Parks and Recreation Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes Parks and Recreation Commission Wednesday, April 22, 2015 7:30 PM Council Chambers, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Special Meeting - 7:30 PM CALL TO ORDER Chair Alexander called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Alexander led the salute to the flag. ROLL CALL Present: 4 - Chair Henry Alexander III Vice Chair Craig Pasqua Commissioner Ralph Kenton Commissioner Robert Pochowski Absent: 1 - Commissioner Andrea Schneck Council Liaison Vice Mayor Martin-Milius (absent) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 15-0367 Draft Minutes of April 8, 2015 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Commissioner Kenton moved and Vice Chair Pasqua seconded the motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner Pochowski requested a friendly amendment to revise the minutes. He asked to include in the Presentation section the specific requests made by the leauges; AYSO's request to use the fields for their annual tournament the first weekend in December; Serra Little League's request to use the fields earlier in the season and to see if there is available space for their storage container which is being displaced by the Cupertino School upgrade; and to add City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes April 22, 2015 these items to the agenda of a future meeting. Commissioner Kenton accepted the friendly amendment. Motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Chair Alexander III Vice Chair Pasqua Commissioner Kenton Commissioner Pochowski No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Schneck PUBLIC COMMENTS None. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 15-0308 Acknowledge the Department of Public Works’ Amendments to the Operational Standards for Acceptance of Land for Park Purposes Director of Public Works Manuel Pineda presented the staff report. He answered commissioner's questions; which sites brought up this review; how many land candidates would become available for consideration; and what "checks and balances" are in place to ensure the accuracy of the test results from the sites. He also answered questions about the costs related to site clean up and who is responsible to pay for it. Superintendant of Parks and Golf Scott Morton provided the definition of Superfund at Commissioner Kenton's request. Chair Alexander asked what the word "acknowledge" in Alternative 3 means. Director Pineda explained that Alternative 3 is asking for Council to acknowledge these changes to operating standards set by staff, as this is not a change to a Council Policy. Chair Alexander opened the public hearing. There were no public comments and he closed the public hearing. Commissioner Pochowski moved and Commissioner Kenton seconded the motion to approve Alternative 3: Recommend that Council acknowledge the Department of Public Works Operational Standards for Acceptance of Land for Park Purposes, as presented in Attachment 3. The motion carried with the following vote: Yes: 3 - Vice Chair Pasqua Commissioner Kenton Commissioner Pochowski No: 1 - Chair Alexander III City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes April 22, 2015 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Schneck Commissioners explained the rationale for their vote. Commissioner Pochowski voted yes and stated it seemed reasonable and it gives Council more discretion to evaluate and make a determination how to proceed. Commissioner Pasqua voted yes and stated he felt the report was well done. He said he had concerns about the Director's technical knowledge to make the final decision, but trusted that consulting experts would be used and "checks and balances" are in place. Commissioner Kenton stated he voted yes to do all we can do to acquire more green space and to be flexible to get more land. Commissioner Alexander opposed Alternative 3 and stated there is some ambiguity in the report. He said that he could not vote for it with a good conscience because of the possibility of error, but he is not 100% opposed to the idea. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Kenton inquired how land donations come to the City's attention. Director Pineda explained they are primarily in conjunction with development projects. -Staff Comments Superintendent Morton announced two activities on Saturday April 25, the Fit and Fun Earth Day Fair and the first workshop of the Civic Center Project. He directed Commissioners to the City website for more information. ADJOURNMENT Chair Alexander adjourned the meeting at 8:03 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 3