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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20070124 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 07-02 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS January 24, 2007 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Jed Cyr called the special meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Larry Hassett, Ken Nitz(arrived at 5:40 p.m.), Nonette Hanko, Curt Riffle, Pete Siemens, and Mary Davey (arrived at 5:40 p.m.) Members Absent: None Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Sally Rice, Mike Williams, Michael Reeves, Duncan Simmons 11. CLOSED SESSION The Closed Session concluded at 6:05 p.m. J. Cyr stated that there were no reportable items from the Closed Session regarding Items I and 2. J. Cyr stated that at the Board's January 10, 2007 Closed Session,the Board had authorized the filing of a cross-appeal in the matter of Citizens for Responsible Open Space et al v. MROSD Case No. CIV442954. 111. STUDY SESSION A. Study Session Item I —Review, Discuss and Comment on the Invasive Species Policy-(Report(Report R-06-150) Cindy Roessler and K. Lenington presented the discussion item and it was reviewed and commented on by the Board. No formal Board action was required. Meeting 07-02 Page 2 Motion: J. Cyr motioned to table the study session to a future Board meeting. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. REGULAR MEETING IV. K. Nitz called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. Additional Staff Present: D. Topley, M.Newburn, G. Baillie, C. Carlson, C. Barresi, L. Wright, A. Correia, G. Smutnak, J. Maciel, C. Britton, D. Simmons V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none. VI. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Agenda. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VII. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR C. Riffle said he had a correction to the Minutes to change the word"desk"to "deck" on page 10 of the October 25, 2006 Board Minutes. K. Nitz said he had questions on Revised Claims 6269 & 6278, which were explained by Staff. The Revised Claims and the October 25, 2006 Minutes were incorporated into the Consent Calendar upon agreement by the Board. N. Hanko said she would abstain from Revised Claim numbers 6217 and 6292. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including the Board Minutes of October 25, 2006 Special and Regular Meetings, Agenda Item 3, Appointment of District Representatives to the Governing Board of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Financing Authority; Agenda Item 4, Approve Appointment of Director Nitz as the District's Representative to the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Board of Directors and Appointment of Two Alternates: General Manager C. Britton and Assistant General Manager S. Rice,• g g Agenda Item 5,Adopt Resolution No. 07-03 Amending the District's Conflict of Interest Code; Agenda Item 6,Authorize s n Additional Legal Fees in the Matter of Citizens for Re no si ble Open Space v. LAFCO and MidpeninsulaRegional Open Spare er to Execute is D Retainer ' t � t and Authorize the General Manager a R nc � Agreement with the Law Firm of Shute, Mihaly& Weinberger for Meeting 07-02 Page 3 this Litivation; and Revised Claims 07-02. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VIII. NEW STAFF INTRODUCTION G. Baillie introduced Leslie Wright as the new Operations Administrative Assistant. He said that Kathleen Hart was retiring after 17 years of service with the District. He gave L. Wright's education and employment experience background. The Board welcomed L. Wright. L. Wright thanked the Board and said she was happy to be working at the District. IX. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. 1 —Accept Consultant's Report in Implementation of a Digital Simulcast Two-Way Radio System for the District; Approve the Five-Year Plan for Improvement of the Radio System in Concept; Direct District Staff to Obtain More Detailed Estimates from the Consultant in Order to Present this Information to the Administration and Budget Committee as Part of the 2007/2008 Budget Preparation Process—(Report R-07-1 0) D. Topley started the presentation of the staff report by introducing Greg Forrest of Macro Corporation(Macro). D. Topley explained that staff sent out an RFP, adding that there was a committee to review the proposals and to work on the project from the beginning of the process. D. Topley described how the radio repeaters work and how staff utilizes the equipment. He said there were two major deficiencies; (1)over transmission(when two people attempt to use the radio at the same time— both unsuccessful); and(2)poor coverage (deep valley, canyons and dead spots) which mostly occurs on the portable radios which are not strong enough to reach the mountain top repeaters. D. Topley said that Macro Corporation had developed alternative solutions in their proposal to the District. The options were to remain status quo; to have a digital system; to have an analog simulcast system; or to have a digital simulcast system. The options also included enhancement alternatives. Macro Corporation recommended that the District use the digital simulcast system with mobile repeaters. D. Topley said that the cost over five years is $1,334,030, and the operating costs for digital systems are higher per year than other systems. I Meeting 07-02 Page 4 After the District received the proposal from Macro Corporation, D. Topley asked an independent third party to review the information and the third party was Santa Clara County. They said the report was excellent and they fully supported the proposed plan. N. Hanko congratulated D. Topley and Mr. Forrest on the report. She asked if it is possible to implement the plan in under five years. Mr. Forrest replied that they could implement the plan quickly; adding that when moving to a digital system,much of the District's equipment is too new to stop using yet. C. Riffle asked if there was a secondary market for the District's equipment and Mr. Forrest said there is, but it is very low cost to recoup the District's expenditure. He said that digital is newer technology and that prices will come down over time. N. Hanko said she favored options I and 2, but preferred I as there would be fewer towers. She asked if towers would need to be acquired, land purchased, or towers built. D. Topley answered that it is difficult to get licensed on a new mountain top site. He said that staff had begun to locate sites due to the coastal expansion. The District would need to get a license from FCC and they would need to get another frequency, which is very difficult as the potential to cause interference with other frequencies is high. N. Hanko said she preferred fewer towers. D. Topley said that mobile repeaters would solve the problem. C. Britton said that the District did not have its own frequency for about the first 20 years and that staff has been looking for another frequency for the past 10 years. He asked if there are more frequencies available with a digital system. Mr. Forrest said that the FCC did not make any more frequencies available, adding that in the next 10 to 15 years new frequencies may become available. C. Britton gave some reasons to recommend the 5-year plan and said he appreciated D. Topley asking for a third party to review the proposal. L. Hassett said he was concerned with Alternative B because it does not eliminate the over-transmission problem. He added that the District ability to communicate with other agencies is crucial. He asked where in the process are other agencies in upgrading their systems. Mr. Forrest said the list of agencies was taken from interviews with District Rangers and that most other agencies operate in the same spectrum; although San Mateo County operates on a different spectrum. He said the trend is going toward digital technology. Meeting 07-02 Page 5 C. Britton asked if the Sheriff wants to hear from Rangers through the radio or if they preferred to be contacted through dispatch. Mr. Forrest gave examples of how communications between agencies work. That there are common channels, but that they need to be in the same frequency bands. D..Topley followed up by saying that the District has written agreements with agencies to communicate on the radio. He said that Santa Clara County does not want to communicate on the radio. The 150 band is used by statewide fire and Santa Clara County is also on the 150 band. He added that they do not make a radio with multiple bands. Santa Clara County has developed the Bay Max system, but it is only on the Santa Clara County system. J. Cyr asked how digital technology communicates with analog systems or if that were possible. Mr. Forrest said that the equipment in the District's vehicles would be able to operate in both analog and digital mode. P. Siemens asked why radios cost more than mobile cell phones. Mr. Forrest said that the volume of sales of cell phones brings the cost down— more people use cell phones. It is a supply and demand issue. J. Cyr said he was concerned that the equipment will become obsolete in a shorter amount of time, due to the changing technology. K.Nitz added that the software defined radios and new technology will be available in 5 to 10 years, as used in the military, and is very expensive—about $10,000 per radio. Mr. Forrest said that over time, analog systems will loose technical support as digital picks up. He added that the proposed plan was flexible. Mr. Forrest said that one of the benefits of a digital system is the consistent voice quality. C. Riffle asked how cutting edge this technology is and Mr. Forrest replied that it has simulcast function and that digital technology has been around for sometime,that Motorola and Magcom (GE) led the standard since 1991, and mobile repeaters will be in the vehicles reducing the requirement for more towers. P. Siemens asked if the mobile repeaters were analog or digital. Mr. Forrest said they can work on either system. C. Riffle said that the goal of year 5 simulcast is very important. Mr. Forrest said that the District's existing equipment was not able to be converted to digital, that the repeater stations needed to be upgraded, and also be capable of simulcasting. C. Riffle asked if cost was the issue to move the project along faster to a 3-year program. L. Hassett asked if the District qualified under the homeland security list due to the airforce base on Mt. Umunhum. Mr. Forrest said they had looked into that,but the District did not quality. J. Maciel added that an Meeting 07-02 Page 6 agency must be a primary agency to quality for homeland security and that the District would need to be sponsored by a qualified agency. P. Siemens asked about the FCC requirement about narrow bands by 2009. Mr. Forrest said the target of 2009 would allow time to transition to the new equipment. P. Siemens said he, too,preferred a 3-year program rather than the proposed 5-year to implement. . P. Siemens asked how old the new radios are and J. Maciel said that a radio could be used up to 12 years. The District owned hand packs that are new and meet the new channel requirements. He added that,typically, District Rangers use radios for 5 years. He said that about half of the radios are between 7 and 15 years old. The cost of portable radios is $800.00 each and $1,200.00 each for installed radios. D. Topley suggested that Alternative B and Alternative D could be combined. K. Nitz asked why the report took so long to get to the Board since it was received by staff in May 2006. J. Maciel said that the committee had been working on drafts, that there were many questions. It was discussed in committee until it was ready for the budget process for the upcoming fiscal year. K. Nitz asked if there would be any problems using the dispatcher if the District upgrades their equipment and J. Maciel said that the City of Mountain View is also looking into upgrading their equipment. He added that the District's contract with Mountain View will continue for another 5 years. K.Nitz asked what the $65,000 per year cost was for. D. Topley replied that this would be the annual operating cost for the new system and that the District currently spends approximately$30,000 annually. K. Nitz referred to page 4 of the report and asked about the new antennas on all sites and why there was no battery back-up system. D. Topley answered that they are currently using an automatic generator system if there is a power failure. K. Nitz asked if any thought was used for solar or wind power and D. Topley said they had looked into that. M. Davey asked how staff feels about the proposal. D. Topley said that members of the field staff were included in the committee and that they agreed with the proposed alternatives. K. Nitz said that GPS can be used on mobile phones and asked if GPS could be used on the radios. Mr. Forrest said it depended on the vendor, but it can be an option. Meeting 07-02 Page 7 Discussion: K. Nitz asked what East Bay Regional Parks had done with their radio system. J. Maciel said that they have started working with a new system in their trucks. D. Topley added that the EBRP is developing a digital system, adding that Santa Clara County and Santa Clara Sheriff's departments have experience with both. N. Hanko said that hikers often get lost on trails, carrying cell phones and asked if they can use their cell phones to contact Rangers. Mr. Forrest said that this issue was not addressed and that they were not able to cover this problem as cell phones use a different frequency than radios. C. Carlson introduced himself as the new president of the Ranger group. He said that Santa Clara County Parks went to the simulcast systems two to three years ago. He emphasized that radio transmissions are critical. He said that Alternative B does not address the "over use" problem and added that staff wants direct communication with other agencies rather than going through dispatch. J. Cyr asked how soon it would be for them to use simulcast. J. Maciel said they would need to get the hardware first, build the radio equipment to build a foundation. He said they could do it in two years, but would need to hire someone to implement it. J. Cyr said he would like to see this project move forward faster. C. Barressi gave examples of poor radio service. He said he was encouraged with the discussion to get a new system up and running on a faster timeline. C. Britton said staff had looked at the economics of a faster timeline, but said it was up to the Board to tell staff what it wants and then staff can go back to the consultant. J. Cyr and L. Hassett said that they supported that idea, adding that the cost is what it is and the money spent should be looked at as an investment. Motion: L. Hassett moved that staff come back to the Board with an expedited plan. P. Siemens seconded the motion. Meeting 07-02 Page 8 Discussion: C. Britton asked Mr. Forrest how long it would take him to be able to put together other scenarios. Mr. Forrest said about two to three weeks. D. Topley said that the 5-year plan was Alternative B moving to Alternative D. If the time-line were quicker, they would be going directly to Alternative D. P. Siemens said he preferred a target of two years for simulcast and that additional towers could be considered afterwards. Vote: General Manager's Recommendation 1 was not modified. General Manager's Recommendation 2 was modified as motioned by L. Hassett. The motion passed 7 to 0. K. Nitz called for a five-minute break at this point in the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 9:35 p.m. B. Agenda Item No. 2—Appointment of Board Committee Members for 2007; Approve Appointment to the Standing, Ad Hoc and Outside Committees as Contained in this Report, Including the Determination of Compensation Status for Attendance at Board Committee Meetings (Report 07-05) N. Hanko suggested a change to the recommended Board Appointee Evaluation Committee because of the work they were already doing on the Manager's evaluation including General Manager tasks related to succession planning. K. Nitz said he would prefer a new mix of Board members on that committee. N. Hanko asked if they could compromise and let the current committee continue its work in progress. K. Nitz agreed and said he would hold off changing the members of the Board Appointee Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee until this work was concluded. S. Schectman said that C. Britton can charge the Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee with tasks. She read the Rules of Procedure regarding standing committees and added that Ad Hoc committees are established by the Board on specific matters. L. Hassett suggest that there be a separate Ad Hoc committee specific to succession planning and suggest that Board members N. Hanko, P. Siemens and J. Cyr be put on that committee. P. Siemens said that current committee should remain the same until the end of the fiscal year. Motion: J. Cyr moved to amend the recommendation for the membership of the Board Appointee Evaluation Committee and to assign the task of developing succession planning recommendations to the current committee. N. Hanko seconded the motion. This motion passed 7 to 0. Meeting 07-02 Page 9 K.Nitz asked for a motion to approve Agenda Item No. 2 as amended. J. Cyr moved the President's recommendation to approve this item as amended above. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. X. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS P. Siemens reported that he attended the January 10`h and tonight's Board meeting and they were his compensable meetings. L. Hassett reported that his compensable meetings were the January 10`h and tonight's Board meetings. C. Riffle reported that his compensable meetings were January 10`h and tonight's meeting. He said he would be attending the new Board member training and would be accompanied by C. Britton and S. Rice. N. Hanko reported that her compensable meeting was tonight's meeting. She attended the hats off ceremony for Audrey Rust at POST and said that A. Rust thanked the District for their support. J. Cyr reported that his compensable meetings were January 10`h and tonight's meeting. M. Davey reported rted that her compensable meetings were January 10`h and tonight's meeting. She said the affair for Audrey Rust was wonderful and that it was a full house—everyone wore different hats, including C. Britton wearing his frog hat. K. Nitz reported that his compensable meetings were January 101h and tonight's meeting. He said he went to Thornewood Open Space Preserve and saw the landside and took pictures. C. Britton reported that there was a Management Team retreat,that the topics for discussion were the 5-year program for the Action Plan and the possibility of expanding the Administration office space by moving to the tenant's space. He said he met with Holly van Houten regarding the Lois Hogle bench and said the ribbon-cutting would be coordinated by M. Newburn in May. He said he attended the event for Audrey Rust and that there were approximately 150 people present. He said he received a presentation from LA Consultants on the efficiency study for Operations. Today the Bay Area Open Space Council (BAOSC)met at the Baylands. He announced that the BAOSC would hold an all day event at the Presidio in San Francisco, on June 13, 2007. He said that this Thursday and i Meeting 07-02 Page 10 Friday he was going to the Special District training with S. Rice and C. Riffle and that they had planned a dinner with Ralph Heim while they were there. He said that the following Tuesday and Wednesday the Green Vision Network was having a retreat at Green Gulch Farm. S. Rice passed around a Proclamation for K. Hart for the Board to sign. She said that Friday was the going away party for M. Jesperson. She asked the Board about future meeting dates for the Administration and Budget Committee stating that all of the meetings planned would occur from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in February and March. J. Maciel announced that K. Hart's retirement luncheon is next Wednesday from Noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Rancho San Antonio field office. D. Simmons shared a picture of Shirley Dean—his friends in the Berkeley oak trees. XI. ADJOURNMENT At 10:10 p.m.,the Regular meeting was adjourned. Lisa Zadek Recording Secretary