MINUTES of a regular meeting of the Parks Commission held Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. in the Civic Center Conference Room are as follows:

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1 MINUTES of a regular meeting of the Parks Commission held Thursday,, at 2:30 p.m. in the Civic Center Conference Room are as follows: PRESENT: ABSENT: STAFF: Patricia Holohan Brian King, Chair Kristin Saukel, Vice Chair Tina Sray Manny Szwabowski, Student Jon Harrison, Council Liaison (attended briefly) Dennis Bolt Steve Guggisberg Mick Gallagher, Council Liaison Gary Van Dorst, Quality of Life Interim Director Rick Cross, QOL Operations Manager Janet Sherman, Senior Administrative Assistant CALL TO ORDER ATTENDANCE The meeting was called to order at 2:30 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the January 10 and March 13, 2008, regular meetings were approved as submitted. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Street Tree Committee Update Gary Van Dorst, Quality of Life Director, estimated that approximately 300 trees have been planted to date in the program to plant 1,000 trees this year. Additionally, 200 saplings donated by Edison were planted at Ford Park. A recommendation for widening the parkways for new development was forwarded to the Planning Department. Parkways of eight to ten feet in width and the use of meandering sidewalks would accommodate street trees with larger canopies. Mr. Dangermond has offered some one-gallon cork oak trees and consideration is being given to planting 50 of them in public areas. Mr. Van Dorst asked Parks Commissioner Saukel to identify potential locations for planting of the cork oak trees. A RFP is being written for moving palms located under power lines. Revenue obtained from the sale of these palms would be put into the street tree program. B. Recreation Advisory Commission Update No report. Printed on recycled paper.

2 Parks Commission Minutes Page 2 C. Trails Report Mr. Van Dorst reported the City Council approved the proposed public trails maintenance agreement with the Redlands Conservancy at their meeting of March 18. Mr. Van Dorst and Rick Cross, QOL Operations Manager, walked Oakmont Trail to determine possible placement of trail markers. D. Park Liaisons Update Commissioners reported on their assigned parks (see attached list). CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATIONS A. QOL Director s Update Gary Van Dorst reported he anticipates hearing something soon from the State regarding grant funding to purchase the Wesson property that the City wants to develop as a detention basin. The City is studying how to compensate for decreased sales tax revenue (projected to be two million dollars) this year and decreased property tax revenue next year. The City entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement with Prologis regarding the sale of the 36-acre citrus buffer at the California Street Landfill. Prologis will pay $11.26 per square foot, or more if the appraisal is higher, for the acreage. Proceeds of the sale would be used first to replace the 36 acres of citrus and the balance would be spent in accordance with the requirements of Measure O. Because of the loss of the buffer zone, aggressive landfill mitigation measures would be pursued. The sale is anticipated to generate approximately $17.6 million. NEW BUSINESS A. Brown Act Presentation (Michael Reiter) Michael Reiter, Assistant City Attorney, distributed a summary of the law regarding the Ralph M. Brown Act. He explained his presentation was tailored specifically to the Parks Commission and stressed the following points contained in the handout: Violations of the Brown Act may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor and/or may result in a civil lawsuit. Violations may result in any past action taken by the Commission being rendered invalid, null and void. Suit may also be brought to prevent violations from occurring. A meeting has occurred under the Brown Act when a series of communications take place by which a quorum ultimately becomes involved in discussing, deliberating upon, or being polled about making a decision about official business.

3 Parks Commission Minutes Page 3 OLD BUSINESS Effective July 1, 2008, if a public record is distributed less than 72 hours prior to a meeting, the record shall be made available at a public office or location that the City designates for that purpose. That location must be listed on the agenda. The record can also be posted on the City s web site. Discussion or action on an item not appearing on the agenda may occur only if the Commission determines by a two-thirds vote of its members present at the meeting, or a unanimous vote if less than two-thirds of the members are present, that there is both (1) the need to take action immediately, and (2) the need for action came to the attention of the Commission after the agenda was posted. Any person may record a meeting by audio or video tape unless the Commission makes a reasonable finding that the recording cannot continue because noise, illumination or disruption of a view constitutes a disruption of the proceedings. A. Update on Park Ranger Program (Brad Billings) Brad Billings reported there are currently seven volunteer Park Rangers two serving as Park Rangers only, four splitting their time with the CVP program, and one Eagle Scout. Volunteers for the Park Ranger Program must be at least 18 years of age, pass a background check, and satisfactorily complete a training program. Park Rangers will go to Market Night to try to build up interest in the program. Mr. Billings explained the Park Rangers are the eyes and ears for the Redlands Police Department, the Parks Commission, and the City. They will patrol in pairs on horseback, on quad off-road vehicles, on mountain bicycles, and on foot. Areas they will cover include: the south side of the Santa Ana wash, San Timoteo Canyon, the orange groves, the City Parks, and probably the Zanja; however, the City Parks are their main responsibility at this point. The Park Rangers will be looking for graffiti, vandalism, trash, and suspicious activity. They hope to obtain stick-on Park Ranger badges to hand out to children. They will be doing heavy public relations and will not do anything without the permission of the Redlands Police Department. The Park Rangers will be in constant communication with the Police Department and the Quality of Life Department. Commissioner Holohan extended thanks to Mr. Billings and the other volunteers on behalf of the Parks Commission. CONTINUED PARK MASTER PLAN WORKSHOP A. Development of a recommendation for a list of facilities to be included in parks. 1) Continued discussion on existing parks Review existing amenities and recommend any potential modifications to the facilities and uses included in the existing park facilities. 2) Future park sites Review possible future park sites based on the General Plan and recommend any potential facilities to be included in these park sites.

4 Parks Commission Minutes Page 4 3) Future park sites Review possible additional park locations to be included in the General Plan update including general size, type and amenities to be included in the facility. Chairperson King reported two members of the subcommittee met last month and the next meeting would be at 7:30 p.m. on April 16. School acreage available for recreational use, both currently and at build-out, and buffers around the parks are being reviewed. They are still working on acquiring some GIS maps. PUBLIC DISCUSSION AND COMMENTS Commissioner Saukel distributed draft copies of the new Prospect Park Small Flowering Trees Self-Guided Tour brochure published by the Friends of Prospect Park (FOPP). The brochure gives the botanical name, common name, and bloom month for each tree. There is a map showing locations of the various trees as well as information on facts and history of the park. In surveying the flowering trees, FOPP noticed many of them are in poor shape. On the back of the brochure, there is a request for donations that FOPP will match and give to the City Council for the purchase of new trees. Quality of Life Director Van Dorst invited the Commissioners to attend the State of the City program at 7:00 p.m. on April 17 in the University of Redlands Casa Loma Room. The Mayor will speak, information will be available at stations for all City Departments, and City equipment will be on display. POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Park Master Plan workshop Update on Ed Hales Park ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m. The next regular meeting of the Parks Commission will be held at 2:30 p.m., Thursday, May 8, 2008, in the City Council Chambers, 35 Cajon Street, Suite 2, Redlands. JANET SHERMAN Senior Administrative Assistant

5 Park Liaison Reports Brookside Park Nothing reported. Caroline Park Commissioner Holohan reported there were new signs in the park identifying the trees and the park looked very nice. The vegetation is dead on the island at the sharp curve on Poppy Road across from the park. Community Park Nothing Reported. Crafton Park Commissioner Sray reported someone used a paintball gun on the ceiling of the women s restroom. The restroom is still missing doors and privacy partitions. Posts for the missing barbecues are rusted. Rick Cross explained the dividers in the restroom are going to be replaced with blocks. Ed Hales Park Chairperson King reported the park looked clean and well maintained. Gary Van Dorst stated the RFP for the redesign of the park went out, proposals have been received, and the selection committee (comprised of Mr. Van Dorst, Commissioner King, and Barbara Garcia of DRBA) meets tomorrow. Fire Demonstration Garden Nothing reported. Ford Park Commissioner Sray reported the trees were in bloom and looking wonderful. The wooden benches are badly deteriorated and some of the trashcans are bent. Graffiti had been painted over at the handball courts. The lower restroom has a badly rusted urinal and is in generally deplorable condition. The turf looked good and there was some trash in the ponds. Franklin Park Nothing reported Jennie Davis Park Nothing reported. Prospect Park Commissioner Saukel brought pictures of the poor job of removing the graffiti from the benches at the Dangermond Overlook on Carothers Way. She said the matching sandcolored paint for completing the job is available at Home Depot for $19 per gallon. A poor job was also done removing graffiti from the benches at the Lois Lauer Overlook. Volunteers trimmed many of the bushes at that overlook, but trimming the bushes on the slope requires a pole trimmer and cannot be done by the volunteers. There are ongoing issues with the light poles one is still covered with Wisteria vine, one is still buried in the bamboo, some lights have broken glass panes, and nests were built inside several lights. There is an erosion problem due to a broken sprinkler at Carothers Way and the second overlook. The Silk Oak is infested with bees again and they are flying in and out of the foam sprayed by Vector Control. The increasing number of weeds from Cajon Street all the way up need to be sprayed with Roundup. There are numerous palm fronds in the orange groves. The toilet in the second stall at the women s restroom keeps getting plugged. A Chinese Photinia at the curve near RTF and several other trees in the area are covered with vines. Printed on recycled paper.

6 Park Liaison Reports Page 2 Smiley Park Nothing reported. Sylvan Park Commissioner King reported the former barbecue areas were repaired with new concrete and looked much better. The playground drinking fountain does not drain. There was a a great deal of tiny debris and beer bottle caps west of the Lawn Bowling area. The replacement spring toys for the playground have not arrived. There was some debris and trash in the zanja. Texonia Park Student Commissioner Szwabowski reported everything he commented on last month was corrected. The park was clean, nothing was out of place, and everything looked good.