BUENA VISTA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION Minutes of the Meeting Saturday, August 28, 2010 At the Home of Carlos Ramirez and Marcos Montes at 463 Menker Avenue
Meeting called to order at 7:15 PM
PRESENT: [22 people present] Members: Robert Solis (President) Loui Tucker (Secretary)
Sabine Zappe (Treasurer) Sylinna Archuleta Larry Cress Diane Hathaway
David Kampschafer Marty Kampschafer Beth Kramer John Leyba
Marcos Montes
Celetie Ortiz Shelby Palms Carlos Ramirez Jorge Rojas Olivia Rojas Maria W ard Ruth White Jerry White Michael White Candace White Julia White
SPECIAL MEETING REGARDING THE BUENA VISTA PARK EXPANSION
1. Long discussion about artificial turf versus natural grass. Some points made:
Horace Mann School has artificial turf and it looks brand new after 700+ kids have played on it for several years.
Artificial turf isn’t as bad as many people think.
Artificial turf gets very hot in the summer.
Artificial turf doesn’t put grass stains on clothing.
Poop and pee are as easy to clean up as with natural grass.
Artificial turf is good for kids with allergies.
Questioned how to “untag” artificial turf that gets tagged.
Artificial turf is plastic. Do we need access to more plastic in our world?
Who will replace and pay for damaged artificial turf?
Artificial turf in an older neighborhood like ours just seems wrong, out of place.
Do we want to wait 4 years or more for natural grass or have a park with artificial turf
in 13-18 months? Is natural grass worth the wait?
The City has money to build the park, but no money to maintain the park.
Kids, especially kids in this area who live in crowded apartments, need access to
nature, real grass, bugs and dirt and weeds. Artificial turf is a big plastic rug.
The final consensus was that the neighborhood prefers natural grass and is willing to wait to get it. There was a willingness to give up the small patch of grass in the existing park and replace it with something that does not require much maintenance (bark? rocks? rubber matting?) so that the new area can have natural grass. There is also a willingness to looking at raising funds to pay for park upkeep and/or working with the San Jose Parks Foundation. It was suggested that some form of meadow grass or “low-grow” grass be considered instead of the traditional sod.
Minutes of BVNA General Meeting 8/28/2010
There was a request that the pepper tree get a good trimming as well as the many bushes. The park is looking so shabby. Graffiti continues to be a problem, but local residents are trying to stay on top of that themselves because the City park crews don’t have graffiti on their work schedule - just mowing and removing trash.
The letter the BVNA got from the City Park Dept. staff set out the number of hours City employees currently spend maintaining the park. This number was disputed by the residents who live nearest the Park. Perhaps the City can provide time cards? Also, can the water and electric bill be THAT high - for such a tiny park?
There will be a public meeting about the park expansion on Wednesday, September 15 at the Sherman Oaks Community Center. Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio has made it clear that the bottom line is their only concern, that they are not pushing artificial turf per se, just the decreased cost of maintenance. City Parks Department staff will be present at this meeting.
John Leyba mentioned an up-coming event called San Jose Park(ing) Day. This is an annual one-day event where artists, activists, and citizens can transform metered parking spaces into temporary public parks. In 2009 there were 700 parks created in 140 cities on 6 continents. This is an opportunity for creative expression, activism, socializing and play. You can promote your business or cause by transforming a parking space into “people space.” Downtown San Jose: 2:30-6:30 PM on Friday, September 17.