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No? Okay. Then I'll go ahead and second the motion. We'll do a voice vote.

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All those in favor of awarding Paris Shaw with PRBC Award, say aye.

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Aye.

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Aye. All those opposed. A four-zero vote.

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We'll be awarding Paris Shaw with PRBC Award.

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Are there any questions or comments for this agenda item?

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I have one. Oh.

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Go ahead.

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Oh, when can we expect that to be on the agenda?

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That's-

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Because I would like to be there to help give out.

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Yeah. That was going to be my question.

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Okay. And I want to make sure that we get some of his-

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I'll follow up with Araceli

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... players, athletes.

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We'll follow up with Araceli-

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Okay

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... and see when that can be put onto the agenda, then she'll be in touch with you.

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Okay.

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And John, you can follow up with her.

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That would be great. And then, will she contact him?

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Do I need to provide his contact information, or should I contact him and let him

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know?

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Do you want to communicate between Araceli and Candace, and then-

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Yeah.

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Okay.

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Yeah, just forward the information, let them know who's-

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Okay, got it.

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In the chain.

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Okay. Should I also come up with a proclamation thing that is read, or is that

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something their office will do?

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No.

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I don't remember how we've done it.

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That'll be with Araceli. Usually, they have a preprinted, um, proclamation.

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Perfect. So I'll just give her what we have here, and then she's the... Perfect.

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Thank you.

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Anything else for this agenda item?

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Then we will be moving on to agenda item 7C, Intern Director Velarde present

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Paterson Inclusive Community Playground Project.

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So, a number of weeks ago,

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Kimberly, and I don't know how to pronounce this, pronounce her name, but Weiser.

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Mm-hmm.

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Kimberly Weiser came and presented to the city, uh, the city manager, myself,

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and I believe, but I can't remember the other person.

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Gabby.

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Um, so Gabby was there, but someone else was at the tables. Oh, Ryan. Ryan Sass.

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Uh,

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so at that meeting, she presented a proposition to look into a

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Paterson Inclusive Community Playground Project.

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She presented it to us, and I recommended that she come here to present it to the

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commission so that you guys could weigh in.

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Um, so she'll do her presentation tonight, and then she's going to be asking for a

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recommendation to either pursue the project or not.

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But I also want to add a little more context behind that.

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So even if we do pursue the project, depending on what, which playground is

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selected and what not, there's still other process that has to happen.

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So, um, there's still budgeting and a lot of other things that have to happen.

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So it was really recommended just for the city to continue to pursue, we need to do

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the research that's necessary to see whether, uh, this is possible given all the

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material circumstances like money, budget, district areas, so on and so forth.

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So just so you're clear on the, um, project itself and what we would do afterwards.

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But I'll go ahead and turn it over to Kimberly for the presentation.

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Right.

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Yeah.

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Go for it.

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Yeah, right there.

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The voting should work, right?

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Yeah.

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Perfect.

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Okay.

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Change the slide.

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Yeah, there might be a button up there on that microphone.

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Press

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it.

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Did it turn green?

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It'll turn green.

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Okay.

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Or not.

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You guys have everything here?

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Good evening. My name is Kimberly Weiser, and I'm president of ACT, Autism

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Connection plus Special Needs. Thank you, Xavier, for inviting me to share this

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project. We are not asking the city to choose a park or approve the final design

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tonight. We are asking the city to recognize that it's a need, and to work with ACT

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and local families on the right location, realistic phases, and a clear next step.

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Why it is a need. Some families cannot safely

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use an open playground. A child may run towards a street or water, have limited

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danger awareness, use mobility equipment, or become overwhelmed.

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A fence does not replace supervision.

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It gives families another layer of safety and more time to respond.

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The packet that you each have there includes research, local information, and bill

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details for you to review. As I go over those pieces of it

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tonight, you guys will have those to take with you.

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I'd like to introduce

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Michelle. She is a local mom with special needs kids if she becomes here. Sorry.

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Okay.

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Go on, honey.

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That is, talk, go ahead.

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Yeah.

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I just want to shout this off my head.

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Uh, so I have two daughters, both have autism.

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My oldest daughter also has a physical disability, which requires her to use a

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wheelchair for mobility. And unfortunately, in Paterson, um, we don't have an

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inclusive playground, so we want to access a playground that she can use with her

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wheelchair and also keep her safe in an enclosed, gated space because she's a

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lover. And she also wanders, uh, not on purpose, but she will wander if I'm not

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watching her. Uh, we often, uh, travel up the area, which is...

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I mean, the closest one that we go to is probably Dublin.

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So these are day trips because you can bring traffic and everything.

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So it's not like we just quickly go to the park like most kids get to do.

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Uh, we obviously can take day trips, so we don't get to do it very often.

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Um, so I just wanted to support Kenzie's idea and say that having something like

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that for kids other than just my daughter, kids like my daughter, uh, would be

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really helpful for families because kids deserve to be able to go to the park and

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play. And so having to plan a whole family day trip, uh, you know, once every few

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months is just not feasible for a lot of families.

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Thank you.

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Thank you, Michelle.

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I also have a statement from a young lady named Tyla.

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She is a

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young adult with special needs, and she asked if I could read it

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for her.

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"Hi, my name is Tyla, and I'm a special needs young adult.

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I do not remember going to the park very often when I was younger.

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One of the last visits I remember was when I was 12 to 15 years old.

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I went down a slide with my sister, went too fast and flew off.

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That may sound funny at first.

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Some children even enjoy flying off the slide, but that was not my intention.

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I was not able to brace myself, slow down, or get my body to do what it needed in

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the moment.

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The physical pain and embarrassment made me not want to return to the park, not for

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weeks, but for months. I do not remember anything that happened after that, but my

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mom told me I ran away from the area.

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A safer, enclosed, and accessible park with appropriate equipment, physical

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barriers, and other safety features would have helped children, teenagers, young

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adults, and families of different abilities spend time together safely in their own

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community."

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I just want to thank Tyla for allowing me to share her experience.

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A Paterson parent that was unable to attend shared...

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This is Tayo's statement.

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I don't know if I said her name correctly.

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"Her 12-year-old son, Sage, is autistic and has developmental sensory, emotional,

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and physical needs. Like every child, he deserves to enjoy a park, play with

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others, and feel that he belongs. Sage can become overwhelmed by noise, crowds,

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heat, and sensory sensitivities.

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He overheats and tires easily, and may need quiet.

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Or he overheats and tires easily, and he may need quiet, shaded places to regulate.

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Traditional playground equipments do not always meet his movement and sensory

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needs. Without secure fencing, shade, quiet areas, sensory-friendly equipment,

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accessible water play, and activities for older children with disabilities,

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families may have to leave early or avoid parks altogether.

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Sage should not have to fit himself into a playground

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that was never designed for him.

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Every child deserves a safe place to play and belong."

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A few more local parents asked me to vocalize their scenarios as well.

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"We haven't even been to a playground since we started living

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here."

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I don't take her to the park anymore unless there are at least two other adults

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with me or another adult for my older son.

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It needs to be at least three people to monitor her. Otherwise, it's very unsafe.

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I use respite hours and personal assistant hours so providers can help me take the

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children to the park. There would be no way for me to go alone.

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Even at fenced parks, I would have to stand by the fence and cannot interact with

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my children because safety comes first, and all three of them are

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young.

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I understand this personally. At the park, I was never able to sit down.

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If I looked away for five seconds just to grab some water, I could end up running

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after my child.

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When I had several children and no help, it turned my children

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without disabilities into my little helper.

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Instead of bonding and playing, we were chasing stress, left early, which

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eventually led to isolation at home.

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The solution, we are suggesting a phased plan.

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Phase one is a secure fence and controlled double-gated entrance.

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This will allow a family to go in, shut the gate behind them, take sand out of

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them, put shoes on, do anything they need to do to prepare to go into the park

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without needing to worry about kids running off during the transition.

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Phase two is accessible surfacing and routes,

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so kids with wheelchairs, young adults, and adults with wheelchairs can get around

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their own public community.

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The future vision is a fully inclusive playground with adaptive equipment, shade,

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and caregiving seating.

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The community center and pool park appear strongest for these phases one and two,

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the one by the senior center.

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North Park also matches several city plans but needs a closer side view.

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Future East Park is the strongest location for a complete future vision

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plan.

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The city will make the final location and engineering decisions, of course.

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The ask for tonight is to recognize that there's a need and for permission to keep

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pursuing forward with interacting and helping one another along the way.

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Thank you.

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Well, thank you so much, Kimberly, for coming out today and for everybody coming

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out and speaking on this issue. Do any of the commissioners have any questions or

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comments on this agenda item?

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I do.

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Okay.

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First of all, thank you guys so much for coming.

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Believe it or not, this has actually been a topic of discussion at our meetings

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probably-- How long ago was that?

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A year.

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At least a year or two ago. And I love to see that you have North Park on

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here because in those conversations, we discussed that the next playground

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that is required to be replaced will be North Park's playground.

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So since then, even though I've been unsuccessful, I have been actively

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searching for a special needs playground grant that would allow

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children to...

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Whether it's the gated portion, or I was specifically thinking something for

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children in wheelchairs because in my head, I'm thinking we don't have a single

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park that isn't tamar. And there are a couple parks that have that weird

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kind of rubbery,

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almost squishy thing. But in order to get there, you have to go through tamar.

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So my initial thought process was that we need a place for children in

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wheelchairs to at least be able to go to the park.

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Even if they can't get on the equipment, they can't even sit next to their brothers

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and sisters while their brothers and sisters are on the swings because of the tamar

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situation. So,

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this has a very special place in my heart. I think it is so important.

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I actually, to be honest, can't believe we don't have a single park for the amount

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of parks we have. We don't have a single park that does cater to special needs kids

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in any variety. So, outside of being a commissioner, you have

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1,000% of my support.

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Me as a commissioner, you have as much support as I can give you.

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I do like that you address the fact that the city is the ultimate authority here.

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I think that's why a grant is so cool and so important because if we

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were able to find a grant specific to a special needs playground, that could help

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fund that North Park playground. The reason North Park hasn't got a new playground

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is because there's no money for it.

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In my opinion, as a community member, as a mom, I'd rather us spend the money on

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clean drinking water over a playground.

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So I understand the importance of grants for these kinds of specific projects, and

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I know they exist. I'm just not very good at finding them, and I'm not very good at

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applying for them.

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But I do think this is very important. Super important.

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If there's even one child in Paterson that doesn't feel included enough to use our

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parks, what are we doing as commissioners and as a city and as a parks department?

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So, you have all of my support and love, and

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I would love to write a letter if anyone knows of any grants for this.

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I would love to write a letter on behalf of myself or on behalf of our commission

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stating how important we think it is to have at least one playground that every

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single child in Paterson feels is accessible to them. That's it.

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00:15:18,972 --> 00:15:20,712
Any other questions or comments?

241
00:15:23,083 --> 00:15:28,961
I don't have a list of grants with me, but I do have a list that I've been

242
00:15:29,472 --> 00:15:31,031
putting together at the house.

243
00:15:31,781 --> 00:15:34,602
Does it seem as if Paterson would qualify for any of them?

244
00:15:34,691 --> 00:15:39,522
Because some of them, I found, they're looking for larger communities.

245
00:15:39,613 --> 00:15:42,733
With numbers, with

246
00:15:43,962 --> 00:15:48,491
city officials, with everybody behind it is very fair.

247
00:15:48,583 --> 00:15:53,757
Okay. Yeah, I would love that. I do have one question that I forgot to ask earlier.

248
00:15:53,892 --> 00:15:58,002
So the part that refers to-- Where did that go?

249
00:16:00,162 --> 00:16:05,952
Oh, Future East Community Park. Are you speaking Zacharias, or are you

250
00:16:05,983 --> 00:16:07,873
speaking villages of Paterson?

251
00:16:09,222 --> 00:16:11,412
Oh, directions are not my forte.

252
00:16:11,652 --> 00:16:12,837
East is that direction.

253
00:16:13,392 --> 00:16:15,491
I know, but I feel like they're both going to eat, right?

254
00:16:16,212 --> 00:16:18,417
I'm not aware of any park named Future East.

255
00:16:18,432 --> 00:16:19,962
Because I live on the East Side.

256
00:16:20,053 --> 00:16:20,442
Yeah.

257
00:16:20,592 --> 00:16:21,748
Okay.

258
00:16:22,272 --> 00:16:26,053
So is Zacharias considered North Paterson?

259
00:16:27,672 --> 00:16:29,083
Zacharias would be north-

260
00:16:29,292 --> 00:16:29,983
West

261
00:16:30,222 --> 00:16:30,267
... west.

262
00:16:30,342 --> 00:16:35,592
Okay, so you're referring to villages of Paterson when you say east.

263
00:16:35,772 --> 00:16:41,652
When I used East Park on here today, the second one you just said was the

264
00:16:41,712 --> 00:16:42,477
one I was referring to.

265
00:16:42,492 --> 00:16:43,272
Zacharias.

266
00:16:43,303 --> 00:16:44,337
Zacharias.

267
00:16:44,502 --> 00:16:44,952
Okay.

268
00:16:44,983 --> 00:16:45,178
But-

269
00:16:45,462 --> 00:16:48,012
See, that's kind of what I was thinking too, because I don't think we have-- The

270
00:16:48,102 --> 00:16:51,583
only other park that we have that's going to be going up in villages has already

271
00:16:51,642 --> 00:16:56,157
been done. Like it's already been approved, I believe. I was at that meeting.

272
00:16:56,322 --> 00:17:02,022
Like I imagine, those were just what little research information

273
00:17:02,083 --> 00:17:03,613
going off the master plan-

274
00:17:04,152 --> 00:17:04,363
Okay

275
00:17:04,377 --> 00:17:05,187
... that I had. That's what-

276
00:17:05,187 --> 00:17:06,373
So you're thinking Zacharias.

277
00:17:06,402 --> 00:17:11,652
That's all. These are thoughts. That's without all the steps that you guys would

278
00:17:11,682 --> 00:17:14,982
bring to the table, and the thoroughness you guys would bring.

279
00:17:15,102 --> 00:17:19,138
And like Xavier mentioned, it's a process, so we're not going to be tomorrow like,

280
00:17:19,138 --> 00:17:23,428
"Oh, let's do this park." It's going to be what funds are available, where's the

281
00:17:23,428 --> 00:17:25,962
square footage, how many youngins are we trying to fit in it?

282
00:17:25,992 --> 00:17:30,207
There's so much to be involved with it, just if we could have permission to go one

283
00:17:30,312 --> 00:17:34,138
step forward at a time and working as a team rather than it being all on one

284
00:17:34,212 --> 00:17:37,182
person. I really believe that this could happen.

285
00:17:37,242 --> 00:17:42,162
Starting at phase one, being the gate, because there's so many parks.

286
00:17:42,312 --> 00:17:46,602
Why not get a gate going so there's safety for current community members?

287
00:17:47,454 --> 00:17:52,765
Phase two, the bottom, so we could include wheelchair accessibility and kids and

288
00:17:52,824 --> 00:17:57,654
walkers and all that. And then as that's being utilized, we're also getting data.

289
00:17:57,984 --> 00:18:01,884
This was needed. This is bringing more people. This is such a necessity.

290
00:18:02,094 --> 00:18:06,534
We need one on another side of town and just watch it blossom.

291
00:18:06,774 --> 00:18:12,174
Okay. I was just asking which location you were referring to, because I do

292
00:18:12,265 --> 00:18:16,464
recall the last park of Villages of Patterson had already been approved.

293
00:18:16,554 --> 00:18:20,634
So if that's what you were referring to, I wanted to break the news to you that

294
00:18:20,664 --> 00:18:25,975
it's already happening. But if you are referring to Zacharias, if there's one thing

295
00:18:26,064 --> 00:18:30,924
I've learned, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, it's that private citizens

296
00:18:30,984 --> 00:18:35,004
can accomplish so much more than government entities.

297
00:18:35,049 --> 00:18:37,749
And I know that sounds mean, and I'm not trying to make it sound mean.

298
00:18:38,064 --> 00:18:43,644
But if you think of what Commissioner Adolfo can do as a private

299
00:18:43,674 --> 00:18:48,444
citizen versus what he can do as a commissioner, it's like night and day.

300
00:18:48,594 --> 00:18:53,725
So what he's able to do as a volunteer is huge by comparison to our small scope as

301
00:18:53,754 --> 00:18:59,544
commissioners. So in that regard, I would love to see a community group such as

302
00:18:59,664 --> 00:19:04,975
Acts petition these developers that will be building Zacharias.

303
00:19:05,034 --> 00:19:10,464
When shovels hit the ground or plans start to hit desks, I would love to see a

304
00:19:10,494 --> 00:19:15,894
community group with signatures going to these developers saying, "We want one of

305
00:19:15,954 --> 00:19:19,704
the parks that you guys build to be this inclusive park."

306
00:19:20,364 --> 00:19:22,989
Could, in theory, go to the planning commission meetings, but is that-

307
00:19:23,094 --> 00:19:25,523
Yeah, but I think you've got to hit the developer.

308
00:19:25,584 --> 00:19:27,384
I mean, yes, that is the proper-

309
00:19:28,975 --> 00:19:29,093
If-

310
00:19:29,544 --> 00:19:29,709
Order

311
00:19:29,725 --> 00:19:32,919
... the planning commission says no, then they're just kind of sitting on their

312
00:19:32,919 --> 00:19:33,834
hands at that point.

313
00:19:34,494 --> 00:19:39,774
Yeah. I think you can encourage a developer by showing them what the community

314
00:19:39,954 --> 00:19:44,274
wants, which is part of why we're asking to look at those plans, right?

315
00:19:44,694 --> 00:19:48,159
We want to be able to say, "Oh, we have a whole presentation on why our community

316
00:19:48,174 --> 00:19:51,084
thinks that an inclusive park is a really good idea.

317
00:19:51,144 --> 00:19:54,564
We would love for you guys to consider an inclusive park." But I feel like

318
00:19:55,554 --> 00:19:59,664
something about it coming from the community seems more powerful, in my opinion,

319
00:19:59,694 --> 00:20:03,804
than coming from the city. I do think you should have, sorry, I do think you should

320
00:20:03,864 --> 00:20:08,454
have the planning commission's support because they can then encourage during the

321
00:20:08,484 --> 00:20:11,484
planning process. But I'm talking about before planning has even happened.

322
00:20:11,754 --> 00:20:14,244
Because if they're going to planning commission, they already have plans drawn.

323
00:20:14,544 --> 00:20:18,549
I'm talking about getting there before those parks are even drawn out, catching

324
00:20:18,594 --> 00:20:19,104
them early.

325
00:20:19,524 --> 00:20:23,725
Sorry, Commissioner Pack. So the presentation has been made here to the planning

326
00:20:23,904 --> 00:20:29,394
commission, and it's a request that we support your request to

327
00:20:29,694 --> 00:20:32,814
city council. Is that what we're trying to make a motion on?

328
00:20:32,874 --> 00:20:37,539
Because I think motioning to not come to the commission-

329
00:20:37,539 --> 00:20:38,140
So what I'm hearing-

330
00:20:38,154 --> 00:20:39,504
Is not appropriate

331
00:20:39,534 --> 00:20:44,364
... what I'm hearing, correct me if I'm wrong, is that you're interested in getting

332
00:20:44,394 --> 00:20:49,944
the commission's support or recommendation for staff to start exploring the entire

333
00:20:50,004 --> 00:20:54,339
idea because we're not going to narrow it down immediately, because we know there's

334
00:20:54,384 --> 00:20:57,534
funding, there's all these other things that we need to consider.

335
00:20:57,564 --> 00:21:00,624
But what we can do is, we can look into a lot of the things that you're mentioning,

336
00:21:00,713 --> 00:21:04,824
and I could write up an email and start making these inquiries.

337
00:21:04,914 --> 00:21:09,129
We can look, as the current Parks Department, we can look at the different parks

338
00:21:09,144 --> 00:21:11,769
that already exist and see if we can accomplish some of the things that she's

339
00:21:11,814 --> 00:21:17,604
asking immediately, like a gate, so to speak, a

340
00:21:17,634 --> 00:21:21,804
parking place, or tile that meets the requirements that she's asking for.

341
00:21:21,834 --> 00:21:27,804
What you're really voting on is just yes, we make a recommendation that staff

342
00:21:27,834 --> 00:21:32,934
pursue the ability of pursuing these projects.

343
00:21:33,714 --> 00:21:36,294
That's what you're definitely making the recommendation for.

344
00:21:36,354 --> 00:21:39,834
And then we would go ahead and pursue all those little intricate details.

345
00:21:39,894 --> 00:21:43,809
Right. So I think while those are good recommendations, I think we just need to

346
00:21:43,824 --> 00:21:48,774
either motion to support or not support. Right? But all that you said.

347
00:21:48,834 --> 00:21:54,624
Sorry, you said it very well. So I wanted to motion that we support, in the

348
00:21:54,684 --> 00:21:57,114
words that were already spoken, in an official motion.

349
00:21:57,174 --> 00:21:58,284
That's an official motion.

350
00:21:59,364 --> 00:22:01,568
Commissioner Pack. Oh, sorry. I wasn't sure if you-

351
00:22:02,484 --> 00:22:03,054
Motion.

352
00:22:03,864 --> 00:22:04,179
I second.

353
00:22:04,225 --> 00:22:07,284
Okay, Commissioner Weehunt has seconded the motion.

354
00:22:07,794 --> 00:22:13,614
All those in favor of recommending that we create better parks

355
00:22:13,794 --> 00:22:16,765
for all children, we'll do a voice motion.

356
00:22:16,794 --> 00:22:17,199
Aye.

357
00:22:17,199 --> 00:22:17,244
Aye.

358
00:22:17,604 --> 00:22:18,024
Aye.

359
00:22:18,954 --> 00:22:24,384
I vote sorry. We have to vote on whether we support their idea being moved forward-

360
00:22:24,504 --> 00:22:24,984
Well, yeah

361
00:22:25,134 --> 00:22:25,794
... to the city.

362
00:22:25,854 --> 00:22:29,994
So it's not whether we subscribe to the theory, but whether we motion this

363
00:22:30,054 --> 00:22:30,924
specific-

364
00:22:31,044 --> 00:22:31,254
Yeah

365
00:22:31,824 --> 00:22:34,194
... recommendation forward.

366
00:22:34,734 --> 00:22:39,504
The feasibility of pursuing this project is what you're going to motion, if you

367
00:22:39,564 --> 00:22:40,074
decide to.

368
00:22:40,104 --> 00:22:41,304
That makes sense.

369
00:22:41,694 --> 00:22:41,814
I agree.

370
00:22:42,024 --> 00:22:44,154
Well, we've got to follow the-

371
00:22:45,114 --> 00:22:49,554
Okay, well, yeah. We'll make the motion with, should we vote down the last motion

372
00:22:49,644 --> 00:22:50,634
then, and then redo it?

373
00:22:51,504 --> 00:22:52,734
Oh, okay. I just seconded it-

374
00:22:52,824 --> 00:22:54,669
So now it's-

375
00:22:54,669 --> 00:22:54,908
... so now I'm against it.

376
00:22:55,314 --> 00:22:56,904
No, we kind of created it.

377
00:22:56,934 --> 00:23:01,044
So I think what she said was what I, in her motion, she said-

378
00:23:01,134 --> 00:23:01,614
That's it

379
00:23:01,644 --> 00:23:02,408
... what I said.

380
00:23:02,725 --> 00:23:04,584
Her motion carried the spirit of what you said.

381
00:23:04,674 --> 00:23:06,504
But let me just make it clean and clear.

382
00:23:06,864 --> 00:23:09,774
Let's just state exactly what it is that you're motioning, which is?

383
00:23:10,074 --> 00:23:13,854
I'm motioning that the Parks, Recreation, and Beautification Commission

384
00:23:14,904 --> 00:23:17,124
support the-

385
00:23:18,084 --> 00:23:18,624
You know

386
00:23:18,654 --> 00:23:24,084
... the, yeah, support the motion to investigate the

387
00:23:24,114 --> 00:23:27,129
feasibility of the Inclusive Community Playground Project.

388
00:23:27,984 --> 00:23:30,398
Perfect. And then do we have a second?

389
00:23:30,834 --> 00:23:31,134
I second.

390
00:23:31,148 --> 00:23:36,084
Thank you. Okay, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed.

391
00:23:36,654 --> 00:23:41,034
4-0 vote. The motion has been carried.

392
00:23:41,094 --> 00:23:42,384
Thank you.

393
00:23:42,475 --> 00:23:46,929
Okay. Are there any last questions or comments for this agenda item before we move

394
00:23:46,929 --> 00:23:47,094
on?

395
00:23:47,634 --> 00:23:49,494
Do we have a mover?

396
00:23:49,554 --> 00:23:51,534
Yes, we have one last comment.

397
00:23:51,834 --> 00:23:57,684
I was just going to ask if you could give the grant information to Joni to get to

398
00:23:57,774 --> 00:23:59,318
us, just to look at. I'm curious.

399
00:23:59,454 --> 00:24:03,984
So I will supply the grants, and once I supply that, I will come later with even

400
00:24:04,015 --> 00:24:09,729
more grants information. I've already started a petition, and we'll turn that

401
00:24:09,834 --> 00:24:14,948
in from an online petition for local, some nearby, because people won't want to

402
00:24:15,054 --> 00:24:20,994
travel here, to also in-person petitions, and that was just started only 24 hours

403
00:24:21,054 --> 00:24:24,054
ago. So I'll continue on those two routes definitely.

404
00:24:24,084 --> 00:24:24,475
Thank you.

405
00:24:24,804 --> 00:24:25,704
So at the city, we

406
00:24:27,084 --> 00:24:31,434
contract with grant writers. Would it be possible to get those to those grant

407
00:24:31,464 --> 00:24:31,914
writers?

408
00:24:32,274 --> 00:24:32,515
Yes.

409
00:24:33,009 --> 00:24:34,404
What are they called? California...

410
00:24:34,824 --> 00:24:35,304
Consulting.

411
00:24:35,484 --> 00:24:36,893
Consulting, yes, exactly.

412
00:24:37,015 --> 00:24:37,734
We can get it all.

413
00:24:38,904 --> 00:24:41,874
Perfect, thank you. And then we had a public comment.

414
00:24:42,144 --> 00:24:43,284
Please go ahead when you're ready.

415
00:24:43,644 --> 00:24:46,734
So I had a question. I'm sorry. In the beginning, I was working still.

416
00:24:47,784 --> 00:24:50,874
So I'm confused when you guys were mentioning the planning commission.

417
00:24:52,254 --> 00:24:57,054
You guys are the parks commission, so what role do you guys have in the city of

418
00:24:57,265 --> 00:24:59,094
parks?

419
00:24:59,244 --> 00:25:03,504
Our role as the Parks, Recreation, and Beautification Commission is to serve as an

420
00:25:03,564 --> 00:25:07,074
advisory body to the city council.

421
00:25:07,674 --> 00:25:11,214
So what we're primarily doing is making recommendations.

422
00:25:11,244 --> 00:25:15,174
So, for example, they presented the Patterson Inclusive Community Playground

423
00:25:15,204 --> 00:25:18,324
Project, and we thought it's wonderful.

424
00:25:18,774 --> 00:25:23,544
So the best we can do right now in this moment as a commission is to make a

425
00:25:23,604 --> 00:25:29,515
recommendation to city council that the city and city employees should explore

426
00:25:29,574 --> 00:25:32,664
this and see if it can be implemented.

427
00:25:32,784 --> 00:25:38,424
I think besides this, in the future, we could also bring it as our own

428
00:25:38,484 --> 00:25:43,465
agenda item and maybe in the future explore its implementation and just serve as a

429
00:25:43,495 --> 00:25:47,245
way for people to get more information on how it's ongoing.

430
00:25:47,364 --> 00:25:49,434
So developers are not coming to you guys

431
00:25:50,634 --> 00:25:52,344
in order when they're building the parks?

432
00:25:52,674 --> 00:25:52,915
No.

433
00:25:53,605 --> 00:25:54,324
Oh.

434
00:25:54,415 --> 00:25:59,034
No. So it's my understanding that the planning commission is a quasi-judicial

435
00:25:59,184 --> 00:26:04,779
commission that acts as kind of the go-between between the

436
00:26:04,884 --> 00:26:08,259
city and the developers, right? So they bring their plans, and then if the planning

437
00:26:08,274 --> 00:26:12,279
commission says, "Yes," they give it a seal approval, then it goes to the city.

438
00:26:12,774 --> 00:26:18,415
We don't have any function in that manner, so nobody's required to bring us any.

439
00:26:18,654 --> 00:26:24,084
So if you look at the municipal code, nobody's required to bring us any plans or

440
00:26:24,174 --> 00:26:29,454
anything really. And actually, until recently, thanks to Director

441
00:26:29,544 --> 00:26:35,064
Guertin, he's the one who's bringing these things before us from the city to get

442
00:26:35,094 --> 00:26:40,975
our feedback. If you go back four years ago, the only time we ever

443
00:26:41,034 --> 00:26:45,114
had to vote anything was when we brought it up.

444
00:26:45,564 --> 00:26:47,844
The city never brought anything to us.

445
00:26:48,189 --> 00:26:48,189
Okay.

446
00:26:48,204 --> 00:26:49,120
So we brought it forth-

447
00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:53,230
That was my confusion, because when I served the city of Tracy Parks Commissioner,

448
00:26:53,559 --> 00:26:58,870
the developers came to us and they said, "Okay, this is the idea that we have, but

449
00:26:58,884 --> 00:27:02,094
before we implement it, what are your thoughts?" Because you as the Parks

450
00:27:02,124 --> 00:27:05,982
Commission have heard from the community. And so we would say- ...

451
00:27:06,192 --> 00:27:10,482
we would, special needs was very high on our list, and so we would say, "Can you go

452
00:27:10,542 --> 00:27:13,467
back and do this?" I see there's a hill between these two playgrounds.

453
00:27:13,513 --> 00:27:16,212
As a mom, you can't see both sets of kids.

454
00:27:16,302 --> 00:27:18,551
And they would then go back, revise things.

455
00:27:19,332 --> 00:27:24,763
So we would have, a sand playground, the picnic

456
00:27:24,822 --> 00:27:28,813
areas, trails, what kind of amenities are going to be there,

457
00:27:30,522 --> 00:27:35,143
the park master plan and improvement projects, and then obviously prioritizing

458
00:27:35,203 --> 00:27:39,252
residents, what they need. And so we would make the recommendations to council on

459
00:27:39,283 --> 00:27:42,882
what goes in our park. So that's why I'm confused as to why this commission

460
00:27:42,942 --> 00:27:43,438
operates less.

461
00:27:43,453 --> 00:27:46,842
Well, two more things. I guess first one, I'll answer that question.

462
00:27:46,902 --> 00:27:49,242
I think it just purely depends on the scope.

463
00:27:49,272 --> 00:27:54,372
So if you look at that city's municipal code, it might be different, it might be

464
00:27:54,462 --> 00:27:56,592
wider, it might give that commission more power.

465
00:27:56,953 --> 00:27:59,563
When you look at ours, we might just be lacking that.

466
00:27:59,592 --> 00:28:00,297
But, and-

467
00:28:00,342 --> 00:28:01,766
How do we change that? Is there-

468
00:28:01,932 --> 00:28:04,962
The city would have to make a motion passing an ordinance.

469
00:28:05,292 --> 00:28:10,692
But I'd also like to point out that currently we're on agenda item 7C in regards to

470
00:28:10,722 --> 00:28:13,182
the Patterson Inclusive Community Playground Project.

471
00:28:13,632 --> 00:28:14,802
I just, I'd like to make sure-

472
00:28:14,847 --> 00:28:16,257
And I'm happy to take on any questions-

473
00:28:16,302 --> 00:28:19,632
Why she had to go to planning and not like here, but-

474
00:28:19,992 --> 00:28:23,563
Well, just unfortunately, that's just the difference in our scope.

475
00:28:23,622 --> 00:28:25,438
Okay. Thank you.

476
00:28:25,438 --> 00:28:28,453
And she doesn't have to go to planning, just so you, so clarify that.

477
00:28:28,482 --> 00:28:30,342
There's no reason for her to have to go to planning.

478
00:28:30,912 --> 00:28:36,192
And I think, the commission mentioned that they wanted that item agendized as far

479
00:28:36,222 --> 00:28:41,817
as, like, what your role is in the review of playgrounds coming into town,

480
00:28:42,283 --> 00:28:44,141
right? That's something that you brought up earlier.

481
00:28:44,263 --> 00:28:50,232
I thought that had been asked. I heard the date of October 2025, that

482
00:28:50,292 --> 00:28:52,482
that has been asked and pending.

483
00:28:52,542 --> 00:28:56,502
You're 100% correct. And I've been asking as well for the same period of time.

484
00:28:56,592 --> 00:28:58,092
I haven't had a clear answer myself.

485
00:28:59,982 --> 00:29:05,682
But I think one of the things that Elon brought up, that's maybe something I could

486
00:29:05,742 --> 00:29:10,227
ask again, is she mentioned that the developers... And I'm sorry.

487
00:29:10,302 --> 00:29:14,592
Before we get into this, maybe we should close out the item that we're on, and then

488
00:29:14,622 --> 00:29:19,033
we can bring it up in maybe other matters, and then let's agendize the topic, and

489
00:29:19,063 --> 00:29:20,547
then let's talk about it at the next commission meeting.

490
00:29:20,652 --> 00:29:21,912
That way we're doing it the correct way.

491
00:29:22,182 --> 00:29:24,822
Yes, because I was about to say, I think we're talking about things that aren't on

492
00:29:24,852 --> 00:29:25,513
the agenda.

493
00:29:25,542 --> 00:29:25,783
Right.

494
00:29:25,962 --> 00:29:28,212
And it wouldn't be fair to anybody who want to talk about it.

495
00:29:28,992 --> 00:29:33,492
So are there any other comments or questions for agenda item 7C?

496
00:29:33,537 --> 00:29:38,052
If not, we can move on to agenda item number eight, other matters, and it says that

497
00:29:38,112 --> 00:29:43,632
we have none. So do we have questions or comments?

498
00:29:46,063 --> 00:29:49,602
Or I would just say again, like you've already asked for that to be agendized.

499
00:29:49,872 --> 00:29:53,022
So we'll go ahead and do that, and then we'll explore that, and then we'll have a

500
00:29:53,052 --> 00:29:54,703
full discussion at the next meeting.

501
00:29:57,162 --> 00:30:02,232
Perfect. Thank you. Now, are there anything else for other matters or anything

502
00:30:02,263 --> 00:30:06,643
else? Any final comments or things we would like to add to next month's agenda?

503
00:30:09,132 --> 00:30:10,272
Okay, seeing none.

504
00:30:10,302 --> 00:30:12,658
For people out here about to add something or just-

505
00:30:12,703 --> 00:30:13,482
For other matters

506
00:30:13,497 --> 00:30:15,102
... for you guys?

507
00:30:15,162 --> 00:30:15,447
Oh,

508
00:30:18,462 --> 00:30:18,972
yeah.

509
00:30:19,063 --> 00:30:19,393
Okay. No?

510
00:30:19,572 --> 00:30:19,661
Yeah.

511
00:30:19,751 --> 00:30:21,102
All right.

512
00:30:21,283 --> 00:30:25,842
Okay. With that, with there being none, we will go ahead and adjourn this meeting

513
00:30:25,932 --> 00:30:28,992
of the Park, Trail, and Recreation Commission at 6:04.

514
00:30:32,112 --> 00:30:35,533
Okay, we hold, just so we can table that.

515
00:30:36,492 --> 00:30:39,072
Thank you, guys, for putting that on our screen.

516
00:30:39,612 --> 00:30:39,942
What's that?

517
00:30:40,302 --> 00:30:41,742
Thank you for putting that on our screen.

518
00:30:41,862 --> 00:30:44,652
Oh, yeah. I was making jokes about your company.

519
00:30:44,712 --> 00:30:45,057
I do.

520
00:30:46,422 --> 00:30:47,337
I do look at that.