A group of neighbors who live near the park are upset that the city did not inform them about an ad hoc meeting that took place on June 14. Vice Mayor Norman Kline and Councilwoman Aileen Kao make up the ad hoc committee for the park project. The neighbors believe that the city council had promised at a meeting on June 1 that the public would be notified about all meetings that take place about the issue.

"Mayor [Kathleen] King stated the ad hoc meetings must be public. All this was stated in reference to dealings with Kevin Moran Park," said an email sent by Mary Robertson, a park neighbor, to the city council.

In the email, Robertson said that she had also personally checked the city's website on the days preceding the meeting and found no mention of it. Her communication also asked that the neighbors be informed of all future meetings.

Dave Anderson, the city manager, said that a notice about the meeting had been posted at the kiosk in the city's civic center before the meeting.

"The person in charge of updating the website was on leave and that is the reason it was not updated in a timely manner," Anderson said.

Richard Taylor, the city attorney, said an ad hoc committee of two city council members is not subject to the Brown Act, a law that guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.

"However, the task force that is being created for the Kevin Moran project is subject to the Brown Act," Taylor said. "The citizens can request that they be put on the mailing list for the meetings."

Anderson said the Kevin Moran Park neighbors will be on an email list from now on and be notified of all future meetings.

"We want goodwill and transparency. We're trying to develop trust and dialogue," Anderson said.

John Cherbone, the city's public works director, was present at the ad hoc meeting.

"We decided on a timeline," he said.

Cherbone said that the first task force meeting will take place by September and the committee will report its findings to the city council by December.

Besides the two city council members, the task force will include three people from the Kevin Moran Park neighborhood, two people representing organized sports and two neighbors at large.