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1 DRAFT MINUTES City of Glendale Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Glendale Civic Center 5750 W. Glenn Dr. Glendale, Arizona 85301 February 8, 2021 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Gayle Schiavone, Chair Sam McConnell, Vice Chair Kristina Cadena Stephanie June (via phone) Reginald Martinez, Jr. Kathryn Mawby ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Jim Burke, Director, Public Facilities and Special Events Walter Varney, Assistant Director Danielle Dutsch, Interim Deputy Director Paul King, Recreation Administrator Diane Williams, Program Manager Tim Rastedt, CIP Project Manager Pete Garcia, Interim Parks Superintendent 1. Call to Order Chair Schiavone called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. 2. Roll Call Chair Schiavone facilitated roll call. Chair Schiavone thanked Vice Chair McConnell for his previous role as Chair of the Commission. Mr. Burke presented Vice Chair McConnell with a certificate recognizing his service as Chair from December 1, 2019 to January 31, 2021. 3. Citizen Comments No citizens present. No comments. 4. Approval of the Minutes Motion by Vice Chair McConnell, second by Commissioner Martinez, to approve the January 11, 2021 Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting minutes as written. Motion carried 4 – 0. [Commissioners Cadena and Mawby were not yet present.] 5. New Business a. Information: Commission Reports No reports. b. Action: Commission Goals for the Upcoming Year 2 Mr. Burke facilitated discussion on Commission goals for the year ahead. Mr. Burke shared the goals for January 2020-21 as a starting point and reported that if approved by the Commission, the goals will be sent on to the City Clerk. [Commissioner Mawby entered the meeting.] Motion by Vice Chair McConnell, second by Commissioner Martinez, to approve the 2021 Commission Goals, as presented and the same as 2020, with the stipulation that the Commission can re-evaluate the goals and add to the list as necessary. [Commissioner Cadena entered the meeting.] Chair Schiavone suggested adding “if possible and safe” to Goal IV. Motion by Commissioner June, second by Vice Chair McConnell, to accept the amendment to add “if possible and safe” to Goal IV. Motion carried 6 – 0. Motion by Vice Chair McConnell, second by Commissioner Martinez, to amend his original motion to include the amendment adding “if possible and safe” to Goal IV. Motion carried 6 – 0. c. Information: Update on CAPRA Mr. King gave a presentation on the re-accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA), which included the following: • What is CAPRA? o A national quality assurance certification program o 154 industry best practice standards o Managed by the National Recreation and Park Association • Benefits to CAPRA o Holds an agency accountable o Ensures best industry practice o Recognition and credibility o Encourages staff innovation and creativity o Improves overall operations o Outside funding opportunities • Prestigious Designation o Only 183 Park and Recreation agencies nationwide have this accreditation o 8 Arizona cities and towns have this accreditation • Accreditation Process o Five-year cycle that has three phases ▪ Agency self-assessment report (This report will be approximately 1,000 pages.) ▪ Visitation by CAPRA Commission panel ▪ National CAPRA Commission’s review and decision • Key Dates o October 2, 2020: Self-assessment project began o April 5, 2021: Agency-self assessment submission due to CAPRA Commission o June 14 – 16, 2021: Virtual visit from CAPRA o September 21 – 23, 2021: CAPRA hearing for final decision 3 Mr. Burke explained that staff is working on this process in addition to their regular 40-hour work week. Mr. Burke relayed the process is a huge undertaking and complimented staff’s efforts to date. d. Information: Bonsall Park Update Mr. Garcia gave an update on staff’s efforts to maintain the appearance and conditions of Bonsall Park, which included the following information: • The park is located at 59th Avenue and Bethany Home Road. • It has been a hot spot for transient activity, is overcrowded, and has a lot of trash and illegal activities. • Staff would clean up the park at closing and the next morning, it would be in the same condition due to overnight activities. • Recent efforts have dramatically improved the park conditions. These efforts included: o Increased police patrol hours o Lighting at night o Fencing off the racquetball courts o Adjusted park hours • Some improvements seen include: o Reduced amounts of trash o Less abandoned property o Decreased transient activity o Cleaner and safer for park users • Before and after photos were displayed. Mr. Burke relayed the following: • Staff was cleaning up after transient and illegal activity up to an hour each day. • Park hours on the south side of the park were changed to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Enforcement of the hours were coordinated with the police department and park rangers. • Restrooms were closed at both the north and south sides of the park. • Picnic tables and ramadas were removed at the north side of the park due to poor condition. • Glendale Works participants have also been working with staff to clean the park. • After the changes were implemented, staff has seen more families using the park and amenities. • The hours on the north side of the park will be adjusted in the near future. • The changes have created a phenomenal impact in the park. Vice Chair McConnell recalled a tour of the park that was taken last year with the Mayor and a few of the Councilmembers. Vice Chair McConnell stated at that time, the park was in horrendous shape, which was now changing because of the great work done by staff. Mr. Burke relayed this park is in the CIP and surmised the whole park needed to be rebuilt. Mr. Burke stated the people in the community need a good park in this location. Chair Schiavone commented that she would not go to Bonsall Park before due to safety concerns. Chair Schiavone stated that what staff has done is a remarkable accomplishment. Chair Schiavone asked if Ranger, the dog, was still with the department. Mr. Burke replied in the negative, noting that Ranger’s owner has moved on to another agency. e. Information: Parks and Facilities Storm Clean Up Mr. Garcia provided information on the damages caused by the January 25, 2021 storm, which included the following information: • The recent storm event was a microburst, with very high winds. 4 • A list of storm damaged sites was displayed, including details of the damages. • Photos of damage at the Glendale Community Center, Bonsall Park, the Bead Museum, and the Adult Center were displayed. • Most of the damage occurred between Grand Avenue to Cactus Road, and from 67th Avenue to 43rd Avenue. • There was damage to trees, shade structures, parks, facilities, and trails. • Twenty-nine sites were affected. Mr. Burke explained, in addition to the parks damage described, many of the right-of way trees and some City buildings were damaged. Mr. Burke stated that Mr. Garcia and his crew did a great job on clean up. Chair Schiavone asked if all of the damage had been cleaned up. Mr. Garcia replied in the positive, though added that there were still some shade structures to be put back in place. 6. Staff Updates Mr. Burke’s report included the following: • The Parks Master Plan is coming. It is in the final edit and formatting phase. • A Creative Kids special event will be held for Valentine’s Day. This will be a drive-through event held on Thursday, February 11th, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at O’Neil Park and FRAC. It is a free event whereby a craft will be distributed to children. This event is being held simultaneously at the north and south ends of the city. Chair Schiavone inquired about the Chocolate Affaire. Mr. Burke replied that the event has been cancelled this year. 7. Commission Comments and Suggestions Commissioner Cadena commented that the north side of Bonsall Park still looks ragged and has homeless people on site in tents. Mr. Burke stated the hours on the north side have not been changed yet; however, staff will be working with the police department and preparing new signage. Mr. Burke said progress should be seen on the north side soon. Commissioner June complimented the new shade structure at Foothills Park and looked forward to having shade at the park when visiting in the spring. Commissioner Martinez stated that he has noticed a change in Sahuaro Ranch Park over the past decade, with issues similar to Bonsall Park, but not as severe. Commissioner Martinez indicated there has been a decline in upkeep of the park and restrooms and he wanted to bring this back as a topic of discussion. Mr. Burke relayed that staff will report back to the Commission on this park, as Council has provided some funding to address these issues. Commissioner Mawby asked if there were specifically assigned parks for the Parks Inspection Reports. Chair Schiavone suggested beginning with the parks in a Commissioner’s specific district, however, if there was overlap, additional comments on a park would be beneficial. Vice Chair McConnell agreed. Mr. Burke stated the inspection check list would be resent to the Commissioners. Chair Schiavone was very happy with the active discussion this evening and reaching quorum. Mr. Burke stated, based on communication to Council regarding challenges with quorum, Council recently voted to change how 5 quorum was calculated for the Commission. Mr. Burke relayed quorum is now based on only the adult appointed members and the teenage members would not be counted for quorum. Mr. Burke explained that the teen members sometimes do not drive and may rely on others for transportation, which poses a challenge for quorum. 8. Next Meeting The next regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission will be held on March 8, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., at the Glendale Civic Center, located at 5750 W. Glenn Drive, Glendale, Arizona, 85301. 9. Adjournment Motion by Vice Chair McConnell, second by Commissioner Mawby, to adjourn the meeting at 7:03 p.m. Motion carried 6 – 0.