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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998/12/08 - Minutes - Special w/CntrlPark December 8, 1998 CITY OF RANCHQ CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Special Central Park Task Force Meetin~ A. CALL TO ORDER A regular meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga Central Park Task Force was held on Tuesday, December 8, 1998, at 6:03 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Civic Center, located at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Present were Councilmembers: Paul Biane, James Curatalo, Bob Dutton, Diane Williams, and Mayor William J. Alexander (arrived @ 6:53 p.m..). Also present were: Jack Lam, City Manager; Jerry Fulwood, Deputy City Manager; Rick Gomez, Community Development Director; Karen McGuire-Emery, Senior Park Planner; Joe O'Neil, City Engineer; Kevin McArdle, Community Services Director; Jim Frost, City Treasurer; Duane Baker, Assistant to the City Manager; Diane O'Neal, Assistant to the City Manager; and Kathy Scott, Deputy City Clerk. B. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Hugh Jackson, 10754 Edgewood Ct., said he wanted to clarify the boundaries of PD 85. He reviewed a boundary map of PD 85, pointing out that the boundary actually goes south to Foothill and covers much more than 1/3 of the city. He said he thinks this is supposed to be a benefit assessment and that means that the property owners who are paying the money for the parks on this side of town are supposed to be benefitting from those parks. He said we're not in the park district, and Central Park is not in the park district, so we don't get the benefits of any of this money. Jack Lam, City Manager, explained about the "72 Landscaping and Lighting Act" that Mr. Jackson is referring to--not a benefit assessment district. Mr. Jackson stated the point he was trying to make is that the people who live in the Central Park area don't know about PD 85. He said we're sitting next to the park, the ones mostly impacted by it, and we don't even know that we're not in the Park District. He said there has never been a packet in the mail to any of us homeowners. Jack Lam, City Manager, said there is also an assessment district newsletter that goes out to each district which identifies which district the homeowner is in. He said different parts of the city are in different various districts, and that is the way it was set up. He said Proposition 218 now requires that any modifications will require a ballot measure. He said the community parks are paid for by different portions of the community. Councilmember Williams said he should also receive a quarterly newsletter called the "Visions." Central Park Task Force Minutes December 8, 1998 Page 2 Councilmember Biane said it would be helpful for clarification purposes to get an 8.5 x 11 color-coded layout of the maintenance landscaping or lighti~ng maintenance districts. Mr. Jackson asked if there is anything being done to get us into a park district or if anybody is taking the initiative to get this park district expanded. He said he doesn't think a park can be built until there is a park district. The Councilmembers stated that is a reason that: this group is meeting and this is the first step toward that. Councilmember Dutton said it took time to acquire the property for Central Park; there was no financing mechanism in place at that time, but now we are at that next step. He said you are trying to mix these other park districts with Central Park, and they are two separate items altogether. He said PD 85 and the other park districts have nothing to do with Central Park. Mr. Jackson said at the time we bought the home from Lewis Homes it was explained that they were going to build a park, and that they sold us the park as part of our property. He said we are blaming the developer, not the City, for leading us into the idea that we were buying a master-planned community home and that they were building the parks and the shopping centers. Councilmember Dutton said he (Mr. Jackson) would need to discuss misrepresentation with Lewis Homes regarding that issue. Jack Lam, City Manager, wanted to clari .fy. if Mr~ Jackson and his neighbors wanted to join a district so they can contribute. Mr. Jackson said we would love to. He asked if there is any mechanism to expand the PD 85 boundaries or to write a new park district boundary. Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, stated that we are trying to define through the survey process people's attitudes throughout: the community to see if they are willing to establish such a district and in doing so that would probably be a city-wide district for Central Park. Mr. Jackson said we already know what the attitude would be of people who live in this third of the city, who already have their parks, as to increasing their tax bill to give us our park on this side of town. Council explained that Central Park woul:d be a city-wide park. Mr. Jackson explained that all the peopl.e who bought those homes from Lewis Homes thought it was their park. Roy Laparry, 10323 19~h Street, said he does not think that Mr. Jackson understands that he cannot get Central Park for $52 a year; it will be more Hike $1,000.00, depending on what is in the park. Mr. Jackson said that was not his impression at all. He said people around the park would like to have, if nothing else, a perimeter of grass just to jog around the park. Special Central Park Task Force Minutes December 8, 1998 Page 3 Jack Lam, City Manager, said the City Council committed to getting to the point where we can define a project and actually implement it. We need to get a lot of opinions so we understand what it is we are going to implement. He said there has got to be some kind of ballot measure, although we recognize that it's premature right now to define what exactly the ballot measure is, and we also have to conclude on a precise legal mechanism. We know right now there are three ways to do it: 1 ) general tax; 2) special tax; 3) maybe a mello-roos. You can't do it through the "72 Act" and we can't do it through a regular assessment district, due to legal constraints. Toni Rhodes, 10151 Arrow Rte., stated that one thing that needs to be said here is that this is not the first task force, this isn't the first effort:, this isn't the first time we have been told that the City is serious about doing this. We really need to hold the thought that this is the time to do something, and to listen to what the people want, and to get it done; not just simply talk about it and wait and form another task force two, three or four years down the road. Councilmember Curatalo stated that the first task force was in 1988 and the conditions were entirely different. Toni Rhodes stated that there are a lot of people in the city who want to make sure that this just isn't another task force. She said she is part of the public and she has a right to speak her mind. C. CONSENT CALENDAR Cl. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 6, 1998 MINUTES MOTION: Moved by Dutton, seconded by Curatalo, to approve minutes as modified. Motion carried, 4-0-1-1 (Alexander absent; Biane abstained). D. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION D1. UPDATE OF THE CENTRAL PARK PROJECT A. SURVEY CONSULTANT PROPOSALS Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, stated that at the October 6, 1998 meeting, there was discussion regarding the history, design development, development of the Central Park Master Plan, the design options, the construction, the maintenance costs, as well as the timetable that staff has projected regarding Central Park. He said staff recommended that a survey be done, that we hire a consultant to prepare a survey and the task force gave direction to hire a consultant. Mr. Gomez stated staff has received a number of proposals from consultants to be reviewed and it is anticipated that interviews will take place by the end of the year with staff selecting the most qualified, followed by a recommendation to the City Council. We can anticipate at the January meeting of the task force the consultant would make a presentation as to the methodology of the survey, etc. Central Park Task Force Minutes December 8, 1998 Page 4 Councilmember Williams asked if the consultant track record would be available on the proposal response. Mr. Gomez, Community Development Director, stated that staff would conduct the background research on the consultants. A short discussion ensued on the first survey, of which there were only nineteen responses. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated there will be a lot of involvement by different commissions, citizens, and other staff. He said they want to dispel the rumor that the City intends to sell Central Park, which was brought up at the last City Council meeting. He said there is a clause in the sales agreement that states if we ever wanted to sell the property in the first 20 years, Lewis Homes has the first right of refusal. Joanna Ingram, 10901 Manches~:er, state,d that mailing responses from surveys inherently have the lowest response rate. Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, stated that any methodology which the group deems the best will be used, such as, telephone, face to face, etc. Councilmember Williams stated she has attended several seminars on this subject put on by the League of California Cities, and the survey method that proved successful was the face-to-face method. Hugh Jackson, 10754 Edgewood Ct., suggested that the survey form be put on the Internet. Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, stated we will use any kind of communication device available. B. NEWSLETTER Mr. Gomez, Community Development: Director, stated staff is putting together a bulletin for the Central Park Task Force, of which the first one will be sent out in January 1999, and will be sent on a regularly-scheduled basis. He said anyone who attends the meeting or has their name on our list will receive information about the process, the status of a particular project, etc., and the ability to contact staff for information regarding Central Park. Toni Rhodes, 10151 Arrow Rte.., stated she hopes that we would look at a consultant who has a sincere appreciation of this area as opposed to someone out of the area. Councilmember Dutton stated from a survey' we are looking to get an honest opinion from the community as a whole as to what they want, and we might get a more objective survey if we get somebody to conduct the survey who is not attached to anyone here locally. Councilmember Dutton said the consultant we hire is strictly somebody who is going to help us do a scientific survey that we know is going to be factual and accurate, without bias. Tami Farley, 7196 Parkside Pl., asked if we could check with Cal Poly University for survey assistance. Special Central Park Task Force Minutes December 8, 1998 Page 5 Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, said staff checked into that, but found that in a time crunch it is a very difficult process due to turnover in students and issues of credibility. Councilmember Dutton said perhaps we would encourage the consultant to work with students at Chaffey College, etc., to assist in the process. Jerry Guarracino, 6081 Hellman Ave., said this might be a unique opportunity for the community to set a tone and really stand out, and that perhaps the newsletter can be the tool to educate the community about what kind of park innovations have been done in other places. His concern is that the survey will be answered by people who want the typical things seen in neighborhood parks. Councilmember Williams stated that there is a mission statement that this park will have things that are not found in other parks; it would be a unique destination with unique things. She said this opportunity is not to start over, but to enhance and build on what has already been designed. Councilmember Dutton said that hopefully the survey will find the common ground to help us move forward. Mayor Alexander arrived at 6:53 p.m. Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, said the master plan developed the criteria for the park development and that master plan philosophy is still intact as when it was originally developed and presented in 1987/88. He said that is the philosophy that we will move forward with, and that is the concept that will be communicated to the public. Jack Lam, City Manager, said the survey will determine which components are most important and we can always preserve other components for the future. Councilmember Williams stated that the newsletter will be to this group, but it would be a piece of public information so that anyone who wanted it could have it sent to their residence. She agreed with Mr. LaParry that there should be status updates in "The Grapevine." Tami Farley, 7196 Parkside PI, stated that she agrees with Mr. Guarracino to educate the community prior to the survey. Primo Morales, 8210 Malvern Ave., stated that we have to wait until the survey is returned before we decide what is going in at that park. Mark Graham, 11261 Baylor St., concurred that it would be very important to educate the community first on what was planned for Central Park, but also include an explanation on all the city parks. Eric Vail, 11565 Stoneridge, stated it is important for this group to understand what we should be doing-either scrap the plan and start all over or accept the plan as it is, realizing that we cannot pay for it and, perhaps, modify it. He said when we get the survey information, put things together and come up with a recommendation, then we can have a citywide effort to educate the community and see if they agree with us. He said that will require a separate consultant; and, at that time, we do want a win and loss record. Central Park Task Force Minutes December 8, 1998 Page 6 Mark Graham, 11261 Baylor St., stated that Mr. Vail has a very good point. You will have a much different survey if you tell them this is what is in the plan and then ask what is your priority. Mr. Graham said, with respect to financing, we are only looking at the conventional ways of putting the burden on us. He said there is a lot of land there, and perhaps some type of governmental private partnership is something that could be looked at as well. Liz Thomas, 9009 Avalon St, suggested that we look at partnerships with Chaffey Joint Union High School District and/or the other eliementary school districts wherein there is a shared burden of both the development and the continual costs of maintenance. Toni Rhodes stated that the first night we, met one of the things we talked about was a partnership and the possibility of forming a coalition of non-profit organizations that have access to funds that, traditionally, municipalities don'L She said there are some different ways of doing this, but, in this day and age if you're not looking at partnerships, you are dead in the water. Mayor Alexander stated you might say you are "dead in the water" unless the community is willing to fund it. He said if you want to partner you can; but when you partner the community at large is going to give up some control in the destiny of what happens to be in that particular park. He said by scrapping it and starting at square one, you are going to have sorne difficulties in getting done what everybody wants to do in a very timely manner, but it is something to think about. Mayor Alexander said that the desire of everyone here ils not to forestall getting going on the park. He said the time frame for what monies are going to be assessed is very important. Toni Rhodes said she is not a financial expert so she can't be more definitive on what funds are available, however she is a member of this community and she does know that in regards to grants, she has been told that there are funds available. She said we need to let the people in the community know that there are some funding options. Councilmember Dutton said he would not want t:o mislead the public in thinking that this $160 million project is going to be some kind of gift from the heavens. He said we need to go forward now with at least getting the infrastructure into place; we need to know what the people are willing to pay for. He agrees that there are opportunities to do partnerships for the expensive components. He said $160 million is tough to raise in pledges. We need to bring something to the voters and get them to agree to at least allow us to get the infrastructure into place so we can build something in the future when the opportunity presents itself. Toni Rhodes said since 1988 there could h, ave been some trees planted in that park, weeds cleared and grass planted. The commurfity could have participated in that. Joanna Ingram said as a state auditor, she has talked to the State Audit Commission and there are State funds available. Regarding Centra~ Park, funds were applied for, but the application was withdrawn. Mayor Alexander stated that we did not withdraw..-we were turned down. ,Jack Lam, City Manager, stated that we need to be mindful of environmental processing that needs to be done, as there are laws that we have to follow.. Special Central Park Task Force Minutes December 8, 1998 Page 7 Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, stated we have looked at a lot of funding, but there are not a lot of free dollars out there, otherwise we would: have tried to tap into that. He said we will continue to look at sources--the State, private foundations, etc. Item D3 was discussed at this time, but the minutes will remain in agenda order. D2. DISCUSSION OF THE "GREENSPACE" CONCEPTS Mr. Gomez, Community Development Director, stated at the last meeting there was discussion as to why there could not be an alternative to simply grading off some areas and preparing them with turf and irrigation for open space and development play. Staff presented the following options and discussion ensued: A) 10 acres; open space with minimal landscaping; access off of Base Line; includes parking lot for 60 cars (w/security lighting), tot lot, restroom, picnic tables and barbecues B) 15 acres; branching off Spruce Ave; parking for 90 cars (w/security lighting); two tot lots, restrooms, picnic tables and barbecues C) 20 acres; branching off Spruce Ave; parking for 120 cars (w/security lighting); two tot: lots, restrooms, picnic tables and barbecues $1,990,000 $140,000 $2,860,000 $200,000 $3,850,000 $270,000 There was a question from the audience if any study had been completed regarding the crime rate in the park due to planting of bushes, shrubs, etc. Mayor Alexander said there will have to be an increased number of law enforcement for the park. Mr. Gomez stated that the diagram really does not truly represent the "planting" planned. He said our Police Department is a part of the design team and we are always respectful of view corridors and opportunities for them to have visual access into the park. Central Park Task Force Minutes December 8, 1998 Page 8 Eric Vail, 11565 Stoneridge, asked how close the City is to having funds to build any of the options. Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, answered that those are projections that would have to taken a look at as development occurs. In looking at Park Development funds and other priorities, you are looking at 5 to 7+ years. A short discussion ensued on funding and park development fees as it relates to other park projects. Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, provided a recap. He said after the consultants have been evaluated by staff, staff would make a recommendation of the selection to City Council, and at that time it will be brought back to the Task Force to start looking at the survey, etc. The next meeting is scheduled for January 12, 1999. D3. DISCUSSION OF CENTRAL PARK SUBCOMMITTEE(S) Rick Gomez, Community Development r'.)irector, said if we have a core group who are willing to commit to that time, we can be more expeditious. He said staff is recommending 11 to 15 as the core group, plus two members of the City Council. He said if Council approves of that concept he is asking for direction to develop a structure and establish criteria and guidelines of how those 15 people might be selected. He said his suggestion is to establish one group, and hopefully that group would represent a broad spectrum of interest. He said it is not the intent to preclude anybody from the process; the process is open and the meetings will always be open, but this group will help to give direction so we can have continuity. Christian Hummel, 7246 Daybreak Place, stated his understanding was that this was decided at the previous meeting. He said a lot o,f us signed up,, and a lot of us are here tonight deciding this again. Mr. Gomez said we ended up with over' 38 signatures at that meeting, and staff is hoping to bring that number down. Mr. Gomez said he would remain after the meeting with a sign-up sheet for those people who are interested in being on the task force~ He said the number is flexible, but if we have 38 again we would need to try and reduce it. Councilmember Williams said if we get a task force of 38, we'll have difficulty getting a quorum. ACTION: Councilmembers Curatalo and Williams selected for the Central Park Task Force as representatives of the Park and Recreation Subcommittee. Mayor Alexander stressed to the people considering being on the task force the substantial commitment it takes, and he wanted them to be sure of this commitment prior to signing up.. Councilmember Williams said once the group is formed a consensus is taken of that group as to the time and place of the meetings. Mr. Gomez, Community Development Director, stated they have been fairly consistent on the 2® Tuesday of the month. Special Central Park Task Force Minutes December 8, 1998 Page 9 E. IDENTIFICATION OF ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Set time and date for future Task Force meetings. F. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Fl. Tami Farley, 7196 Parkside PI., suggested staff contact the City of Walnut, regarding State funds. F2. Toni Rhodes, 10151 Arrow, suggested that the list of members for the Task Force signify those who choose to have the contact information made public. G. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Moved by Biane, seconded by Alexander, to adjourn meeting. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathryn L.~3cott Deputy City Clerk Approved: February 17, 1999