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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - PR - 2024.02.15R C1TfY ti o� `ls Rvoawreo PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED Meeting Minutes Regular Meeting on Thursday, February 15, 2024 1. CALL TO ORDER The duly noticed regular meeting of the Burlingame Parks & Recreation Commission was called to order by Chair Milne at 7:00 pm. 2. ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Brunello, Milne, Chang, Pappajohn, Holzman, and Wettan COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Yu STAFF PRESENT: Parks & Recreation Director Glomstad, Recreation Manager Acquisti, Recreation Supervisor Coggins, Recreation Supervisor Crossfield, Parks Superintendent/Arborist Holtz, Parks Supervisor Barron & Recording Secretary Helley OTHERS PRESENT: Pamela Kaufmann, Eric Zankman, Nemanja Colovic (BSC), Lisa Alms, Gary Grant, Dr. Singh, Gloria McKay and Elli Nevers 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Brunello made a motion to approve the January minutes. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wettan, and the motion was approved. 5-0-2 (Pappajohn & Holzman abstained) 4. CORRESPONDENCE None 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS Eric Zankman thanked the Commission for the opportunity to speak tonight. He and his wife have lived in Burlingame for 30 years. They moved here as newlyweds and raised two children here. Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 They attended Burlingame Schools from kindergarten to high school. As a direct result of the Ray Park off -leash area, he and his family have lost the peaceful enjoyment of their home. There are loud, continuous dogs barking in the Ray Park off -leash area, usually multiple times daily, lasting thirty to sixty or more minutes. He said it typically started about 7:30 to 8:30am every morning and at various times in the afternoon and early evening. Their house is located right behind the off -leash area and is directly affected by dog noise from the fenced -in space. Their primary bedroom and his wife's office face the off -leash area. His wife works from home and has to use noise -canceling headphones inside our house when the dogs in Ray Park are barking excessively. People leave dogs unattended, allowing them to bark loudly and continuously. People who stay with their dogs allow them to bark loudly and continuously. He has walked over to Ray Park and spoken to people whose dogs have been barking loudly and continue for more than forty-five minutes, and they have told him, "Yes, my dog barks. This is a dog park". He has tried to resolve the situation for the last 18 months with the Burlingame Parks & Recreation Department and the Burlingame Police with no success. He has called the police about 35 times to file noise complaints. A police officer told him, "This is a dog park. What do you want me to do?" No other dog park in Burlingame was next to a residential home. Skyline Park is three and a half acres, has lots of room for dogs to run, and is not near any homes. The Ray Park off -leash area is 0.18 acres, often crowded with noisy dogs and is right under his bedroom window. The California Civil Code contains the Covenant of quiet enjoyment. He has the right to the quiet enjoyment of his home. Last week, he observed a new sign at the dog park entrance saying there was no continuous barking. He really appreciates the City's efforts to try to make this a low -noise dog park. He believes this is wishful thinking. He does not believe the sign can be meaningfully enforced to address this ongoing nuisance. He played two recordings of dogs barking taken from their bedroom after the sign was put up. Pam Kaufman — She lives right behind the off -leash area in Ray Park. She wants to preface her remarks by saying she loves dogs and has had many dogs. They bring a lot of joy and fun to a family. She loves living near Ray Park, where she has lived since 2007. None of the other noises in the park troubled her at all. The sound of children at school, the sporting events, the tennis, none of these bother her at all. It's part of the joy of living near an open area. As her husband, who spoke before, remarked, she goes to bed with earplugs in because she knows at 7:30 in the morning, she will be woken up by dogs barking incessantly. Her office overlooks the park, she works at home full time, and she was required to give up her office during COVID-19. She wears noise -canceling headphones whenever the dog barking starts. If she gets a phone call in her office, which is off of her bedroom or in the kitchen area below it, she cannot hear her clients talk to her, and she needs to walk to the front of the house or to an interior room to even hear the conversation. She has reached the point where she is so distraught that when she has a business trip, she looks forward to the peace and quiet of being away from her home. This makes her very, very sad to say this, but she has already suggested to her husband that maybe they just sell their house and move somewhere else, maybe just leave Burlingame, which she thinks would be tragic because it is a town they love and where they raised their children and they have created their own life. Thank you. Email submissions: Anonymous — "A police officer came by the Ray Park Dog Park today at about 8:45am and pointed out that the new hours posted are 9am-Sunset (as a side note, he was as polite as could be). 9am 2 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 is unreasonable and practically useless. The dog park needs to be open by 8:30 at the latest. I'll do my best to attend the meeting tomorrow and make these points there, but after-hours meetings are always a tough proposition with two young kids. 1. This is not a retirement community: Most of us need to be at work by 9; 2. We're parents: Most of us are parents who walk our kids and dogs to Lincoln Elementary, which begins at 8:30; 3. Ray Park Noise: Calling out the dog park is ridiculous (and targeted) when kids are making noise on the courts and park starting at —8am, and the tennis courts and practice wall are open as early as lam; 4. Behaving dogs: Unruly barking absolutely should be curbed, but that needs to be addressed separately. Burlingame is a family - focused community, and dogs are a widely integral part of family life here. Adding a dog park and making it restrictively unusable is pointless bureaucracy. The critical time for the park to make it remotely beneficial to the dog community is 8:30-8:45. It's a 15 min window where basically everyone arrives and then leaves. Slightly earlier would be better and not remotely out of line in the context of other noise in the Ray Park area that begins much earlier. Let's push reasonable restrictions and not let Burlingame become a complaintocracy. We're asking for 15min of time. It's not much." Anonymous — "It just came to my attention that the usage hours at the Ray Dog Park were changed without any notice or meeting in a way that frankly makes the park generally useless to the dog community. We are, by -and -large, working parents; when we need the dog park is that narrow window of time between when we drop our kids off for school by 8:30 and when we need to be at work by 9am. Burlingame is and has traditionally been a dog community, with wonderful and accepting dog policies from park usage to doggy bag access to retail accommodation to dog bowls on sidewalks. Making the park unusable when it's needed is not only difficult on parents, it is cruel to the dogs that need exercise and socialization in a way that is not possible on leash. Opening the Ray Dog Park was wonderful. The recent change to the hours is thoughtless. All major city noise restrictions begin at Sam, with some athletic accommodations beginning earlier. We are not asking for anything unreasonable. We are asking for only the reasonable. Opening the park at Sam would be consistent with city policies. I'm only asking for 8:30am. This has nothing to do with dog barking. This only has to do with park usage. It's a lovely community of dogs and dog owners who use the bark during this brief window of time every morning. Regards. PS: Please ensure that you engage the affected community before any such changes. Doing so without notice or chance for input is poor city policy. I have never even seen a city official come by the park during the time of "issue" to assess any possible problem. It has, in fact, even become a running joke that every time a police officer comes by -- always with courtesy and apology -- there is never even a dog barking. This issue has been driven by a person with an agenda, not reasonable measures." CS Samson - "I just got texted about the new hours at the Ray Park dog park. It's ridiculous! Construction and heavy machinery can start at Sam. Leaf blowers and lawn mowers can start at Sam. Tennis and pickleball can start at lam. Kids are ruining around screaming and playing soccer and basketball and everything else before Sam. But dogs can't play at the park before 9am? This is so ridiculous and such poor city management! Sam would be reasonable. 8:30am is when I need it." 6. OLD BUSINESS None 3 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Allowing Off -Leash Hours at Ray Park Athletic Field Recreation Supervisor Coggins introduced himself, noting he has been overseeing the Dog Parks and off -leash areas since the fall of 2023. Coggins briefly gave the background of the Ray Park Athletic field. In March of 2021, the park was re -opened after a $1.4 million -dollar field renovation. In November of 2022, the Park & Recreation Staff met with a Burlingame resident who requested that the Parks & Recreation Commission consider allowing off -leash dogs on Ray Athletic field. The Department needed to take into consideration how that would affect other users of the field. In early 2023, staff attended BGS and BYBA board meetings and spoke with Burlingame School District (BSD) and Lincoln Elementary administrative staff. The biggest issue that the sports organizations had was the grass quality being affected by allowing dogs on the athletics field. BSD and Lincoln Elementary administration were concerned that adding off -leash hours to Ray Park Athletic Field would affect the school's use of the field for recess throughout the school day. In April 2023, the Dog Park Committee (now called the Dog Park Advisory Group) met and, after a thorough discussion, agreed to recommend to the Commission that the current ordinance and rules should not be changed and, therefore, continue not to allow off -leash dogs on Ray Park Athletic Field. At the June 17, 2023, Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, staff presented information about the benefits and challenges of allowing dogs off -leash on athletic fields and the recommendation of the Advisory Group. The primary challenges were creating off -leash hours that would not affect Lincoln Elementary School's recess schedule and the effects this would have on the quality of the grass on the athletic field. The benefit of creating off -leash hours would be the community having an open field for off -leash dogs at Ray Park. After discussion, the Commission decided they needed more community input before a decision was made. The Committee proceeded to work on developing a community survey. In December 2023, the survey was released. The community was notified of the survey by posting it on Burlingame Parks and Recreation social media platforms (Facebook & Instagram), articles in the Burlingame E-News, fliers posted at Skyline, Washington, and Ray Dog Parks on A -Frames with QR codes that linked to the survey and a mailer was sent to all properties in the vicinity of Ray Park. Coggins led the Commission through a PowerPoint presentation on the item detailing the findings of the survey that the Dog Park Advisory Group created. The survey was open to the public from December 13 to January 19, 2024. After discussing the results, the Advisory Group determined that there was no clear and overwhelming evidence to recommend allowing dogs off -leash on Ray Park Athletic Field. The 4 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 Dog Park Advisory Group's recommends that the current ordinance and rules remain for Ray Park Athletic Field. No further action will be taken if the Commission determines the Dog Park Advisory Group's recommendation is appropriate. However, if the Commission decides on another option, including allowing off -leash dogs on Ray Park Athletic Field, the determination will be brought to the Council for discussion and final approval. Coggins invited the Commission to ask questions. Director Glomstad invited the two commissioners on the group to provide additional comments or any input they would like to add. Commissioner Chang reported the Dog Park Advisory Group had a meeting on Monday with the board of Burlingame Girls Softball regarding the item. The group heard that BGS is generally not in favor of having dogs off -leash, citing a couple of reasons, one being that most cities restrict field access when it comes down to sports fields. There is a liability risk, whether kids or dogs get hurt during softball practice, especially with balls flying out in the field. He thought that some of their ideas had to do with some sort of enforcement and reminding people before they get on the fields after the winter closure and with daylight savings time starting. They also suggested enhancing the Ray Park Dog Run. They also said they spend a considerable amount of time cleaning up after dogs, before practice, sometimes during practice, and even getting the kids to sometimes focus on softball because some kids are scared, some can run away from dogs, some kids love dogs so while they are trying to get the kids to practice, they run off and play with the dogs. Commissioner Holzman noted that the board made the point that many of them are dog owners, and they are trying to represent it from the Burlingame Girls Softball's point of view that having dog off -leash hours would be a net negative impact on them and their usage of the field. Commissioner Wettan was curious if the group was able to speak to any dog owners who don't want to use the off -leash area to see if there are things that could be done so they would use it. Holzman stated that the dilemma is that a lot of what the dog owners would want in the park is not feasible. Primarily, they want grass and a bigger area, but that is not feasible in that area. Commission Pappajohn inquired if there was a discussion with dog owners about collectively trying to help clean the field or take action. She recalls at an earlier meeting, a lot of them came and spoke in public comment. She wondered if there was any discussion about what they could do to help maintain the field. Holzman noted that the Dog Advisory Group met and spoke with the community member who proposed the idea. She said that there was a feeling that it did not seem like it was their responsibility; they thought that was more for the City to do, so there wasn't any traction on wanting to put together a volunteer group to take care of that. Chair Milne thanked both Commissioners for the report and asked if the Commission had any questions for staff. The Commission thanked Coggins and the group for all the work of going through the survey responses. Holzman noted it was a big lift, and it is a fabulous summary because it was a lot to go 5 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 through. She spent a lot of time reading all of them, and a lot of passion comes through on both sides of the issue. She felt the group took it seriously, reading through all the answers and trying to think about what both sides tried to convey. Wettan asked staff if there was anything about the survey that would make them consider how they would do a survey in the future. Coggins noted that it would be easier to analyze the data in the future when there are only multiple-choice questions. Milne opened public comment. Dr. Singh stated that she has spent most of her life training in the hospital as a physician. She felt this issue was important enough to leave her two toddlers at home with her husband. However, she is here because this issue is important to her. She and her family moved to Burlingame, and her two toddler boys attended school at Lincoln. Her family loves dogs; however, they are not dog owners. She has friends who have dogs and loves spending time with them. This issue is a safety issue for the kids. As all may know, this country has four million plus dog bites every year. She has experienced many being on the side of a physician taking care of them; the statistics mean something. About one billion dollars plus insurance money was paid for dog bite claims in one year in 2022. California leads the country in the number of dog bites. Kids under five are the most bitten by dogs because they cannot read dog cues. The leading cause of ER visits is dog bites. So, it is an issue that some of you may have seen closer or encountered from a distance. She believes that kids should be allowed, be given opportunities, be given more opportunities to be outdoors to play without the fear of running into a dog poo or being chased by a dog. Most of the dogs are friendly. Some are not. There is no one to police now, which dog is being careful and is friendly and which is not. As of now, Ray Park Athletic field is not an off -leash area. She lives two houses down from the Ray Park entrance. She feels lucky and fortunate. However, even now, she sees many dogs running off -leash, even when they are not supposed to be off -leash. Imagine what would happen if it were made off -leash. That area is used for many school events. She emailed Lincoln principal Grady, who said she strongly supports Ray Park not to be off -leash. However, she said she has no say in city policies. She wishes the principal did, as she is the principal of a prominent school in Burlingame. Thank you for your time. Lisa Alms is at this meeting wearing two hats: a sports hat and a pickleball hat. She has a dog and uses Ray Park Dog Park. She mostly walks her dog on a leash. She does not want to see Ray Park Athletic Field become an off -leash dog park area. There are a lot of people that always have their dogs off -leash anyway, and if it is made a dog off -leash park, she agrees, it is going to be a run or temporary whatever you want to do, nobody's going to be there to enforce when it is allowed and when it is not allowed. She also agrees that feces is a challenge. Also, there are a lot of youth sports, particularly Lacrosse, where her heart is already pinched to no fields, so if that is taken away, even if it is a part of it, that will impact a lot of sports for the youth. She does not favor opening up the athletic field as a dog park or for off -leash hours. Thank you. Gloria McKay lives in Burlingame. Her question is more of a big picture of the City's policy on using athletic fields for off -leash dog parks versus our focus on Ray Park. Presumably, we will have this discussion and the survey whenever a request comes in for another park to be added as an off -leash site. She thinks a policy like that would give guard rails, so it is either allowed or not allowed based on policy rather than reinventing the wheel every time. She thinks we need to be 6 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 careful about our decision here because she believes it will set a precedent for presumably allowing dogs to run all over every single park in Burlingame. The other issue she has is who will pay for the cleanup; owners do not always pick up after their dogs, so who is going to pay for that cleanup that has to happen every single day because presumably the fields are used every day. And finally, why are we not enforcing it? Can a police officer who patrols the neighborhood be told you're here to be polite, but you're here to enforce the law and the ordinance? Based on what she hears, it is almost as if the police officers are apologizing. It is their job to enforce the regulations of the community. Gentleman (unknown) wants to focus on the big picture: the point of having Parks & Rec in Burlingame. It seems like when you see the people of the community organically using the park for an activity that brings people together and gets them exercising and allows their dog to exercise, it should be the role of this Committee, and it should be the role of this community to facilitate that and not to try to find a way to shut it down or have it off in some corner where nobody wants to use it. The fact that no one uses Ray Park dog park and everybody uses the athletic field or relatively speaking to the numbers in both places should tell you that the dog park has a fundamental problem. Frankly, it is too small, dark, wet, cold, and big dogs cannot run around there, leading to dog fights because the dogs are on top of each other. But the grass, the big grass field, allows the dogs to run around and play with each other. It allows people to sit there and talk while their dogs are playing with each other and to meet other people from the community. It is a great thing, and it happened organically. It is not like somebody set out hours and said hey, everybody, bring your dogs here, and we can have a Wednesday meeting. People just discovered it and started doing it every day. It is not the same people every day; whenever he goes there, he sees new people, but it is probably twenty to forty people every day. It is a different group every day; some days, if the weather is nice, you might get fifty or sixty, and some days, you can get ten when it is not such nice weather. But it is sort of an organic place where people come together to talk to each other to let their dogs run around, and it seems like this community, this Committee, should be trying to foster activities like that and not trying to shut it down. He knows there might be some problems here and there that we can address individually. Still, the idea that this isn't the right activity for an athletic field seems completely off base to having parks for people to play in and use. Most of the time, the people who are there are there after the games shut down. Girls' softball shuts down at six or seven, depending on the time of year, and then people show up with their dogs within half an hour. People don't usually encroach on them when they are there. Or when they see people on the playing fields, they say ok, hold off until they leave. But once they start packing their stuff, everyone starts coming in with their dogs and staying there until sunset. Most people are cleaning up after their dogs. He means you might miss poop here and there, but people are pretty conscientious about it, and they point out the issues to other people, and they are like, "You missed that — your dog just went to the bathroom." However, he thinks the Committee should look at improving recreation for the community. This is a perfect example of an organic activity that the Committee should help foster and not try to shut down. Thank you. Lady (unknown) — She does not follow other parks too closely, but she uses Ray Park a lot, and it has been great because the same people are there every morning. They take great care of their dogs and have a good community there. She questioned how Washington and Cuernavaca were different from Ray Park Field. Two other parks have designated dog park hours and those parks you're letting dogs into during designated hours. All of the negative things people have brought up would apply to all the parks. Glomstad noted that the other fields have not been renovated and 7 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 that Ray differs from Washington and Cuernavaca because Lincoln School uses that field during the day. She said that it would be nice to look at having it open during hours that the school is not using the field. Lady (unknown) — Agrees with all those letters people wrote about the dog park. As far as the field, early or late hours could be a good compromise as she gets the dogs interfering with the kids. The dog park is great, and she is sorry to hear about the dogs that bark a lot. It is pretty rare with the people she is with. She thinks they are pretty responsible. They clean up, and if someone's dog is barking, they nag the owner to keep them down. We recommend ways to keep the dogs from barking, with shock collars and stuff. She likes the dog park, but having the field open would be nice, too. Email submissions: Unknown Voice mail - "Hello — I'm calling in regards to the upcoming meeting regarding Ray Park and the possibility of turning the field into a part-time dog run. And I have already left a message for the director and for the person in charge of the survey. I just wanted to find out, I wanted to voice my opinion regarding the issue of liability. I personally have been injured by an off -leash dog, a back injury. I have read in comments that other people have been bitten by off - leash dogs in Washington Park, and I wanted to talk about the City's liability if they turn a space that is currently for children and an athletic field into a part-time off -leash dog park and I feel that if anything happens to any resident the City of Burlingame should be legally responsible as well as the dog owner. I just thought we should bring that issue up at the meeting hopefully, you will be there. I think this is a genuine concern. Thank you." Rich Sargent — "Dear Parks & Rec Commission Members, I write in support of the staff report recommending no change to off leash dog policy at the Ray Park Athletic Field. This is a small park and off leash dog use negatively affects those who want to use the park for ball sports and use by small children. Thanks" Kim Donellan — "Hello, I was born and raised in Burlingame, and purchased a home in Burlingame in the Ray Park neighborhood in 2020. Since I was a child, there were always dogs on the field at Ray Park. The neighborhood has known that there is an off-the-record time when neighbors socialize with each other and their dogs on the field. We have made great friendships, reconnected with families I knew growing up, and finally felt a part of the community. Dogs are a part of our family, and we want our family to be a part of the community. Ray Park is that place for many neighbors. My career is teaching kids. I teach them about bias in surveys. When looking at the results of what was a completely biased survey, I was shocked at the lack of effort put in and the bias that's been going on from day one. It is overwhelmingly apparent that there is a large group of local residents that want Ray Park to have designated hours where they feel they can play with their dogs and meet their neighbors, like many other neighborhoods have. Let's be clear, no one else is using the field during these times. Our goal in Burlingame should be to be inclusive of every group of people and their uses for Ray Park. Do we poll the community for every use? Do we ask them about hosting tournaments/birthday parties/sporting events/summer camps? All of which bring people from outside of our community using facilities we pay for and causing more wear 8 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 and tear than 5-15 local dogs ever could. I have never walked onto that field and seen dog waste, but I have seen the grass torn up/brown from softball, birthday party food all over the ground, litter in the bushes, and my property destroyed. I have struggled to find parking in front of my own house or had my driveway blocked and couldn't leave my home. If we polled the neighbors for every use, I'm sure there would be a ton that would vote that they don't appreciate events going on and the destruction to the neighborhood. Would that justify ending those? No, and it shouldn't. There are more than enough hours in the day to share the field. We see the numbers. Let's be realistic. We are wasting people's energy and resources trying to monitor the field to stop dogs from using it. What if we invested that into letting them use it? Let's give it a try. Get some real data versus what ifs. Can't we all agree to put it to rest and support our neighbors?" Chair Milne closed public comment and opened commission discussion. Commissioner Brunello noted he read all the comments. Clearly and obviously, this is a very polarizing subject, and he does not think it is possible to make everyone happy. When reading the responses, one thing that resonated with him was that we could argue about dog feces and grass burns from urine all day. However, learning that there are people not using the athletic field because of the dogs, the safety concerns, and the liability, those subjects and concerns stand above everything else to him. As a result, he would not support that being an off -leash area. Commissioner Wettan stated it sounds hard to control where the dogs go from all the comments heard tonight and what they do. He thinks we operate under a bit of a fiction that we control where the dogs are going. He agrees with Commissioner Brunello that there is no way we will make everyone happy. He thinks there are trade-offs that no one fully acknowledges and that even the best dog owners cannot prevent the dogs from peeing on the field, and that is what we have learned over many past meetings, which is what does all the damage. At the same time, we have heard from people that there are dozens of people out there every night, and he thinks we all know that will probably continue. One thing that could help, and it won't make everyone happy either, sounds like there is more demand for the dog park than he has heard in the past from the comments heard at the top of the meeting. There are things we cannot improve about the dog park. However, some improvements can be made to shift the balance of where people want to be. It would be nice to see more users at the dog park. He noticed in the comments that people say there's nowhere to sit in the dog park and that we could add more seating or make different choices on the surfacing, even if grass cannot be grown. He thinks that would help people feel like they have another place to take their dog besides the field. It would be easier if people felt comfortable with the options. We are a built -out and dense City, so unfortunately, we don't have endless fields to let people run dogs. We are just too small. Commissioner Pappajohn agreed that we cannot make everyone happy. Some people want it, and people who do not. She noted that the survey results are not conclusive. The City made a considerable investment to improve the fields at Ray Park, $1.4 million. That is taxpayer dollars; she would not like to see this ruined so quickly. She felt the City had made concerted efforts to provide unleashed parks for dogs. Skyline Park is open, Washington and Cuernavaca have limited hours, and Bayside has unleashed areas. They may not be close to that neighborhood, and she sympathized with those who wanted to walk out there in the evening. However, there are places in Burlingame where you can take dogs. She agreed with what the Committee said about not 9 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 supporting off -leash hours in that area to maintain the field, the safety, and the school children playing there. She felt we should not allow dogs off -leash at Ray Park for several reasons. MOTION by Milne to approve the recommendation of the Dog Park Advisory Group that dogs should not be permitted on Ray Park Athletic Field. Motion seconded by Brunello. Motion approved 6-0-1 (Yu absent). b. Permanent Pickleball Court Nets on Washington Park Court #1 Supervisor Crossfield introduced herself, noting she had been overseeing pickleball since the fall of 2023. Crossfield noted the recommendation tonight is for the Commission to approve the installation of four permanent pickleball nets on Washington Park Court #1. Crossfield stated the temporary rules approved by the Commission have been posted at the courts to wait for higher usage after the rain to see if they meet the needs of the courts. However, tonight's discussion will be about the permanent pickleball nets. She reported that the Washington Park tennis/pickleball court resurfacing project was approved and will occur in the spring of 2024. At the August 2024 meeting, the Commission approved adding four additional pickleball court lines to tennis courts #2 and #3, making eight pickleball courts at Washington Park Courts. After the resurfacing project was approved, the Comaroto family generously offered to donate the funds to install permanent nets at Washington Court #1. She noted a few drawbacks about adding the permanent pickleball nets would be the result of fewer City -owned tennis courts, from eight down to 7, as Washington court #1 would no longer be a multi -use court as well as during summer camp hours, there would be no tennis court available for drop -in play. Some benefits of adding permanent nets are that they are more sturdy and made to handle the weather and consistent use, reducing staff time in repairing the portable nets. Permanent nets would also allow the City to host USA -sanctioned pickleball tournaments. Crossfield concluded by inviting the Commission to ask questions. Commissioner Wettan asked when the high school courts would be back in use for the public. Glomstad stated it would likely be after the gymnasium is completed, which may be in the next school year. Commissioner Chang wondered if this would impact USTA tournaments. Glomstad noted that a USTA team had not requested the courts for tournaments in several years. Chang asked if there had been any observation of tennis court usage versus pickleball on court one. Such as whether there was an increased wait time for tennis on any tennis courts or whether it seemed as though it was not an issue. Glomstad has heard no reports of wait time for tennis play. 10 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 Commissioner Wettan echoed the wait time question and asked staff to confirm that pickleball is around the clock on court one. Recreation Manager Acquisti stated that pickleball was made a priority play on court one a couple of meetings ago, and since then, it has mainly been used for pickleball play. Pappajohn asked if there was a lot of maintenance for the current nets. Acquisti noted that the park staff spends a lot of time maintaining the portable nets. Superintendent Holtz reported that at least once a month, staff spends a couple of hours on maintenance of the portable nets. Commission Brunello asked if the nets being installed are adjustable in height so that when the courts are resurfaced in the future, it would not be a problem. Glomstad noted it would not be a problem. Milne opened public comment. Ellie Nevers — Lived in Burlingame for fifty-four years. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the US, so to think that you are looking at four courts, now we have a dedicated court for pickleball, and we will have permanent nets put in. She said the Commission should not be as concerned about having enough tennis courts because pickleball is a growing sport. She thinks it is wonderful that somebody shows the newbies how to play. She had trouble relating to tennis people. She was thrilled with the permanent nets, but they were way overdue. She liked playing in her community; she has played tennis at PTC for years and likes playing with the community. Gary Grant — He has been a resident for sixty-four years. He is retired and plays Pickleball five days a week. He has observed the tennis courts five days a week from 10 am to 2 pm, and on average, he sees one court on average being used 90% of the time. Tennis has plenty of opportunities at Laguna, etc. The pickleball nets at Ray are terrible. There are plenty of courts in Burlingame and Hillsborough. There are tennis courts at Crocker School as well. Pickleball is the future. He has gone around and looked at and played other courts. Millbrae has just resurfaced their courts, and they are beautiful. People from Burlingame are going to Millbrae right now because it is not safe to play there. The cracks on the Burlingame courts are terrible; he has fallen twice now. Lisa Alms — She loves to play pickleball. She plays with Gary on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, and 20-30 people show up to play, and sometimes you have to wait to play. There are not a lot of tennis players that show up. So, making that one court permanent is great, and she is looking forward to it being resurfaced because she has fallen, too. And having that one additional court will be helpful to the numerous players that show up, and now they won't have to wait as long to play. She is grateful that the courts are going to be resurfaced and the nets will be permanent. She appreciates getting another court, and she does not believe any tennis players will be the worst for wear if they take over another court when that court is made permanent. Email submissions: Barbara Nuss — "This is AMAZING news! Without resurfacing for permanent nets, the courts will likely crack again within a year or two. We've seen that happen at other locations that just did a light resurfacing rather than installing permanent nets, so I really appreciate this and the 11 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 person donating the funds. I hope the P&R Commission accepts this generous offer and does what would be a more permanent and long-term solution for Court I while continuing with the plan to paint lines on tennis courts 2 and 3. Please include this in the public comments as I cannot attend the meeting next Thursday! Very much appreciated!" Gail Mosse — "Unfortunately, I cannot attend tonight's meeting. I read the staff report regarding pickleball and think it's a great idea to install permanent pickleball nets. I think the pros you identify outweigh the cons. I appreciate a Burlingame family donating funds so there is no fiscal impact. Thank you for your work for the Burlingame community." Chair Milne closed public comment and opened commission discussion. Commissioner Pappajohn thanked the generosity of the Comorato family for offering to donate money for permanent nets. She thought that they were incredibly generous, thoughtful, and supportive of their passion for the sport. She noted that when she hears about the maintenance needed on the temporary nets and the nets that are currently here with the staff time that it takes and all the interest from the community, she will support adding the permanent pickleball nets. Commission Wettan echoed thanks to the Comorato family and said it would support the installation of the nets. Commissioner Milne made a point of walking his dog past those courts on a Saturday or Sunday, at least one day a week, and what folks have said is true. Every time he goes by, there might be four or six tennis players, sixteen pickleball players, and more waiting quite often. He thinks it is a great initiative and thanks the Comorato's for the donation. Commissioner Holzman noted it seems we have not heard as much from the tennis community being adversely impacted by the changes that we have been making, and that has been one of her concerns to not adversely impact them even though it felt like we have a lot of courts we don't have that many courts in Burlingame for the population in general. She felt the evidence about the adverse impact on tennis players had not come forth. It seemed we have many pickleball players and more each day, so she thinks it's a great, generous gift to have these permanent nets. Commissioner Chang noted that court one is the defacto pickleball court; this still does not solve the issue of the number of people waiting. He wanted to make sure the Commission was considerate of that when this came up again with court two. He felt that to be making decisions that are easily changeable. Permanent nets are more of an issue due to cost impacts and while the donation is a generous gift from the Comorato's, it does make that net neutral for the City. He would be in favor of court one. He stated the Commission needs to be more considerate of what happens next and start thinking about that in advance. Milne agreed Chang has valid points. He liked the comment about trying something temporarily and thought that was what they did on court one, and the observations were that it was a big success. MOTION by Wettan to approve the installation of four permanent pickleball nets on Washington Court #1. Motion seconded by Pappajohn. Motion approved 6-0-1 (Yu absent). 12 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 c. Request for Ad Hoc Committee to Review and Update the Current Field Use Policy Manager Acquisti requested volunteers for an Ad Hoc Committee to review and update the current field use policy. Commissioners Chang, Brunello, and Wettan volunteered to be on the Committee and were appointed by Chair Milne. Milne opened public comment. Nemanja Colovic (Burlingame Soccer Club) — Thanked the Department for splitting Murray Field time into quarters. This was a small win for everybody; however, they only got five slots at Murray compared to eighteen slots the season before and the spring before twenty-five slots. This has resulted in a 70% reduction in field time. We thought that having quarters would enable us to have more users there at the same time. He said that he talked to AYSO and Coyotes Lacrosse. They were able to trade slots in other fields with AYSO. Murray has two 9x9 soccer fields and there is a mid -section between them. Coyotes offered for BSC to use the mid -section from 5pm to 6:30 pm. However, they didn't have any 5-6:30 on the other side. They have relied on Raphael and Kelvin's amazing work and the generosity and kindness of other field users since we lost the validated user status in 2017. This has been hurting hundreds of our Burlingame residents. We have scheduled middle school -age players to practice from 8-9:30pm because we don't get 5-6:30 or 6:30 -8pm. Murray Field being the largest field and the only main soccer field for decades, named after our founder, Jim Murray, we do not have access to it as he has said, five and a half slots compared to eighteen slots the spring before and twenty-five slots before that. And all this is due to not being a validated user and not being able to sit at the beginning at the initial handing out of the slots — the allocation meeting, where we can talk with other members to request what our members need. We wait for the slots to be allocated to validated users. We are the only non- profit Burlingame -based youth sports in the community that is not currently validated. We are treated as renters, so we wait for all the validated users to pick up the slots and return what they don't need. Then we get to use those slots, and we often get the entire field on Fridays from 8- 9:30 pm as none of the other user groups can use that. It is hard to schedule older high school -age kids to practice on Friday nights because you cannot have the little ones at that late time. That is one of the problems, and another problem is us being on the grass next to Murray. However, he thought that the field was not fully utilized. He thanked the Commission for sending quick replies to emails and to everybody for working on this. He stated the group is available to help with the policy and to work with other groups. 8. STAFF AND COMMISSIONER REPORTS None a. Parks & Recreation Department Reports b. Commissioners Reports Commissioner Pappajohn — She met with AYSO, and they expressed that they do not have enough field time. They want lights at BIS and Cuernavaca fields. Commissioner Brunello — No Report 13 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024 Commissioner Wettan — No Report Commissioner Holzman — No Report Commissioner Milne — No Report Commissioner Chang — No Report FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 9. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:29 pm. The next meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission is scheduled to be held in person on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 7:00 pm. Respectfully submitted, Joleen Helley Recording Secretary 14 Parks & Recreation Commission APPROVED Minutes February 15, 2024