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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20071212 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 07-27 REGULAR and SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS December 12, 2007 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President K. Nitz called the special meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. Members Present: Ken Nitz, Jed Cyr,Nonette Hanko, Curt Riffle, Pete Siemens, L. Hassett, and Mary Davey Members Absent: none Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Mike Williams, Duncan Simmons, Kirk Lenington, Sandy Sommer, Rudy Jurgensen, David Sanguinetti, Michael Reeves 11. CLOSED SESSION At 6:07 p.m., closed concluded and K. Nitz stated there no reportable items from the Closed Session regarding Items I and 2. 111. STUDY SESSION K. Nitz called the study session to order at 6:07p.m. Additional Staff Present: Gregory Sam, Camille Tavlian, Lisa Infante, Cindy Roessler, A. Presentation of a Draft Resource Management Policy, Ecological Succession K. Lennington introduced the presenter as Dr. Grey Hayes, the Coastal Training Program Coordinator for Elkhorn Slew National Estuary Research Reserve, located in the Santa Cruz and Monterey County area. Dr. Hayes gave some personal background information about his work. He said there are basic rules with ecological succession. He gave a PowerPoint slide Meeting 07-27 Page 2 presentation. He said he would first discuss ecological disturbance and he showed pictures of large fires at Yellowstone National Park. He said that fire is the ecological disturbance most familiar. He said that fire is rejuvenating to eco- systems, although they are destructive. He showed an eco-system not adaptive to fire at Joshua Tree Redwoods. Fires were not frequent in the dessert,but now that more people are around, fires occur more often. He said that when fire is not frequent enough, immense fuel loads occur, so the fear is that the fire will be so hot that it will cook the ground and sterilize the soil. This is what happens if fire is suppressed for years and years in fire-adapted eco-systems. Dr. Hayes reviewed other types of disturbances and said that another disturbance is grazing. He said almost all grasslands are grazed by something. He said the type and kind of grazing need to be considered. He said that frost is a disturbance. Frost breaks off limbs and kills off pests. He said there is less frost these days. He said that floods are a disturbance along rivers and he said many species are disappearing due to flood events. Wind is a disturbance, and soil disturbance is an issue for some mammals. Dr. Hayes said he would focus his talk on fire and grazing and their role in shaping the grasslands in the District's area. He said that the grasslands in this area have been around for about 2 million years. This area has not glaciated, so the soils are older than most soils in the United States. In the past,there have been lightening strikes that have started fires. The area is getting drier now than it was 20,000 years ago. The fire interval in this area is between 80 and 100 years. He said in southern California the interval is 25 years between fires. He said that about 10,000 years ago something changed. Where humans arrived fires occurred more frequently. Fires changed the eco-system. Dr. Hayes reviewed a similar timeline for grazing. The grasslands evolved with grazing. He said there were many types of grazing animals in California that there was an evolution of very large predators. About 10,000 years ago most of these predators died or disappeared and what remained are mammals familiar today, including tule elk and pronghorn antelope. He said deer are more related to shrub-land, not grassland, so they are not included in this scenario. During the transition between a lot of animals to a few amount, there was less grazing pressure on the grasslands. About 150 years ago the grazing animals came on to the grassland, so it disturbed the grassland and caused species demise. About 40 years ago, people have started removing all grazing from grasslands. He showed a series of pictures showing time series of an area that has been protected. He said that when grazing is removed from grasslands, then shrubbery increases and takes over the land. Livestock aren't needed for grazing. Elk do a very good job of grazing the land and keeping shrubs out. He discussed what is and what is not ecological succession. He showed a diagram of a pond, becoming a meadow, then a shrub land, then a forest and said that is natural succession. He showed other examples. He said that fire is natural succession. He showed r Meeting 07-27 Page 3 photos of areas that had fire and how certain plants germinate only from the chemicals from fire. He said that eventually trees start to grow in chaparral country. He showed species of plants that are fire dependent. He said that manzanita plants are a fire dependent species. He said that seeds last in the soil between 100 to 200 years and await a fire to germinate. He said that without grazing the chaparral would continue, but a problem is that homes are built near grasslands that make fire dangerous. He showed species that are grassland dependent and they included raptors, meadow larks, ground squirrels, badgers, and burrowing owls. There are about 80 grassland dependent plants. Dr. Hayes showed maps of"years since fire". He said that Santa Cruz County has a prescribed burn program. He said they have gotten their costs down and are burning more frequently. He said that the Nature Conservancy in the Central Valley has had intense grazing studies. Dr. Hayes showed a map of District lands and described the different areas. The first area he highlighted the coastal area. He said the coastal area is the most sensitive area. He said that the closer to the coast the more diversity of plant species. The coastal grasslands are the most species-rich in North America. He said these areas are real conservation priorities to protect. He showed three large areas where the District could fight shrub invasion. He suggested that its good to have meetings with neighbors who share areas to develop discussions about maintaining the grasslands. Dr. Hayes said that certain flowers, which support important pollinators, and native grasses start to disappear without disturbances, so he said there is a certain preservation aspect to consider. Regarding safety, he said that shrubs burn hotter and have longer flame lengths, so shrub invasion is a fire hazard. K. Nitz said he thinks the aesthetics of the properties are areas that the public does not see and said there are locations not on the coast that are more aesthetically necessary to be modified. Dr. Hayes said that they are still trying to figure out what "coastal"means. They are working on defining an ecological coastal zone, where the fog moves in. K. Nitz said that the District recommends seeding after a burn. Dr. Hayes said he did not recommend seeding in general. He said there are existing species waiting to come up through the soil, which were waiting for triggers to grow. Some of the triggers include charring, and light, and temperature. Seeding could stop the triggering of germination. K. Nitz asked if there have been studies about seeding and not seeding, and burning and not burning. Dr. Hayes said there have been extensive studies in southern California. Meeting 07-27 Page 4 K. Nitz asked if Dr. Hayes was familiar with the work the GGNRA is doing using large machinery to remove shrubbery. Dr. Hayes said he was not familiar with that specific project, but he said that he has spoken with chaparral ecologists throughout California about mechanical clearing versus burning. He said that they are waiting for some data to come from Fort Ord, where the military is doing mechanical treatment. He said that if the mechanical treatment of an area leaves enough fuel to burn, then it might work in the ecological germination process. C. Riffle said that certain areas of land are not safe to bum and he gave Windy Hill as an example, and he asked if there were any suggestions. Dr. Hayes said he would need more information about the area. C. Riffle asked if Dr. Hayes would agree that if fire was not an option, then mechanical removal of the shrubs is okay. Dr. Hayes agreed. C.Riffle said the District does not have enough money to manage all of the grassland areas suggested in the staff report. He asked if there was an estimate of what should be preserved and how much it would cost. Dr. Hayes replied that with understanding how to manage, the economics have gotten better and he gave State Parks as an example. L. Hassett said he had a concern that prescribed bums, we have discovered from grasslands that native seeds are no longer viable, and he said that some kind of seeding should be considered. Dr. Hayes said that he could be correct that there are only a few plants left per square meter, at least what is seen above ground. But, he said his experience shows otherwise through some of the work he has had with prescribed bums and grazing and mowing on various grasslands in the area. He said that in some cases it is a matter of having patience. L. Hassett said his other comment was the aesthetic aspect is generational. The San Francisco watershed lands were all grasslands when Portola came across them. He said that today nobody knows that and no one would suggest returning those lands back to grasslands at this point. Dr. Hayes responded by saying that recently there is a new concept in the ecological community called"shifting baselines", people expect certain things of the landscape because they do not know what was there before. N. Hanko said her impression was similar to L. Hassett's. She said she was satisfied with Dr. Hayes' answer to L. Hassett. J. Cyr commented that humans interacting with any landscapes are in effect gardening. He said it is up to them what type of garden they want to have and gave some examples. M. Davey asked if there has ever been an exotic grass that has come in, that is not native, and has done better for the soil and the habitat. Dr. Hayes said that it depends on the soil and the habitat, and it depends what"better" is. He said that Meeting 07-27 Page 5 "better" to many people is increased organic matter, because more organic matter is better for the soil. He said that basically they do not know. Dr. Hayes gave some statistics regarding native versus non-native. He said that California oak trees support 1,200 known species; whereas, blue-gum Eucalyptus trees support none. He said that is a rule in general with native versus non-native. For every native plant there are ten to fifteen other organisms that require it. N. Hanko said that Monarch butterflies are found in eucalyptus trees. Dr. Hayes said his key word was dependent, and that the monarch's are not dependent on the eucalyptus trees to survive. He added that the eucalyptus trees are important to have, as many birds use the trees for nests, but they are not dependent upon these trees. K. Nitz thanked Dr. Hayes for his presentation. He said they would now review the policy. K. Lennington thanked L. Infante for her hard work on the policy and said she did an outstanding job. K. Lennington reviewed the text of the policy. C. Riffle asked if they wanted to say grazing, fire and mechanical treatments. K. Lennington said these were examples of the three biggest options for providing a disturbance on the land. He said that mechanical treatment is a very large category. K. Lennington said the first policy is to maintain and restore historic grassland areas that are threatened by shrubbery encroachment. He said that this is one of the largest issues staff is grappling with. He said the first step would be defining what the historic grasslands are. C. Riffle asked about the safety element and cost. K. Lennington said that the point is an implementation measure that will tie to other policies, such as wildland fire and the grazing policy. L. Hassett brought up the possibility of burning at Windy Hill and the concern neighbors might have, but he said that this policy would work for that preserve. K. Lennington suggested striking the word "prescribed"and just have the language refer to "fire" to give more flexibility, it would not limit to just a prescribed fire, but could include pile burning. J. Cyr suggested to rearrange the goal to read, "use sustainable land management techniques to maintain, restore, and stimulate natural disturbance." He said that is the goal and then gave some examples of how that goal would be achieved, including grazing, selected fire, mechanical treatments, spraying, insect introduction. K. Lennington agreed with J. Cyr's suggestion. K. Nitz said they could put the implementation aspects into a sidebar. Meeting 07-27 Page 6 P. Siemens asked how they would sustain natural disturbance. K. Lennington gave an example of creating areas where fire would be safer in that community. By creating an area where fire could naturally occur in that environment, and not be a catastrophic fire. J. Cyr said he had a concern that the Board and staff understand the language of the policy; however, the general public may not understand the terms used. L. Infante said they could include definitions in the sidebar. K. Lennington said he would work on word-smithing this section a bit more to make the concepts clearer. N. Hanko said she was pleased to see this proposed goal. K. Lennington said that she was in their minds as they were developing it. K. Nitz said they should move on to the pond habitat section and asked if there were any comments or questions about it. P. Siemens suggested adding a separate bullet removal of certain invasive species because they have actually already done that, and gave an example about the cattails. K. Lennington agreed that they could add that. K. Nitz agreed and said that for aesthetic reasons it would be good to add language. K. Nitz said they should move on to the next section, "facilitate the natural regeneration process in stands of disturbance dependent rare or unique plants." C. Riffle asked why did they highlight the knob cone pine and King's Mountain manzanita. K. Lennington replied that they were the two examples and some of the best examples they have. C. Riffle asked why just those two and not include three or four others that they would want to add. He said it seems limiting. K. Lennington said the overall policy, absent certain implementation measures, is not so restrictive. N. Hanko said that the reason these species are being named specifically is because we want to call attention to them, and they might eventually want to add signs on the trails or in the brochures of where they are and showing the rare species the District has. K. Nitz said that because this is a policy, if another species is found and needs to be added, then they need to change the policy. N. Hanko suggested adding the phrase, "such as", so it would be inclusive of other species. K. Lennington said that they did not need to state the implementation and could have the policy statement stand alone. J. Cyr suggested rewording the statement into a side bar to state, "two currently known examples of rare species are the knob cone pine and the King's Mountain manzanita within the District." There was agreement with this point. K. Nitz stated that he could not find a policy where the District was trying to expand a rare and endangered species by trying to grow it in a nursery. K. Meeting 07-27 Page 7 Lennington asked if he would like staff to do some research to see if there were any policy statements about this. K. Nitz said he would because it is important to know if the District has an area that can grow these plants. C. Riffle said that as the Board Treasurer he wondered if they should include the phrase, "cost effective" somewhere in this policy, or he asked if that goes without saying it. J. Cyr said that cost should be a consideration in the goal. N. Hanko said that a goal should not include money, because it is something you think is important to do. She suggested this phrase be included under the implementation and pointed out that it was included under the grassland statement. C. Britton said that he agreed with N. Hanko and gave his reasons. K. Nitz asked about the inventory and assess ponds if prioritization was also being considered, or is it just to identify opportunities. K. Lennington said it is to identify opportunities and prioritizing them based on research. The Board said they appreciated the work put into the policy. They thanked staff for coordinating Dr. Haye's presentation. They said they found Dr. Haye's presentation very helpful. REGULAR MEETING IV. K. Nitz called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:37 p.m. Additional Staff Present: Mike Foster, Michael Reeves, Elaina Cuzick, Sandy Sommer, David Sanguinetti, Stella Cousins, Kerry Carlson, Loro Patterson, Ana Ruiz, Cindy Roessler, and Mike Williams V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none. V1. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: J. Cyr moved to adopt the Agenda. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VII. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR M. Davey stated that she would be recusing herself from Revised Claims numbered 7971, 7972, and 8086-R. N. Hanko stated that she would voluntarily recuse herself from Revised Claims 7971, 7972, 8079, and 8086-R. K. Nitz said he would be pulling the Claims and Agenda Item 8. C. Britton asked if staff could answer the Claims questions. Meeting 07-27 Page 8 K. Nitz asked about Claim numbers 7962, 7976, 7982, 8042, 8045, 8072, 8068, and 8076 and staff gave a satisfactory answers. K. Nitz said he was pulling Written Communications too. C. Britton asked if staff could answer his questions on that. K. Nitz asked about going on the field visit of native grasslands as referenced in the letter to Craig Drummond. C. Britton said he expected that to be a staff function only. K. Nitz asked for clarification about the letter mentioning the bollards. A Williams gave some background information that satisfied Director Nitz. N. Hanko said she had an answer on Agenda Item 7 and asked if S. Sommer could give her an answer for now. N. Hanko asked if the lands in Palo Alto affected by the Williamson Act contract were all dedicated. S. Sommer said that one of the properties was being dedicated later in the meeting tonight and that the other properties were already dedicated lands. Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including the Written Communications; Agenda Item 7 Authorization to File Notices of Nonrenewal with the City of Palo Alto and the Town of Los Gatos for Designated Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Lands Currently Covered by Williamson Act Contracts; Determine that the Recommended Action is Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); Adopt Resolution No. 07-37 Authorizing the General Manager to File Notices of Nonrenewal with City of Palo Alto and the Town of Los Gatos for the parcels of District Land Currently Covered by Williamson Act Contracts as Designated in Attachment I to This Report; Agenda Item 9 Create a Non-Compensable Ad Hoc Committee to Plan the District's General Manager's Retirement Event and Appoint Directors Cyr, Hanko and Davey to the Committee; Revised Claims 07-19. C. Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0 on the Written Communications, and Agenda Item 7 and 9. The Revised Claims 07-19 passed 5 to 0 on Revised Claim numbers 7971, 7972, and 8086-R with two recusal, one each from M. Davey and N. Hanko; Revised Claim number 8079 passed 6 to 0 with N. Hanko recusing herself, and the remaining Revised Claims passed 7 to 0. VIII. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. I —Authorization to Award Grazing Lease for the Big Dipper Grazing Unit at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve, Approve the Resolution Authorizing the General Manager to Award a Five-Year Grazing Lease to Vince Fontana for the Big Dipper Grazing Unit on the Terms and Conditions Set Forth in the Attached Grazing Lease—(Report R-07-135). Meeting 07-27 Page 9 M. Reeves presented the staff report. He said the District received two qualified proposals for a grazing lease for the Big Dipper area. He said one proposal was from Driscoll Ranches and the other was from Mr. Vince Fontana. He said both are local grazing operators. He said that the proposals were evaluated on the criteria's listed in the staff report, telephone interviews of references provided by each applicant, and field meeting to discuss each applicants current grazing operation. He said that the two proposals scored very closely. He said that the scoring for Mr. Fontana received the higher score and that staff recommends awarding the grazing lease to his operation. M. Reeves reviewed the terms of the lease. He said it would be a five-year lease extendable for five years at the election of the District. The grazing season of the property will run from February I through the end of June, typically. He said the first year's rent for the lease will be $2,000.00 with annual adjustments thereafter based on seasonal grazing capacity, and changes in the price of beef cattle. M. Reeves said that the primary objective during the first year of the lease is to achieve good grazing distribution on all pastures on the property. He said that Mr. Fontana is eager to get on the property in early January to do further assessment. L. Hassett asked why staff thought there were only two applicants. M. Reeves said that staff did advertise widely and sent out information to about 27 prospective tenants who had expressed interest, and the local press made mention of the RFP. M. Reeves said that at the close of the submission for proposals period, staff did a telephone survey of prospective applicants to see if there was a reason why they chose not to submit a proposal. They found that the reasons mostly came down to business terms. C. Riffle said the staff write up was very good and that he supported it. He asked what happens to the property from July through January, and asked if the lessee vacates the property completely. M. Reeves said that technically the lease runs year-round, but the grazing season is specific to that property. During the off- season period, as specified in the lease, the tenant can still come on the property to perform maintenance of the ranch infrastructure to keep the facilities in good shape. C. Riffle asked about predator management and who was responsible. M. Reeves said he would defer this question to K. Lennington. K. Lennington said that the tenant is to notify District staff in the case of predators. Staff will then work with the Department of Fish and Game to determine the best procedure. C. Riffle also asked about invasive plants and what the responsibility was. K. Lennington replied that there will be a corral that the cattle are put in when they arrive to the property, and that there is a holding period. C.Riffle asked if the public would be introduced to the grazing area, or if the plan was for the public not to be admitted during the first part of the lease. K. Meeting 07-27 Page 10 Lennington said that staff will need to do some additional use and management planning for this property. Staff would like to introduce the public and it might happen within the first five years. N. Hanko asked about trails and trail alignment, using the Old Page Mill Road, but she said there is no mention of trails in the grazing lease and that she hoped that tenant would realize that the public will eventually be using a trail system on the property. K. Lennington said that the Page Mill Trail is outside of the pasture area. He said because of the location he did not see there being many conflicts between the grazing and the public use. He said there is quite a bit of work to be done to establish the trail connection, because the road has been severely damaged. K. Nitz asked how the cows per acre compare to Driscoll Ranch. K. Lennington said that both properties are based on A.U.M. (Animal Unit Months), and the amount of feed available. He said the productivity of the land will determine the A.U.M. capacity. He said he did not know how Driscoll Ranch compared. K. Nitz asked if the Lessee will be able to remove any brush. K. Lennington said he will be required to propose projects he would like to undertake within his grazing permit, and brush removal might be one of those projects. Staff will review his proposal and then decide if it is something that could be done. K. Nitz asked if new fencing was necessary. M. Reeves said that staff did install two miles of fencing along Alpine Road, which was of primary concern for public safety. He said that there is cross-fencing within the property, and that is what the tenant will be taking a look at to assess what might be the most useful for the movement of the cattle. Motion: C. Riffle moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to award a five-year Grazing Lease to Vince Fontana for the Big Dipper Grazing Unit on the terms and conditions set forth in the Grazing Lease. N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. B. Agenda Item No. 2—Response to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Peace Officers' Association (MRPOA) and Reaffirm the Board's Policy Decision Not to Arm the Ranger Staff-, Direct Staff to Continue to Work with the MRPOA on Issues, Which Were Identified as Being Appropriate for an Administrative-Level Response; Accept and Recognize Progress on the Policy Matters that were Previously Decided Upon by the Board(Items 1, 2, 3, and 6 as Enumerated in the Report); Reaffirm the Board's Decision Not to Arm the Ranize Staff and Reinforce the Board's Desire that Staff Should Maintain a Low-Profile Law Enforcement Approach - (Report R-07-108). Meeting 07-27 Page 11 D. Sanguinetti presented the staff report with an update on management's progress with the MRPOA that were presented to the Board on May 6, 2006. He gave some background information. He said that management had separated the issues into two sets of concerns, the first being policy concerns, and the second being operational, non-policy concerns. D. Sanguinetti enumerated the progress on issues 1, 2, 3 and 6 for the Board. He said that the one outstanding policy issue is to reaffirm the Board's past decision of February 10, 1999, to not arm rangers and reinforce the Board's desire that staff should maintain a low-profile law enforcement approach. C.Riffle asked about item 3 and what the estimated time to resolve this issue would be. D. Sanguinetti said that they should know soon. C. Riffle asked how long it will take to implement them once staff knows the result. A contract would need to be brought before the Board for approval before any action is taken. C. Britton said that the MRPOA asked for better response time, so staff did an analysis of where the most problems occurred, which is mostly in the Sierra Azul area. He said the idea is to contract with the Sheriff's department in Santa Clara County and once they have experience with that it will help them in this regard. He said the result may or may not satisfy the District, but they need to give it try to find out. N. Hanko asked members of the staff present if they had seen the various logos and if they thought there was a logo that might work. D. Sanguinetti said that he took the logo consultant to both field offices and the same logo designs that the Board has reviewed were shown to the staff. K. Nitz asked about the radio system. D. Sanguinetti said that the biggest issue is having the consultant obtain a frequency, because frequencies are very difficult to acquire. He said that staff has done mobile repeater testing and have received temporary permission to use a frequency. He said the outcome of that testing has been helpful and has shown improvement. K. Nitz asked why it has been so long since the May 2006 meeting to bring these issues back before the Board. D. Sanguinetti said he agreed it was a long time; however, he said when he took the Operation's Manager position he made this a top priority. C. Britton added that there were six policy matters, but 22 administrative issues that also needed to be addressed. K. Nitz asked about the progress of the administrative issues. D. Sanguinetti said that he met with the MRPOA the previous week and that they now have action plans on all of these issues. J. Cyr said he appreciates this report. He said that he hopes that the Sheriffs contract can get in place so they can find out if it helps. Meeting 07-27 Page 12 C. Riffle said that he wanted to support D. Sanguinetti and his staff, especially with issue numbers 3 and 6. He said he was glad that D. Sanguinetti was going to be focused on these issues to keep them moving forward. K. Nitz asked S. Schectman about the legislation issue. S. Schectman said that she spoke with the Attorney General's deputy and was told that the opinion letter is with the executive staff for final approval. The deputy said she could see if she could apply any pressure to move it along faster, but it should not be too much longer. L. Hassett asked if staff had talked with Santa Clara County about their response times, or does staff feel they are adequate now. D. Sanguinetti said that he and the two area superintendents said that the problem area was Sierra Azul, so they thought that if they can do a project there to shorten response times, and if it fits within the budget parameter, then this would be a good test case. If it is successful, they will look at ways to expand the program. He said that the Sheriffs department will need to sign an M.O.U. and be paid. L. Hassett asked if there will be a way to track response times when the M. O. U is in place. D. Sanguinetti said that they are currently tracking this information through their incident reports. D. Sanguinetti explained how the contract sheriff officer would work for the District and the parameters the officer would work within. C. Riffle asked about item 4 and item 5 and if there were any updates on those items. D. Sanguinetti said that what was stated in the Warren Study and what the Board approved is that the ranger staff should not be armed and that staff should focus on resource issues and keep a lower profile. He added that they now have an Operations Manual that clearly tells, what the ranger's role is based on the District's desire to focus on resource issues, and hand criminal issues over to armed agencies. P. Siemens asked if there was any data where a rifle may have helped. D. Sanguinetti said there were very few, other than a wild pig. K. Carlson said he was there from the MRPOA. He explained that some of the reason for the delay in bringing these issues back to the Board were due to the changing of the Operations Manager. He said that although opinions may be different, he does appreciate how receptive D. Sanguinetti and C. Britton have been. He said that they have made progress on the administrative issues. K. Carlson said he looked back at his notes from eight years ago about the response time issue. In that time an M.O.0 with the sheriff's department has not been put in place and the response time has not gotten any better. He said the basic issue is time and distance. Meeting 07-27 Page 13 K. Carlson said that taking into consideration how long it has taken to get to the point of having an M.O.U. with Santa Clara County, the District should start now with their discussions with San Mateo County, and even Santa Cruz County. He said that each sheriff's department operates independently. K. Carlson said he appreciates the work it has taken to get this far, but he said that staff only covers about a third of the District for four hours per day. He said that the M.O.U.'s and enabling legislation problems is that the District is asking the County to respond to calls, but on the other hand, by owning acreage,the District has taken away tax revenues from the Counties. K. Carlson noted that the ranger staff currently has four vacancies and that three of the rangers who left the District went to armed departments. He said the fourth ranger went to Santa Clara County. K. Carlson said there should be a timeline to get the M.O.U., and the Board needs to set that. He said the meetings between the MRPOA and management need to continue because they have been productive. He said the largest issue is funding and that there is a monetary cost to pay for solutions. K. Carlson addressed the rifle issue and said that it was not the intention of the MRPOA that every ranger carry a rifle. He said the use of a rifle is mostly in a euthenizing situation. He said that he did not want to see the rifle issue being lumped in with arming the rangers. He said that Palo Alto Foothills Park has a rifle available for the purpose he described, and nobody considers that the Foothills rangers as being armed. L. Patterson said she has been a District ranger for 19 years and a resident ranger on Skyline for more than 17 years. She said that one of the good things at the District is that it is a challenging and interesting place to work, but one of the challenges as far as patrolling the properties is that it is such a large geographic area to cover. She said there are significant enforcement issues on Skyline. There are large marijuana growing operations, and poaching, and recently rangers came across a sawed off shotgun on District property. She asked the Board to supply the equipment staff needs to keep the preserves safe. She gave some examples of extended response times from other agencies assisting District rangers. She said that the supplemental help from Santa Clara County won't help the Skyline area when it is in place. P. Siemens asked if staff were suggesting having one rifle at each field office. K. Carlson said that was correct, one rifle for Foothills and one rifle for Skyline. P. Siemens asked about the qualifications to use a rifle. K. Carlson said that the qualifications are available and are part of the academy training. L Hassett said he was concerned about the four ranger vacancy. D. Sanguinetti said he met with the MRPOA about the vacancy issues. There were two Meeting 07-27 Page 14 candidates, but they did not pass the background process. He said that he has suggested starting a seasonal ranger program, which has been successful in the OST program. It is difficult to attract candidates from outside the area. L. Hassett asked what he thought the timeline might be to be at full staff again. D. Sanguinetti replied that they are currently advertising and that before summer they would have new hires, but that it is hard to give a specific timeline. L. Hassett said that he agreed with K. Carlson and L. Patterson that staff should be in conversation with San Mateo County to find out their issues and costs for more assistance. D. Sanguinetti said that he spoke with someone at San Mateo County and that they are aware of the District's concern, but they cannot promise additional help or shorter response times. The county puts a higher importance on areas with higher incidents and the District does not fit in those parameters. P. Siemens asked for more information about the M.O.0 and D. Sanguinetti gave examples of how he saw an M.O.U. working between Santa Clara County and the District. P. Siemens said that in the upcoming budget process they do need to think about adding funds for San Mateo County, even though there is no contract yet. J. Cyr said that he sensed that there is a real difference between Santa Clara County and San Mateo County, and he said that they should explore working with San Mateo County. He said they may discover that a contract in one county is more effective than another. N. Hanko said that the South Skyline Association held a good meeting a few years ago where they invited sheriff's deputies of both counties to talk about issues. She said it was a successful meeting. She asked L. Hassett if he thought that format might work in the District's situation. L. Hassett said that there was some improvement for a few months, but then went back to the former status quo. C. Britton suggested that the District might approach the Skyline associations to see if they would partner with the District in approaching San Mateo County and assist in funding for assistance. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board reaffirm the Board's Policy decision not to arm the Ranger staff, Direct staff to continue to work with the MRPOA on issues, which were identified as being appropriate for an Administrative-Level response; Accept and recognize progress on the Policy matters that were previously decided upon by the Board (Items 1, 2, 3, and 6 as enumerated in the Report); Reaffirm the Board's decision not to arm the Ranger staff and reinforce the Board's desire that staff should maintain a low- profile law enforcement approach. M. Davey seconded the motion. Meeting 07-27 Page 15 Discussion: P. Siemens said that he wanted to think a bit more about the rifle request. N. Hanko agreed and said she would like to see what other agencies do. P. Siemens asked if the motion could be amended to leave out item 5 to be brought forward for further consideration. J. Cyr said that he would support that. S. Schectman said that staff would research this issue. Vote: The motion, as amended, passed 7 to 0. C. Britton asked if the Board would mind if they moved Agenda Item No. 6 up to accommodate staff. Motion: L. Hassett moved to change the order of the Agenda and move Agenda Item 6 to be presented out of order. C. Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. C. Agenda Item 6 —Authorization to Enter into a Professional Services Agreement with Vollmar Consulting to Survey and Prepare Recommendations for Management of Sensitive Aquatic Habitats at La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve• Authorize the General Manager to Enter into a Professional Services Agreement with Vollmar Consulting in the Amount of$50,000 Plus Contingency of$5,000 for a Total Contract Amount Not to Exceed $55,000 to Survey and Prepare Recommendations for Management of Sensitive Aquatic Habitats at La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve, Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA)As Set Out in This Report—(Report R-07- 124) S. Cousins presented the staff report. She said the contract was to complete a survey plan for a group of ponds on the former Wool Ranch property. She gave some background information on the Wool Ranch area. She said that the Wool Ranch is one of three ranches that make up the Driscoll Ranch, within La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve. There are ten ponds that were constructed over the years located at Wool Ranch. She said that these ponds represent one-quarter of all of the ponds located on District preserves. She showed some PowerPoint slides of the various ponds. S. Cousins noted that nine out of ten ponds were home to the California red- legged frogs, which are species of special concern and federally threatened species. The presence of the red-legged frogs make it possible for the San Francisco garter snake to be present as well. The garter snake is also a federally threatened species. She said that the Department of Fish and Game proposed the Wool Ranch as a site for recovery of the garter snake. She reviewed several other species that are common to this type of pond area. Meeting 07-27 Page 16 S. Cousins said that Vollmar Consulting will work with the District to survey the sites in detail. She said the pond management plan will address long-term maintenance of habitats with sensitive species, use of the ponds by the grazing operator, and monitor the conditions of the ponds on a regular basis. This consulting firm employs experts in reptile and riparian biology, and engineers and ranchers to evaluate the area. N. Hanko asked about allowing public access to the area. S. Cousins said that the La Honda Creek draft Master Plan will restrict public access in the outlined area she showed on a map, but she said the exact details regarding this have not been finalized. N. Hanko asked if interested people might be given permits to visit the area. S. Cousins said she thought that would be a possibility. P. Siemens asked about the timing of hearing this report now since the master plan process has been going on for some time. C. Britton said that this area is part of the Driscoll Ranch, which was recently purchased. L. Hassett asked about the contingency clause in contracts and said he didn't see a reason to have a contingency for a survey contract. K. Lennington replied that staff had discussed this and he gave an example of why they might need a contingency. C. Britton said he agreed with L. Hassett, and that staff expects the contract to come in at $50,000.00, and the consultant will need to have a pretty good reason to want more money. S. Schectman added that having a contingency makes sense because things happen during a contract that may require further funds and it common practice in contracts. L. Hassett said he understood having a contingency for a public works project, but he did have a problem with a contingency amount on a consulting contract. C. Britton said that contingencies have rarely been used for consulting contracts, but when they are asked for he requires a good explanation with sound reasons before it is approved. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with Vollmar Consulting in the Amount of$50,000 plus a contingency of$5,000 for a total contract amount not to exceed $55,000 to survey and prepare recommendations for management of sensitive aquatic habitats at La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve; Determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in this report. M. Davey seconded the motion. Discussion: K. Nitz asked if the work concentrated on only the ponds. S. Cousins said the survey would cover the ponds and the related upland habitat. K. Nitz asked what the consultant was going to do with the upland habitat. S. Cousins said they would be surveying. Meeting 07-27 Page 17 C. Britton gave some historic information about the ponds and said they are a unique complex of ponds with important species. C. Riffle said this is important work to do and he was glad they were doing it. He asked if a grant were possible to pay for the work. S. Cousins said that there is not much funding available. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. D. Agenda Item No. 3—Annual Meeting of and Report to Shareholders of Guadalupe Land Company as Owners of Property Adjacent to the Mt. Umunhum Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County Assessor's Parcel Numbers 575-11-004, 575-12-001 and 575-12-013), Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act CEQA) As Set Out in the Report; Authorize the President of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District or Other Appropriate Officer to Sign the License and Management Agreement with Guadalupe Land Company —(Report R-07-137). C. Britton presented the staff report and gave some historical information for newer Board members to understand the purpose of this report. Motion: M. Davey moved approval of the annual meeting of and report to shareholders of Guadalupe Land Company as owners of property adjacent to the Mt. Umunhum area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County Assessor's Parcel Numbers 575-11- 004, 575-12-001 and 575-12-013); Determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in the report; Authorize the President of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, or other appropriate officer to sign the License and Management Agreement with Guadalupe Land Company. N. Hanko seconded the motion. Discussion: C. Riffle asked about when C. Britton retires, if the matter will come up about changing the officers. S. Schectman said there would be an appointment of an interim officer until the next annual meeting. K. Nitz asked why they could not get rid of the property. C. Britton replied that it was because of corporate tax reasons. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. E. Agenda Item 4—Approve Mid-Year Amendments to the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year Budget; Accept the District Controller's Mid-Year Financial Report, Approve the Meeting 07-27 Page 18 Resolution Implementing an Amendment to the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year Budget i Accordance with the Committee Recommendation—(Report R-07-133). C. Britton introduced the staff report and said that E. Cuzick was available to answer any questions if the Board wants to go into any detail. C. Britton said that C. Riffle asked him about Exhibit C and noted that the pagination was in error and that Exhibit C was in back of Exhibit D. C. Riffle asked if Attachment C was a graph and that he did not receive that. E. Cuzick said Attachment C was a graph. C. Britton said that this year they adjusted the income and will do so from now on. He also said that the 7% guideline was covered in the mid-year report, which is also new. E. Cuzick said she would cover salaries and insurance information. She reviewed the Board appointee salary adjustments for the General Manager, General Counsel, and Controller. She reviewed salary savings due to employee changes, the largest amounts coming from Administration, Planning and Public Affairs. Under retirement plans, she said there was a PERS savings. There were also medical insurance decreases due to employee changes. There were increases for retro-payments to the CAJPIA pool had sustained losses in the past year. Motion: N. Hanko moved approval of the Mid-Year Amendments to the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year Budget; Accept the District Controller's Mid-Year Financial Report; Approve the Resolution implementing an Amendment to the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year Budget in accordance with the committee recommendation. M. Davey seconded the motion. Discussion: C. Riffle, as chair of the Committee, he thanked P. Siemens and M. Davey for serving with him on the Committee. He complimented the managers, E. Cuzick in pulling all of the information together, and M. Foster for his advice and data. He said he liked the process and is confident about going forward. L. Hassett asked why the savings are being credited to the new land purchases account, as the savings come from different departments. C. Britton explained the different budget lines and guidelines, what is left is for new land. He said that those funds are not necessarily used for new land, but it is a place for extra money. L. Hassett gave an example about if Operations needs a large piece of equipment, and they need to find the funds to purchase it. C. Britton replied that equipment is looked at on a five-year plan and the funds shift to accommodate. K. Nitz thanked the committee for not deleting the seven percent guideline. C. Britton said that the next year's budget will include Meeting 07-27 Page 19 defining guidelines for Board approval; the two being the Operations ratio, going from 50%to 60% over the next ten years, and Coverage ratio, the ability to borrow money. K. Nitz asked if there was a guess as to what the tax receipts from San Mateo County will be in the next year. M. Foster said that he did not have any data, but he said common sense would say it would be real low. K. Nitz asked E. Cuzick why there were some medical savings shown in some programs and not shown in other programs. He asked if salary savings and medical savings were connected. E. Cuzick said that some of the program's medical savings were lower than $5,000, so they were not noted in the report. She said all departments had some savings in this area. K. Nitz asked about the Dyer garage asbestos abatement project and resource management. A. Ruiz said that the $45,000 accounts for a number of projects, including $18,000 for asbestos abatement of the Dyer garage, and $12,000 for resource management which was moving funds from one account code to another code, due to an error in coding. K. Nitz asked about the difference between the Operating expenses percentages. M. Foster said the 50% is based on 30 years of actual data. M. Foster said the tax revenue is running above the budget and spending is running under the budget. He said the tax revenue will be up about 6.5%, with extremely strong growth in San Mateo County. His estimate of operating expenses will be about 48%of tax revenue, compared to 47% in prior years. He said it might go up by I%to 2% every year. He said he expects the tax revenue to be flat for the next two to three years, which the District has experienced in the past. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. F. Agenda Item 5 —Annual Dedication of Certain District Lands and Dedication Status Report• Adopt the Resolution Dedicating Interest in Certain District Lands for Public Open Space Purposes—(Report R-07-128) C. Britton reviewed the purpose of this report and gave some historic information on how the District decides to dedicate land, or not to dedicate land. He noted that greatest area in the District of non-dedicated land is in Sierra Azul because it is a patchwork area, but when the master plan is in place, the opportunity to Meeting 07-27 Page 20 dedicate land in this area will be considered. He said that density credits also play a role. N. Hanko added that when the District was established, dedicating land was an important ingredient to allow the District to buy land in perpetuity. The voters of the entire District would need to decide to sell dedicated land. She said that density credits are an issue that was raised in San Mateo County. C. Britton said that the District would probably never sell its density rites, but it was good to have them, S. Schectman added that density rites do have monetary value. J. Cyr asked about areas he was not familiar with, including Costanoan Way. C. Britton explained where the area is and gave some background information. N. Hanko asked about 49 acres that are undedicated on Monte Bello and where they are located on the reserve. S. Sommer said this area is part of the Lobner property, located at the bottom of Stevens Canyon and that area is still being worked on for lot line adjustments. L. Hassett asked if there was a downside to removing any of the parcels from dedication. C. Britton said the property would remain"intended" for dedication, but it would remain undedicated. M. Davey asked why GGNRA is on the list. C. Britton said that it cannot be dedicated; however, District funds were put towards the GGNRA purchase of the Phleger property. Motion: N. Hanko moved approval of the annual dedication of certain District lands and Dedication Status Report; Adopt the Resolution No. 07-36 Dedicating interest in certain District lands for public open space purposes. M. Davey seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. G. Agenda Item 8 —Authorization to Amend Agreement with Go Native Nursery LLC for an Additional $114,000 to Conduct Herbicide Application on District Lands: Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) Based on the Findings Contained in the Report-, Authorize the General Manager to Amend the Existing Agreement for an Additional Amount Not to Exceed a Total of$114,000 for Fiscal Years 2005-2006, 2006-2007, and 2007-2008 —(Report R-07-132) K. Nitz said he pulled this report because it seemed confusing. He asked why this was not brought to the Board before now. S. Schectman said the funds were budgeted. K. Nitz asked if the Board had approved the contract extension. C. Britton said that staff was allowed to extend the contract, but were not allowed to make payments under the extended contracts. He said that staff should have asked the Board to approve the initial contract with an option to extend, and Meeting 07-27 Page 21 approve an expenditure amount for years two and three. The money was budgeted and went through the budget process, so staff assumed that it was good enough to pay the money; however, it was not. C. Britton said that now staff is looking for$25,000 more than the Board has already approved. K. Nitz said he now understood that the Board would be ratifying paying the additional amount. Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board give authorization to amend agreement with Go Native Nursery LLC for an additional $114,000 to conduct herbicide application on District lands; Determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)based on the findings contained in the report; Authorize the General Manager to amend the existing agreement for an additional amount not to exceed a total of$114,000 for fiscal years 2005-2006, 2006- 2007, and 2007-2008. J. Cyr seconded the motion. Discussion: K. Nitz asked why there was an additional $25,000. C. Roessler said there are unique opportunities that came up this year because it was dry and warm, so they were able to treat more invasive plants over a longer period of time. She said that because they were able to have the prescribed bum this year; they have been able to treat the Harding grass up to three times. She said that Go Native Nursery's contract goes through March 31. She said that usually in the spring there are more opportunities to treat invasive plants, but she would not have any funds to use without the Board's approval of this item. M. Davey asked how or where the Harding grass got on the land. C. Roessler said it was probably planted for grazing for cattle. M. Davey asked if it wasn't good for cattle. C. Roessler said that she has received mixed results and that some cattlemen do not like it. C. Britton said it was an introduced grass. K. Nitz asked if Go Native was also working at Thomewood for the public outreach. C. Roessler said that staff did have a contract with them for the first phase of that project, but that contract was finished. L. Hassett asked if the public outreach was ending because of this. C. Roessler said that staff does public outreach regularly in this area. She said that the CEQA document is the next critical step, and then they will need to determine if they want to have another contractor do public outreach. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. Meeting 07-27 Page 22 IX. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS N. Hanko said her compensable meetings included December 5 LFPAC meeting and the December 5 Resource Management Five-Year Plan Special Meeting, and tonight's meeting (12/12). J. Cyr said his compensable meetings were the December 5 Special meeting and tonight's meeting (12/12). He said on November 17 he attended the Creek's Conference. He said on November 29 he hiked at Saratoga Gap, Upper Stevens Creek, Long Ridge and Castle Rock. On December 5 he attended the District staff holiday luncheon. M. Davey said she attended the staff luncheon and said it was fun, particularly because C. Britton gave a presentation on District purchases. She said that her compensable meetings included the November 27 and December 3 Administration and Budget Committee meetings, December 4 La Honda meeting, the December 5 Special meeting, and tonight's Board meeting (12/12). C. Riffle said his compensable meetings included the November 27 and December 3 Administration and Budget Committee meetings, La Honda meeting on December 4, the December 5 Special meeting was tonight's Board meeting (12/12). He complimented A. Ruiz and staff on the La Honda meeting. He attended the staff luncheon and enjoyed hearing the stories. On December 6 he went on a tour of El Corte de Madera's parking lot situation (in the rain). He went horseback riding with R. Fitzsimmons. N. Hanko said she thought this was the first time a Board member was on horseback on District trails. L. Hassett said his compensable meeting included the December 4 La Honda Ad Hoc Committee meeting, the December 5 Special meeting, and tonight's Board meeting (12/12). He said that he was very impressed with the format for the La Honda meeting and staff s input. He said he thought the location was ideal. He reminded the Board that the South Skyline holiday party will be held at his house on Sunday starting at 5:00pm. P. Siemens said his compensable meetings included the November 27 and December 3 Administration and Budget Committee meetings, December 4 La Honda meeting, the December 5 Special meeting, and tonight's Board meeting (12/12). He said he attended the staff holiday lunch and said it was an excellent event. K. Nitz said his compensable meetings included the December 5 Resource Management Five-Year Plan Special Meeting, and tonight's meeting (12/12). He said he had a question on the deer count at Picchetti, noting that it was lower in the past two years. C. Britton said that staff would reply back to him. He said this was his final full Board meeting as President and he thanked everyone. The Board thanked him for his year with applause. C.Britton said that Hidden Villa is having a discussion on January 13, which is a community discussion on future planning. He said that he and M. Davey have been Meeting 07-27 Page 23 talking about this, and said that if any of the Board members have thoughts on this they might plan to go. He said he gave a presentation on land history to POST staff and board members. He said that all of the staff have seen presentations on the logo, and their input will be coming back to the Committee next week and will come before the full Board in January. He said he met with Terry Corwin, the Executive Director of Santa Cruz Land Trust. On November 30, he and M. Freeman met with the Peninsula Working Group, chaired by Rich Gordon, and talked about some of the lands and ridge trail extension along Highway 92. He said that he and P. Siemens attended a meeting of the Santa Clara County Special Districts Association at Santa Clara County Water District's office and Liz Kniss was there. He gave a presentation on historic District land acquisition to District staff at the staff holiday lunch, and his presentation was video taped. He pointed out the calendar and asked the Board to review it. He asked who on the Board wanted a hard copy of the newspaper clippings (J. Cyr and N. Hanko said they did). He said they would send electronic copies to the Board, except make hard copies for J. Cyr and N. Hanko. S. Schectman said there was a case out of Riverside's court of appeals regarding dedication of land by the Riverside County Open Space District. She said she recommended to C. Britton to extend $5,000 toward the Riverside County petition for the Supreme Court to review the case. This case could adversely affect open space districts under section 5500, to adjust boundaries and dedicate land. She gave some background information about the case and why she thinks the case is wrongly decided. She said that all of the local Bay Area open space districts under 5500 have gotten together and collaborated to pitch in funds toward legal costs. She said that Marin, Monterey, Sonoma, East Bay, MROSD and Riverside are working together and that a petition will be filed next week and each district will write letters of support. C. Britton said that there may be follow-up legislation no matter what the outcome is. S. Schectman said staff is trying to set up a meeting in early January with the Town of Woodside to try to resolve the permitting issues. She said the Town's attorney has been cooperative. She reminded the Board that the tapes from their meetings are considered public documents. S. Schectman handed out an article from the New Yorker about Asian parasites. She said it is similar to the District's issues about resistance and how to treat trees. G. Sam said that the Network Specialist position was filled. He said the candidate will start on January 2, 2008. G. Baillie said he returned from Academy in Santa Rosa and he said the biggest topic is the trouble filling ranger positions. There were only 15 people at the Academy this last class, and they usually have 25 or more. D. Sanguinetti said that Brian Malone has accepted the position of Skyline Superintendent. He said that now there will be acting position opportunities for staff. He reviewed the ranger staff position opening and hiring process. Meeting 07-27 Page 24 X. ADJOURNMENT At 10:40 p.m., the Special and Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District was adjourned. Lisa Zadek Recording Secretary i i