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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20060111 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) f 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 i i 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