By Bruce Garlich

2. What do you think of the city's joint-use agreement with the schools for use of playing fields? ANSWER: It's a good thing. We should keep it and fix it! It would help if all interested parties read it and got a better understanding of the City's responsibilities vis-à-vis the School District. It's available on the City's website. For example the schools have FIRST priority on usage. The City uses our scheduling system to allocate use, not determine use, according to terms and times set by and agreed to by the District. With regard to field maintenance, the City just "mows and blows" The District has responsibility for turf issues such as irrigation , pot holes, erosion ,etc.

JUA benefits are reflected in numbers from last years usage. 69,000 hours were scheduled! That's over 1300 hours a week over which users would be "fighting" without something like the provisions of the JUA. 77% of those hours were for school and group 1 users such as little league and AYSO. The other 23% was for adult use, fees for which pay the City's cost of mowing. The adult use also represents some flexibility to increase use by kids.

Things to study and correct include: (1) looking at "playability" standards so that fields are not indiscriminately shut down when only a few are really un- playable along with what to do and how to pay for field renovation. A special committee is going to look at these issues, I understand. (2) Dropping the fees for youth group users who don't meet Group 1 criteria . Kids are still kids and the priority system should be modified to fit the in fairly. (Rick Campo issue). (3) Re-look at high school team usage +consider blocking out seasons such as baseball- to take the pressure off coaches and don't kick coaches off fields for trying to maintain them! (4) Fix the field ambassador problem. They have too little experience and too few skills to deal with the conflict resolution issues they're thrown into.

3. What would be the most effective way to improve the Westside? ANSWER:

• Do the environmental assessment which will support the "bluffs" overlay zone change to medium density residential from its current low density designation.
  

-Consider the possible expansion of the overlay territory as an option to be pursued later after evaluating lessons learned from the initial overlay development results.
- Do not "re-zone", i.e.: do not create legal non-conforming properties.
- Rely on private sector proposals to activate the overlay.

• Incorporate the W. 19th St. territory into the existing redevelopment area.
  

-Adopt a plan for the area to guide redevelopment.
-Adopt an eminent domain policy which is limited to ensuring necessary lot combinations at fair market prices, i.e.; discourage "holdouts" which unfairly prevent redevelopment.
-Rely on private sector redevelopment to fund property acquisition, not tax increment revenue.

• Review and make decisions regarding all recommendations of the WROC committee; hold "Town Hall" meetings throughout the City to accomplish this.