TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Mark Leyman, Parks and Recreation Director
Martin Betz, Cultural Arts Manager
Eve Kelso, Recreation Manager
Linda Robb, Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Approval of Annual Commission Work Plans for the Parks and Recreation Commission, Cultural Arts Commission, and Library Commission (Parks and Recreation Director Leyman).
APPROVE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council approve the Annual Commission Work Plans for the Parks and Recreation Commission, Library Commission and Cultural Arts Commission.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The Library Commission is requesting up to $3,500 for their Library Lunch Club and Books and Cooks events and the Cultural Arts Commission is requesting $30,000 for their Art in the Parks event. If these programming changes are approved in the Work Plans, an additional budget appropriation of $33,500 will be required to fully fund these programs in FY 2019-2020. Changes to the FY 2019-2020 Budget, as directed by the City Council, may be included when the budget is adopted at the June 4, 2019, City Council meeting. All other work plan items have been budgeted or approved by the City Council previously.
BACKGROUND:
The Commission Handbook includes a work plan process for each of the Commissions. During the annual joint meeting with City Council and the Parks and Recreation, Cultural Arts and Library Commissions, potential work plan items are discussed.
DISCUSSION:
Parks and Recreation Commission Work Plan
The Parks and Recreation Commission discussed and approved the following items for City Council’s consideration:
• Salute to the Troops Concert in the Park - Established in 2015 by the Parks and Recreation Commission to salute veterans and active duty military personnel and the families who support them. This was originally a stand-alone event planned and supported by the commission and their fundraising efforts. In 2017, the event was incorporated into the Concerts in the Park series with the commission retaining some responsibilities including: development of emcee script, choice of challenge coin design, organizing scout volunteers, selecting band and armed services groups as needed, and volunteering at the event.
• Commissioners attend and support Parks and Recreation Department activities and events, acting as ambassadors of the department.
• Park Master Plan - Select Ad-Hoc Committee, facilitate community outreach and input, develop survey, encourage resident engagement, assessment of parks and facilities, review current and past City plans.
• Senior/Scout House - Continue role in supporting and providing outreach.
• Donation Policy - The Commission Ad-Hoc Committee is in the process of developing a comprehensive policy and donation program options.
• Pickle ball and NFC Fitness Court - Receive updates and make final recommendations to City Council as needed.
• Polliwog Park Play Equipment and Surfacing Project - Facilitate public input and make final recommendations for playground equipment and surfacing.
Cultural Arts Commission Work Plan
The Cultural Arts Commission (CAC) discussed and approved the following items for City Council’s consideration:
• Sculpture Garden Program
• Strand Alcove Bench Program
• Community Arts Grant Program
• Public Art Conservation Assessment
• City Hall Lobby Public Art Project
• Mural in Manhattan Beach
• AC Conner Exhibition
• Light Gate Glass Replacement
• Utility Box Beautification Project
The above named projects are in various stages of completion. Consequently, the CAC requests only two additional items be added to the work plan.
Arts in the Park- The Arts in the Park is a one-day event that involves the solicitation of Beach Cities, El Segundo and Torrance based arts organizations to sponsor booths and present workshops, interactive performances and disseminate information on their particular expertise. These workshops will encompass the visual and performing arts and include disciplines from painting and theater to Ballet and Hip Hop. Each booth will be provided with materials to host an interactive workshop. In addition, schools in the Manhattan Beach School district as well as private schools serving Manhattan Beach will be invited to share their programs. Currently the proposed location is Polliwog Park and the proposed date is May of 2020. Arts in the Park calls for 20-30 participating organizations, with a budget of $30,000 dollars.
Manhattan Beach Art Center (MBAC) Façade and grounds Improvements- The CAC would like to produce an RFQ to have an artist or artist team develop a plan to artistically address the MBAC look from Manhattan Beach Blvd. This could be in the form of artscape, banner poles, signage, sculptural elements, etc. The target date for completion would be in early 2022.
Library Commission Work Plan
The Library Commission proposes the following projects for City Council consideration. All are continued from last year’s work plan:
• To attend, support and offer community outreach for Library activities including the annual Birthday Celebration of the Library in May.
• Library Meet & Greet - An annual event to bring County and Manhattan Beach school librarians together with Commissioners, for the purpose of getting acquainted and discussing possible ways of improving the library.
• Library Summer Reading Program Outstanding Readers - An annual event that invites six Outstanding Readers from the Library’s Summer Reading Program to be recognized by the Library Commission. Two events have been held so far, in 2017 and 2018
• Library Lunch Club - An annual event held on a weekday with speakers of interest to community members, arranged in conjunction with the Library. The first Library Lunch Club was held in May, 2018 with author, Seth Davis
• Manhattan Beach Writer Awards - An annual event that would allow the Library Commission to recognize select writers, journalists, bloggers, etc., including both school age and adult writers in the community. Recognition would be at a regularly scheduled Library Commission meeting. Criteria and details are still being discussed.
• Books and Cooks - A Library Open House, where doors of the library would be open on a weekend day to bolster the foot traffic into the library. There could be food trucks and entertainment in the parking lot or on the back patio. This event will coincide with the Library’s fifth anniversary in May 2020. Funding for an event like this would be requested from Friends of the Library.
• East Side Library Service- Commission to discuss opportunities for library service on the east side of town to include the possibility of the Mira Costa Library site or use of the LA County Bookmobile at Manhattan Heights or “Book Vending Machines.” This discussion has been on hold due to the current closure of the Mira Costa school library.
Parks and Recreation staff currently anticipates minimal staff time and resources associated with these requests.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.