MMRC presentation regarding Mira Mesa park projects and park names - presented 6/6/16 at the Mira Mesa Town Council meeting.

1. MIRA MESA
RECREATION
COUNCIL

2. Topics Covered in Presentation
Who and what is the Mira Mesa Recreation Council
(MMRC)?
New Park projects within Mira Mesa that are being
worked on by the City of San Diego
Renaming three of these Park/Recreation areas and the
reasons why MMRC are recommending these changes

3. Who and what is the
Mira Mesa Recreation Council?
Created by the City of San Diego
 Operates under City Council Policy (700-42)
 Standard Operating Procedures, Bylaws and Brown Act
Serves as the Recognized Conduit (Forum) and
Sponsor for Community input regarding park and
recreation facilities and park development
projects (Council Policy 600-33)
Meets the 2nd
Tuesday of every month (except
in July) at Lopez Ridge Neighborhood Park -
7245 Calle Cristobal

4. Who and what is the
Mira Mesa Recreation Council?
Makes recommendations (advisory) on behalf
of the Community to the City’s Department of
Park and Recreation
Open to all of the Mira Mesa Community to
attend and voice opinions
Voting membership (Limited by SOP)
 10 At Large Seats
 5 Sport Leagues Organizations, i.e., AYSO
 All members -Volunteers/Friends/Neighbors

5. Mira Mesa Community Civic Groups
PARKS

6. Parks that came about because of
MMRC and MMCPG efforts (1986)
Hourglass Field Community Park
Breen Neighborhood Park
Camino Ruiz Neighborhood Park
Lopez Ridge Neighborhood Park
Former Carroll School Site (MMCP
expansion)
Parkdale Neighborhood Park (future)

7. Good News!
Mira Mesa currently has
six park projects
underway

8. Projects 1, 2, and 3
Mira Mesa Community Park Expansion
(Result of 1986 Committee)
 Phase 1 Under construction
 Phase 2 and 3 currently being redesigned
 Phase 2 and 3 Construction begins In
FY- 2019 (Now combined in FBA)
 Total cost for all three phases
$40,549,823 (FBA)

9. The Mira Mesa Community Park:
Process of Expanding this Park
1. Located site (Former Carroll School site) - 1986
2. Put into Community Plan - 1992
3. FBA – Early - 1990’s
4. Land purchased from School District -
1996-1997

10. The Mira Mesa Community Park:
Example of Building a Park
5. Designed General Development Plan (GDP)
Community Workshops – 2004
6. Ground Breaking and start of construction,
December 2015
Note: Between 1982 and today:
 8 Mayors
 8 City Councilpersons
 Three Different Council Districts: 1, 5 and 6

11. Mira Mesa Community Park
aerial

12. Project 4
4.1 Acres west of Salk Elementary School and
southwest of Maddox Neighborhood Park
Need to design GDP so the new park is seamless
and integrated - now three disjointed properties
Part of Joint Use Agreement with SDUSD for
Salk Elementary School
Agreement also includes 2 Acres of school hard
scape and parking lot

13. Project 4
$5,936,686 (FBA/ School District)
Once Consultants are under contract will
start design process:
Public workshop to develop GDP
Will be publicly noticed
Requires City and School District approval
Target completion - 2019

14. Project 4
Aerial of Salk Elementary School and
Maddox Neighborhood Park

15. Project 5
Expansion of Wangenheim Joint Use Field
Design seamless integration of two disjointed
properties (better define recreation area)
Expanding useable area by 4.0 acres
$5,643,211 (FBA)

16. Project 5
Once Consultants are under contract will
start design process:
Public workshop to develop GDP
Will be publicly noticed
Requires City and School District approval
Target Completion 2018-2019

17. Project 5 aerial picture

18. Project 6
Develop “Resource Park” area within Canyon Hills Open
Space
Not population based Park (city wide input)
60 Acres (2- 16 Acres Developable)
Current Funding - $5,955,570 (FBA)
- $29,648 – Expended
- $1,688,922 – Currently available/design
- $4,237,000 – Construction (FY2020)
- $5,199,677 – Unidentified
- $11,155,247 – Total Cost

19. Project 6
Once Consultants under contract will start
design process:
Public workshop to develop GDP
Will Be publicly noticed
Requires City’s approval
Completion dependent on final design/cost

20. Project #6
Aerial Picture

21. Park Names And Relationship To
Mira Mesa Community
Some of Mira Mesa’s current park names have little to do
with the Community or even the park’s location
Names selected by developer or taken from some
bureaucratic list
Examples
 Maddox Neighborhood Park
 Canyon Hills

22. Opportunity For The Community
(continued)
Redesign newly configured park areas - seamless with more
functionality for the Neighborhood and Community – define
park/recreation areas
Current park deficit 47 – 80 acres – these three projects help
address this deficit
January of 2017 begins the process of updating the Mira
Mesa Community Plan

23. Why MMRC Is Recommending These
Names For Projects 4-6?
Lifetime achievement recognition for
volunteers who have made … and continue to
make … historic impacts to our parks,
Neighborhoods and Community
Tie park name - to the Neighborhood and
people from the Community

24. Names for projects 4-6
MMRC wanted names of people from the Community
who had given long and dedicated service to both Park
and Rec/ and the Community of Mira Mesa
The people who’s names are being put forth were not
involved in their own nomination or selection
Nomination for the four individuals came from a
Recreation Council member and the item of their
selection was placed on the agenda for discussion and
vote at the following month’s meeting
Each nominated person recused themselves from voting
on the motion involving their name

25. Precedent for naming Park Facilities
after people linked to Mira Mesa
Verne Goodwin Senior Center
Ned Baumer Aquatic Complex
Gil Johnson Recreation Center
Former City Councilman
Promoter of Mira Mesa Parks when none
existed

26. Project 4
Current name of areas in Project 4
- Salk Elementary School – No change
- Maddox Neighborhood Park
- 4.1 new park acreage – TBD
Maddox has no relationship to Mira Mesa
Wanted to select the name of people who are from the
neighborhood, linked to the school and continue to make
historic contributions to Mira Mesa
MMRC’s recommendation – “Stevens Neighborhood Park” –
Named after Jeff and Pam Stevens

27. Stevens Neighborhood Park
Jeff is:
Current Chairman of the MMCPG (Member since
1985)
Past Chairman of the MMRC (Current member)
Past President of MMTC (Member Since 1981 and
current Board Member)
Served on the 1986 Committee that identified
six future Mira Mesa parks

28. Stevens Neighborhood Park
Serves on the FBA Committee (over 25
years)
Served on Committee that wrote the
current Community Plan
• Chair of the Stone Creek Subcommittee
(10 years)
• Current Chairman of the Mira Mesa
Street Fair

29. Stevens Neighborhood Park
Pam is:
Community Historian and authored the History of
Mira Mesa / Currently writes for Mira Mesa Living
Past President of Mira Mesa Town Council (Member
since 1981 and Current Board Member)
Mira Mesa’s Got Talent/ Theater Guild Member
Co-Chair of Volunteer of the Year Dinner
One of the Founders of Friends of Los Penasquitos
Canyon and long time Member of the CAC
Worked on 1986 Committee and Community Plan

30. Stevens Neighborhood Park
Both Jeff and Pam are past winners of the Mira Mesa
Volunteer Of The Year Award
Jeff and Pam lobbied over 30 years to build Salk
Elementary School
They are one of the main reasons Salk Elementary
School was built

31. Stevens Neighborhood Park
1980’s – Fought against efforts to abandon and sell the
school site (Multi-track)
1994-1996 -Jeff Chaired the School District’s Northern
Area Planning Committee – Facilities Steering
Committee which led to the District’s Long Range Plan –
Prop. MM
1997 -Jeff and Pam fought efforts to abandon the school
(Fairy Shrimp) use for mitigation
2003-2004 -Jeff and Pam served on the Design Task
Force for Salk Elementary School

32. Stevens Neighborhood Park
Both Pam and Jeff have made Historically significant
contributions and continue to help make Mira Mesa the
awesome Community it is today
Both are the quintessential volunteers of Mira Mesa
Jeff and Pam Stevens have lived in this Neighborhood
for 36 years

33. Project 5
Current Name – Wangenheim Joint Use Field
Name change would only effect the park/recreational
area – no change for either of the schools
Again this area is disjointed with the Middle School on
the south - Neighborhood Park and Elementary School on
the north – recreation area in kind of a “No man’s land”
No defined entrance - off site parking

34. Project 5
Nothing that defines recreation area
Heavily used by AYSO and Baseball Youth Leagues
Top Gun Tournament
Needed a name of an individual that links our Schools,
Parks, Recreation (AYSO) and volunteerism to this site
MMRC recommendation “Julius Hitchens Joint Use
Park”

35. Julius Hitchens Joint Use Park
AYSO
 20 Years
 AYSO Assist Regional Commissioner
 Largest youth recreation org. in Mira Mesa
 600 plus kids
Top Gun Tournament
 2,200 Plus soccer players/ Over 10,000 attend
 500 Games played during tournament
 Adds millions of dollars to economy annually
Coaches - Boys and Girls Soccer at MMHS
Coaches - MMHS Golf Team

36. Julius Hitchens Joint Use Park
2014 Mira Mesa Volunteer of the Year
Member of the MMRC
Effective advocate for more active park space
Advocate for youth sports/ recreation
Longtime resident of Mira Mesa
Personifies the best in recreational volunteerism

37. Project 6
Current Name – Canyon Hills Open Space
“Canyon Hills” was the name that the developer had
given the area - future housing project -129 S.F. Units
Controversial past
Resource Park – Must solicit City wide input
Wanted to name this project for someone who has
Volunteered/ Served both Community of Mira Mesa and
the City of San Diego for decades
MMRC Recommendation “Bruce G. Brown Resource
Park”

38. Bruce G. Brown Resource Park
Mira Mesa Volunteer of the Year 1986 and 1994
Past President Mira Mesa Town Council (Member
Since 1982)
Past Chairman of the MMCPG (First Joined 1984)
Past Chairman of the Mira Mesa Recreation Council
(Current Vice Chair – Member Since 1994)
Past Chairman of the Board of Harmonium (1990
-1999)

39. Bruce G. Brown Resource Park
Past Board Member of the City of San Diego’s:
- Planning Commission (1999-2004)
- Historical Site Board (1995-1999)
- Park and Recreation Board (2007-2016)
Member of the 1986 Park Committee and served on the
Committee that wrote the current Community Plan 1992

40. Bruce G. Brown Resource Park
Member of the FBA Committee since 1985
Coached and Managed MMYBB, AYSO
and Rec Basketball (1988-1995)
Mira Mesa LMD (A founding Member and Former Chair 1983 –
1990) and Calle Cristobal MAD (Member 1990 – present)

41. Bruce G. Brown Resource Park
RSVP
 Helped raise initial funding (1994)
 Along with Marv Miles and Bob Dingeman of Scripps Ranch led
the effort to start an RSVP for Mira Mesa and Scripps Ranch
 RSVP Foundation Board Member since 1995
As Chair of Harmonium Board led effort to open Six Klassic Kids at
Ericson, Sandburg, Mason, Walker, Hage and Jerebek Elementary
Schools
Led efforts to start Teen Center/ Epicentre (1993-1999)
Chairman of MMTC Subcommittee to transform the former
Epicentre into a Community Civic Center

42. Questions
What gives the MMRC the right to recommend the names of
parks?
Why can’t we keep the existing names?
Who’s going to pay for the signage?
Is it a conflict of interest to recommend a name of a person who
is also a member of the MMRC?
Why doesn’t the MMRC use social media sites like NextDoor to
post notices?
The Department of Park and Recreation recommends naming
parks after geographical locations. Why doesn’t MMRC do this?
There are other worthy people in the community. Why can’t the
parks be named after them?

43. Join Us!