Okay, good evening, and welcome to the April Ninth, twenty twenty-six Alameda Recreation and Park Commission meeting.

Could we begin this evening with a roll call, please?

Chair ADs.

Present.

Vice Chair Schwartz.

Present.

Commissioner Alexander.

Here, Commissioner Burney.

Present.

Thank you.

The first item on our agenda this evening is non-agenda public comment.

Members of the public may speak for three minutes regarding any matter not on the agenda.

Commissioners will not respond to comments or answer questions.

And as such, speakers must stay on topic if speaking to a particular agenda item, and if speaking during non-agenda public comment, they must address matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city.

No speakers.

Come celebrate Earth Day with us.

It's a free event.

There's educational activities and community organizations and fun for all.

Alameda Sings Spring concert is taking place on April 18th at 7 p.m.

at the Veterans Memorial Building.

And then the Alameda Home Electrification Fair and Alameda Bike Festival is taking place Saturday, May 2nd at 11 30 a.m.

at the Ruby Bridges Elementary School.

Everyone's welcome.

This is a free event.

And then the 12th annual Play for the Parks Golf Fun and Dinner is taking place Monday, May 18th at Karika Park.

Support from this event goes to Alameda Parks and from our Alameda Parks Foundation.

And it's a fun day on the golf course.

To register, please go to AlamedaParks.org.

For upcoming recreation events, our community rec, which is our free programs in the parks, offers games and crafts on the following Wednesdays, and they start at 3 p.m.

and go to 5 p.m.

So April 15th, it'll take place at Little John Park.

And then on April 29th, it'll take place at Whale Park.

Our Starlight Movies in the Park starts on May 8th.

And the first movie will be is Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

This will be taking place at Crown Memorial Beach.

And the event begins at 6 30 and the movie begins roughly around 8 15.

So bring some chairs and blankets because it tends to get breezy.

It's National Kids to Parks Day on Saturday, May 16th from 9 30 to 2 p.m.

It'll be taking place at Sweeney Park.

You can enjoy class demonstrations, crafts, and games.

Bring your family and friends.

Our Alameda walk series will be happening on Saturdays starting on May 16th at 9 a.m.

at Harbor Bay Business Parkway, with the next one taking place on May 23rd at the Gold Coast neighborhood.

And if you want more details, you can find them on our website.

Want to give you guys a few project updates.

So the Aquatic Center is currently out for bid.

Those will be due back on April 21st, and we'll have a better idea of what the actual total cost is going to be.

And then we can uh start uh award the contract and get a start date.

Um estuary park phase two.

Um construction is uh moving along pretty quickly.

Walkways are getting uh paved.

There's gonna be courts being paved soon, and uh later in April here, our bathroom building is being installed.

So we're we're hoping to um have the completion towards the end of late fall with opening uh several months after that, after the growing period.

So hopefully by the end of 2026, it'll be open to the public.

Um the Sweeney Park Trail Connectors, the long-awaited north and south connectors are under construction currently, and they should be completed sometime in early May.

And that'll open up to the public for Sweeney Park to be uh open to the north and south finally instead of only having two entrances, one on the west and one on the east end.

So we're excited for that.

Um for the community garden, we have a meeting with backyard growers tomorrow, um April 10th.

We'll be meeting them on site and doing a walkthrough of the area of the garden or the where the proposed garden will be.

Um Lidecker Playground, uh, the contract is going to council here uh later in April or early May so we can buy that playground and get that process started.

Uh we'll looking to have completion of that installed um by the end of 2026 at the latest.

Um our summer registration is open.

A lot of our programs are filling up quickly.

So uh if anyone has any need to get kids into camps, um please visit our website.

Our uh our activity guide is online and it's filled with active links that bring you right to the registration for the actual classes.

So hopefully that'll help limit um you know any type of confusion with our registration software.

Um we're also in the process of hiring for summer jobs for individuals ages 16 plus.

Um we have several jobs posted on our website, so people can go and apply there are on the city's website under the HR department for job postings.

So we've got lots there.

Um aquatics, the NCNL swim center, swim lessons for all ages.

The registration is open for summer aquatics camps.

So uh don't miss out on the different creativity and things you can do in the pool this year, as well as uh lessons and uh skill levels are underway.

So and swim sessions are offered on Sundays uh for open swim.

Uh our spring break camps uh during AUC non school days since this is upcoming this this coming week.

Our spring break camps during AUC non-school days since this is upcoming this this coming week.

We have uh spring vacation camp taking place at Harrison Center.

We have an all sports and intro to basketball and sporty tots camps taking place at the Alameda Point Gym.

There's special interest programs at various locations.

And if you're looking for something to do last minute, please check out our website because there's still availability.

Our teens, so ARPD is still facilitating the Queer Teen Alameda Center that takes place at the Underground Teen Center at the Vets Building.

This is every Friday at 6 p.m.

And it's we're in a partnership with Alameda Pride.

The summer volunteer programs are open for registration.

It's a good way for students to earn community service hours.

We've got the Every Act Matters program.

This helps assist with movie nights, the Sandcastle contest, the Fourth of July parade, and our community rec program.

We have Operation Green Sweep.

This is Mondays and Fridays, June 22nd through July 24th.

This helped makes our community cleaner, greener, and more beautiful in our parks.

And then we have our junior leader program.

This is a Monday through Friday program that runs July 6th through the 31st from 8 a.m.

till 5 30.

And this helps individuals learn leadership skills, gain experience, and prepare for future jobs with ARPD.

Our youth programs at the Albeda Point Gym.

We've got after school pickleball for middle schoolers, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m.

till 5 30.

We're also offering homeschool PE, K through fifth graders.

This is Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 until 12.

And then for adults, we have our open gym, which is taking place Sundays, 6 p.m.

till 10 p.m.

at the Alameda Point Gym.

We have tennis.

We have private and semi-groups available.

So if you're interested in tennis lessons, you can uh sign up for them if you visit our website.

We have indoor pickleball taking place Fridays from 9 30 till 12 p.m.

at the Alameda Point Gym.

And then we're also offering, as a community member came and spoke to you all at the last meeting, our indoor roller skating taking place Wednesdays, 9 p.m.

till 10 30 p.m.

at the Alameda Point Gym.

We've got some massive programs to offer.

There's some new ones.

There's an intro to artificial intelligence.

This is taking place Monday and Wednesdays, April 20th through the 29th, from 1 until 2 30 p.m.

And they can do it via Zoom as well.

And this is to teach people how to use AA to AI tools and how to use them.

There's a strength training and cardio is takes place Wednesdays, May 6th through the June 24th.

That's 10 30 a.m.

through 11 30 a.m.

And this helps develop bone density and muscle mass and all fitness well levels are welcome.

Mastic is also having their spring art boutique.

This is taking place Saturday, April 25th from 10 until 2 p.m.

in the social hall, and celebrate spring at their art fair.

And you can discover unique handmade creations, including some paintings, needlecraft jewels, ceramics, and more.

Leisure date, we just want to leisure for our leisure club, save the date.

The Leisure Club Talent Show will be taking place Thursday, June 11th at the Harrison Center.

It's a great event.

And then in the parks, you're going to see that some improvements have been made at Littlejohn.

The dugouts were made to fit for ADA and replaced.

And so there's some features there.

We put in some safety netting and some benches again to help with the ADA.

The trellises at Bohol Circle were repainted to as we all have, or not all, but uh with assault air, our metal trellises needed to be redone.

Um and we're also working on the Harrison Rec Center being painted currently.

Um then on March 10th through the 13th, four of our staff members attended the California Park and uh recreation society conference in Long Beach and uh got a lot of good information and some good professional development training.

Um staff training on March 18th uh focused on using laser level equipment for in field and improving our uh field accuracy.

And then our spring sports field maintenance is underway, so including irrigation activation, uh inspection fertilization, and just really uh all support for improving the field quality.

Um want to take some time to recognize some of the staff.

Dana Archibald has been a dedicated member for ARPD for over 14 years.

She started as a rec leader and is now a rec specialist, consistently showing flexibility and a strong work ethic and a commitment to supporting programs across multiple sites.

She contributes to program ideas for rap.

She assists in orders and with deliveries and most recently helps coordinate um entries for the mayor's Fourth of July parade.

And it's a very essential role for that um uh that um event.

And we really appreciate her.

She's been absolutely fantastic for us.

And then uh want to call out a couple of our maintenance staff, Nick Casenda and Oscar Ledezma successfully passed their certified playground safety inspector program, which is a very difficult task, but it's nice having internal staff that have that knowledge base so uh they can help keep everyone in the community safe.

That's the end of the report.

Terrific.

Thank you.

Uh Commissioners, questions for Director Long.

I have a question.

Um I was approached by someone asking if they still had the clock at Franklin Park on the tennis court.

So I said, well, I don't know, I think it's still there.

Well, I went down the other day and the clocks are not there.

Is there any chance that those clocks could be replaced at Franklin?

Or what how should I go about responding to the community member?

Uh just mentioning it now that we'll put it in the work order and okay, great.

Thank you.

I'll take care of it.

Others.

Okay.

In that case, we'll move forward.

Our next item is Commissioner Communications.

Uh, Commissioner Alexander, welcome back.

Would you like to start us off?

Uh yes, I would.

Thank you.

Um, unfortunately, I was not here at the March meeting, and that's women's month, and I always give my traditional women of ARPD speech.

Um, there's been a long history of women in this department from the playground leaders all the way up to the director.

And I think it's really important that we don't forget about them.

And it would be nice for some time in the future to have something perhaps done in honor of all the women of ARPD in general.

So that's my spiel for March.

Um, I went down to Estuary Park, and boy, is there a lot going on down there.

It's really exciting to see.

Um, I went to Little John and checked out the Little Lake Field.

Someone had commented about the fence down there.

So I went down and took a look at that.

Uh, I said I went to the Franklin tennis courts.

I think it's great that the movies in the park are moving around.

Let's try it and see how it works this year.

Um, I would like to also talk about the um activity guide.

I had a chance to actually sit and read that from cover to cover.

And I literally I did cover to cover.

It is absolutely amazing what 12 full-time staff members can put together.

I I don't know if people in this town realize all the different activities are offered, the daycare, the camps for kids.

It's amazing.

Um, and my sister happened to be in town, and she was reading through it, and she goes, Oh my God, these are really creative.

What did they come up with all these things?

You know, we had fun things, but look at all this.

So I just want to commend staff.

I it's unbelievable that that um that guide.

Um, and I would also like to make a quick shout out for the uh Alameda Friends of the Park golf tournament on May 18th.

Um, please come sign up.

We're looking for fours.

And that golf tournament is really run by former park directors.

And the dinner afterwards at Lincoln Center is cooked by all former park directors.

So yeah, we're getting a little older these days, but we're still kicking around.

But it just shows you what the dedication was to the park systems several years ago.

And I hope that that will continue as um our parts continue to grow.

Um, I think that's all.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I would offer a second to that Alameda Parks uh golf dinner.

I went last year.

It was delicious.

Thank you.

Uh Commissioner Bernie.

I would like to give an appreciation to ARPD for making our parks very runner-friendly.

As I mentioned earlier, before the meeting, I will be running in the Boston Marathon in about two weeks.

And normally someone will say that that could be that just for a personal goal.

But I am actually running for charity.

I am running for Cat Town, which is uh cat shelter in Oakland that helps at-risk cats get adopted and either cats that have some type of either they don't trust humans, they might have a behavioral issue, and Cat Town helps them overcome those issues to help them find good homes and to not only help them live better lives, but help whoever adopts them live better lives.

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

Thank you.

I've been spending uh a little bit more time than normal at Franklin since my son started playing T ball there.

Um, but really great Sundays and Mondays when I'm there.

There's always people on the tennis courts.

Um, you know, I'm usually at the baseball field, but there's people hanging out in the park area with all the trees or playing on the playground.

So really great to experience um a park I'm not usually at uh a little bit more.

Um also spent some time at Gene Sweeney and Cruzy, saw the connector work going on.

So glad that um is underway and should be wrapped up soon.

Um and then uh this actually just happened today.

So I believe the noon watererobics classes have ended, but there's definitely still some patrons showing up kind of asking about the class.

Um and so definitely would, I know I was actually already emailing with Stacey today about unrelated, and I know she's working on some summer adult classes, but um, especially that one specifically, as I mentioned a couple months uh a couple months ago.

I was really encouraged to see the turnout there, and there's still people actually showing up.

I think it's been two weeks since that class is wrapped up, and there's still people showing up asking about it.

So there's definitely still that um sense of community they've they've built.

Um, and would love to at least for that, since there was already some momentum there, not have to wait potentially for the summer um to bring that back and got some feedback today from some of those patrons about um wanting that program back.

So just wanted to pass that on.

Uh that's all I got.

Thank you.

Great, thank you.

And I will uh I'll see my time back this evening in the interest of moving us forward.

Um the next item on the agenda is to approve the minutes from our March 12th, 2026 meeting.

Uh, can we have a motion, please, to approve those minutes?

I will motion to approve and a roll call vote, please.

Commissioner Alexander.

I'll abstain.

I was not here.

Commissioner Bernie.

I'll stay in our vice chair swartz.

Yes.

And Chair Radies.

Yes.

Is that sufficient to approve?

I think so.

Yep.

Okay.

In that case, the motion's been approved.

Thank you.

Uh the next item on our agenda is our regular agenda item 6A, which is to consider a recommendation to approve the memorial amenity policy.

We'll start with a report and a presentation, then the commissioners can ask clarifying questions.

We'll have the opportunity for public comment, and then commissioners will discuss and offer their own feedback.

Then we'll need a motion to recommend or not recommend the approval of this policy at the end of our discussion.

Uh, Director Long, thank you.

All right, good evening, commissioners.

Um, we're here tonight to talk about the uh memorial amenity policy.

This is a new policy for our department.

Um what we've had in our current practice um is uh we've had a procedure for years.

Okay.

This is not advancing.

Sorry.

Just can you advance it, Donna?

Sorry about that.

Um basically we've had a uh a procedure for years.

So you could fill out a form, you could donate a picnic table, a bench.

Um, but we really had no real information in there about duration or uh to give people a lot of clarity.

Um so we've had a procedure.

And so what we've done here today is to put together a policy that hopefully will bring clarity on and on and establish like the ongoing commitments and expectations from both ARPD as well as the um the donors.

Um the proposed policy, it'll really provide clear and consistent guidelines.

It supports long-term maintenance implementation of the plan and defines what the park amenity library is.

So, like for example, right now we have benches, picnic tables, uh, we have two different types of tables, but we also didn't want to just limit it to only those, like say if someone wanted to donate a different park amenity, that they would have the ability to do so under this policy.

Um, it also clarifies the eligibility, requirements, costs, and the term of the donation.

Um, you know, uh it applies to, like I said, benches, tables, and other park amenities as well.

Next slide.

Um for eligibility, um, individuals, families, organizations may apply.

Um, what we've tried to do here is to make sure that it's it's not a commercial process.

So this is really bent for um families, organizations and individuals.

You would still fill out the a very similar memorial amenity request form.

It gives us all the details.

So the term or duration here is new.

So that we'll spend some time here.

What we're looking at is having new amenities, have a 10-year dedication or the life of the amenity.

And this really is talking about sort of the duration of the in the park system, trying to establish clear guidelines, but we also want to make sure that there's also a renewal process.

So let's say if you would like to do that, we would allow for a uh another 10-year renewal uh for a modest fee of $1,000.

Um, so the other thing that we're also talking about is we have some substantial number of existing um uh parked benches out here and that are already in the system.

And what this policy is establishing that anything that is currently in existence from from the time the policy is adopted would be extended for a full 10-year term, regardless of when it was originally donated, um, as long as the the asset still can exist due to its condition.

So that's one of the ways we try to incorporate all the pre-donors that were not in this policy current or before it existed at all.

Um, so what we also like to do is like you know, you can renew anything non-renewed could be rededicated or move to another location, or depending on the actual bench itself, whether it needs to be replaced or removed due to its condition.

Um, and then uh we also just wanted to put this one in here because if a bench gets completely vandalized to the point where it is not safe to use or has been very vandalized, that it is unsafe.

We we want to have the uh right to be able to remove or relocate that that facility.

Um we would actually replace it if it were destroyed.

So just put that out there.

Next slide, please.

Um so locations and availability.

So this is something that you'll put down your preferences of where you'd want it, and then we will work with the individual donor to talk about where they can go.

Now we have lots of parks.

We have some parks that are at capacity.

So those are those will have to fall into some other parameters as well.

Like, for example, we want to make sure that they're in safe spaces, we maintain accessibility, that it fits into the master plan of the park, and that we can actually still maintain around said location.

Um and then we also want to make sure that we're putting in places that are just aren't going to interfere with normal park use.

We're not going to put one in the middle of a baseball field, for example.

Um, and then, like I say, you know, some parks are limited due to the just the quantity that have already been donated into those.

And then we'll also have alternatives to provide other folks.

For example, we have over 700 benches in our system, and right now about 150 of them have dedications.

So just give you an idea that we still have capacity to take uh donors on existing facilities as well as uh provide new locations for those as well, should someone really want a specific location.

Um, and then uh we have to we have to still put this in here, but we're still concerned about you know, if if things are damaged and we cannot repair that, we would have to be able to remove them in a in a timely way.

Next slide.

So the application process and timeline, you would request a form, we would review it with you, and when we get to installation, and generally this is going to take between eight and 16 weeks, depending on having the plaque made, having the uh amenity ordered, and then we can work on installation of that.

And so that's generally the timeline is eight to 16 weeks, depending on if we have them in stock or not.

So, you know, what we'll do and what we're committing to is part of this is that we'll uh meet with the applicants, the confirm locations, you know, uh we'll review the inscription and uh the placement.

Uh, we'll offer a renewal option for existing amenities.

Again, it's a 10-year term.

Um, and then again, it is subject to the life cycle of the amenity.

If you donated a drinking fountain and it needed to be replaced after 10 years, it's to the term of the amenity, for example.

Um, and we'll be tracking the contact information, which is why we take those forms.

Um, so if a donor cannot be reached at the end of the term, we may rededicate, but we'll do every effort to contact them and decide if they want to renew.

So this comes down to the cost portion.

And so this right now our existing fees are around $2,000 to $2200 plus any concrete pad that you would have to do.

But by establishing this 10 year maintenance where it's really breaking down to actual cost based on our original conversation with the commission the feedback that we received was that we should really try to put it to a what what is it actually costing the department to maintain and to keep these amenities.

And so we've established the donations now a concrete bench is 5,000 the ironwood bench is $0,000 and a picnic table is $5500.

Now just to break this down a little bit um the actual cost to us for a bench is 2,000 for the table it's again $2,000 and then the ironwood bench the just to buy the material is another uh 2200.

So a concrete slab for them to sit on because what we've determined with many of these benches you need to have uh a paving pad underneath them uh it provides them from saddling and make keeps it uh in a much better condition for the general public and that runs between a thousand and $1500 generally um and then the 10-year maintenance cost it's so that that ranges between 2000 and 2400 based on how many times staff have to go out and clean it um how many times staff have to either take graffiti off of it some things will need to be painted and so that's the ongoing cost for the the 10 year term just to give you a a better idea of the breakdown.

Next slide and then so tonight we're here seeking your feedback and approval of the policy and with that I'll open it to questions.

Thank you.

Uh commissioners uh it's our opportunity to ask clarifying questions just as a reminder we'll start with questions and then we'll have the opportunity for discussion uh and feedback a little bit later uh questions for director long um so just to reiterate so there's a hundred and fift current memorial benches tables etc well if that's just the benches there's about 65 tables out there as well uh we've tracked them all in GIS and so they're all located for us across the system so we know where they are cool and then um how what's the do you feel like you have sufficient contact details for at least the majority of of those right now I think we have a decent amount I think some of the older donations will be a little bit harder to track down but um we'll do our best to do that.

Great that was ethic thanks.

Please Commissioner Vernon are we expecting these fees to remain to remain as they are the entire for the entire 10 years.

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

Right.

So I know so so if a person buys one now say net that phrase but if they buy one now for 5,000 then that is for them that lasts the entire 10 years but let's say five years from now someone wants to buy them we're expecting it I'm assuming these will adjust with inflation and things like that.

Yeah we'll bring back the policy regularly to the commission to talk about increasing fees as as it needs to in order to accommodate if the prices go up and as we all know things go up.

So we'll be bringing that back to you on a on a an as needed basis for you guys to review and approve.

Okay.

And is there a process for if a donor wants to transfer to someone else I'm assuming a lot of some of these individuals might be older and they might want to transfer their responsibility or something happens to them to their offspring or friend is there a process for that um I don't think we consider that we may want to look at adding that to the policy or having at least a discussion around it but that wasn't a primary discussion from our from what we receive from feedback.

Yeah I'm just because I'm saying if a donor can't be reached I'm just trying to assume them I don't know the demographics but I'm assuming things happen might people might want to want might want to maintain this and they might want to transfer for someone else what it might be something like I again I think we'll be open to the conversation and you know should we have that and someone approach us uh if it's during the term or of an existing term then we would probably allow that to occur yes.

So this this renewal option is this for just so I'm clear this for the current the current memorials or this for someone at the end of the 10 years and they have the option to renew.

This is for the for the end of the 10 years we're giving anyone who already has one a full 10 years already from the time the policy gets adopted at that time if they choose to renew it would be a thousand dollars.

Okay.

Well, we we've we felt because we're not purchasing it, and depending on the the maintenance cost and components of what we've already spent, that it'll probably be average out between the first 10 years of maintenance and then the next 10.

So that's why we chose the thousand dollar mark.

Okay.

But this also has the potential to increase based on inflation and things like that.

So again at this moment in time, we're saying 10,000, but just uh 10 years from now, it could be something else, but we don't know, but that will be a just or five years from now.

So it it'll exist that the you know the renewal exists at the time of your contract.

So if you if you signed up and it was initially a thousand dollars, when you get to the end of your 10 years, yeah, for that dollars.

But later on, if someone finds up, it might be different, just the correct okay.

And then these forms are submitted, they have to be submitted via paper.

There's no online option.

Currently, we don't have that ability to do that online as we are investigating and replacing our asset management as our reservation system.

We'll look to see if that can be a component.

Okay.

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

Those are the standards that we have currently.

But if someone wanted to donate a drinking fountain, it would be cost at the cost of the actual amenity plus the installation.

Okay.

Um, I'd like to thank staff for um making this policy.

I think it's a good idea to have the clarification.

Um, it's very comprehensive.

I think it explains things um very well.

Um, I just have a quick question.

I'm gonna do my math.

So if I have a five thousand dollar bench and it costs two thousand dollars to install it, that's three thousand dollars left for maintenance for the 10 years.

Am I doing that correct?

Yes.

Plus the concrete, plus the subtract the concrete pad, that's 1500, so it'd be a thousand five hundred dollars for 10 years.

That would be the maintenance fee.

Yes.

Okay.

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

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

We are uh doing our best to stain them on an annual basis.

Um, sometimes that's done with volunteer staff such as Green Sweep and others, but staff resources are used for that.

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

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

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

You prefer that you did it.

I think we'd like to or contact you to let you know that they wanted to do it, perhaps?

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

Okay.

And uh contacting the current donors, just a suggestion.

Um, I'm just thinking about the benches that I know.

Um, there's probably two or three contact names you could get from that person.

So if contact person A had moved, I'm sure you've thought about that, but we'll we'll do our best ever to when we reach out to the initials to to contact as many as we can or contact others that may know them in order to try to get current contact information.

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

And you said there were or forget the correct number of benches that are out there that have not been dedicated to someone.

Is that correct?

That are so if I wanted to just take that bench and dedicate it, could I buy the plaque and put it on that bench?

It's already there.

We have currently been doing that at the same rate as um if you were to place a new amenity as well.

It's been so it'd be the same cost.

You would our current practice has been that, yeah.

Okay.

Um that's all my questions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I have a few questions myself.

Um following directly onto this point, you know, I I appreciate the the model in essence is a is a 10-year license of dedication as opposed to more of a uh an ownership um of the of the memorial.

I I'm curious um from your standpoint operationally, is there a distinction?

It seems like your operating assumption is that this donation is made to purchase a bench that's then installed and so forth.

Is there any distinction that's worthwhile to make between uh in the con in the agreement language or or or whatnot, between that that starting assumption?

You know, is is it to is it to add memorial to a bench, whether new or existing for a period of 10 years?

Is that the general principle?

Or is the general principle to say that we are buying and installing this this memorial item?

So I would say in principle it is whether it's new or existing, that you're getting a memorial in a park for up to 10 years.

Right.

And then with the ability to renew for another 10 years.

Right.

And then what's happening behind the scenes is really up to you.

Correct.

Yeah.

Okay.

Good.

Um the second question is just looking at the the relative pricing.

I was a little surprised to see that uh a full picnic table is is cheaper than the second bench option.

Uh that's just my pricing mind going.

Uh is there is there any sense is I mean, the picnic table just physically bigger, right?

Is there any sense in increasing that pricing to reflect that?

Or is this does this make the most sense in your estimation?

So surprisingly, our concrete precast finishes are are quite cost effective.

Um, an ironwood bench is a very expensive type of wood and very durable, long lasting.

Um, however, they just carry a much higher cost from purchase.

Okay.

So it's unfortunate, but okay.

Um third question is so I I was looking around at other um cities in the area.

Uh, you know, in our previous conversation, December, right?

We're trying to balance the concepts of uh access on the one hand and and covering costs on the other.

Um at these price points, are you comfortable kind of benchmarking against other cities?

Um, you know, the the one that I that I found that I that had the most fulsome policy in comparison was the uh East Bay Regional Park District, which I imagine you you've looked at.

Are you are you are you comfortable with just how our pricing sits relative to other municipalities?

We reviewed quite a few different municipalities on their pricing, and as you can tell, they widely range all over the place.

Um what we've tried to do is look at because we took your recommendation of actually trying to cover cost.

And so um, I think what we'll do is we'll evaluate this policy based on what we see happening.

And if we feel like the pricing is too high, we can adjust if we want to create, and I think what this will give us the ability to do is we might be able to create different levels in the future of this.

I think what we're trying to do is to start on some standard features, and we may have others that be brought into the system or library that may be more attainable at a lower price point.

So I think one of the things that I didn't address at the beginning is this this procedure was put into place because as you walk around the parks, you'll find random plaques, different places.

And um, one of the reasons why we're putting a policy in place is really to try to organize what happens in the park system so we don't have um a uh widely uh varied library of assets in the park.

And I think this is a way that we can do that.

Okay.

And so I think that's another component of why we try to limit the number of options of what we're giving folks.

Cool.

Um, and then my last question, just uh pushing a little bit further on what Commissioner Alexander and Commissioner Bernie raised, um, just in terms of future testing this, you know, 10 years from now is a long time.

I'm imagine who among us will be here in 10 years, just in in thinking about someone inheriting this policy, I just want to make sure we're not leaving them with uh with a liability.

Um a thousand dollars for the subsequent 10-year period, is that a comfortable uh can we push that a little bit?

I mean, is $2,000 uh more appropriate figure?

Is a thousand dollars enough?

Um I would I would just want to make sure we cover that.

Yeah, I I think what we were trying to evaluate was um what would be considered reasonable since we're not required or acquiring more material.

Um I think that the initial maintenance period should keep the donation in good shape since we've charged the maintenance before.

And so I think that a thousand dollars would probably be reasonable at this given time for continuing that asset for another 10.

Okay, okay, great.

Another quick question, Michelle Alexander.

Um, how many picnic tables and benches do we have donated each year?

Just a guesstimate.

Um I would say in the last two years, it's been around number of harbors between 25 to 35.

That's a lot.

It is that's a lot.

My my only concern is the cost of this.

I understand it, but I think that I'm concerned with the cost, but it is what it is.

Let's let's discuss that further in a moment.

Um any further questions?

No.

I I thought I have one, possibly two more.

The first question is can how long can they renew this?

How many times can they renew this?

It will depend on the life of the asset.

I think that is the contending factor.

So if after you get to the end of your 10-year term, it's your second 10-year term and it's still in good shape.

I mean, that's a long time for a park asset to last in the in the public.

So I, you know, we would provide that opportunity.

And we may even that might be a good suggestion for modifying the policy to say you can have one renewal.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And that's what that's why we're here today to get your feedback.

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

Um we've not had that happen.

Um, so I'm I'm not sure that there would be a there's any there's that there's no concern.

I I don't believe so about that, or someone coming in and they're saying, I don't know at what point that they have to commit their money, and then all of a sudden they're they're saying, well, I don't want I don't want to do this anymore.

Is there any do we just do we just keep it?

Do we give it back to them?

I mean, we've had some opinion or some concerns about um benches that were either delivered damaged or had uh flaws to them that have either been patched or at times been plaque has been removed and put on a different bench or table.

Um right now we have not had anyone though that's requested a refund for uh memorial.

Do we know what we would do in that scenario?

I I think we would um you know look at that and have a conversation with the individual and determine at that point if if that's what they truly want to do, that we would remove the plaque and leave the bench and hand them the plaque back.

And if they would like their money back, we would probably return it.

Okay.

Thank you.

Do we have any public comment on this item?

No speakers, no public comment.

Thank you.

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

Um I mean, I could start.

Um thank you, Director Long.

I think we talked about in December adding, you know, the renewal fee being locked so that because obviously in 10 years things are going to change.

Um, you know, I do know kind of think about we're thinking about it a thousand dollars in today's money, but we got to probably think what would that be in in 10 years?

Should it be higher?

Um I would definitely consider that because I again I think what we you know we talked about in December is trying to make sure that costs are covered um at a minimum.

Um, and so definitely would want to make sure that we're comfortable with that thousand dollars, knowing that that's a thousand dollars in you know, 2036, 2037, and not necessarily today.

Um, but I do appreciate the lock-in because I definitely think you know, I would hate for um to kind of give these amounts and then all of a sudden it's 10 years later and it's like, oh, now it's 2000, and that's not what you were planning for.

So I do appreciate that, but I do want to kind of think make sure we're thinking forward on that.

Um, you know, I understand you know, some of the concerns around like, well, if the bench already exists, but it, you know, for my perspective, you you bought the we we bought the bench, and then now part of this you know, fee is basically recovering the cost of buying that bench.

So I understand there might be pushback on new bench versus existing one, but you know, that bench was paid for by ARPD, and it's really just you know, you're really recovering the cost.

And I would I would make sure to phrase it that way if there is pushback, um, because the ultimate thing is again making sure the costs are covered, and that includes any costs that may have already, you know, happened.

Um, I guess those are the two things uh I had.

Okay, the only thing that I have is that I am concerned about inflation.

And but I understand the situation that we're in, but I do think that that given, especially given how fluctuating inflation can be it today's price, but probably won't be the future price.

And it's just something that will I am concerned about that.

But I understand that you have to give people some type of set.

It's not really fair to give them a set price and say, oh, it might increase by 500 in 10 years or five years, because we don't know.

It could be the opposite situation, but I do think that is something to be cognizant of as the this procedure is continually brought up to to the commission.

Thank you.

Um, I I like the policy.

I think it's well done, was well thought out.

Um, my only question would be I think the person that's gonna buy the $5,000 concrete bench needs to have it itemized so they know the cost, how much it's costing to put that slab in and have it more detailed for them, not thinking that this bench is $5,000 when they look at it.

That seems like a I would think twice about that, unless I knew that this money is going towards the slab that has to be put in.

This is going toward the maintenance.

So it's X number of dollars here.

I think maybe a little more definitive information on that might be helpful.

I'd um I'd also like to just open a little bit more conversation on the on the pricing issue.

You know, I returned, I returned to the East Bay Regional Park District policy because, in a sense, that right over at Crown Crown Beat, you know, they're the direct substitute in a sense for for this policy.

And you know, they charge um $5,000 for effectively a 10-year license, but they're their seeming their starting point is that you're working with an existing bench.

So, in a sense, it's $5,000 with no installation at all.

And so, in thinking about the issue you were raising, Commissioner Alexander about this balance between cost and an access.

Um, I I think we we might be able to look at it from both directions.

I I agree with Commissioner Bernie that my sense is that the thousand dollars 10 years from now is is gonna be a little bit low.

I mean, three to five percent inflation, and we're already, you know, 50% higher than that.

Um, you know, today by the same token, I I also I agree with Commissioner Alexander in the sense that five thousand dollars on on an existing facility feels feels uh a bit expensive.

So I wonder whether there's any space to look at a lower rate for putting a plaque on an existing uh an existing facility uh while at the same time raising um the the renewal rate to reflect higher higher ongoing costs.

And also, in a sense, at that point, you are putting a plaque on an existing facility, right?

So there's a there's a certain parallel structure structure there at the renewal point.

And as I was taking notes during Director Long's presentation, I wonder whether the the rate to put a plaque on an existing bench could be 2500.

So a lower price point for someone who's perhaps a little bit more cost sensitive, and that that renewal rate um on the on the newly installed bench today would also be moved to 2500 um to you know to accomplish to accomplish both goals.

So effectively a discount on an existing facility and then a higher price on the renewal in the future.

Um, I wonder if that resonates with uh with anyone.

My only concern with that is you know, a bench could get installed today for again, let's go all in as $5,000.

So purchase delivery, site preparation, installation, and then in three months now, someone's paying half the price for to put a plaque on it.

And so again, now ARPD is eating half the cost that they should be otherwise.

Uh because I I get from an optics standpoint what it seems like, but uh, you know, like ARPs, there's still money to do all the things that this policy covers.

That's all some like costs that have already happened.

And so it's ARPD recouping those costs versus okay, now I'm getting money and then buying the bench doing the preparation.

I think that's and maybe maybe some explanation of that goes goes in here.

I don't know.

I think it becomes way too big of a challenge to do, well, this park bench is five years old, so it's discounted versus this park bench is three days old.

I think that just creates too much administrative burden.

Um, you know, and I think this is a great starting point, and it would be great to get feedback and like knowing this isn't set in stone, we could reevaluate next year if there's a ton of feedback on it.

Um, I would just hate to make it overly complex.

Sure.

Um, and then definitely don't want, and I think one of the key things to talk about December, making sure that it isn't a financial burden on parks.

Um so I think this is actually really good, good starting point.

Other than again, I I do kind of want to also think about the 1,000 if that's enough for uh a 10-year um amount.

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

You know, there's your point right there.

Yep.

Who are we expecting to be able to pay for this?

Is it just any I know anyone can pay for anyone can pay for these features, but do we have some idea about the number that we expect to be of new benches that we expect to get from this policy?

Um we haven't put any expected numbers on this.

So I mean, this these are usually additive.

They're usually meant to memorialize.

We don't use this as the standard as the way for us to replace a bench.

So we try to do that with our operating dollars.

Um we want the whole point of this is to create an opportunity for members of the public who want to memorialize someone or uh a pet or whatever they want it to give them an opportunity to do so.

Yeah.

And so we don't use this as replacement of our operational program.

So again, uh we didn't we don't set expectations because these are additive.

Yeah.

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

I think it's only that's maybe a couple of hundred, maybe less than that to do that.

And again, for the term we've had the program, we have 150 benches, we have 75 picnic tables.

So I mean, it gives you an idea over the term of our procedure what we actually have even at the $2,000 rate.

So I I uh I'm not gonna anticipate that we get a ton, but we have donors to Mastic all the time.

We have people regularly donate.

Last year we had a donation of 585,000 to the mastic senior center.

So I it all vary it just all varies on the individuals.

I think if we observe that the costs are too high, and that is it it basically makes the program stop, then we'll reevaluate and we'll come back to the commission with other options for folks because we we really want to provide a service here, and that's what we're that's what this policy is trying to do.

Okay.

So let's uh let's push on the the pricing here in a moment.

Before we do, I I had need to double back with one clarifying question.

Um in terms of the case of vandalization of the the facilities, um, does the policy accommodate repair of a bench that gets vandalized, or is that an additional cost to the to the donor?

So there will be no additional cost to the donor if there is a outside vandalism that occurs to it.

Our only issue is if the vandal is so severe that it'll be removed, and if we have the the resources at the time, we'll replace it then.

I see.

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

But that's but if if someone splashes paint across it, then that'll be our operational dollars and the maintenance dollars are what those are for in order to remove the graffiti, remove the paint and clean it back to as as close as we can get to its original condition.

Wait, so if the so if the let's say this the bench is destroyed, vandalum is destroyed the bench.

So with a sunk cost, will we we will have to replace it?

What we'll end up doing is in our operational plan, we will look at the asset and see if we can replace it.

And if it takes us time to do so, it'll take time to do that.

It won't be a direct replacement cost to the department.

But as time in the bench is in our normal rotation, because once benches become into the park locations, eventually they will need to be replaced because they are where they are.

Yeah, I'm not well, I understand we have that.

I'm talking about the scenario in which let's say a bench out there, bandulums occurs and the bench is entirely destroyed, and the family is saying, Well, I want I want the bench back.

Is that some will we pay to replace that particular bench, or will the family have to pay another thousand or five thousand dollars to get get that new bench?

And so what I'm what I'm trying to clarify here is that the bench will be replaced by the city at a point in time, it won't be replaced immediately, but as our inventory is available, we will do our best to replace it.

The plaque itself on the bench will be up to the family to replace.

Right.

Okay, let's uh move towards a motion.

Are there any concerns before we get there?

Are there any other concerns with the policy itself?

No.

Okay.

So let's let's look at this one one at a time.

We'll we'll look at the the initial install pricing and then we'll look at the renewal pricing.

Um is there any uh hesitation folks would like to voice uh with approving the installation prices, uh, the benches and the table?

I don't have any okay.

Um is there any hesitation that anyone would like to express about approving uh the renewal rate at a thousand dollars?

Yeah, I kind of like your idea.

Um chair of let's assume if we assume three percent a year, 10 years, maybe we make it 1300.

That would be let's just make assumption that that's a thousand dollars in today's money.

Any others?

I am on the I am under the assumption that this thousand dollars will not last long in terms when it comes to inflation, and that we will have to be increasing very soon.

And it will that's just how that's just how things have been going when it comes to inflation.

So I'm not sure it'll be able to cover the maintenance costs for a 10-year period.

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

Don't because we don't know what the inflation will be.

That that's that's the issue.

That's why I keep going back to saying that we don't know what it will be in the future.

So I do think the only thing I can suggest is I understand the intention is to have the thousand dollars locked for a 10 year period, but I'm not sure it should be.

I think I think whoever pays for it should understand that if the that's it could increase over time and give us an option to do so.

Uh Director Long, can you help us?

Is there a general inflation assumption that you make when you're budgeting for the department?

So generally we plan on a three to five percent inflation on an annual basis.

Um we use the California CPI, and we use you know, usually it's somewhere in that range.

This last year it was 3.6.

In that case, I'd like to suggest that we protect direct along with 5% and say $1,500 at the renewal.

Um, is there any hesitation to that?

Okay.

In that case, can I hear a motion to approve the policy as proposed uh with the uh with the only adjustment being a $1,500 renewal cost into instead of a thousand dollars?

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

Second.

We have a roll call vote, please.

Commissioner Alexander.

I'm going to abstain from voting.

I have two benches that to at a park, and I also have a picnic table.

And I don't think it's right for me to make a vote on this proposal.

And I would just make that as a statement because I think we all have to be really careful when we have certain things in this city that are near and dear to us, and we have to make a vote.

So I think it's really important that I abstain from this vote.

Thank you.

Commissioner Bernie.

Approve.

Vice Chair Schwartz?

Yes, Chair ADs.

Yes.

Thank you, everyone.

The uh the motion's approved.

Okay, the next item on the agenda is our next meeting on May 14th, 2026.

Do we have any agenda items that anyone would like to put on that agenda?

Director Long.

Um we'll probably be bringing back several project updates uh visually for you so you can kind of see where they're at.

Um, both the aquatic center uh estuary park.

Terrific.

Okay.

In that case, hearing no other agenda item proposals, uh, the next item on the agenda is the adjournment.

Uh, could we have a motion to adjourn, please?

I would like to make a motion to adjourn.

I'll second.

And a vote, please.

Commissioner Alexander, yes.

Commissioner Bernie.

Yes.

Vice Chair Swartz?

Yes.

Chair ADs.

Yes.

Thank you very much, everyone.

The meeting's now adjourned.

We'll see everyone in May.