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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - PR - 2007.03.15MEETING MINUTES Regular Meeting of the Burlingame Parks & Recreation Commission Thursday, March 15, 2007 The regular meeting of the Burlingame Parks & Recreation Commission was called to order by Chairman Dittman at 7:00 pm at Burlingame City Hall, 501 Primrose Road, Burlingame. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Dittman, Muller, Hesselgren, Shanus, Larios, Castner-Paine Commissioners Absent: Comaroto Staff Present: Parks & Recreation Director Schwartz; Account Clerk III Joleen Butler; Recreation Supervisor Lynn Mutto Others Present: Liz McManus, San Mateo Union High School District; Todd Lee, Greystone West Co.; Lisa Alms, Coyotes Lacrosse MINUTES The Minutes of the February 15, 2007 regular meeting were approved as submitted. PUBLIC COMMENTS — None OLD BUSINESS A. Status of Bayside Park Restroom/Snack Shack Project Director Schwartz reported that the Restroom/Snack Shack is in place and hooked up, but more work is needed before the final permits can be issued. The hope is that everything will be final and complete for opening day of baseball, which is next Saturday. NEW BUSINESS A. Arsenic Update Liz McManus, Associate Superintendent of San Mateo Union High School District and Todd Lee, a consultant from Greystone West, hired by the School District were present at the meeting. They reported that the District is moving forward with studies on the Burlingame High School property with the Department of Toxic Substances to identify where there are hotspots on the property. Todd Lee stated the plans to eliminate the PCB, lead and arsenic contaminations from the property: The source of the PCB contamination is a transformer in the back courtyard, which was sourced, by an old pot transformer from back in the 40's and 50's. The contamination is localized to the supporting post that is holding the transformer. The cleanup for this contamination will take place over spring break. The contamination of lead surrounds the main building and is due to painting that was done years ago. There are 140 cubic yards of contamination around the perimeter of the building. The cleanup will be done in June as soon as school is out. It will take approximately 40 days to complete. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes March 15, 2007 — Page 2 The Arsenic contamination is on the front lawn and rear courtyard. The Department of Toxic and Substance Control (DTSC) will be doing additional testing and will be regulating the cleanup as it in progresses. The scheduled start date for the Arsenic cleanup is June 18th. Care will be taken to ensure the health of the trees. Commissioner Castner-Paine asked if the cleanup would impact the June Art in the Park event. Lee and Schwartz both assured her that the cleanup would not affect the event in any way. Commissioner Shanus inquired as to whether or not the additional testing would cause any delays to the cleanup. Lee felt that additional testing would prove there is less contamination than originally thought. Commissioner Hesselgren asked how far down into the ground contamination goes. Lee stated that a maximum of six inches of excavation is done, the ground is then tested again and gopher mesh will be place over the entire perimeter of the contaminated area extending to the drip line of the trees. This will prevent any future accidental digging in the area. DTSC has agreed with this plan of action. Commissioner Dittman asked what is done with the "bad" dirt. Lee said it is hauled to Kettleman City and that the removal company pays by the ton of dirt for the removal. The project is estimated to cost $4 million and the School District is asking the State to pay for half of that amount. Commissioner Larios asked when the work on the artificial field in the back would begin. Lee stated that the work was scheduled to start near the end of July with a completion date of November. Schwartz inquired if any Recreation programs would be affected due to the cleanup and the work on the back field. Lee responded that the work areas would be limited to the contaminated areas with a 50 feet perimeter around those areas. The fields should not be affected. Noting that the pool is only 15ft from the back field and the tennis courts are adjacent to the field, Commissioner Larios asked if these facilities would be affected by the airborne dust. He asked if egress of the trucks would be covered as they leave the area. Lee stated that the dirt will be sprayed before removal and both the tennis courts and pool can be operable during the summer. Lee also confirmed that the trucks would be covered once filled to minimize airborne dust. Commissioner Muller inquired if there would still be access to the theatre. Lee stated that certain access doors to the School will be limited and the front lawn and the area around the courtyard would be off limits, but that access to the theater will always be available. He also mentioned that a hygienist from DTSC will be on site during the entirety of the project. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes March 15, 2007 — Page 3 B. Adoption of Parks Use Rule Regarding Use of Private Barbecues in City Parks Schwartz reported that the drafted policy is a pro -active measure by the City Manager to provide for risk management. The list has been compiled for recommendation to City Council to adopt. Commissioner Muller asked where BBQ's would be allowed at Bayside Park and questioned whether they should be permitted on sidewalks and if a fire extinguisher should be required. She also asked if specific parks could be excluded from having BBQ's. Schwartz stated that the Rule could prohibit BBQ's from specific parks. Chairperson Dittman noted that people currently have BBQ's at Village Park near the picnic tables within 50' of the playground area. Commissioner Shanus suggested requiring cover and disposal bin on site to promote safe conditions. Commissioner Larios suggested requiring a permit for BBQ's in all parks. This could be done easily by the Parks & Recreation Department and would give staff a chance to educate the public about the safety issues associated with BBQ's in the Parks. In order to give the Commissioners time to visit various parks and consider other implications, the issue was tabled until the April meeting. REPORTS/HAND-OUTS A. Staff Reports In addition to the attached monthly report, Director Schwartz reported that Caltrans recently removed nine elm trees along El Camino Real due to Dutch Elm Disease. Schwartz contacted representatives from Caltrans and reminded them that past practice calls for Caltrans to handle replacements at a 2:1 ratio, recognizing that some of the trees will not survive their first few years. The current District administration initially balked at replacing the elms, citing several reasons (cost of planting, past agreement only discussed eucalyptus trees, agreement was made by previous administration and local agencies should take over planting and maintenance), but ultimately agreed to a site meeting on March 15a'. On March 8th, Schwartz, while attending the Parks & Recreation Conference in Sacramento, met with State Assemblymen Gene Mullin and also met with State Senator Leland Yee. In addition to reminding both Mullin and Yee of the importance of Parks facilities, recreation programs and the need for infrastructure improvements (State propositions 1 C, 84 and 1 D), he also mentioned the need to replace the trees per the previous agreements. Both members of the State legislature volunteered to work with Caltrans Director Bijan Sartipi if needed. Mullin understood the importance of the El Camino Real trees to the Burlingame community. Yee's aide, Kirsten Wallerstedt, volunteered to bring the tree issue up at their regular meetings with the Caltrans regional directors, Ruby Louie and Gene Gonzalo, if the elm tree issue is not resolved to our satisfaction. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes March 15, 2007 — Page 4 At the March 15th site meeting, Schwartz & Parks Supervisor Bob Disco met with Deputy District Director Usen Inyang, Area Superintendent Robert Salazar and Caltrans staff member Mariko Roberts. Inyang continued to express Caltrans' interest of turning all maintenance and liability issues related to the trees over to the City, "If the trees mean that much to this community then you should take over the maintenance". Schwartz suggested that (1) Caltrans replace the nine trees at this time and (2) both parties would meet to discuss the long-range maintenance of the trees. Inyang stated that trees are a liability for Caltrans' future and does not see any benefit to spending any money or "planting more liabilities" until the City agrees to take over the maintenance responsibilities. Schwartz said that a long-term Agreement cannot be done quickly, asked that the nine elms be replanted in the meantime and his preference to handle this between the staff members of the two agencies rather than having this issue go public and political. Inyang stated that members of the public could contact him directly if they did not agree with his approach. Salazar said that planting the nine trees would not be difficult or costly, but the best time for the planting would be in the Fall. Inyang repeated that Caltrans is making no promises to replant the trees, and if the trees are replanted, there is no promise of size of tree to be used or that proper maintenance would be followed. Salazar stated that 15 gallon trees are typically used, but Inyang asked Salazar if the elms come in 5 gallon or 3 gallon sizes. Commissioner Castner-Paine thought that it was time to let the public know about the problems with Caltrans so letters can be written as people are upset about this issue. Commissioner Muller mentioned that in Millbrae the sides of El Camino are being filled in with appropriate trees and asked why this is an issue here in Burlingame. Schwartz said that Millbrae is footing the bill for those trees. Caltrans wants Burlingame to take over the replacement of the trees as many other cities in the Bay Area have. The difference is the historic status of the trees along El Camino and the long history of Caltrans' maintenance. Commissioner Larios inquired as to what the liability is on the trees. Schwartz stated that El Camino Real is impacted with homes, apartments, pedestrians and cars that are a source of liability if a limb falls due to improper maintenance. Schwartz also stated that if even one tree falls, he suspects many people will be pressing to remove all the trees. Schwartz stated that currently there is no perfect grid to say when to remove a tree or when a tree is unsafe. He would like to see the trees removed and replaced due to health concerns (as determined by a certified arborist) before they become a hazard instead of stating a magic number of years of the life of the tree before you remove and/or replace one. Commissioner Dittman feels that Caltrans is handling this issue poorly. Schwartz mentioned that Burlingame's working agreement with Caltrans states that we are informed by Caltrans when they will be removing trees and the dates the replacement of those removals will take place. Unfortunately, the first we had heard of this recent removal was from the neighbors. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes March 15, 2007 — Page 5 B. 2006-07 Monthly Revenue Report — see attached C. Commissioner Reports 1. Commissioner Muller expressed her appreciation for the Commissioners dinner. 2. Commissioner Hesselgren inquired as to the possibility of placing a top on the recycling bins in Washington Park to keep the public from removing items from the bins. (The City does not rely on the money from recycling bins in the parks. Recycling from the parks is the same as resident recycling) 3. Commissioner Shanus updated the Commission regarding the BSD/City relationship in that he has spoken with one of the school board members and she will be attending a future meeting of the Commission. Shanus also mentioned that a recent mis-communication between BIS and its parents caused some confusion regarding the sponsorship of a "61h Grade Dance". He is hoping there is some way to keep the parents informed better regarding events that may affect them to avoid any future issues. 4. Commissioner Dittman reported that she has heard many compliments from the public regarding the condition of Murray Field. NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission is scheduled to be held on Thursday, April 19, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at Burlingame City Hall. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm. Respectfully submitted, Joleen Butler Burlingame Parks & Recreation Account Clerk III