Day 1999.10.06CS

Commissioner Lloyd-Butterfield made a motion that since two members of the Commissioner were absent tonight, “ to amend the Agenda, to delay Item 9a – ELECTION OF OFFICERS, for one month” . This was seconded by Commissioner Kallirai. Motion carried. A motion was then made by Commissioner Lloyd-Butterfield, seconded by Commissioner Thurmond, "to approve the amended Agenda” . Motion carried.

Vacaville resident Steve Bailey addressed the Commission and asked that the City maintain and promote water activities and programs. He stated that the swimming pool facility is not adequate for some water sports, such as water polo. Director Celestre stated that in the 1999-2000 CIP budget, there are plans to design a new lap pool, and in 2000-01, there are plans to allocate funds to build the new lap pool. In 2010, there are plans for a new aquatics facility. At this time, there will be renovations to the pool. It will be drained, resurfaced, and new tile will be installed. The City is currently following the Parks and Recreation Master Plan that was adopted in 1992.

Richard Gideon, President of the Vacaville Arts Council, then addressed the Commission and stated that the Arts Council recently conducted a survey of its members about the VPAT, and the survey results have been turned in to Lisa Rico with VenueTech.

Mayor David Fleming introduced Pamela Greaves as a new member of the Community Services Commission. Carol Yount, Acting City Clerk, then performed the swearing in ceremony. Commissioner Greaves then joined the other Commissioners.

Director Celestre stated that the Lake Management Plan Executive Summary will be discussed. George Molnar, Consultant from LSA, is also in attendance tonight. The summary includes a list of projects, which are being recommended to improve the lake and handle the ongoing management of the lake. Landscape Architect Farrington stated that some changes have been made to the summary since the document dated June 16. The summary has been condensed from 46 down to 9 major actions, partly because of funding and also restraints from jurisdictional agencies. It is hoped to create multi-use areas in the lower end of the lake, as well public-private partnerships. There would be improvements to group picnic areas, additional trees, additional restroom facilities, and the creation of fishing piers with ADA access. The dam would also be improved.

In the Lake Management Plan, it is planned to improve fishing habitat, reduce sedimentation, decrease weed infestation, establish shore wetlands and interpretive areas, enhance the shoreline, and in the Hines nursery ditch area create a partnership with Hines Nursery to remove the sediment. Phase II of the plan would be the creation of sediment basins. Phase III would be to improve the water quality by removal of sediment. It is hoped to obtain grants to take care of the high price tag items. A three-year fish-stocking program is also being looked at for the lake. The lake plan will go to the Planning Commission on October 19 and then possibly to the City Council on October 26. If approved, the process for a Conditional Use Permit would start and hopefully be done by December/January.

Delbert Berg, Manager of the Ranchotel, inquired as to the priority to clean out the creek, and address the flooding problem in the Lagoon Valley Lake area. Landscape Architect Farrington stated that this will be addressed as part of the management of the lake. Rose Mary Forehand, a teacher at Will C. Wood, who visits the park with groups of students suggested that the City look at the possibilities of what could be out there. Roberto Valdez, a resident of Vacaville, addressed the Commission and stated that the park should not have executive housing. He is also concerned about domestic waterfowl at the lake.

A motion was then made by Commissioner Lloyd-Butterfield, seconded by Commissioner Kallirai, “ to recommend to the City Council, the approval of the Revised Executive Summary of the Lagoon Valley Lake Management Plan and the Proposed Lagoon Valley Park Master Plan” . Motion carried.

Director Celestre stated that the Cultural Arts Advisory Committee had come up with the idea of a public art brochure which would catalog the sculptured art in the City.

Recreation Manager Fox stated that the brochure project has been worked on for a number of months and that Meryl Nesbitt was the driving force behind it and has brought it to fruition. Ms. Nesbitt obtained the histories of the artists, the titles, and the other information in the pamphlet, as well as the schematic design. 3000 brochures have been printed and will be distributed with a cover letter. Director Celestre then commended the Cultural Arts Advisory Committee for the work that has been done on this project. Another future project will be an art show in the theater lobby that will display all of the City-purchased paintings.

Director Celestre stated $150,000 was set aside in Developer Impact Fees (DIF) for facility improvements. The money would be grants to non-profit youth sports organizations that utilize City facilities so they could use the money to make improvements. The Facility Grant application deadline was October 1, but this date was extended to get more applicants. A committee with Commission representation will review all of the proposals, and make recommendations to the Commission who will then vote on the recommendations. There cannot be more than three Commissioners on the committee because of the Brown Act. The committee will meet toward the end of the month and bring the recommendations to the November Commission meeting.

A motion was then made by Commission Lloyd-Butterfield, seconded by Commission Kallirai, “ to establish a Review Committee to consider all applications for Facility Grants and make final recommendations to the entire Commission” . Commissioners Lloyd-Butterfield and Kallirai volunteered to serve on this committee. Director Celestre, Recreation Manager Fox, and Recreation Supervisor DeFabio will also be on the committee.

Recreation Manager Fox stated that the Department is in the process of going on-line with a new registration/reservation software program called ESCOM which is due to go live November 1.

The gymnastics program recently formed an advisory committee. This program has 250-300 children participating. There is a parents club involved in the team portion of the program.

Markham School will operate an after school enrichment program for kids called the SMART Program. It is a three-year grant, $72,000 per year. There are approximately 100 children enrolled in the program, and they will learn guitar, chorus, computers, and science.

The Kids Zone, an alternative-hours enrichment program for children, began mid-September. The hours will be after 6:00 p.m. in the evenings and 6:30 a.m. to midnight on Saturday. Director Celestre stated that work is being done to get a feature article in the Reporter on this program.

Superintendent Simons stated that the lighting and fencing projects at Keating Park are being completed. In the last year, all seven diamonds at Keating Park have gotten fences, as well as the two diamonds at Irene Larsen.

A $15,000 donation from the Martin trust was received for planting oak trees at Lagoon Valley. $5,000 will be given to the Vacaville Tree Foundation to plant trees in the open space, and the rest will be for the Lagoon Valley area.

The VYSL volunteer process for the Centennial Park soccer complex has been slow. The irrigation main is in, the park access road is under construction, and the landfill has been capped.

The Tribute to Seniors Day held today was very successful, and Dorothy Locke did an excellent job of organizing it. Ms. Locke is also a new Commissioner for the Commission on Aging.

Director Celestre advised the Commission of a potentially controversial issue that has arisen which they may hear about from residents. This has to do with users of our facilities holding events where they have requested waivers of rental fees. In the past, when the City has co-sponsored an event, we have not required that the group obtain liability insurance. We have had a claim recently, and with the number of groups that now request fee waivers there is the potential for many more claims. This has resulted in a policy decision that we will no longer take the risk, and groups will have to purchase their own insurance or provide us with a certificate of insurance from their carrier. We can continue to consider a waiver of rental fees, but we will no longer waive the insurance requirement.

Commissioner Thurmond stated she received a small flyer on the upcoming Lettermen performance. She also thanked the Cultural Arts Advisory Committee for the public art brochure.

Commissioner Lloyd-Butterfield praised the Tribute to Seniors event, and noted that it has gotten so large that there were many participants who attended that came from outside of Solano County.