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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20071010 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) F Meeting 07-20 REGULAR and SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS October 10, 2007 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President K. Nitz called the Special Meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Mary Davey, Ken Nitz and Larry Hassett Members Absent: Pete Siemens, Curt Riffle Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Duncan Simmons, Michael Reeves, Matt Freeman, Andrea Christensen, David Sanguinetti, Rudy Jurgensen 11. CLOSED SESSION The Board adjourned to Closed Session at 6:35 p.m. and concluded at 7:30 p.m. At the conclusion, K. Nitz publicly stated that there were no reportable items from the Closed Session regarding Item 1. REGULAR MEETING 111. K. Nitz called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. Additional Staff Present: Gordon Baillie IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Walter Moore, Peninsula Open Space Trust, announced the recent purchase of the 1,047- acre Mindego Ranch property. He brought along a picture of the site and he pointed out the area on the wall map. He said this property is part of the view-shed for Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, and said there would be an article about the property in the San Jose Mercury newspaper. Meeting 07-20 Page 2 V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: J. Cyr moved to adopt the Agenda. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 to 0. VI. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR N. Hanko said she would voluntarily recuse herself from voting on Revised Claim numbers 7599, 7689, 7692-R, and 7693-R. M. Davey stated that she would recuse herself from voting on Revised Claim number 7599, 7692-R and 7693-R. S. Schectman pointed out that if N. Hanko voluntarily recused herself from Revised Claims 7599, 7692-R and 7693-R, there would not be enough votes to pay those particular bills. N. Hanko withdrew her voluntary recusal from Revised Claims numbered 7599, 7692-R and 7693-R; her recusal of Revised Claim 7689 remained. K. Nitz said he would remove Agenda Item 3 and Agenda Item 4 from the Consent Calendar for discussion. K. Nitz asked for further information on Revised Claim numbers 7605 and 7683 which staff explained to his satisfaction. C. Britton pointed out that Revised Claim numbers 7617 through 7626 showed the breakdown of the First Bankcard charge amounts. He also said that he was impressed with the work the Ferguson Group (Revised Claim number 7683) was doing for the District. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including the Revised Claims 07-16. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 on Revised Claim number 7599-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. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. I — Proposed Retention of Consultant to Redesign the District's Loy,o• Concur with the Legislative, Funding and Public Affairs Committee's (LFPAC) Recommendations• Concur with LFPAC's Recommendation that Mortensen Design be Selected by the General Manager to Redesign the District Logo; Accept LFPAC's Recommendation of a Process for Involving Staff and Providing the Board with a Comprehensive Redesign Process— (Report R-07- 193 Meeting 07-20 Page 3 N. Hanko presented the Committee's report and said that she is satisfied with the Committee's recommendations to redesign the District's logo. K. Nitz asked why Mortensen Design was chosen over the other consultant, and asked if there were examples he could see. N. Hanko said the consultant showed the Committee samples of his work. L. Hassett explained that the Committee wanted to be careful not to broadcast possible logo designs. J. Cyr added that at this stage they were only choosing the logo designer, not the actual logo. He said the Committee had a split decision, so a third firm was asked to submit further examples. He said the Committee was unanimous in its recommendations of Mortensen Design. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board accept the Legislative, Funding and Public Affairs Committee's recommendations that Mortensen Design be selected by the General Manager to redesign the District logo and to accept LFPAC's recommendation of a process for involving staff and providing the Board with a comprehensive redesign process. The motion passed 5 to 0. B. Agenda Item No. 2 —Review and Approve Attached Process and Timeline for General Manager Recruitment• Direct Ad Hoc Board Appointee Evaluation Committee to Work with Peckham & McKenney as Needed to Facilitate the Attached Recruitment Process and to Return to the Full Board for Approval at Decision-making Steps as Set Out in the Process—(Report R-07-99) J. Cyr said the Committee was concerned about timeliness and effectiveness. The Committee developed a two-month timeline and said that it was the experience of the consultant that the most qualified candidates do not turn in their resumes until the due date. N. Hanko said she had asked the consultant about the holiday timing. The consultant said that it is a time of the year that people make decisions and discuss changes with their families. C.Britton said that the District has used Peckham & McKenney with prior recruitments. He said the consultant would post notices with networks, other agencies, and through advertisements in Jobs Available and Craigslist. K. Nitz asked if the job advertisements would be national. C. Britton said it would, but that the consultant said the candidate will probably come from California or west coast area. He said that she would be given a list of people he thinks should be contacted. K. Nitz asked if they could extend the filing date deadline by one week because of his concern about the holidays. C. Britton advised that they should keep the deadline and trust the process. J. Cyr agreed that the Board should trust the person hired to do the work. He said that the Committee asked that all Meeting 07-20 Page 4 applications be available to the Board for their review. He said that the consultant will not be limiting the Board members in the process, but everyone does not need to cull through all of the applications. M. Davey said that each Board member would be meeting individually with Bobbie Peckham. K. Nitz asked why the reference and background checks are done after an offer is made to a candidate. S. Schectman explained that the offer comes first because the candidate expects confidentiality; the job offer is contingent on references and background checks; and the consultant will want the Board to be comfortable with the process and the candidate. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board approve the process and timeline for General Manager recruitment; Direct Ad Hoc Board Appointee Evaluation Committee to work with Peckham & McKenney as needed to facilitate the recruitment process and to return to the full Board for approval at decision-making steps as set out in the process. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 1. K. Nitz voted against the motion because he did not agree with the proposed timeline. C. Agenda Item No. 3 —Renewal of Lease and Management Agreement with Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) for the Former Gottsleben/Sonntag Property (Long Ridge Open Space Preserve) and Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from CEQA as Set Out in the Report; Authorize the General Manager to Sign the Lease and Management Agreement Renewal with POST and, Subject to Approval by the General Manager and General Counsel, Approving Minor Revisions Which do not Substantially Change any Material Term of the Agreement—(Report R-07-102) K. Nitz said that he withdrew this report from the Consent Calendar because he had a question about the rent payment, C. Britton said that POST was responsible for paying the road assessment, and S. Schectman added that the amount was consideration for the road management cost. K. Nitz said it looked like the District is paying two entities. Motion: K. Nitz moved approval for the Renewal of Lease and Management Agreement with Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) for the former Gottsleben/Sonntag property (Long Ridge Open Space Preserve) and determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from CEQA, as set out in the report; Authorize the General Manager to sign the Lease and Management Agreement Renewal with POST and, subject to approval by the General Manager and General Counsel, approving minor revisions which do not substantially change any material term of the Meeting 07-20 Page 5 Agreement. N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 to 0. D. Agenda Item No. 4—Off-Leash Dog Policy Discussion; Refer the Development of an Off-Leash Dog Policy for the District's Open Space Preserves to the Use and Management Standing Committee—(Report R-07-104) C. Britton said that he spoke with Director Riffle about this item. He said that Director Riffle wants this discussion to go to the Use and Management Committee. K. Nitz, who withdrew this item from the Consent Calendar, said that he spoke with C. Riffle too and said there is no policy for off-leash dog areas; although it is mentioned in the Master Plan and asked for each Board member's opinions. C. Britton mentioned the attached article to Director Riffle's report. He said that Director Riffle wants to "head off" requests and be in control of this issue. C. Britton said there is a matrix that District staff and the Use and Management Committee can look at to determine if areas could be designated as off-leash dog areas. K. Nitz asked that each Board member state their thoughts on this issue. N. Hanko said that she would like to revisit the dogs on leash policy again. She said she has received requests from the Coastal area public about the District's dog policy. She said she was not in favor of dogs off-leash. J. Cyr said his view was to look at this issue on a global sense for the whole District. He said the monthly reports show violations of the District's leash ordinance. M. Davey said that they should let the land tell them what its uses should be. She said that any land that is close to an urban center could be considered for on-leash uses. She said she did not see any area where off-leash could be considered, but they need to let the land tell them what the use should be. She said she is a dog lover and had voted for leash use, but her overall focus is to protect the land. L. Hassett said he agreed with Director Riffle and that this issue has come up because of towns limiting their uses of areas in their jurisdiction. He said the District has made strong guidelines that are difficult to maintain. Cities are starting to re-address dog use areas. He said there are enclosed areas with fencing, but they are small. He said he is not a fan of off-leash areas and wished cities would take care of this issue. He said he would rather protect wildlife. K. Nitz said he was conflicted. He likes Pulgas Ridge's off-leash area, but it is a degraded area that is suitable for this use. He said the District's responsibility is to preserve land. Meeting 07-20 Page 6 Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board refer the development of an Off-Leash Dog Policy for the District's open space preserves to the Use and Management Standing Committee. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 to 0. VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS N. Hanko said her only compensable meeting was tonight's meeting (10/10). She said she would be attending the State Park Foundation event that is an annual event. She said that this year it would be held at General Vallejo's house. J. Cyr said that his only compensable meeting was tonight's meeting (10/10). He said that on September 291h he went on the Ridge Trail "cruz" that is a 23-mile walking event. This event included trail users including equestrians, bicycles and hikers. C. Britton told the Board that this would probably turn into an annual event. J. Cyr said he received many compliments about District staff during the hike. On October 5th he said he hiked along the Ridge Trail at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. On October 7th he attended the Deer Hollow Farm Volunteer Recognition Event. He said that C. Riffle also attended this event. He said that Jessica has done a terrific job since Mary left Deer Hollow Farm. L. Hassett said that tonight was his only compensable meeting (10/10). He gave further information about the tank tour on November 4 1h and said that it will be held between 1:30pm and 4:30pm. He said that all Board members were invited and that there was now a waiting list. He mentioned the South Skyline Newsletter and said that the Bat Lady will be giving a talk on October 27 at the next South Skyline meeting. He highly recommended the Bat Lady's talk. K. Nitz said that his only compensable meeting was tonight's meeting (10/10). He asked about a fax referring to tree removal. R. Jurgensen replied that nothing had been decided yet. D. Sanguinetti said that they were leaving the trees on the site. M. Davey said that tonight washer only compensable meeting (10/10). She gave a review of her attendance at the 25h meeting of the Land Trust Alliance held in Colorado this year. She gave a thorough and complete description of the conference and the people who attended. C. Britton pointed out several items in the Board's FYI packets, including the quarterly report from the District's Ombudsman; the revised schedule of Board meetings (both Regular and Special meetings); a letter to Philip Cohn regarding the Argentine Ant proposal stated he gave Mr. Cohn a list of possible projects in which the District is interested. C Britton also gave information about the San Mateo sales tax that three of the Board members have put work into. Meeting 07-20 Page 7 S. Schectman gave an update on the Court of Appeal case and handed out copies of the filed Amicus brief for each Board member. G. Baillie handed out CDs from the Russian Ridge burn. D. Sanguinetti said that the City of Palo Alto was having a training burn at Monte Bello near the Laurie Stables this year. J. Cyr suggested that they invite neighbors to be present for the bum because it is a good public relations opportunity. R. Jurgensen reviewed a recent news story that occurred in the Saratoga Gap Open Space Preserve area. He said that there would be media training for both the Board and staff in December. IX. ADJOURNMENT The Regular meeting adjourned at 9:1 Op.m. Lisa Zadek Recording Secretary