Park and Recreation Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody here and anybody on watching online. We welcome you to the March meeting of the City of Riverside Parks and Recreation Commission, and we call this meeting to order at 06:31. We're gonna start off with the pledge of allegiance. We recommend to my right and your left. Alright.

Thank you. Let me go right into number one, public comment. Audience participation, always encouraged. Public comments are limited to three minutes. To comment on any matters within the jurisdiction of the commission, you are invited to participate in person or call at (951) 826-8688.

Press 9 to be placed in the queue to speak. Individuals in the queue will be prompted to unmute by pressing 6 when you are ready to speak. To participate via Zoom, use the following link, httpscolon//zoom.us/j/9269699126five. Select the raise hand function to request to speak and an on screen message will prompt you to unmute and speak. We do have some comments, but I think they're for a later item on the agenda.

So we will go into presentations right now with number two. Item two is a three one one overview. Who will be doing that?

Good

evening, my name is Alma Franco. I am the customer service manager over at three eleven and today we're gonna give you a little overview. Three eleven was established twenty two years ago. We are twenty two years strong and it's that central contact point for any visitors or any residents to be able to contact and connect with the various city departments for any needs that they might have. So it streamlines that path of communication help ensure that the city stays clean and safe and provides that service efficiency.

Within the state of California, there is less than ten three eleven facilities. We are one of the 10 here in Riverside. We have various contact points. We are available, we have live staff that is there Monday through Friday from 7AM to 6PM and we're also there available 8AM to 1PM. They can also contact us through email or our mobile application.

We can actually take submissions twenty four hours a day, seven days a week through the various contact points. Even after our live staff, our City of Riverside three eleven staff go home, there's still a live answering service that helps with those submissions. In 2025, we took close to 160,000 service requests so that equates to about one service request every minute.

Thank

you. For our three zero one mobile application, so if you go online onto the city website, it walks you through a little promotional video that's been put together by our communications team. It's a quick little two minute video that walks through how service requests can be submitted. For me personally, I love utilizing the mobile application. It's at my fingertips, it's on my phone, and wherever I'm out and about, I am a City of Riverside resident, if there's any need that I need to have followed up on, it's the easiest way for me to snap a picture and submit that request.

You can also check for any status updates when you submit the request. So you go to the mobile application, it gives you that ongoing status whether it's been addressed, it's in process or if it's closed out. Aside from that, I also love using it to pay my utility bill. So I am a City of Riverside resident as stated, so it's the quickest, easiest way to pay that utility bill or if I wanted to see if there was some upcoming event that I was interested. What's going on in the City of Riverside?

You can at your fingertips also check the calendar of events and it actually also includes a little bit of history for the City of Riverside. Our communication options, so we are able to provide service. We use a interpretation service to ensure that we provide over 200 language options for various city of Riverside requests that we receive. We also have our relay system so we can ensure that we communicate with all areas of those requests that come through. Within the last two years, we launched our Spanish mobile application so that's available both in English and Spanish and they can toggle between the two so that they can follow-up on any requests that get submitted that way as well.

Our marketing efforts are showing a little reflection of the various marketing efforts. If you're driving around City Of Riverside, you might have noticed the 91 Freeway, the interchange. There is advertisement that lets everyone know how to submit, how to connect with us to ensure that we can do the follow-up and keep everyone engaged and informed. We also have application forms with those city of Riverside utility bills that go in. We also have bill inserts.

We have social media graphics. Just last week, we celebrated National three eleven Day, so there was a social media update that went out just to make sure that our community knows how to contact us for all that follow-up. We attend community events within the last year. We attended over 21 community events where we're there and we want to make sure that we're connecting with our community. So there's various marketing efforts to ensure that our city residents know how to contact us.

Three eleven was established to help facilitate and ease the non emergency service needs. So we are there to help with all those various needs. We service multiple departments, close to 20 departments, so we're connecting everyone. Some of the various services that are provided include the graffiti removal, any field and parks light maintenance, any parks vandalism, if there's playground equipment that's damaged, parking services, traffic signal maintenance, any code violations, solid waste, non emergency requests, we're there to help assist with that. Just for a little snapshot today are my staff, which is a small number of staff in comparison.

We handled four fifty calls so that's just a snapshot of a Monday. Year wide in 2025, we also facilitated 40,000 mobile, either mobile or email requests that came through. On a weekly basis, there's a summary that goes out to the various areas to help them ensure that there's follow-up with those requests that come through and then on a monthly basis, there's reports that go out to the executive team, city manager's office to ensure that those resources and follow-up is also maintained. And now, I'm gonna turn it over to Kyle that's going to go over or park service request.

Well thank you very much. Kyle Raphael, park superintendent. They also give away really cool stickers so I'm gonna be handling the park side of the presentation. If you look at it, have over in 2025, we had over 2,745 year end totals. We had park maintenance requests and that's usually like when we have a fountain upgrade or stuff like that.

People will report fountain's not working, we'll go out, we'll have the staff take a look at it and then they make a decision that we need to replace it. Some of our parks have some older infrastructures on these and we are going around finding out which ones they are and setting them up for schedules to get them replaced. Graffiti in the city parks is about five zero one and I think that's even a low number because a lot of times we have our staff and our contractors who are out working in our parks and they'll go by and as they're cleaning up or something there's a small little graffiti on the table and they just wipe it off. They don't report it because it's just they're moving along so quickly. So I would say approximately about another 10 a day that we get just for our staff and the contractors on small minor graffiti.

Park sprinklers irrigation, we get calls regarding a blowout where it's shooting up in the air. Field lights, malfunctions, lights out, sometimes it's, well, we get the vandalous part. Emergency expedited means like broken glass. Yeah. We get sometimes we get feces or broken limbs or stuff like that in our parks, so we that's something we need to get out there right away and do.

Parks trees, removal of limbs. We get a lot of leaves and pine needles that drop in certain areas and we get them out of the way, especially on playgrounds. We also have a grid pruning that we're doing for our parched trees so that way we can catch up and make our trees safe. Landscaping, that's usually shelters, trash cans, stolen trees, bushes, things like that. Parks playground equipment damaged, a lot of times we do get people who they'll burn a slide or they'll carve into it and it's not safe anymore so we'll have to remove it and put up another slide so it takes some time.

Next slide. We have Parks process. So this is how we go about once we receive an SR three eleven. Service request is received via email. Our supervisors review and they prioritize it.

Safety or graffiti issues addressed within twenty four hours. Those are the high priority items. Parks admin creates work orders. Supervisor assigns the work orders to our staff, work is completed in the field, supervisor notifies the admin, and then admin closes SR and work order in and then our civil system. We also add comments and then if it's needed, we usually add photos if it's applicable and then also admin updates parks internal tracking system so that we have a tracking of it.

And then lastly, our twenty twenty five parks closed out service request. These are ones that we actually were able to close out. We had, as you can see, five seventeen for graffiti. The other issue is that we have like up to 2,068, but another issue is we have a lot of 301s that come in and they're long term, so we don't close those out and that's just so that way we can get to them eventually and schedule them. It's stuff like can we get a new playground?

Can we get new surfacing or something? And that's something that's unless it's an emergency or something, we always take a look at it and say, yeah, we're gonna schedule it for a future date. So, and our grand total for that was 2,068 service requests that our staff was able to close out this year. Any questions?

Well, first of all, thank you for that report. I've had three one one app on my phone for years and just I know this isn't parks, but like you guys handle things very fast. I had a street light go out and I called again different department but it was done the next day. And a couple times I've called about parks and there's been a response. So thank you for that and I'll defer any of my fellow commissioners. Comments?

No?

Thank you very much for that report. Thank you.

Have a great Yes, thank you very much.

We turn on our mics. Next up is Riverside Community Services Foundation update and upcoming gala. Gala, Gala.

I'd like to introduce our board vice president, Aldolfo Cruz.

He looks familiar.

Thank you. Good evening commissioners and thank you for your time today. Also like to introduce Thomas Forbes who is also on the foundation. And, just to give you a little update of what the foundation is doing. Let's see.

Okay. The mission is to support support Riverside community by providing resources that support all risk support at risk youth, families, raising and managing funds to improve seniors. The community services, providing youth scholarships, hosting community events, and creating a safe and secure environment for learning and play. The impact I think I'm missing. Let me cover some of the other things on mission.

The mission of the Community Services Foundation exists to raise funds that expand access to parks, recreation, community services, programming for youth, families and seniors. Our focus our work focus focuses on removing financial barriers so residents can participate in scholarships, STEM programming, wellness initiatives, transportation services like Riverside Connect, and community building events that foster belonging. Simply put, we invest in the people who activate the spaces we create. With the support of sponsors and community partners, the gala has has raised over 86,000 over the past two years. Those funds have directly supported scholarships, senior programming, transportation access, and inclusive community events.

Every dollar stays local and strengthens Riverside residents. This momentum shows that when public leadership and private philanthropy align, expand we can expand opportunity in meaningful and measurable ways. And I'll mention the gala this year is on Thursday, May 14, 05:30 to 9PM. So we'd like to invite you to the gala. We are now preparing for our third annual STEAM Gala on 05/14/2026.

We would be honored to have your presence, support, and continued partnership, whether through attendance, sponsorship, or simply helping us share the message, your engagement strengthens this effort. You can learn through the website or QR code displayed here. And thank you for your continued leadership and commitment to Riverside. Do have any questions?

Thank you, sir. Great event. Great event. Missed it last year, but it was great two years ago. Any comments from anyone up here?

No? Alright.

I hope it's I look forward to it.

Thank you very much.

Do we

chair I wanted to mention that we have our commissioner Chad Young is on the line and he he was actually trying to speak. Oh.

Well, you kinda beat me to it because Oh. Pickleball coming up, I was gonna mention that we have a Okay. We have everybody up here on the dais. We don't have any vacancies because we have commissioner Young online. So does he wanna talk now?

Yeah. And commissioner Young, I I think that you should probably turn on your camera, so that we know that you're in the meeting. Did you have a comment, Commissioner Young, about the last, presentation?

Can't hear you.

Hold on. We're having some audio problems. Try again.

Can you hear me?

A little better.

Just speak loud.

Yes, Commissioner.

No. I I really didn't have any comments on this last item. It was more on the previous. But, but, yes, I look forward to this event. I wasn't able to attend last year, but my wife, had to attend in my stead because I had COVID at the time. So I can't wait to attend this year. But thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, commissioner Young. And moving on to item four, something near and dear to his heart. An update on the Arlington Pickleball Complex update. I just said update twice.

It's okay. Well, I am Jessica Cho, I'm the recreation superintendent for the Parks Recreation and Community Services Department. Today, I would like to provide a brief overview of the Arlington Pickleball Complex including where we are since the grand opening this past December from day to day operations to the community partnerships we've built to help support this facility. The complex, in total the investment for this nine court pickleball complex was approximately $2,000,000 The project was delivered through a design build process and included accessibility and lighting improvements. Construction began in March 2025 and as I mentioned, we were able to open it in December 2025.

The Arlington Pickleball Complex was designed to serve players of all skill levels. These nine courts complement our existing pickleball court inventory across the city bringing over 13 with nine dedicated outdoor pickleball courts. So we have 13 outdoor dedicated pickleball courts and that's the additional four at Meyerland. Six outdoor combination tennis pickleball courts and those are located at Bryant, Viegas and Shammell Parks. And then we have six indoor combination pickleball courts in multi use so we have combination with basketball, volleyball and the other sports you play indoors and those served at six of our gymnasiums.

Together these facilities help us meet the growing demand for pickleball while expanding recreational opportunities for our community. To ensure the facility meets a variety of player needs, courts are designed by skill level or designated by skill level and programming based on how they are numbered. We work closely with our pickleball volunteers to determine the numbering system that it reflects and how the courts naturally are used by the players. So courts five through nine are designated for beginner play and really that's like our organized play so that's all really in between of those skill levels. Courts three and four are more for that intermediate advanced play and during organized play, they'll schedule themselves accordingly.

And then one and two really support our classes for the most part. There is use there during the week when they have organized play but it really just varies depending on our needs as well. During the week, morning and midday hours primarily offer open play opportunities so during the week we really allow for the community to have those available to them and we do get a lot of use at the complex. Evenings include organized programming with volunteers facilitating that organized play on Mondays and Wednesday evenings and then weekends, morning hours focus on organized play as well supported by volunteers while afternoon and evenings remain open for community play. To maintain the quality of the facility, courts are scheduled for maintenance on Tuesdays from seven to eleven and then the restrooms are secured nightly.

We really haven't had to use too much of those maintenance days thankfully because they are obviously new but eventually we'll continue that service so that we make sure we always have an opportunity to blow the courts down or check nets, whatever that is because they are heavily used. Currently the courts are open from dawn till 10PM and staff continues to monitor the usage to ensure facility remains safe and welcoming for our community. It benefits us that we do have a center there in place. However, after hours, we wanna make sure that we monitor that to to ensure we don't have any unwelcome to use there. We do have rules posted that are very specific on the type of play so you can only really play pickleball there.

Should n't be running around on your skates or playing futsal soccer or anything of that nature. All those activities can damage the course especially when they're so new. Me see, I went back. Let me go one more, let me see here. Okay, so community feedback continues to play an important role in shaping programming at the complex.

Our marketing has been very limited just because we wanted to make sure that the use there, we've been open for three months and things change and shift and we really didn't wanna put information out that that was incorrect but we will be updating our website and some of our marketing material to reflect what we're actually doing there on the daily. In addition to that, the city will be placing a QR code survey out there. We really wanna look and review what information or feedback we can get from the community for future programming opportunities such as leagues and lessons and other classes. One of the key outcomes from earlier community meetings was an interest to create a volunteer team to support the pickleball community. Through those discussions, we established a partnership with a few of our pickleball volunteers and they help us keep our courts clean, they adjust nets where needed, they promote a safe and respectful play, they help us follow city regulations and they're very very helpful with providing that communication and feedback like hey, so and so this happened the other day and just everything that we need to know about that pickleball community, they're able to provide that for us and also give notice out when we can't so quickly, right?

They're able to kinda communicate with the community, hey, the courts are closed because it rained heavily and they shouldn't be used. Overall, the pickleball complex is another amenity that helps our community stay active and connected and engaged. We were hoping to have some of our volunteers here and you can see them there but they're playing pickleball tonight so they couldn't make it out here. I tried to get them to come but they're like, oh, we're busy. I'm like, okay.

So hopefully, I'll be able to recognize them at a future meeting but through this project, we've been able to firsthand We've seen firsthand the strong sense of community that pickleball creates and we remain committed to supporting the programs and spaces that enhance recreation, wellness and quality of life for our Riverside residents and as we like to say in Parks and Rec, we work so you can play. Thank you, I'm here for any questions.

Thank you very much for that. I'm gonna see it. Do you have anything Commissioner Puerta just since that's in your area? How about Commissioner Young?

Yes absolutely.

And then we have commissioner Schafer is gonna go ahead.

I had a quick question. I had actually brought this up at our last meeting. I know some people who try to access the pickleball courts early in the morning and they're usually locked and closed and there's not a city staff person that they can find to help open them. Have we been figuring out

a situation? Yeah, so initially we were locking them up because there is a behavioral hospital around the corner and so we were kinda keeping that contained but when we heard there was some conflict with that and we didn't have our part time staff showing up at 7AM. We wanted to make sure that we just made them available to the public.

Okay so are they

just unlocked? So they're just unlocked. Okay. They're just unlocked now. We get feedback from the community here and there but if you guys hear of anything that needs to be addressed, please let us know.

Great, thank

you. Commissioner Young and then anybody else on the desk?

I have no comments. I just really wanted to thank the park staff. They've done a wonderful job with this. I know it was a it was a long project that was long and coming. And, you know, early coordination with with the pickleball community was a little difficult, but you guys really figured it out. And I think you've done a great job coordinating with Riverside Pickleball and the other and the rest of the pickleball community as well. So thank you very much. I've been out there several times now and and it's just a great facility.

Thank you.

Commissioner Dawson.

Thank you for coming this evening. This is the new sport. Everybody's really interested. Have you noticed a drop in tennis by happen chance or what's happening over on that end since they're so similar?

So so that is a national metric. I can look into that. Overall, I know that there's been discussion about a decline in tennis but we haven't really seen that so much. We we have a close partnership obviously with our Indulga Tennis Center. I really couldn't tell you right now what that looked like. I don't know what I think our active tennis community is out there too. We did a survey for Fairmount Park and we had a lot of feedback from our tennis community about that facility so I think it's just whenever they have time, they're out there.

Okay, just curious but probably too early to tell, right?

I think so. I mean, it's been about probably I'm gonna say eight years that pickleball's really been in the system and a lot of cities have had challenges addressing the growing demand. The reason why we did the volunteer situation was because we were researching what other cities were doing and that was one of those things that came from that conversation and research so it was the way most cities are working right now.

Okay, well thank you again for coming to see.

Absolutely and Ms. Stephanie, just to respond to your question, so Monday nights the courts are locked up because Tuesday is maintenance day but they'll be open after ten. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you again. But yeah, you commissioner Dawson, you know, lot of like 55 and over communities are repainting their tennis courts. I know know personally of two that have basically just gotten rid and this is a this is a place in Myriad that's got 1,500 single family homes inside a wall and it's all pickleball now. So and and there's a professional pickleball league that is on ESPN. I digress. But yeah. But I mean it's it's that's how big it's getting. And I think it's because it's it's very easy to to pick up. So not that we're we're not all as good at it as commissioner Yagna's but that's another topic. Moving on to

if you'd like to know anything about Fairmont Park, this is a wonderful book that tells you all about the history. And so, we did reach out to several groups including the indigenous tribes to get input on this. The goal is to do a cultural landscape master plan of the entire two eighty acres while focusing on the historic core. We have very specific goals that we have for circulation. I'll go into a little bit more detail on this.

So this is a very, very rough draft. We're just presenting this to you tonight to get your input. So this is a very rough but starting to look at what this Master Plan might look like. Now I'm gonna spend a couple minutes on this slide to go over some of our, goals here. So as we've heard from the community, circulation is very, very important.

Now many Olmsted parks around the nation are actually reducing, the vehicular, access to the park and really increasing the safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and of course reducing speeds. So we've met a couple times with both PD and fire to talk about strategies to not only reduce crime but also improve safety in the parks. There's a few different things that we could do. One would be to discourage cut through traffic. Those are folks that, are not going to the park.

They're just driving through the park. So if we were to to reduce this traffic, the, it would also lower the speeds as they're not going as fast through the park. There's, reducing opportunities for quick in and out vehicle activity thereby reducing crime. And also if we were able to have fewer entrances into the park, we could set up cameras with, license plate ID, to really reduce the crime in the park. So the our our proposal is to actually colasac, see where the two dots are on the diagram.

Cole sack both Locust and Fairmont Boulevard, but enhance the, entrances, two main entrances off of Market Street and the one at Redwood Drive. So we're gonna have a southern entrance, a northern entrance, and then an entrance from the west. And so for instance, and even at these two cul de sac areas, we would still have emergency access, maintenance, pedestrians, and bikes would still be allowed to go through those locations. So what we saw, we actually conducted a traffic study and for instance one thing that we saw is that there is quite a bit of traffic goes through the park for patrons that are not in the park. They're getting to the freeway.

For instance, on the, eastern location, more than half of the, people that drive through the park that are going through the park actually go down to, Redwood Drive there where it says the number 7. Now what we're seeing is both Redwood Drive and Locust Drive don't don't have a lot of traffic. For instance, there are about 750 average daily trips or 540 average daily trips. That's less than a fourth of the other entrances. So we feel that there's not gonna be a big impact to the park if we were to cul de sac those off.

Now, what we've heard from the community, as you can see in this diagram, the darker line, we did meet from the community at Bubbling Wells and I think maybe some of them are here in the audience. They really did stress to us that that road really should be improved. The road's in pretty bad, shape. We are proposing to put a traffic signal where the Number 15 is on Market Street, realign the road to make the road smoother and also to protect some mature trees and really be able to give a better entrance into the Bubbling Wells neighborhood. We're also, proposing more crosswalks and to remove the one way streets within, the park.

We are also proposing some, additional, parking lots. Now you'll notice down by where it says the Rose Garden, there is no parking lots down there now. So anybody that goes to the Rose Garden has to park on the street. So we are proposing a few small parking lots in that area working hard again to save those mature trees. Okay.

This is a little bit more detail of the Eastern entrance. And one of the first things that we would do is reconfigure the existing parking lots to make them more efficient. We would propose a parking deck, at this location and just reconfiguring this area so it's easier to get in and out of the park. The bandshell. I'm sad to tell you that many years ago, the bandshell actually burned.

So the bandshell that we have is not the original bandshell. What's more sad about that is that we actually, park a stage in front of the bandshell because the band shell as it is today just does not function as a concert venue. Back in a few years ago, there was a concept to build an amphitheater in front of the Banshell. However, the problem with this is that they we would have to destroy so many mature trees and we're worried about, digging down, because this is a historic, Indian site and, with water level. The, bottom of the, amphitheater would be similar to the level of the lakes.

So we don't think this is a great idea. Our proposal is actually to demolish the existing band shell, reuse the materials from it, move it forward and build a new band shell that's bigger and larger but to mimic the original band shell, to, recreate the original band shell. And this will allow us to have loading dock in the back of the band shell. Now we've been told by the community if we were to do this we would have to really, adhere to very detailed, procedures to make sure that this is culturally appropriate, historically appropriate and that we would actually be renovating the original bandshell. We would try to recreate the original bandshell but make it larger.

I'd to like talk about water quality. This is a top concern, for the community. You may recall that in, July 2024, we did have an incident where about two dozen ducks passed away in the in the park. We did have them, autopsied and found that they died of botulism. However, that's about all that we can tell you.

Actually, botulism does occur naturally and we were unable to say exactly where the botulism came from. We're happy to say that we have not had any undue deaths until that time. However, the water quality really, really does need to be improved. We are planning to apply for a grant, through the, proposition four for to address water quality and other issues within the park. One idea that we have is to actually create a beautiful stream along Market Street.

Although this would be expensive, it would really be lovely and it would increase, the water quality. We have other ideas to increase the shoreline, along the lake so that people can enjoy being near the lake without being in the lake and it would actually help clean up the edge of the lake because it wouldn't be so muddy is our idea. And of course, we think, that the best shoreline anybody could have is those beautiful trees. These trees are the Montezuma cypress, and they are historic. And so our proposal along with this grant is to plant a lot more of these trees especially around the shoreline.

We'd like to add more sidewalks, make the park be more ADA accessible. Right now, people unfortunately have to walk in the street, when they enjoy the park so, building more sidewalks. There are a couple buildings that are not being used. We're evaluating whether those can be restored and used, for something. We're working with the community on those options. And then of course the golf course. I know a few years ago there was a concept for us to actually surplus the golf course and we heard from the community that that was not liked. And so we are here to tell you that we love our golf course. We are going to maintain a nine hole golf course. And we would like to improve the golf course.

Yes. And we like to improve the golf course. We are interested in working with the private sector, with different types of vendors to actually add some golf and entertainment and we have a couple different scenarios here of what these different scenarios could be. There's several, companies out there that have either the driving range or the short game, etcetera. So we were going evaluate that.

And the armory. So we're really happy to tell you that, we have, we are signing an agreement with Thompson's Brewery, to, have a brewery and restaurant. They have really good food in the armory. We have received a grant for $2,500,000 to restore the Armory Building. We have issued an RFP and we now are evaluating those proposals. This would improve the building shell itself and then Thompson's would come in for the tenant improvements. And we are going to build pickleball. Yes. Isn't that wonderful? So we're hoping to do 15 pickleball courts behind the armory.

And so we'll be working with the contracting company to see how we can get that done. I'd also want to mention that the National Guard does locate, is located in the area just north of here and they have let us know that they want to leave in a couple years. So there'll be even more opportunity out near the armory. We also are evaluating a couple parcels of land that we could consider, surplusing, you know, for housing. The Bubbling Wells community, we have found out that that original developer had intended to build more homes in there.

Now, I will say that the idea of surplacing land is extremely complicated and it would take many, many, many years to do this and we would have to follow many, many, proper procedures to complete this. As I mentioned, this is a location of a native American Indian village and if you'd like to know more about it, there's a YouTube documentary that really tells a lot. It's only, it's a short half an hour but it really tells a lot. So we are working with the indigenous tribes. There are so many opportunities to work with them.

One very simple way would be art. The center picture is Fairmont Park and the picture on the right is actually a mosaic, in Santa Barbara depicting the heritage of the native people. So there's so many opportunities to work with the native tribes. Finally, one of our, top priorities is to actually get this on the register, the National Register of Historic Places. There are five categories, that we could meet.

We believe we can, hit all five of these and the historic communities are already so excited to, have us move forward to get this on the national register. And we are, kicking off a funding campaign, Fairmont Forever. And so corporate plan. We're going to complete the plan plan. Doing cost estimates.

We're already applying for funding to move forward and we're already working closely with the, task force to prioritize, our actions. And that concludes my report.

Very well. Very extensive. We'll go right into speaker cards. Public comment. I have 11 of them. As a reminder, you get three minutes. Keep an eye on the clock. And we're gonna start off with Austin Attaway. Next up, Christopher Andrews, and then Glenn Wetz.

Ready when you are. Good. Thank you honorable board members. First, thank you all for the work that you do on this commission. We do really appreciate it here. I serve as the chair of the HR board and always appreciate Ms. Gallera's presentations on Parks and Rec when she does. But I'm here as a citizen. As a citizen who lives on Redwood Drive with many of these other wonderful neighbors of mine in residence to actually request that you agendize either for this meeting or future meeting a couple of items. If you don't mind going back to the map with the parking spots and the cul de sacs.

So you'll see on this map, there are a lot of amazing things. I think my neighbors would agree that many of the things that you're planning are amazing, 97. We are looking forward to all of it. However, the two cul de sacs were worried about traffic flow along Redwood. I know that you said that you're not that worried about the diversion of traffic flow.

However, lot of individuals come through there and more specifically, cars at nighttime that are cutting through the park that take Redwood Drive speed around that corner and there has been multiple crashes in the past. So any proportional increase in traffic flow on Redwood, I think would come with a proportional increase in potential accidents around that corner as well as it curves around Randall. On top of parking lot that is being proposed right at the corner of Dexter and Redwood towards the bottom middle of that map. That is extremely close to the residential area. If you look at the other parking lots throughout Fairmount Park, none of them are in easy eye shot or adjacent to any houses, any residential properties.

However, this would be directly across from and next to at least five houses and also increase traffic flow to Redwood further. Wow, there is so much wonderful land right up above it that is out of eye shot that a parking lot could be on. So I would really appreciate if this commission could consider at least discussing and proposing the removal or reconsideration of one, the parking lot at the intersection of Dexter and Redwood. The two, the cul de sac at Locust And Banks. And three, the cul de sac at Fairmount. Thank you.

Thank you. Christopher Andrews.

Hello? Can you hear me? Hello. My name is Christopher Andrews. Yeah.

I am a resident of of Riverside, born and raised here. I went through Bryant all the way up through UCR for my education, and I've enjoyed Fairmont Park greatly, and I'm coming from a kind of a peer citizens perspective. As someone who's really enjoyed the Rose Garden and the surrounding park greenery area, I think that the addition of those two parking lots there kind of detracts from at least a lot of my own sentimental value that I assigned to them. And I think specifically having them be in an area like on the far side of the Santa Ana Trail and developing that is maybe a slightly better way to do that. This is purely a suggestion from someone who has enjoyed what has been there previously and would like future people of Riverside to enjoy it as well.

It's a very brief comment but that's all I have

to say.

Thank you all for your work. Thank you. So Glenn Wentzell and then after that Mary and Rick Arden and I hope I don't mess up pronunciations. David Krevanic.

Perfect. Hi.

Good evening. I was before you a few months ago talking about the Union Pacific sixty fifty one. I am a member board member of the Riverside Historical Society. Also work with the parks department very well with I'm president of the Friends of Mount Rubidou also. A wonderful group to work with we've been monitoring this I'm on the task force that's been meeting regularly we really are pleased the board has discussed it the historical emphasis that they put on We're looking at things like the Banshell which is not the original one.

We recognize that. There's other historical sites there. Not much has been mentioned, know the Boy Scout camp part which I think they alluded to is also a part that the native Americans are looking at to to protect because there's a lot of historical significance for one of their camps that are in that general area. As a historic as an amateur historian, I think all these things are being looked at carefully and I wanna applaud the Parks Department and their consultant for doing that and at this point we are supporting what they are bringing forward. Thank you.

Also Pamela mentioned the book the Riverside Historic Site produced I was the editor and compile of it couple articles if you don't have as a park commissioner you should look at getting it it's really a lot of our riverside historical society people did some good articles on the Olmsted brothers and other aspects of the park thank you

where may we find that

It's available at the Mission Inn Foundation Museum it's available at Muse Market and we have it at any of our events if you come out to the Citrus Festival in a couple weeks we'll have it there also.

See you there. Okay. Alright, thank you. Next up, Mary and Rick Arden.

My name is Mary Arden. I live on Redwood Drive. If Ian Davidson could speak for us. He's helped write everything up. We have a lot of the same concerns. If you're okay doing that Ian? Yeah. Okay. Is that alright with you? Okay, great, thank you.

Thanks, Barry. Good evening, members of the Park and Recreation Commission, city staff. Ian Davidson, I live at 4495 5th Street. That's on the corner of 5th And Redwood, very near the park. I think that the, you know, the master plan is great and doing great work.

I'm very happy to see it. I'm very interested in the historic aspects of the park and to see those things promoted. I do have some concerns that specifically relate to the circulation. Some of those things have been touched on very eloquently. Previously, one of the project goals that was shown on the slide was to stop the drive thru traffic by blocking Fairmont Boulevard and Locust Street.

That gives me concern that traffic in the park is handled by Redwood. I mean, incidentally, I observe the traffic on Redwood, and I observe the traffic on the other two streets. Pamela cited some statistics that they have that I'm not aware of, but the traffic I see is on Redwood. You're cutting through, people are cutting through commuters from the 60 Freeway or going to the freeway. They're cutting through the park.

They're hitting Redwood. They're going to Redwood at points in that direction. And they're creating a lot of traffic, a lot of speeding, running the red, the stop signs along Redwood. These are the same people that speed and run the stop signs throughout the park, and create dangerous situations for pedestrians. So I think it'll, the blocking of those two streets with cul de sacs will increase the traffic on Redwood.

I would point to the city's mobility element that's been adopted. And that shows that Redwood is a local street. Per that element, the movement of through traffic is discouraged on local streets. This is from the city's adopted circulation plan. In this case, Redwood become street, and collect that traffic that some of it's going to Fairmont, some of it's going to Locust, now it's all gonna be on to Redwood along with the existing background traffic.

So those is a concern. Thank you very much for your time.

Mr. Davidson, you have another card in here, so is that?

Well, there was people,

well that's. I don't, yeah I don't think we can.

No, that's, I understand. That's, the time's up, so I appreciate Thank your you, sir.

Yeah, you might give us a thirty seconds. Can we do that?

Because it was a hand off? Do we have the

Do

we have the the jurisdiction to do that? Sounds great. Right.

Let's start

the clock.

I'll be brief. I think the only other item that I'd like to point out is that the traffic on Redwood, of course, goes over the causeway between the two lakes. That causeway currently does not allow, it doesn't have the width to safely have two way traffic and pedestrians on both sides that is shown in the master plan as presented. The ability to widen that is severely restricted because you've got the historic Cypress on either side. So, the reality is that that cannot be widened.

That was the 30. Thank you, sir. Next up, David Kravanek and then Valerie Payne and Aggie Greenberg. Who did? Who did? Valerie.

Valerie and Aggie. Okay.

Yes. Mister Kurvanic.

And you spoke so well that you said that perfectly.

Thank

you. Ninety four percent of people butchered that the first time, but that's that's obvious because it's a strange like a name. Anyway, I'm a lifetime resident of Riverside, and I wasn't planning to speak tonight. I just heard about this. I actually met Pamela the other day. I'm the watchdog. Do remember me? Yes. And and listening to your plan, I just I love the the plan itself is a great idea. I'm just gonna basically go along with what Austin and and Ian said that we're just very concerned about the traffic.

We basically want peace, serenity, and and or an organic feel of the park. And we're gonna boy, that doesn't seem like it's gonna stay that way, the way things are going. It's gonna be very, very crowded. It's already kinda crowded, but gonna be really, really crowded. And we just remembered Fairmont Park the way it was and the way it is, and we'd like it to stay that way. And that's the that's our really, the concern is how that traffic is gonna get better. It's gonna get worse. And so and you know where I live. I live right there, and it's just boom, boom, boom, boom all day long. So, anyway, I don't I have other notes I've written down, but I'm gonna keep it brief. I basically am agreeing with what's been said about it. But the majority of it's pretty pretty cool. You've really done some extensive work. It looks cool. Yes.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir. Nancy Cain? And then lastly, Cecily Bowles?

Hi. My name is Nancy Keane. I live on Pine Street. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to us tonight. I echo the concerns about closing down the 2 Street this 2 streets at Fairmont and Locust and adding the parking lot. I think that knowing where that parking lot is gonna go and where my friends live, that I mean, we have concerns of loud music, that sort of thing, all hours of the night coming from that parking lot. And so I think that moving that parking lot would be very helpful. I think closing down streets is just a Band Aid. Literally kicking the can the down the road. Where are those cars gonna go?

The great people that live here, we all have to go to work. We all have to go home. We all have to commute contribute to this beautiful community. And by moving and closing streets, where is that traffic gonna go? Are we all gonna come back here in a year and be like, up? Now can you close down Pine Street? Now can you close down Brockton? You're not ever gonna close down Brockton, you understand what I'm saying. So please consider keeping those two locations open and not putting the parking lot there. Otherwise, I'm really excited to walk all the way around the lake without having to walk into the street. So everything else, really great. Thank you.

Thank you.

And Ms. Bolz.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Cecily. I'm actually here speaking on behalf of myself and both my parents. I'm a lifelong Riverside, my father is a lifelong Riverside. I really thank you for the work that you're putting in the park.

My parents bought their house fifty two years ago with the idea that as kids, we'd be able to go down to the park and enjoy it. My father always talks about the hand carved carousel that was down there and his fond memories. I echo a lot of the sentiments that have been mentioned here today. I'd like to say that first, in March 2025, the city closed the southbound entrance to Redwood Drive at university after neighborhood complaints and the 2023 Redwood Drive cut through reduction report confirmed that high speed and high volume traffic were present. The report showed 76% of the traffic on this residential zoned road used it as a cut through for people who don't even live in the neighborhood.

Traffic was redirected to appropriately zoned streets like Brockton and Market. Second, the city now proposes to close the Fairmont and Locust entrances to the park which will create increased traffic and the same high volume, high speed conditions deemed inappropriate on the south end. Why is cut through traffic appropriate for the south end residential end but not appropriate for the north residential end of Redwood. The street is not zoned for it and it does not have the infrastructure to support it as Ian talked about. So I think this is something worth thinking about.

Finally, I'd also like to say that these traffic issues are part of a wider problem about the West half end of the Mile Square. Living in the same address for fifty two years, my family has watched traffic continually grow in the neighborhood. The limited Santa Ana River crossing aggravates the existing traffic issues. There are only two bridges between the 15 and the 60 Freeway, Mission and Van Buren, which is a 15 mile stretch. These crossings handle all the commuter traffic as commuters enter and exit the freeway going to and coming leaving and coming back to Riverside, which has become a much more attractive place to live and work.

So that's great for us but it also means there's a lot more people here. So the city has failed to address this problem and we earnestly urge the city to examine the traffic on the West Half Mile Square and make a comprehensive study and plan to handle the intense traffic rather than create a series of ad hoc patches and I thank you for your time and I do really thank you for your efforts to revamp Fairmont Park.

Thank you very much. So comments? Oh, we do have four online. Well, since I don't see them, you wanna pick one? Providing we can hear them.

Hi. Can you hear me?

Yes. Please state your name.

Hi. This is Beth Castro, and, I live along Redwood Drive. And I will just say that, I love Fairmont Park. I love many of the plans that you propose. I do not love, and I do not think it's wise to do the closures at Locust and Fairmont.

And I also understand the sentiments that were shared about the parking lot placement or revamping. So I know there's some issues that could be looked at there. So I won't take up a lot of time. What I would would like to recommend and ask that you reconsider reviewing the circulation element that's caused you to think in the direction you are. I think increasing and bottlenecking more traffic onto Redwood is not a good decision.

It will increase hazardous conditions that already exist for residents, pedestrians, bikers, and park users. And so I would like to ask that you revisit that and revise the plan to address the issues that have been stated here this evening. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And next up?

Hi. This is Ellen Bear. Can you hear me?

Yes.

Great. I live near Fairmont Park on Ridge Road, and, I had wanted to make some comments about the master plan with regard to the, water feature on Market Street and Ridge Road. I think this would attract homeless people to use the water, for their dogs and washing. And in addition to that, I have concerns with the parking lot being on Locust near Fairmont, Court or Fairmont Circle Court, one of those, being taken from the park and made public as a one story, I think that's okay as long as that it can be locked up. But as a two story or higher, it's going to affect, people on Ridge Road where it dead ends as well as Parkview Terrace residences.

And,

again,

I think that would provide homeless, shelter. They would be in there doing drugs and, you know, it it just would be a huge mess, especially if you couple that with the Market Street water feature. It's just, like, be inviting them. So in addition to that, I want clarity on how many people Pamela was trying to get to the concerts. I think in the cultural heritage board meeting, it sounded like 7,000.

And I was trying to check-in with Scott Watson on that, which that seems very high, but it's I'd like some clarity on that. And I think regardless of, you know, even a two story parking lot, it just wouldn't be enough parking for 7,000 people, and it would overrun the park. And I just think it's too much. And I was also wondering if they were trying to increase the number of concerts per year. And let's see.

Let's see. And then, also, I'd like to keep the land near Bubbling Well open for wildlife, at least part of it. And then also if they did build there to be very conscientious of how that would affect the park. And then I wanted to mention that the ducks had died because of the botulism that had a lot to do with the pump not working at the time and the lack of water that was in the lake. And, you know, I think they're still having some pump issues, but I know that they're trying to resolve those.

I also want to vote for using decomposed granite instead of using the concrete or where there is decomposed granite, not changing that to concrete sidewalks. And also wanted to mention the if I can just briefly mention the Ridge Wall Ridge just the clinker brick clinker brick factory was

Thank you very much for calling in. We have two more. Who's next?

Hi. I'm happy to start. Can you guys hear me?

Absolutely.

Okay. Good evening. My name is Savannah Castro, and I'm here to speak in opposition of rerouting traffic onto Redwood. Redwood is a residential street where many people live their daily lives. My mother lives there, along with many other residents, including families with young children and longtime neighbors who have been part of this community for years.

For those who live on the street, this isn't just a route on a traffic map. It's where kids ride bikes, where neighbors walk their dogs, where people step outside to talk to one another. Increasing traffic on a street like this changes the character of the neighborhood and raises real safety concerns. More vehicles moving through the area means greater risk for pedestrians, especially children, and anyone walking or crossing the street. Residential streets should be designed first and foremost for safety and the quality of life for the people who live there.

There is also another important issue, the historic integrity of this neighborhood. The streets and the surrounding homes are part of a historic residential area that reflects the character and heritage of our community. Preserving that historic environment requires protecting not only the buildings themselves, but also the scale, quiet atmosphere, and livability that defines the neighborhood. Turning a residential street into a higher traffic corridor risks eroding that character over time. I understand that the city is trying to revamp the park, which is a beautiful idea.

But shifting more traffic onto residential streets places the burden on the residents who experience those impacts every day, and that threatens the quality that makes this neighborhood unique and beautiful. I urge the council to reconsider this measure and explore alternatives that keep higher traffic volumes on roads designed to handle them while preserving safety, livability, and historic characters of neighborhoods like this one. Thank you for your time and for your consideration of these concerns.

Thank you, Ms. Castro. Thank you. And I believe we have one more. We have one more online?

Yes, we do. Yeah. Hi. Hi. I'm Charlie Marge and Terry Stevens. We live on Redwood Drive. I'd like to reiterate what was said earlier about this plan is amazing. 95% of it, we're very, very excited about, and thank you to everyone who's put so much thought into this. I'd also like to share the concerns that others raised about traffic. So I'm not going to belabor that because a lot of people have, I think, made their points on that.

I'd like to also chime in about the concern about putting a parking lot at the corner of Dexter Drive and Redwood Drive. If you come from the neighborhood down Redwood to the park, and your first encounter of the park is quite a beautiful area right there where the parking lot's being proposed. It's a green space with picnic tables and a number of trees, it's nice and shaded, and you get a beautiful view there of the rose garden, you know, and of the lake. And it would seem that rather than, you know, destroying some of the historic beauty, you know, of the park, that a better place to put additional parking if it were desired on that side of the park would be where one of the other proposed parking lots is further down Dexter Drive just past the Santa Ana Bike Trail connector. We're not really thrilled about a parking lot right at the connector, but the one past it, which right now is just a barren area, seems like a really great place for improving the park and a parking lot there wouldn't be, you know, disturbing that area, which is which is used right now, you know, because we go there all the time, we see it, you know, for picnics, parties, like graduation parties, birthday parties seen there, quinceaneras, you know, it's really quite lovely and we'd love to see that preserved.

And we also have some concerns about, you know, the potential lack of privacy and putting parking lot right next to the residential neighborhood in terms of cars hanging out there, you know, at night and just making the area more congested and losing, you know, losing that beauty. So that's pretty much what we wanted to say is please consider just moving additional parking on that side of the park to that barren area further down Dexter Drive and let's let's preserve this beautiful entrance to the park we have coming from Redwood Drive.

Thank you very thank you very much, sir. Now we we do have one more online. If you can join us and state your name, please.

Okay. Can you hear me?

Yes.

Hello? Okay. Hi. This is Linda Stewart, lawyer. I'm on the task force for Fairmont Park, but I had to call in and mention a few things.

My parents, Bob and Pat Stewart, did a great deal of work done at the Fairmont Park in the eighties and nineties. They were part of the Fairmont Park Citizens Committee. One thing that miss Gallera did not mention, at least I didn't hear her mention, is that Fairmont Park in its is landmark under landmark number 69, and the Banshell was is landmarked under number 10. It's quite a bit older. So all of the listed amenities under these landmarks should be respected as landmarks and, not just changed because it feels like it's a good thing to do.

And when it comes to the history of the bandshell, there was a the original bandshell was made out of wood. And by 1980, it was full of dry rot and rotting canvases, and it was it was going to fall down anyway, and it burnt several times. So in 1993, when they wanted to restore the band shell for, like, the second or third time, it was decided that it would be restored with fireproof materials up to earthquakes. And all of this work was done under the purview of the cultural its approval. And I recently researched all of this, and I have a two and a half page article written about this.

So, the bandshell should not be demolished. What it needs is some AV lights poles to augment the stage because it is just a stage, and perhaps some outbuildings might help a few things. But if we ever want to continue to have landmarking status and ever want to be part of the National Historic Registries Place, this this particular item should not be demolished. It is a rare, cherished historic landmark here in the city of Riverside. And I'm dis disappointed with the plans that somebody thinks that we need to start fresh when it's perfectly good as it is.

And when it comes to Redwood Boulevard or Redwood Drive, I agree with all the callers. I I mentioned several times in the meetings that closing off all of the other, roads is a very bad idea. And once again, I want you you folks there to understand this is something that most riversiders would agree with. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Is that everyone?

Alright.

Okay. I'm gonna the And

is

we do we can know in 2025 how it. Many traffic accidents happened on Redwood Drive?

Commissioner, I I don't believe that we have that information. We can get that information but I but I just wanna make a statement that I'm just thrilled that the community has come out and this is this is the public sector at its Mhmm. And so, I would propose that, we have another community meeting. I would like to meet with these residents and all their neighbors, to really, understand in in much more depth, their concerns and to come with some different solutions. And it's complicated.

It is a complicated site so we can share the traffic studies with We can pull the accident reports and so we'd love to do that. And so I'll give my business cards to some of the community members.

And Commissioner Schafer.

I love that you're gonna have that meeting. Can we still get an update back at our next meeting about alternatives that were proposed. How those changes could affect other residential streets in the area since I'm assuming if it's not redirected here it's going have to go somewhere. So if we could just get a report back on how the conversations go and if the plan is changed.

Yes I think that would be wonderful. So I'll meet with this group and we're the document I mean is very very draft right now. We're continuing to work with different organizations and so then we can come back and give you another update before we finalize the master plan.

That would wonderful. Do we need to make a motion for that or is that just noted for our future agenda?

I think it's just noted.

Yeah. Okay. Assuming that that meeting goes before our next meeting.

Yes. Pardon me, sir?

No. Just assuming that that meeting happens before our next meeting.

Maybe. It it it may be it may take a couple months to come back.

But the next meeting that Yeah. Our next meeting has been canceled

so we're talking It's too May.

Two months down.

Okay. Great. Excellent point. Do you wanna go? Commissioner Forbes?

Thank you. I just want to thank each of you for taking time out coming out. Austin, is it? An inn? I appreciate the comments that you made, the manner in which you made them. We don't take it lightly, your concerns, and so I just wanted you to know I appreciate it.

Commissioner Dodson?

Thank you very much. I appreciate y'all coming down. I'm, very sensitive to changes in the neighborhood. I've seen I live up by UCR, I've lived there since '77. I've seen what changes in traffic patterns can how it can impact the neighborhoods in ways that it really changes your life.

And we're dealing with a neighborhood that's historic, and we have some treasures, you know, city treasures that are there. So we should be tiptoeing along here and being very careful that we're not going to have regrets. I mean, if if the if we did move ahead with, you know, changing a traffic pattern, I would hope that we could use a k rail and do it temporarily over a period of time to test it in theory before enacting it. And, of course, that still triggers other issues. We cul de sac a street up in my neighborhood, and for the next five years, we still had insane traffic trying to come down this street because there's all these GPS guidance things that they're slow to, you know, get the new information and start redirecting people.

And so we even had like big trucks turning down and they get to the end of the close second. It's like, oh no, and they have to back up. The Waze app, that directs people through our neighborhood every time there's a tie up on the freeway. Waze says, oh, get off the freeway. Go through the university neighborhood.

You know? So I'm I'm very sympathetic, and I think that I'm I'm encouraged that director's gonna take another look at this and meet with you. In fact, I would come to the meeting too just to just to hear how that how that goes. You know, looking at these maps, it's and not having lived down there, it's I don't have a feeling for I mean, I don't have an understanding of the traffic patterns and the nuances of your neighborhood. When I'm looking at the map right now, it's fuzzy, and I'm sure that there I if I went into the actual draft report online, I could probably get better detail.

Yeah. Probably yeah. But just in the discussion right now, I don't have a good appreciation for your concerns, and that bothers me. I'd be willing to go on a field trip to look at those locations and have someone point it out to me so that I have a better understanding. I would be if if staff was able to make that love connection so that, you know, set up a time. Maybe other commissioners would want to join. It might be instructive. Is this gonna be a full EIR when the project no? We're doing it with a neg deck?

Yeah. No, sir. This is actually just a master plan level so we are not completing environmental or permits.

So this is just a guidance thing. This is not a project. Correct. Excellent. I I have concerns, like, going forward that I would like to see lighting. Any new lighting that's put in, that it be international dark skies compliant. So, you know, lord knows we don't need to be pumping more light up into the atmosphere and having light pollution. I have a friend who's the retired branch chief of of enforcement for state toxics. And it's interesting driving around the area with him because he'll say, oh, over there is where there was a toxic spill or or whatever. And around Fairmont, he does live downtown off of Orange.

And he says to me that there was a Sun California Edison transfer rebuilding operation that was on the bluffs above Fairmont Park. And he says that anytime you have transformers, you're gonna have PCBs, and there was spillage, and that would migrate down towards the park. So I I did see that you you had RPU do some testing of the water. Was the dredged soil that was taken out of the lake, was that tested for any heavy metals like mercury or chemicals like PCBs?

Yes. It was.

Okay. And and what was the result of that testing?

It was yeah. It was fine.

Okay. That's good. Alright. Okay. Well, I I forward to us trying to massage this a little more. The Boy Scouts has come up. Can can you brief us on what what is the history of Boy Scouts at Fairmont Park and where where it was and where you think you're going with it?

So thank you, commissioner. The Boy Scouts, were located down on the south, end of the plan, down by Mission. They had boy scout camp back in the eighties. It did a burn down at that time and the boy scouts deeded several parcels of land to the city at that time. In recent recently, we've had communications with the Scouts of America which is the new the new generation of the Boy Scouts and they are interested in having a presence at Fairmont Park.

We have talked about, that relationship but nothing has been decided. In casual conversations, they might be interested in locating up more near the tennis courts are, near near Market Street. However, we have not had any serious conversations with them.

There are other similar, organizations. Have you been approached by any other organization? Girl Scouts or Boys and Girls Club?

We have not. We have had several meetings with tribes, who are also interested in in maybe having a presence at Fairmont Park and we're not sure what that would be. Maybe just have them come in when we do programming, have classes, maybe have music. Who knows what that might be?

You talked about surplusing property off. If we surplus property, don't we have to replace it someplace else?

Maybe. Probably. But of course, it's a very, very long process that we would need to go through. So not only do we have to comply with the surplus land act of California, there is a deed restriction on some of Fairmont parks. So we would have to work with the park, the state parks. So it would be a very long and complicated process.

The general plan, doesn't it describe a ratio of acreage per population that we're trying to maintain? And how are we doing on that? Do we have a surplus land in that sense or are we a little bit behind?

I don't recall the exact numbers. I think we're pretty close.

Okay. Thank you very much. I I look forward to seeing how this project plays out.

Alright. Commissioner Kupp. So

do you have a safety plan in mind with bringing more people and more attention to this park? Because it seems like lot of concern is based off of safety, whether it's the children playing out at the park or at the homes. Also, the people that come to the park and especially with the parking lot because I was looking at the map and I'm just curious of why the new parking areas were proposed for those exact spots instead of maybe some other spots.

Yes and thank you so much for your question. Safety is our number one priority. We have spoke with the police department and fire department on many different issues. Parking lots definitely we could do a lot of improvements as we as the existing parking lots are reconfigured to be more efficient. We could put in gates, so that they can be closed at night. We could put in cameras, etcetera. The reason why those two parking lots are proposed in that area is that they were near the Rose Garden. So I'm very much looking forward to working with the community just to understand that but that is the reason why they were located there. As I said, this is a very, very, very rough draft. Yeah.

So we certainly can make changes. But we have talked a lot about safety.

Is there an actual safety plan though that we're able to look at that's kind of came to mind or just some ideas that we can physically actually see?

Right. In the master plan, there will be many different conversations about safety.

Okay.

And so you are correct in saying just programming the park, having good activities, having families come out to the park is gonna do a lot for safety also.

Okay. Thank you.

Chair? Yes. Commissioner Dawson?

Yes. The other day I got an email because I'm on the mailing list for the Redlands Bowl. Redlands is another historic community smaller than Riverside, very small townish. And they have this historic park that's in the middle of a, yeah, a neighborhood. And it has performance stage, a shell, and and a programming of of really interesting performances all through the summer.

It's really neat. It's very family oriented. But it also suffers from the problem of you can only accommodate so many people at that venue. And after a while, if you try to attract too many more, it just ruins the overall experience for everyone, the crowds, the trash, the everything. So what are we envisioning with the band shell and the performances that are gonna be there?

Because if we try to design it to be too much, it would degrade what we're trying to achieve. And here in Riverside, you know, years ago, we had had this the Orange Blossom Festival, and it was so neat. It was so small town. You know? The Indian guides and the Boy Scouts and everything, the parade on Saturday morning.

And I know my daughter, we went down and the the guy that ran the puppet show downtown, he got a grant from the city to, help have children come down and help make these paper mache Mardi Gras puppet heads. And when the parade came around, I had my daughter up on my shoulders and I could say, see those puppet heads we helped make? They're there. And it was that tie in. It was so small town.

And yet over the next few years, the forces that we had here in town said, oh, this is so great. Let's make it bigger. Let's have beer gardens. Let's have all these things, and they ruined it. Eventually it was like, oh my god, it's out of control.

We gotta kill it. We have something interesting here. I would like to make sure that we keep it within manageable balance of where it doesn't degrade the surrounding community and it's something special and we shouldn't concentrate all our resources in Ward 1 at Fairmont Park when we've got a big city and there's other places where we can have other interesting special community small townish things so we're kinda spreading it out rather than everybody like I don't know if they would out in La Sierra say, oh, there's something really going on neat at Fairmont Park. We'll get get the family in the car and drive there, and now they gotta park someplace. That's something that runs through my mind when I look at this.

Commissioner, I think think we all agree with you and I think that's, our intent. We we are very familiar with the Redlands Bowl, and our intent is to, recreate our original band shell, but today, we have very successful concerts, at Fairmont Park and we have a big lovely stage that is parked in front of our band shell and so the proposed, size of the band shell would be similar to that stage. So it would be pretty similar to what we have today. We also completely agree with you, about spreading out, activities. We're actually kicking off our concert series this year at La Sierra Park.

It's just for that same reason is that, Fairmont Park is a lovely, lovely venue, but we also want to have, concerts in other areas of town.

Okay. Good. So I'm hoping that we're reassuring the neighbors Mhmm. That we're spreading it around a bit.

And if I might add, we've also heard from the community how important trees are at Fairmont Park. And so, this this strategy, we don't think we'd lose any trees, in recreating the original band shell.

Okay. Thank you. I I think that's my comments.

Before we move forward, I know, commissioner Young has raised his virtual hand.

Yes. Can everyone hear

me? Speak louder.

Can you hear me now?

Yes.

Can you hear me? Hello. Okay. Yeah. Thank you to all my neighbors for being here today. I I also live right above Fairmount Park, right above the proposed cul de sac on Locust at the end of Brockton. I do understand the concerns about, traffic in this area. I do look forward to viewing the traffic study. I do have a question, though. What do we have a general idea about? What the traffic study says about circulation on Redwood and how it would be impacted?

Commissioner, I do have the traffic study but I'm not very well versed at at reading it. So I I will schedule a meeting with the community. We'll bring the traffic study. We'll do some other research and and we'll come up with some good solutions.

Sounds good. I, yeah, I I look forward to seeing that. I think everybody's concerned or well founded. At the same time, I've never seen a circulation change that wasn't opposed by everybody. So whether it was warranted or not. I'm not not saying that's the case here, but I I am you know, I I I wanna just be clear that I'm I'm open to the change as well as to finding that it may be not appropriate. I I had heard I can't and I can't remember where this was from, if it's discussions here or somewhere else. But there was a I remember somebody asking about the possibility of closing traffic across the bridge at eleven. Is that not being considered at this time?

Yeah. So, commissioner, a few years ago we did do a study, on that on the bridge between the two lakes. We did close it down. We did a survey work. What we did hear from the community is that they still want that to be two way and so someone did mention, that it that it's not a very wide bridge and so our our proposal is actually to replace that bridge. And we can we can go into detail and we can talk more about that but the idea is not to have it be a one way. That was the proposal at the time. And so we could go over that in more detail with the community. Absolutely.

That's too bad. I I kinda like the one way solution. But

Alright.

But, yeah, that sounds good. We'll we'll go over that at at another date. Let's see. I think one thing that was brought to meet my attention by by somebody in the neighborhood was just regarding the boy scout camp being that it was historically the the site of the Kuia Indian historical village. Might be good to note that on our documents as well as for any future development of that site going forward.

I thought that was a pretty understandable request. On looking at the at the drawings, what's what's the is the intent to keep the it says plaza for where the tennis courts currently are. Is that going to remain tennis courts? Or

Yes. So, commissioner, the proposal would be to re create the the tennis court area, up closer, on the north side of the park to have sports courts there. Oh, And then to have a plaza area where the tennis courts are now and maybe we'll still have tennis courts, but maybe that would be an opportunity for a farmer's market or another activity.

Okay. Great. I mean, you all know that I'm a big pickleball fan, but Yeah. I don't wanna be the one I don't wanna be accused of taking away tennis from anybody. Alright.

I love the, you know, the preservation and maybe even expansion of the Montezuma Cypress. They're they're beautiful. And they really are the I think they they really give that that character to this park that is the crown jewel of our park system. Let me see here. I had a few more notes.

Oh, you know what? I was just kinda kinda curious on I mean, obviously, I I love the summer concert series, and I love the idea of attracting more people. I think that's that's wonderful. It I'm just wondering what the what the need for parking is based on. I think it's I think it's valuable to have parking, but I I noticed, you know, there's plenty of parking on the streets as it is. What what is kind of the drive for the additional parking?

Right. And we can go over that with you in detail. That is part of the traffic study. We did do an analysis of all the parking lots. And and and first of all, if we could just make them more efficient, we could gain a lot of parking just by restriping them.

Right. Right. Okay. Great. Alright. Well, I think that's all I had. So thank you.

Thank you, commissioner. Oh, commissioner Kopp has one

more. Sorry. It's okay. Just back to the parking thing and just the congestion of vehicles and stuff. Have we thought about, like, a shuttle system in order to bring people to the park from maybe in a downtown area where there's parking area where they could be shuttle from there to the park and make it maybe a little stress free in the park?

That's a great idea.

Thank you.

And just to commissioner what oh, just a nod. Okay. Well, just to kinda wrap up, commissioner Dawson was talking about the Redlands Bowl. And the one thing in I for many years was frequenting those summer concerts, parking is insane because right around the Redlands Bowl, the streets are all they're technically two way, but you can almost not pass each other. And so the parking there is quite problematic. So that's kind of what Yeah. We're looking at here.

My father-in-law grew up, like, one block over. Yeah. Yeah. I got an earful about

it because We would wind up parking

I was like

at the mall, like

It's hey. That's a wonderful thing. I'm taking the kids. Oh, god. You know? Yeah. He

So in closing, just wanna thank everybody for coming down and and, you know, you had 1234567891011, about 12 folks. And what I'm hearing is pretty much the same concerns. So someone, I think, I don't remember, I think it was mister Kervanek said, I'm all in for about 95% of this. So that's yeah, can't ask for much more than that. So so thank you all for coming and all this will be taken into consideration.

I like the idea of having a meeting maybe as commissioner Dawson said, kind of an on-site, like, maybe a field trip. And just lastly, when I moved here when I was six years old, we lived at 4466 University. Back then, it was the Via Ocho. I think it's called something else apartments. So spent a lot of my childhood down there. There used to be a mini ature golf course years ago. Yeah. I'm talking like late sixties. Yeah. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Alright. Cool. Well, thank you again for coming down. We're moving on to the consent calendar. A reminder, all matters listed under the consent calendar are considered routine by the Park and Recreation Commission and may be enacted by one motion in the form listed below.

There will be no separate discussion of these items unless before the Park and Recreation Commission votes on the motion to adopt members of the Park and Recreation Commission or staff request specific items to be removed from the consent calendar for separate action. What we're looking at today is the meeting minutes of February 2 and the meeting minutes of the special meeting held on February 18. So I'm assuming people have looked at those, we'd look for a motion to accept them.

Sorry. I move to accept the minutes from February 2 and February 18 as written.

I'll second that. We have a first and a second. A motion and a second. Any discussion? If not, vote using the machine. Yes. I asked earlier.

You may vote.

Because I knew you would mention. Keeping me on my toes. Alright. We have one abstention. Commissioner Johnson, everybody else in the affirmative. Thank you very much. The motion passes. Oh, I get that's a great point.

Oh,

did he yes. Perfect. If he's not in front of me, you know, like sorry. I miss his smiling face. Next up, discussion calendar. Audience participation is encouraged. Public comments are limited to three minutes. Do we have any? I think we've had a lot on the one issue. Any online?

No callers. Alright. Can we take number eight and nine all in one? We need to determine the absence of commissioner Young from February 2. Special meeting is recorded or excused or unexcused and determine the absence of commissioner Johnson from the February 18 meeting. Special meeting as recorded as excused or unexcused. And I would just ask, was there the sufficient time given by both of them? Oh, that's why it's on. Do we have a motion?

I'll move to determine them both as excused.

Second.

We have first and second. I didn't see any discussion when I brought that up. So votes using the machine. And Commissioner Young? Abstain?

Oh, there we go. Alright. We have six yeas, two abstentions. That motion passes as well. Thank you. Number 10, approval of the final draft of the Park and Recreation Commission 2026 annual work plan as discussed, at the special meeting on February 18. Any discussion of that or should we just have the motion first? Do we have a motion to accept it?

All motion to accept

the Correct.

Or the

work And

a second. Commissioner Schaeffer, now any discussion? We talked it out. We did discuss it. Alright. Once again, let's all vote. I'll wait till we

Go ahead and vote.

Go ahead. And then, of course, commissioner Young. Okay. We are eight to zero. So that passes as well. Thank you very much. And now we move on to the election of officers for the next year, giving this up after two years. So we we're looking for a nomination for the next chair.

I'd like to nominate Chad Young for chair. And do we do vice chair separately?

We do.

Is there a second? I'll second.

And that was commissioner Kop. Alright. Do we then vote? Discussion. Discussion? Let's do it. Yeah. Let's have a discussion. Fair enough.

Definitely. Let's see.

Okay. Commissioner Young, are you there?

I'm sorry. I couldn't hear anything. The microphone wasn't on, so I couldn't hear.

You've been nominated to become the next chair, and there's been a second. And Yes. Ahead, commissioner Dawson. Read. This is

Commissioner Dawson. And and I was gonna say this regardless of where we were in the process. I was I'm interested in hearing from each candidate that gets put forward as to, yes, they want the job. Why do they want it, and what do they bring to the job? It I ran for council in 2016, so, you know, it should be you know, if we're running here, let's do it.

Absolutely. I think that's a a reasonable request. You know what? I just part of what I do all day long, in my, you know, normal nine to five is run meetings. And so I I'm I'd say I'm pretty good at it. I, I run an efficient meeting, and I think that's 95% of the the work here. Also, I've really been I've really come to love what we do here. And, my fellow commissioners, I'm excited to help, make us, continue to be more productive. I think that's, something that you, commissioner Dawson, can appreciate. I think you've been a big driver of a lot of a lot of the things that we've been trying to accomplish.

So I just wanna I wanna keep that going and but make sure that we run a a tight ship. And that's about it.

Any more discussion?

Any other discussion?

We vote.

Go ahead and vote. Machine.

Alright. I see seven yes votes and I might make the assumption it's eight. K. Alright. Well, congratulations. Do I

Thank you.

Do I stay here and do the second one? The vice chair? And then and then I move on? Alright. So next up would be for vice chair. Do we have a nomination?

Sir?

Outstanding.

I'll say that.

First and a second. And along the same lines, tell us why you'd to be vice chair.

I appreciate the nomination. I'm happy to accept. I love, yeah I'll second what commissioner Young had to say. I love what we get to do here and I'm excited the more that this commission starts to dig into things, ask some questions, really make our time here valuable and serve our city. I'm excited to get to do more of that and help push us forward, help us ask the right questions, work on the right things, and keep up with the things that the people representing are expecting of us.

Thank you. Are we ready to vote? The machine's ready? Alright. 80. Congratulations to our new chair, Chad Young, and our new vice chair, Stephanie Schaefer. Thank you very much. Now I believe if Chad was here, I would go sit in his seat and he would come sit here. But in in your absence, sir, we will move on to updates of conferences, seminars, and regional meetings attended by commissioners. Do you have any?

No? Okay. Number number 13, items for future Park and Recreation Commission consideration as requested by members of the commission. Only items that fall within the powers and duties of the Park and Recreation Commission as set forth in the city charter and or the Riverside Municipal Code will be agendized for few future discussion. And before we anybody wants to add, one of the things I would like to do at this point at the meetings, if it's okay with everybody, is kind of do a quick let's go back and and see what we asked for in the past and kinda where we are on those.

So I see discuss where's page 72? Where is it? Ah, here we are. Yeah. So there were several.

Commissioner Dawson requested four future agenda items. Review city charter, waterfowl incident address, commissioners take over the commission agenda, water quality of the lakes at Fairmont Park, and is oh, five. Discuss security steps of the undeveloped area of Islander Park. Commissioner Puerta, deferred maintenance and infrastructure, how is prioritized in each ward, update on plans of any new senior centers being developed in the city, a brief overview of infrastructure needs, our prioritizing each ward, commissioner Schafer, return of the pans hours of service, and to discuss pickleball operations, which I think we did a little bit today. So just kind of an update on when those will be brought to the floor.

And that being said, any new ones? It's quite the agenda. Commissioner Dawson.

I understand that our the meeting for next month, the regularly scheduled meeting has been canceled because it conflicts with the appreciation of boards commissions. But we have things to work on. Is there not an alternative day next month that we could meet to continue the flow? Because when we have when we go so long between meetings, we kinda lose a train of thought and momentum.

So it'd be a matter of if we wanted to well, I don't know if it'd be a special meeting or we just consent to having an April meeting but on a different date.

We would have to schedule a special meeting.

K.

Okay. So that would amongst the commissioners, is is that something that we as a board or as a commission would like to pursue, or is that something we want to just go ahead and put off our next meeting until

May. May.

Any thoughts?

Yeah. I I'm good with if we can find the time that works for everyone, then I'm okay with coming and making the time.

Yeah. Again, if it if it meets everybody's scheduling,

sure.

I don't know if we need to take a vote on that or we just direct staff to take a look and find a date.

It's really not up to staff. K. It's up to the clerk. I mean, you have you have concerns over, is this room going to be available? Available? Correct. Is there going to be somebody who does the AV? There's actually resources, time, and scheduling involved in this. It's not as simple as just calling a meeting. So upon your request of staff, staff can tell the clerk that you would like that you are interest you have expressed interest in having a special meeting to replace the current meeting, and what the clerk does with that is what the clerk does with that.

So that's

Okay. Go ahead. Well, then it sounds like we have agreement in in asking the clerk to pursue that. We had a special meeting recently, so we know there is evenings throughout the month that are there's nobody here that are available. So what do think, Sandra? Can you find us a date?

I will check with the clerk, and I'll give you guys some options. I'll email it to you, but I have to check-in with them first.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you commissioner.

Can I just know from my personal availability I can't do Thursdays for the next six weeks?

I

just have to see when the dates are and we'll go from there. Alright.

There will be an option to attend virtually. Correct? In the event that we can't make it personally?

Okay. Yeah. That will make it easier. Well, if there's anything else, just wanna go on the record that so I've been doing this almost five years and two years is that these last two years as chair. And I wanna thank all of you up here for making making making this job a little easier. And, commissioner Dawson, yeah, keeping us on track a little bit. And and yeah. So I'll be moving over a few seats and got this one ready for you, Chad. Thank you. And thanks for everything the last couple of years. Yeah.

Yeah. Thank you for your service. And

with that being said, two hours exactly, 08:30. We adjourn.

Oh, no. Wait. Wait. Wait. What? Don't there's

a this.

Oh. There's an event at the end of the month. Any any upcoming events, announcements. Right? Because there's a

announcement. Why so?

There's a workshop at the end of the month for commission members. And then there's

The gala.

And of course, there's the

Gala.

Well, there's Okay. There's that. And then there's also the appreciation event. There's gonna be food? Is it good food? Oh, okay. I'm know? It's up on

the 7th Floor. It's gonna be good food.

I've been there before. Okay.

Be nice.

Good evening. I do have a couple of announcements. This Saturday from ten to 1PM, we do have our spring extravaganza at Ryan Bonomino. So if you are in town, come on down and see some egg hunts. They start at 10AM. We also have the reopening of Colette Park Playground, and that is from three to 4PM. March 25. We'll have some free cookies, music, and activities. So come on down to to Colette Park. And then also on Saturday, March 28, we have a couple of community center egg hunts.

Bordwell, Bryant Park, and La Sierra Park start at 10AM. And their egg hunts will start at 11AM. The event starts at 10AM. And then we also have our spring glow hunt at Hunt Park which is a glow in the dark egg hunt and that will be on Saturday, March 28 as well from 06:30 to 08:30PM.

You did say egg extravaganza.

Egg extravaganza, yes. Spring extravaganza.

So I just wanted to say thank you to Park staff about the Chatham Park updates I asked for. I actually had the neighbors of Chatham Park call me before I got the updates, I already knew they were coming. But I just want to say thank you for your guys' work.

Any others? No? Alright. Then I will for the very last time. Adjourn this meeting at 08:32 daylight time. Have fun on vacation, Chad.