LIVERMORE AREA RECREATION AND PARK
DISTRICT
71 TREVARNO ROAD
LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA 94551-4931
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SPECIAL BOARD MEETING
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
5:45 p.m., Council Chambers
3575 Pacific Avenue
Livermore, California
MINUTES
BOARD
MEMBERS PRESENT: Alice Quinn, Scott
Kamena, Dale Turner, and
Vice
Chair David Furst (4)
BOARD
MEMBERS ABSENT: Chair Faltings (1)
STAFF
MEMBERS PRESENT: Tim Barry, Ken Craig,
Gail Sloane, Diane Daniel, Barbara Kraybill,
Felix Errico, Carolyn Ulrich
1. CALL TO ORDER—ROLL CALL—PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Meeting
was called to order at 5:45 p.m. by Vice Chair Furst. Chair Faltings was noted absent at the time of roll call.
2. REVISION TO THE EXTENDED STUDENT SERVICES
PROGRAM POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Youth Services Superintendent Kraybill
presented a recommendation for amendment of the Enrollment Agreement Policies
and Procedures for the Extended Student Services Program. Amendments included addition of statements
required by the State Department of Education, as well as various procedural
revisions.
No public comment was received.
On
motion by Director Turner, seconded by Director Kamena, approved revisions to
the Extended Student Services Program Policies and Procedures, passing 4-0.
3. FISCAL YEAR 2004/2005 EMPLOYEE SALARIES AND
BENEFITS
General Manager Barry reported that Board
action was required to set employee salary and benefit levels for Fiscal Year
2004/2005. Two resolutions had been
placed on the agenda; the Annual Salary Resolution dealt with employee
compensation and benefit levels, and the resolution pertaining to amendment of
the Personnel Rules and Regulations was required if the Board took action to revise employee leave provisions. The item had been preliminarily discussed at
the June 10th Board meeting.
Assistant to the General Manager Sloane
reviewed the Personnel Commission recommendation to the Board of Directors
relative to alternatives for the salary resolution and Personnel Rules and
Regulations that staff had been directed to prepare at the previous Board
meeting.
Director Kamena proposed setting employee
salary and benefit levels for Fiscal Year 2004/2005, as follows:
a) Salary ranges to remain at the current
level;
b) The District to pay the entire cost of full
family coverage for health plans for full time employees and the entire cost of
single coverage for health plans for part time designated employees.
c) To increase vacation and sick leave accrual
rates for Category A part time designated employees from 4 hours/month to 5
hours/month, with longevity vacation accrual to increase proportionally from
50% of that of full time employees to 62.5%.
No
public comment was received.
Board
discussed the motion on the floor, with Director Kamena stating that his proposal included funding for the cost
of the benefits being taken from reserves at this time. That was because the
cost of the benefit package would need to be reflected in the Preliminary
Budget scheduled for adoption by the Board.
Director Kamena addressed the cost of
paying for the health plan benefit, which was $60,000 over the amounts
reflected in the current Draft Preliminary Budget. Administrative Aide Ulrich confirmed the cost of paying for the
health plan benefit as being $60,000 over the status quo budget.
Resolutions
adopted:
On motion by Director Kamena, seconded by
Director Turner, adopted and approved Resolution 1898, designating the
compensation for District employees for Fiscal year 2004/2005, by the following
roll call vote:
AYES: Directors Kamena, Turner and Vice Chair Furst
(3)
NOES: Director Quinn (1)
ABSENT: Chair Faltings (1)
On
motion by Director Kamena, seconded by Director Turner, adopted and approved
Resolution 1899, amending the Personnel Rules and Regulations to provide for
changes in part time designated employee benefit levels, by the following roll
call vote:
AYES: Directors Quinn, Kamena, Turner and Vice Chair
Furst (4)
NOES: None (0)
ABSENT: Chair Faltings (1)
Director
Furst noted that Board compensation and travel allotments had not yet been
discussed by the Board. He stated that
it was difficult to ask staff to take cuts, without the Board doing the same.
4. FISCAL YEAR 2004/2005 PRELIMINARY BUDGET
General Manager Barry summarized the major
provisions of the Draft Preliminary Budget being proposed for adoption as the
Preliminary Budget, addressing the topics of projected revenue and expenses,
proposed cuts to programs and staff, and status and contribution to the District
budget reserve fund. In his
presentation, General Manager Barry emphasized that the District anticipated an
additional 25% property tax shift from the State of California, which equated
to an additional revenue loss of $1.3 million.
Addressing the capital improvement portion of the budget, General
Manager noted the addition of a number of projects that had been added to the
District’s capital project list. He
explained that the projects had been added based on an assessment of the
District’s park system and the need for safety improvements as well as
improvements that would assist the District in maintaining facilities as
efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.
General Manager Barry noted that the final budget was scheduled for
adoption at the Regular Board Meeting of August 11, at which time a public
hearing would be held.
Board
discussion on the proposed budget ensued, with dialogue focusing on the
potential ERAF shift and impact to the District, and the capital improvement
budget. Director Quinn expressed her opinion that the capital improvement
budget needed to be closely examined for priorities and timeframe for
completion. She indicated that the
District needed to find a different way of approaching projects; the pattern
currently in use was not working. She
suggested that the District needed to look at completing projects that could
generate revenue, as well as finding ways to utilize people who wanted to
donate time and money to park projects.
Director Quinn stated that she would like to have the Board schedule a
capital improvement budget workshop prior to adoption of the final budget, with
interested facility users notified.
Vice
Chair Furst questioned the Board regarding their desire for a capital
improvement budget workshop. It was
determined that a discussion of the capital improvement budget would be
scheduled as an agenda item for the Board meeting of July 14.
Director
Kamena confirmed that the salary and benefit levels adopted by previous Board
action were part of the Preliminary Budget that was being adopted.
Vice
Chair Furst asked for public comment on the Draft Preliminary Budget. No public comment was received.
On motion by Director Kamena, seconded by
Director Turner, adopted and approved Resolution 1900, adopting the Fiscal Year
2004/2005 Preliminary Operating and Capital Improvement Budget, by the
following roll call vote:
AYES: Directors Quinn, Kamena, Turner and Vice Chair
Furst (4)
NOES: None (0)
ABSENT: Chair Faltings (1)
5. BID RESULTS FOR PARK IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
Superintendent
of Planning and Parks Craig presented bid results for the Ravenswood Park,
Vista Meadows Park, Livermore Downs Park and Summit Park improvement
projects. This was the second time the
project had been bid. One bid had been received from the firm of J. W. Riley
& Son, Inc. of Emeryville, California, in the amount of $1,560,000 for base
bid. Superintendent reported that
although staff had taken measures to obtain additional bidders for the project,
the attempt had been unsuccessful. Staff was recommending that the Board take
action to move forward with the project, as there seemed to be a very volatile
bidding market for public sector projects at the present time. Awarding base
bid on the project would require allocation of additional capital project
funds, to be taken from capital project carryover, in the amount of $414,465,
plus an amount sufficient to cover the cost of any add alternates that the
Board chose to add to the base project.
Superintendent
Craig noted that the staff report on the project included an evaluation as to
why the District was not getting better contractor participation in the bidding
process, and some proposals for changes to District procedures in order to
create a better bidding environment.
Director
Quinn stated that she was in favor of rejecting the bid on the project, as it
was over-budget and would not provide complete park projects. She suggested that the District bid the
projects individually, in order to not have to go over budget and take money
from other projects. Director Quinn
stated that she wanted to re-examine priorities for the top eight capital
projects.
Vice
Chair Furst stated that splitting up the projects and re-bidding would put the
District further behind and that separating the projects would not guarantee
lower bids. He recommended that the
District proceed per the staff recommendation.
Director
Turner asked for Superintendent Craig’s recommendation for the addition to the
base bid of project add alternates.
Superintendent Craig recommended the addition of add alternates a (stairs, cheek wall and
handrails), b (AC path), and d (irrigation system) for Ravenswood Neighborhood
Park, and add alternate b (sand play fountain with potable water connection and
drainage) for Vista Meadows Park.
No
public comment was received.
Director
Turner put a motion on the floor for adoption of Resolution 1901, which was
seconded by Director Kamena. Director
Turner clarified that the motion would award bid to J. W. Riley & Son, Inc.
in the amount of the base bid plus the staff-recommended project add
alternates.
On motion by Director Kamena, seconded by
Director Turner, adopted and approved Resolution 1901, awarding bid for the
Ravenswood, Vista Madows, Livermore Downs and Summit Park Improvement Projects,
by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Directors Kamena, Turner and Vice Chair Furst
(3)
NOES: Director Quinn (1)
ABSENT: Chair Faltings (1)
6. LEASE AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF LIVERMORE FOR
OPERATION OF ROBERT LIVERMORE COMMUNITY PARK AND COMMUNITY CENTER
General
Manager Barry recommended action by the Board of Directors for adoption of a
lease agreement between the City of Livermore and LARPD for Robert Livermore
Community Park. The District is in the
process of applying for State Park Bond Act
funds for the Robert Livermore Community Center project. Part of the grant requirements is that the
District be able to establish that it has rights to the land impacted by the
grant, for a period of at least twenty years following completion of the grant
improvements. The City of Livermore is owner of the park land and the
District’s joint powers agreement with the City regarding acquisition and
development of parks, which would have ordinarily covered the requirement, has
expired. It was determined that the most expedient way of addressing the State
requirements is to enter into a new lease agreement with the City for operation
of the park similar to what the District and City have had in the past. General Manager Barry informed the Board
that the agreement under consideration had been reviewed by both the City and
District legal counsels, who have agreed that the lease agreement will serve
the District’s needs. The process for
developing a new joint powers agreement with the City has been set into
motion.
No
public comment was received.
On motion by Director Turner, seconded by
Director Kamena, adopted and approved Resolution 1902, approving a lease
agreement with the City of Livermore for operation of the Robert Livermore
Community Park and Community Center, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Directors Quinn, Kamena, Turner and Vice Chair
Furst (4)
NOES: None (0)
ABSENT: Chair Faltings (1)
7. CONSENT AGENDA
On
motion by Director Kamena, seconded by Director Turner, adopted and approved
the Consent Agenda, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Directors Quinn, Kamena, Turner and Vice Chair
Furst (4)
NOES: None (0)
ABSENT: Chair Faltings (1)
Resolutions
adopted:
7.1 Resolution No. 1903, establishing the
District’s annual appropriation limit for Fiscal Year 2004/2005.
7.2 Resolution No. 1904, approving plans and
specifications for the Almond Avenue, Independence, Marlin Pound, May Nissen
and Wattenburger Park Improvement Projects, and authorizing calling for bids.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
APPROVED:
_____________________________________
Chairman,
Board of Directors
ATTEST:
___________________________________
General
Manager and ex-officio
Clerk
to the Board of Directors
MINUTES JUNE 30, 2004