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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/11/2001IRWINDALE COUNCIL CHAMBER JULY 11, 2001 5050 N. IRWINDALE AVENUE WEDNESDAY IRWINDALE, CALIFORNIA 91706 6:00 P.M. The Irwindale PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION met in adjourned regular session at the above time and place. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Theresa Chico, Erlinda Duran, Paula Fraijo, Vice Chair Belen Zepeda; Chair Dan Diaz Also present: Rod Posada, Director of Public Works; Dan Grijalva, Recreation Supervisor; and Linda Kimbro, Deputy City Clerk. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION Commissioner Fraijo made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Duran, to approve the minutes of the meeting held June 6, 2001. The motion was unanimously approved. Commissioner Fraijo pointed out what she believed to be an error in the minutes. Upon reviewing the audio tape of the meeting a determination was made that the minutes were correct; however, the configuration was amended to more clearly reflect the topics. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS UPDATE Director of Public Works Rod Posada introduced Interim Chief of Police Joseph De Ladurantey. Director of Public Works Posada advised that the issue of the Park Patrol will be heard by the City Council at its meeting of July 19th. He said Chief De Ladurantey has also been informed about the issue. Director of Public Works Posada advised that, at the direction of Chair Diaz, signs saying "No Drinking Allowed" were installed in El Nido Park, since it seems to be heavily used by older youth. Director of Public Works Posada said that he had not forgotten about the request for the drinking fountain, and had also instructed employee Joe Nunez to plant the two Mulberry trees that Chair Diaz has asked for, but asked PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES JULY 11, 2001 ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PAGE 2 Chair Diaz to indicate with a marker where he wanted them planted. Director of Public Works Posada said that the requested 55 - gallon trash bins have been installed. (Similar to those previously installed near the City's bus stops.) Chair Diaz commented on how easily those bins could be moved by the older children, and made the recommendation that permanent concrete bins be ordered. Commissioner Chico asked if a trash bin had been installed by the kitchen. She said she thought it was necessary because of the amount of trash the children drop on the way to the gym and snack bar. Director of Public Works Posada confirmed that a bin has been installed by the kitchen. Chair Diaz made a request to have a water faucet installed along with a 250 -foot hose at El Nido Park, which could be used to help clean the sidewalks. Chair Diaz said he would take the hose and remove the water faucet with the key because he did not want to leave them in the park. Director of Public Works Posada then addressed the list of items noted from the Irwindale Park walk-through. He stated that 18 out of about 22 items had been completed. He said the remaining items would be completed shortly. Commissioner Fraijo commented on the graffiti that still remains on the benches in front of the pool. Director of Public Works Posada explained that graffiti removal is a continuous process and said that the graffiti had been removed twice before. He told the Commissioners about one youth that had been caught by the police and fined $80 for defacing a fire hydrant. Chair Diaz said he also had caught two skateboarders playing on top of one of the planters and asked them to stop. He suggested that seeing the Park Patrol on duty might act as a deterrent. Chair Diaz told Director of Public Works Posada that the blue lines by the picnic tables section needs to be repainted and suggested that the bottom of the barbecue pipes should be painted blue to indicate which barbecue is to be used in that section. Commissioner Chico suggested painting each pipe a different color according to the lettering of each section. PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES JULY 11, 2001 ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PAGE 3 Commissioner Chico asked if the playground was being raked and cleaned on a regular basis and commented on how dirty it looked after the weekend use. She suggested having this done every Monday morning before the lunch program in order to clean up after the weekend. Director of Public Works Posada said he had instructed staff to take care of this and requested that if the Commissioners notice anything that needed his attention to please call him at his office and he would take care of the problem immediately. Commissioner Fraijo commented that there should be a regular maintenance schedule for the drinking fountains at all times. She also emphasized the importance of having the graffiti removed immediately when noticed. RECREATION MANAGER UPDATE Recreation Manager Grijalva started his update with a response to the question that was posed by Commissioner Duran during the previous Parks and Recreation meeting. Commissioner Duran had inquired as to the cost of the all - women Mariachi band for future events in Irwindale Park. Recreation Manager Grijalva reported that the women's Mariachi group will cost $6,000 for 2 hours. Recreation Manager Grijalva said the month of June saw the start of the new lunch program for the children, and to date 125 different children from the City of Irwindale have utilized the program. On a daily basis the program averages approximately 60 children. Eighty meals a day are being brought out. He said he was very pleased with the way the program was going and thought he would like to continue to use this program in the future. He stated that he was doing a survey to see if it would be feasible and in the City's best interest to have this program continue next year. Commissioner Fraijo inquired as to whether a park person was needed to help work the program. Recreation Manager Grijalva responded by saying that the survey would be something they would continue throughout the summer, to accumulate a set of figures to help make that decision. Commissioner Fraijo asked if the Recreation Department was paying for the lunches. Recreation Manager Grijalva said they are paying for the lunches, but will be reimbursed only for the lunches that have been distributed. Next year PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES JULY 11, 2001 ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PAGE 4 they hope to have their department trained and able to coordinate the program themselves. Commissioner Duran asked who was providing the meals for the program. Recreation Manager Grijalva said the City of Irwindale and the City of Baldwin Park were both sharing in the program. He explained that the City of Baldwin Park had contracted with the El Monte Unified School System. Recreation Manager Grijalva relayed to the Commission that the staff from the City of Baldwin Park commented on how much they enjoyed coming to Irwindale Park and how respectful and well behaved the children are compared to other cities. Commissioner Chico complimented the idea of having copies of the menus, as this was very helpful for the parents, and stated her opinion that there is a wonderful variety of foods offered to the children. Recreation Manager Grijalva stated that for the month of June the Center had taken three trips; one trip was to San Juan Capistrano, one to the Dodger game and one trip to Mariachi USA, with some of the Commissioners included. For the month of July, several beach trips are scheduled, some of which and have already been taken. The new summer classes have begun, and the cooking instructor is scheduled to begin soon. Music in the Park starts July 19th, and will continue every Thursday evening. Recreation Manager Grijalva complimented Recreation Supervisor Jackie Delgado for arranging such a wonderful selection of musical entertainment for the summer concerts. Commissioner Fraijo asked if the snack bar would be open during the Music In The Park program. Recreation Manager Grijalva said that the teen club would be selling from the kitchen to raise money for their club. Commissioner Zepeda suggested sending out flyers requesting donations for drinks, and other supplies. Recreation Manager Grijalva agreed. Recreation Manager Grijalva commented on how well the 4`h of July program went and thanked his staff for all the decorations and time put in for the celebration. He also extended a special thanks to Recreation Supervisor Jackie Delgado for coordinating the program and all the entertainment. He said the attendance was high this year, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Recreation Manager Grijalva also thanked the Public Works PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES JULY 11, 2001 ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PAGE 5 Department for their contribution in setting up the various booths, and the other requests that were made of the staff. Chair Diaz thanked both the Parks & Recreation staff and the Public Works Department for their contributions. He commented on how he enjoyed the fireworks, and the other Commissioners agreed that the fireworks were better this year than last. Chair Diaz asked Recreation Manager Grijalva if there was a problem with the public address system, because he had noticed problems during some of the performances. Recreation Manager Grijalva suggested that the heat might have affected the cordless microphones. He said he would be calling for repairs. Commissioner Chico asked if the musical band Tierra that performed for the City of Irwindale was the original group. She said she had heard that the band Tierra had also performed for Baldwin Park. Recreation Manager Grijalva assured the Commission that the original group was the group that performed for Irwindale, and Baldwin Park had a band that was headed by the brother of a member in the Tierra band. Commissioner Chico said she noticed drinking going on in the top balcony during the festivities and said that she reported it to the Police. Recreation Manager Grij alva acknowledged that he had found three empty beer cans after the activities. Commissioner Chico also said that she had been told a lot of the propane tanks used on the 4rh were not up to code and were actually leaking. Recreation Manager Grijalva said the tanks were suppose to be tagged if they were not working properly before they were filled. Commissioner Duran advised that there are some places that will fill the tanks without checking to see what kind of condition they are in. Recreation Manager Grijalva agreed and said the tanks should probably be pulled. Commissioner Duran expressed her concern with the bike riders and skateboarders, and noted how unsafe their behavior was with the park being so heavily populated during the festivities. She said that she approached some cadets to enforce the park policy, after she had tried to talk with some of the youth herself. Commissioner Chico suggested that maybe regular announcements should be PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES JULY 11, 2001 ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PAGE 6 made, and perhaps the bikes should be confiscated until the policy is taken seriously. Commissioner Chico asked about the status of the Salsa dancing classes. Recreation Manager Grijalva said that flyers will be going out and advised that an intermediate class will be offered on Saturday. She also wanted to know how the "Mommy and Me" class was received. Recreation Manager Grijalva said the class started out slow, but they were still interested in pursuing it. Commissioner Chico complimented summer youth employee Bobby Espino for doing such good work with the children. Chair Diaz commented on how well the baseball field looks. Commissioner Fraijo asked when the women's league would be starting up again. Recreation Manager Grijalva said within the next 3 weeks. COMMISSIONER ITEMS COMMISSIONER FRAIJO Commissioner Fraijo asked about the status of the outdoor volleyball courts that had been discussed in prior meetings. CHAIR DIAZ Chair Diaz that he noticed six or seven nets up during the 4th of July celebration. He said he thought it was fine if they brought their own nets and other equipment, then the City would not be held responsible for setting up the equipment. COMMISSIONER CHICO Commissioner Chico asked if a different piece of equipment could be installed in place of the volleyball courts. Director of Public Works Posada responded by saying that even though they did not receive the grant they applied for, the new Park Master Plan allowed for renovation of that particular area, and other areas of the park as well. He said that he is in the process of putting together a Request for Proposal from various architectural firms for various designs. He explained that part of the design process would be to have input from the public, the Council and the Commission. SPONTANEOUS Margaret Diaz asked Recreation Manager Grijalva if the COMMUNICATIONS air conditioning was working in the banquet room and if the tole painting class was still scheduled for Tuesday PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES JULY 11, 2001 ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PAGE 7 evenings. She said the banquet room was not set up the previous night, but was still set up for the summer tiny tot program. She said that they would like to use the banquet room because they need the convenience of the water for the painting Recreation Manager Grijalva said the air is working but just needs to be readjusted, and confirmed that the tole painting class is still scheduled for Tuesday evenings. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m. Dan Diaz, Chair ATTEST: Linda J. Kimbro, CMC Deputy City Clerk