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PC - Minutes - 04-04-2023MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD PARKS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING APRIL 4, 2023 The regular meeting of the Rosemead Parks Commission was called to order by Chair Chavez at 7:01 p.m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PRESENT: Commissioners Chavez, Mendez, Dang and Lou ABSENT: None PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Luu INVOCATION was led by Commissioner Dang 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE — None 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of minutes — March 7, 2023 Vice Chair Mendez motioned the approval of the meeting notes at 7:03 p.m. ACTION: Moved by Vice Chair Mendez, seconded by Commissioner Luu to approve the March 7, 2023, minutes: Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: Chavez, Mendez, Dang, and Luu; ABSENT: None 3. MATTERS FROM STAFF A. 2023 Summer Events and Programs Preview Jacqueline Guerrero, Recreation Supervisor, presented the Summer Events and Programs Preview for Summer 2023. I would like to start by briefly introducing myself. My name is Jacqueline Guerrero, and I am a Recreation Supervisor. I oversee the Aquatics division, playschool programs, and some special events. I am stepping in today for Tom Boecking. He is at a conference this week, so he was not able to join us today. The first item that I would like to present is our Summer 2023 Preview. Parks and Recreation is planning to provide a full summer of events and programs for our residents. Events we have planned for this summer include our 4th of July Parade and Carnival, the Concerts in the Park series, and our Parks Make Life Better Celebration. The 4th of July Parade and Carnival will take place on Tuesday, July fourth. It's a full-day event that starts at loam with a parade along Valley Blvd. (beginning at Muscatel and ending at Rosemead Park). The Carnival at Rosemead Park will start at 12pm and will feature rides, games, live entertainment, a variety of food vendors, and a fireworks show which will take place towards the end of the night (between 8:30pm - 9pm depending on when it gets dark enough to see the fireworks). The overall event will end at IOpm. This year's theme is Heroes in Our Community. We are looking to recognize heroes in our community such as teachers, nurses, etc. Concerts in the Park: for six weeks, starting in July, concerts will take place on Fridays at 7:OOpm alternating between Garvey Park and Rosemead Park with the first concert starting on July 7 and the series ending on August 11. Staff are currently working on finalizing bands for each week. Parks Make Life Better Celebration: July is "Parks Make Life Better" month, and we will be celebrating at one of our concerts. The celebration will be kicking off with a special children's concert and it will include arts & crafts, family games, inflatable bouncers, food, and special giveaways. Our Summer programs consist of various Aquatic, Youth Programs, and Youth Sports Programs. The Aquatic Program division plans to offer a full program this summer that includes Aqua Fit, Lap Swim, our Rapids Swim Team, Recreation Swim, and Youth Swim Lessons that will be offered at both Rosemead Aquatic Center and Splash Zone. Aquatic Special events will include a "Dive In" Movie and Shark Week Celebration. Some programs may vary based on staffing. We are currently hiring for various aquatic positions. Our Youth Programs currently include a 9 -week summer day camp program that has a different theme each week. We also have our free summer lunch program in partnership with the San Gabriel school district that is provided for kids 17 and under. Our Youth Sports Programs include Youth Basketball, Start Smart, Youth Volleyball Clinic, and Contract Classes like Youth Golf and Tennis Lessons. Our Adult Sports Programs include Basketball, Volleyball, and Pickleball. The Basketball Leagues take place on Sundays at Garvey Park Gym. The league consists of 8 teams for the summer. Volleyball leagues also take place on Sundays at Garvey Park Gym, and also consist of 8 teams. As you may know we are in the process of resurfacing the tennis courts at Garvey Park to include four new Pickleball courts. We plan to offer various tournaments and a flex league. All registration for summer programs will begin on May 22. All classes can be found in our summer recreation guide. Commissioner Lim had a question regarding the Adult Volleyball Leagues. She asked how many courts there are going to be. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that there are 8 teams, so there is a tournament that happens between 6:30pm and 8:30pm. She said she would find out exactly how that works and have it presented at the next meeting. Commissioner Lim asked how long the Volleyball Leagues go on for. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that they run for the entire summer, which should be about 9 weeks. Commissioner Luu had a question regarding the Pickleball courts. She asked when the tennis courts are going to be resurfaced. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that she believes they are being worked on at the present time, but she did not have a specific date as to when they would be completed. Chair Chavez had a question regarding the theme for Fourth of July. He asked how someone can apply to be recognized as a Hero in Our Community and how those who will be recognized are going to be selected. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline 2 Guerrero responded that the Department is currently in discussion as to how it will go about selecting those Heroes, but that if there is interest in nominating someone, just let the Department know for now, and when a decision is reached regarding how it will select those Heroes, the Department will advertise it and let the community know. Vice Chair Mendez had a question regarding the Aquatics Programs. She asked if the Aquatics division is fully staffed and ready to go for the summer season following the shortage of lifeguards mentioned in prior meetings. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that the Aquatics division is not fully staffed yet. The Department is still hiring. To further that effort, the Department attended some career fairs and did some tabling at local high schools to attract new recruits. So far, the Department has received a few applications, but those applicants still need to go through Lifeguard Trainings before they can be hired. Vice Chair Mendez asked if the City will still cover the cost of Lifeguard Trainings for new hires. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded yes, they are still covered. Vice Chair Mendez had a question regarding the Summer Youth Programs. She asked if they included field trips. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that the day camps do include some excursions. Vice Chair Mendez asked if there were still discounted rates for residents for the day camps. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that there are still resident and non- resident rates. She further stated that the camps are popular and reminded the room that registration will open on May 22"a Chair Chavez had a question regarding Youth Sports Programs. He asked when enrollment opens. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that registration will open on May 22nd Commissioner Dang asked if there was a limit to how many students can enroll in day camp. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that the limit is 20 participants per camp per week. Commissioner Dang asked why so few. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that the building used for the camp can only accommodate 20 participants. Commissioner Dang asked if all programs for the summer were limited to 20 participants. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that class sizes vary on a case-by-case basis, but that 20 participants is the limit for the full day summer camps. There is also a drop- in program for students to utilize after school from 3pm to 5pm. Commissioner Luu asked how many students will be allowed to participate in the Youth Volleyball Clinics. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that the only information she had in front of her was the age range (6 years to 14 years) but that she did not have information on class size in front of her. Commissioner Luu asked if there was a limit to the number of students allowed to participate. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that she believes that they will have a participation cutoff for the Youth Volleyball Clinics, but that she did not have the exact number. 3 B. Monthly Parks & Recreation Department Review Jacqueline Guerrero, Recreation Supervisor provided the monthly update. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero started by updating the Commission on the Aquatics Programs. Staff recently attended a job and career fair at Gabrielino High School to recruit for aquatic positions. In efforts to continue recruiting, staff will also be tabling at swim meets in some local high schools. Aquatic staff will also be hosting Lifeguard Training class on April 14th —16th. Other Spring Aquatic classes and programs currently being offered include Aqua Fit, Lap Swim, and Rapids Swim Team, which currently has 143 swimmers. Aquatics also hosted their first-ever Easter Egg Dive this past Saturday which was very successful. The weather was great, and we had 48 participants, which was excellent for our first year. Our Playschool Programs started on March 27th at both locations: Garvey Center and Rosemead Park. At Garvey Community Center, we still have Senior Craft Classes that take place once a month. The last one was on Monday, March 13th, during which each participant made a Valentine's themed craft project. The next craft class will be on Monday, April 10th, from 12:OOpm to 1:OOpm. Senior Bingo was also hosted on March 6, 2023, at the Garvey Community Center. In total, 25 seniors took part in the program. We currently still have our Senior Lunch Program which is offered Monday through Friday from 11:OOam to 12:30pm at the Garvey Center. The program averages 42 people taking part in the program per day. On Thursday, April 6th, we will host a Senior Spring Breakfast Social. The breakfast will include spring -themed decorations and musical entertainment. The breakfast will feature a menu of pancakes, ham and eggs, potatoes, and sausage. This year, we also have the American of the Year Nominee. The Garvey Center nominated Hang Chi Fung for the 2023 Older American of the Year. Hang is 69 years young, and he is a very active participant of the Center's programs. He is also an active volunteer in the Senior Lunch Program. Congratulations to Hang Chi Fung as our nominee for the 2023 Older American of the Year for Rosemead. We wanted to remind everyone that this Saturday, April 8th, we are having our annual Easter Eggstravaganza. This event is geared towards children aged 2 — 13 years old. All egg hunts will start at I0:00am. This event includes egg hunts, games, moon bounces, and photo opportunities with the bunny. Other programs that are taking place now are Start Smart Soccer, Youth Basketball League, Adult Basketball League, and Youth Futsal League. We also have some Family Excursions as well. Regarding the questions asked at the last meeting about low-cost spay/neuter clinics: The City does not host any spay/neuter clinics. The City does host a low cost vaccination and microchip clinic the first Saturday of each month at Zapopan Park from 9:OOam to 11:OOam. Information is provided on the City's website. 4 Regarding the questions asked at the last meeting about the watering schedule at the parks: Currently parks in the City of Rosemead are watered on a regular weekly basis. The Public Works monitors the schedule to make sure the grass areas and gardens are getting the appropriate amount of water each week. The irrigation systems are turned off on rainy days. Vice Chair Mendez had a question regarding the low-cost spay/neuter clinics. She stated that at the last meeting, she asked Tom Boecking, Director of Parks and Recreation, if the City would host a low-cost pet spay program for community members, so that they would not have to reach out to ASPCA or a similar organization since Rosemead is a part of LA county. She clarified that Rosemead will not be hosting a low-cost spay/neuter clinic for the residents of Rosemead. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that, according to the information she had, Rosemead has no plans to host such a clinic. She elaborated stating that she was unsure if there was something else that needed to be done with LA County or another organization in order for Rosemead to be able to host such a clinic. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero said she would look further into the issue and have it presented at the next meeting. She said that Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking had looked into whether the City had a low-cost spay/neuter program here and found that there were none, but that we would do some more research and report back at the next meeting. Commissioner Lim asked what Youth Futsal is. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that Futsal is indoor soccer. Vice Chair Mendez asked if it was held in the Garvey Gym. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded yes. Commissioner Dang asked if the Department has enough coaches for the teams. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that since the teams are already playing, she believed they did have enough coaches. Commissioner Dang asked if there is a cost to participate in the Community Yard Sale. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that the Yard Sale was on March 4Ih, and that it only takes place once per year. There was a cost to participate, which she believes was around $15 per space, and it will be back next March. Vice Chair Mendez asked if today was the first day that the Farmers Market starts. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that the Farmers Market takes place on Mondays, so yesterday was the first day. Vice Chair Mendez asked if they were able to fill enough booths. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that they had several booths as well as the Easter Bunny out there taking pictures with children. Commissioner Dang asked if the Senior Center events accept volunteers, or how do we staff those events. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that the Department mostly uses its staff. There are some seniors who like to volunteer, but any volunteers must go through a volunteer program and sign a waiver. The Center does get quite a few volunteers there. Chair Chavez said that the Commissioners are able to ask us to take notes and to follow up on that and give them a little bit more information on that at the next meeting. E MATTERS FROM A. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Dang said that he noticed on Valley Blvd. several of the students' banners have been blown off due to high winds. He would like to know if they can be put back up. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero asked for clarification. Chair Chavez said that he had seen the same issue. He said that on Valley Blvd. there are banners hanging from light posts which show students who are going to college. Several of these banners appeared to have been blown off their hanging places by the high winds. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that the Department has military recognition banners, but that she wasn't sure about student banners, but that she would follow up and get back to the Commissioners wither via email or at the next meeting. Chair Chavez stated that he noticed that the restroom by Rosemead Park (the north restroom by the baseball diamonds) appears to be under construction. Is there any further update on that as to when it would be reopened? Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero responded that they were working on some cameras at that building and that they were working on the restrooms. She did not have an update as to when they will reopen, but that she would have Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking follow up. Chair Chavez said that he noticed the small playground at Garvey Park had been taken out. Is that space going to be utilized for another activity? Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero said that that area is one of the projects that is being looked at right now to be redone, resurfaced, and generally fixed up. That project was put on pause for the pandemic, but that is something that is being looked at right now. Chair Chavez asked her to have Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking follow up on that as well. Vice Chair Mendez asked about the Youth Advisory Committee and if the Department had been able to fill the available seats with local high school students. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero replied that the students currently appointed were announced at the City Council meeting on February 281h, but that there are still some available seats. Commissioner Luu asked if the seats were not filled, would they be opened to students outside of Rosemead. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero replied that there are currently no plans to open the Committee to outside students. She made a note to have Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking follow up. Commissioner Dang asked if there would be Commission meetings during the Summer. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero replied that would be Commission meetings during the summer months. Commissioner Lou said that the summer is the peak time when the Commission meets the most. Recreation Supervisor Jacqueline Guerrero replied that the summer is a very busy time for the Department as well. M 4. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:29 p.m. The next Parks Commission meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Ke 1 Gotte Commission Secretary A OVED: NZElie Chavez, C