REGULAR MEETING
September 23, 2010 at 7 p.m.
Council Chambers
Brentwood, CA 94513

CALL TO ORDER: Chair Rodrigues called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m.

ROLL CALL: Present were Chair Ernie Rodrigues, Vice Chair Blythe Lind, Commissioners Lanny Brown, Eileen Hofstadt and Alyssa Madden. Staff members present were: Roger Stromgren, Parks Maintenance Manager; Poldina Scherff, Recreation Manager; Edie Keller, Administrative Supervisor and Linda Stadlbauer, Administrative Assistant II.

PRESENTATION(S): NONE

CITIZEN COMMENTS: NONE

CONSENT CALENDAR:
1. Approve minutes of regular meeting of August 26, 2010
2. Accept Recreation Manager project status report. (P. Scherff)
3. Accept Parks Division monthly report. (B. Margesson)
4. Accept Landscape Division monthly report. (A. Wanden)
5. Accept and file the City of Brentwood Facility Maintenance Standards. (R. Stromgren)
 Motion to approve items 2-5 of Consent Calendar.
Motioned: Brown
Second: Hofstadt
Ayes: 5
Noes: 0

 Motion to approve item 1 of Consent Calendar.
Motioned: Brown
Second: Hofstadt
Ayes: 3
Noes: 0
Abstentions: 2

SCHEDULED MATTERS:
1. ACTION ITEM: Accept and approve the Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Cities campaign and forward to the City Council for approval. (P. Scherff)
The Commission all agreed that HEAL is a great program and fully supports the Parks and Recreation Department participating with it as an ongoing campaign.

 Motion to approve item 6 of Scheduled Matters.
Motioned: Hofstadt
Second: Madden
Ayes: 5
Noes: 0

2. ACTION ITEM: Recap of Playbor Day/10th Anniversary of Brentwood Family Aquatic Complex (P. Scherff). THIS ACTION ITEM SHOULD BE CORRECTED TO A DISCUSSION ITEM.
Poldina Scherff presented a slide show with photos of Playbor Day activities at Veterans Park and the celebration activities at the Aquatic Park. She also informed the Commissioners of Craig Bronzan’s “92 Days of Play Program” for next year. He is asking for 92 inspirational tag lines, with the theme of “Play”, from the Parks and Recreation staff, which will be put on a calendar reminding the residents of Brentwood to “Get out and Play!”

3. ACTION ITEM: Verbal update on future opportunity sites for special need children amenities. (R. Stromgren/B. Margesson) THIS ACTION ITEM SHOULD BE CORRECTED TO A DISCUSSION ITEM.
Discussion included possible locations for a special needs playground/play area. Some suggestions were the future Portofino parks, the detention basin at the upcoming Barrington development or Egret Park. Existing parks where a play area could be retrofitted or incorporated would be Spirit and Glory Parks and Walnut Park. Other points discussed were; whether it would be better to dedicate an entire park to special needs, the cons of which is to risk a feeling of isolation for the families of these children, or just incorporate special features of existing play areas in order to integrate all children. We had a guest speaker, George Migay, who added his support about having special needs play equipment, as he is the grandfather of a special needs child. Commissioners asked staff to bring ideas from some of our current play equipment vendors to the next meeting.

STAFF COMMENTS
Roger Stromgren advised the Commission that the City has done well on our water usage budget, and that this is due, in part, to the cooler weather. He also informed them that the staff is moving forward with a comprehensive inventory of all assets, including, play equipment in our existing playgrounds.

Edie Keller complimented Poldina Scherff and the Recreation staff on a wonderful Playbor Day.

Linda Stadlbauer updated the Commission on the memorial tree that was planted at King Park using a slide show of photos of the memorial service and some history of the event.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
Commissioner Madden commented that the Flag Football season is winding down, and that she and her family had a great time at Playbor Day.

Commissioner Brown also enjoyed Playbor Day.

Commissioner Hofstadt inquired whether we have any group representing “special needs”. Poldina Scherff replied that, yes, we do through the organizers of the Special Needs Dances and our staff. She also reminded the Commission that we do have wheelchair access and handicapped available play equipment at some of our parks.

Commissioner Hofstadt also inquired whether we had any part of the shows that were put on at The Streets of Brentwood. Poldina Scherff responded no, that the Art Society is the responsible party and that it will cost $24K to produce next season.

Vice Chair Lind relayed a question from the Senior Club regarding the status of the third bocce court at Veterans Park, and whether there were any plans for shade structures over the existing courts. Roger Stromgren responded that it is confirmed that the Eagle Scout will not be working on the project, and that our liaison should ask the seniors if they would consider raising the funds it will take to do something with the area. He also wanted to remind the seniors that, although there is also no extra money in the budget for benches or shade, the City parks staff could provide the labor for any retrofitting at no cost. Commissioner Hofstadt suggested the possibility of using portable carport structures for shade. Chair Rodrigues will ask the seniors at their next meeting if they would be interested in the fundraising option.

Chair Rodrigues informed the Commission that he had the opportunity to speak with a resident who had just recently moved to Brentwood from Seattle, and that person requested Mr. Rodrigues to pass on a compliment to the Commission and to Parks and Recreation staff that they were very impressed with our beautiful parks and landscaping.

REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
Continue discussion regarding Special Needs play equipment.

Staff will bring the minutes from the “How are we doing?” meeting that we had with our user groups.

ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m.