Parks and Recreation Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes Parks and Recreation Commission Wednesday, June 11, 2014 7:00 PM Council Chambers, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Chair Alexander called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Alexander lead the salute to the flag. ROLL CALL Present: 3 - Chair Henry Alexander III Vice Chair Craig Pasqua Commissioner Ralph Kenton Absent: 2 - Commissioner Robert Harms Commissioner Robert Pochowski Commissioner Harms' absence is excused. Commissioner Pochowski's absence is excused. Council Liaison Hendricks (absent) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.A. 14-0589 Draft Minutes of the 5/14/14 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Vice Chair Pasqua requested a change to the draft minutes under Commissioner Comments, to omit "suggested a tennis complex north of 101" and replace with "in favor of tennis programming north of highway 101, particularly as it pertains to junior tennis programming." Commissioner Kenton moved and Vice Chair Pasqua seconded to approve the draft minutes as amended. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes June 11, 2014 Yes: 3 - Chair Alexander III Vice Chair Pasqua Commissioner Kenton No: 0 Absent: 2 - Commissioner Harms Commissioner Pochowski 1.B. 14-0591 Draft Minutes of the 4/9/14 Parks and Recreation Commission Vice Chair Pasqua moved and Commissioner Kenton seconded to approve the draft minutes of April 9, 2014 as written. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 3 - Chair Alexander III Vice Chair Pasqua Commissioner Kenton No: 0 Absent: 2 - Commissioner Harms Commissioner Pochowski PUBLIC COMMENTS None. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 14-0368 Power Purchase Agreements for Alternative Energy Allocation (Study Issue) - Pursue Solar Energy Solutions, Approve Budget Modification 39, and Find that the Project is Exempt from CEQA Elaine Marshall, Environmental Programs Manager, Environmental Services Department presented the staff report. This report will also be presented to the Sustainability Commission on June 16, and Council on July 15. She explained the next phase, if approved, would be a Request for Proposal (RFP) to Solar Companies, which would result in specifics regarding the style and location of solar panels. Ms. Marshall answered Commissioner questions. Vice Chair Pasqua inquired if the gazebo at Ortega Park was considered in the project and about the percentage of arrays required. Chair Alexander requested clarification about whether the cost projections are based on the percentage of needed arrays or all possible arrays at each location. He also inquired about risks of ownership vs leasing options if energy costs were lower than projected, and if projections include maintenance City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes June 11, 2014 costs. Commissioner Kenton inquired if the analysis took into account the rates that PG&E charges at time of use. He also was looking for three topics in the report: information comparing domestic (US or Canadian) to imported panels for reliability effecting long term cost of ownership, advantages of panel based micro controllers vs. a central converter box, and the capital investment recovery period. Chair Alexander opened the Public Hearing. Mary Brunkhorst, a resident near Ortega Park, expressed concerns about solar panels changing the character and aesthetics of the Park. She was also concerned that the structures will obstruct visibility creating a safety issue for toddlers in and around parking lots. She pointed out that trees are a natural resource that should also be preserved, and the panels, if installed, would require removal of 20 trees and require pruning additional trees, which impacts the shade on the playground. She recommended the Ortega location be removed from the proposal and suggested deferring plans for solar panels until they can be integrate into a park redesign. Chair Alexander closed the Public Hearing. Commissioner Kenton moved and Vice Chair Pasqua seconded to approve Alternatives 1, 2 and 4: Find that the proposed solar installations are exempt from CEQA under Public Resources Code Section 21080.35 (Rooftop Solar CEQA Exemption) and CEQA guideline 15303 (New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures); direct staff to pursue solar energy solutions through an RFP for PPAs and Direct Purchase for the four recommended sites; and approve Budget Modification No. 39 to appropriate $40,000 for additional technical services to support the project. Vice Chair Pasqua and Chair Alexander proposed a friendly amendment: ensure concerns identified by the community are addressed specific to Ortega Park including tree removal, replacement and/or pruning and safety. Commissioner Kenton accepted the friendly amendment. Vice Chair Pasqua seconded the friendly amendment. Commissioners would like to move the project forward and indicated there would be time to consider and alleviate concerns of the community regarding safety and removal of trees in the next phase of the project. Commissioner Kenton supports the concept of green energy. All the Commissioners expressed interest in preserving trees. Chair Alexander would like to know more about the environmental City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes June 11, 2014 impact of removing trees. The motion was approved by the following vote: Yes: 3 - Chair Alexander III Vice Chair Pasqua Commissioner Kenton No: 0 Absent: 2 - Commissioner Harms Commissioner Pochowski NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Kenton reported that he is pleased to see battery operated hybrid busses on Sunnyvale streets and at the Art and Wine festival. -Staff Comments Superintendent Wax reported: - Hands on the Arts Festival on May 17 hosted 1000 children and their accompanying parents. The Parks Division was well represented, and hosted a craft booth. - The next Sunnyvale Quarterly Report will feature a number of articles about Community Services and will be available July 1. - Capitol Improvement project at Fremont Pool is underway to renovate the pool house. Completion is anticipated at the end of the summer. The pool is open during construction. - The City Clerk is hosting a new commissioner orientation on June 26. If interested in attending as a refresher please RSVP to the City Clerks office. Superintendent Morton reported: - During the Council Budget Hearing, Parks Capitol Projects were reviewed and no comments were made by council regarding the budget modification for the capitol project to construct an auxiliary restroom at Las Palmas Park and the Tennis Center. Budget approval is scheduled for the June 24 Council Meeting. - Parks is holding community meetings on June 19 & 21 regarding the Study Issue on Peterson Open Space at Raynor Park Building. - Mayor Jim Griffith is holding a town hall meeting at Fair Oaks Park, on Saturday June 14, 3:00 P.M. - Seven Seas Parks grand opening is on Saturday, July 12, 10:00 A.M. Commissioners are welcome to participate at the Parks public outreach booth. City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes June 11, 2014 INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS None. ADJOURNMENT Chair Alexander adjourned the meeting at 8:07 P.M. City of Sunnyvale Page 5