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Council Member Ruskin presented Parks and Recreation Commission Chairperson Matt Walsh with the proclamation and explained the importance of our parks and recreation programs in Redwood City. Chairperson Walsh highlighted the fact that there are seven very effective after - school learning centers serving over 500 at risk children. The grand opening of the extremely popular skate park occurred in March and is still attracting over 200 skaters each day. Currently, we have the largest softball program on the Peninsula with 110 teams participating. The Veterans Memorial Senior Center provides many worthwhile programs for seniors and serves over 2,000 lunches each month. Some upcoming events include the summer concert series at Stafford Park begins July 2 and runs each Wednesday evening from 6 -8 p.m. Additionally, the department sponsors a 5K run preceding the Fourth of July parade. 6. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Robert Parkhurst stated he supports using recycled sewage water for mixing concrete or watering medians on the freeways, but not for children's playgrounds. He referred to an incident in Europe where a soap company came to Stanford Research Institute with a problem that he was involved in the research of. The company had been making laundry detergent for a very long time and expressed a sense of urgency about the problem. An outbreak of a strange disease had occurred and many people had become very ill. The disease was the suspect cause of several deaths, took several years to trace to a particular factory and legal action was pending. The company's own scientists had determined that the material was actually in the product in parts per million. The toxin failed to cause any problem until there was repeated exposure. After extensive testing, the result was that there were four chemicals in the material that took years to find prompting a change of process in order to prevent a reoccurrence. He stated that this is an example of a substance that would probably be processed through recycled sewage. Marge Parkhurst stated that most people have no problem with recycled sewer water along freeways, golf courses and for industry. The majority of Redwood Shores residents, however, does not want recycled sewer water on their parks or play areas. No scientist, doctor, staff director or City Council Member can guarantee that using recycled sewer water is completely safe. She further stated that children are more susceptible to infection due to their underdeveloped immune systems and they do not use good hygiene. She asked about Alternative "E" and when it would be on the City Council agenda. Council Member Ruskin stated that Mayor Claire would determine the upcoming agendas. Rudy Luca referred to an article in the Redwood City Daily News citing a budget reduction in Fire and Police Departments of $1.5M. He stated his hope that the REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JUNE 23, 2003 MINUTES PAGE MINUTES Book No. 59 Page No. 489