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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - November 6, 2019 Public Comment 2ë> is an emerqencv and the need to take action on that emerqencv arose after this aqenda was posted (Government Code Section 54954.2(b)(2)). All other items mav onlv be referred for review to staff or placement on a future Council aqenda. Mike Lusk, member of the public, submitted a claim (filed) on behalf of citizen ratepayers with a demand that the property at Reynolds Ranch Development, which has been designated as a location for a Fire Station, be placed into the Development lmpact Mitigation Fee (lMF) Fire Fund and any conversion by sale of the property to a monetary fund be retained in the Fire Fund in its entirety. He stated the basis for the claim is that the developers for Reynolds Ranch agreed to pay the IMF and create an in-lieu exchange of real property for the purpose of capital infrastructure of Fire Station No. 5. Further, Mr. Lusk submitted a letter (filed) that the City consider a number of traffic flow changes during the Lockeford Street to Lodi Avenue changes on Church Street. Changes include making Oak Street one way travelling east between Church Street and Sacramento Street; making Walnut Street one way from Sacramento Street travelling west to Church Street; and eliminating the left-hand turn lane on Church Street at Walnut Street intersection. Council Member Mounce and Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne concurred with Mr. Lusk's concerns, stating there is a problem in that area. Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne suggested a traffic study be done and thanked Mr. Lusk for his comments regarding setting aside the money from the sale of the Fire Station No. 5 property, adding he too suggested that initially. City Manager Schwabauer stated he could not respond to Council from the dais to a threat of a lawsuit and will do so at a later time. Further, he stated it is premature to discuss selling the property in Reynolds Ranch and it would be more appropriate to do so when Council begins discussing a potential sale. Council Member Johnson agreed with Mr. Lusk's concerns regarding traffic flow downtown, stating it should be explored further. He questioned if one project would interfere with the timing of the other. Public Works Director Charlie Swimley stated staff would need to research such issues as turning rate, how people drive in the area, etc. He agreed that the turning radius is tight with the bow outs, but those were put in with the intention of minimizing crossing of the street. Devon VanDyke, member of the public, submitted a handout (filed) regarding the need for an inclusive park in Lodi that would have accessible play structures to help disabled children use the equipment. With Measure L recently passing, she felt such a park should be within the City's reach. She requested Council support on this proiect that would create an atmosphere of equality at parks. Ms. VanDyke stated an organization was created through St. Paul's Lutheran Church to raise funds for an all-access park and stressed she will do all of the legwork. Council Member Mounce stated she too would like to see a park like this happen sooner, rather than later, because it would be a great benefit to this community. She added the City likely does not have the funds now; however, there is some flexibility with parks that it could happen in the future. ln response to Council Member Nakanishi, Ms. VanDyke stated she has reached out to the Community Foundation of San Joaquin County for support, but there needs to be a solid plan in place before grant money can be awarded. Council Member Nakanishi suggested she speak to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Council Member Mounce added that perhaps the Parks and Recreation Commission could help put together a plan so the Director can help write a grant. Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne stated he serves on the Kiwanis Club and he will pass along her information to the group for potential financial support or donations. He suggested she reach out to other service clubs as well and speak to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Council Member Johnson stated a project such as this is worthy of all service clubs joining together to support it instead of each group going in multiple directions and funding different 6 âU bj 0.vøù¡lvz \DO Funding Assistance Gametime, a Playcore company who our parks department has a longstanding relationship with, offers grants with up to 100% match funding. I am in contact with Shane's lnspiration, the Kiwanis Club, and Omega Nu, who may offer help with funding and volunteers upon approval of the project. I have opened our nonprof¡t account with St Paul Lutheran Church w¡th plans to start fundraising. The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust is providing grants totaling more than 5780,000 to expand inclusive opportunities for children of all abilities to be able to learn, play and succeed side-by-side and nearly 5600,000 in support of national partnerships with Easter Seals, VSA and Boundless Playgrounds that are focused on making a positive impact in the lives of children with disabilities. The Magical Bridge Park in Palo Alto brings in 25,000 visitors per month. As a tourist town, those are numbers to keep in mind. According to the US Census, there are at least 5,761 people living in Lodi with a documented disability who are under the age of 65.8.7% of the population living in San Joaquin County has some form of disability. There are 4,70A registered disabled students in Lodi Unified School District and 4,903 in Stockton Unified School District, both of which saw an enrollment increase from the following year: LUSD saw an increase o14.!% and Stockton Unified saw a3.4o/o increase. Valley Mountain Regional Center, an organization that offers disability services and support, has over L6,000 consumers in 5 counties. Maritza Gutierrez, service coordinator with VMRC, says "the majority of these consumers reside in San Joaquin County." Examples of Playgrounds Within Our Budget Building a Special Needs Plaveround Sarah Routh, LOIL9/L8 "Handicapped-accessible playgrounds like Valencia's aren't cheap-on average they can cost SL00,000 to $200,000-and paying for the project required its backer, the Home and School Club, to more than quadruple the original budget for the playground. They tackled the higher price tag with a creative combination of strategies including running standard fundraisers, mining parent connections, and engaging in an extensive grant-writing campaign. This three-pronged approach helped the HSC fund the more than SL30,000 project without exhausting the resources of school families and helped make recess meaningfulfor each of the school's 550 students." Valencia Park. Location unknown. 5200,000 Everybody's Tree House. Tennessee. 5380,000. Funding through Baptiste Memorial Hospital Foundation. Playcore set up equipment and provided free design and technical help. Signal Centers Therapeutic Playground for the Arts. Tennessee. 52L5,000. Many nature designs in the park. Rocket Park. Colorado. 5200,000 Jacob's Park. Florida. S193,000, with help from volunteers to assemble equipment. ¿J Playground Without Limits. Texas. 5330,000. Wyandotte County- Variety KC- Field of Dreams lnclusive Playground Grand Opening in Fall 201-9. This park will serve an est¡mated 100,000 visitors each year in an area that is under served in adaptive facilities. Additional lnformation 53% of children with disabilities spend less than 2 hours per month outside of the classroom with their peers. A study published inthe Internationol Journal of Environmentøl Reseorch ønd Public Heolth titled Children with Phvsical Disabilities at School and Home states; "Children with physical disabilities tend to engage in fewer structured leisure time physical activities and to spend more time in sedentary pursuits [5]. Th¡s pattern of sedentary living puts children with physical disabilities at increased risk for decreased physical functioning [6], which could result in additional health problems that are associated with their primary disability [7]." Plav as Therapv- Rachael McDonald and Ted Brown "Tamm and Skar (2000) demonstrated that children who have mobility restrictions tend to play either alone or as onlookers rather than actively play with other children or adults." "Some authors even postulate that children with physical disabilities develop a 'secondary disability' of play deprivation" (Missiunaand Pollock 1991; Olds, Sadler and Kitzman 2OO7l. (Hip dysplasia and lower bone density resulting in frequent bone fractures is extremely common due to a lack of physical activity.) "Some children with physical disabilities have not had the same opportunities to develop, so add sensory stimulation into the environment, remembering that they may even need extra stimulation due to their under-lying sensory problems (hearing, vision, touch)." Plav Therapv on lrritabi litv and Hvoeractivitv Behaviors of Children lntellectual Disabilities Karrie L. Swan and Dee C. Ray "The general consensus is that children with an intellectual disability are 4 t¡mes more likely than their nondisabled peer group to develop an emotional or behavioral disorder" (Dekker, Koot,Ende, & Verhulst, 2002; Einfeld & Tonge, 1995; U.S. Public Health Service, 2OO2l. "The enduring consequences for children identified with an intellectual disability and mental health problems include strained familial relationships, decreased access to educational and leisure activ¡t¡es, and increased risk for neglect and abuse and institutionalization" (Murphey et al., 2005). "Ample evidence suggests that ch¡ld centered play therapy is an effective approach for treating children with a wide range of social, emotional, and behavioral problems. Empirical research appears to show that play therapy improves children's self-concepts" (Baggerly,2OO4; Post, 1999), external behavioral functioning {Kot, Landreth, & Giorodona, 1.998), and language development (Danger & Landreth,2005; Fall, Navelski, & Welch, 2002; Packman & Bratton,2003). "Ch¡ld centered play therapy studies also indicate a reduction in the symptoms of stress found in parent-child and teacher*student relationships" (Ray, 2OO7;Ray, Henson, Schottelkorb, Garofano Brown, & Muro,2008). Making the effort to care: Entire communitu benefits from facilities like special-needs plavground October 26,2Ot6 | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, lL) Page: L2 I Section: News "lt wouldn't be surprising if a cost-conscious Elk Grove Park District board had been tempted to turn down a request from Sheri Cappello - or dismissed her with vague promises to consider her idea. But the board didn't. It launched a serious study of its facilities accessible to children with disabilities, and that led to the opening last weekend of a new S100,000 all-inclusive playground at the village's Al Hattendorf Center. The new area adds a variety of new attractions specially designed for children with special needs- Capello, of Elk Grove Village, appeared before the park board because she wanted more opportunities for her son with special needs. "The park board voted for it, and thanks to them, we now have a park," she told our Bob Chwedyk at the playground dedication SaturdaY.""