The January 24, 2008 Board Meeting of the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Board of Directors was called to order by Board Chair Dennis Donaghu at 7:03 p.m. in the Conference Room at the Administration Office.

Pledge of Allegiance

Board Chair Dennis Donaghu led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call

Board Present: Donaghu, Hurd, Mitchoff, Shepard, Sterrett

Ex-Officio Present: Bryan

Ex-Officio Absent: McBee

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Presentation of Board Appreciation Award to Dan Fitzgerald

Board Chair Donaghu presented Dan Fitzgerald with a plaque for the Board Appreciation Award. Donaghu expressed appreciation from the Board and Staff for all his efforts and hard work with District projects such as assisting in building the snack shack for the Pleasant Hill Dolfins Swim Team and installing the bricks for the Sprayground and the donor plaque.  Fitzgerald expressed he was glad to assist with the various projects.

Presentation pf Signed Copy of Spare Time Spotlight To Kevin and Nicholas Hoffe and Josh Geren

Ex-Officio Member Report

Ex-Officio Member Tom Bryan reported that it is finals week at College Park High School and Kelly McBee is home studying and could not be at the meeting tonight.  Bryan mentioned the College Park TV first news cast on College Park High School airs on channel 28 on January 28th at 9:00 p.m.  The Teen Council has a Red Hot Dance on Friday, February 1st from 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m., which will be semi-formal dance for high school age students in the community.  He said the pre-sold tickets are $10 each.

Consent Calendar (ACTION)

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

• To Approve Bills to be paid, Warrants #10105 - #10149 in the amount of $177,090.1 dated January 24, 2008.
• To Approve Minutes of November 15 and December 20, 2007

Update On Pleasant Hill Tennis Courts Resurfacing Project

Pleasant Hill Tennis Club member Jim Utz reviewed some handouts on the history of the Tennis Club and the court resurfacing projects completed in the past.  Utz introduced Marion Broadhurst and Lily Ng officers of the Pleasant Hill Tennis Club.  He said the courts are not looking good and they are making small repairs weekly.  He said the second proposal from Adams Resurfacing was for $25,500.  They will apply for some grants, but are not guaranteed funds to cover the resurfacing costs.  Lily Ng stated the court resurfacing needs to be completed sooner than later.  She has witnessed comments made from other league teams that visit the Tennis Club courts and stated the courts are really deteriorated.  Board Member Mitchoff asked if the Mt. Diablo Unified School District has made a commitment to funding some of the costs for resurfacing.  Utz commented that Dick Nicoll from MDUSD said they would pay for a third of the cost and Utz remarked this was from the original proposal of $20,500.

Board Member Mitchoff asked how long does a resurfacing of courts last.  Utz answered about 4 – 5 years and stated the last time the resurfacing of the courts were made, was in 2004.  He commented on average it is usually 3 – 5 years for resurfacing.  Utz said the resurfacing will use a more sturdy material and instead of a single layer acrylic, there would be a 3 layer acrylic applied.  Board Member Sterrett asked if there were any other quotes from companies to conduct the resurfacing and she made the recommendation to do so to compare costs.  Utz will look into it and mentioned that Northgate and Ygnacio Valley High School had Adams Resurfacing complete their tennis court resurfacing projects.  Utz asked the Board for $8,500 from the District to cover some of the costs of the resurfacing project.  The General Manager stated we have completed the budget for the next two fiscal years.  He commented it would have to be evaluated at the end of the fiscal year.  He said it would be difficult to make a recommendation until we know what will happen with the State budget cuts.  The Board asked to have a recommendation to Staff to consider putting $8,500 into the budget for fiscal year 2008 – 09 to cover costs for the court-resurfacing project.  The General Manager can take their consideration, but he cannot make a recommendation now. 

Board Chair Donaghu is concerned about the safety and liability issue.  He said if there are comments being made already about the condition of the courts, we do need to consider this request.  Marion Broadhurst stated the Tennis Club is doing patchwork with the courts weekly, but that can only last for so long.  She remarked there is some buckling of the courts and they do need to be resurfaced.

To Consider Selection Of Administrator, Trustee, And Legal Services For California Recreation District Employee Benefits (ACTION)

The General Manager recommended the selection of the administrator, trustee and legal services, which is outlined by Dave McMurchie with McMurchie Law.  He commented that all Districts involved would be signing off on this agreement.  Board Chair Donaghu asked if all Districts have signed off on this agreement.  He said there are just a couple of Districts that have not signed off and the ones that do not agree, may possibly loose their share.

To Consider Truck Replacement For Aquatic Programs (ACTION)

Aquatics Supervisor Korey Riley reviewed the pictures of the current 1983 truck that is being utilized by Aquatics Maintenance Supervisor Mike Stevens.  She stated there are too many repairs needed.  Board Member Hurd mentioned that functionality and safety are important issues that need to be addressed and commented there is not much of a choice.  Board Member Mitchoff asked if the District would scrap the vehicle for parts.  The General Manager stated it would be surplused where the Board takes action to approve it as surplus.  The Board thanked Riley for her excellent report.

Upon motion of Hurd/Sterrett, the Board approved to purchase a truck replacement for the aquatic programs.

Report On Maintenance of Off Leash Dog Exercise Area At Paso Nogal Park

Park Superintendent Lynn Spatz reviewed some of the issues with the off leash dog exercise area at Paso Nogal Park.  She has met with Lori Tassano with the Pleasant Hill Dog Owners Group.  She explained they have a gopher issue and they cause holes and the turf to be uneven.  Spatz mentioned the area needs to be repaired where the turf will be leveled out and new turf established.  She stated it would take about 8 weeks, so the park would have to be closed for an extended amount of time.  Spatz mentioned some other surface options such as DG, decomposed granite, which other dog parks have and it works well.  She mentioned it would save the cost of $7,000 in water bills a year.  She said they have a meeting set up with members of the dog group next week.  Board Member Hurd asked if they could make the repairs in sections and fence off an area to be repaired and allow part of the park for users.  Spatz said that the project would take twice as long.  She said the small dog park may stay open, but it is best to do the repairs all at once.  Spatz commented there would need to be about 100 – 150 yards of soil to level it out and options of seed mixture with something that is tougher is being looked into. 

Spatz expressed that she hopes the dog owners can understand and live with the short term, so they may have a better park long term.  She said the PH D.O.G. want to assist in the cost of the repairs.  She said the estimate of the costs would be about several thousands up to $6,000 and the gopher control would be an ongoing maintenance issue.

Set Meeting Date To Review Evaluation Of Exposed Wood Components At Pleasant Hill Community Center

The General Manager said the Community Center facility needs to be seen during the day.  He said the District is currently getting proposals for the repairs.  After some discussion of dates, January 29 at 8:15 a.m. at the Community Center was selected.   

Board Announcements And Requests To Staff

Board Member Mitchoff said she will stop by the Mayor’s breakfast, but could not stay. 

Board Member Sterrett said the same goes for her in regards to the Mayor’s Breakfast due to a meeting in Sacramento.  Sterrett said she stopped by the Taste of the Vine at the Senior Center.  She said it was a nice event with wonderful appetizers and wine.  She commented there were about 40 attendees.  Sterrett thanked the District and Senior Center Staff for hosting a great Chamber Mixer at the Senior Center on January 16, 2008.  She said there were good presentations in regards to the Senior Center.  She stated mileage has gone up to $.505 set by IRS.  She wanted to know what the status of the Bud Howe Bear is?  Park Superintendent Lynn Spatz said the bear has been turned over to Thora Harshman and Ernie Lanzarin to have an artist to work on the bear for a quality repair.

Board Member Shepard would like an update on the pool heat exchanger.

Board Chair Donaghu was impressed with the Senior Center Chamber Mixer.  He said he had nice comments on how well the food was and how well the set up was.  He said his original plans changed and he was able to attend the Mayor’s Breakfast and said it was a positive experience.  He thanked Park Superintendent Lynn Spatz in responding to Jack Weir’s concerns.

Staff Announcements

The General Manager made the following announcements:

• Todd Smith was selected as the new Park Supervisor and will assume the position effective February 1, 2008.
• A donation from the Pleasant Hill Garden Study Club for $750 was received for planting projects throughout the District.  Board Member Sterrett commented when the PH Garden Study Club gave their annual presentation she requested to have their assistance in the plans for the planters at the front of the Pleasant Hill Aquatic Park.  She said the Garden Study Club President said they might work on that.  Sterrett asked if any of the money is dedicated to those plans.  Park Superintendent Lynn Spatz commented they would be working with Aquatics Supervisor Korey Riley on how many planters they will need.  Sterrett asked to have new plantings in the planter in the front and also have a new trash can to improve the looks.  Spatz said they have ordered new trashcans and will work on the plantings.  Sterrett suggested nominating the Pleasant Hill Garden Study Club for the Community Service Award because they donate each year and support the District with various projects.
• Bad news is the claim on the slide repairs for Woodside Hills III was denied by CAPRI.  He said it would be $96,000 and there are still some issues that he is working on with CAPRI.  He said the policy with CAPRI is they cover slide or mudflow damage, but not the repairs for preventative measures.  He said there was some damage to the drain in which they will be re-submitting to CAPRI.  The General Manager stated he was under the impression that it would be covered, but with raw or unimproved land, they do not cover the repairs.  Board Member Shepard commented if the repairs were not made and are not covered, CAPRI could be paying costs of damages, which may occur year after year.  He said that he is requesting it to be brought back to the CAPRI Board.  He said from the beginning it was said it would be covered.
• Staff recommendations for 2007 accomplishments and 2008 goals were passed out to the Board of Directors.
• The recorded tapes of the Tramutola presentation from the Board Study Session on January 11, 2008 are available for review.  Board Member Shepard requested to review them.

Adjournment

Board Chair Donaghu adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m.