The September 24, 2009 Board Meeting of the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Board of Directors was called to order by Board Chair Dennis Donaghu at 7:05 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

Berggren, Hunn, Kubota, Luke, Miller, J. Pitcher, Spatz, Young

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Ex-Officio Member Report, Nasreen Broomand, CPHS

Ex-Officio Member Broomand said the students at College Park High School started working on the class floats.  Broomand said the Leadership class wanted to ask the District if they would like to have a float in the Homecoming parade on October 16.  The General Manager said to ask Teen Supervisor Katrina Hunn, maybe the District train could be in the parade.  She mentioned that the Drama Department is doing another type of play due to parents not being happy about a horror play, so instead, Alice in Wonderland will be performed.  She said on Wednesday it was club day at school where you can join all the different clubs offered.  Board Member Bonato asked Broomand to see what the District can do to assist the students such as offering certain type of classes, or other areas that the District can be of service.  Bonato asked her to let the Board and staff know.

To Honor And Recognize Girl Scout Troop 30720 For Work Completed At Rodgers Ranch

The General Manager welcomed Denise Koroslev with Friends of Rodgers Ranch and the Girl Scout Troop 30720.  Koroslev explained the work that was completed by the girls with the Girl Scout Troop and expressed her appreciation and mentioned one of the Girl Scout was a docent for the Rodgers Ranch Round Up summer youth program.  She said the Girl Scout Troop planted a beautiful flower garden behind the ranch house, made curtains for the living room, a tablecloth was made from one of the troop’s great grandmother’s heirloom curtain hanging in the middle room, and a braided rug was made for the house.  Board Chair Donaghu presented certificates of appreciation to the individual Girl Scouts; Kendall Stoudt, Lexi Laverga, Samantha Damato, Libby Katz, Kira Van Stralen, Madeleine Winterich, Gabby Correia, Caroline Lovett, Kelly Shaw and the Girl Scout leaders for their guidance and support, Lois Shaw and Anne Winterich.  The Girl Scouts explained that this was for acquiring their bronze award which is 15 consecutive hours of community service.  Photos were taken. 

Consent Calendar (ACTION)

Board Member Bonato asked questions about some of the warrants.

Upon motion of Shepard/Hurd, the Board approved items as presented. 

1. a) To Approve Bills to be paid, warrants #12762 - #12827 in the amount of $270,045.15 dated September 24, 2009.
2. b) To Approve Minutes of August 27, 2009

Report From American Legion, Post #331

Representative Terry Neidlinger said he a past commander, but introduced William Hockenberry III who is the current commander.  He explained that Commander Hockenberry recently had throat surgery, so Neidlinger said he will give the report.  He said the post has their monthly meetings on the second Thursdays of the month at the Winslow Center at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and meeting at 7:30 p.m.  He thanked the Board for the use of the Winslow Center.  He said the American Legion Post #331 donated money for lunches for “at risk kids” at College Park High School last year and this year to Strandwood Elementary, they had one girl and boy from College Park High School that they sponsored for the Boys and Girls State event in Sacramento, in November they will sponsor a Toys for Tots Drive to give needy kids toys and donate funds to the Fisher House at Travis Air Force Base.  Hockenberry explained that the Fisher House is where relatives and families of military have a place to live while their family member are being operated on and recovering.  He said there are 56 houses like this in the United States and one in Germany.  Neidlinger said there is a post member that also volunteers his time at the Veterans Hospital in Martinez.  Board Chair thanked Neidlinger and Hockenberry for their efforts and for the report.

Report From Financial Advisor Craig Hill On The Financial And Project Schedule For The District Bond Projects

Financial Advisor Craig Hill congratulated the Board and Staff on the successful passage of Measure E.  He presented a PowerPoint that explained how the bond process works, the ongoing tasks that lie ahead and an estimated project cash flow.  He said the annual tax rate will be based on total District assessed value.  He discussed that the Board will have to prioritize the projects, create timelines for design and engineers, develop cash flow budget for initial stages, and start bond finance process.  It takes about 60 – 70 days to get bond funds to the bank.  Hill continued to answer questions the Board had and explained the process further.

To Approve Resolution 2009-09-24a, Expressing Official Intent Regarding Certain Capital Expenditures To Be Reimbursed With Proceeds Of Obligations (ACTION)

The General Manager said the resolution was written by Bond Counsel Brian Quint of Quint & Thimming.  If the District pays out expenses for the bond before the bond issuance, this allows reimbursement.  Board Member Bonato asked when the oversight committee begins and the General Manager said maybe in a year.  She said it would be good to show progress towards finding candidates for the oversight committee.  He mentioned that the Board will need to appoint two members of the Board for an AD-HOC Committee.  He feels the next step will be approving a project manager who can assist the District with all the projects and the AD-HOC Committee would be interviewing for the project manager. 

To Consider Resolution 2009-09-24b, Adoption Of Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Money Purchase Pension Plan, And Money Purchase Pension Plan Trust Agreement, Restating The Previous Plan, Adopted From The California Recreation Park Districts Defined Contribution Plan (ACTION)

The General Manager reviewed the memo from Chang, Ruthenberg and Long and their recommendation.  He recommends approving the trust agreement and plan and mentioned the District needs to continue the process so the situation can be finalized.  He stated this will assist in recovering some of the moneys in the account and will have a better idea of what the District will need to contribute.  Board Member Bonato asked how soon does the General Manager think we will have to come to wrap this up to transfer funds into a PARS plan.  He commented that it may be up to six months or hopefully less.

Upon motion of Hurd/Shepard, the Board approved resolution for adoption of Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District money purchase pension plan, and money purchase pension plan trust agreement, restating the previous plan adopted from the California Recreation Park Districts Defined Contribution Plan

To Set A Date For A Program Committee Meeting

Board Members Hurd and Bonato discussed dates and decided on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. at the District Office.

Board Announcements And Requests To Staff

Board Member Bonato attended the OnStage Theatre fundraiser at Dallimonti’s on September 14.  She said the General Manager and Board Member Sterrett were in attendance as well.  She said it was successful and entertaining event.  She asked if the General Manager is joining the County with their mitigation plan.  She said for special districts the need to have a disaster mitigation plan is required in order to apply for any FEMA funds in an emergency.  If the District does not have the resources to prepare a plan, then joining the County will be a good opportunity and the last chance is at the end of October.  She attended the St. Andrews groundbreaking ceremony for the new activity center.  She said it may be a nice temporary location when the Community Center is being built. 

Bonato asked if the District can support the Art, Jazz and Wine Festival.  The General Manager said the District will be donating $5 gift certificates for the spin wheel, Dodie Jones, on behalf of the District, is sponsoring the beer cups with the District logo on them, the General Manager, on behalf of the District, is donating baskets for the silent auction and there will be a District booth and some staff members are volunteering for set-up and clean up of the event.

Board Member Shepard discussed the celebration for volunteers that supported the Measure E campaign and asked if it is a work in progress.  She did fix the thank you sign at the corner, which was flapping.  She would like to discuss further and have more studies completed in regards to continuation of maintaining the College Park pool once the renovations are complete.  She said she would not be at the next Board Meeting on October 8 and mentioned that she would be interested in serving on the AD-HOC Building Committee.  She asked if there is a thank you letter or ad in the Community Focus or the Record in the Times.  The General Manager said there is a letter in the Community Focus and he also submitted a letter to the Contra Costa Times, but it was not published.

Board Chair Donaghu said there are people coming up to him expressing their interest in being on the oversight committee.  He attended the ribbon cutting for JGR Accounting who moved from Walnut Creek to Pleasant Hill and is located across from the YMCA.  

Staff Announcements

The General Manager made the following announcements:

• He announced that Verna Norris passed away and her memorial “party”, as per her request, will be on October 11 at 2:00 p.m. at the Senior Center in building 2.  She was a terrific lady and a wonderful advocate of the Senior Center.  She will be missed.
• He received a letter from Pete Dunbar, Chief of Police, thanking Katrina Hunn and Teen Council volunteers that assisted for the Special Olympics fundraiser. 
• The Chamber is proposing to change the requirements for Citizen of the Year and drop the resident of Pleasant Hill requirement.
• Bonato asked if the Preschool opening signs at several district sites have worked in increasing enrollment.  Recreation Supervisor Tina Young commented that there has been an increase and they gained 9 more enrollments for priority preschool and 1 more in each other class offered.
• He received a letter from General Manager Pat O’Brien with the East Bay Regional Park District congratulating the District on the successful passing of Measure E.
• The CPRS District 3 Fall Institute is being held on October 6 from 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Lafayette Community Center.  The Board was invited to attend.

Adjournment

Board Chair Donaghu adjourned the meeting in honor of Verna Norris at 8:57 p.m.