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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/28/2005 B A K E R S F I E L D ~ ~ Jacquie Sullivan, Chair A~an Tandy, City Manager Sue Benham Staff: Alan Christensen Irma Carson AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT SPECIAL MEETING COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMI'I-FEE Monday, February 28, 2005 - 1:00 p.m. Suite 201, City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 1. ROLL CALL Called to Order at 1:07 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Jacquie Sullivan, Chair; Sue Benham; and Irma Carson 2. ADOPT MARCH 17, 2004 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. Review and Committee recommendation regarding naming of park at Buena Vista Road and Stockdale Highway Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen reported the Committee had referred this issue to Councilmember Couch and he has been working with Castle and Cooke and the Kern River Parkway Committee to come up with a name for the park formerly known as Rio Vista. They have agreed on a name and are recommending The Park at River Walk. Steve DeBranch from Castle and Cooke explained they have tried to create a theme through the whole development corridor, which has an underlying theme of River Walk and then various project names that tie into the River Walk theme. Committee Member Benham made a motion to approve the recommendation to name the park The Park at River Walk. The Committee unanimously approved the motion. Agenda Summary Repo'rt Community Services Committee Meeting Monday, February 28, 2005 Page - 2 - 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Review and Committee recommendation regarding Neighborhood Pools Report Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen provided an overview of the memorandums included in the packet. Several years ago a code compliance study was conducted to identify the efficiency of the City's pools as the pools were all forty to seventy years old with the exception of Silver Creek. As the result of the study, staff made several recommendations and with Committee and Council action the following progress has been made: New facilities constructed McMurtrey Aquatic Complex Wayside Spray Park Martin Luther King Spray Park (under construction) Jefferson Spray Park (under construction) Planz Spray Park (under construction) Maior Rehabilitation of Facilities Martin Luther King Pool Jefferson Pool (under construction) Permanent Pool Closures Saunders Pool (not yet demolished) Wayside Pool (demolished and replaced with sprayground) Facilities Not Yet Addressed · Jastro Pool is probably in the best condition of the older pools not yet addressed. · Siemon Pool is in moderate condition. · Planz Pool needs a lot of work this year to get it up and running. · Beale Pool is 70 years old, in poor condition and continued operation in its current state is highly problematic. The critical problem with Beale Pool is the water turnover-time, which is the rate at which water circulates completely through the pumping system and pool. By code, water should turnover once every 8 hours and Beale Pool turnover rate is 12 hours. The County Health Department has sent a letter informing the City that Beale Pool cannot be opened in 2005 unless it is repaired and the turnover rate improved to healthy levels. Agenda Summary Re. Community Services Committee Meeting Monday, February 28, 2005 Page - 3 - To repair the turnover problem at Beale Pool will trigger other code related repairs that have been grandfathered, including piping and pumping systems, decking repair, installation of hand rails and handicapped access lift. Estimated repair costs would be at least $600,000 and would only bandage a very old facility. Beale Pool has the lowest attendance of all the pools opened last year. In FY 2003-04, Beale Pool had an operating loss of $70,638, which equates to a subsidy of $18 per swimmer. Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen provided an overview of alternative solutions for Beale Pool: 1. Close the pool permanently and construct a wet playground. Cost: $365,000. (This would include demolishing the wading pool.) 2. Demolish existing pool and construct an activity pool. Cost: $2,280,000. (This would include demolishing the wading pool.) 3. Repair the existing pool. Cost: $600,000. 4. Work with the County Health Department to get permission to open for one more season, which with some repair may or may not be feasible. Staff recommended Alternative 1. There is $336,000 in park development funds available in the Central Zone that could be applied to this project to pay for most of the project. Sufficient funding is not available for Alternatives 2 and 3. Committee Chair Sullivan expressed the wet playgrounds are really well received and she promotes them, but was saddened about the loss of swimming and swimming lessons. Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen stated as a transitional service, staff will make transportation available from Beale Park to another swimming facility for swimmers to take lessons. Committee Member Carson understood the feelings involved as she experienced the same sadness with the closure of Saunders and Wayside Pools. However, she expressed that a wet playground would be a wonderful amenity for Beale Park. Committee Chair Sullivan asked about the future of the other older pools and whether we would be replacing the pools as money becomes available. City Manager Alan Tandy responded this would be determined by future Council decisions, but recommended at least one of the pools should be replaced with an aquatic swimming facility with lanes for competitive swimming. Over time, all three Agenda Summary Re Community Services Committee Meeting Monday, February 28, 2005 Page - 4 - pools will need to be dealt with and the choices are replacement, rehabilitation, or conversion to a spray park. Committee Member Benham expressed she would not want the City to operate a pool with possible health hazards. However, as there is insufficient funding to repair or build a new pool and the only other alternative is to close the pool and build a wet playground, she wanted staff to find the money in the budget to support at least four or five concerts in the park. She would not like the neighborhood to lose the swimming pool and the concerts. Committee Member Benham made a motion to approve the staff recommendation to close and demolish Beale Pool including the wading pool and build a wet playground and also included a recommendation to Council that the City support at least four or five concerts at Beale Park this summer. The Committee unanimously approved the motion and forwarding the recommendations to the Council. B. Review and Committee recommendation regarding Landscaping Block Walls Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen reported there is a committee working on graffiti and all the aspects of how the issue can be dealt with in more comprehensive and effective ways. Included in the discussions will be how landscaping changes would discourage graffiti vandals. The referral by Committee Chair Sullivan to the Community Services Committee included a suggestion to allow shrubs to grow tall so the block walls are covered and not exposed to graffiti vandals. This could be achieved by trimming only .the face of the shrubs to keep them off the sidewalk. The top, back and sides of shrubs could be allowed to grow to create more of a screen against the wall. Allowing landscaping to grow untrimmed would, however, result in a less manicured look and may result in complaints from the public. Taller shrubbery also requires more pruning time than smaller shrubs and may increase the cost of maintenance. It was noted the plant material already planted in existing landscapes may not be the type of shrubbery that will grow tall even if it were allowed to grow untrimmed. At the present time for new developments the developers select the shrubs when they install the landscaping. Staff could work with the developers and encourage the use of taller type shrubs. Planting vines to cover the block walls is not recommended by staff as vines damage the bricks, encroach into yards and allow for rat infestation. The City also could encourage the use of smooth faced brick as opposed to fluted, split face or stucco as is currently allowed. This would make graffiti removal easier. Agenda Summary Repo~~I Community Services Committee Meeting Monday, February 28, 2005 Page - 5 - Public Works Director Raul Rojas explained the UV resistant product used to seal block walls is cost prohibitive (approximately $50 a gallon), and it has to be reapplied after the graffiti is cleaned off a couple of times, so it would require more staff time and expense. City Manager Alan Tandy explained there are two ways to achieve the planting of taller type shrubs: 1) An educational effort to encourage developers to plant different types of shrubs; or 2) Revise the ordinance and mandate the developers select shrubs from a short approved list. Committee Chair Sullivan stated she would like staff to go in the direction of encouraging the developers to use shrubbery that grows taller and promote the effort as a way to help stop graffiti. Committee Member Benham suggested the Committee invite the BIA (Building Industry Association of Kern County) to get their input on this issue. Committee Chair Sullivan requested staff to go out and look at the landscaping on Acres Road, which looks better every year. The shrubs have been allowed to grow and cover the cyclone fence with slats. C, Committee discussion and recommendations on meeting schedule The Committee reviewed the draft calendar and approved the following dates at 1:00 p.m. Monday, April 4, 2005 Monday, May 2, 2005 Wednesday, June 15, 2005 Monday, July 25, 2005 Monday, September 26, 2005 Monday, October 24, 2005 Monday, November 28, 2005 The Committee unanimously adopted the meeting schedule. 6. COMMI'I-I'EE COMMENTS Committee Member Carson asked about the cost to include aquatic facilities as an amenity when parks are built. The City is growing and there will be a need for more swimming facilities. City Manager Alan Tandy responded he will do the calculations and report back on the park development fee increase necessary to cover the cost of including aquatic facilities in parks. Agenda Summary Repo~ Community Services Committee Meeting Monday, February 28, 2005 Page - 6 - 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 2:25 p.m. 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; Development Services Director Stan Grady; Principal Planner Jennie Eng; Public Works Operations Manager Brad Underwood; Assistant Recreation and Parks Director Allen Abe; Recreation Supervisor Holly Larson; and Park Construction and Facility Planner Ken Trone. Others: Steve DeBranch, Castle and Cooke; and James Burger, reporter, The Bakersfield Californian cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council S:~AC\05 Community Services\csO5feb28summary.doc