The December 3, 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, Sterrett

Board Absent:

Berggren, Kubota, Luke, Peters, Riley, Sarvi, Spatz, Young

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Ex-Officio Member Report, Nasreen Broomand, CPHS

Ex-Officio Member Broomand reported that the College Park High School students are completing the fundraising efforts for the Adopt-A-Teen program for the Salvation Army. She said they have the Secret Snowman program currently going on as well. Board Chair Donaghu thanked Broomand for her report.

Consent Calendar

Board Chair Donaghu tabled the minutes of November 5, 2009 until the December 17, 2009 Board Meeting for further review. Upon motion of Sterrett/Hurd, the Board approved the warrants as presented:

• a. To Approve Bills to be paid, warrants #13045 - #13102 in the amount of $282,735.73 dated December 3, 2009.

Recognition Of New Board Officers And Introduction Of Families And Guests By Board Of Directors

Board Chair Donaghu stated that it has been a pleasure sitting as Chair this year with the historical passing of Measure E and passed the gavel and responsibilities to incoming Chair Sherry Sterrett.

New Board Chair Sterrett announced the other new board officers: Vice Chair is Sandy Bonato, Secretary is Dennis Donaghu and Board Members Hurd and Shepard. Sterrett introduced her husband and supporter, Mike, and asked the others Board Members to introduce their families. Board Member Bonato introduced her husband, Jim and daughter Emily, who is a resident of Pleasant Hill; Board Member Donaghu introduced his wife, Faye, and mentioned she is the photographer for the Spotlight covers; Board Member Shepard introduced her husband, John, and daughter, Laurel. Board Member Hurd said his wife, Pat, could not make it because his daughter-in-law just had a baby boy this afternoon and she is still at the hospital. The Board congratulated Hurd on his new grandson. The General Manager introduced the District Staff.

Presentation To Honor Board Chair Dennis Donaghu for 2008 & 2009

New Board Chair Sterrett presented a plaque of appreciation to Outgoing Board Chair Donaghu for 2008 and 2009. She thanked Donaghu for his two years of service as Board Chair and expressed appreciation for all his efforts.

To Consider Resolution 2009-12-03A, Adopting District CEQA Procedures (ACTION)

The General Manager stated that California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines should be updated annually. He said that the District’s Attorney Mark Cornelius wanted to make sure the District procedures were up-to-date, especially as the District embarks into new projects. He passed out the current CEQA procedures. Board Member Bonato wanted to make sure the new numerical outline for Section 6 would supersede 2030. The General Manager will look into the policy number and will revise it accordingly. He said the current procedures will need to be updated since new projects will begin. Some further questions of Board Members Sterrett and Bonato were answered and further discussion and explanations were made.

Upon motion of Donaghu/Hurd, the Board approved to adopt resolution adopting District CEQA Procedures.

Report From Personnel Committee

• a. To Consider Administrative Leave for Exempt Employees (First Reading)

Board Member Shepard reported on the proposed Administrative Leave policy for exempt employees and said that there has not been an official policy. She stated that Accounting Supervisor Mark Blair recommended adopting a policy for Administrative Leave. The General Manager commented that the District is looking for consistency. He said Sterrett called and asked what the current policy was and there is no policy. For a supervisor, there may be more hours worked in order to complete tasks and projects. For some positions, such as the Aquatics Coordinator or Teen Supervisor, who also handles special events, putting in 14 straight days and more than the 40 hours a week of work is not unusual, so during the off-season, they take time off. Other agencies were surveyed and a list of what their policies are was provided and reviewed by staff. The District’s recommended policy is based on the various other agencies policies. The proposed policy states that qualified exempt employees will receive 40 hours of Administrative Leave a year and an additional 40 hours may be requested. The request would have to be approved by the General Manager. Some language revisions were suggested and some concerns were mentioned as far as taking the Administrative Leave time in conjunction with the employee’s vacation time. The General Manager said that all supervisors are required to have their vacation approved and for Administrative Leave it would be the same. The Administrative Leave will only be able to be used in one calendar year and will not be able to be rolled over and is not accrued. Board Member Bonato suggested clarifying the section in regards to not being able to be paid out any unused Administrative Leave in the event of retirement or any separation of employment with the District.

• b. To Consider Two Year Additional Service for Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) Qualified Employees (ACTION)

Board Member Shepard reported on the two years additional service for Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) for qualified employees. There was a list of eligible employees who are 50 or over and have been with the District for five years or more in PERS. She said the savings is when some employees take advantage of this opportunity, it brings the contribution rate down due to the drop in rate for the employees that were at a higher rate. Board Member Hurd said it would save the District money in the contribution rate lowering, but also the salary of a newly hired employee is lower than an employee that may have been here for 20 years or so. The Board reviewed the cost factor chart handout and further discussed funds that may be saved by offering this plan to qualified employees. Board Member Bonato asked if the District really needed to do this and is the District in desperate financial times to have to offer this plan. She does not feel that the District needs to pursue this at this time. She asked what the downside is to offering this to qualified employees. Hurd said the downside may be that new employees would be hired and they may not be as efficient as an experienced employee and the upside is a new employee is hired at a lower salary and the District would save money. Bonato said she cannot support this item until she has additional information. The General Manager said the next step would be to have the resolution, required by PERS, to be approved at the next Board Meeting.

Upon motion of Donaghu/Shepard, the majority of the Board approved the two year additional service for Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) qualified employees. Board Member Bonato opposed the motion.

Report From Land And Facility Development Committee

Board Member Donaghu said the City is proposing that the bridge on Golf Club Road be replaced and it will take about a year to complete. He explained that the plans the City is proposing is to have half of the bridge repaired one season and the next season fix the other half of the bridge. He mentioned that the City has proposed to the District to acquire about 117 square feet of property into Chilpancingo Park and 372 square feet for a lighting easement and assessed the property value to about $500, which is about $1/foot and looks like a fair price. The City is also proposing for 12 months during the construction project, they would need about an easement of 15,000 square feet to stage the heavy equipment. He said the road will be raised and widened, so the sidewalk will be replaced and some minor grading and driveway work will be completed. The project will take about a year. Any grass, gravel or sprinkler system will be replaced if damaged. Donaghu mentioned maybe the property the City is requesting can be donated if possible and said he was not sure what the stipulations are on the property. The General Manager will check on that. The discussion of whether a 13,000 square foot easement for a staging area may be appropriate enough size for the construction. Board Member Bonato said there are 8 mature oak trees on that site and thought it may not be appropriate to have heavy equipment staged there. The General Manager stated it will actually be light equipment. He said if there can be a City staff representative present at the next meeting, this item will be discussed.

To Set A Bond Project Committee Meeting

The decision of Friday, December 4 at 3:00 p.m. was decided for a Bond Project Committee meeting. On Friday, December 11, there will be interviews conducted for a CEQA consultant. The General Manager made a point of clarification that Sterrett and Shepard are on the selection committee for CEQA consultant interviews. He mentioned that the timeline was aggressive for a selection of project management services; so there will be a new timeline. He recommends spending the month of December reviewing the 19 proposals submitted and having the interviews in January.

Board Announcements And Requests To Staff

Board Member Shepard asked Park Superintendent Lynn Spatz about the meeting she had with School District staff in regards to the Pleasant Hill Instructional Garden. Spatz said she met at the School District office with Pete Pederson and Joann Durkee, as well as the School District Attorney. She said they generally wanted to check to see that the School District is on board with the Recreation District plans and whatever the Recreation District needs to do. The General Manager and Spatz will draft a letter and will submit it to instructor Monika Olsen. The School District asked the instructor to not speak on behalf of the School District. They mentioned the project grew beyond the bounds of the property. Spatz recommended having a curb cut into the garden from the parking lot at the end of the construction phase.

Board Member Donaghu said the Chamber Mixer is on December 16 at the Kensington Place. He said Steve Wallace is the new Chamber President. He will attend the Holiday Party along with his wife, Faye.

Board Member Sterrett mentioned that StarQuest meetings have started if anyone is interested in getting involved with the committee. She said she will be attending the Holiday Party/Employee Service Awards. Board Members Hurd and Bonato said they will also attend. Sterrett asked about the new setup for the Holiday Festival this year. Recreation Supervisor Tina Young explained the setup of all festivities on the lower level of the Community Center.

Staff Announcements

The General Manager made the following announcements:

• Friday, December 18 is the Senior Holiday Luncheon.
• LAFCO survey included the attendance numbers of our programs. He shared that for the 2008-09 season, the District served approximately 1.4 million people.
• The California Special Districts Association (CSDA) accomplishments for 2009 were received. It is impressive to see how many affiliates, partnerships and members there are in CSDA.
• The final budget for the Aquatic Park Pool project was passed out.

Adjournment

New Board Chair Sterrett adjourned the meeting at 9:25 p.m. in honor of Board Member Hurd’s new grandson, Maddox Duke.