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Regional Open Space
MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
Meeting 06-01
SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
January 11, 2006
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
I. ROLL CALL
President Larry Hassett called the special meeting to order at 6:31 p.m.
Members Present: Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Larry Hassett, Ken Nitz, Pete Siemens,
Deane Little and Mary Davey
Members Absent: none
Staff Present: L. Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Sally Thielfoldt, Mike Williams,
Del Woods, Matt Freeman
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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 6:31 p.m. and the Closed Session commenced at
6:31 p.m. The Board concluded the Closed Session at 7:30 p.m.
REGULAR MEETING
III. L. Hassett called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. He announced that the Board
had discussed Closed Session Agenda Items 1 and 2 in Closed Session and that there
were no reportable items.
Additional Staff Present: John Maciel
IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none.
V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the agenda. P. Siemens seconded the
motion.
Discussion: D. Little asked to discuss the November 9, 2005 Minutes. C. Britton said
that the Minutes fell under the Consent Calendar and could be discussed at
that portion of the Agenda.
Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0.
VI. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR
D. Little clarified his remarks as they were written in the November 9, 2005 Board
Minutes. He asked that at the bottom of page 5 the motion include ". . . and suppress
growth of invasive species . . ." following the words, to promote growth of native
species . . ." C. Britton stated that the Minutes would be amended.
Staff answered a question from K. Nitz regarding Claim No. 4046.
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including the
amended Minutes of November 9, 2005 Special and Regular Meetings,
and the Minutes of November 30, 2005 Special Board Meeting; Agenda
Item 5, Approval of 2006 Legislative consulting Services Agreement with
Public Policy Advocates• Authorize General Manager to Execute the
Legislative Consulting Services Agreement for Legislative Consulting
Services in Sacramento; and Revised Claims 05-24. P. Siemens seconded
the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0 with N. Hanko abstaining on Claim
No. 4095.
VII. BOARD BUSINESS
A. Agenda Item No. 1 —Elect Board Officers for the 2006 Calendar Year—(Report
R06-01).
S. Thielfoldt reviewed election procedures and distributed ballot packets.
L. Hassett called for nominations for President. K. Nitz nominated J. Cyr and M.
Davey seconded the nomination. D. Little moved that nominations be closed. J.
Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. Following balloting, S.
Thielfoldt announced that the seven ballots had been cast for J. Cyr.
J. Cyr presented L. Hassett with presents from the Board and thanked him for his
past year as president of the Board of Directors.
Meeting 06-01 Page 2
L. Hassett thanked the Board of Directors for his year. He thanked J. Cyr for
filling in for him. He said that the District's Board was a healthy one and said he
was especially pleased with the outstanding Board Committee work that had been
done in the past year. He thanked C. Britton for his support and contributions.
He thanked S. Schectman and all of the District staff. He commented that this
had been a great year of staff work and saw a remarkable improvement in staff
reports, specifically complimenting the professionalism of staff. He had three
highlights for the year: (1)the 50,000-acre celebration; (2) the two most recent
Board meetings that ended 2005; and (3) seeing the emergence of the District's
resource management program.
J. Cyr called for nominations for Vice President. N. Hanko nominated K. Nitz.
M. Davey seconded the nomination. M. Davey moved that the nominations be
closed. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. Following
balloting, S. Thielfoldt announced that seven ballots had been cast for K. Nitz.
J. Cyr called for nominations for Treasurer. K. Nitz nominated M. Davey. P.
Siemens seconded the nomination. N. Hanko asked who the members were
currently on the Budget Committee. She was told that the current members were
P. Siemens, M. Davey, and K. Nitz. J. Cyr said that he would like
recommendations. M. Davey said she would like to remain on the Budget
Committee saying that it was doing good work and she wanted to continue with it.
L. Hassett moved that nominations be closed. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The
motion passed 7 to 0. Following balloting, S. Thielfoldt announced that seven
ballots had been cast for M. Davey.
J. Cyr called for nominations for Secretary, D. Little nominated N. Hanko. L.
Hassett seconded the nomination. N. Hanko asked if the Secretary was needed at
all meetings. C. Britton said that, if the Secretary is absent, normally volunteers
are requested to serve as Secretary as it is necessary for the Secretary to be
present at Board meetings to sign documents approved by the Board. K. Nitz
nominated L. Hassett. There was no second. P. Siemens moved that nominations
be closed. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. Following
balloting, S. Thielfoldt announced that seven ballots had been cast for N. Hanko.
B. Agenda Item No. 2 —Renewal of Investment Authority and Adoption of Annual
Statement of Investment Policy• Adopt the Attached Resolution to Renew the
District Controller's Investment Authority Until January 10, 2007 and to Approve
the District's Revised Statement of Investment Policy—(Report 06-03).
C. Britton stated that M. Foster was not available at that evening's meeting. He
added that there were no changes from last year's policy.
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board adopt Resolution No. 06-01
Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space
District Adopting a Statement of Investment Policy and Authorizing the
Meeting 06-01 Page 3
Controller to Invest Surplus funds Allowed by the Government Code. N. Hanko
seconded the motion.
Discussion: K. Nitz asked if the changes to the policy had been incorporated.
S. Schectman said the changes were in the document.
Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0.
C. Agenda Item No. 3 —Authorize Staff to Solicit Construction Bids for Structural
Repair of the Existing Deck at the Former Haves Residence in El Sereno Open
Space Preserve—(Report 06-06).
M. Williams presented and reviewed the staff report. C. Britton stated that staff
was requesting authorization to solicit bids.
P. Siemens asked which deck was being repaired. M. Williams said the repair
would be the portion not intended for cars to park on and that the bid would
include removing the hot tub and shortening one deck. L. Hassett asked what the
specs called for, specifically if materials other than redwood lumber could be
used. M. Williams said that the bid specs could request bids for alternative
decking materials. He added that the railings would be pre-fab manufactured
steel. L. Hassett said that he would prefer not to see redwood lumber and prefers
Trek.
K. Nitz said that since he voted no on purchasing the Hayes property he would be
voting no on this item. D. Little also noted that he voted no on the purchase of the
Hayes property, but he would vote yes on this item. L. Hassett stated that he
shared K. Nitz and D. Little's concerns about the property purchase,but since the
District now owned the property he would vote yes on this item.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board Authorize Staff to Solicit
Construction Bids for Structural Repair of the Existing Deck at the Former Hayes
Residence in El Sereno Open Space Preserve. M. Davey seconded the motion.
The motion passed 6 to 1, with K. Nitz voting no.
D. Agenda Item No. 4—Appointment of the Administration and Budget Committee
members for 2006 Calendar year by the President with Consent of the Board
(Report 06-02).
J. Cyr said that he would like to keep the current Budget Committee members for
2006. The current members are P. Siemens, K. Nitz, and the newly elected
Treasurer, M. Davey.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board consent to the President's
appointment of M. Davey, P. Siemens and K. Nitz to the Administration and
Meeting 06-01 Page 4
Budget Committee for the 2006 calendar year. L. Hassett seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7 to 0.
VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
J. Cyr asked the Board members to let him know which Board committees they would
like to serve on in 2006.
N. Hanko (1) She had a question about the letter in the FYI's from the La Honda-
Pescadero Unified School District asking what, if anything, needed to be done on the
District's part. C. Britton said that nothing was needed from the Board; that the letter
was a required annual report from the School District. Eventually, the District may have
to make payments to the School District if and when the District purchased property in
within School District boundaries. N. Hanko clarified that the District will be paying the
amount of the tax assessment the property tax would have paid the School District if the
property were to remain in private ownership.
(2)N. Hanko asked about the letter from the County of Santa Clara, also in the FYI's,
discussing a committee to discuss health benefit plans. S. Thielfoldt said that she had
attended the first meeting and there were approximately 40 people in attendance
representing 9 to 10 cities, school districts and water districts. The County wants to form
a coalition to see if smaller agencies could find a way to control health insurance costs.
The various human resource departments do not have the time to individually move
forward in a meaningful way to research and find affordable health benefits. The
County's idea is to form a coalition and get some funds from each agency to hire a grant
writer for the leg-work in finding affordable health care benefits.
D. Little asked if the subject matter included both health insurance costs and retirement
costs. C. Britton answered that only health insurance was being discussed. D. Little
added that small groups are privately contracting with individual doctors or doctor
groups, which avoids the big health insurance organizations altogether. S. Thielfoldt
agreed that self-insurance was something to look at; however, there is a higher potential
of liability.
(3) N. Hanko attended the POST event prior to coming to the Board meeting. She was
joined by J. Cyr and C. Britton. It was a nice event and Audrey Rust made a point to
recognize the District representatives in attendance and the work the District does to
protect open space.
K. Nitz hiked Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve the past weekend. He noted that the
sign was turned and thanked staff for taking care of that. He said that the soil was
"boiling up" again.
M. Davey: (1) She attended Cathy Woodbury party and it was wonderful. (2) She
welcomed Matt Freeman as the Acting Planning Manager. (3) She received a call from
the vice-mayor of Los Altos Hills saying that a new ordinance to protect native trees,
Meeting 06-01 Page 5
including Eucalyptus, was going on the books. (4) Lois Hogle died November 27, 2005.
Ms. Hogle's family had contacted M. Davey about having a bench with a view on
District property. M. Davey spoke with C. Britton about this and she will agendize this at
a future Board meeting. She added that the Committee for Green Foothills would fund
the bench costs.
D. Little: (1) He congratulated staff on the slender false brome coverage in the
newspaper—front page of the San Jose Mercury News; he was glad that the news media
recognized the importance of this subject. (2) He went to Peters Creek after the recent
rainstorms to get waterfall pictures. (3) He asked staff to let him know when snow is
failing up along Skyline Boulevard on District preserves.
L. Hassett went to the District staff s holiday party at the Adobe House. He went to Vail
for vacation.
P. Siemens congratulated the Public Affairs Department on the great news articles; he
was very impressed, stating that sometimes the public does not believe things until they
read about it in the paper.
J. Cyr: (1) He read an independent letter referencing the false brome problem. (2) He
attended the party for Cathy Woodbury, the staff holiday party, and attended the POST
party. (3) He and N. Hanko went to Picchetti Winery before the POST party and were
filmed by an independent newsperson, associated with Channel 5, researching and
putting together a piece on local wineries. (4) Last Friday he hiked Coal Creek Open
Space Preserve for the first time in his I 0-year association with the District and said it
was an interesting experience.
C. Britton: (1) He appreciates it when Board members attend events involving District
staff. (2) He attended the POST event and said that Audrey Rust was gracious in her
recognition of the District representatives at the party. (3) He pointed out an article about
Cathy Woodbury's new position with Alameda and cited her work at the District; the
article also mentioned M. Freeman's acting position.
S. Thielfoldt thanked the Board for their support with regards to staffing.
M. Freeman handed out a chart noting the water levels at El Corte de Madera Open Space
Preserve as a result of the New Year's storm.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:35 p.m., the Regular meeting was adjourned. At M. Davey's request, J. Cyr
adjourned the meeting in the memory of Lois Hogle.
Lisa Zadek
Recording Secretary
Meeting 06-01 Page 6