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Home My Public Portal About20050824 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 05-19 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETINGS BOARD OF DIRECTORS August 24, 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, Deane Little (arrived at 6:35 p.m.), Ken Nitz, Pete Siemens (arrived at 6:12 p.m.) and Larry Hassett. Members Absent: Nanette Hanko Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Rudy Jurgensen, Mike Williams, Del Woods, and Kirk Lenington. II. CLOSED SESSION t discuss t h the Board would adjourn to Closed Session o L. Hassett stated that o � Closed Session Agenda Item 1. The Board recessed to Closed Session at 6:12 p.m. and the Closed Session commenced at 6:12 .m. The Board concluded the Closed Session at 7:30 .m. p p REGULAR MEETING III. L. Hassett called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. He announced that the Board had discussed Closed Session Agenda Item 1 in Closed Session and that no reportable actions had taken place. Additional Staff Present: John Maciel, Michael Newburn, David Sanguinetti, Cathy Woodbury, Gordon Baillie, Peter Cook, Tracy Hammond, Tom Lausten, Margaret Reimche, Ana Ruiz and Thomas Valterria. I Meeting 05-19 Page 2 i IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS i Ron Sturgeon, P. O. Box 36, San Gregorio, spoke regarding a letter signed by C. Britton to the Coastal Commission regarding a project on appeal with the Coastal Commission. He asserted that there were errors in the letter. i C. Britton said he would be glad to meet with Mr. Sturgeon to discuss his concerns. I ' I V. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE I L. Hassett led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance. I I VI. APPOINTMENT OF SECRETARY PRO TEM I L. Hassett announced that the Board needed to appoint a Secretary Pro Tem. I ' Motion: J. Cyr nominated D. Little. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The I motion passed 6 to 0. I I VII. ADOPTION OF AGENDA I I Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board adopt the agenda. M. Davey I 'i seconded and the motion passed 6 to 0. I VIII. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR Staff answered questions about Claims as follows: #3259, Deborah Mills — Design Concepts, Brochures - Monte Bello, Sierra Azul & Dog Access — Sierra Azul brochure. #3269, Jakaby Engineering, Design and Engineering Services, El Sereno, Overlook Drive — Hayes Property. #3272, Montgomery Highlands Association, Annual Road Dues, Hayes Property — Road dues. #3285, Rich Voss Trucking, Inc., Rock Delivery Charges, Big Dipper Residence Road for Repair of Road — 1/3 of a mile, the District is required to maintain. #3302, Valley Tree Care, Tree Removal Service — FFO/Tree Work at Deer Hollow — staff did not remove the tree because they are not allowed to climb a tree in order to remove it. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including a draft response to an e-mail from Ms. Wendy Boxer Jacobs; and Revised Claims 05-15. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. K. Nitz voted no on Claims 3269 and 3272. I I I I I I Meeting 05-19 Page 3 IX. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. I —Appointment of Peter Cook and Tracy Hammond as District Peace Officers, Adopt the Attached Resolutions of the Board Appointing Peter Cook and Tracy Hammond as Peace Officers — (Rej)ort R-05-97). J. Maciel said the Operations Department is now at full staff. M. Newburn introduced Peter Cook. Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board adopt Resolution 05-22 Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Appointing Peace Officer. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. K. Lausten presented P. Cook with his badge. D. Sanguinetti introduced Tracy Hammond. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt Resolution 05-23 Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Appointing Peace Officer. D. Little seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. D. Sanguinetti presented T. Hammond with her badge. By consensus, the Board agreed to reorder the agenda to switch the order of Agenda Items 2 and 3. B. Agenda Item No. 3 - Approve Recommendations to Temporarily Open an Approximately 150-foot Single-Track Trail Connection Between Spring Ridp,e Trail and Meadow Trail to Multi-Use, Including Dogs on Leash, at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)-(Report R-05-95). A. Ruiz presented the staff report. She said the intent is to make this a single track, four feet wide trail connection. K. Nitz asked why the signs would designate this as a temporary trail. A. Ruiz said they will be initiating a complete review of the trail system at Windy Hill. C. Britton said the Board approved the Use and Management Plan. Portola Valley asked the District to rework the plan, and staff would like an opportunity to look at this area again. He said they are not in a Meeting 05-19 Page 4 position to say this is a permanent trail. A. Ruiz pointed out the Kabcinell driveway on the map. Betsy Carpenter, 501 Portola Road, Box 8065, Portola Valley, said the District had received 18 letters on this subject. She and others felt strongly about this trail because it does permit them to hike the area without going to the top of Windy Hill. Many people who did not write expressed their support for this trail. Pat Allen, 4510 Alpine, Road, Portola Valley, pointed out a trail route she liked to use and agreed that the trail should be permanent. J. Cyr said he thought the District had been responsive and expressed his support for the staff s recommendation. He argued strongly for intelligent, long-term planning based on the District's resources. Motion: K. Nitz moved that the word "temporarily" be removed from the staff s recommendation. D. Little seconded the motion. Discussion: D. Little stated that he did not think the Board took the arbitrary action. C. Britton said the road was created as part of the construction of the Kabcinell driveway. The road was never thought about in terms of being a trail. L. Hassett said he would support the amended motion. Vote:, The motion passed 4 to 1. Director Cyr voted no, and Director Davey abstained. Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in the staff report; and open an approximate 150-foot single- track trail connection between Spring Ridge Trail and Meadow Trail to multi-use, including dogs on leash, at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. C. Agenda Item No. 2 - Presentation by the California Coastal Conservancy on their San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program — (Report R-05- 86). Nadine Hitchcock, San Francisco Bay Program Manager of the California Coastal Conservancy, said this program is unique within the Conservancy. She stated the broad goals of the program and talked about some of their accomplishments including 47,000 acres permanently protected, 6,000 Meeting 05-19 Page 5 acres protected by easements, salt pond restoration, 72 key miles of trails including 24 miles of the Ridge Trail at a cost of $11 million, and three key miles added to the Coastal Trail in the Bay Area with many more miles being planned. She informed the Board that they had distributed 16 grants totaling $700,000 for environmental education. Ms. Hitchcock outlined the criteria and process used in making their decisions for approving grants. She talked about the projects in Santa Clara County, including acquisitions, restoration, invasive plant removal, and the Coastal Trails projects. She said their projects totaled $637,600,00 including matching funds. The source of their funding was generally bond money, but they did receive some general fund money as well. D. Agenda Item No. 4 - Authorize the General Manager to Amend a Contract with LFR Levine-Fricke to Provide Environmental Services in an Overall Amount Not to Exceed $29,475 for Petroleum Product Release Source Investigations at Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve — (Report R- 05-93). K. Lenington outlined the staff recommendations. He said the work plan is to dig at the foundation for the boiler house and at a concrete bunker. They will also dig at two different areas along the storm drain. D. Little said the petroleum could be coming from a very long way away and asked if they looked at old aerial photographs showing earlier buildings. K. Lenington said they had the plans for the old hospital. He added that they had not analyzed the soil for PCBs but would probably have to do a full-spectrum analysis later in the process. D. Little recommended testing for pesticides, chlorides and PCBs at an early stage and talk to people who worked at the hospital. Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to amend a contract with LFR Levine-Fricke to provide environmental services in an overall amount not to exceed $29,475 for petroleum product release source investigations at Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve. M. Davey seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. E. Agenda Item No. 5 - Approve the Response From the Board of Directors to the San Mateo County Grand Jury Report Dated June 8. 2005 Regarding Their Review of Special Districts—(Report R-05-92). • Meeting 05-19 Page 6 0 C. Britton presented the staff s response to the Grand Jury's report. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board approve the Response from the Board of Directors to the San Mateo County Grand Jury's Report of June 8, 2005 regarding their review of Special Districts. P. Siemens seconded the motion Discussion: K. Nitz asked why the Board had not heard about the staffs response to the questionnaire. L. Hassett said he thought it was appropriate that staff would complete the questionnaire. K. Nitz said it looked like there were inaccuracies in the Grand Jury's report and thought a Board committee should have looked at the questionnaire that was sent to the Grand Jury. S. Schectman said the District receives a general questionnaire from the Grand Jury every year. C. Britton talked about the Grand Jury's questions regarding the District's reserves and said the surveys could be sent to the Board in the future. P. Siemens said there should be an official Board policy statement regarding the reserves and why they are there. Vote: The motion passed 6 to 0. F. Agenda Item No. 6 - Adopt Electronic Communications Policy Applicable to Communications To and From the Board of Directors — (Report R-05-91). C. Britton said the LFPAC Committee had incorporated the Board's suggestions. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Electronic Communications Policy. P. Siemens seconded the motion. Discussion: J. Cyr commented that the process verified the value of the Committee's work and the interaction between the Board and the Committee. Vote: The motion passed 6 to 0. X. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS L. Hassett: (1) He will attend the Kiwanis meeting tomorrow. (2) He participated in a group hike at Skyline that ended at his home. Meeting 05-19 Page 7 K. Nitz asked if the dirt had been removed from the sag pond at Windy Hill. Staff will find out and get back to him. D. Little said he had been hiking the District's preserves. A couple of months ago, the star thistle were heavily infested with the weevils. He was concerned that now there are a lot of second blooms. J. Cyr: (1) Patty Ciesla had contacted him about presenting her suggestions regarding trails to the Board. He had told her to bring her suggestions to a committee meeting. C. Britton suggested that he ask her to write a letter to the Board. C. Woodbury commented that the Watershed Improvement Plan included trails. (2) He talked about a clipping from the Sunnyvale Sun about geocaching. P. Siemens: (1) He staffed a District booth at the Los Gatos farmers' market on Sunday and said there was a lot of interest. Discussion followed about the possibility of having a booth at other farmers' markets in various cities. (2) He met with a Los Gatos council member regarding their plans for a fenced off-leash dog area. He said there was a piece of District land that might be considered as part of the area as it protruded into a town park that is being considered for the project. C. Britton: (1) He referred to a letter in the FYIs to the Cupertino Planning Commission regarding the Gate of Heaven Cemetery. He said staff member, Jonas Roddenberry, had composed the letter and testified at the City Council meeting at which the Council decided to not allow the upright gravestones. (2) There was a memo in the FYIs regarding protocols on marijuana farms. (3) He referred to the letter in the FYIs to John Gruver regarding work at Purisima. (4) The FYIs included a closing memo on Dennis Martin Road. (5) There will be a Save the Bay event on September 24 at Port of San Francisco. (6) He handed out the new Bay Area Open Space Council brochure, as well as a brochure from the Council seeking associate members. R. Jurgensen handed out invitations to the September 24, 2005 Volunteer Recognition event. X1. ADJOURNMENT At 9:22 p.m., the meeting was adjourned. Roberta Wolfe Recording Secretary