Library Board - Regular Meeting

Okay. Good evening, and welcome to the 04/09/2026 Alameda Recreation and Park Commission meeting. Could we begin this evening with a roll call, please?

Chair Ades?

Present.

Vice chair Swartz?

Present.

Commissioner Alexander? Here. Commissioner Boerning?

Present. Thank you. The first item on our agenda this evening is non agenda public comment. Members of the public may speak for three minutes regarding any matter not on the agenda. Commissioners will not respond to comments or answer questions. The city welcomes speakers providing public comment, but please be advised that this is a limited public forum. And as such, speakers must stay on topic if speaking to a particular agenda item. And if speaking during nonagenda public comment, they must address matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city. If speakers fail to follow these rules, they'll be warned. And if they continue to disregard the rules, their opportunity to speak will be ended. Do we have any nonagenda public speakers tonight?

No speakers.

Thank you. In that case, we'll move forward. Our next item is our staff communication from recreation and parks director, Justin Long. Director Long.

Hi. Good evening, commissioners. We'll go through our director's report here. Upcoming citywide community events that are occurring, we have a volunteer coastal cleanup. This is taking place every second Saturday of the month, and it's ongoing from at t 10AM at Seaplane Lagoon. It helps to bring gloves in a bag. This is put on by community action for a sustainable Alameda. The fifth annual spring shindig is taking place Saturday, April 18 from twelve to 3PM at the Alameda Point Gym. Come celebrate Earth Day with us. It's a free event.

There's educational activities and community organizations and fun for all. Alameda Sings Spring Concert is taking place on April 18 at 7PM at the Veterans Memorial Building. And then the Alameda Home Electrification Fair and Alameda Bike Festival is taking place Saturday, May 2 at 11:30AM at the Ruby Bridges Elementary School. Everyone's welcome. This is a free event.

And then the twelfth annual play for the park's golf fun dinner is taking place Monday, May 18 at Carica Park. Support, from this event goes to the Alameda, Parks and and from our, Alameda Parks, Foundation. And it's a fun day on the golf course. To register, please go to alamedaparks.org. For upcoming recreation events, our community rec, which is our free programs in the parks, offers games and crafts on the following Wednesdays, and they start at 3PM and go to 5PM.

So April 15, it'll take place at Littlejohn Park. And then on April 29, it'll take place at Whale Park. Our Starlight movies in the park, starts on May 8, and the first movie will be is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. This will be taking place at Crown Memorial Beach, and the event begins at 06:30, and the movie begins roughly around 08:15. So bring some chairs and blankets because it tends to get breezy.

It's National Kids to Parks Day on Saturday, May 16 from 09:30 to 2PM. It'll be taking place at Sweeney Park. You can enjoy class demonstrations, crafts, and games. Bring your family and friends. Our Alameda Walk series, will be happening on Saturdays, starting on May 16 at 9AM at Harbor Bay Business Parkway, with the next one taking place on May 23 at the Gold Coast neighborhood.

And if you want more details, you can find them on our website. Wanna give you guys a few project updates. So the aquatic center is currently out for bid. Those will be due back on April 21, and we'll have a better idea of what the actual total cost is going to be, and then we can start award the contract and get a start date. Estuary Park Phase 2, construction is moving along pretty quickly.

Walkways are getting, paved. There's gonna be courts being paved soon. And, later in April here, our bathroom building is being installed. So we're we're hoping to have the completion towards end of late fall with opening several months after that after the growing period. So, hopefully, by the 2026, it'll be open to the public.

The Sweeney Park Trail connectors. The long awaited north and south connectors are under construction currently, and they should be completed sometime in early May. And that'll open up to the public for Sweeney Park to be open to the north and south finally instead of only having two entrances, one on the West and one on the East end. So we're excited for that. For the community garden, we have a meeting with backyard growers tomorrow, April 10.

We'll be meeting them on-site and doing a walk through of the area of the the garden, or the where the proposed garden will be. Leidycker Playground, the contractor is going to counsel here later in April or or early May so we can buy that playground and get that process started. We're looking to have completion of that installed by the 2026 at the latest. So our our summer registration is open. A lot of our programs are filling up quickly.

So if anyone has any need to get kids into camps, please visit our website. Our, our activity guide is online, and it's filled with active links that bring you right to the registration for the actual classes. So, hopefully, that'll help limit, you know, any type of confusion with our registration software. We're also in the process of hiring for summer jobs for individuals aged ages 16 plus. We have several jobs posted on our website, so people can go and apply there or on the city's website under the HR department for job posting.

So we've got lots there. Our aquatics, the incidental swim center, swim lessons for all ages. The registration is open for summer aquatics camps, so don't miss out on the different creativity and things you can do in the pool this year as well as lessons and skill levels are underway. So and swim sessions are offered on Sundays for open swim. Our our spring break camps during AUC non school days since this is upcoming this this coming week, we have spring vacation camp taking place at Harrison Center.

Have an all sports and intro to basketball and sporty tots camps taking place at the Alameda Pointe Gym. There's special interest programs at various locations. And if you're looking for something to do last minute, please check out our website because there's still availability. Our our teens so ARPD is still facilitating the Queer Teen Alameda Center that takes place at the underground teen center at the Vets Building. This is every Friday at 6PM, and it's we're in a partnership with Alameda Pride.

The summer volunteer programs are open for registration. It's a good way for students to earn community service hours. We've got the Every Act Matters program. This helps assist with movie nights, the sand castle contest, the fourth of July parade, and our community rec program. We have operation green suite.

This is Mondays and Fridays, June 22 through July 24. This help makes our community cleaner, greener, and more beautiful in our parks. And then we have our junior leader program. This is a Monday through Friday program that runs July 6 through the thirty first from 8AM till 05:30, and this helps individuals learn leadership skills, gain experience, and prepare for future jobs with ARPD. Our youth programs at the Alameda Point Gym, we've got after school pickleball for middle schoolers, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4PM till 05:30.

We're also offering homeschool PE, k through fifth graders. This is Wednesdays and Fridays from nine until twelve. And then for for adults, we have our open gym, which is taking place Sundays, 6PM till 10PM at the Alameda Pointe gym. We have tennis. We have private and semi groups available.

So if you're interested in tennis lessons, you can sign up for them if you visit our website. We have indoor pickleball taking place Fridays from 09:30 till 12PM at the Alameda Pointe Gym. And then we're also offering, as a community member came and and spoke to you all at the last meeting, our indoor roller skating taking place Wednesdays, 9PM till 10:30PM at the Alameda Point Gym. We've got some massive programs to offer. There's some new ones.

There's an intro to artificial intelligence. This is taking place Monday and Wednesdays, April, twentieth through the twenty ninth from one until 02:30PM, and they can do it via Zoom as well. And this is to teach people how to use a a AI tools and how to use them. There's strength training in cardio is takes place Wednesdays, May sixth through the June 24. That's 10:30AM through 11:30AM, and this helps develop bone density and muscle mass, and all fitness well levels are welcome.

MasTec is also having their spring art boutique. This is taking place Saturday, April 25 from ten until 2PM in the social hall. And celebrate spring at their art fair, You can discover unique handmade creations, including some paintings, needle craft tools, ceramics, and more. Leisure date, we just want a a leisure for a leisure club. Save the date.

The leisure club talent show will be taking place Thursday, June 11 at the Harrison Center. It's a great event. And then at in the parks, you're gonna see that some improvements have been made at Littlejohn. The dugouts were made to fit for ADA and replaced, and so there's some features there. We put in some safety netting and some benches again to help with the ADA.

The trellises at Bohol Circle were repainted to as we all have not all, but with the salt air, our our metal trellises needed to be redone. And we're also working on the Harrison Rec Center being painted currently. And then on March 10 through the thirteenth, four of our staff members attended the California Park and Recreation Society conference in Long Beach and and got a lot of good information and some good professional development training. Staff training on March 18 focused on using laser level equipment for infield and improving our field accuracy. And then our spring sports field maintenance is underway, so including irrigation activation, inspection, fertilization, and just really all support for improving the field quality.

Wanna take some time to recognize some of the staff. Dana Archibald has been a dedicated member for ARPD for over fourteen years. She started as a rec leader and is now a rec specialist, consistently showing flexibility and a strong work ethic and a commitment to supporting programs across multiple sites. She contributes to program ideas for wrap. She assists in orders and deliveries and most recently helps coordinate entries for the mayor's fourth of July parade.

And it's a very essential role for that that event, and we really appreciate her. She's been absolutely fantastic for us. And then wanna call out a couple of our maintenance staff. Nick Casadenda and Oscar Ledesma successfully passed their certified playground safety inspector program, which is a very difficult task, but it's nice having internal staff to have that knowledge base so they can help keep everyone in the community safe. That's the end of the report.

Perfect. Thank you. Commissioners, questions for director Long?

I have a question. I was approached by someone asking if they still had the clock at Franklin Park on the tennis courts. So I said, well, I don't know. I think it's still there. Well, I went down the other day, and the clocks are not there. Is there any chance that those clocks could be replaced at Franklin, Or what how should I go about responding to the community member?

Just mentioning it now that we'll put it in

the order in a quarter. Great. Thank you.

We'll take care of it.

Others? Okay. In that case, we'll move forward. Our next item is commissioner communications. Commissioner Alexander, welcome back. Would you like to

start us off? Yes. I would. Thank you. Unfortunately, I was not here at the March meeting, and that's women's month, and I always give my traditional women of ARPD speech. There's been a long history of women in this department from the playground leaders all the way up to the director. And I think it's really important that we don't forget about them, and it would be nice for some time in the future to have something perhaps done in honor of all the women of ARPD in general. So that's my spiel for March. I went down to Estuary Park, and, boy, is there a lot going on down there. It's really exciting to see.

I went to Littlejohn and checked out the Little League field. Someone had commented about the fence down there. So I went down and took a look at that. I said I went to the Franklin Tennis Courts. I think it's great that the movies in the park are moving around. Let's try it and see how it works this year. I would like to also talk about the activity guide. I had a chance to actually sit and read that from cover to cover, and I literally I did cover to cover. It is absolutely amazing what 12 full time staff members can put together. I I don't know if people in this town realize all the different activities are offered, the day care, the camps for kids.

It's amazing. And my sister happened to be in town, and she was reading through it. And she goes, oh my god. These are really creative. When did they come up with all these things? You know? We had fun things, but look at all this. So I just wanna commend staff. I it's unbelievable, that that that guide. And I would also like to make a quick shout out for the Alameda Friends of the Park golf tournament on May 18. Please come sign up. We're looking for foursomes. And that golf tournament is really run by former park directors. And the dinner afterwards at Lincoln Center is cooked by all former park directors. So, yeah, we're getting a little older these days, but we're still kicking around.

But it just shows you what the dedication was to the park systems several years ago, and I hope that that will continue as our parks continue to grow. I think that's all. Thank you.

Thank you. I would offer a second to that Alameda Parks Golf Dinner we went last year. It was delicious. Thank you. Commissioner Bernie.

I would like to give an appreciation to ARPD for making our parks very runner friendly. As I mentioned earlier before the meeting, I will be running in the Boston Marathon in about two weeks. And, normally, someone would say that that could be that just for a personal goal, but I am actually running for charity. I am running for Cat Town, which is a cat shelter in Oakland that helps at risk cats get adopted. And these are cats that have some type of either they don't trust humans, they might have a behavioral issue, and Cat Town helps them overcome those issues to help them find good homes and to not only help them live better lives, but help whoever adopts them live better lives.

So because I was given the opportunity to raise money for Cat Town by running in the Boston Marathon, I would like to give a shout out to ARPD for helping make our parks very runner friendly and allowing me to train either very early in the morning or very late at night and make sure that I'm able to have a very successful marathon run-in two weeks.

Thank you. Vice Chair Schwartz?

Like I mentioned last week, I've been spending a little bit more time than normal at Franklin since my son started playing t ball there. But really great Sundays and Mondays when I'm there. There's always people on the tennis courts. You know, I'm usually at the baseball field, but there's people hanging out in the park area with all the trees or playing on the playground. So really great to to experience a park I'm not usually at a little bit more.

Also spent some time at Jean Sweeney and Cruzy. Saw the connector work going on. So glad that, is underway and should be wrapped up soon. And then, this actually just happened today, so I believe the noon water aerobics classes have ended, but there's definitely still some patrons showing up kinda asking about the class. And so definitely would I know I I was actually already emailing with Stacy today about unrelated, and I know she's working on some some summer adult classes.

But, especially that one specifically, as I mentioned a couple months, couple months ago, I was really encouraged to see the turnout there. And there's still people actually showing up. I think it's been two weeks since that class has wrapped up, and there's still people showing up asking about it. So there's definitely still that sense of community they've they've built, and would love to, at least for that, since there was already some momentum there and not have to wait potentially for the summer, to bring that back and and got some feedback today from some of those patrons about, them wanting that program back. So just wanted to pass that on. That's all I got. Thank you.

Great. Thank you. And I will, I'll cede my time back this evening in the interest of moving us forward. The next item on the agenda is to approve the minutes from our 03/12/2026 meeting. Can we have a motion, please, to approve those minutes?

I will motion to approve.

And a roll call vote, please.

Commissioner Alexander?

I'll abstain. I was not here.

Commissioner Bernie?

I'll abstain. I was not here.

Vice chair Swartz?

Yes.

And chair Radiss?

Yes. Is that sufficient to approve? I I think so. Yep. Okay. In that case, the motion's been approved. Thank you. The next item on our agenda is our regular agenda item six a, which is to consider a recommendation to approve the memorial amenity policy. We'll start with a report and a presentation, then the commissioners can ask clarifying questions about the opportunity for public comment, and then commissioners will discuss and offer their own feedback. Then we'll need a motion to recommend or not recommend the approval of this policy at the end of our discussion. Director Long, thank you.

Alright. Good evening, commissioners. We're here tonight to talk about the memorial amenity policy. This is a new policy for our department. What we've had in our current practice is we've had a procedure for years. K. This is not advancing. Sorry. Can you advance it, Donna? Sorry about that.

Basically, we've had a a a procedure for years. So you could fill out a form. You could donate a a picnic table, a bench, But we really had no real information in there about duration or to give people a lot of clarity. So we've had a procedure. And so what we've done here today is to put together a policy that hopefully will bring clarity on and on establish, like, the ongoing commitments and expectations from both ARPD as well as the the the donors.

So the proposed policy, it'll really provide clear and consistent guidelines. It supports long term maintenance implementation of the plan and defines what the park amenity library is. So, like, for example, right now, we have benches, picnic tables. We have two different types of tables, but we also didn't wanna just limit it to only those. Like, say, someone wanted to donate a different park amenity, that they would have the ability to do so under this policy.

It also clarifies the eligibility, requirements, costs, and the term of the donation. You know, I it applies to, like I said, benches, tables, and other park amenities as well. Next slide. For eligibility, individuals, families, organizations may apply. What we've tried to do here is to make sure that it's it's not a commercial process. So this has really been for families, organizations, and individuals. You would still fill out the a very similar memorial amenity request form. It gives us all the details. You'll provide an inscription that you would want. We will talk about preferred location, amenity type, your contact information, and then receiving payment.

So the the term or duration here is new, so that we'll spend some time here. What we're looking at is having new amenities, have a ten year dedication or the life of the amenity. And this really is talking about sort of the the duration of the in the park system, trying to establish clear guidelines, but we also wanna make sure that there's also a renewal process. So let's say if you would like to to do that, we would allow for a, another ten year renewal, for a modest fee of a thousand dollars. So the other thing that we're also talking about is we have some substantial number of existing park benches out here and that are already in the system.

And what this policy is establishing that anything that is currently in existence from from the time the policy is adopted would be extended for a full ten year term regardless of when it was originally donated, as long as the the asset still can can exist due to its condition. So that's one of the ways we try to incorporate all the pre donors that were not in this policy current or before it existed at all. So what we also like to do is, like, know, you can renew anything nonrenewed could be rededicated or moved to another location or depending on the actual bench itself, whether it needs to be replaced or removed due to its condition. And then we also just wanted to put this one in here because if a bench gets completely vandalized to the point where it is not safe to use or has been very vandalized that it is unsafe, we we wanna have the right to be able to remove or relocate that that facility. We would actually replace it if it were destroyed, so just put that out there.

Next slide, please. So locations and availability. So this is something that you'll put down your preferences of where you'd want it, and then we will work with the individual donor to talk about where they can go. Now we have lots of parks. We have some parks there at capacity.

So those are will have to fall into some other parameters as well. Like, for example, we wanna make sure that they're in safe spaces. We maintain accessibility, that it fits into the master plan of the park, and that we can actually still maintain around said location. And then we also wanna make sure that we're putting in places that aren't just aren't gonna interfere with normal park use. We're not gonna put one in the middle of a baseball field, for example.

And then, like I say, you know, some parks are limited due to the just the quantity that have already been donated into those, and then we'll also have alternatives to provide other folks. For example, we have over 700 benches in our system, and right now, about a 150 of them have dedications. So just to give you an idea that we still have capacity to to take, donors on existing facilities as well as, provide new locations for those as well should someone really want a specific location. And then we have to we have to still put this in here about we're still concerned about, you know, if if things are damaged and we cannot repair that we would have to be able to remove them in a in a timely way. Next slide.

So the application process and timeline, you would request a form. We would review it with you when we get to installation. And, generally, this is gonna take between eight and sixteen weeks depending on having the plaque made, having the amenity ordered, and then we can work on installation of that. And so that's generally the timeline is eight to sixteen weeks depending on if we have them in stock or not. So, you know, what we'll do and what we're committing to as part of this is that we'll meet with the applicants, confirm locations.

You know, we'll review the inscription and the placement. We'll offer a renewal option for existing amenities. Again, it's a ten year term. Then, again, it is subject to the life cycle of the amenity. If you donated a a drinking fountain and it need to be replaced after ten years, it's to the term of the amenity, for example.

And we'll be tracking the contact information, which is why we take those forms. So if a donor cannot be reached at the end of the term, we may rededicate, but we'll do every effort to contact them and decide if they want to renew. So this comes down to the the cost portion. And so this right now, our existing fees are around 2,000 to $2,200 plus any concrete pad that you would have to do. But by establishing this ten year maintenance where it's really breaking down to actual cost based on our original conversation with the commission, the feedback that we received was that we should really try to put it to a what what is it actually costing the department to maintain and to keep these amenities?

And so we've established the donations now. Concrete bench is 5,000. The ironwood bench is 6,000, and a picnic table is 5,500. Now just to break this down a little bit, the actual cost to us for a bench is 2,000. For the table, it's, again, $2,000.

And then the ironwood bench, the just to buy the material is another 2,200. So a concrete slab for them to sit on because what we've determined with many of these benches, you need to have paving pad underneath them. It provides them from saddling and make keeps it in a much better condition for the general public, and that runs between a thousand and $1,500 generally. And then the ten year maintenance cost. And so that that ranges between 2,000 and 2,400 based on how many times staff have to go out and clean it, how many times staff have to either take graffiti off of it, some things will need to be painted.

And so that's the ongoing cost for the the ten year term just to give you an a better idea of the breakdown. Next slide. And then so tonight, we're here seeking your feedback and approval of the policy. And with that, I'll open it to questions.

Great. Thank you. Commissioners, it's our opportunity to ask clarifying questions. Just as a reminder, we'll start with questions, and then we'll have the opportunity for discussion, and feedback a little bit later. Questions for director Long?

So just to reiterate, so there's a 150 current memorial benches, tables, etcetera?

Well, that's just the benches. There's about 75 tables out there as well. We've tracked them all in GIS, and so they're all located for us across the system so we know where they are.

Cool. And then how what's do you feel like you have sufficient contact details for at least the majority of of those right now? I think

we have a decent amount. I think some of the older donations will be a little bit harder to track down, but we'll do our best to do that. Great. That was it. Thanks.

Please, commissioner Bernie.

Are we expecting these fees to remain to remain as they are the entire for the entire ten years?

I what I've for for maintenance, from the time that you do this, whatever you reserve it at, that'll be your fee from the time when you sign up for the memorial.

Right. So I know so so if a person buys one now oh, no. Say, not that phrase, but if they buy one now for 5,000, then that is for them, that lasts the entire ten years. But let's say five years from now, someone wants to buy them, We're expecting I'm assuming these will adjust with inflation and things like that.

Yeah. We'll bring back the policy regularly to the commission to talk about increasing fees as as it needs to Mhmm. In order to accommodate if the prices go up. And as we all know, things go up. So we'll be bringing that back to you on a on a an as needed basis for you guys to review and approve.

Okay. And

is is there a process for if a donor wants to transfer to someone else?

Because I'm assuming a lot of some of these individuals might be older and they might want to transfer their responsibility or something happens to them to their their their offspring or friend? Is there a process for that?

I don't think we consider that. We may wanna look at adding that to the policy or having at least a discussion around it, but that wasn't a primary discussion from our from what we received from feedback.

Yeah. I'm just because I'm saying if if a donor can't be reached, I'm just trying to assume them. I don't know the demographics, but I'm assuming things happen. People might want want might want to maintain this, and they might want to transfer for someone else, so that might be something we

can do. I'd again, I think we'll be open to the conversation. And, you know, should we have that and someone approach us, If it's during the term or of an existing term

Mhmm.

Then we would probably allow that to occur. Yes.

So this this renewal option, is this for just so I'm clear, is this for the current the current memorials, or is this for someone at the end

of the ten years and they have

the option to renew? This is for the for the end of the ten years. We're giving anyone who already has one Mhmm. A full ten years already from the time the policy gets adopted. At that time, if they choose to renew, it would

be a thousand dollars. Okay. And why a thousand?

Well, we've we've we've felt because we're not purchasing it. And depending on the the maintenance cost and components of what we've already spent that it'll probably be average out between the first ten years of maintenance and then the next ten. So that's why we chose the thousand dollar mark.

Okay. But this also has the potential to increase based on inflation and things like that. So Again this moment in time, we're saying 10,000. But just well, ten years from now, it could be something else, but we don't know. But that will be a Jesuit five years from now.

So it it'll exist the the it'll the renewal exists at the time of your contract. Mhmm. So if you if you signed up and it was initially a thousand dollars, when you get to the end of your ten years Yes. For that person.

But later on, if someone finds up, it might be different. Just the

Correct.

Okay. And then these forms are submitted they have to be submitted via paper. There's no online option.

Currently, we don't have that ability to do that online as we are investigating replacing our asset manage not as as our reservation system. We'll look to see if that can be a component.

Okay. And then the only options that the person has is a concrete bench, an iron ore ironwood bench, and a picnic table.

Those are the standards that we have currently. But if someone wanted to donate a drinking fountain, it would be cost at the cost of the actual amenity plus the installation. Okay.

I'd like to thank staff for making this policy. I think it's a good idea to have the clarification. It's very comprehensive. I think it explains things very well. I just have a quick question. I'm gonna do my math. So if I have a $5,000 bench and it costs $2,000 to install it, that's $3,000 left for maintenance for the ten years. Am I doing that correct?

Yes. Plus the concrete

pad. Plus the

So if you subtract the concrete pad, that's 1,500. So it'd be a thousand $500 for ten years. That would be the maintenance fee.

Yes.

Okay. So are you going to stain the Ironwood benches if they needed to be stained once a year?

I can defer to our assistant director on what the maintenance staff are doing.

We are, doing our best to stain them on an annual basis. Sometimes that's done with volunteer staff such as GreenSweep and others, but staff resources are used for that.

If I have a bench that I've donated, can I go stain it myself with this new policy?

I think that we would look into kind of our existing structure of what we have using volunteers and resources like GreenSweep and others if that would align with that.

So you wouldn't want the person who has that bench there to go stain it once a year? You prefer that you did it?

I think we'd like to

contact you to let you know that they wanted to do it perhaps?

I think contacting us to establish that kind of expectation would be reasonable.

Okay. And contacting the current donors, just a suggestion. I'm just thinking about the benches that I know. There's probably two or three contact names you could get from that person. So if contact person a had moved, I'm sure you've thought about that. But

We Yeah. We'll we'll do our best ever to when we reach out to the initials to to contact as many as we can or contact others that may know them in order to try to get current contact information.

Our existing form currently has, two primary and alternative contact info, either email and or phone.

And you said there were I forget the correct number of benches that are out there that have not been dedicated to someone. Is that correct? That are so if I wanted to just take that bench and dedicate it, could I buy the plaque and put it on that bench? It's already there.

We have currently been doing that at the same rate as, if you were to replace a new amenity as well. It's been

So it'd be the same cost. You wouldn't

Our current practice has been that. Yeah.

Okay. That's all my questions. Thank you.

Thank you. I have a few questions myself. Following directly onto this point, you know, I I appreciate the the the model in essence is a is a ten year license of dedication as opposed to more of a an ownership of the of the memorial. I'm curious, from your standpoint operationally, is there a distinction it seems like your operating assumption is that this donation is made to purchase a bench that's been installed and so forth. Is there any distinction that's worthwhile to make between in the in the agreement language or or or whatnot between that that starting assumption?

You know, is is it to is it to add memorial to a bench, whether new or existing, for a period of ten years? Is that the general principle, or is the general principle to say that we are buying and installing this this memorial item?

So I would say in principle, it is whether it's new or existing that you're getting memorial in a park Mhmm. For up to ten

years. Right.

And then with the ability to renew for another ten years.

And then what's happening behind the scenes is really up to you. Correct. Yeah. Okay. Good. The second question is just looking at the the relative pricing, I was a little surprised to see that a full picnic table is is cheaper than the second bench option. And that's just my pricing mind going. Is there is there any cent is I mean, the picnic table is physically bigger. Right? Is there any sense in increasing that pricing to to reflect that, or is this does this make the most sense in your estimation?

Surprisingly, our concrete precast finishes are are quite cost effective. An ironwood bench is a very expensive type of wood and very durable, long lasting. However, they just carry a much higher cost from purchase. Okay. So Okay. It's unfortunate. But

Okay. Third question is so I I was looking around at at other cities in the area. You know, in our previous conversation, December, right, we're trying to balance the concepts of access on the one hand and and covering costs on the other. At these price points, are you comfortable kind of benchmarking against other cities? You know, the the one that I that I found that I that had the most fulsome policy in comparison was the East Bay Regional Park District, which I imagine you you've looked at. Are are you are you comfortable with just how our pricing sits relative to other municipalities?

We reviewed quite a few different municipalities and their pricing, and as you can tell, they widely range Yeah. All over the place. What we've tried to do is look at because we took your recommendation of actually trying to cover cost. And so I think what we'll do is we'll evaluate this policy based on what we see happening.

Mhmm.

And if we feel like the pricing is too high, we can adjust. If we wanna create and I think what this will give us the ability to do is we might be able to create different levels Okay. In the future of this. I think what we're trying to do is to start on some standard features, and we may have others that be brought into the system or library that may be more attainable at at a lower price point. So I think one of the things that I didn't address at the beginning is this this procedure was put into place because as you walk around the parks, you'll find random plaques, different places.

And one of the reasons why we're putting a policy in place is really to try to organize what happens in the park system so we don't have a a widely varied library of assets in the park. And I think this is a way that we can do that. Okay. And so I think that's another component of why we try to limit the number of options of what we're giving folks. Okay.

Cool. And then my last question, just pushing a little bit further on what commissioner Alexander and commissioner Bernie raised. Just in terms of future testing this, you know, ten years from now is a long time. Imagine who among us will be here in ten years. Just in in thinking about someone inheriting this policy, just wanna make sure we're not leaving them with a with a liability. A thousand dollars for the subsequent ten year period, is that a comfortable can we push that a little bit? I mean, is $2,000 a more more appropriate figure? Is a thousand dollars enough? I I would just wanna make sure we cover that.

Yeah. I I think what we were trying to evaluate was what would be considered reasonable since we're not required or acquiring more Yeah. Material. And I think that the initial maintenance period should keep the the donation in good shape since we've charged the maintenance before. Okay. And so I think that a thousand dollars would probably be reasonable at this given time

Okay.

For continuing that asset for another 10.

Okay. Okay. Great.

I have another quick question.

Michelle Alexander.

How many picnic tables and benches do we have donated each year? Just a guesstimate.

I would say the last two years, it's been around number hovers between 25 to 35. That's a lot. It is.

It's a lot. My my only concern is the cost of this. Mhmm. I understand it, but I think I'm concerned with the cost. But it is what it is.

Let's let's discuss that further in a moment. Any further questions? No?

I I just have I just have one, possibly two more. The first question is, can how how long can they renew this? How many times can they renew this?

It will depend on the life of the asset. I think that is the the contending factor. So if after you get to the end of your ten year term, it's your second ten year term and it's still in good shape Mhmm. I mean, that's a long time for a park asset to last Alright. In the in the public. So I you know, we would provide that opportunity, and we may even that might be a good suggestion for modifying the policy to say you can have one renewal. Yeah. Yeah. And that's why and that's why we're here today to get your feedback. And

is

there a scenario in which the the for our past memorials that the person asked for their money back?

Would we've not had that Okay. Happen. So I'm I'm not sure that there would be

There's any there's that there's no concern? I I don't believe so. That or someone coming in, and they're saying I don't know at what point that they have to commit their money, and then all of sudden, they're they're they're saying, wow. I want I don't want to do this anymore. Is there any do we just do we just keep it? Do we give it back to them?

Is I mean, we've had some opinion or some concerns about benches that were either delivered damaged or had flaws to them that have either been patched or at times been plaque has been removed and put on a different bench or table. Right now, we have not had anyone, though, that's requested a a refund

for memorial. Do we know what we would do in in that scenario? I I

think we would, you know, look at it and have a conversation with the individual and determine at that point if if that's what they truly want to do, that we would remove the plaque and leave the bench and hand them the plaque back. And if they would like their money back, we would probably return

it. Okay.

Thank you. Do

we have any public comment on this item?

No speakers. No public comment.

Thank you. In that case, we'll have the opportunity for commissioners to discuss and for comment.

I mean, I can start. Thank you, director Long. I think we've talked about in December adding, you know, the renewal fee being locked so that because, obviously, in ten years, things are gonna change. You know, I do, you know, kinda think about we're thinking about it a thousand dollars in today's money, but we gotta probably think what would that be in in ten years. Should it be higher?

I would definitely consider that because, again, I think what we, you know, we talked about in December is trying to make sure that costs are covered at a minimum. And so definitely we wanna make sure that we're comfortable with that thousand dollars knowing that that's a thousand dollars in in, you know, 2036, 2037 and not necessarily today. But I do appreciate the lock in because I definitely think, you know, I would hate for to kind of give these amounts, and then all of a sudden, it's ten years later. It's like, oh, well, it's 2,000, and that's not what you were planning for. So I do appreciate that, but I do wanna kinda think make sure we're thinking forward on that.

You know, I understand, you know, some of the concerns around, like, well, if the bench already exists. But, you know, from my perspective, you you bought the we we bought the bench, and then now part of this, you know, fee is basically recovering the cost of buying that bench. So I understand there might be pushback on new bench versus existing one, but, you know, that bench was paid for by ARPD, and it's really just you know, you're really recovering the cost. And I would I would make sure to phrase it that way if there is pushback. Because the ultimate thing is, again, making sure the costs are covered, and that includes any costs that may have already, you know, happened. I guess those are the two things, I had. Okay. The only thing

that I have is that I am concerned about inflation. And but and I understand the situation that we're in, but I do think that that given especially given how fluctuating inflation can be, Today's price might probably won't be the future price, and it's just something that will I am concerned about that. But I understand that you have to give people some type of set. It's not really fair to give them a set price and say, oh, it might increase by 500 in 10 or five years because we don't know. And it could be in in the opposite situation.

But I do think that it's something to be cognizant of as the this procedure is continually brought up to to the commission.

Thank you.

I I like the policy. I think it's well done. It was well thought out. My only question would be, I think the person that's gonna buy the $5,000 concrete bench needs to have it itemized so they know the cost, how much it's costing to put that slab in, and have it more detailed for them, not thinking that this bench is $5,000 when they look at it. Because that seems like a I would think twice about that unless I knew that this money is going towards the slab that has to be put in. This is going toward the maintenance. So it's x number of dollars here. I think maybe a little more definitive information on that might be helpful.

I'd I'd also like to just open a little bit more conversation on the on the pricing issue. You know, I returned I returned to the East Bay Regional Park District policy because in a sense that right over at Crown Crown beat, you know, the the direct substitute in a sense for for this policy. And, you know, they charge $5,000 for effectively a ten year license, but they're they're seeming their starting point is that you're working with an existing bench. So in a sense, it's $5,000 with no installation at all. And so in thinking about the issue you were raising, commissioner Alexander, about this balance between cost and and access, I I think we we might be able to look at it from both directions.

I I agree with commissioner Bernie that my sense is that a thousand dollars ten years from now is is gonna be a little bit low. I mean, three to 5% inflation, and we're already, you know, 50% higher than that, you know, today. By the same token, I I also I agree with commissioner Alexander in the sense that $5,000 on on an existing facility feels feels a bit expensive. So I wonder whether there's any space to look at a lower rate for putting a plaque on an existing, an existing facility, while at the same time raising the the renewal rate to reflect higher higher ongoing costs. And, also, in a sense, at that point, you are putting a plaque on an existing facility.

Right? So there's a there's a certain parallel structure structure there at the renewal point. And as I was taking notes during director Long's presentation, I wonder whether the the rate to put a plaque on an existing bench could be $2,500. So a lower price point for someone who's perhaps a little bit more cost sensitive, and that that renewal rate on the on the newly installed bench today would also be moved to $2,500 to, you know, to accomplish to accomplish both goals. So effectively a discount on an existing facility and then a higher price on the the renewal in the future. I wonder if that resonates with, with anyone.

My only concern with that is, you know, a bench could get installed today for, again, let's go all in, is $5,000. So purchase delivery, site preparation, installation. And then in three months, now someone's paying half the price for to put a plaque on it. And so, again, now ARPD is eating half the cost that they should would be otherwise. Because I I get from a optic standpoint what it seems like, but, you know, like, ARPDs, there's still money to do all the things that this policy covers.

That's all some like, costs that have already happened. And so it's ARPD recouping those costs versus, okay. Now I'm getting money and then buying the bench, doing the preparation. I think that's and maybe maybe some explanation of that goes goes in here. I don't know. I think it becomes way too big of a challenge to do. Well, this park bench is five years old, so it's discounted versus this park bench is three days old. I think that just creates too much administrative burden. You know? And I think this is a great starting point, and it would be great to get feedback.

And, like, knowing this isn't set in stone, we could reevaluate next year if there's a ton of feedback on it. I would just hate to make it overly complex. Sure. And then definitely don't want and I think one of the key things to talk about December, making sure that it isn't a financial burden on on on parks. So I think this is actually a really good good starting point. Other than, again, I I do kinda wanna also think about the 1,000 if that's enough for, a ten year, amount.

Well, if the policy is approved with the the numbers that we have, it'll be interesting to see how many benches or picnic tables are donated in the next year.

You

know, there there's your point right there. Yep.

Who are we expecting to be able to pay for this? It is just any I know anyone can pay for any anyone can pay for these these features. But do we have some idea about the the number that we expect to be able of new ventures that we expect to get from this policy?

We haven't put any expected numbers on this. So, I mean, these these are usually additive. They're usually meant to memorialize. We don't use this as the standard as the way for us to replace a bench. Right. So we try to do that with our operating dollars. We want the whole point of this is to create an opportunity Uh-huh. For members of the public who want to memorialize someone or a pet or whatever they want to give them an opportunity to do so. Yeah. And so we don't use this as replacement of our operational program. Yeah. So, again, we didn't we don't set expectations because these are additive.

Yeah. I I the point of my question is that I'm not expecting, let's say, 10,000 people to do something like this.

I think

it's only that's maybe a couple of 100, maybe less than that.

And, again, for the term we've had the program, we have a 150 benches. That's right. We have 75 picnic tables. So, I mean, it gives you an idea over the term of our procedure what we actually have

Mhmm.

Even at the $2,000 rate. So I I'm not gonna anticipate that we get a ton, but we have donors to Mastic all the time. We have people regularly donate. Last year, we had a donation of 585,000 to the Mastic Senior Center. So I it all just all varies on the individuals. I think if we observe that the costs are too high and that is it it basically makes the program stop, then we'll reevaluate, and we'll come back to the commission with other options for folks. Because we we really wanna provide a service here, and that's what we're that's what this policy is trying to do. Okay.

So let's, let's push on the the pricing here in a moment. Before we do, I I had need to double back one clarifying question. In terms of the case of vandalization of the the facilities, does the policy accommodate repair of a bench that gets vandalized, or is that an additional cost to the to the donor? So there

will be no additional cost to the donor if there is a outside vandalism that occurs to it. Our only issue is if the vandalism is so severe Mhmm. That it'll be removed. And if we have the the resources at the time, we'll replace it then.

I see.

And so it may take us a little bit of time to replace it, but it's not to eliminate it. But

that's If if someone splashes paint across it, then that'll be

Our operational dollars and the maintenance dollars are what those are for in order to remove the graffiti, remove the paint, and clean it back to as as close as we can get to its original condition.

Right? So if the vent so if the let's say, this this bench is destroyed Vanillaume is destroyed at the bench. So it's a sunk cost where we we will have

to replace it. What we'll end up doing is in our operational plan, we will look at the asset and see if we can replace it. And if it takes us time to do so, it'll take time to do that. It won't be a direct replacement cost to the department. But as time and the bench is in our normal rotation because once benches become into the park locations, eventually, they will need to be replaced because they are where they are.

Yeah. I'm not I'm not well, I understand we have that. I'm talking about the scenario in which, let's say, bench out there, abandonment occurs, and the bench is entirely destroyed, and the family is saying, well, I want I want the bench back. Is that some will we pay to replace that particular bench, or will the family have to pay another thousand or $5,000 to get get that new bench? And so

So what what I'm trying to clarify here is that the bench will be replaced by the city at a point in time. It won't be replaced immediately. But as our inventory is available, we will do our best to replace it. The plaque itself on the bench will be up to the family to replace.

Right. Okay. Let's move towards a motion. Are there any concerns before we get there? Are there any other concerns with the policy itself? No? Okay. So let's let's look at this one one at a time. We'll we'll look at the the initial install pricing, and then we'll look at the renewal pricing. Is there any hesitation folks would like to voice with approving the installation prices, the benches, and the table?

I don't have any.

No. K. Is there any hesitation that anyone would like to express about approving, the renewal rate at a thousand dollars?

Yeah. I kinda like your idea, chair of let's assume if we assume 3% a year, ten years, maybe we make it 1,300. That would be let's just make assumption that then that's a thousand dollars in today's money.

Any others? I am under I am under the assumption that this thousand dollars will not last long in terms when it comes to inflation, and that we will have to we'll we'll be increasing very soon. And that's just how that's just how things have been going when it comes to inflation. So I'm not sure it'll be able to cover the maintenance costs for a ten

year period. Would you would you like to make a proposal on that point?

Because we don't know what the inflation will be. That that's that's the issue. That's why I keep coming back to saying that we don't know what it will be in the future. So I do think the only thing I can suggest is I understand the intention is to have the thousand dollars locked for a ten year period, but I'm not sure it should be I think I think whoever pays for it should understand that if the necessarily, it could increase over time. And they give us

the option to do so.

Yeah. Direct along, you help us? Is there a general inflation assumption that you make when you're budgeting for

the department? So, generally, we plan on a three to 5% inflation on an annual basis. We use the California CPI, and we use you know, usually, it's somewhere in that range. Since last year, it was 3.6.

In that case, I'd like to suggest that we protect direct along with 5% and say $1,500 at the renewal. Is there any hesitation to that? Okay. In that case, can I hear a motion to approve the policy as proposed, with the, with the only adjustment being a $1,500 renewal cost instead of a thousand dollars?

I will motion to approve the memorial amenity policy with just the update to increase the renewal fee to $1,500, but continue to keep it locked at the time of the original purchase.

Second. The roll call vote, please.

Commissioner Alexander.

I'm going to abstain from voting. I have two benches at two at a park, and I also have a picnic table. And I don't think it's right for me to make a vote on this proposal. And I would just making that as a statement because I think we ought to be really careful when we have certain things in this city that are near and dear to us, and we have to make a vote. So I think it's really important that I abstain from this vote. Thank you.

Commissioner Bernie?

Approve.

Vice chair Swartz? Yes. Chair Ades?

Yes. Thank you, everyone. The the motion's approved. Okay. The next item on the agenda is our next meeting on 05/14/2026. Do we have any agenda items that anyone would like to put on that agenda?

Director Long? We'll probably be bringing back several project updates visually for you so you can kind of see where they're at, both the Aquatic Center Estuary Park. Perfect.

Okay. In that case, hearing no other agenda item proposals, the next item on the agenda is the adjournment. Could we have a motion to adjourn, please?

I would like to make a motion to adjourn.

I'll second.

And a vote, please.

Commissioner Alexander? Yes. Commissioner Bernie?

Yes.

Vice chair Swartz?

Yes.

Chair Ades?

Yes. Thank you very much, everyone. The meeting is now adjourned. We'll see everyone in May.