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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20050209 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 05-03 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETINGS BOARD OF DIRECTORS February 9, 2005 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Larry Hassett called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Mary Davey, Nonette Hanko, Deane Little (arrived 6:30 p.m.), Ken Nitz, Pete Siemens, and Larry Hassett. Members Absent: None Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman II. CLOSED SESSION L. Hassett stated that the Board would adjourn to Closed Session to discuss Closed Session Agenda Items 1, 2 and 3. The Board recessed to Closed Session at 6:11 p.m. and the Closed Session commenced at 6:11 p.m. The Board concluded the Closed Session at 7:23 p.m. REGULAR MEETING L. Hassett called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. He announced that the Board had discussed Closed Session Agenda Items 1, 2 and 3 in Closed Session and that no reportable actions had taken place. Additional Staff Present: Cindy Roessler, Doug Vu, Mike Williams, Sally Thielfoldt, Thomas Fischer, Cathy Woodbury, John Maciel, Rudy Jurgensen IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Chuck Jeffery, Eulalie Drive, San Jose, handed out a packet of information and talked about a letter he and his wife received regarding an easement. He said the road and right Meeting 05-03 Page 2 of way were not defined and they would like clarification as to why the District considered this to be a valid easement across the property. S. Schectman said staff would look into the matter and would be in touch with Mr. Jeffery. V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the agenda. K. Nitz seconded and the motion passed 7 to 0. VI. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR K. Nitz referred to the second sentence in the second paragraph of the draft response to an email from Dr. George Cattermole. Staff informed him that the surveys mentioned are being done. L. Hassett commented that this response is so much better than the first one. Other Board Members agreed that it was well done. N. Hanko requested that the last line of the first paragraph under Informational Reports be changed to replace "chat room yahoo group" with"internet forum." Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including minutes of the November 17, 2004, Regular Meeting as amended; and the December 15, 2004, Special Meeting; draft response to an email from Dr. George Cattermole and Revised Claims 05-02. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VII. INTRODUCTION C. Woodbury introduced Jonas Roddenberry, Planning Technician. VIII. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. I — Authorization to Participate in Release of Rust to Control Yellow Starthistle; Determine Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from CEQA: Authorize the General Manner to Take the Necessary Steps to Participate in the Program with San Mateo County Agriculture Department to Release Yellow Starthistle Rust—(Report R-05-14). C. Roessler explained that staff was requesting the postponement because San Mateo County is delaying their release program pending a study on how the rust might affect cornflower. D. Little asked if it was possible to relocate the study to Santa Clara County. Meeting 05-03 Page 3 C. Roessler said they did a release last year. The amount available for release is very limited. She thought the chances were slim for getting approval in Santa Clara County this year. She expected San Mateo County to come back with the issue resolved. D. Little asked staff to find out why there is such a limited amount of rust available and to check with Santa Clara County. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board table this item. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. B. Agenda Item No. 2 -Reconsideration of Bid Protest Filed by Casey Construction Regarding the Award of a Contract for Demolition Services and Construction of a Parking and St yin g Area at Pulyas Ridge Open Space Preserve. Determination that the Bid Proposal Submitted by Watershed Science Was Nonresponsive to the Bid Specifications, and Award of Contract to Casey Construction—(Report R-04- 02)_ S. Schectman clarified the issues that are before the Board at this meeting. D. Vu reviewed key dates and events leading to the recommendation to the Board. He noted that time is of the essence because it is a Federal grant-funded project. Steve Zembsch, Watershed Science, said the District staff and consultant were not familiar with the law. OSHA does not issue licenses for lead and asbestos removal, the Department of Health Services does. One hundred square feet or less can be abated by a general contractor. There is one square foot or less on this project. S. Schectman said that the applicable OSHA regulations were properly stated in the staff report. The issue is whether or not OSHA regulations were complied with. OSHA is under the Department of Health Services. The bid specs were very clear. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board reconsider and uphold the bid protest submitted by Casey Construction Company, ratify the Board's determination that the bid proposal submitted by Watershed Science is non-responsive, and ratify its award of the contract to Casey Construction Company, for the reasons set out in the staff report and all materials in the record before the Board. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. C. Britton noted that members of the public were present to hear Item 4. Meeting 05-03 Page 4 Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board consider Item 4 out of order. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. D. Agenda Item No. 4 - Proposed License and Management Agreement and Assignment of Rents and Security Deposits with POST for Stevens Canyon Ranch Property Adiacent to Saratoga Gap Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County Assessor's Parcel Numbers 503-04-001, 503-05-016, 039 and 503-06- 024); Determine Recommended Actions are Cate gorically-Exempt from CEQA; Authorize General Manager to Sign Said Agreements - (Report R-05-09). M. Williams made a presentation of slides showing the property. He outlined staff s recommendations. He said currently, no one is taking care of the orchard. Staff is talking to the person who cares for the District's chestnut orchard and another party who has done disking in the orchard. He described what the caretaker does. M. Williams informed the Board that if the District manages a property as part of a preserve, it would be named as part of that preserve. C. Britton stated that the Board report was asking the Board to authorize him to sign the agreement. Staff does not usually make such an agreement part of the packet. He said there are several reasons staff wants to move forward at this time. Nothing would change on the ground. POST has asked the District to look in on the property but they feel uncomfortable doing that without a management agreement. When the District decides whether to acquire the property, that decision will come back before the Board. M. Davey said she had talked to Douglas Wright. His concerns were about what the future would hold for this property. She said there would be a significant amount of time for the public to talk to the District about what the use will be. The public will be part of the planning process. J. Maciel said that unless parked vehicles really are an obstruction, the District would not enforce parking regulations. They can if it becomes a problem. Kerry Cunningham, Stevens Canyon Road, read from a letter he had sent the Board and passed out an addendum to that letter. He requested a continuance of the item so he would have time to review the agreement. He believed there would be additional traffic which would be dangerous and bad for the environment. He was shocked by the secret sale of the Jones property to POST. He said he would like to work closely with the District and POST but needed more time. Douglas Wright, Stevens Canyon Road, implored the Board to read what he had written over the last couple of days. He was appalled that they would not Meeting 05-03 Page 5 consider a continuance. He said they had less than 72 hours' notice. He asked them to read the addendum. N. Hanko said she had known Beez Jones as long as the District had been in existence and considers her a friend. She assured Mr. Wright and Mr. Cunningham that their fears were the same as the District has had over the years. C. Britton spoke regarding the notice sent by the District. Private property owners are not required to notify anyone when they sell their property. The District is not required to notify neighbors, but does notifications as part of the Good Neighbor Policy. He said rangers will regularly patrol the property. He said the reason POST got involved was that Beez Jones did not want the property to be developed. He explained that use of District land is much less than in parks. However, no uses would happen until the District owns the land. There will always be opportunities to meet with staff even after action is taken. M. Williams stated that if there are issues on the property, neighbors can use the 24-hour dispatch card to get staff out there. He said the lease is now a one-year lease, but will be month-to-month after the term of the current lease ends. L. Hassett talked about his previous fears about the District buying land next to his property which he said were similar to those of the two men who were at the meeting. He now felt that being a neighbor of the District enhanced his property. He thought in the long term they would understand the value. C. Woodbury explained that it would probably be three years before a plan comes to the Board for approval and during that time, the public will be involved. She said she appreciated the input. C. Britton said District bought this property in December. POST bought the property at the District's urging. POST has no ability to regulate uses on the property. Staff told them they would bring this agreement to the Board. It changes nothing to enter into the agreement. He said he did not think it was an emergency but it would not change if it came back later. J. Cyr said it seemed an advantage to have the District presence on the property. S. Schectman confirmed that the action is exempt from CEQA. There would be very limited permit-only activities allowed. P. Siemens commented that three things would change: 1. The District would patrol. 2. The District could issue limited permits for someone to visit the property. 3. Management of the orchard. He expressed concern about the use of chemicals in the orchard. Meeting 05-03 Page 6 M. Williams said that during due diligence they removed all the old sprays that had been used in the orchard and are looking at not using sprays in the maintenance of the orchard. They are interested in maintaining the property so they are not letting the orchard go. D. Little commented that this is a very routine decision that the agency makes on a regular basis. He said because they have made this kind of decision and done their work, the mountains they live in are largely green parklands and preserves as opposed to residential developments and highways. He talked about the property rights movement and concluded by saying he thought that entering into this agreement overwhelmingly is in the interests of the public. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, as set out in the staff report; authorize the General Manager to sign the attached License and Management Agreement and Assignment of Rents and Security Deposits with Peninsula Open Space Trust and, subject to approval by the General Manager and General Counsel, to approve minor revision to this agreement which do not substantially change any material term of the agreements; and tentatively adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan recommendations contained in the staff report. D. Little seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. C Britton said he had given Liz Kniss' office the information on this item. P. Siemens said he hoped these letters would go into the file so that they could be referred to during the planning process as they raised some excellent questions and issues. C. Agenda Item No. 3 - Review Proposed Preliminary Action Plan for the Implementation of the District's Basic Policy for Fiscal Year 2005 - 2006 (Report R-05-15). C. Britton introduced the item stating that managers would highlight some key projects. I. Real Property Department A. Acquisition, Funding and Negotiation—M. Williams Key Project I — New Land Commitments — K. Nitz asked if they were buying coastal lands. M. Williams said La Honda Creek could potentially be one. K. Nitz asked if the District is worried about losing the towers at Pulgas. M. Williams said the trenching is in the very initial stages. It is Meeting 05-03 Page 7 years off. Technology is changing. There will be fewer tenants because they are merging. B. Property Management— M. Williams Other Projects 5 — Administer lease of additional office space - M. Williams said the roof had been replaced over the tenant portion of the building and they might have to do the District's side this year. They are looking into some options. Key Project 4 — Assess Economic Viability of Rental Properties — Regarding raising rents, one property is boarded up and not habitable. They have had to spend a lot on maintaining the road on one other property. Rental income of another property does not cover upkeep and maintenance of road and structure so these are not economically viable. Regarding the lease at Picchetti, M. Williams said it expires in 2007. They have a draft that will go out soon. N. Hanko said she thought the Board should be involved with the lease to be sure that there are certain restrictions. C. Britton said they are having difficulty now regarding the District display on the property. M. Williams said the lease will be brought to the Real Property committee. P. Siemens said it is important that people who visit should know that the winery is owned by the public. C. Land Protection—M. Williams Other Projects I — Prepare annual rental surveys — M. Williams explained what this would entail. 11 Open Space Planning Department A. Planning and Geographic Information —C. Woodbury C. Woodbury provided an overview and said she was pleased that they were achieving balance in the program. Key Project 4 — Regional Resource Inventory — C. Woodbury said the Board will see the results of the studies. She told what species they are looking for including the Red Legged frog. Key Project 5 - District Resource Research Program — C. Woodbury said it will come back to the Board. P. Siemens asked if the other studies would relate to Mr. Cattermole's offer of free help. C. Woodbury said they have talked to him. Meeting 05-03 Page 8 Other Projects 6 — Environmental Review and Permitting Processes — C. Woodbury said they are doing this in-house. She said it would take a couple of years to do. Regarding the MOU, they are looking for ways to streamline the permitting process. B. Public Access Improvements and Staff Facilities—C. Woodbury Key Projects 3 — Windy Hill Improvements — C. Woodbury said she did not see the construction of the interpretive signage and the observation deck happening this year. They will bid it out and they need a permit. Item 6 on chart on page 16 — Water Quality Monitoring — C. Woodbury said the results will be given at a workshop tentatively scheduled for March 30. K. Nitz said there should be more included than just sediment measurement. C. Woodbury said she thought A. Ruiz had been in touch with Rebecca Moore at the Mountain Resource non profit regarding mapping. Other Projects 7 — Standard Details and Specifications — C. Woodbury said this is an in-house document regarding trail building. They are putting it into practice. 111. Operations Department A. Field Operations—J. Maciel Key Projects f. — Maintenance Operations Manual — J. Maciel said G. Baillie will be working with maintenance and construction supervisors on this project. Trails at Pulgas—J. Maciel said that expanding the dog leash area is on the maintenance list. C. Woodbury said this is tied up with the permitting for trails. D. Vu said the retaining wall at Pulgas will stay. J. Maciel said that regarding emergency medical oxygen, it is needed by people suffering from exhaustion, shock, fainting, or heat stroke. Staff is trained. This is a phase-in program. It will cost $200 per truck. Twenty vehicles will be equipped at this time. The bottles have to be refilled; they are not disposable. N. Hanko commended J. Maciel for his work in this department. K. Nitz agreed that staff did a great job. J. Maciel said they try to do disking after spring and before it gets too dry. They have to work with the fire marshal. D. Little asked if they could alternate the corridor they disk. He had seen starthistle much less in areas Meeting 05-03 Page 9 that have been disked. He suggested that disking could be used in a positive way, maybe to seed wildflowers. B. Resource Management—C. Roessler She reported that the GIS model of mapping is done. Key Project I.f. — Trail brushing — D. Little said this is an opportunity to use trail brushing to control invasive plants. Key Project Le. — Road grading, and Key Project I.f. — Trail brushing - P. Siemens suggested changes in wording: Work with the Planning Department to develop (instead of evaluate) road-grading practices that would (instead of do) not adversely affect natural resources (Le); and use "develop" instead of"evaluate" (l.f.). Key Project 2 — Invasive Plant Tracking and Monitoring System — P. Siemens said this should be in the Good Neighbor policy. Key Project 3 — Wild Pig Population Control Project — C. Roessler said cougars are not pig predators. Slender False Brome — C. Roessler said that their conclusion was that though a number of people were interested in controlling it on their property around the preserve, they did not have the incentive to do that. They have applied for a grant that would provide funding for the neighbors to take it off their property. She thought there was a good chance they would get the grant, and they will be working with the neighbors over the next three years to make sure they are controlling it on their property. Key Project 4 — Grassland Management— K. Nitz asked if it was possible to release more than $500 worth of hairy weevils to control yellow starthistle. Other Projects b. — Seed Increase Program — C. Roessler said she would provide information on how much the volume is increasing. Other Projects c. — Wildlife Surveys — C. Roessler said the Board could get the survey information on bluebird nesting and deer herds for as many years as is available. Other Pro.ects d. — Grazing — C. Roessler said that infrastructure referred to fences. Meeting 05-03 Page 10 Regarding the starthistle mapping project, D. Little said it seemed as though it would be useful to try to get as much information on where we are seeing bio-control agents and map that as well while they are doing the work. C. Roessler said they are doing that on an as-able basis. C. Roessler said the weevils are still at Fremont Older. IV. Public Affairs Department A. General Public Information and Outreach—R. Jurgensen N. Hanko suggested adding, "Assist the LFPAC in the development of communications policies"to key projects. Discussion followed regarding web site management. C. Britton said they might be able to resolve some issues at committee level as to whether they are policy issues that need to be resolved by the Board. R. Jurgensen gave an explanation of E-nature wildlife guides. B. Legislative, Funding, and Organizational Relations — R. Jurgensen C. Community Programs—R. Jurgensen Ongoing Projects 3 — Docent Program —Nature Center - R. Jurgensen said new schools have been identified as new constituent groups. Ongoing Projects 6 — Volunteer Program — Grant Cabin — R. Jurgensen said the District will take more credit for funding projects like Deer Hollow Farm. C. Britton noted that the District does not have control over what is done there. Regarding the naming of Mills Creek, C. Britton said that was a planning effort. J. Cyr suggested increasing the visibility of the District's contribution to Deer Hollow Farm. D. Little said that Sausal Pond was a good place for a mini display or nature center and suggested coordinating with The Sequoias. Ongoing Projects — Docent Program Item 5 — N. Hanko said she was pleased to see that rangers would be involved in this program. Meeting 05-03 Page 11 V. Administration Department A. Administration—S. Thielfoldt Other Projects 4 — Main office — S. Thielfoldt said the web site had been moved to Public Affairs. Other Projects 8 — Annual Special Board meeting — N. Hanko thought it should still be in the plan. J. Cyr agreed that was a good idea. Following discussion, it was agreed to keep it in the plan with the addition of, "including coastal meetings." Key Projects 5 — Equipment Inventory — S. Thielfoldt explained that this was done for insurance purposes. Other Projects 5 — Action Plan development and coordination of the program evaluation process—S. Thielfoldt said this was a task. Other Projects 12 — Recycling — S. Thielfoldt said staff is conscientious about recycling. Other Projects 13 — Uploading documents to Web site — K. Nitz said he would like to see all old agendas and minutes on the site, N. Hanko said it should also mention reports. Other Projects 14 — Records Management — S. Thielfoldt said they have a records management plan. B. Human Resources— S. Thielfoldt C. Legal Services— S. Schectman S. Schectman reported that one major difference in legal services is in the current amount of litigations. She talked about the impact on staff workload. Regarding an electronic communication policy, she suggested adding, "Work with Public Affairs to complete and implement a Board electronic communications policy." IX. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS J. Cyr had enjoyed some beautiful hikes in San Mateo County. Meeting 05-03 Page 12 L. Hassett: 1. He will be attending the Pescadero PMAC meeting tomorrow. 2. He went to the South Skyline meeting and introduced Carol Joyce. He said it was a good meeting. M. Davey: 1. She attended a meeting where the topic was keeping health benefits affordable. 2. The forum on easements was attended by 70 people. The Los Altos Hills Planning Director made a presentation. 3. She attended Liz Kniss' State of the County presentation. C. Britton: 1. He, R. Jurgensen and John Woodbury met with Joe Simitian on funding for the Bay Area Conservancy. 2. They are working on putting money back in the budget for help in Washington regarding the Mt. Umunhum cleanup. 2. The FYIs contained a memo from J. Maciel on the Sudden Oak Death Symposium. 4. The $3 billion 2006 Parks Bond Act is in print now. They will look closely into it. 5. He will be in Marin County on a panel that is interviewing candidates for Director of their parks and open space department. 6. The District will host the Not-so-Annual meeting on May 18- 20. 7. There will be a "50,0001h Acre" celebration on June 4. 8. The Special Districts Forum will be in Michigan June 8-10. The District will be hosting it next year. 9. There was an article about the District's ombudsperson in the Half Moon Bay Review. Carol Joyce received her first calls as a result of the article. S. Thielfoldt asked that Board Members keep staff informed as to when they will be unavailable in order to assist staff in maintaining the calendar of meetings and workshops. M. Davey said the California Committee on Land Trusts would meet on March 8 and there will be a subsequent meeting on March 14 or 18 on legislation having to do with open space. C. Woodbury announced that Matt Sagues had finished the detailed maps of wards. X. ADJOURNMENT At 11:17 p.m., the meeting was adjourned. Roberta Wolfe Recording Secretary