COLLEGE PARK......THE FOLLOWING ARE THE COLLEGE PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES. AS YOU CAN SEE KEEPING THE PRESENT FACILITIES ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST.

IF THE PRESENT FACILITIES DO NOT REMAIN IN THE PARK THERE WILL BE NO BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUB, NO CRAFT PROGRAM, NO GYM, NO DAY CAMP, NO ADULT SUPERVISED INDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR OUR CHILDREN. I HAVE DONE ABOUT ALL I CAN DO ON MY OWN. IF YOU ARE EVER GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PARK, WRITE TO THE NEWSPAPERS NOW. SPEAK AT A CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOW.

THANK YOU, -LOIS JONES

SEE THE PROPOSED USE MAP

& Members List

MINUTES

College Park Advisory Committee (CPAC)

October 11, 2001

South Oxnard Center

ATTENDANCE:

At 7:08 p.m., the regular meeting of the College Park Advisory Committee convened at the South Oxnard Center. Present were: Dale Dean, Eloy Oakley, Ray Rangel; Otto Kanny; Armando Garcia; Jeff Conrad; Barbara Macri-Ortiz; Skip Sanchez; Larry Stein; Rebecca Talentino; Tony Diaz; and Gloria Postel. City staff present were: Michael Henderson, Parks and Facilities Superintendent; Michelle Montez, Deputy City Attorney; Gil Ramirez, Recreation Superintendent; and Maria Meza-Arenas, Recording Secretary.

Absent: Lou Cunningham, and Martin Jones.

WELCOME/CHAIRPERSON'S COMMENTS:

Ms. Postel, Chairperson made a brief introduction and summary of the recent history of College Park bringing everyone up-to-date. In June 2000, Mayor Lopez accepted the transfer of College Park from the County of Ventura to the City of Oxnard. During the rest of 2000 the Oxnard Parks and Recreation Commission held a series of public meetings to discuss the park's future and a public tour to show the grounds. From these meetings the College Park Advisory Committee was formed. Its purpose is to master plan the use of College Park and make a recommendation to the Parks and Recreation Commission for the Oxnard City Council. The Committee held its first meeting in March 2001. All meetings have been open to the public. A special tour of the grounds was conducted for the Committee, city officials and interested Community Residents in May. Concerns and solutions were discussed. Chairperson Postel has made all information public.

MINUTES:

SUBJECT: Adoption of Minutes for May 29, 2001.

ACTION: Mr. Garcia moved approval as mailed. Mr. Kanny seconded, and the motion was adopted.

NEW BUSINESS:

Three presentations were given. After each presentation a question and answer period followed in which both the Committee and the public participated.

Ed Robings, former President of Oxnard College, and Tim Schiffer, Director of the Ventura County Museum of History, made a proposal for a Farm Heritage Park at College Park. They spoke of its benefits to the community, especially the children. They provided a brief history of the museum and suggested that they would probably need a minimum of 10 acres. This museum would be funded by donations and government funds.

A handout was distributed that provided more information about the museum, its goals and its mission.

Mr. Chuck White made a slide presentation about how important and useful a dog park is to the growing urban areas in the county. He stressed the need for dog parks in Oxnard. He showed examples of several dog parks already in existence and provided information on what makes a successful dog park. He proposed using 3-5 acres to build a dog park.

Ms. Bobbi Micali, representing South Oxnard Concerned Citizens, made a presentation and recommendation. She provided maps of their plans and she described their plans. Her report is attached. Summarized examples: they want to preserve, enhance, and use what is already in the park; save some open space; and locate the Museum in the northern portion of the park.

At 8:30 p.m. Jeff Conrad moved that the committee take a five-minute recess, seconded by Armando Garcia. ACTION: Motion carried.

At 8:40 p.m. the committee reconvened. Barbara Macri-Ortiz moved that the agenda be rearranged and that Public Comments be heard next due to the high volume of speakers. Larry Stein seconded the motion. ACTION: Motion carried.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

The following people made public comments:

Ms. Barbara Smalley, Mr. Peter Beckton, Mr. Ruben Munoz, Mel Allen, Hugo Cerball, Mr. Dan Harvey, Ms. Aileen Tracey, Mrs. Shirley Godwin, Mr. Larry Godwin, Mrs. Lois Jones Mr. Venturo Fernandez, and Rebecca Ralph.

COMMITTEE BUSINESS:

A. Michael Henderson, Parks and Facilities Superintendent reported on the following:

1. The three remaining parcels comprising College Park are not on any hazardous waste lists. This was confirmed with the County of Ventura. Therefore, all parcels are free of contamination.

2. A meeting was held with the Department of Fish & Game, Army Corps of Engineers and the Regional Water Quality Control Board and it was confirmed that College Park has a 21/2-acre wetland.

3. City staff met with Oxnard College staff and both parties are very interested in forming a joint partnership, once the master plan has been established.

B. List the Activities/Facilities for College Park.

Purpose: to refine the list of activities and facilities for College Park that was created by public meetings held throughout 2000 and 2001.

Mr. Kanny suggested using the "Multi-Voting Technique." The committee members accepted this. The committee members were asked to write from one to ten, prioritizing most important (10) to least important (1), their choices from the activities/facilities list. All committee members voted privately and the scores are below. Mr. Kanny and Maria Meza-Arenas counted the points with results listed below:

1. Soccer with 96 points

2. Baseball with 73 points

3. Softball with 65 points

4. Swimming pool with 61 points

5. Play ground with 54 points

6. Ag Museum with 49 points

7. Open space with 45 points

8. Jogging trail and Dog Park tied with 40 points

9. Skate park and Picnic area tied with 38 points

10. Ceremonial garden with 29 points

11. Retain existing facilities with 21 points

12. Golf with 5 points

Two committee members were not happy with the results and wanted to repeat the exercise, this was discussed but Skip Sanchez moved that the committee accept the motion and Barbara Macri-Ortiz seconded the motion. ACTION: Motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

At 10:45 p.m. the meeting of College Park Advisory Committee adjourned by consensus. Next meeting is scheduled for November 15, 2001 at 7:00 p.m.

  _________________ ____________________

Maria Meza-Arenas Gloria Postel

Recording Secretary Chairperson

P R E V I O U S - - C O L L E G E - P A R K - P A G E

The above Minutes submitted to the Oxnard Journal by Lois Jones

It's People Like Lois that make the OxJo a CyberNewsJournal of Note