HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - PR - 2009.12.17MEETING MINUTES
Regular Meeting of the Burlingame Parks & Recreation Commission
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The regular meeting of the Burlingame Parks & Recreation Commission was called to order by
Chairman Castner-Paine at 7:00 pm at Burlingame City Hall, 501 Primrose Road, Burlingame.
ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present: Castner-Paine, Carlton, Fisher, La Mariana, Eaton, Hesselgren,
Shamus
Commissioners Absent: None
Staff Present: Director of Parks & Recreation Skeels; Administrative Secretary
Joleen Helley
Others Present: Alessandra Shanus, 1541 Albemarle Way
MINUTES
The Minutes of the November 19, 2009 regular meeting were approved as submitted.
PUBLIC COMMENTS — Alessandra Shanus, Chair for the Burlingame Youth Advisory
Committee, spoke to the Commission regarding events the Committee has been working on such
as All -City Dances & Breakfast with Santa. She also reported on future events the group plans
on participating in such as the Princess Project for 2010, a program that collects used prom
dresses to that are given to girls in need in the Bay Area. She noted that she attended the
Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council's Children's Bill of Rights celebration and the
Committee is looking to participate in the program further. At the request of Commissioner
Shanus, she mentioned that the revenues from the All -City Dances were no longer being
deposited into the Youth Advisory Committee's special fund account, but were being deposited
into the City's general fund. When asked by the Commission why this was the case, Alessandra
stated she did not know, but she thought that the City needed the money. She reported further
the participant number for the group was reduced from last year and noted that with the smaller
group the members were able to become better acquainted with each other. Commissioner
Fisher inquired to how the group creates awareness about the group itself and its activities.
Alessandra reported that the group makes use of "locker bombs" (flyers stuck in locker doors)
and face book groups to send out information and invitations to events.
OLD BUSINESS
A. Cuernavaca Park Picnic Area — Commission discussed the parks rule of "no
more than fifteen (15) persons or more gather at one time" that applies to Cuernavaca
Park and concluded there was no need to change the rule as when read completely, the
rule gives the consent needed to gather in groups of more than 15 at one time through
"specific written permission from the Director of Parks & Recreation" via the form of
a Picnic Permit.
Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes
December 17, 2009 — Page 2
Commissioner Castner-Paine expressed the preference for a more natural tree canopy
instead of a hardscape structure to provide shade for the area. Commissioner
Hesselgren believes that the neighborhood has a view ordinance in place via the
Beautification Commission and that any trees chosen for the location would need to
remain below that height requirement.
Commissioner Eaton stated that the park can be quite windy at times and would like to
see trees that are hardy enough to withstand possible high wind conditions.
NEW BUSINESS
A. Review of Field User Policy - Commissioner Eaton requested the Commission
consider changing the policy to allow Hillsborough residents to be viewed as `Burlingame
Residents" as it relates to the Burlingame Soccer Club. The club consists of one-third
Burlingame residents, one-third Hillsborough residents and one-third other non-residents. The
club has applied each year to become a validated user group and has never been turned down by
the Parks & Recreation Commission. Discussion followed regarding the merit of counting the
Hillsborough residents as Burlingame residents for Validated User Group purposes. Hesselgren
stated she felt that changing the policy for one group could affect future groups with a majority
of Burlingame residents to lose out on priority of field use on Burlingame fields. She stated that
the current policy does not affect the soccer club from getting field use, it only affects the club's
necessity to fill out the application each year. She feels that if there are other clubs that have a
majority of Burlingame residents, she would want the Burlingame kids to get priority of field
use. Commissioner Shanus agreed with Hesselgren's viewpoint. No Commission action was
taken.
REPORTS/HANDOUTS
A. Staff Reports
1. Monthly Report— attached
2. Correspondence — None
3. Art in the Park Status — Skeels reported of a meeting with Pacific Fine Arts
where he explained that the City would no longer be able to provide staff
support for the event. The status of the 2010 Art in the Park is still unknown.
Result of the e-survey conducted on the City website reveal that while the
majority of the respondents have attended the Art in the Park event, the
preferred event to keep going is the Art and Jazz on the Avenue sponsored by
the Chamber in the late summer season. The survey showed that most
respondents feel the Art in the Park event has become too commercialized and
would like to see the event return to its historical roots of local artists. While
most would be disappointed if the event was discontinued, favored was the
route of finding additional commercial sponsors to underwrite the cost of the
event so as to not impact the City budget.
4. Field User Fees Status — Council has directed City staff to generate more
income from the user fees. Skeels met with the Elementary School District
staff regarding the user fees and discussed options to meet the Council's goal.
The next meeting of the field users, school district staff and city officials will
take on January 5, 2010 @ 6:30 pm
Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes
December 17, 2009 — Page 3
5. Bayside Sewer Treatment Plant Update — Skeels reported there has been no
new information regarding the work the sewer treatment plant will be
conducting that affects the light pole on the Bayside 3 & 4 fields.
6. Bayside 3 & 4 Fence Replacement Status — Skeels will be researching the
replacement plan that the previous Director had developed and will bring the
information back to the Commission at the January meeting.
7. Seismic Report on Recreation Center — Skeels will contact the Engineering
Department and will obtain a hard copy report to give the Commission at the
January meeting.
8. Staffing Update — Skeels reported a part-time coordinator for the Recreation
Department has gone on a three month leave and the job duties are being
distributed among the staff for the time being.
B. Commissioner Reports
1. Commissioner Carlton inquired about the status of the part-time Director
of Parks & Recreation. Skeels reported that he has met with the City
Managers of Burlingame and Brisbane to determine how the arrangement that
has been in place for the last eight months has been working. Both City
Managers are satisfied with the current arrangement and would like to
continue with the current arrangement
2. Commissioner Shanus asked staff if the Golf Center would attend the next
meeting of the Commission to report on how the business was doing. Skeels
said he would speak with Chris Aliaga from the Golf Center and find out his
availability.
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission is scheduled to be held on Thursday,
January 21, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at Burlingame City Hall.
There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at
8:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Joleen Helley
Administrative Secretary
Burlingame Parks & Recreation