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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20070228 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space 1:11 L4 MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 07-05 REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS February 28, 2007 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Ken Nitz called the regular meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Larry Hassett, Ken Nitz, Nonette Hanko, Curt Riffle, Pete Siemens, and Mary Davey Members Absent: None Staff Present: C. Britton, S. Schectman, E. Cuzick, M. Newburn, D. Simmons, G. Baillie, J. Maciel, C. Roessler, M. Freeman, M. Williams, K. Lenington, R. Jurgensen, D. Sanguinetti 11. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none. 111. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Agenda. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. IV. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR J. Cyr had a question about Agenda Item 11 and the Consent Calendar. J. Cyr had questions on the Revised Claims numbered 6431, 6432, 6442, 6448, and 6476. K. Nitz had questions on the Revised Claims numbered 6444 and 6475. Staff gave satisfactory explanations for Board questions on these claims. J. Cyr had a typo-correction for Agenda Item 11 asking that the word "greater"be corrected by eliminating the space between the "g"and the 'Y' in the word. The Revised Claims and Agenda Item 11 were then incorporated back into the Consent Calendar upon agreement by the Board. Meeting 07-05 Page 2 N. Hanko said she would abstain from voting on Revised Claims numbers 6417, 6482 and 6482-R. M. Davey said she would recuse herself from Revised Claims numbers 6417 and 6483-R due to her economic interest in AT&T. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including Agenda Item 10 Authorize the General Manager to Execute the Administrative Buildinp, Lease with Kaidara, Inc. for the Office Space at 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos, California that is Not Currently Used by the District; Agenda Item 11 Authorize Execution of an Amendment to Communications Site Lease with C&C Equipment at Black Mountain, Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve; Determine that the Recommended Action is Not a Project Under the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) As Set Out in this Report-, Authorize the General Manager to Execute the Amendment to the Communications Site Lease with C&C Equipment at Black Mountain, Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve; and Revised Claims 07-04. C. Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. V. BOARD BUSINESS C. Britton asked the Board to move Agenda Item 3 forward due to a guest in the audience. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board re-order the Agenda to begin the staff reports with Agenda Item No. 3. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. A. Agenda Item No. 3—Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Grant of an Easement and License to Santa Clara Valley Water District for Construction of the Guadalupe Creek Fish Passage Modifications to U- Frame Channel at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County Assessor's Parcel Number 575-04-007); Determine that the Recommendation is Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) As Set Out in the Report—(Report R- 07-33) K. Lenington presented the staff report using PowerPoint showing a map of the U-Frame channel at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. He said that the channel contains barriers to steelhead trout and he showed some representative photographs. He said that low water flow is a problem for the fish. He showed that the proposed project would allow the fish to enter District land, showing the location of Hicks Road. The construction of the project will open up the waterway for migratory fish; however, it Meeting 07-05 Page 3 may stir up mercury sediment. K. Lenington said that the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD)has agreed to certain easement requirements as outlined in the staff report under the Terms and Conditions section. C. Riffle said he was in favor of this project. He asked if the steelhead trout had been seen and K. Lenington said they had seen fish. C. Riffle asked if once the fish are up Hicks Road if there will be other obstructions. K. Lenington said that area had not been surveyed yet, but the area may be used for spawning for part of the year. C. Riffle asked if the U-Channel would be removed. K. Lenington said it would not be removed, but a ladder would be cut into the lower part of the channel to create step-pools. J. Cyr asked if the other owner, Guadalupe Waste, has a similar agreement. K. Lenington said that SCVWD is getting a similar agreement from Guadalupe Waste. K. Nitz asked what type of monitoring will occur. K. Lenington said they would monitor and determine that there have been no changes. If there is an increase in the sediment, they will repair the problem. The SCVWD will make sure their modifications are maintained. K. Lenington introduced Katherine Oven, Assistant Operations Office, from SCVWD. She said she oversees flood and wetland mitigation. She thanked the Board for going forward on this project. C. Riffle asked when the project would be completed. Ms. Oven said they need to do a formal bid process, but estimated the start time to be in August 2007. She added that all work needs to be out of the creek by October 15, 2007. N. Hanko asked Ms. Oven to let the SCVWD Board know that the District's Board send their appreciation and thanks to them. Motion: L. Hassett moved that the Board adopt a Resolution No. 07- 07 authorizing the Grant of an Easement and License to Santa Clara Valley Water District for construction of the Guadalupe Creek fish passage modifications to U-frame channel at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County Assessor's Parcel Number 575-04-007); Determine that the recommendation is categorically exempt from the California environmental quality act (CEQA) as set out in the report. M. Davey seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. Meeting 07-05 Page 4 B. Agenda Item No. 1 —Approve Providing an On-Line Store on the District's Web Site; Authorize the General Manager to Execute a Contract with T. R. Miller Co. Inc. in a Form Approved by the General Counsel, to Provide the Vendor Services as Described in this Report—(Report R-07- 031) R. Jurgensen reviewed the proposal of how the online store will work. He said that they would not be doing this for a money making endeavor, but for added recognition for the District. He introduced E. Cuzick to provide the details of the proposal. E. Cuzick described certain benefits of hosting an online store that included brand recognition providing District visibility and a connection with the public who feel they would be"contributing to a cause". E. Cuzick said staff looked for low up-front cost and that it would cost about $500 to customize the website. There would be no on-site warehouse of merchandise, so there would be low cost for maintenance over time. There would be flexibility of the product line and because there is no inventory, it is easy to swap in and out products. She said that the District would offer 20 embroidered items including t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, tote bags and blankets. The recommended company, T. R. Miller also handles Lands End merchandise. They offer good pricing and are easy to work with. They set a base price and provide quarterly reports. R. Jurgensen discussed looking at District logo options and possible changes. He showed logos from other organizations that were bolder and more inviting and suggested that the Board look at updating the District's logo because it is important for a logo to be distinctive. C. Britton said that the logo is more of a mast-head, and that it is a policy matter up to the Board. M. Davey asked if he had any ideas and C. Britton said not at this time. P. Siemens said he had talked with C. Britton about the logo representing three separate themes and he passed around a polo shirt as an example of a logo representing three themes. He asked about shipping costs and how much they would be. E. Cuzick replied that it depends on the carrier and weight of the purchase. P. Siemens asked if they planned to include selling polo shirts, because he thought they would outsell any other item. R. Jurgensen said that polo shirts were not included currently, but could be added. Meeting 07-05 Page 5 L. Hassett asked if the District users would be sent to a third-party site and asked why the District's book was not an option. E. Cuzick said it was an option, but it would cost additional money to stock the book. S. Schectman said that the District could not sell the book online due to a FPPC ruling regarding mass mailings. L. Hassett asked if a feedback page would be included and E. Cuzick said she would need to ask and would let him know. J. Cyr asked if the Board would get to see the feedback and R. Jurgensen said they could include that in the contract. S. Schectman added that the contract had not been written yet, so items can be added. N. Hanko suggested adding a calendar to show the beauty of the District. C. Riffle asked who would buy these items, adding that he was worried there was a limited buyer community. E. Cuzick said that it is a new idea and that the District would be the first of its type of agency to do this. C. Riffle said that if there are any issues, the District will be responsible and he said that the current logo is not strong. R. Jurgensen said that these were all good points. The logo research can take a long time, but it is okay to change the logo-ed items later. He said that set up costs are low, staff time is minimal and that staff would work closely with the contractor and aim to correct problems quickly, R. Jurgensen said that this is a somewhat experimental project, but there are a lot of District users. J. Cyr asked if they will include an opt-out option in the contract when it is written and R. Jurgensen said it would include that language. J. Cyr asked if the cost to change the logo were high or low. R. Jurgensen said the cost was low. M. Davey said the online store was a great idea and that they ought to do it. L. Hassett said that on the Nature Conservancy's site, they had a statement that a portion of their sales goes to them. He noted that some sites with more items for sale were the worst sites and suggested keeping the bare minimum of items for sale. N. Hanko asked if the proceeds were kept separately and if they were, could the money be put toward the development of a calendar. C. Britton said it was better to keep the income and expenses sides of the budget separate. P. Siemens asked that the contract be left open for the District to make up its own t-shirts. E. Cuzick said they would not be limited. Meeting 07-05 Page 6 K. Nitz asked S. Schectman if they needed a policy for this project and she said they did not need a policy. K. Nitz said he was worried about problem calls. E. Cuzick said they were planning on doing a beta- purchasing to test the site. K. Nitz asked how good the quality of the merchandise is and E. Cuzick said it was very sound quality. J. Cyr said the online store was worth trying. C. Britton said that E. Cuzick has done an excellent job. She looked at vendors with high success rates. He said it is an opportunity to try. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board approve providing an on- line store on the District's web site; Authorize the General Manager to execute a contract with T. R. Miller Co. Inc. in a form approved by the General Counsel, to provide the vendor services as described in this report. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 1. C. Riffle voted no on this motion. C. Motion: J. Cyr moved that Agenda Items 7, 8 and 9 be moved forward on the Agenda. N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. Agenda Item 7—Annual Progress Report on the Use of Radar on District Lands for Calendar Year 2006—(Report R- 07-13) G. Baillie started with a correction to page 2 of the report and then reviewed the statistics outlined in the staff report. C. Riffle stated that the number of hours had increased but the number of reading had decreased and asked why. M. Newburn said that when staff is out in the field, word is spread that they are there, so people obey the rules. J. Cyr asked in terms of warnings and citations, how many are given to repeat offenders. G. Baillie said they did not have a sense of that at this time, but they could add that information on future reports. D. Sanguinetti said that staff is interested in that particular statistic too. K. Nitz asked if any preserves showed an increase. G. Baillie said he could generate a report for each preserve using their database. C. Riffle asked what the goal was, asking if it was the number of violations. C. Britton said their goal was to achieve compliance with the District's rules and regulations by District users. D. Sanguinetti said they Meeting 07-05 Page 7 have accomplished this by slowing down the cyclists and preventing injury. J. Cyr added that the objection is safety and information. L. Hassett noted that 28% is a substantial number saying that is a high percentage of law breakers. C. Britton said that they are asking the bike community to help by self-regulating themselves. No Board action was required. They accepted the report and thanked staff. D. Agenda Item 8—Field Enforcement Activity for 2006 and Sixteen-Year Field Activity Summary—(Report R-07-12) G. Baillie highlighted top items emphasizing that marijuana is a serious problem. C. Riffle thanked G. Baillie for the work and asked if he had any sense of comparing accidents to the number of acres. G. Baillie said that accidents have remained flat with the increase of trails and that the trend for accidents is going down. K. Nitz asked M. Freeman how many miles of trail there are and M. Freeman replied that there are approximately 220 miles of trail. There was general discussion about after-hours activity. J. Cyr referred to Appendix B noting that dogs off-leash had jumped. G. Baillie said that Windy Hill has been a problem since Stanford closed their area that the dog users had previously used. C. Britton made a general comment that this annual report will be limited to a 10-year period in the future, eliminating Exhibit A since the items in the Exhibit are reported to the Board on a monthly basis; plus this Exhibit tends to focus on the negative. No Board action was required. They accepted the report and thanked staff. E. Agenda Item 9 Annual Progress Report on Ranger Bicycle Patrol Program for Calendar Year 2006—(Report R-07-14). G. Baillie said that there had been a jump in the number of hours the Rangers tallied for bicycle patrol, adding that it is a popular program with the public and the staff. C. Riffle asked if staff could use radar while riding the bikes. M. Newburn replied that they could, but they needed to be stationary. Meeting 07-05 Page 8 No Board action was required. They accepted the report and thanked staff. F. Agenda Item 2—Review Discuss and Comment on the Invasive Species Policy—(Report R-07-32). C. Roessler said that tonight she would be reviewing Chapter 6 of the Board's Resource Management Policy, "invasive Species Management." She went over the sections of this chapter that were being revised. She said that they were going to review this section of the Policy since not all of the Board members had a chance to comment on Chapter 6. C. Roessler then gave a brief review of Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. J. Cyr suggested a word change on page 6.3, saying that the word "prioritize" should be changed to "set priorities". K. Nitz said that the definition of IPM was not clear(page 6-2) and C. Roessler said she would work on it to make it clearer. K. Nitz asked if there was a definition of"control" saying that it needs to be defined. C. Roessler said she would look it up and can add a side-bar about what the District does to"control". K. Nitz asked why the second bullet was deleted (6.1) and C. Roessler said it better defined the following bullet. C. Roessler then reviewed and defined the bullets as asked. C. Britton thanked C. Roessler for her work and presentation. No Board action was required. They accepted the report and thanked staff. G. Agenda Item 4—Review and Approve Initial Succession Planning Process for General Manager and Direct Ad Hoc Board Appointee Evaluation Committee to Undertake Steps 1 and 2 of the Process—(Report R-07-30). J. Cyr reviewed the report and asked for questions. j L. Hassett asked why the screening process was not administrative. N. Hanko said that the Committee was not asking at this time to screen any candidates, but only to review recruitment consultants. I C. Riffle asked about the last line, "desirable candidate criteria" noting that it refers to the actual person, but N. Hanko said that they would be I Meeting 07-05 Page 9 directing the consultant to look for the qualities of the desirable candidate, adding that the recruitment plan would come back to the full Board. J. Cyr said that the Committee does not want to be exclusively involved, but that the full Board would have a connection to the process. P. Siemens said that once the recruiter is hired, the recruiter would interview each Board member individually. N. Hanko added that the recruiter would also interview staff. N. Hanko said that the Committee was only advisory. C. Riffle asked if item 1, "General Manager Job Description and District Information" is the current job description, or a job description going forward for the future candidate. S. Schectman said that the current job description would be given to the recruiter; however, the job description could be changed for recruitment purposes if the Board directed. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board approve the initial Succession Planning Process for General Manager and Direct the Ad Hoc Board Appointee Evaluation Committee to Undertake Steps I and 2 of the Process. L. Hassett seconded the motion. Discussion: J. Cyr thanked S. Schectman for helping the Committee narrow the focus on what they should be doing. N. Hanko said that this Committee is not the same as a city council committee because each Board member has its own constituency to be accountable to. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. H. Agenda Item 5—Approve Retaining Godbe Research to Perform a District Public Opinion Survey Including Follow-up Focus Groups; Authorize the General Manager to Retain Godbe Research to Conduct a Public Opinion Survey and Follow-up Focus Groups and Execute a Contract for Such Services in an Amount Not to Exceed $48.110, in a Form Subject to Approval by General Counsel—(Report R-07-36). R. Jurgensen reviewed the staff report recommending hiring Godbe Research with four main goals in mind, including; (1) measure familiarity of the District; (2) value placed on Resource Management; (3) Preserve usage; and(4) gain opinions on future funding measures. He said that they want to find out what people know about Resource Management and how important it is to them. R. Jurgensen said a new thing they will be doing is having focus groups that will consist of 8 to 10 people. They will probe into people's values. Meeting 07-05 Page 10 L. Hassett asked how the general public would be asked about different user groups. C. Britton said that the questions will go to the Legislative, Finance and Public Affairs Committee and he asked the Board to send their questions to him so that they can be considered to be included. N. Hanko asked if the Board could get their questions to the Committee by March 13'', and C. Britton suggested they e-mail their questions directly to R. Jurgensen before March 13 . M. Davey asked how the focus group members would be chosen. R. Jurgensen said they would be chosen from participants in the survey, and that the specifics will be worked out with Godbe Research. He said they want people with some level of knowledge of Resource Management. M. Davey asked how many people would be surveyed. R. Jurgensen said that approximately 600 people representing the seven District Wards and that up to 8%will be Spanish speaking, and a certain percentage will be from the San Mateo coast. C. Riffle asked if the 600 people would be representative by the seven District Wards and R. Jurgensen they would. C. Riffle asked if the three focus groups would discuss the same topic or a variety of topics. R. Jurgensen said it was up to the District to decide. C. Riffle asked if any previous questions of past polls would be included and R. Jurgensen replied that they could. C. Britton said there would be a number of standard questions to use. P. Siemens asked if there would be 80 people from each ward or if it was a random selection. R. Jurgensen said it would be random, but that some would be from the coast. The responders need to be representative of the District as a whole. P. Siemens asked where the focus groups would meet. R. Jurgensen said that they would meet at a third-party location; however, the group(s) could be observed through a two-way mirror. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board approve retaining Godbe Research to perform a District public opinion survey including follow-up focus groups; Authorize the General Manager to retain Godbe Research to conduct a public opinion survey and follow-up focus groups and execute a contract for such services in an amount not to exceed $48,110, in a form subject to approval by General Counsel. P. Siemens seconded the motion. Discussion: K. Nitz said he was worried about"apple pie" questions. He thought it was a long interview being between 8 and 12 minutes, and finally said that he was against polling. Meeting 07-05 Page 11 C. Britton said they need to get statistics and that polling gives fairly representative responses, and that this poll will give general consensus on an overall look at how people see the District. K. Nitz asked about the District's previous poll and asked if anything happened from that. C. Britton said that the previous poll was about the annexation and it did help the District determine boundaries. R. Jurgensen followed up by adding that they can ask very specific questions. J. Cyr said that the District's demographics are changing and that it is good to get an idea of what their constituency is thinking, and he added that the poll has value. Vote: The motion passed 6 to 1. K. Nitz voted against the motion. I. Agenda Item 6—Approval of the Settlement Agreement and Mutual General Release in the Matter of Fogarty v. Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and Related Cross-Complaint; Approval of Addition of the Fogarty Property (San Mateo County Assessor's Parcel Number 080-260- 050) to Coal Creek Open Space Preserve; and Approval of Settlement of Title Insurance Policy Claim with First American Title Company; Determine that the Recommended Actions are Cateizorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) As Set Out in This Report; Adopt the Resolution Approving and Ratifying the Settlement Agreement and Mutual General Release; Authorizing the Purchase of the Fogarty Property As an Addition to the Coal Creek Open Space Preserve and Authorizing the General Manager to Execute a Settlement Agreement with First American Title Company Resolving the Title Insurance Claim Submitted in This Matter, In a Form Subject to Approval by the General Counsel; Tentatively Adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan Recommendations Contained in This Report, Including Naming the Property as an Addition to Coal Creek Open Space Preserve, Indicate Intention to Dedicate the Property as Public Open Space—(Report R-07- 37)_ Motion: M. Davey moved approval of the Settlement Agreement and Mutual General Release in the matter of Fogarty v. Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and related Cross-Complaint; Approval of addition of the Fogarty Property (San Mateo County Assessor's Parcel Number 080-260-050) to Coal Creek Open Space Preserve; and approval of Settlement of Title Insurance Policy Claim with First American Title Company; Determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in Meeting 07-05 Page 12 this report; Adopt Resolution No. 07-08 approving and ratifying the Settlement Agreement and Mutual General Release; Authorizing the purchase of the Fogarty Property as an addition to the Coal Creek Open Space Preserve and authorizing the General Manager to execute a Settlement Agreement with First American Title Company resolving the Title Insurance Claim submitted in this matter, in a form subject to approval by the General Counsel; Tentatively adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan recommendations contained in this report, including naming the property as an addition to Coal Creek Open Space Preserve; Indicate intention to dedicate the property as public open space. J. Cyr seconded the motion. Discussion: C. Riffle asked about Item 3 in the Settlement Agreement and S. Schectman explained that after the lot line adjustment, the property retained by Fogarty would be one parcel. L. Hassett said he understood the settlement, but noted it was a hard fought issue with First American. S. Schectman said that staff was satisfied with the settlement amount from First American. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. X. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS P. Siemens reported that his compensable meetings are February 20th and 26 th Administration and Budget Committee meetings, the February 26'h and 27 th Sierra Azul Ad Hoc Committee meetings and tonight's Board meeting. L. Hassett reported that his compensable meeting was tonight's Board meeting. C. Riffle reported that his compensable meetings were the February 20'h and 27th Administration and Budget Committee meetings, and tonight's meeting. He met with the friends of Deer Hollow Farm. On March 5'h he would be attending the Los Altos City Council meeting and on March 6'h he would attend the Mountain View City Council meeting. N. Hanko reported that her compensable meeting was tonight's Board meeting. J. Cyr reported that his compensable meetings included the February 26th Sierra Azul Ad Hoc Committee meeting and tonight's Board meeting. He suggested that the full Board revisit the logo discussion. C. Britton said he would add it to the budget for discussion. Meeting 07-05 Page 13 M. Davey reported that her compensable meetings included the February 201h and 27 th Administration and Budget Committee meetings and tonight's meeting. She said the Hogle bench event is scheduled for May 18th and that parking may be an issue for the event. She thanked K. Nitz on using GoogleEarth. K. Nitz reported that his compensable meetings were the February 28t" Sierra Azul Ad Hoc Committee meeting and tonight's Board meeting. He said he sent an e-mail regarding Stanford putting wind speed towers at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve for staff to review. C. Britton said that D. Sanguinetti was working on it. K. Nitz said it would be nice to have the science used on District lands reported on the District's website. C. Britton pointed out several FYI's, including the piece about POST moving to their new office in Palo Alto on High Street and the District's new bill AB 697 (Ira Ruskin). He said the Grazing Policy was also in the FYI's. He said there should have been a map included with the East Palo Alto letter in the February 28t' FYI's. J. Maciel said that signs were installed at the Los Trancos trail. He said that two staff members were called to respond to a medical emergency at Highway 35 and Page Mill Road and that they were the first responders and gave CPR. M. Freeman asked the Board to give him their comments about the Grazing Policy. He referred back to the previously discussed dump clean-up and said that staff will clean up as much as possible before the guardrail is installed. X1. ADJOURNMENT At 10:55 p.m., the Regular meeting was adjourned. Lisa Zadek Recording Secretary