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PC - Minutes - 10-03-2023MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD PARKS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 3, 2023 The regular meeting of the Rosemead Parks Commission was called to order by Chair Chavez at 7:07 p.m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PRESENT: Commissioners Chavez, Mendez, Dang, Hernandez, and Luau ABSENT: None PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Luau INVOCATION: Commissioner Dang 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE — None 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of minutes — September 5, 2023 Vice -Chair Mendez motioned the approval of the meeting notes at 7:09 p.m. ACTION: Moved by Vice -Chair Mendez, seconded by Commissioner Dang to approve the September 5, 2023 Minutes: Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: Chavez, Mendez, Dang, Hernandez, and Luau; ABSENT: None 3. MATTERS FROM STAFF A. Zapopan Park and Jay Imperial Park Amenities As you'll recall, an essential role of this Commission is to identify potential park space and amenities offered at each park. The City Council asked the Department to bring this item to the Commission, and for the Director to then formalize a report on this topic. We have already discussed Rosemead Park and Garvey Park and today we will be discussing Zapopan Park and Jay Imperial Park. At the next meeting, we will discuss the remaining parks. Then the Director of Parks and Recreation will compose a report that will go to the Commission for review after the new year and eventually, that report will go to the City Council and will influence their recommendations for the Parks and Facilities Master Plan. We are starting to update the Master Plan as it has not been updated for quite some time. Your feedback in the comments that are made here today will guide that discussion on a larger scale. So, tonight we will discuss Zapopan Park and Jay Imperial Park. Zapopan Park is located at 3018 Charlotte Avenue and it's roughly 7 acres, which is a good size for a park in the City of Rosemead. You'll notice that both of these properties are Southern California Edison properties that are licensed by the City. We have five-year license agreements for both parks, so every five years we have to renew that agreement with Southern California Edison. Amenities that are at Zapopan Park include a basketball court, fitness equipment, a multipurpose field, a parking lot, picnic shelters, playgrounds, a restroom, a sand volleyball court, and a walking trail. The fact that we are able to have these amenities at Zapopan Park is very unique. This is because Zapopan Park was established many years ago under an old policy that Southern California Edison had under which we were allowed to have these types of amenities on their property. Now, that policy has changed so we are very limited in what we can do on Southern California Edison property. As we move forward looking at Jay Imperial Park, you'll be able to see the major differences between the properties. Jay Imperial Park is located at 2361 Pine Street, and it's actually divided by the street; so Jay Imperial is located on the west end of Pine and the east end of Pine, so it is literally split by Pine Street. Amenities at Jay Imperial Park include a walking trail, fitness, equipment, and picnic tables. The fitness equipment at Jay Imperial Park is the smaller fitness equipment. There are a few picnic tables and a few benches that are scattered throughout the park. There is also a decomposed granite walking path that is along both sides of the park. These are all the amenities that Edison allowed when this was developed in 2018. So, clearly, those amenities have been reduced significantly since Zapopan Park. As you can see what we are allowed to do in that space is now very limited. When it comes to our discussion, please note that ideas are fantastic and we can write them down and discuss them, but it will come down to Edison's final decision as to what amenities they want to allow on their property. Chair Chavez asked how we can promote these parks a bit more. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that Zapopan Park is more of a recreational park due to its amenities. Jay Imperial Park on the other hand is what we would consider a passive park. It is used for walking, small gatherings, or a short lunch. That's the design Edison is comfortable with. It is passive Recreation, not active Recreation like what we have in our larger parks. Zapopan Park is a grandfathered -in property compared to anything new and that is why it has more active amenities. As far as promoting, we can try to highlight these parks more. We can always highlight them in our brochure, but we can look for new ways of promoting them as well. Vice -chair Mendez asked to clarify if we have a total of five parks in Rosemead and two parks that we license from Edison. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking replied that we have seven parks in Rosemead. We will be discussing Sally Tanner Park next week and we lease that one from the San Gabriel Water District, so we don't own that land either. We have Guess Park, which is a small comer park located on Michigan Drive and Walnut Grove Avenue that is licensed through Edison as well. We also have a triangle park which is a very small triangle piece of grass down on the south side of Rosemead close to the 60 freeway. It is located at the southeast end of Walnut Grove Avenue. 2 Commissioner Luau asked if we could possibly discuss with Southern California Edison having a community garden on one of their properties to attract more people. She would especially like to do this at Jay Imperial Park since there's more blank space there. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that we can make that recommendation, however, Edison has a solid policy against community gardens on their property. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking went on to say that we have acquired an empty parcel of Edison's, off of Walnut Grove Avenue between Mission Drive and Wells Street. The parcel is about 8 acres of empty land which we have licensed from Edison with the hope of finding funding to build another passive park. This area would be the location of the proposed Founder's Park. He said that the City is working with Edison to try to change some of their policies. However, he does know that there are some concerns with the electrical wires and producing gardens, so he believes that's why Edison's policy is "no." Chair Chavez asked what amenities Edison does allow other than those already discussed. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that the amenities at Jay Imperial Park are the most current amenities that Edison allows. So, that would be some small fitness equipment, some picnic tables, some benches, and a walking trail that is made of decomposed granite. In initial designs, the City had hoped to have some native gardens, but it needs to be a passive area, which means grass. Commissioner Hernandez asked if the responsibility for the maintenance of these parks falls on the City of Rosemead. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that yes, the City is responsible for maintaining the land. This is true even for that 8 -acre green space we have licensed from Edison that we have not yet constructed. The City is responsible for weed abatement, trimming bushes, and ensuring the area is clean and safe. The City contracts with an outside maintenance company that comes in and maintains the parks for us. Commissioner Hernandez stated that she visited the parks recently and she has a few notes on them, Zapopan Park especially. First, she noted that there is no volleyball net on the volleyball court at Zapopan Park. She also noticed that there is only one water fountain near the restroom, but none near the kid's playground. There is also no shade in the kid's playground. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that shade structures were probably not permitted when the park was built, but it's something that we can look at. Commissioner Hernandez went on to say that the track at Zapopan Park has several tears in it, and the decomposed granite trail at Jay Imperial Park is quite bad as well. Also, there are no lights on the crosswalks near the parks which could be dangerous at night. The dog waste stations at both parks need attention as some of them no longer have waste bag holders. Some of the trash bins at Zapopan Park look like they have been bashed in, and there is a hole in the fence at that park. Lastly, for Jay Imperial Park, Commissioner Hernandez wondered if it would be possible to add bike parking. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking made note of her suggestions. c B. Monthly Parks & Recreation Department Review Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking provided the monthly update. September was very busy; October will be extremely busy. We were excited to launch online registration for swim lessons. It's actually the first time we've done it, and it was a test run to see how well it worked. We were very happy with the outcome. Online registration for swim lessons was a concern because there are several levels of lessons, and we were nervous that participants might try to register for levels that exceed their abilities. However, the online registration system worked out rather well, and we only had to make a couple of changes. We are excited to bring it back for spring registration and to look at it for summer registration, which would be a huge step in the registration process for the Aquatics programs. The Garvey Community Center was busy as it always is. We had our Senior Bingo and Craft Classes going on. Our Senior Fiesta Luncheon, which was held on September 14, was fantastic. There was a Spanish -style lunch, activities, and dancing. The event sold out with over 150 seniors in attendance. We are looking forward to our Halloween Luncheon, which is coming up on Thursday, October 26. The theme will be Alice in Wonderland, and we are very excited about it. The decorations will be fantastic, and the staff will be in costume. We also have several Senior Excursions coming up. We will be going to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on September 28, the Valley View Casino on October 12, Oktoberfest at Big Bear Lake on October 22, Olvera Street in Los Angeles to celebrate Dia de los Muertos on November 12, and Temecula and Falkner Winery & Tour on November 9. A new program that we are excited to launch at Garvey Community Center is our Case Management Services. The goal is to bring in a case manager once a week to the Garvey Community Center to help facilitate the needs of our senior population, and our disabled adults ages 18 to 59. This program will help give access to transportation, information, assistance, in home services, and community services. We are excited to be able to offer these services to our community and we are looking at starting that in November. The Department has been incredibly busy with special events recently. We hosted a September 11 Remembrance Ceremony, which some of you attended. This past weekend, we hosted the Pumpkin Dive. It was a great event, even though the weather did not cooperate all that well, but it did not stop the fun and the kids went swimming with pumpkins and had a great time. It was a very exciting event. We had well over 90 participants registered. Our Fall Fiesta/Dia de los Muertos event is coming up this Saturday, October 7, from 4 PM to 9 PM. We do have a rain -out date on November 18, that we hope not to need. The event is filled with activities and we have vendors coming out with food and merchandise. There will be laser tag, moon bouncers, a game truck, and more. Also, Savannah Cemetery will be decorated and open for tours during the event. 13 Our Fall Craft Fair is coming up on October 14 at Garvey Community Center. We have well over 40 vendors who have committed to the event. This year will be the first time the event is back in quite a while, so we're really excited about it. The Pumpkin Patch event will be held on Saturday, October 21, from 3 PM to 6 PM at the Del Mar Community Garden. This event is completely sold out, and we are currently only accepting names for the waitlist. During this event, we partner with CultivaLA who oversee our Community Gardens. Kids will be able to walk around, select a pumpkin, eat some treats, and collect a special giveaway before heading home. Our Trunk or Treat and Haunted House events are coming up at the end of the month on October 31. We will be sending an email to our commissioners asking for some assistance with the costume contests. We are looking forward to having a lot of fun. The Haunted House will be open an additional day this year, so it will be open Friday, October 27, and Saturday, October 28, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, in addition to October 31 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. The event is packed every year. On one side of the parking lot are all the vehicles with their trunks open and decorated, giving out candy. On the other side of the parking lot is the line which is well worth the wait. We do have some crafts, games, and food trucks as well. The Anti -Hate Art Contest is going on. Submittals are due November 3. Information has gone out to the schools as well as online via social media. We have two themes this year: Love Not Hate and We Grow Together. We have a brand-new event this year, the Pumpkin Derby, which will take place on Saturday, November 4, at the Jess Gonzalez Sports Complex. This event is an opportunity to turn your pumpkin into a race car! Participants will race their pumpkins against others in their age division. As far as our Adult and Youth Programs and Sports, we currently have our Youth Volleyball League and our Adult Basketball League both going on. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our Adult Volleyball League as we did not have enough interested teams. However, we did open up our gymnasium on Sunday evenings starting at 6:30 PM for free volleyball time for those who want to play. Chair Chavez commented that the event lineup sounds like a lot of fun. He also asked if we could elaborate on the Fall Fiesta. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking stated that the event starts at 4:00 PM at Rosemead Park. There will be merchandise vendors, community organizations, and food vendors. Community performers will be going on stage throughout the day. There will also be a Selena Tribute Band performing from 7 PM to 9 PM. All the activities for the kids are free, including arts and crafts, moon bouncers, laser tag, and more. There will be a train ride that will take you around a decorated area. There will also be a game truck for the kids. We're very excited for the event. 5 MATTERS FROM A. Commissioner Comments Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking explained that this is the Commission's opportunity to ask for any items they would like to be placed on a future agenda or to ask simple questions that he can answer right away. Commissioner Hernandez asked how involved Edison is with the parks, and if there's any opportunity to collaborate with them on any future events. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that Edison is very much a property manager when it comes to the properties that we license from them. In discussions moving forward, we are looking at how we can partner in different ways so hopefully, there will be some more information as to how they can be involved a bit more, especially with the proposed Founder's Park. Chair Chavez asked where the proposed park is going to be located. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded to the proposed Founder's Park will be located off Walnut Grove Avenue between Mission Drive and Wells Street. There is a large area of empty land right there running between the homes on Walnut Grove and Halkett Avenue. So, it is a large parcel of land — about 8 acres. We have an additional design that was created back in 2019. We submitted the project for grant funding two different times but unfortunately, it was not awarded the funds. We are currently looking at how we can get the funding for a new park there. It would be a passive park, so a grass area with a walking trail, and possibly some native gardens. We are very limited as to what recreational amenities can be there. Possibly we might have some fitness equipment like what we have at Jay Imperial Park as well as a few picnic tables. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking doesn't believe any shelters will be passed through Edison at this point. Chair Chavez asked for an update on the Garvey Paws Dog Park. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that the dog park is doing fantastically. The park is open and used daily. The feedback we get from the public is that the park is really good. It's still new so the grass is holding up which is always a concern. We are currently having the tennis courts redone in that area, so there is a little bit of chaos at the moment. We did have to close the large dog area to accommodate the tar and the material that they spread on the tennis courts. That project will be wrapping up in the next couple of weeks though. So, overall the dog park is doing great. Commissioner Hernandez asked how many dog parks we would like to have in the city. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that right now we have just one. The issue is finding available space that the City can tum into a dog park. The dog park that we currently have is at the south end of Rosemead. Ideally, it would be great to have another one on the north end of Rosemead. The issue is finding somewhere that we can build one. Commissioner Hernandez wondered if it would be possible to turn Jay Imperial Park or Zapopan Park into a dog park. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that that would be a good question for Edison. However, both of those parks are close in proximity to Garvey C. Paws Dog Park. Nevertheless, it's something that we could look into and actually putting an additional dog park on the document as far as possible amenities would be great because that would be included in the Parks and Facilities Master Plan. For the City, once it's included in that plan, it becomes a target as to what we want to do in how many years, so potentially that is something we could add. Commissioner Dang asked if there was any public concern about putting a new park under the power lines as far as environmental concerns and safety. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking said that there was some concern, but there is no evidence of anything harmful about it. We have other parks under the power lines. For example, Zapopan Park has been around for over 20 years. It would give people the opportunity for a passive place to get out of their homes. Also, there is no guarantee that that park will come to fruition. At any point, Edison can take their property back. The City is just a user. We have an agreement for five years at a time for each property, at the end of which Edison can take the land back. Chair Chavez asked when our five-year license will be up. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that it varies depending on the location. Chair Chavez asked about Zapopan Park. Director Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that he doesn't remember and would have to check, but he believes that we recently renewed that license a year or two ago. Commissioner Luau asked if there was any goal to include bike paths at any of the parks. Director of Parks and Recreation responded no, but that is something we could add to the list. 4. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:42 p.m. The next Parks Commission meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Kendahltle , Commissl6qSecretary