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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20060510 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 06-12 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS May 10, 2006 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Jed Cyr called the special meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Larry Hassett, Ken Nitz,Nonette Hanko, Deane Little (arrived at 6:36 p.m.), Pete Siemens (arrived at 6:42 p.m.) and Mary Davey Members Absent: None Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Sally Thielfoldt, Jim Cimino, John Maciel IL CLOSED SESSION J. Cyr stated that there were no reportable items from the Closed Session regarding Items 1 and 2. REGULAR MEETING III. J. Cyr called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. Additional Staff Present: Michael Williams, Del Woods, Matt Freeman, Rudy Jurgensen, Dennis Danielson, Tom Lausten, Frances Reneau, Michael Newburn, Gordon Baillie, Ken Miller, John Lloyd, Jennifer Naber, Anthony Correia, Chris Barresi, Peter Cook, Kirk Lenington, Duncan Simmons, David Sanguinetti, Loro Paterson, Carrie Sparks-Hart Brian Malone IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none. I I I V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Agenda., K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VI. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR N. Hanko abstained from the Revised Claims numbers 4819 and 4869. K. Nitz asked for clarification on Revised Claim Numbers: #4828 — S. Thielfoldt explained what the Support Skills Classes involved; #4835 — S. Thielfoldt said that this expense was for executive management coach sessions for senior District staff; and #4845 —R. Jurgensen replied that this annual membership is an important "networking" resource for the District docents. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including ICI the Board Minutes of March 22, 2006 Regular Meeting, Agenda Item 4, Adoption of the Preliminary Use and Management Plan Recommendation for the Gilmartin Property as an Addition to Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve (San Mateo County Assessor's Parcel Numbers 067- 152-090)•, Determine Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from CEQA; Dedicate the Property as Public Open Space. Agenda Item 5, Cancel May 24, 2006 Regular Board Meeting; and Revised Claims 06- 09. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VII. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. 1 —Presentation by the Midneninsula Rangers Peace Officer Association—(Report R-06-57) J. Lloyd introduced himself as the President of the Peace Officer Association and thanked District management and the Board for the opportunity to give the presentation. He handed out a report described as an informal recommendation. He then reviewed the occurrence of the sighting of a marijuana-growing camp and stated that the Association has safety concerns regarding radio communications and working with outside agencies. He then introduced D. Danielson. D. Danielson thanked management and the Board for the opportunity to speak before them. He stated that District staff want to be rangers and not police officers and he gave some historical background on the ranger profession. Meeting 06-12 Page 2 He then reviewed the following possible areas in need of solutions for increasing safety and improving the working conditions for the rangers: • Review of the Warren Report; • Meet with local sheriff offices and municipal police departments to develop a network; • Operations Manual; • Annual Training needs; • Incident Command System: Establishing staffs role in cases of emergency, i.e., earthquake; • Radio System—very important to improve as there are still some areas where the radio frequency is not good; the radio system is staff s "lifeline," but acknowledged that an improved system will be very expensive; • CAD (Computer Assistance Dispatch)—assists in directing calls to appropriate agencies for particular situations; • Enabling legislation for law enforcement and fire protection; wants clarification that the Association is covered under the Public Resources Code 5500; • Staffing— Staff levels should not fall below 4 persons during"off' hours and time and travel distance need to be taken into consideration for staffing levels; • Officer safety; • Review Roles and Responsibilities; • Medical—need clarification to see if the District is a county provider; • Marijuana—establish protocols; • Extended sheriff and police response—it can take between 45 minutes to one hour for back-up to appear; • — h in parking lots trails and how District vehicles look; Si na e both , g g p g • Uniform—suggested having patches on both arms. A. Correia thanked the Board and management for the opportunity to give this presentation. He gave an overview of his experience during the shooting that happened on District land, which was very near his District employee residence. He felt it was a scary situation especially with his family living there. Following the incident there was a staff meeting and many emotions were shared by staff and the meeting was a good way for staff to have an outlet. His concerns include: • Fears as a ranger—serious situations occur; there is an assumed risk; • Rangers are educators—most law enforcement efforts go smoothly, but some are very emotional encounters; • Visitor protection—wildlife attacks, personal attacks,hoaxes. I Meeting 06-12 Page 3 i i A. Correia reviewed the marijuana sites and said that staff is aware of the cultivation areas. He gave multiple examples of dangerous situations rangers encounter and brought up the question of whether rangers should be armed. J. Lloyd requested that a committee be formed to discuss items involving the Rangers Peace Officers Association and that the committee members include staff, management, and Board representatives. Items to be discussed include training for Park Rangers and he recommended an outside consultant be hired. He requested a response by the Board by June 19, 2006. N. Hanko said she thought a deadline of June 19th was too soon and asked if it could be delayed because all members of the Board should be present. J. Lloyd said the date was a suggested date, but that they would like to keep the conversation moving forward in a timely manner. K. Nitz responded to the signage comment by asking if members of the POA had attended any Sign Committee meetings. D. Danielson replied that parking signs have been brought up numerous times and would like to see that discussion continue. He would also like to revisit the signage regarding bikes and dogs. D. Little asked if the rangers were aware of any weapons that had a menacing profile without going to the use of firearms. J. Lloyd responded that there was not, a firearm is the most menacing piece of equipment possible. D. Danielson added that tazers could be considered menacing and that other agencies use both tazers and firearms. N. Hanko asked staff to provide copies to the Board of the Warner Report including the response. D. Danielson said they had included a copy with the hand-out. M. Davey thanked staff for their presentations. P. Siemens thanked staff for the presentation and said he appreciates the time and effort it took to prepare. C. Britton summarized the next steps that would occur. The Board accepted the report and there was no formal action needed. B. Agenda Item No. 2 —Authorization for Staffing a Resource Planner I as an Additional Position in the Planning Department—(Report R-06-58) M. Freeman gave background on certain planning positions and said that this new position would focus on biology. He said that by adding this position, it will increase the District's ability to manage its land. Meeting 06-12 Page 4 C. Britton stated that this position will give support to the Planner Il position. He also reviewed the current vacancies in the Planning department. S. Thielfoldt reviewed the flow-chart showing positions with"Resource" in the title. L. Hassett said he was concerned with adding another person to the Planning Department. He asked what flexibility would this position have, especially if the Resource Management staff move out of the Operations Department. M. Freeman answered that Planning and Operations staff work very closely. He added that surveys need to be done more consistently. He reviewed that Planning applies and receives county permits and Operations uses the permits to do the work. The permit process is getting more complicated and said that K. Lenington has been in reactive mode rather than proactive. L. Hassett said he appreciated these comments, but questioned outside consultants work. He was concerned that resource inventory would become a"forever" proj ect. Regarding L. Hassett's questions on grazing, M. Freeman said that the grazing assessment on the Big Dipper property is completed. Pursuant to the Coastside Protection Plan, a staff committee was formed to select a consultant to provide grazing expertise for the District. K.Nitz asked why a planner was being proposed rather than a"real" resource person to work under C. Roessler. S. Thielfoldt said that the class specification was the same as the position under C. Roessler's and that class specification is written broadly. C. Britton added that C. Roessler's position is focused on plants only and does not work on obtaining permits. P. Siemens asked if this position will "help pull the weeds," and M. Freeman said it would but the focus would be on which weeds need to be or should be pulled. S. Thielfoldt said that Management Team discusses staffing needs weekly and she added that they had surveyed staff and had a reply that they were very pleased with the hiring of the Resource Management Supervisors. M. Freeman added that the proposed new position would also take over current contract management. J. Cyr expressed concern that the working relationship will continue between Planning, Operations, and Resource Management. C. Britton said that the Resource Management program is half policy development and that staff will work on increasing collaboration between the departments. D. Little agreed that in the past there has been a disconnect between Planning and Operations and would like to see that improve. He said it is important to have a detailed resource Meeting 06-12 Page 5 inventory and suggested having a rotating expert resource staff sharing their knowledge. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board approve the authorization for staffing a Resource Planner I as an additional position in the Planning Department. M. Davey seconded the motion. Discussion: K. Nitz asked if the follow-up Resource Management meetings had been scheduled. C. Britton said that he did not have the dates yet. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. C. Agenda Item No. 3 —Authorization to Purchase One Tractor; Direct the General Manager to Execute a Purchase Agreement with Pave Machinery for One Tractor at a Total Cost Not to Exceed $70,000 - (Report R-06-56) Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to execute a Purchase Agreement with Pape Machinery for one tractor at a total cost not to exceed $70,000. N. Hanko, seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS N. Hanko said she visited Picchetti Ranch and pond and thanked R. Jurgensen for arranging the trip. She attended the Rancho trail event by the County and said the De Anza trail dedication was a nice event. She attended the Canopy Event in East Palo Alto and took pictures of the tree planting. On May 9 she attended the tour of the Hogle bench site and said that Lois' youngest son joined the tour; there were wonderful sites to choose from. K. Nitz attended the May 9 Hogle bench tour and he attended the May 5 Sierra Azul Ad Hoc Committee site tour and said the information was great. M. Davey went to the Rancho San Antonio trail opening and said the head of the Parks and Recreation Department is wonderful. She handed out envelopes for Measure B. She said the open space initiative received 62,000 signatures which they gave to the Registrar of Voters. She went to the San Mateo County Parks and Recreations event and said the Foundation raised almost $3 million. The Canopy Event was wonderful —especially planting the trees in East Palo Alto. L. Hassett attended the LFPAC meeting on May 9. He attended the Jasper Ridge meeting on May 5 where the topic was the dam on Jasper Ridge and what to do with it. He came across a pond with five red-legged frogs. He went to the City of Alameda to be part of an interview panel hiring a Planning Manager for the City and said he was contacted by Cathy Woodbury and invited to the panel. Meeting 06-12 Page 6 D. Little went to Mills Creek and took pictures. He said the wildlife at La Honda Creek Redwoods was abundant. J. Cyr attended the Sierra Azul Ad Hoc tour and thanked staff for setting it up. He went to Picchetti with N. Hanko and ran into a couple of school groups and noted that they did not have large group permits. On April 29 he went to the trail dedication for the De Anza Trail at Rancho San Antonio. On May 4 he went to the San Francisco Presidio to celebrate Holly Van Houten's marriage. C. Britton mentioned the San Jose Magazine article showcasing Patrick Congdon and himself. He went to the ribbon cutting at Rancho San Antonio. He was reminded that Ginny Babbitt was on the Stevens Creek Committee. He is on the Greenbelt Alliance task force called Infrastructure Vision 2025. S. Schectman said that she will continue working on getting clarification on the Enabling Legislation. J. Maciel said that four staff members are participating in the California Aids ride, plus his own wife had joined the team. They would be riding from San Francisco to Los Angeles for a 585 mile bicycle ride. M.Newburn said there was a fire at the former North property. The barn burned to the ground and he was working with Santa Clara County fire. They believe that juveniles were seen in the area and could be the suspects. R. Jurgensen handed out pictures of the new interpretive signs at the Daniels Nature Center which was part of a POST agreement. He also had brochures for the Special Parks District Forum and said that staff was planning a test run of the event. C.Britton presented a PowerPoint slide show of a survey and polling that was conducted by San Mateo Parks. IX. ADJOURNMENT A. Motion to Adjourn Special Meeting J. Cyr moved that the May 10, 2006 Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District be adjourned to Monday, May 15, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. to be held at 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos, California. B. At 10:05p.m., the Regular Meeting was adjourned. Lisa Zadek Recording Secretary Meeting 06-12 Page 7