Loading...
PKC - Item 2 A - Minutes of December 1, 2020 MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD PARKS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 1, 2020 The regular meeting of the Rosemead Parks Commission was called to order by Vice Chair Lin at 7:03 p.m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PRESENT: Chair Lin, Vice-Chair Nguyen, Commissioners Ruvalcaba and Tocki ABSENT: Commissioner Sornoso PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Vice-Chair Nguyen INVOCATION was led by Chair Lin 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE - None 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of minutes – October 6, 2020 Chair Lin motioned the approval of the meeting notes at 7:06 p.m. ACTION: Moved by Commissioner Tocki and seconded by Commissioner Ruvalcaba to approve the October 6, 2020 minutes: Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: Lin, Nguyen, Ruvalcaba, Tocki, ABSENT: Sornoso 3. MATTERS FROM STAFF A. Dog Park Update Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking announced that the City entered into an agreement with David Volz Design Landscape Architects, Inc. to provide a design for the Dog Park. The total process should take a couple months to design, and once completed, it will go out to bid with an additional nine months to a year for completion of project. There is a possibility that the conceptual design will be ready in February to present to the commission as well receive community input. The meeting held will be a bit different as there will be community input to incorporate in the design as it was done prior with the Prop 68 Founders Park. The final design is tentative to go to City Council in late February or early March for approval. This project is grant funded, with the City providing 50 percent, along with the criteria that the budget does not surpass $580,00 for total amount. The Dog Park will be designed with separate areas for large and small dogs at Garvey Park. It is located northwest of the tennis courts in an L-shaped area next to the parking lot. Chair Lin asked if a wish list of amenities or items was provided to the vendor that will put together the design. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that nothing in details was provided at the moment. There was a mention of including a dog water station, an amenity play area and an awning or tented area with benches. B. Community Garden Update Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking provided an update on the 2nd Temporary Community Garden located on 3224 Del Mar Avenue, in between Dorothy Street and Emerson Place. The Garden is roughly twice the size of the first garden. Public Works has been working on the project for the past few months. The north side closest to the school building will be designated as a parking lot. The middle section of the garden will hold the garden plots as well as a show garden and educational area. The south area will provide storage space for Public Works to keep soil, gravel, and additional supplies. The property is so large it would take too many plots to fill the entire area and therefore other components were added. The garden will have four trees on the property that will serve as a divider between plots and the show garden/educational area. The show garden/ educational area will contain larger plots that can be utilized by schools and potentially be able to offer gardening classes. Featured in the garden will be fencing around the perimeter, designated parking lot and parking stalls, gated and locked which will only give access to gardeners, 25 – 5 x 10 ft plots to start, creation of a show garden/ educational area, decomposed granite pathways, and a Public Works storage area. Currently the design of the garden is being finished with a pergola that needs to be installed and the water connection that needs to be finalized. The target opening date is late January. Advertisement will be starting in the next couple of weeks. The opening will not feature large gatherings but more so a small ribbon cutting. Vice-Chair Nguyen asked regarding the cost of the plots. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking mentioned they are $60 dollars per year and currently runs on a calendar year but going forward will be pro-rated. Pro rating will allow participants to join at any time and pay based on the number of months left for the year. Commissioner Ruvalcaba asked whether the plots in the second garden were the same size as the current garden. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking replied that they are. Chair Lin inquired as to whether hoses would be provided. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking mentioned there will be hoses along with watering stations throughout the garden. Storage areas for gardeners will also be provided to allow participants to leave items for gardening. Commissioner Ruvalcaba asked if a garden flyer with details and contact information was available. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that promotion for the flyer would be developed soon. The goal was to get the information out by the second week of December. Commissioner Ruvalcaba requested that information for the current garden is also distributed. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking mentioned that the 2nd garden will be the primary focus for the promotion, but a bit of information/promotions for the 1st garden will be included. There is a current vacancy of 6 plots for the 1st garden. Chair Lin asked if the parking area would contain gravel alike the 1st garden. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking mentioned it will. Commissioner Ruvalcaba mentioned that she has heard positive comments already regarding the garden with many interested in leasing a plot. She has forwarded interested individuals to Director Boecking. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking stated the flyer and information would be emailed to the commission for distribution. Chair Lin asked whether lighting would be available at the garden. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking stated there would be no lighting and would be closing at dusk every day. Commissioner Ruvalcaba mentioned the garden would benefit the schools especially those that are nearby. Chair Lin extended his gratitude to the Public Works department for their help with the garden. C. Monthly Parks & Recreation Department Review Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking provided a COVID-19 update. As of late last week, the playgrounds and fitness equipment were closed. The outdoor fitness classes have also been cancelled with a vast majority of the classes already completed as the sessions ended. There may be more restrictions coming as information develops from the Los Angeles County Health Department. The playgrounds and fitness equipment are scheduled to open as of December 21st given that more restrictions are not added at a later date. The winter recreation guide was completed and is available online. Virtual and outdoor classes have been scheduled for January and are pending upon the Los Angeles County updates. The pool is operational with the swim team currently using the facility. There has been a reduction in the number of swimmers allowed in the facility with now only one per lane. Lap swim is still allowed with one swimmer per lane and by reservation only. Aqua aerobics classes have been cancelled until the end of the month. The Garvey Center has been busy with lunch distribution, which include themed giveaways, and bingo as well. They featured themed days like Disney Day, Día de los Muertos and Thanksgiving Day to add fun activities for the seniors. Food boxes are still being provided once a month through the Los Angeles Food Bank. The trail at Rosemead Park is under construction and has been fenced off. Public Works has been managing the project and is set to be completed by the end of December. The special events are continuing in the winter. The Get Active Rosemead initiative is still going with a goal of getting people out to use the park and walking trails. The Pedal for the Turkey Medal 5K ended last week and another way of trying to get people out and active. The Virtual Tree Lighting Video was released today at 6pm and is online. It is a change from prior years, but it included special messages from the City Council as well as music and photos. The Holiday Drive-In Movie will be next Saturday, December 12 at Rosemead Park featuring the movie The Grinch. The movie will begin at 5pm with the doors opening at 4:30pm. The Letters to Santa Claus began yesterday and are now being accepted. There is a mailbox located in front of the Rosemead Community Center. The goal is for Santa to reply to everyone by December 23. The Santa Sleigh Ride has been divided into four different quadrants and will begin on December 17. Santa will come to the Rosemead neighborhoods accompanied by the Sheriffs and a couple elves. The sleigh ride will begin at 6pm and end at 9pm with the hopes that it will bring some fun and excitement to the children. The Holiday Scavenger Hunt begins on December 8-11 with giant blow-ups located at different city facilities and parks. The idea is to have people come out and see the blow-ups which were provided by our wonderful sponsors. The sponsors donated money for the fall events with money being left over to go towards the holiday inflatables. The blow-ups will have QR codes that can be scanned to get more information on the character. There will also be an Elf Story Time which will introduce one story per week and will be posted on the City’s social media. It was highly encouraged to follow the City on the different social media platforms. Youth Programs have been quiet due to COVID-19 restrictions, however, Camp in a Box is being provided. There was a themed one for Thanksgiving and Christmas which will give kids activities to do at home. Commissioner Ruvalcaba mentioned that all the activities are very exciting. She asked for additional details on the Scavenger Hunt. Jennifer Pineda, Commission Secretary, provided details on the hunt. When the QR code is scanned, depending on the blow-up, a themed story will display. The great part is that each station contains a puzzle piece and therefore each station will provide a clue to solve the holiday scavenger hunt puzzle for a chance to enter a raffle. A map will be provided with the locations of all the blow-ups. Commissioner Ruvalcaba inquired as to how residents would know that Santa’s Sleigh is coming down their street. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking mentioned the trailer would have music and Santa would have a microphone. There will also be patrol vehicles leading and following Santa while making noise with sirens to bring attention to the float. Commissioner Ruvalcaba asked if the route would include small streets or only main streets. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking replied that residential streets would be included, and the goal is to get to as many streets as possible. The quadrants are large. Chair Lin shared that the winter events are very fun and thanked Director Boecking for putting together such fun and innovative ideas. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking mentioned the City has a very creative staff. 4. MATTERS FROM COMMISSION A. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Ruvalcaba asked if there was an update on the property located on Walnut Grove and Rush Street. Director Boecking contacted Edison regarding the property and they will be following up. The property is not currently being leased by anyone else; however, the Edison representative would need to research whether the property is available to be leased. Director Boecking will provide a more detailed report at a later time. Commissioner Tocki inquired about the property on Hellman and Del Mar close to an Edison trail. There was a discussion in the past, but it never moved past that. Also, Commissioner Tocki asked regarding the property on Walnut Grove and Mission. He requested an update or more information at a later date. Commissioner Ruvalcaba recalled that the one on Mission and Walnut Grove was not approved. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking stated that the property on Mission and Walnut Grove was looked into for the Prop 68 grant. The grant was not approved. The property is still available with two Edison properties located on Mission. One is on the south end and the other is a small property on the north end. The property Commissioner Tocki was referring to is not an Edison parcel and is privately owned. Director Boecking has been speaking to Edison regarding the property on Walnut Grove and Mission Drive, which was proposed for Founders Park, to enter into a licensed agreement. Once the property is secured, then potential funding sources can be investigated. Currently Director Boecking does not have solid answers but will provide an update at a later time. Chair Lin expressed his gratitude to Director Boecking and staff for all the work that is being done throughout the year. It is great to hear all the things that are being done to keep residents engaged, young and old, as well as the active and less active throughout this unusual year. 5. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. The next Parks Commission meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 5, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. __________________________________ Jennifer Pineda, Administrative Specialist APPROVED: _________________________ Chen Lin, Chair