HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - PR - 2015.03.19MEETING MINUTES
Regular Meeting of the Burlingame Parks & Recreation Commission
Thursday, March 19, 2015
The regular meeting of the Burlingame Parks & Recreation Commission was called to order by
Chairman Martin at 7:02 pm at the Burlingame Recreation Center, 850 Burlingame Ave,
Burlingame.
ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present: Martin, Baird, Colson, Baum, Dito, Lewis, Schissler
Commissioners Absent: None
Staff Present: Parks & Recreation Director Glomstad; Recreation Supervisors
Barry, Hager & Acquisti; Recording Secretary Helley
Others Present: Mike Brunicardi, Burlingame; Eric Nuss, Burlingame; Kieron
Saunders, B.S.C.; Hank Sauer, Burlingame; Robert Bierman,
AYSO; Janinne Floutz, Burlingame; Steve Cady, Burlingame;
Karen Dittman, Burlingame; Wesley Scott, Burlingame; Bob
Reisfeld, Burlingame; Roy Schnabel, B.S.C.;David Wisnom III,
B.S.C.; Imre Freeze, Burlingame; Susan Tarazi, Burlingame; Terry
Nagel, Burlingame; Jill and Kent Lauder, Burlingame; Lin Jay,
Burlingame; Ken Ingram, Lions Club; Steve Epstein, Burlingame.
MINUTES
The Minutes of the February 19, 2015 regular meeting were approved as submitted.
PUBLIC COMMENTS — Steve Cady, Burlingame, spoke from the floor about Mills Canyon
and voiced concern about the bridge that spans the creek and is wondering about the possibility
of rebuilding the bridge.
NEW BUSINESS
Conceptual Design Phase for a New Community Center — Staff Report; Glomstad introduced
representatives from Group 4 Architecture, the architects working on the master design of the
community center. Dawn Merkes spoke on the process of design and of various community
outreach opportunities. A handout on the presentation is available on the city website and city
staff will be in Washington Park and at the Fresh Market over the weekend with detailed
information and collecting community input. Commission and meeting attendees provide
feedback on design values and building layout to staff and Group 4.
Dog Off Leash Pilot Program Update — Staff Report; Supervisor Acquisti stated the Off Leash
program at Cuernavaca and Washington Parks has been ongoing for one year and is due to be
evaluated. Continued and ongoing outreach by staff to both dog and non -dog owners during the
one year has shown the vast majority of feedback to be overwhelmingly positive. Staff is
requesting the program be extended for another year with evaluations every 3 months.
Chair Martin opened the floor for public comment on the item.
Several members of the audience spoke on the success of the program stressing the responsible
dog owners who are diligent about cleaning up after their pets. Several requests were made to
Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes
March 19, 2015 — Page 2
extend the morning hours to include 6 am to 7:30 am on the outfields at both Washington and
Cuernavaca Park.
A request was made to look into adding enclosed dog off leash facilities for small dogs on the
west side of the freeway within the city limits.
Also noted when the sports season starts at Washington Park are parents who bring dogs off
leash and do not clean up their dog mess.
Lin Ney, a Cuernavaca neighbor, spoke against the program at Cuernavaca Park, citing an email
sent to staff with photos of violations (dog mess, urine along the backstop & animal tracks in
field sand). He has phoned the police on numerous occasions to report violations of the posted
rules.
Commission discussed the matter.
MOTION by Colson (seconded by Martin): Commission approves the renewal of the pilot
program of Dog Off Leash areas and hours for another year. MOTION PASSED 7-0.
OLD BUSINESS
Field Use Policy Revisions — Staff Report; Supervisor Barry reported the four (4) items in the
Field Use Policy for review by Commission this evening: 1) the definition of organization and
Burlingame organization; 2) how residency percentage pertains to field priority; 3) a clear
definition of subletting; and 4) options for subletting fees and consequences.
Chair Martin opened the floor to public comment.
Robert Bierman of AYSO, spoke on the matter of subletting fields and the punitive nature of the
proposed fees. Bierman felt the real reason of the process of field allocation was being lost, that
of providing field space and to have field scheduling conflicts resolved at the lowest level.
Dave Wisnom of BCS, also spoke on the matter of subletting fields and the proposed user fees.
He stated the Burlingame Soccer Club has only one paid board member. The club has
transparency and governance as their bylaws were rewritten three years ago. The club feels it is
excessive of the Parks & Recreation Department to charge families even though they do not play
on the fields. Wisnom stated the club had planned to contribute $60,000 for the renovation of
Murray Field but will be holding back until this issue is resolved to the club's satisfaction.
Dave Wisnom read a statement from Roy Schnabel, who had to leave the meeting due to an
emergency. Schnabel is the head of programs for the Burlingame Soccer Club. He writes of the
club providing choices for players who wish to pay to play with professional coaches. The club
does not like to be isolated or criticized for providing a choice to people in the community who
wish to pursue professional coaching at a competitive level. In regards to residency and
reduction of impact on the city fields, the club has partnered with the Sheriff's Activities League
to achieve the reductions of impact on the fields. The club feels they are being challenged for
achieving the goals that staff has asked them to do. The issue of San Bruno residents playing on
city fields as guests — the club did not have the intention to not pay, but feels they need to
understand the policy and parameters for payments. The club is working towards a better
conflict resolution process so that old issues do not keep coming up. The club requests they be
approached, if there are issues, and are given the chance to resolve the issue.
Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes
March 19, 2015 — Page 3
Chair Martin closed public comments.
After discussion, Commission approved the following proposed changes to the Field Use Policy:
1) The five (5) bullet points in Exhibit A under "Validated User Organizations" to define an
organization and specifically a Burlingame organization;
2) How residency percentage pertains to field priority as noted under "Allocation Priority"
after line number five in Exhibit A;
3) The definition of subletting approved as in Exhibit A with the addition of "without
written permission" to the end of the first sentence of the definition;
4) Options for subletting fees and consequences as listed in Exhibit A are to be merged to
reflect the following: 1) 1st offense is a written warning and hearing before Commission;
2) 2nd offense is a $1,000 fee, a hearing before Commission and probationary status of the
organization; 3) 3rd offense is a $2,500 fee, a hearing before Commission and the loss of
field time for the upcoming season.
Commission concluded with the following motion:
MOTION by Lewis (seconded by Baum): Commission approves the changes as noted in
Exhibit A for the four (4) items listed in the staff report. MOTION PASSED 7-0.
REPORTS/HANDOUTS
A. Parks & Recreation Department Reports
1. Monthly Report
a. Foundation Update — Commissioner Colson reported the Foundation met early in the
evening and have updated website and are working on fundraising goals for the
summer. The foundation is looking for more board members and invites anyone
interested to contact the foundation.
B. Commissioner Reports
None
C. Correspondence
None
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission is scheduled to be held on Thursday,
April 16, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at Burlingame Recreation Center.
There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at
9:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Joleen Helley
Recording Secretary
Burlingame Parks & Recreation Department