal at International Square. The Tree Foundation would like the mature trees cut in eight-foot lengths so they could be used to make lumber. Staff will contact Dana Karcher at the Tree Foundation. 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m. Agenda Summary Rep~o~rt Community Services Committee Meeting Wednesday, December 17, 2003 Page - 5- Staff attendance: City Manager Alan Tandy; Assistant City Manager/Interim Recreation and Parks Director Alan Christensen; City Attorney Ginny Gennaro; Public Works Director Raul Rojas; Economic Development Director Donna Kunz; Assistant Recreation and Parks Director Allen Abe; Recreation Supervisor Josh Romine; Assistant Superintendent of Recreation Sally Ihmels; Recreation Supervisor Holly Larson; Recreation Program Coordinator Beigher Taylor; Public Works Civil Engineer Ralph Braboy; and Assistant Finance Director Nelson Smith Others: Rich O'Neil and Bill Cooper, Kern River Parkway Foundation; Gene Albitre, President, Native American Heritage Preservation Council of Kern County; reporters and television camera operators cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council S:~AC~2OO3Com Ser~O3dec 17summary.doc