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1 DRAFT MINUTES City of Glendale Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting Foothills Recreation & Aquatics Center 5600 W. Union Hills Dr. Glendale, Arizona 85308 Monday, January 9, 2023 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Reginald Martinez, Jr., Vice Chair Helena Johnson Bodine, Commissioner Kathryn Mawby, Commissioner Kathleen Roe, Commissioner Bud Zomok, Commissioner Joseph Jarrett Torres, Teen Commissioner ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Jim Burke, Director Paul King, Recreation Administrator Heidi Barriga, Interim Deputy Director Manuel Padia, Jr., Senior Recreation Coordinator James Hannasch, CIP Project Manager Diane Cooksey, CIP Project Manager Brittany Espinoza, Recreation Coordinator Diane Williams, Project Manager 1. Call to Order Vice-Chair Martinez called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Vice-Chair Martinez conducted roll call. 3. Citizen Comments None. 4. Approval of the Minutes Motion by Commissioner Johnson Bodine, second by Commissioner Roe, to approve the October 10, 2022, Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting minutes as written. Motion carried 6 – 0. 5. New Staff Introductions Mr. King introduced Ms. Brittany Espinoza, new Recreation Coordinator, and shared a brief background of her work experience. Ms. Barriga introduced Mr. James Hannasch, new CIP Project Manager, and shared a brief background of his work experience. Ms. Barriga introduced Ms. Diane Cooksey, new CIP Project Manager, and shared a brief background of her work experience. 2 6. New Business a. Information: Commission Reports Commissioner Johnson Bodine requested an update on the basketball court at Oasis Park. Mr. Burke will follow up. Commissioner Johnson Bodine reported three fallen light poles at the park. Mr. Burke relayed that the Facilities Department was informed and a work order was in place. Vice-Chair Martinez saw that Sunnyside Park was under construction and was looking forward to seeing the results at the park. Ms. Barriga relayed that the improvements include a new playground, and the inspection will be conducted this week. Commissioner Mawby reported that neighbors have relayed the following comments to her regarding Sunset Park: • There are three picnic tables with graffiti and obscene symbols. Some of the graffiti is also on the sidewalk. • The stairs on the playground equipment are worn and children could get hurt. • One of the slides was removed and a metal plate was installed to block off access. • Landscapers were on site, however, one of the crew members was on the phone and not working. Mr. Burke said that citizens should call the Graffiti Busters number when spotting graffiti and it will be taken care of within 24 hours. Vice-Chair Martinez reported recent graffiti on the playground structure at Tarrington Ranch Park. Mr. Burke will follow up. Teen Commissioner Jarrett Torres asked how often the playground structures and tables were cleaned at the parks. Mr. Burke said the structures were cleaned, however fairly infrequently due to staffing issues. Mr. Burke noted that contractors were utilized as well. He said smaller parks were cleaned more infrequently, community parks more often, and very large parks, such as Sahuaro Ranch Park, were cleaned daily. He said that the equipment was power washed, however, not on a quarterly basis due to the large number of structures. b. Information: Sahuaro Ranch Master Plan Update Mr. Barriga gave a presentation on the Sahuaro Ranch Master Plan Update, which included information on the following: • Public Survey o 170 responses were received, 55% of respondents said they visited the park daily or weekly. o The top three reasons respondents came to the park were for the walking paths, to visit the historic ranch, and for community events. o The top three ranked proposed improvements were to restore the historic groves, plant trees among the walking paths, and renovate existing restrooms. • Next Steps o Project Definition, Site Analysis, Data Collection: Completed o Open House: Completed. Held on October 6, 2022. o Initial Concept Development: Design sub-consultant will prepare three unique design concepts. o Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission: Design concepts presented to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. o Pre-Final Concept Development: Design sub-consultant will refine the concept based on input received. 3 o Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission: Refine preferred concept presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission. o Final Concept Development: Final refinements to Park Master Plan Concept. Ms. Barriga announced staff will present more detailed information at a future meeting. Mr. Burke relayed the goal to bring some concepts to the Commission for review and discussion within the next three months. Commissioner Zomok asked if the zip codes of the survey respondents were gathered. Mr. Burke replied in the positive and relayed that 85% of the respondents came from the zip code of Sahuaro Ranch Park. c. Information: Playground Projects Update Ms. Barriga gave an update and shared before and after photos of the recent playground equipment improvement projects at the following locations: • Hidden Meadows Park • Mary Silva Park • Delicias Park Mr. Burke noted that although there were ten park locations with improvements, some have two playground structures, so there were really twenty-five structures being installed or improved over the past year and a half. He said the City had approximately 100 playgrounds; therefore, nearly one-fourth have been improved over the last year and a half. Commissioner Johnson Bodine reported seeing more people and families at Hidden Meadows Park since the new playground. Teen Commissioner Jarrett Torres asked if all of the playground structures were completely new. Mr. Burke said there were some parts that were salvaged. Commissioner Mawby said the new playgrounds were beautiful and hoped to see improvements at Sunset Park as the playground was not looking good. Mr. Burke encouraged Commissioner Mawby to contact her Councilmember with the suggestion. She commented on the metal plate that was installed when the slide was removed. Mr. Burke explained the metal plate was for safety purposes and said staff will take a close look at the structure. d. Information: Update on Splash Pad Operations Mr. King gave a presentation on the Splash Pad Operations, which included the following information: • FY2023-32 Capital Improvement Program includes nine splash pads: o Full-scale construction: Sunset Palms Park, Sahuaro Ranch Park, Sierra Verde Park o Small-scale construction: Locations to be determined o Renovation: Heroes Regional Park, Sycamore Grove Park, Grand Canal Linear Park o A map of locations was displayed • Operating Plan for Drought Management o Operating days and times for Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the drought management plan was presented. o Staff is researching volume reduction of water during a four-minute water run cycle. Initial testing results were very good. o Staff is researching the use of automatic web-based readers to view high usage times and flows. 4 Commissioner Roe reported that she attended a GAIN event, and some told her the splash pads were being used by the homeless to bathe. Mr. King indicated that Mr. Burke was working with the Community Services Department, the Police Department, and the Park Rangers regarding these issues. Mr. Burke said the splash pad facilities were gated and only open in June and July. He noted that when families were present, the homeless tended to leave. He said much of the issue was at the smaller splash pads, such as at Sunset Palms Park. He asked the Commissioners to call staff if they saw homeless individuals using the splash pads for bathing. He commented on the city-wide task force in place to address and assist homeless individuals. Commissioner Zomok asked if the splash pad at Heroes Park was new. Mr. King explained that Heroes Park was a recirculating splash pad, versus direct to drain. He said that a recirculating splash pad required large amounts of chemicals and maintenance. He said the intent was for the current splash pad projects to be direct to drain. Mr. Burke noted that staff recently gave a presentation to Council, recommending the conversion of the Heroes Park splash pad to direct to drain. He explained Council asked staff to hold off on conversion and research replacement of the pumps and filter in order to keep the recirculation. He relayed Council’s concern of water use. He explained, however, that water from direct to drain goes to a treatment plan. He said staff will monitor the water use to have a better handle on costs. Commissioner Zomok inquired about the preservation of the splash pad infrastructure. Mr. Burke explained that in the winter, staff still operated the splash pads to make sure the pumps, seals, and valves are working. Teen Commissioner Jarrett Torres inquired as to the preferred method, recirculation or direct to drain. Mr. Burke said the industry was in flux as to the recommendation, however, he recommended the direct to drain. He noted that the water was city-treated so there was confidence in how it was treated, and people and children use it in other ways. He noted that recirculated water was treated manually with chemicals. He explained Council struggled with the image of how water was used in the drought climate. He explained, however, that direct to drain water was treated and reused. He reiterated that professionally, his preference was direct to drain. e. Information: Update: Interpretive Signage at Sahuaro Ranch Park Historic Area Mr. King gave a presentation on Interpretive Signage at the Sahuaro Ranch Park Historic Area, which included the following information: • Update of the historical panel signs o Thirteen panel signs were installed in 2008 as a self-guided tour mechanism. They have sun damage and are in need of replacement. o There will now be fourteen signs, one was added with information on park dedications, such as the National Historic Register o The signage is educational and entertaining • Interpretive signage locations o A map of the locations was displayed. Commissioner Zomok asked if the new signage fits in with the Sahuaro Ranch Park Master Plan. Mr. Burke was confident the signs would still be needed. Mr. King noted that the signs will also include QR codes for instant web-based information. 5 7. Staff Updates Mr. King shared the following information: • Hook a Kid on Fishing Clinic: Held on Saturday, October 25, 2022, at Heroes Park Lake. The next event will be held in April 2023 at Bonsall Park Lake. These will be annual events. • Foothills Recreation Center Halloween Event: This event included games, prizes, a costume contest, and more. The event was sold out. There were approximately 500 children plus parents and grandparents in attendance. • Registration is open for spring baseball. Staff is working on developing a soccer program. • Glendale Adult Center: Five different luncheon events are held and sell out each year, including the Thanksgiving luncheon and the Holiday Luncheon. • Santa’s Workshop at the Foothills Recreation and Aquatics Center was held on December 17, 2022. Based on a public survey, the event was changed from an event where kids shop for gifts to one with games, events, and hot chocolate for the kids. There were more people in attendance over the prior year. Ms. Barriga reported on the following Special Events: • Touch-A-Truck: Based on a public survey, the event was moved from October to November. There were over 7,000 people in attendance. The event was held at Westgate, is extremely popular, and includes bounce houses and train rides. • Jingle Bell Hike: Held on December 10, 2022, at Thunderbird Conservation Park. There were approximately 400 people in attendance and approximately half were children. Mr. Burke gave an update on the following: • Fiesta Bowl Charities Project: The O’Neil Park project includes two new playground structures with shade, new turf for the multi-use field, and new sports lighting. This is a $1 million project. • Sierra Verde Well Site: The water was found to be slightly off during testing and needs to be treated on-site. An extra 40 square feet is needed for the equipment. Council and the surrounding neighborhood were informed and there was no opposition. 9. Commission Comments and Suggestions Commissioner Zomok drove by O’Neil Park and complimented the transformation. Vice-Chair Martinez noted that he used to be a lifeguard at O’Neil Park in 2009 and was looking forward to seeing the park improvements. Commissioner Johnson Bodine asked if the changes at the Sierra Verde Well Site would affect the public art to be placed at the site. Mr. Burke said the Arts Commission and the Water Services Department were working on the project; however, he will follow up. Commissioner Jarrett Torres inquired about the Movies by Moonlight on January 20th. Ms. Barriga asked if Commissioner Jarrett Torres was interested in volunteer hours. He replied in the positive. Ms. Barriga will follow up. 10. Next Meeting The next regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission will be held on Monday, February 13, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., at the Glendale Adult Center, located at 5970 W. Brown St., Glendale, Arizona, 85302. 11. Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Johnson Bodine, second by Commissioner Roe, to adjourn the meeting at 7:00 p.m. Motion carried 6 – 0.