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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20070926 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 07-19 REGULAR and SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS September 26, 2007 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL Vice President P. Siemens called the Special Meeting to order at 6: 03 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Nanette Hanko, Curt Riffle, Pete Siemens, and Mary Davey. Members Absent: Ken Nitz and L. Hasselt Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Duncan Simmons, Michael Williams, Michael Reeves 11. CLOSED SESSION P. Siemens stated that there were no reportable items from the Closed Session regarding Items 1, 2, 3 , 4 and 5. REGULAR MEETING 111. P. Siemens called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. Additional Staff Present: Camille Tavlian, David Sanguinetti, Kirk Lennington, Matt Freeman, Stella Cousins, and Rudy Jurgensen, Tina Hugg, Vicky Gou. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none. Meeting 07-19 Page 2 V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: C. Riffle moved to adopt the Agenda. M. Davey seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 to 0. VI. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR C. Britton requested that the Board table the Minutes of July 25, 2007 and said they would be resubmitted for approval at a following Board meeting. J. Cyr gave a correction to the Written Communication to staff. N. Hanko said she would voluntarily recuse herself from voting on Revised Claim number 7566-R. M. Davey stated that she would recuse herself from voting on Revised Claim number 7566-R. S. Schectman pointed out that if N. Hanko voluntarily recused herself from Revised Claim 7566-R, there would not be enough votes to pay that particular bill. N. Hanko withdrew her voluntary recusal. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including the Revised Claims 07-15. C. Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 on Revised Claim number 7566-R with one recusal, and passed 5 to 0 on the remaining Revised Claims 07-15. The Board Minutes dated July 25, 2007 were tabled and not included in the vote. VII. NEW STAFF INTRODUCTIONS M. Freeman introduced Tina Hugg, Planner 11. The Board welcomed her to the District. T. Hugg said she was happy to be working at the District. R. Jurgensen introduced Vicky Gou, Website Coordinator within the Public Affairs Department. The Board welcomed her to the District and told her that she should expect Board inquiries about the Website updates. V. Gou said she looked forward to working at the District. VIII. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. I —Adopt the Revised Good Neighbor Policy; As a Result of the Successful Completion of its Assigned Task, Discontinue the Good Neighbor Ad Hoc Committee—(Report R-07-96). R. Jurgensen presented the staff report. He said that the Committee had reviewed the suggested revisions from the February 7, 2007 Special Board meeting that had been held in Half Moon Bay, CA. He told the Board that staff had mailed out about 2,000 notices and placed three newspaper ad notices for tonight's meeting. Meeting 07-19 Page 3 R. Jurgensen highlighted the revisions of the policy. He said that the Board would be committed to have the policy reviewed annually at a public meeting. It was anticipated that this would be done by LFPAC Committee. C. Britton said that he had met with L. Hassett and P. Siemens about the policy and had addressed their questions. Legal counsel had reworded the language and P. Siemens said he was comfortable with going forward with the policy. N. Hanko asked if the brochure was ready to be produced and distributed. R. Jurgensen said that the brochure was not yet developed and that it would take approximately a half-year to produce. N. Hanko questioned whether the Ad Hoc Committee should be disbanded because the brochure is not ready. C. Britton replied that the brochures are not generally sent to committee. Staff can send drafts of the brochure to the full Board for comment. M. Davey said that this policy is a good document because it is inclusive. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the revised Good Neighbor Policy and to discontinue the Good Neighbor Ad Hoc Committee. J. Cyr seconded the motion. Discussion: C. Riffle said he was in favor of the policy and that he agreed with M. Davey. He asked if the website will be used to publish the policy and if it will be able to be "pulled out". R. Jurgensen said that the policy would be published on the District's website. C. Riffle asked how the Board and staff will know if they are being good neighbors. R. Jurgensen said that implementing the policy will show if they are being good neighbors. S. Schectman reminded the Board about the Ombudsman as a resource. N. Hanko recalled the Open Space Conference and the tours of District lands and how other agency staff had asked about the District policy. She said she would give C. Britton the names of those staff so that they can receive copies of the policy. She added that the Board should continue to accept suggestions for changes from the public. She asked if staff would keep the suggestions for the annual review of the policy. C. Britton said that over the year, if comments were received, staff would keep a file with the suggestions and include them with the annual review of the policy. N. Hanko reiterated that the public is the most affected by the policy. R. Jurgensen said that the Public Affairs department would keep the file for any policy suggestions. Terry Gossett, 193 Reef Point, Moss Beach, CA, presented some background on the meetings he has attended. He asked what a good neighbor is and said that there are an abundant range of laws Meeting 07-19 Page 4 from the different agencies in the coastal area. He said that the final EIR had received about 220 public comments and said he thought that the lack of people in tonight's audience might mean that the public is waiting for answers and that they have not received answers, so they did not want to attend this meeting. He thanked the Board for listening. Richard Gieaer, 714 E. Chatedon Road, Palo Alto, CA, said his major concern was about fire protection. He said there is no planning for fires—no fire breaks or hydrants. He said the District should work with the City of Palo Alto to build a fire station in the Monte Bello area, He noted that Palo Alto has responsibility for installing hydrants, but that the District should put in the water lines to access water tanks on District land. He said that the District should have more Rangers trained for fire protection. P. Siemens said that the fire protection issue is a separate policy issue. C. Britton said that there would be a Special Meeting of the Board of Directors on November 6 to discuss wildland fire. D. Sanguinetti addressed Mr. Gieger's issues regarding the District's preparedness for fire protection. He said that the Rangers are trained in fire protection and that the District is a member of the Fire Safe programs in both San Mateo County and Santa Clara County and that they train regularly. He said there are extensive fire breaks on District property and that they work with Palo Alto's station no. 8 at Foothill Park. The District provides each Ranger with a truck with a I 00-gallon fire pumper and 10- gallon foam. Staff is trained 36 hours each year. which is the national standard. The District owns a 1,800-gallon water truck, which is often used by other agencies. He added that the District Open Space Technicians are given the choice to train as optional fire fighters and stated that all DST's are currently involved in the District's fire protection program. Vote: The motion passed 5 to 0. B. Agenda Item No. 2 —Authorization to Amend Contract with Balance Hydrologics, Inc., to Provide Additional In-Stream Sediment and Stream Gage Monitoring Services at El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve; Authorize the General Manager to Amend the Contract with Balance Hydrologics, Inc., in the Amount of$25,000for a Total Authorization Amount Not to Exceed $133,256—(Report R-07-91) K. Lennington presented the staff report stating that the recommendation was to amend the contract for sediment monitoring at El Corte de Madera Creek Open Meeting 07-19 Page 5 Space Preserve. The contractor has completed three years of monitoring and they are requesting two additional years of monitoring. K. Lennington described the different types of sediment monitoring. He said that estimating sediment is complicated and they develop correlations to gage the sediment and develop a rating curve (he showed an example graph of the rating curve). He said that they now have a good base flow data set on stored sediment. The contract amendment is to gather further data. P. Siemens asked if staff or the contractor will do V-star again this year. K. Lennington said no and that it is their opinion to do a subset in pools, but that there is not a lot of value in doing the V-star. He said that staff will monitor six pools, not the contractor. P. Siemens asked if the contractor had trained staff. K. Lennington said they had and that M. Baldzikowski had received the training, but the specialized equipment is very expensive and the contractor already owns the equipment. C. Riffle asked why the monitoring is being done. K. Lennington said that they have been able to assess the effectiveness of monitoring over time. The value is to accurately assess how El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve is being managed with the amount of sediment in the San Gregorio Creek Watershed area. He said that the District's data is very useful. K. Lennington said it is staff's goal and hope that the monitoring will be done in- house. C. Riffle asked if staff is working in any other streams. K. Lennington said that people like knowing about water flow, but that the District is only responsible for 2%of the out-flow. It would be valuable to monitor other streams; however, there are no staff resources available. J. Cyr said that training staff to verify the sediment in the pools is valuable and asked when the monitoring occurs. K. Lennington said that the staff monitors the pools in the summer months. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board authorize amending the contract with Balance Hydrologics, Inc., to provide additional in-stream sediment and stream gage monitoring services at El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve; Authorize the General Manager to amend the contract with Balance Hydrologics, Inc., in the amount of$25,000 for a total authorization amount not to exceed $133,256. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 to 0. C. Agenda Item No. 3—Authorization to Amend a Contract with Save Associates in an Amount Not to Exceed $14,000, for a Total Authorization Amount Not to Meeting 07-19 Page 6 Exceed $39,000 to Provide Conservation Grazing Planning Services; Authorize the General Manager to Amend the Contract with Sage Associates for Preparation and Administration of Grazing Plans, Training of District Staff, and Related Support of Conservation Grazing Activities on District Lands—(Report R-07-97). S. Cousins presented the staff report and gave background information on the grazing plans. She also reviewed the work of Sage Associates for the District over the previous year. N. Hanko asked if staff is satisfied with their work. S. Cousins said that staff was very happy with their work. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board authorize to amend a contract with Sage Associates in an amount not to exceed $14,000 for a total authorization amount not to exceed $39,000 to provide conservation grazing planning services; Authorize the General Manager to amend the contract with Sage Associates for preparation and administration of grazing plans, training of District staff, and related support of conservation grazing activities on District lands. N. Hanko seconded the motion. Discussion: C. Riffle said that he was in favor of this contract. He asked if Sage Associates would evaluate the District's program. S. Cousins said they were on-call experts and that they will be available to assist. She said the Grazing Management Plan will serve as the template for staff to follow. C. Britton said that C. Roessler would oversee the plan. P. Siemens asked if a grazing expert would be hired. C. Britton said that when there is more land they will ultimately hire someone. C. Riffle asked if Sage Associates would help staff with Driscoll. S. Cousins said that Sage Associates has already provided suggestions. Vote: The motion passed 5 to 0. D. Agenda Item No. 4—Approval of Application to the Habitat Conservation Fund Program for Fundinp,Assistance to Purchase the Peninsula Open Space Trust Blue Brush Canyon and Lobitos Ridge Properties and a Portion of the University of California Elkus 4H Ranch Property as an Addition to Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve (San Mateo County Assessor's Parcel Numbers 066-230-060, 066-230-030, and a Portion of 066-200-070); Determine that the Recommended Action is Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), As Set Out in this Report•, Adopt the Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (District), Approving Meeting 07-19 Page 7 the Application for Grant Funds from the Habitat Conservation Fund Program to Purchase the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) Blue Brush Canyon and Lobitos Ridge Properties and a Portion of the University of California(UC) Elkus 4H Ranch Property as an Addition to Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve— (Report R-07-95) Motion: M. Davey moved for Board approval of application to the Habitat Conservation Fund Program for funding assistance to purchase the Peninsula Open Space Trust Blue Brush Canyon and Lobitos Ridge Properties and a portion of the University of California Elkus 4H Ranch Property as an addition to Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve (San Mateo County Assessor's Parcel Numbers 066-230-060, 066-230-030, and a Portion of 066- 200-070); Determine that the recommended action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as set out in this report; Adopt Resolution No. 07-22 of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (District), approving the application for grant funds from the Habitat Conservation Fund Program to purchase the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) Blue Brush Canyon and Lobitos Ridge Properties and a portion of the University of California(UC) Elkus 4H Ranch property as an addition to Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. J. Cyr seconded the motion. Discussion: C. Riffle asked why the Anadromous Salmonids and Trout Habitat category was chosen out of the seven categories. M. Williams answered that the District has had the most success with this category and that it best fit the application. C. Britton added that the District has an excellent track record with this category. Vote: The motion passed 5 to 0. VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS C. Riffle said his only compensable meeting was tonight's meeting (9/26). He said he attended the Golden Spike ceremony and he commended staff and N. Hanko, adding that he saw a great picture of her taken at the ceremony. He said he also attended the Volunteer Recognition event and that everyone did a good job. He went to the Committee for Green Foothills event with other Board members. He said that he has received some topics for discussion at the workshop, but that he was still waiting for input from J. Cyr and P. Siemens. He attended the Volunteer Ad Hoc meeting on October 5 (non-compensable). He said he would be attending the Deer Hollow Farm event on October 7 and that J. Cyr will be attending this event too. He said he will not be at the October 12 Board meeting, but will be going to the Grand Canyon Trust (C. Britton noted that there would be two important items on the October 12 meeting.). C. Riffle said that Portola Valley is inquiring about a dog area at Windy Hill and that Rancho San Meeting 07-19 Page 8 Antonio may receive a request from Los Altos for an off-leash dog area. He wondered if off-leash dog parks belong on city land, not open space. C. Riffle asked if there would be a half-year review of District progress. C. Britton said that they no longer do this, but that the Administration and Budget Committee will meet and review the budget to date, which will return to the Board for any adjustments. M. Davey said her only compensable meeting was tonight's Board meeting (9/26). She attended the Open Space Council meeting as the only District representative and she said i there were two excellent presentations: (1) Save the Bay, and (2) BCDC which discussed why the bay is saved as it is. She said she attended the Golden Spike ceremony and the Volunteer Recognition event adding that she enjoyed C. Britton's presentation. She attended a Docent party at Shoop Park and said it was a delightful evening that included a talk by an author. She attended a League of Conservation Voters event. She announced that the Committee for Green Foothills event made just under $100,000.00. N. Hanko said her compensable meetings were the LFPAC meeting on September 14,the Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee meeting on September 18, and tonight's Board meeting (9/26). J. Cyr stated that his compensable meetings included the LFPAC meeting on September 14, the Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee meeting on September 18, and tonight's Board meeting (9/26). He said in August he had mentioned the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority education program and tonight he gave R. Jurgensen a brochure about this program. He said he attended the Ridge Trail Council meeting on September 13. He attended the Golden Spike ceremony and said it was a wonderful event. He said he hiked the new trail the previous Friday and said it was approximately a 10-1/2 mile hike down to Arastradero. It was steep terrain, beautiful, and he shared a photo he took of the new special bridge. He commended staff on the lay out of the trail and gave pial acknowledgement to C. Beckman, adding that Gene Sheehan said he [C. Beckman] "has a good eye for dirt". On September 23, he went to the Committee for Green Foothills event. He attended the September 24 Docent meeting. He said he would be volunteering on the Ridge Trail crew on the upcoming Saturday. He acknowledged the work the Public Affairs team had accomplished this month and said that they have done an incredible job. P. Siemens said his compensable meetings are the September 18 Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee meeting and tonight's Board meeting (9/26). He said he attended the Staff Appreciation event, the Golden Spike ceremony and the Volunteer Recognition event. C. Britton pointed out three items in the FYI's, including a schedule of upcoming Board meetings. He mentioned that the holiday schedule will include December 31"this year. He pointed out a memo from C. Roessler discussing the discovery of a new weed at Mt. Umunhum. He mentioned the Golden Spike event. He said he worked with C. Cleve and that she did a fantastic job helping him prepare his presentation for the Volunteer Recognition event. He said he was planning on giving a similar talk at the Staff Recognition event; however, the weather caused him to reschedule. He said he was on an Meeting 07-19 Page 9 interview panel for Santa Clara County Parks on September 21. He said that he met with the Peninsula Work Group in San Mateo County on September 24 and that this group is looking at several projects. P. Siemens said that he would not be attending the October 24, 2007 Board meeting. IX. ADJOURNMENT The Regular meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Lisa Zadek Recording Secretary