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PKC - Item 2A - Minutes of October 6, 2020 MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD PARKS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 6, 2020 The regular meeting of the Rosemead Parks Commission was called to order by Vice Chair Linat 7:03 p.m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PRESENT: Vice-Chair Lin, Commissioners Nguyen, Ruvalcaba, Sornoso and Tocki ABSENT: None PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Commissioner Tocki INVOCATION was led by Commissioner Ruvalcaba REORGANIZATION: Commissioner Tocki nominated Vice-Chair Lin to the position of Chairman, the nomination was seconded by Commissioner Ruvalcaba. Motion passed. Commissioner Ruvalcaba nominated Commission Nguyen to the position of Vice-Chair, the nomination was seconded by Chair Lin. Motion passed. Commissioner Chase Sornoso was introduced and was appointed by City Council a few weeks prior. 1.PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE - None 2.CONSENT CALENDAR pproval of minutes – January 7, 2020 A.A hair Morten motioned the approval of the meeting notes at 7:12 p.m. C ACTION: Moved by Commissioner Ruvalcaba and seconded by Vice-Chair Nguyen, with an amendment requested by Chair Lin,to approve the January 7, 2020 minutes: Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: Lin, Nguyen, Ruvalcaba, Sornoso, Tocki 3.MATTERS FROM STAFF A.Memorial Bench and Tree Nomination Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking announced that on Monday, September 14, 2020 the department received an application for the Memorial Bench, Tree and Garden Program. The donor, Vicki Waier, would like to recognize her niece, Amanda Martin with a memorial tree at Garvey Park. Amanda Martin was born on June 8, 1989 and lived in Rosemead her entire life. She attended Shuey Elementary, Muscatel Middle School and graduated from Rosemead High School in 2007. Amanda was active in the community by playing softball at Garvey Park for many years. At Rosemead Highschool, she was involved in many clubs and played softball. Amanda and her husband, Nick, often went for walks at Garvey Park and even shared their first kiss at the park. Unfortunately, Amanda was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2019 and underwent extensive chemo and radiation treatment. She had a mastectomy in Dec. 2019, but always remained positive she would beat it and live a long, healthy life. In July 2020, after having a series of migraines, City of Hope did an MRI and found the cancer had spread to her brain and to her ovaries. On August 11, Amanda underwent brain surgery, which took 11 and 1/2 hours. She was released from City of Hope on August 15. After she returned home, she had several seizures and was pronounced brain dead. Amanda died on August 21, 2020. Amanda is survived by her husband Nick, her mother, Corrine and her brother, Matthew. She will always be remembered as a beautiful, positive and lovely woman who is greatly missed by everyone who knew her. Amanda was a beautiful soul that touched many lives. The family would love to have a memorial plaque at the park where she played the sport that she loved and where she shared her first kiss with the man she loved. The location of the tree is directly behind homeplate. It is South of Dorothy Avenue where the small softball field is located. There is a small tree that is behind homeplate and the family thinks that is the perfect spot to memorialize Amanda with a beautiful plaque. The staff recommends that the Parks Commission approve the memorial tree application in honor of Amanda Martin. Commissioner Ruvalcaba expressed it was a beautiful gesture and great to show the community that Rosemead has many wonderful people that care for others. Commissioner Tocki mentioned Amanda seemed like a beautiful woman that was taken too soon. He stated it is a great way to memorialize who she was as a person and what she meant to the City as a lifetime resident and fully stood behind the nomination. Chair Lin mentioned that based on the photo of the tree it looked like it didn’t have any leaves and was curious as to the condition of the tree. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking replied that the tree is alive. The photo was taken off of google and could have been taken during a time when the tree shed its leaves. There is work being done around the grass area. If at some point the tree needs to be replaced, then it is something that is covered by the program. If it was not possible to replace the tree, then at that point the plaque can be moved; however, replacement of the tree should not be an issue. ACTION: Moved by Commissioner Ruvalcaba and seconded by Commissioner Tocki to approve the nomination of Amanda Martin for the Memorial Bench, Tree and Garden Program. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: Lin, Nguyen, Ruvalcaba, Sornoso, Tocki Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking mentioned he has been working with the family who are great and will work on getting the plaque as soon as he can. B.Monthly Parks & Recreation Department Review Director of Parks and Recreation Boeckingprovided a COVID-19 update. Programs have been shut down due to the restrictions. Staff have gotten creative and thinking out of the box in terms of events, classes and programs. A Fall 2020 brochure was published online offering virtual classes and in-person classes to be held outdoors and will follow all protocols set by the county. There is a spin on many events to keep them safe and following protocols set forth. The aquatics division has been pretty quiet but will be opening up. It will open the following week for the competitive Rosemead Rapids Swim Team. They will be in the pool as of next week as well as the Aqua Fit class and Lap Swimming. The facilities have been quiet as far as participation goes but they have been maintained and cleaned as well as upgrades to IT items and new equipment like chairs. The senior lunch program is still being held at the Garvey Center twice a week and is provided as a drive-thru or walk-up service. On Mondays they receive lunch for two days and Wednesday for three days. MTA loading passes are still being provided; however, there has been a decline in participants. Staff is getting creative in engaging the seniors with special days being held during the lunch program. There was a day where staff dressed up as Batman and superheroes. They also had a Dodgers day and International Coffee day in which the department partnered with Starbucks who donated ice coffee. The LA County Food Bank comes to the Garvey center the fourth Monday of each month to distribute food. The LA County is holding voting centers at Rosemead and Garvey Center. Voting will take place October 24 to November 3 with varied hours. Protocols on social distancing and cleaning will be upheld. The special events have been a bit quieter than usual, but the department is still working on putting on modified events. The Farmers Market concluded last week and was held in front of City Hall on Monday nights. On October 10, there will be a drive-thru flu clinic from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Rosemead Center. This is a partnership with the foundation Wealth by Health whom will provide the flu and dental services. This year, the Fall Fiesta/Día de los Muertos event was changed to a drive-in movie. It will be held at Rosemead Park on Saturday, October 10 and will feature “Coco.” Spaces for the event are still available. There will also be a Virtual 5K Run/Walk which includes a fee that provides a face mask, race bib, and medal. The participant will do the race on their own and will have suggested routes provided. Participants are recording their times and sending them in. Instead of the traditional Trunk or Treat event, the City is hosting the Spooktacular Halloween Drive-thru Event at the Rosemead Center from 6:00-8:30 pm. The parking lot will be decorated and with the ability of taking a commemorative photo in front of a green screen and receive a bag of goodies on their way out. There will also be another event, Pedal for the Turkey Medal 5K Bike Ride, which functions like the 5K Run/Walk, and will be held in November. Participants will receive a race bib, t-shirt and turkey medal. There is a big push inkeeping the community engaged and in the coming weeks, residents will be able to see Active signs around the park. These signs will have fun things to do around the park such as a funny walk and then on another sign do 10 jumping jacks along with fun hashtags to tag the City. This is meant to keep residents out and active even during this challenging time. This summer, the program Youth Sports in a Bag was popular and contained sports equipment that was delivered to participants homes along with the ability to download videos to show them how to use equipment. This fall, Football in a bag will be offered which provides the fundamentals of football, but with the ability to do it in one’s own backyard. Camp in a Box ran this past summer with three distributions that were all sold out. Each box contains activities for two weeks and features arts and crafts and a camp shirt and will be continued to Halloween and Thanksgiving. An e-sports league is also being offered, NBA 2K20, will provide the opportunity to engage in a different way through a league being offered tournament style. A Baseball/Softball Skills Competition league is being offered where people can come out, while being socially distant and safe, and partake in an activity in the park. The participants will compete and be given scores based on running, hitting and pitching. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking also provided a grant update on Proposition 68- Founders Park. Unfortunately, the City did not receive funding for the park. The state received 478 applications which equal to $2.3 billion in requests. The amount available to spend was $254 million. A total of 90% of the applications did not receive funding with only 15 projects that were funded in LA County. The good news is there will be another round to submit projects with $395 million available to be awarded. The department is looking at tweaking the application and possibly submitting another project. The deadline for those applications are due December 14. More information will be provided to the commission in the November meeting. The department will also be hosting a Virtual Pumpkin Carving Contest with different categories where people can submit a photo of their pumpkin. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking invited all commissioners to participate as judges for the event. The recreation supervisor, Tam Chu, will contact the commissioners with information on how to participate. Commissioner Ruvalcaba mentioned she was pleased to hear about all the activities happening despite the pandemic. She asked regarding the brochure and where it can be found. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that it can be found by going to the website, Parks and Recreation page and can be located directly on the Parks and Recreation homepage. He also mentioned that organized outdoor practice for youth sports leagues will be starting in approximately two weeks. Youth leagues can apply for use of the park for practice only and applies to other non-profits as well. Commissioner Tocki asked regarding an update on the dog park. Director of Parks and Recreation Boeckingreplied that he will be providing a full update in the November meeting. 4.MATTERS FROM COMMISSION A. Open Space Commissioner Ruvalcaba mentioned that she frequently passes through an open area, located Walnut Grove and Rush Street, and was wondering if there is something that can be done with that space. Director Boecking has taken a look into the aerial maps and is not sure who owns the property. He mentioned further looking into the property and providing more information in the November meeting. Commissioner Ruvalcaba mentioned seeing multiple employees from Panda and Edison in the proximity and would make a great open space area. B. Commissioner Comments Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking informed newly appointed Commissioner Sornoso that under this portion of the meeting is where he can introduce items that he would like to speak about or make a request. If there is an item/event within the community, it can be shared with the commission. Vice-Chair Nguyen mentioned he visits Rosemead Park often and he doesn’t see many people using masks and feels people are not taking COVID-19 seriously. He stated he sees people running without masks making it a hazard to others. Vice- Chair Nguyen requested signs around the parks to remind people that masks are required. Director Boecking stated there are currently signs in the park but can look into adding additional signage. Commissioner Ruvalcaba commented she also feels the same regarding the signage in the park. She suggested adding signs saying “Let’s Keep Rosemead Clean” to remind people to pick up after themselves. There are masks and gloves that are being thrown on the ground and adding litter. Director Boecking mentioned he would look into the matter. Commissioner Tocki announced that the LA County is still allowing people that are in heavy physical activity to not wear a mask while they exercise. Running would be an exception; however, walking or communicating with others requires a mask. Commissioner Ruvalcaba asked whether the City owns the Garden space and if those leasing the plots will need to pay this year. irector Boecking mentioned letters will be sent regarding payments in January. It D will be a yearly fee going out on a calendar year and will be prorated depending on when gardeners begin their lease. Commissioner Ruvalcaba wanted to know in order to share that information with other potential people that may be interested in leasing a plot. Director Boecking announced that he will be providing a full report on the second temporary community garden in the next meeting. He invited commissioners to drive by Del Mar Avenue and take a look at the progress. It is tentative to be ready by the end of the month. Chair Lin mentioned that given the lock down and people spending more time at home, non-profits and social serviceorganizations are having a hard time finding those outlets for outreach to connect with people within the community. A group reached out to Chair Lin, the National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse(NAPAFASA) regarding outreach. The organization has a program about second-hand smoke awareness. With people being at home, second- hand smoke is affecting people living in multi-family units. Chair Lin asked whether there are venues in where non-profits can partner with the City to help distribute information to local families. Director Boecking asked that his information be shared with the organization to better understand what they are doing and connect them to outlets or push information out, but it would all be based on each individual situation. Director Boecking asked Chair Lin to provide the contact information for the group and he would reach out to them. Commissioner Ruvalcaba asked regarding resources for homelessness in Rosemead. Specifically, if there is something on the city website to guide people on resources available within the city. Director Boecking said he has information he can provide regarding resources; however, he is unaware on exactly what is provided on the website. Usually, people are referred to contacts and programs with the LA County for more assistance. He will be looking into the requested information. 5.ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m. The next Parks Commission meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. _____ _____________________________ Jennifer Pineda, Administrative Specialist APPROVED: _________________________ Chen Lin, Chair