The November 19, 2009 Board Meeting of the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Board of Directors was called to order by Board Chair Dennis Donaghu at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room at the Administration Office.

Pledge of Allegiance

Board Chair Donaghu led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call

Board Present: Bonato, Donaghu, Hurd, Shepard

Board Absent: Sterrett

Blair, Hunn, Kubota, Luke, J. Pitcher, Spatz, Young

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Presentation Of Signed Copy Of Spare Time Spotlight To Bonnie Benson, Patrick O’Leary and Elizabeth Slepko

Faye Donaghu with Donaghu Graphics, introduced Bonnie Benson, Patrick O’Leary and Elizabeth Slepko who were on the Fall/Winter 2009 Spotlight Cover. They signed the framed copy of the Spotlight, which will be added to the District “Wall of Fame”. Each was presented with personal framed copies of the cover as well. Board Chair Donaghu thanked Benson, O’Leary and Slepko and also Faye Donaghu for her time and efforts. Some photos were taken.

Board Member Shepard arrived at 7:11 p.m.

Ex-Officio Member Report, Nasreen Broomand, CPHS

Ex-Officio Member Broomand reported that the College Park High School students are completing the collection of donations for the Richmond High School student. The adopt a teen program for the Salvation Army is still active. The students are collecting gifts for the teen aged group of children in need for the Salvation Army. Broomand said there were only three people that dropped off food for the food drive. The Teen Council will deliver the food donated to the Monument Crisis Center. The “Get Your Glow On” Dance had 106 tickets pre-sold, but only about 40 people showed up for the dance. She mentioned there was a conflict due to the football game being rescheduled from 3pm to 7pm, which was the same time as the dance. Board Chair Donaghu thanked Broomand for her report.

Consent Calendar

Board Member Shepard had a question on the warrant to Mark Cornelius and asked how the work related to the bond are separated out. Accounting Supervisor Mark Blair said if the legal services are bond related they are coded to a different account. The warrant #13010 had $2,959 of bond related services and $1,848 in standard legal fees for a total of $4,801.58.

Upon motion of Shepard/Bonato, the Board approved warrants and minutes as presented.

• a. To Approve Bills to be paid, warrants #12995 - #13044 in the amount of $231,786.27 dated November 19, 2009.
• b. To Approve Minutes of October 29, 2009.

Report From Society Of Young Magicians

Representative Loren Lind said the Society of Young American Magicians meets on the fourth Monday of each month at the Winslow Center. He said there are 26 members with three new sign ups last month. Lind said the adults present small magic shows for the young magicians and their parents and teach new tricks every month. He has cut back in his performances and now does about 4 – 5 shows a year. Some senior magicians have donated their magic equipment to him after they have passed. He sold many of the magic books and raised about $3,000 to use towards buying the magic equipment for the younger groups. He thanked the District for the meeting space and appreciates the District’s support. Board Member Bonato mentioned that she attended the “Share the Magic” show in October and enjoyed it very much. She commented on how good the performing magicians were and especially enjoyed the magicians performing in the audience before the show started. Lind demonstrated and then taught a new trick to the Board and public attending the meeting. Board Chair Donaghu thanked Lind for his report and the magic trick.

Report From Pleasant Hill Tennis Club

Representative Jim Utz introduced Club President Tom Butler and Treasurer Lily Ng. Board Member Shepard mentioned that the Pleasant Hill Tennis Club was one of the strongest supporters of all the co-sponsored groups for the Measure E Campaign and thanked them for their support. Tom Butler reviewed some of the activities the club has such as fun mixers each week. There are 200 members total where they participate in mixers, special events and league play. He reported on league play where the players are on a rating system. There are also tournament mixers with small prizes. The fees are $50/year for a family and $40/year for a single person. All the funds go back to the players for equipment, maintaining the courts, scholarships and events. Current Treasurer Lily Ng passed out the financial report and reviewed it with the Board. She announced that she will be the new president of the club starting in January. She mentioned that they have a scholarship fund that goes to high school tennis teams for equipment or other needs. This is the club’s way of giving back to the community. She handles the holiday mixers as well.

Representative Jim Utz said for the Measure E campaign, he was sending out e-blasts and now the Tennis Club is thinking of going on-line for their newsletters, to save on funds. The newsletters now are quarterly instead of monthly. He said they were pleased with accomplishments in 2008, which included the resurfacing project of the courts. Due to security reasons, the School District requested that the Tennis Club return the restroom keys for the Education Center. Now, a portable potty is rented by the club, which is secured to a metal post to prevent tip overs and is kept locked. Board Chair Donaghu thanked Utz, Ng and Butler for their report and for the support of the Pleasant Hill Tennis Club.

Selection of Board Officers (ACTION)

Board Member Hurd said he is busy with family commitments, so he wanted to pass as Chair and said would be happy to recommend Board Member Sterrett as Chair, Board Member Bonato as Vice and any other Board Member as Secretary. Board Member Shepard was offered to serve as Secretary, but stated she wanted to offer the position to other Board Members, so Board Member Donaghu said he would serve as Secretary.

Upon motion of Hurd/Shepard, the Board approved the recommendations as follows:

• a. Chair – Sherry Sterret
• b. Vice Chair – Sandy Bonato
• c. Secretary – Dennis Donaghu

Report From Personnel Committee

Board Member Shepard reported on the Personnel Committee meeting. The first item discussed was a new Administrative Leave policy for the employee handbook. She said what is being proposed is for full time exempt employees to receive 40 hours of Administrative Leave a year. Accounting Supervisor Mark Blair stated there are about 8 – 10 employees in this category. There are many employees that work much more than 40 hours a week, especially during peak season. Several other agencies were surveyed and all offer Administrative Leave to supervisory and exempt employees.

Shepard said the second item discussed at the personnel committee meeting was the offer of Two Years of Additional Years of Service credit for qualified employees. To qualify, an employee must be 50 years of age or older and have put in five years of service with the District in PERS. Shepard mentioned that the advantages are that it will decrease the additional pension contribution rate for the District due to the reduction of senior salaried employees. Additionally, there would be one position that would be left open. The cost and savings associated were reviewed and further discussion followed. This item will be on the agenda for the next board meeting.

Review Of September 30, 2009 Quarterly Report

a. Review of Investment Report

b. Review of Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS)

Accounting Supervisor Mark Blair reviewed and discussed in detail the September 30, 2009 Quarterly Report. Board Member Bonato asked about project donations and the expenses for the bond projects. Blair stated that all expenses incurred after the passage of Measure E will be capitalized and reflected in the total costs of each project. All donations received by the District have been reflected in the Non Recreation Department under the account titled Project Funding. New accounts to separate the donation activity for these projects will be created and reflected on subsequent financial statements.

A discussion followed for the need for more detailed reporting for the major capital projects yet to be constructed that will be funded from Measure E proceeds. Blair indicated that new general ledger accounts to allow for any level of detail requested by the Board can be created to record this activity. The Board will later decide upon the level of detail desired for these projects to be reflected on the financial statements.

The financial review was followed by a brief review of the District money market investments in the Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) and current returns being generated by the Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS) plan that covers some employees in lieu of Social Security.

Board Chair Donaghu thanked Blair for his report.

To Confirm Date For Land And Facility Development Committee Meeting

Board Chair Donaghu and Board Member Sandy Bonato are on the Land and Facility Development Committee. He said the meeting has been scheduled for Monday, November 23 at 8:30 a.m. Board Member Shepard wanted to know if the Pleasant Hill Instructional Garden issue can be discussed at the Land and Facility Development Committee Meeting. Kubota said the agenda had to be posted 72 hours in advance and since the meeting is on Monday at 8:30 a.m., the agenda was posted already. Acting General Manager Lynn Spatz stated she has a meeting scheduled with Pete Pedersen, Asst. Superintendent of Mt. Diablo Unified School District, and Joanne Durkee, Director of Mt. Diablo Adult Education, at the School District office tomorrow. They will be discussing the Pleasant Hill Instructional Garden Group. The School District has expressed their concerns regarding the encroachment issue. Spatz will report on the meeting with the School District at a future Board Meeting.

Board Announcements And Requests To Staff

Board Chair Donaghu said he attended the Light up the Night event in Downtown Pleasant Hill tonight. He attended the Chamber Board Meeting this morning. Steve Wallace is the new Chamber President. He said the Chamber current membership is at 376. They discussed the Art, Jazz and Wine Festival and how it was below expectations as far as revenue. He said the revenues from the festival were $65,000 and expenses at $27,000 for a net of $38,000. There is still some more revenue expected to come in, so they may reach their goal of $40,000. He said it was a successful event overall. The next Chamber Mixer is the Holiday Mixer at the Kensington on December 16 at 5:30 p.m.

Staff Announcements

Acting General Manager Lynn Spatz made the following announcements:

• The formal confirmation regarding the Proposition 1A Securitization Program. The District is taking part in this program.
• There is a Chamber event at Tahoe Joe’s for Chamber Ambassadors and Board on December 1, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. RSVP to Ingrid with the Chamber.
  
• A thank you postcard was sent from Sequoia Elementary for items donated by the District for their annual fundraising auction.
• Recreation Intern Cheri Murray is working on special events with Recreation Supervisor Katrina Hunn. She previously worked at Marine World with summer camp programs and is a student at Cal State East Bay majoring in Recreation.
• The Annual Holiday Festival is on Wednesday, December 9 at 5:00 p.m. at the Community Center. A volunteer form was passed out, but some Board Members have already signed up to volunteer.
• The Hospice Tree Lighting is on Saturday, December 5 at 5:30 p.m.
• The offices will be closed on Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
• Employee Holiday Party and Service Award is Tuesday, December 15 at 2:00 p.m.
• The Senior Holiday Luncheon is on Friday, December 18. The Board and staff serve lunch to the seniors.

Adjournment

Board Chair Donaghu adjourned the meeting at 9:45 p.m.