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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 16Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes July 16, 2009 Present: Jaime Lucia, Kathy Evans, Val Metcalfe, Patty Radlo, Julia Zarcone, co-chairs Scott Vanderlip and Rebecca Hickman, Eric Christensen, Parks and Recreation Supervisor. Guests: Nancy Couperus Committee Meeting brought to order at 9:07 am. Hoedown Update Kathy Evans gave the committee a progress update on the Hoedown: - All crafts activity supplies are complete. - Food deposit has been paid - Rentals have been ordered - 2 Portapotties will be provided - 14 reservations have already been received - Kathy would like to hire a company to provide pony rides. Operation is turnkey and cost would be $700. Julia Zarcone reported the following: - many of the wine merchants that have been contacted to participate have not responded. She will continue to try and get participants from local vineyards. Kathy has spoken with barn manager Crystal, to discuss safety concerns with the Westwind Barn construction; all equipment will be consolidated and out of the way for the Hoedown. Eric Christensen will work with Richard Chu re being able to do what needs to be done to keep the event on track with the construction. People will not be able to go into the barn, and Eric feels that the entrance doors will need to be physically blocked as opposed to just shut. Westwind Barn At the upcoming Town Council Meeting on July 23, 2009, the Council will be voting on funding for Westwind Barn. Val Metcalfe requested that the Parks and Recreation Committee recommend to Council that funding be provided to complete a full structural upgrade of the Barn. This would include funding for new flooring, seismic upgrades, and whatever is needed to become ADA compliant. Nancy Couperus addressed the PRC, asking Committee members to come to the Council Meeting as a show of support for full funding for the Barn. After discussion the following recommendation was made by the PRC: Recommendation to Council from the Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Committee. The Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Committee voted unanimously at its July 16, 2009 meeting, to strongly support the proposed retrofit and repair to Westwind Barn (item #20, July 23, 2009 Agenda) and urges the Town Council to approve repairs to the facility to be completed as soon as possible. The Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Committee recognizes Westwind Barn as a vital facility for the Town’s Parks and Recreation programming which includes the Year Round Riding Program, many summer camps, as well as a community landmark that is home to several community events that are now “Town traditions” such as the Barn Lighting, Earth Day and the Hoedown. Golf Tournament The tournament flyer, which is both informational and acts as a registration form, will be done by July 17. Online registration will also be available on July 17. Marketing of Parks and Recreation Programs Julia Zarcone presented a two page handout to the committee, describing different types of marketing opportunities for the PRC. She broke the marketing opportunities down into two areas – Internal and External. Internal Marketing - These opportunities are free to the department and include: use of Town Newsletter for advertising programs, creation of user database and mailing list, program announcements in local school newsletters and LASD Frequent Flyer, press releases, email blasts, etc. Having the Activity Guide available online and downloadable, was discussed. Use of social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook should also be considered. External – Marketing of programming that will have cost. Some of these opportunities would include: direct mail to residents of upcoming guide publication, advertising in area publications (PAMP, Bay Area Parent, school directories, Bay EQuest). Julia talked about the need for a more consistent and professional looking advertisement to be used by the Parks and Rec Department. A subcommittee, comprised of Julia Zarcone, Rebecca Hickman, and Patty Radlo, was formed to work on outreach to area schools. Riding Program Fee Adjustments Julia Zarcone presented a recommendation to the Committee regarding adjustment of fees charged to non-resident participants in the Parks and Rec riding programs. She stated that our programs are currently price competitive in comparison with other town’s programming. However, the differential between resident and non-resident fees with a program costing more than $200 per session, she felt that the differential was considerable and perhaps prohibitive for some potential participants. Julia recommended that the Parks and Recreation Department cap the differential rate at a certain point in program tuition. She also stated that the Department needs to make the community more aware of why and how our riding programs are different from other programs. MOTION: The Parks and Recreation Committee recommends that the Parks and Recreation Department adopt a policy of a non-resident differential of 15%, but not to exceed $20, for all programs offered by the Department. Election of Co-Chairs Voted in by the Parks and Recreation Committee, and effective as of the August 20, 2009 PRC meeting, the co-chairs will be Julia Zarcone and Scott Vanderlip. New Business Eric Christensen reported to the Committee that the Parks and Recreation Department of Los Altos has voted to allow a joint meeting between their Parks and Recreation Department and the Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Department. The following topics were suggested by Los Altosto be on the agenda for the joint meeting: 1. Discuss possibility of a joint task force to explore possibility of a Dog Run/Park. 2. Discuss possibility of a Skatepark. (Los Altos Parks and Rec has recommended to their Council) 3. Development of senior programming. 4. Development of quality teen programs and supervised activities. 5. Discussion regarding a Community Pool. Our PRC needs to agendize this item for the August 20, 20009 meeting in order to discuss the items and approve the joint meeting. Eric proposes that a joint meeting take place in September. He stated that the PRC needs to decide what items our PRC will bring to the joint meeting to be discussed. Next PRC meeting will be Thursday, August 20, 2009, at 9:00 am. Meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Patty Radlo Secretary