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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20080116 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 08-01 REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS January 16, 2008 MINUTES I. ROLL CALL President K. Nitz called the Special Meeting Closed Session to order at 7:32 p.m. Members Present: J. Cyr, M. Davey, K. Nitz, P. Siemens, C. Riffle, and L. Hassett Members Absent: N. Hanko Staff Present: C. Britton, G. Sam, S. Schectman, D. Sanguinetti, M. Freeman, M. Williams, D. Simmons, R. Jurgensen, G. Baillie, L. Patterson, K. Carlson, A. Correia 11. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Courtney Decius, 216 Valparaiso, Atherton, CA spoke about submitting his application for the General Manager position. He said he sent his resume in November, but that it was not received and he asked if the Board would consider accepting his resume, although it would now be considered a late submission. S. Schectman suggested that Mr. Decius re-send his resume to the recruiter and then the Board can decide to accept or not accept late resumes. 111. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Agenda. C. Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. IV. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR C. Britton said that the Written Communications were not listed on the Agenda, so they could not be included in the vote for adopting the Consent Calendar. He said that staff will notify the people expecting a reply to their letters that they will receive replies following the next Board of Director's meeting later this month. J. Cyr gave some corrections to the October 24, 2007 Minutes and staff made those corrections. Meeting 08-01 J. Cyr asked questions on Revised Claim numbers 8160, 8200, 8228, 8229, and 8230. Staff answered his questions to his satisfaction. G. Sam read off a list of Revised Claim questions for K. Nitz, including Revised Claim numbers 9102, 8164, 8184, 8198, 8200, 8228, 8242, and 8254. Staff answered his questions to his satisfaction. M. Davey said that she would recuse herself from Revised Claim numbers 8123, 8124, 8256-R, and 8257-R. Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including the October 24, 2007 Board Minutes, with corrections, November 6, 2007 Board Minutes, November 14,2007 Board Minutes, and December 5, 2007 Board Minutes; Agenda Item 6 Approval to Authorize the General Manager to Execute the Consulting Services Agreement with Public Policy Advocates for Legislative Consulting Services in Sacramento; Agenda Item 7 Renewal of Investment Authority and Adoption of Annual Statement of Investment Policy; Adopt Resolution No. 08-xx to Renew the District Controller's Investment Authority Until January 14, 2009 and to Approve the District's Revised Statement of Investment Policy; Agenda Item 8 Approve a New Half- Time Training Coordinator Position and Assign it to Salary Range 261.5- 286.5 at $21.870 - $28.065 Per Hour; Approve the Amendment to the District Position Classification and Compensation Plan; and Revised Claims 08-01. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0 on the Board Minutes and Agenda Items 7, 8 and 9. The Revised Claims 08- 01 passed 5 to 0 on Revised Claim numbers 8123, 8124, 8256-R and 8257-R with one recusal from M. Davey, and the remaining Revised Claims passed 6 to 0. V. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. 1 —Election of Board Officers for the 2008 Calendar Year - (Report R-08-05) G. Sam reviewed the voting procedure for the election of officers for the Board of Directors for 2008. G. Sam asked K. Nitz to call for nominations for President. K. Nitz asked for nominations the president. L. Hassett nominated P. Siemens for president. M. Davey seconded the nomination. K. Nitz asked if there any further nominations. There were none. Page 2 Meeting 08-01 Motion: K. Nitz asked for a motion to close the nomination. J. Cyr moved to close the nomination for president. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. Vote: The Board voted by written ballot. G. Sam announced that there were six votes for P. Siemens for the office of Board president. M. Davey and the Board thanked K. Nitz for his work as president of the Board of Directors for 2007. K. Nitz thanked the Board and staff and said it was a productive year. K. Nitz handed the gavel to P. Siemens. P. Siemens stated that he had three goals for the year, including hiring a new General Manager, concluding the coastal litigation, and acquiring new chairs for the Board members. P. Siemens asked for nominations for vice-president. M. Davey nominated N. Hanko for the office of vice-president. K. Nitz seconded the nomination. Motion: K. Nitz moved to close the nomination for vice president. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion carried 6 to 0. Vote: The Board voted by written ballot. G. Sam announced that there were six votes for N. Hanko for the office of Board vice president. P. Siemens asked for nominations for treasurer. L. Hassett nominated K. Nitz for the office of treasurer. J. Cyr seconded the nomination. Motion: K. Nitz moved to close the nomination for treasurer. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion carried 6 to 0. Vote: The Board voted by written ballot. G. Sam announced that there were six votes for K. Nitz for the office of Board treasurer. P. Siemens asked for nominations for secretary. J. Cyr nominated M. Davey for the office of secretary. C. Riffle seconded the nomination. Motion: K. Nitz moved to close the nomination for secretary. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion carried 6 to 0. Vote: The Board voted by written ballot. G. Sam announced that there were six votes for M. Davey for the office of Board secretary. B. Agenda Item No. 2 —Response tote Mid peninsula Regional Open Space District's Peace Officers' Association (MRPOA) Request for a Rifle for Wildlife, Management Purposes, and a Request for the Board to Encourage the Hiring of Page 3 Meeting 08-01 Additional Fish and Game Wardens by the California Department of Fish and Game; Decline the MRPOA Request to Provide Rifles for the Purposes of Wildlife Management; Decline the MRPOA's Suggestion to Correspond with the California Department of Fish and Game Encouraging Them to Increase Hiring of Wardens, Based Upon the Information Provided - (Report R-08-01) P. Siemens suggested that the Board vote on each of the General Manager's recommendations separately. The Board agreed. D. Sanguinetti handed out information and extra copies, stating that additional information was highlighted on the handouts. D. Sanguinetti presented the staff report. He said that staff did research contacting ten agencies similar to the District's, with ranger staff, and they initially received eight responses, with another two responses received prior to the Board meeting. He said that only two agencies have a rifle or firearm, noting that Foothills Park has a rifle but it has not been used for 20 years, He said that East Bay Regional Park District(EBRPD) has a separate program to contract the dispatch of feral cats and feral pigs. The EBRPD has its own park police department. He said that Santa Clara County Parks uses the Santa Clara County sheriffs department. D. Sanguinetti reviewed the District's policy that deals with injured wildlife. He said that staff would call another agency to dispatch an injured animal. He added that most injuries to animals occur off District land, and that only rarely is an injured animal encountered on District property. D. Sanguinetti said his main concern is the act of shooting a bullet and if the bullet misses its intended target or even goes through the target. He said he does not want any person to get hurt. He reminded the Board that they approved the 1999 Warren Report suggestion to not arm the District rangers. C. Riffle asked about the chart(Attachment 1) and said he wondered about the fact that no agency replied "yes"to the Animal Control column. D. Sanguinetti said that he asked G. Baillie to do further research and contact additional agencies and that he could not find another similar agency that allowed guns. C. Riffle said that he was concerned about two scenarios: (1) the humane dispatch of injured animals; and(2)the safety of District visitors. He said that he felt having a weapon makes it less safe. C. Riffle asked how often rangers encounter an injured animal. D. Sanguinetti said that he did not have concrete data, but that it has occurred, but not often. C. Riffle asked about the number of mountain lion sightings going up and if there was a concern about this. D. Sanguinetti said that people should be concerned with wild animals. He said that C. Roessler is working on a course to train staff. Page 4 Meeting 08-01 He added that if a mountain lion is sighted, staff will closed the area off and call the Department of Fish and Game and the sheriffs department. K. Nitz asked if the rangers have a knife, ax, or some other item that could be used. D. Sanguinetti said that each truck is equipped with a fire ax, shovel, buck knife. He said that staff should primarily be used to secure the area. K. Carlson said that he represented the MRPOA and that they represented a different side of the issue; however he said there is some common ground. He said that he agreed that encountering injured wildlife did not happen often. He handed out a copy of a recent incident report to the Board. He said that although these incidents did not happen often, it did not make the situation less important. He said that the chart only showed one comparable agency, the EBRPD, and pointed out that the District covers three counties each with different jurisdictional issues. K. Carlson said that ranger staff is trained in firearm usage at the academy. He said that the ranger staff are peace officers and said that Palo Alto Park rangers are not, but they have a city police department as back up. K. Carlson introduced Kyle Kroll, a warden from the Department of Fish and Game and said he could answer any questions from the Board. L. Hassett asked about a false report. K. Carlson said the false report illustrates how unprepared staff was to respond to this type of situation. He said it took the Fish and Game officer 50 minutes to respond. L. Hassett asked if there is anything other than a firearm to dispatch an animal. K. Carlson referred to the recent San Francisco Zoo incident and their use of darts, but pointed out that this was not effective. M. Davey referred to the 2004 incident report and has if anything has happened since that incident. K. Carlson said that nothing has changed since that incident, adding that staff just wants to react to injured animals in a more humanely manner. K. Nitz followed up and asked what would be done differently from the 2004 incident. K. Carlson replied that they have learned that the system in place does not work. He said rangers were on site immediately, but it took an armed officer 50 minutes to arrive. Kyle Kroll said as a warden of the Department of Fish and Game, he works out of his home, located in the southern area of his district. He said he received a call from dispatch and responded in 50 minutes. He said the sheriff s department was the first agency called, but the sheriff did not appear before he arrived. K. Nitz asked how long it takes to get from Fremont Older to the Foothills field office and back. K. Carlson answered by stating that he did not think rifles should Page 5 Meeting 08-01 be kept at the offices but in a gun safe on the ranger's truck. He said that supervisors should be allowed to carry the gun safes on their trucks. L. Patterson gave some additional clarifying information about the coyote attack. She said the sheriff's department and there was a discussion about who had authority to dispatch the animal. She said that the end result was that quite a few animals were killed, but not the coyote that had caused the attack. She added that the preserve was closed to the public during this time period. Kroll said they were, adding that to be fully staffed there would be four wardens. A. Correia said he was the first ranger at the mountain lion incident. He said that dispatch did not know at the time what to do; however, he said that now there is an improvement in communications. He gave some information about the situation and what he and staff did. C. Britton said he supports the recommendation to not arm rangers. He said the most comparable agencies reply on the sheriff's department. D. Sanguinetti said the C. Roessler has developed a policy for animal response and she provides training for awareness about mountain lion behavior. He said that they are providing training for the sheriff's offices too. C. Riffle said that he appreciated C. Britton's comments. He said he saw that two things needed to happen. First is that guns or no guns, the District needs to know what to do. Second, he said that when a firearm is required, the District staff will need another agency to provide that and that this is not currently working. He said that if District staff cannot depend on others, then staff need to handle the issue. L. Hassett said that the sheriffs office was asked to decrease the time it takes for their response and that he is willing to see if the response time gets better. D. Sanguinetti said that there is an M.O.U. that both sides agree on and both legal counsels agree with. He said the hold up is that the payroll process needs to be decided on. He added that the contract should be ready by March 2008. L. Hassett said he wanted to see if the contract works. K. Nitz said that he did not think that guns should be in ranger trucks; however, he thought that guns at the field offices might be acceptable. He added that he agreed with L. Hassett and C. Riffle about seeing if the contract with the sheriff's office is successful. M. Davey noted the deer on the highway incident report and said she did not see these as life threatening. She said that carrying firearms is not an answer for situations that happen rarely. Page 6 Meeting 08-01 J. Cyr said this is a large issue. The District receives only limited Fish and Game personnel response, police agencies are having trouble filling their vacancies, there is a global issue about agencies being short on staff. He said he understands the emotional response for dispatching animals, but does not want to radically change the District's policy. P. Siemens said he had similar thoughts to K. Nitz about not having guns on the trucks, but at the field offices. Motion: M. Davey moved approval of the General Manger's recommendation number I to decline the MRPOA request to provide rifles for the purposes of wildlife management. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 to I with P. Siemens voting against the motion. D. Sanguinetti presented the second General Manager's recommendation. He said he had asked G. Baillie to do research on the Fish and Game's recruiting efforts. He said they found that Fish and Game is actively recruiting. C. Britton said that the Department of Fish and Game is in the same position the District is in with trying to fill vacant positions with a reduced hiring pool. C. Riffle said that the District is relying on partner agencies to provide a safe environment and asked if they are doing everything they can on a local level. D. Sanguinetti said they are. C. Riffle asked D. Sanguinetti if staff is unable to do their job safely. D. Sanguinetti said that staff can do their jobs safely. He said there is always a supervisor on duty and added that rangers are not getting injured. He said that District staff are resource oriented, not enforcement oriented. He said they are working on fixing the long response times and the focus is getting staff out of unsafe situations. K. Carlson said that he did not recommend a letter going to the Department of Fish and Game. He said that staff is looking for parity for Fish and Game wardens and that the wardens should receive increased pay and benefits. He said that the letter he was looking for was to join other agencies to encourage better pay and benefits for Fish and Game wardens. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board decline the MRPOA's suggestion to correspond with the California Department of Fish and Game encouraging them to increase hiring of wardens, based upon the information provided. C. Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. Page 7 Meeting 08-01 C. Agenda Item No. 3 —Proposed Addition of Beatty Trust Property to the Kennedy-Limekiln Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County Assessor's Parcel Numbers 558-35-001, 558-36-011 and 558-36-012), Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA), As Set Out in This Report; Adopt the Attached Resolution Authorizing Purchase of the Beatty Trust Property; Adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan Recommendations Contained in this Report Naming the Properly as an Addition to the Kennedy-Limekiln Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, Indicate Your Intention to Dedicate the Property as Public Open Space After Approval of the Sierra Azul Master Plan- (Report R-08-08) M. Williams provided a PowerPoint presentation and showed a map of the property and described the neighboring areas. He showed the alignment of the trails and roads, pointing out three access points to the property. He said there was a house, a trailer residence, a barn, a riding ring, a boathouse facility, and about 19 acres of level land. He said there is a trail easement along the ridgeline. He said there is a series of road systems, the land contained oak woodlands, and that there were steep drainages. M. Williams said that the barn is in fair condition but needs a better assessment. The house dates back to the 1800's and does not have a foundation, but is wood on dirt. He said the county does not have records of the property. He added that the county considers structures 50 years or older to be historical, but the question he raises is if this structure is of significant historic value. M. Williams reviewed the terms of the purchase. The cost is $1.9 million and the property is appraised for$2 million. There will be some funds withheld to deal with cleaning up some hazardous waste on the property. He said he had been working the members of the Beatty family for approximately 10 years. K. Nitz asked if the barn would be kept. M. Williams said it would in the interim, but staff will look into the historic significance of this building too. K. Nitz asked if there was an area for parking. M. Williams said that there are great staging areas on the property, which could include equestrian parking. K. Nitz asked how many parking spots are on the county's lot and M. Williams said there were between 25-30 parking slots. L. Hassett asked if there are any issues with accessing the area. C. Britton said that there is no private development adjacent to this property. He congratulated M. Williams on his work on this purchase, as it was a long process. Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board approve the addition of Beatty Trust Property to the Kennedy-Limekiln area of Sierra Azul Open Space Page 8 Meeting 08-01 Preserve (Santa Clara County Assessor's parcel numbers 558-35- 001, 558-36-011 and 558-36-012); Determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as set out in this report; adopt the Resolution No. 08-01 authorizing purchase of the Beatty Trust Property; Adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan recommendations contained in this report naming the property as an addition to the Kennedy-Limekiln Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve; Indicate intention to dedicate the property as Public Open Space after approval of the Sierra Azul Master Plan. M. Davey seconded the motion. Discussion: J. Cyr noted that this showed fantastic cooperation between the District and the County. Vote: The motion passed with a 6 to 0 vote. D. Agenda Item 4—Proposed Addition of the Della Maggiore PropeM to the Cathedral Oaks Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County Assessor's Parcel Number 558-26-003, at the End of Firemans Road); Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as Set Out in the Report; Adopt the Resolution Authorizing Purchase of the Delia Maggiore Property; Adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan Contained in this Report and Name the Property as an Addition to the Cathedral Oaks Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve; Indicate Intention to Withhold Dedication of the Property as Public Open Space at this Time—(Report R-08-09) M. Williams showed a map of the area and said this was a low priced parcel. Motion: M. Davey moved to approve the addition of the Della Maggiore property to the Cathedral Oaks Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County Assessor's parcel number 558-26- 003, at the end of Firemans Road); Determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as set out in the report; Adopt Resolution No. 08-02 authorizing purchase of the Della Maggiore Property; Adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan contained in this report and name the property as an addition to the Cathedral Oaks Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve; Indicate intention to withhold dedication of the property as public open space at this time L. Hassett seconded the motion. Page 9 Meeting 08-01 Discussion: K. Nitz asked if there were comparables for this property. M. Williams said there were and that this property fell on the low end. K. Nitz said he thought the price was too expensive. J. Cyr noted that small parcels in private hands are troublesome and so he supported this purchase. Vote: The motion passed with a vote of 5 to I with K. Nitz voting against the motion. E. Agenda Item 5—Authorize the General Manner to Enter into a Retainer Agreement with the Law Firm of Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel in an Amount Not. to Exceed $50,000 in the Matter of Chiocchi et al. v. Presentation Center and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Santa Clara Superior Court Case No. 107 CV 095669 —(Report R-08-1 1) K. Nitz asked for an explanation for this contract. S. Schectman provided information on the litigation and said that these funds were approved in the current District budget. Motion: M. Davey moved approval to authorize the General Manager to enter into a Retainer Agreement with the law firm of Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel in an amount not to exceed$50,000 in the matter of Chiocchi et al. v. Presentation Center and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Santa Clara Superior Court Case No. 107 CV 095669. J. Cyr seconded the motion. Vote: The motion passed 6 to 0. VI. INFORMATIONAL K. Nitz referred to a letter from D. Sanguinetti to Mrs. Thurber regarding trail damage and he asked for more information. D. Sanguinetti gave some background information. K. Nitz asked M. Williams about an e-mail regarding the Bear Creek Stable lease. M. Williams that staff did not have time to reply to his inquiry due to being short on staff. M. Williams said that this project will be added to the new staff s priority. K.Nitz asked if the Board should move the time of the closed session to Thursday so that C. Riffle could attend the meeting. C. Britton said that C. Riffle was willing to respond by e-mail. C. Riffle said that the meeting should go on as planned. P. Siemens said that the schedule should be kept as it is. K. Nitz said that tonight's (1/16) meeting was his compensable meeting during this time period. L. Hassett said that his only compensable meeting was tonight's (1/16) meeting. He noted that there had been a lot of rain and wind up on Skyline. He said that a power line was caught on fire and said that Rangers Danielson and Paterson responded. He made a Page 10 Meeting 08-01 comment on a letter in the Use and Management packet and noted that 69 letters were outside of the District boundary. He asked how people will be notified, either by mail or e-mail. J. Cyr said they need to respond and acknowledge the letters. C. Britton said that notifications should be looked at again. C. Riffle said that his compensable meeting was tonight's (1/16) meeting. He said he went to Sierra Azul, Windy Hill, Rancho San Antonio and Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserves. He said he also went to Ravenswood Open Space Preserve and said it was worth the trip to see it. He asked G. Sam for a new staff organizational chart. He said he would like to receive an update on the sheriff contract status. He asked C. Britton if the District needs to address the state budget situation. C. Britton said that he and R. Jurgensen would be going to Sacramento and they will look into it. C. Riffle asked about whom he should talk to about serving on a Board committee. C. Britton said that Board members should let P. Siemens know if they want to serve on a particular committee. P. Siemens asked for e-mails with preferences, and he noted that there would be a new Board Evaluation Committee and a new ad hoc committee for the recruitment of the General Manager position. J. Cyr said his compensable meetings included the January 9 Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee meeting and tonight's (1/16) meeting. J. Cyr handed out a Santa Clara Creek Coalition brochure. He asked for an updated staff telephone list. G. Sam said he would work on this. J. Cyr thanked K. Nitz for the ant lecture. He hiked GGNRA lands in Marin County. M. Davey said her compensable meeting was tonight's (1/16) meeting. She attended a Hidden Villa meeting and noted that the District was mentioned. She said she gave a pitch for open space at that meeting and was told that they will save as much land as possible. She said she is scheduled to speak at a January 24 meeting with Liz Kniss. P. Siemens said his compensable meeting was tonight's (1/16) meeting. C. Britton said he met with representatives from the Town of Woodside and felt that they resolved some issues and were repairing the relationship with the agency. He asked if P. Siemens was available to attend an event for retiring Stan Williams of the Santa Clara Water District on February 6 from 6:OOpm to 10:OOpm. He said Palo Alto is having a dedication for the King Plaza and that M. Davey will attend. He let the Board know that the Bay Area Open Space Council all day event is scheduled for May 21, 2008. He gave an update on his retirement party and said it would be held on Friday, March 28 and that $20,000 has been raised toward the event. S. Schectman said that oral arguments on the coastal annexation would happen at 9:00am on January 23. She told the Board that a court in Riverside gave an adverse opinion regarding the dedication of land. She said they are drafting a petition for review and said this is an important case. She handed out the District's amicus letter to the Board members. Page 11 Meeting 08-01 M. Williams said that during the past year, under K. Nitz's presidency,the District purchased 842 acres plus 88 acres on tonight's agenda. He gave two possible dates for a special coastal meeting, either March 25 or March 27, and the Board members said that either were okay. He announced that S. Sommer is now a regular employee as the Senior Property Planner. R. Jurgensen said the District was co-hosting an evening with the Mountain Lion Foundation on January 24. He said that they are working on the Good Neighbor Policy and are focused on finishing it this fiscal year. He said that a 4'x 8' District map at an outside area at Alice's Restaurant on Skyline Boulevard. M. Davey asked about the new District logo. C. Britton said that the new District logo report will be presented at the January 30 Board meeting. G. Sam said that the District will allow job applicants to apply on line. He said this will allow staff to archive recruitments, reduce paper, and save staff time. VII. ADJOURNMENT The Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District adjourned at 10:57 pm. Lisa Zadek Recording Secretary Page 12