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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 19Parks and Recreation Committee April 19, 2021 Meeting Minutes Monday 4:30-6:00 PM Meeting Time: Monday April 19, 2021 from 4:30 – 6:30 PM Meeting Place: Teleconference Meeting Per the Governor’s Executive Order No. N-25-200 1. Call to order/Roll Call (Quorum = 4) a. Chairperson: Yibin Tang Vice Chair: Scott Vanderlip b. Members: Ying Liu, Kathy Evans Secretary: Boxia (Jessica) Schmidt c. Staff: Sarah Robustelli d. Council Liaison: Lisa Schmidt e. Associate Members: Patty Radlo, Rebecca Hickman, Helene Karlsson, Kjell Karlsson, Val Metcalfe, Jim Basiji, Craig Murray, Elisa Bred f. Present: Yibin Tang, Kejun Xu, Boxia Schmidt, David Milgram(Public Art Committee), Erika Shapiro(Public Art Committee), Scott Vanderlip, Sarah Robustelli, Kathy Evans, Jasmeen Pombra, Ying Liu, Lisa Schmidt, Kjell Karlsson 2. Review of DRAFT Minutes – Mar 15, 2021 The March minutes are passed unanimously. 3. Public Comment: list members of the public David Milgram (Public Art Committee), Erika Shapiro (Public Art Committee) 4. New Business a.Plan to improve Edith Park - David Milgram, Public Art Committee David Milgram is the chair of LAH Public Art Committee. He is proposing to improve Edith Park. He suggested that we should have new artwork in Edith Park to promote art in Los Altos Hills. Potentially, we should support art in the town hall, Edith Park, Westwind Barn or the baseball field in Purissima Park. He mentioned there are some specific opportunities in Edith Park. There are some existing sculptures. The Public Art Committee came up with some ideas to improve that place. He then gave a brief presentation –the main idea is to invite the rest of the world in, since Edith Park is at the gateway to LAH. Today there are no signs to welcome visitors. A sign to welcome visitors should be put there. Art works should be immersed in nature and make it into a beautiful hangout place. It’s a place to promote connections among the residents, families come there to connect. The creek there can be a hangout place for young kids with adult supervision. Erika mentioned they have been working on the ideas to improve Edith Park, which can represent the spirit of LAH. The Public Art committee would like to work with the Parks and Recreation Committee to bring creativity to the reality of Edith Park. She also pointed out the challenges- there would be no parking next to the park (however we can work something out). The final goal is to transform Edith Park into a beautiful and creative place which invites people to go there. People can go painting there, have coffees with friends and families. David mentioned that Edith Park should be a clean place and a comfortable place to be in. He suggested that we can improve the landscaping on top of the beautiful setting. Couple of things that he suggested: 1. There are overgrown bushes which need to be pruned. 2. Create a maze for people to walk in. The idea is to promote small gatherings in Edith Park. 3. Work on the parking issue. Residents can park somewhere else next to the park, or use bicycles. 4. Put a bench or tree trunks by the creek. Visitors can meditate or rest there. A game table is a plus. 5. Create a virtual zoo-like Pokemon game. Local animals can pop up virtually for families to discover. At last, David pointed out that he came to the Parks and Recreation Committee to identify how to achieve the Edith Park improvement plan. Subcommittees are needed to plan, designate funding and to address risks. Kathy suggested that the art works should be put around the new building in Purissima Park. For Edith Park, it’s more of an outdoor and nature focused place and the improvement plan should not come from just a modern art perspective. She mentioned that the neighbors might have objections on visitors parking there. Also, Edith Park is the stage for the parade. During the parade, Edith Park is where we store things. Kathy also mentioned that Scott proposed his Edith Park improvement plan in 2009. He had worked with different committees and came up with some wonderful ideas. However, due to many other factors, the plan was terminated by the city council. Liu Ying thought that it’s a fantastic location for people, and that we should support beautifying that park. Yibin suggested the Public Art Committe to develop a plan to show to the city council. Pombra pointed out that the council might have a different idea after the pandemic if we propose the improvement plan at this time. David mentioned that he had shared the plan with Lisa Schmidt and had brought up the idea to George Tyson in the past and he had appreciated the idea. Kathy suggested to David to please get the support from the neighbors. That would make it easier to push the plan forward. Sarah proposed a motion to form a subcommittee to realize the idea. The motion was passed unanimously. b.Kids biking loop – Scott Scott and Boxia went to Esther Clark Park to find a good place for young kids to bike. The idea is that summer vacation is coming, for the young families who don’t travel this year, they can bring kids to Esther Clark Park to bike. Scott has designed a biking loop around and inside Esther Clark Park. There IS parking around the park. The loop is ideal for biking but might not be suitable for wheelchairs. Scott will promote the biking loop on the pathway website. Boxia will help to put up some kids-friendly road signs to make the place fun. c.Virtual meet and greet – Jasmeen Pombra proposed to have a virtual meet and greet event for public opinion input. Sarah talked about the necessary quorum. Due to the Brown Act, Liu Ying suggested that we would need to create a signup sheet to keep track of which P&R committee members participate in which meeting, and to limit the number of member participants to less than 4. Pombra pointed out that opening up to the neighbors might improve community relations, since they would feel more in charge of the town business. Kathy said she would promote this to the Community Relations Committee. Yibin and Scott suggested to have a Parks and Recreations Committee open house night for 45 minutes every quarter. Kathy proposed to coordinate with the newsletter to promote the open house night. The next newsletter is coming out in august. Scott proposed the motion to have open house night every quarter. The motion was approved unanimously. d.Vote on Inspirational Banner Project Submissions - Sarah Kathy was asking when the inspirational banners would be mounted in Los Altos Hills. Sarah answered they would be up on May 9th. e.Update of town hall expansion and the size of community room – Scott Sarah updated that last week the city council had approved a 395sf ADA-equipped conference room with a bathroom and sliding glass door. Design, development and updated cost estimate has been completed. The topic was pulled from the March agenda and will likely be discussed in June CIP. The conceptual plan is for 500-550sf. Current design development plan is for 650sf. f.Budget Requests for FY21-22 - Kathy 5. Old Business a. Status: 12.1.04 ordinance to no longer permit remote control vehicles and drones in Byrne Preserve – Sarah Thanks to Scott for working on the language of the ordinance. b. Consider and vote to update the 12.1.04 ordinance to be expanded to all Open Space Preserves: Juan Prada Mesa, O’Keefe, Saddle Mountain, Rhus Ridge, Murietta Ridge, Central Drive. Open space committee wanted to pass the motion on all the open spaces to prohibit the RC vehicles. Kathy suggested policies should be uniform. Scott and Boxia suggested that the current ordinance shouldn’t be applied on all the pathways since there are no horses present like in Byrne Preserve. Motion: The ordinance should not be applied on all the areas proposed (item 4-8 listed in the proposal) 1 opposed, motion was passed. c. Pathway ideas - Ying & Scott Liu Ying has created a worksheet to collect pathway info. She suggested that residents should have accessibility to the info and can conduct activities based on the suggestions. However, there is a privacy concern because many pathways pass by private properties. Parking is another challenge. Kathy suggested that we can highlight the pathway info in the newsletter since the letters will only go to the residents. Handouts are good as well. Senior residents would likely benefit from the info so it’s necessary to share it with the seniors. d. LAH Outdoor Challenges – Scott Scott would like to promote hiking groups and running groups info to the residents. e. Prop 68 f. Events i. Drive Thru Shred Event 3/20 8-11 am recreational trails. Next one planned for September. ii. Hoppin’ Hounds at Home 3/19 - 4/3 doubled from 2019 iii. Make Everyday Earth Day 4/1 - 4/25 iv. Pathways Run/Walk Self Challenge 5/1 -5/9 v. Independence Day Caravan 7/4 – develop route for it. vi. Softball Game 8/14 vii. Family Campout viii. Hoedown ix. Barn Lighting g. Subcommittee Reports i. Legacy Giving: Scott and Ying ii. Garden Update: Craig Adjourned Time: 6:30 pm Respectfully submitted by: Boxia Schmidt