CCMIN071613 - Laserfiche WebLink

Councilmember Brown asked and Mr. Fialho confirmed that staff makes every effort to copy other members of the Council on any letter prepared by staff and a member of the Council and that there may be times a letter is issued from the perspective of an individual Council member but not necessarily the City. Mr. Fialho noted that while the subcommittee process will largely resolve the need for the City's elected officials to express individual opinions, there will still be times where the rapid progress of a certain item through the legislative process will require that individual Council members of the Mayor take a position at the request of legislators or other entities. Vice-Mayor Cook-Kallio expressed a strong interest in serving on the subcommittee. Councilmember Pentin indicated his support for a subcommittee formation. Mr. Fialho clarified that staff is only requesting support for the concept and said that the actual formation and appointments would come back to the Council at a later date. Councilmembers Brown, Narum and Mayor Thorne also indicated their support. 19. Reviewed the Preliminary Schematic Design for the Master Planning of Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks Assistant City Manager Yuan-Miu introduced the item and project team members. She presented a brief overview of the project's background, which began with the 2002 adoption of the Downtown Parks and Trail System Master Plan that was later incorporated into the Downtown Specific Plan. One of the key recommendations of the master plan was that the Firehouse Arts Center, Lions Wayside Park, Delucchi Park and the Downtown Regional Trail Corridor be developed as a single combined facility serving both the immediate neighborhood and the City as a whole. In 2008/09, the City retained consultant Richard Larson to develop two preliminary schematic options, now referred to as Options A and B. Both options are largely similar to one another with the primary difference being that Option A proposes to underground the large drainage swales bisecting the park. In 2011, the Parks and Recreation Commission identified the Master Planning of Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks as one of its top three priorities and selected Option A as its preferred schematic. The Civic Arts subsequently reviewed the project and also selection Option A. In ;.013 the City Council asked staff to revisit the master plan project. As part of that process, the project was again reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission at its May meeting and Option A was reaffi-med. Ms. Yuan-Miu stated that staff is currently working to develop a citywide parks and recreation master plan to help the City plan for the changing scope of recreational activities. As pait of the process, staff conducted several community outreach workshops and the participants also :onsistently identified renovation of the two parks as one of the most important improvements for the City to pursue. The master plan objectives are to integrate the recently completed Firehouse Ads Center with the two parks to allow for a greater diversity of offerings the community in both active and passive uses. It is envisioned that this will provide an improved overall experience for citizens Dy enhancing safety, accessibility, and aesthetics. Specifically, the plan looks at improving access between the Firehouse Arts Center and Lions Wayside Park, installing improvements to enhance the safety and enjoyment of special events and to expand the venue in a way that increases the site's ability to support existing activities and those that have yet to be planned. She briefly described the advantages and challenges of both options as they relate to the drainage swales. Option A, which again elects to underground the existing swales, allow; for more active use area and improves safety and accessibility but also present potential challenges in the form of City Council Minutes Page 7 of 13 July 16, 2013