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Home My WebLink AboutCSAC.2015.0223.Minutes NyT AIN��rt TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS o°// MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION •9Q FEBRUARY 23, 2015 ,hat is A," ITEM#1: CALL TO ORDER A meeting of the Community Services Advisory Commission was convened and called to order by Chair Natalie Varela at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 23, 2015 in the Council Chambers at Town Hall, located at 16705 East Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Hills, Arizona. ITEM#2: ROLL CALL In attendance at roll call were Chair Natalie Varela, Commissioners Don Doty, Jerry Gorrell, Jim Judge, Lynne Mott, Ron Ruppert, Danny Tancredi, Greg Woo, and Donna Yordy. Absent at roll call were Vice- Chair Sherman Abrahamson, Commissioners Nancy Blumenstein, Patt Canning, and Geoffrey Harper. Director Mark Mayer, Senior Services Supervisor Kelley Fonville, and Executive Assistant Nancy Walter represented staff. ITEM#3: CALL TO THE PUBLIC No one from the public wished to speak. ITEM #4: CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE JANUARY 20 AND 21, 2015 SPECIAL MEETINGS MINUTES °j' Commissioner Judge made a motion to accept the minutes of the January 20 and 21, 2015 Special Meetings Minutes, Commissioner Gorrell seconded and the motion passed by unanimous vote. ITEM#5: CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE JANUARY 26,2015 MEETING MINUTES Commissioner Gorrell made a motion to accept the minutes of the January 26, 2015 meeting, Commissioner Yordy seconded and the motion passed by unanimous vote. ITEM#6: UPDATE ON WORK GROUP ASSIGNMENTS Commissioner Mott volunteered to be on the Parks/Facilities Work Group. ITEM #7: UPDATE FROM THE PROGRAMS WORK GROUP REGARDING THE LEARNING CENTER(TLC) The Programs Work Group will meet on Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Center to discuss options for The Learning Center. ITEM #8: UPDATE FROM THE PARKS/FACILITIES WORK GROUP REGARDING DESERT VISTA DOG PARK Commissioner Doty said the Work Group, consisting of four residents from Morningside's and Desert Vista's HOA Board of Directors, four dog park users from the large and small parks who had all been active in ADOG/FHIDO, and four Commissioners from the Facilities Work Group, held two meetings. Commissioner Doty spoke with two veterinarians who said they didn't consider themselves experts and would not be able to contribute anything. Fountain Hills Community Services Advisory Commission Page 1 of 4 The Work Group selected four potential options that addressed the noise source and that were considered reasonable, effective, and affordable. These four options were then assigned to four sub-committees of three people each consisting of a Commissioner, a resident, and a park user. These sub-committees met vid independently to study their options and then reported their findings at the second Work Group meeting. • Park hours and days open • Charging a fee • Modifying the park rules • Physical barrier separating small and large dogs Morton Mitchell, a dog park user, on the hours work group with Morningside resident Ramona Moore and Commissioner Woo, said the group unanimously recommends that the hours remain unchanged. The park is open seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. These hours were decided on a few years ago taking cognizance of the fact that people who work can still use the park and also of the summer time heat. Ken Thornton, a dog park user, on the fees work group with Morningside resident Will Jacobs and Commissioner Yordy, said the group looked at two options for establishing fees for the use of the dog park. The options were to either establish a specific fee for those using the park or add $1 to the dog license fee to establish a fund to use for future construction and improvements to the dog park. The group spoke with Finance Director Craig Rudolphy and decided that charging a usage fee would be too difficult to monitor and account for. The better option is the $1 fee which would be applied to the approximately 3000 licensed dogs in town. The money would be used for dog related activities, primarily for the dog park, but could be used for other things at the discretion of the Town. Gary Jackovin, a Desert Vista resident, on the rules work group with dog park user Pat Iverson and Commissioner Doty, distributed the attached Rules-Signage-Communication document. Mr. Jackovin read aloud the work group's recommendations listed on the document. Bill Jaeger, a Morningside resident, and Tracey Springstead, a dog park user, on the barrier work group with Commissioner Ruppert distributed the attached Noise Reduction Project Barrier Review documents and diagram of the park. Mr. Jaeger and Ms. Springstead read aloud the options listed on the review. Ms. Springstead also said there is a behavior called "fence aggression"that happens anytime there are dogs on both sides of the fence; the recommendation is to try to stop the dogs from seeing each other. Future concerns the Commission might address are making sure all dogs in Fountain Hills are licensed and limiting the number of dogs an owner could bring into the park at one time. ITEM #9: POSSIBLE CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDING TO COUNCIL CHANGES OF HOURS AND USE OF THE DESERT VISTA DOG PARK Commissioner Doty made a motion to recommend to Town Council to consider: 1) Creating a barrier between the two dog parks by: • Add Chain Link Fence on Top of the 2' Block Wall on the Inside of the Small Dog Park • Add PVC Cloth to the Service Gate and Small Dog Entrance Area 2) With regard to Rules: • Adoption of the new rules suggested • Add to rule#5 Dog handlers must control continuous barking Fountain Hills Community Services Advisory Commission Page 2 of 4 • Add new—must conform to park hours • Add new—must be respectful of neighboring residents sensitivity to loud talking, yelling, and dogs barking • Adoption of the signage as suggested • Leash law signage outside near parking area • Reposition fence signs to where people congregate • Adoption of the enforcement as suggested • Enlisting Maricopa Animal Control and the Sheriff to enforce park hours and the leash law outside the park 3) With regard to communications: • Adoption of the suggestion of fliers, distributed in park, Town Hall , vets, groomers, Chamber of Commerce, pet shops • Restart ADOG/FIDO (Dennis Contino committed $1000 from ADOG towards whatever solution is adopted) 4)With regard to Fees: • Adoption of the $1 dollar add-on to dog license fees to establish a fund for dog related expenses at the parks 5) With regard to park hours and days open: • As suggested—no change Commissioner Ruppert seconded and the motion passed by unanimous vote. Director Mayer said the additional fees could be in place for the 2015-16 budget and be effective July 1, 2015. Bill Jaeger, a Morningside resident, on the barrier work group, believes the PVC cloth is a poor choice; it's not durable and doesn't suppress the sound. Mr. Jaeger suggests using the acoustic sound barrier and the polycarbonate panels. Judy Tathem, a Fountain Hills resident, said she was very disappointed that the dog park hours are not going to change and she would like to have the park closed on Sundays. Ms. Tatham said there was a conflict of interest when the dog park was started; she referred to Mr. Dick Schmidt who was Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission and also involved with ADOG. Ms. Tathem said there is a conflict of interest with the Commissioners who are also dog park users. She would like to know which Commissioners are dog park users. She said the park users should not be on a group. The Commission will discuss, possibly with the Town Attorney, if it's appropriate to provide that answer to Ms. Tathem. Commissioner Judge asked Ms. Tatham if any of the homeowners had recorded the noise coming from the park; Ms. Tathem is not aware if it was done. Commissioner Judge said one Commissioner visited the park several times over a month and a half on different days and times and recorded the number of dogs in the park and how much barking was heard; the numbers did not look to be excessive. Fountain Hills Community Services Advisory Commission Page 3 of 4 ITEM#10: UPDATE ON THE USE OF DRONES IN THE TOWN'S PARKS There are drones in the lake and there is no way to get them out until the lake is drained. There is an issue of public safety therefore there is a moratorium on drones in the Town's parks and Preserve. vie ITEM#11: UPDATE ON LEGACY PLAZA The Legacy Plaza at Fountain Park should be completed by next week. ITEM#12: UPDATE ON THE APRIL MEETING DATE The April meeting date is scheduled on April 27. *Director Mayer said the Fountain Park Phase 6 Bid award was granted by Council. The work will start next week and will be finished in June. ITEM#13: CONSIDERATION OF ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Judge made a motion to adjourn at 5:55 p.m., Commissioner Gone!! seconded and the motion passed by unanimous vote. Comm itylervices visory Commission BY: 4 Na alie Varela, Chair REVIEWED BY: C r„r Mark C. Mayer, Director of Commu y Services PREPARED BY. N cy Walt , Executive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session held by the Community Services Advisory Commission of Fountain Hills on the 23rd day of February 2015. I further certify that the meeting was dul called and that a quorum was present. Dated this 25th day of February 20151/111Arill a c Walt , Executive Assistant Fountain Hills Community Services Advisory Commission Page 4 of 4