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1 DRAFT MINUTES City of Glendale Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Glendale Civic Center 5750 W. Glenn Drive Glendale, Arizona November 18, 2019 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Sam McConnell, Chair Gayle Schiavone, Vice Chair Ronald Beye Jessica Edgar Stephanie June Aaron Walls ABSENT: Kristina Cadena Macie Chrisman ALSO PRESENT: Jim Burke, Director, Public Facilities and Special Events Tim Barnard, Assistant Director, Public Facilities and Special Events Stephanie Miller, Interim Civic Center Administrator Paul King, Recreation Administrator Jenna Goad, Intergovernmental and Council Services Manager 1. Call to Order Chair McConnell called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Chair McConnell took roll call. New Commissioner June was introduced. 3. Citizen Comments None. 4. Approval of the Minutes Motion by Vice Chair Schiavone, second by Commissioner Edgar, to approve the September 9, 2019 Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting minutes as written. Motion carried 6 – 0. 5. New Business a. Information: Tour of Glendale Civic Center Ms. Miller conducted a tour of the Civic Center. b. Information: Census 2020 Ms. Goad gave a presentation on the 2020 Census, which included the following information: • What is the Census? o The U.S. Constitution mandates a count every 10 years of everyone living in the country. • What is the Census? o Allocation of more than $650 billion in federal funding each year o Number of seats in Arizona receives in the U.S. House of Representatives 2 • When is the Census? o Census Day is April 1, 2020 o Census Bureau has begun hiring temporary workers o Census employees have been conducting address canvassing to verify their mailing lists o Residents will start receiving mail from the U.S. Census Bureau in March 2020 o Respond by the end of April to be counted • What’s New for the 2020 Census o For the first time this year, you can respond to the Census online ▪ Saves all taxpayers money if everyone responds early ▪ Respond when it’s convenient for you o May also still respond by phone or via a paper questionnaire o If no response is received by late April, the Census Bureau will send employees door-to-door ▪ Costly for taxpayers and less convenient • What About Privacy and Security? o Information collected cannot be shared with any other government agency or law enforcement – It’s the Law o Census employees will never ask for: ▪ Social Security numbers ▪ Banking information ▪ Donations of any kind o Census Bureau employees will have: ▪ An official Census Bureau ID ▪ A laptop ▪ A tote bag with the Census logo • What is in it for Me? o $3,000+ annually in state, federal, and regional funding o Cities rely on this funding for important programs, including: ▪ Public safety, education, roads, and healthcare ▪ State shared revenue is also distributed by population and pays for nearly all city programs like: • Libraries • Recreation • Parks • Code Compliance o When members of our community go uncounted, that funding goes to other cities and states ▪ Directly impacts program funding and community amenities • We Need Your Help o Respond to the questionnaire in March o Remind everyone you know – friends, family, neighborhoods, coworkers o Invite us to speak at community groups you are involved with o Visit www.icount2020.info and sign up to receive reminders o Be a Census Bureau worker – view job opportunities at https://2020census.gov/jobs o Advocate for the importance of participating with traditionally undercounted populations Commissioner June asked about the types of questions in the census. Ms. Goad replied that there are nine questions, regarding general demographics such as age, race, and gender. Commissioner June asked if there was one questionnaire per household or individual. Ms. Goad explained that the form is one per household, but the nine questions are for each individual in the household. 3 Vice Chair Schiavone inquired if the citizenship question was on the form. Ms. Goad replied in the negative. Commissioner Edgar wondered if a person needed to be 16 or 18 years old for a census job. Ms. Goad was unsure. Ms. Goad noted that Phoenix has one of two of the three processing centers besides door-to-door jobs. The agenda item was concluded. c. Information: Summer Aquatics and Youth Programs Update Mr. King gave a presentation on the Summer Aquatics and Youth Programs: The Aquatics amenities at Foothills, Rose Lane, and Heroes Splash Pad were detailed. • Foothills Aquatics Center o Summer Program: 23,768 in attendance for recreational swim o Summer Swim Lessons: 983 in paid group lessons o Lessons are taught over 8 days, a half hour each day o New Surface: new cool deck at a cost of over $200,000 o New Shade Structure: two new shade structures will be completed this coming week o Photos of the layout, chlorine tanks, controllers, sand filters, and pump area were shown • Rose Lane Aquatics Center o Summer Program: 22,841 in attendance for recreational swim o Free entrance provided into the center every Wednesday for the Glendale Community Center o Summer Swim Lessons: 432 in paid swim lessons o Lessons are taught over 8 days, a half hour each day o Free lessons were provided at the center for 46 Glendale residents through swim scholarships o Photo of the aerial layout was shown • Heroes Park Spray & Splash Pad o Free to the public o Open daily during summer months • Other Aquatic Programs o Water Aerobics is year-round for teen to senior participants. Six classes per month are offered. Each class ranges from one to three provided classes per week. o Adult Group Swim Lessons is for teen to senior participants. The classes run April through September, sometimes through October. o Foothills Aquatic rental programs: Swim Neptune, Dive Neptune, Deer Valley Swim Team, Deer Valley Dive Team, Deer Valley Cross Country Team, Arizona Autism Academy, Bikers Against Child Abuse, and multiple churches o Lifeguard Courses will begin in December and run through March 2020. Seeking bilingual English/Spanish speakers. o Water Safety Instructor Courses will begin in December and run through April 2020. Seeking bilingual English/Spanish speakers. o Lap Swimming is ongoing year-round. Commissioner Edgar inquired as to the cost of the Lifeguard Courses and the Water Safety Instructor Courses. Estimates were provided. Commissioner Edgar asked about the difference between the two courses. Mr. King explained that the Water Safety Instructor Course teaches instructors how to teach the students and work with them in the water. Mr. King gave a presentation on the Summer Community Center Camps. 4 Foothills Recreation and Aquatics Center: • 757 participants • The program was at capacity for 7 of the 10 weeks • Speakers came out 2 to 3 times a week: Arizona State Parks, Jungle Jill’s Animal Encounters • Added more S.T.E.M. • 4.8 out of 5.0 stars • Photos were shown of presenters and activities at the camps Glendale Community Center: • Average of 20 to 55 kids in attendance between all the community centers • This year the City of Glendale provided transportation and the occasional trip on Friday’s to FREE locations in Glendale. • Some of the trips were to: The Ranch, Rose Lane Pool every Wednesday, Cerreta’s Candy Factory, Glendale Police Museum, Fire Stations • Some intergenerational activities with YWCA seniors were done. Mr. Burke announced that the City is always short of lifeguards, is looking for more, and the starting age is 15. Mr. Barnard noted that the pools are open year round and so there is work besides just in the summer. Commissioner Edgar asked if the lifeguard instruction courses could be taken at other locations besides Glendale. Mr. King replied in the positive. d. Information: Murphy Park Demonstration, Second Year Update Mr. Burke gave an update on the Murphy Park turf renovation demonstration. A detailed staff memo was included in the Commission packet. • The goal of the project was to show that staff could make a difference in the turf at Murphy Park by using the right processes. • A stepped up turf management program was implemented with additional aeration, fertilization, and increased mowing. • Soil testing results and remedies were presented. • In 2018, there were brown spots, weeds, and many different types of grass. After the program, most of the broad leaf weeds were eradicated, however getting rid of the weeds and nut grass has proven challenging. • The turf is not perfect, but it is responding. This initiative demonstrates that with the right efforts, the turf can look better. • The program is at the point where it cannot go further or improve with the current resources. • Issues with irrigation need to be addressed. • A consultant was hired to adjust the irrigation heads. • One potential strategy for next year is to completely rebuild the irrigation system, remove the lawn, spray and kill all, re-seed, and re-grow the turf. A bid for this project is in process. • The current strategy cost approximately $5,000 to implement. • Before and after photos of the turf at Murphy Park were shown. The agenda item was concluded. e. Information: Department Master Plan Update 5 Mr. Barnard gave a presentation on the Parks and Recreation Strategic Master Plan, which included the following highlights: • There are four stages of Public Engagement o Information Gathering o Findings & Visioning o Draft Recommendations o Final Plan/Implementation • The Public Input/Data Gathering stage is in process. • Project kick-off was held the week of October 28-30, 2019. • The consultant collected feedback from department partners, stakeholders, and the public as well as department staff. • Feedback included: 4 focus groups with 40 contacts, 40 staff and 761 viewers via Facebook Live over two nights with overall reach demographics of 49% women and 51% men. • The consultant asked questions about the parks and recreation system regarding strengths, weaknesses, additional activities desired, new or improved amenities, underserved areas of the City, how should initiatives be financially supported, what are key issues and values, and what are priorities. • The consultant will assess key themes and issues, such as equity in service delivery, quality of access to facilities and amenities, resources to meet service delivery and care of facilities, maintaining/caring for/improving existing amenities, personal safety, and preserving the character of Glendale. • One part of the consultant team spent four days conducting field visits and inspecting parks and facilities. A detailed summary report will be drafted using their trademarked assessment tool. • Next steps: Draft feedback report from the consultant and conducting the statistically and geographically community-wide survey. Chair McConnell noted that he and Commissioner Edgar were to participate in the project and sit in with the consultants. Mr. Barnard replied that this will occur as soon as staff receives information from the consultant to analyze. Mr. Barnard estimated that this would happen within the next 60 days and will keep the Commission updated. f. Action: Chair and Vice Chair Nominations Mr. Burke announced that the Commission needs to make recommendations for Chair and Vice Chair. Chair McConnell volunteered to continue to serve as Chair. Motion by Commission Beye, second by Commissioner Edgar, to recommended Commissioner McConnell to serve as Chair and Commissioner Schiavone to serve as Vice Chair effective February 1, 2020. Motion carried 6 – 0. Chair McConnell thanked everyone and very much appreciated the Commissioners for accepting him and Vice Chair Schiavone for another term. 6. Staff Updates Mr. Burke gave an update on the Sahuaro Ranch Tree Maintenance, which included the following: • Council was very generous last year and budgeted funds to address trees in the City. • There is a contract with West Coast Arborist, who has begun the inventory/analysis of trees. • The pecan grove at Sahuaro Ranch Park was one of the first priorities for assessment due to age and condition. The report was a little worse than initially anticipated. • There are 31 pecan trees in the picnic area of the park. Nine of the trees require removal because they are dead. Twenty-two of the trees require pruning to remove deadwood. 6 • Some of the trees will be pruned drastically and the public may really notice the change. • Some of the trees are 100 years old, but if pruned correctly, could last another 100 years. • Staff will issue a press release regarding the trees and the pruning and will also post on social media. • Soil testing was done and an issue with zinc was revealed. Zinc and gypsum have been added to the soil and it will also continue to be fertilized • Flood irrigation has been done in this park for over 100 years, but it is no longer working effectively. Staff has been using sandbags to direct the water. Bids are being received regarding rebuilding of the flood irrigation system. • Photos and aerial diagrams were displayed. Vice Chair Schiavone inquired if staff is doing anything with the pecan wood. Mr. Burke replied staff questioned this as well but state procurement law needs to be reviewed. Also, the wood may be not of good use if the trees are diseased. Commissioner Walls asked if this was the same company that trimmed the trees last year. Mr. Burked stated that this vendor did the historic part of Sahuaro Park and Murphy Park last year. Mr. Burke announced that Council allocated $78,000 for five years to this initiative and $20,000 each year has been identified toward planting new trees. Commissioner Edgar inquired if staff had a plan for the nine pecan trees being removed. Mr. Burke replied that there was not a plan yet, however, the appropriate pecan tree species was being pursued. Vice Chair Schiavone asked if the nuts were harvested. Mr. Burke replied in the negative and stated that the area was not really set up for an orchard. Mr. Barnard added that tree replacement depends on seasonal timing. Chair McConnell wondered if staff spoke with SRP regarding the findings and design of the flood irrigation. Mr. Burke relayed that staff has spoken with SRI. Chair McConnell suggested that SRP might donate funds toward the irrigation project at Sahuaro Ranch Park. Mr. Burke commented that the procurement bidding process must be followed. Chair McConnell commented on the potential of selling the pecan wood or raffling it off to give a people the chance to have a piece of Glendale history. Mr. Burke noted that he will have to review the state procurement laws regarding this suggestion. 7. Commission Comments and Suggestions None. 8. Next Meeting The next regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission will be held on December 9, 2019, at 6:00 p.m. in Conference Room B-3 of the Municipal Office Complex, located at 5850 W. Glendale Avenue, Glendale, Arizona, 85301. 9. Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Edgar, second by Commissioner Beye, to adjourn the meeting at 7:31 p.m. Motion carried 6 – 0. 7 Respectfully submitted, Denise Kazmierczak