HomeMy Public PortalAbout20080130 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 08-02
SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
January 30, 2008
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
I. ROLL CALL
President P. Siemens called the Special Meeting to order at 5:40 p.m.
Members Present: Jed Cyr,Nonette Hanko, Mary Davey, Ken Nitz, Larry Hassett and
Pete Siemens arrived at 5:45 p.m.
Members Absent: Curt Riffle
Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman and Bobbi Peckham
11. CLOSED SESSION
P. Siemens publicly stated that there were no reportable items from the Closed Session
regarding Item 1.
REGULAR MEETING
111. P. Siemens called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:34 p.m., and asked for the Roll Call.
Members Present: Jed Cyr,Nonette Hanko, Mary Davey, Ken Nitz, Curt Riffle
(arrived at 7:50pm), Larry Hassett and Pete Siemens
Members Absent: None
Additional Staff Present: Camille Tavlian, M. Freeman, Michael Williams, Lisa
Infante, K-risti Britt, Gordon Baillie, David Sanguinetti, Rudy Jurgensen and Duncan
Simmons.
IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS—There were none.
V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Meeting 08-02
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Agenda. K. Nitz seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0.
VI. NEW STAFF INTRODUCTION
M. Freeman introduced Gretchen Laustsen as the newest member of the Planning
Department. He gave some background information about her. She is currently working
on the GIS database that documents the District's water rights within the San Gregorio
watershed. Gretchen Laustsen said she was happy to be at the District and that she was
looking forward to working with everyone. The Board welcomed her.
VII. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR
K. Nitz removed Agenda Item 6 and the Revised Claims from the Consent Calendar. K.
Nitz asked about claim numbers 8280, 8300, 8310, and 8311. Staff answered his
questions or said they would reply via e-mail with answers.
N. Hanko said she would be voluntarily recusing herself from Revised Claim numbers
8276, 8326-R, and 8343-R. M. Davey said she would be recusing herself from Revised
Claim numbers 8276 and 8326-R.
C. Britton reviewed some edited changes to letters in the Written Communications
packet.
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including
Written Communications; Agenda Item 7 Appointment of District
Representatives to the Governing Board of the Midpeninsula Regional
Open Space District Financing Authority; Approve the President's
appointments of Directors Hassett and Riffle to Serve on the Governing
Board of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Financing
Authority Along with the BY-Laws Dictated by Board President and
Treasurer Assignments; Agenda Item 8 Approve Appointment of Director
Siemens as the District's Representative to the California Joint Powers
Insurance Authority (CALJPIA) Board of Directors and Appointment of
Two Alternates: General Manager, L. Craig Britton, and Administration/-
Human Resources Manager Gregory L. Sam; Agenda Item 9 Concur with
Staff to Expend Up to $7,000 for an Event Honoring the General
Manager's Retirement and Celebrating the District's Success Over the
Last 35 Years; and Revised Claims 08-02. L. Hassett seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0 on Agenda Items 7, 8 and 9. The
Revised Claims 08-02 passed 4 to 0 on Revised Claim numbers 8276 and
8326-R with two recusals,from M. Davey and N. Hanko; passed 5 to 0 on
Revised Claim number 8343-R with one recusal by N. Hanko, and the
remaining Revised Claims passed 6 to 0.
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Meting 08-02
VIII. BOARD BUSINESS
A. Agenda Item No. I —Approval for Removal of Five Eucalyptus Trees at Pupas
Ridge Open Space Preserve; Authorize the General Manager to Direct Staff to
Remove Specified Eucalyptus Trees at Pulgas s Ridge Open Space Preserve;
Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categoricallyy Exempt from the
j California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)Based on the Findings Contained
in this Report - (Report R-07-1311
L. Infante presented the staff report. She reviewed the plan to remove five
Eucalyptus trees from Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve. She said that this is a
long-term restoration project that began with the purchase of the land in 1985.
She showed aerial photos of the property. She showed the past removal of acacia
trees. She said that weed suppression at this site is a huge task as the soil is highly
disturbed and contaminated and degraded. Natural regeneration helps in this
process.
L. Infante said that the current phase is more intensive and it includes the removal
of the heritage eucalyptus trees, which mean that they are all greater than 12" in
diameter by San Mateo County Code. In order to get permits to remove these
trees, staff developed intensive long-term restoration plans. She showed the
current restoration sites. She showed the area where six trees were previously
removed in 2006.
L. In
fante reviewed whystaff is requesting approval to remove these trees that do
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provide habitat for native wildlife in the area. She said there were several reasons,
an affect on
including the high level of invasiveness of eucalyptus trees, they have
the under story flora, and there are effects that are not so easy to see, such as
eucalyptus litter changed the eco-system function and soil composition. She said
that eucalyptus trees are highly flammable and are a fire hazard. She added that
eucalyptus trees are used by birds for nesting and that in a study, about 40 species
of birds use eucalyptus trees to nest. The types of birds are considered
"generalists" and are typically associated with urban habitats.
She showed a slide of how quickly eucalyptus trees spread. She pointed out that
the eucalyptus trees on Pulgas Ridge have not spread and she said that was due to
continuous efforts by staff and volunteers to cut down small seedlings.
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K.Nitz said that he disagreed and said that eucalyptus trees did spread at Pulgas
Ridge by going down the hill. He said that was one of the main reasons they had
started this process.
II
K. Nitz asked about bringing the property back to a natural condition,but he noted
that when the pine trees were removed the thistles grew and the thistles were left
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Meeting 08-02
untreated and are now spreading. L. Infante said that staff had recently been to
Pulgas to remove the thistle and she said her bigger concern is the spread of the
stink-wart.
P. Siemens asked for clarification of which trees would be removed under the
permit. L. Infante indicated the trees on a slide.
L. Hassett asked if the eucalyptus trees hiding the water tank are supposed to be
removed. K. Nitz said they are supposed to be removed. L. Infante said it was
not in their plan right now. The trees in that area will not be removed until the
water tank is removed.
N. Hanko said she was not prepared to support this plan. She said she was
concerned about the pine bark beetle, if it was found to be there. She said she is
still not satisfied for what is being planned for the eucalyptus. These are big trees
that have been there a long time, and they provide shade for people and animals.
She would rather staff put its time into the infestation problems.
C. Britton said that this is a complete program of slow removal of eucalyptus
trees, which the Board has approved. The plan includes introducing native
species to the preserve. He said that they are in year two of a three-year permit.
K. Nitz added that he is impressed with the restoration process. He said a lot of
plants that have been planted are doing really well.
P. Siemens asked how well the oak trees are doing on the preserve. L. Infante
said they are doing quite well.
Motion: M. Davey moved approval for the removal of five Eucalyptus trees
at Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve; Authorize the General
Manager to direct staff to remove specified Eucalyptus trees at
Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve; Determine that the
recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California
Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) based on the findings
contained in this report. J. Cyr seconded the motion.
Vote: The motion passed 5 to 1 with an abstention from C. Riffle. N.
Hanko voted against the motion.
B. Agenda Item No. 2—Approval of New District Logo; Concur with the
Legislative Funding and Public Affairs Committee's (LFPAC) Recommendation
and Accept this Design as the New District Logo; Accept LFPAC's
Recommendation for the Committee to Review and Select Typography, Color and
the District Patch - (Report R-08-03)
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Meeting 08-02
K. Britt presented the staff report. She gave some background information on the
new District logo project. There were three phases to the project. Phase one was
the research, conceptualizing and drafting of the design; phase two included
refining the design and adding typography; and phase three was adding color to
the black and white logo. She said that they are currently in phase two, the
refinement stage. She said there had been several meetings since the contract was
approved in October 2007. Mortenson Design presented nine original draft logos
for the LFPAC committee to consider. At that meeting the Committee narrowed
the options down to the top three designs and requested some modifications to the
chosen designs. Mortenson Design returned to the Committee with the top three
designs with a total of eight variations. There were three staff meetings to present
the three concepts and eight versions to get their input and feedback on the
designs. The LFPAC Committee reviewed the staff's comments. Mortenson
Design presented two additional modifications and these were also provided to
staff to get any additional feedback from them.
K. Britt said that tonight staff would present the top three designs with a total of
ten variations for the Board to comment and consider. She handed out
information showing the proposed designs. She said that Gordon Mortenson of
Mortenson Design was at the meeting and that he will discuss the designs and
their development.
Mr. Mortenson described the three designs. He said that there were three basic
different points of view in creating the designs. The first idea was the original
idea presented, a snap shot of the open space—rolling hills, vegetation, animal
life. He received comments that water was not represented and so he looked at a
way to add water. He showed the different variations of the first design. He said
that on another variation, they designed an abstract way to show water. Another
version combined two water ideas.
N. Hanko, chairman of the LFPAC Committee, said that the Committee did its
very best to present as many ideas so that the whole Board could decide on the
logo. She said the logo is a very personal thing. She said that the Committee
decided they wanted staff input. She said that the Committee did not take a vote
on which logo it preferred because they felt it was important to get all of the ideas
out to the full Board. The Committee did receive a report from staff and that the
most popular logo from the group was Variation 4.
C. Riffle thanked Mr. Mortenson and the Committee. He asked what the
objectives are of trying to either correct or enhance the logo. K. Britt said that one
of the objectives was to design a logo that is more modem than what the District
has currently. She said that the District has two identities; the logo on the
letterhead, and the logo on the field staff uniforms and Board podium and
vehicles. She said that from a practical viewpoint, the District does not have a
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Meeting 08-02
unified identity. K. Britt said that this process will unify the District's identity
and also show something more modem, and easier to apply.
C. Riffle asked what they really want the logo to say. Mr. Mortenson replied that
he thought they would want the logo to show the open space environment and he
said that was the goal in every version of the proposed logos. C. Britton added
that the proposed version works well in color or black and white, and the design is
modem and has flare. He said that water became an important element because of
the annexation to the coast.
C. Riffle asked if the logo that they choose will be the only logo used on the
District letterhead,the website, trucks, patches, etc. K. Britt said that was correct.
P. Siemens asked if it would be a patch also and she said it would be. She said
that once the logo is approved, the next action item would be the development of
the patch design. There was some discussion of how a patch could look with
lettering, but K. Britt stated that this would be a future action item for the staff and
Board to review once a logo is decided upon.
M. Davey said that it is difficult to choose a logo without seeing the lettering. Mr.
Mortenson said he understood; however, he explained that the reason they work
on the logo first, is that it should represent the idea of open space as a symbol,
without any wording. He said that the typography may change the way the logo
looks, however, they have not had any problems in the past where typography
upset the look of the logo.
L. Hassett said that Mr. Mortenson has worked very closely with the Committee
and has been very helpful in explaining the process should work. He said the
committee said that the wording would work with all of the top five logo versions.
He agreed that the logo must work on its own.
C. Riffle said that M. Davey brings up a good point, but that he agreed with L.
Hassett, that he was satisfied with working on the logo just as it is. C. Riffle
asked if they considered agriculture, because agriculture is becoming something
the District is doing. K. Britt said that it was part of the response in the
questionnaire. Mr. Mortenson said they did consider adding agriculture, but a
decision must be made about what to leave in and what to leave out. He said that
they can only include so much.
P. Siemens asked why an oak tree was shown and not a redwood tree. He said
that the redwood is unique to this area. K. Nitz said he wondered about that too.
He said he liked version four. His second question was if they had considered
making the logo round instead of square. Mr. Mortenson said they had considered
making the logo round and that in some instances it could be changed to a round
symbol.
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Meeting 08-02
Mr. Mortenson said that one reason an oak tree was used rather than a redwood
tree had to do with composition. Redwoods are more vertically oriented trees, and
they wanted something that conformed with the shape of the hills and did not
compete. K. Nitz asked if they tried using a redwood tree and Mr. Mortenson said
that they did try experimenting with symbols of trees that were more vertical.
C. Riffle asked if the signage at the preserves would have this logo on them. K.
Britt said they would eventually. She said she is working on a list of items that
contain the District logo and the associated costs. There would be phased
approach in implementing the new logo.
L. Hassett said that field staff clearly preferred version four. He asked what the
feedback was on K. Nitz's idea, logo one version six. K. Britt said five and six
received comments about the tree and why they were not using a specific species.
She said that version four of logo one was the dominantly preferred version.
J. Cyr commented that the committee wrestled with the logo. He said he trusts
Mr. Mortenson and his guidance. He said that the version four works at many
different levels.
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board approve a new District logo; Concur
with the Legislative, Funding and Public Affairs Committee's
(LFPAC) recommendation and accept this design as the new
District logo; Accept LFPAC's recommendation for the Committee
to review and select typography, color and the District patch. C.
Riffle seconded the motion.
Discussion: C. Britton thanked K. Britt for her work on the project.
N. Hanko said that it was important for the staff to have a chance
to review the logo ideas and give their feedback. She said she was
satisfied that the committee had done its job.
L. Hassett said that he also supports this version and that it was
very important to have staff s input on the design. He said it is a
strong design and not easily dated, and described the elements of
the logo he likes.
K.Nitz said that he was worried about the swoosh and that the
design was too cartoon-ish. He said he was okay with the design,
but that he would abstain from the vote because there was no
typography.
M. Davey asked if they would use an acronym in the typography,
similar to POST, would they use MR6SD. Mr. Mortenson said
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Meeting 08-02
that acronym's are difficult to use and for people to remember what
they mean.
Vote: The motion passed 6 to 0 with K. Nitz abstaining from the vote.
C. Agenda Item No.3—Proposed.Preliminary Action Plan for the Implementation
of the District's Basic Policy for Fiscal Year 2008-2009; Review the Proposed
Preliminary Action Plan for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 and Discuss Possible
Modifications for Review by the Administration and Budget Committee as a Part
of the Budget Development Process - (Report R-08-19)
C. Britton introduced the report. He said that this report sets the stage for the budget.
He asked each manager to give a short synopsis of their program and then the Board
can ask questions.
D.
I. Real Property Department
A. Land Purchase, Funding and Negotiation
B. Property Management
C. Land Protection
M. Williams highlighted the proposed purchase of the POST/Mindego Ranch
property, a significant addition to Russian Ridge. He said there would be a
Coastal Conservancy Grant for that purchase (under grant projects).
C. Riffle asked about staff resources and that M. Williams was not asking for new
additional staff. M. Williams said that was correct, but that there was a current
vacancy. C. Britton added that from a budgetary standpoint it will be a difficult
year for positions because the tax revenue will be falling and they are waiting to
hear from Sacramento about invoking their 8%take-away. He said that they have
not looked at the total cost of all of the positions as they fall under the 7%
guideline.
C. Riffle asked about the general department emphasis. He asked if grant requests
is a key component for the Real Property program. C. Britton said that grants are
an aggressive part of the program. M. Williams said that they are always looking
for grant funding.
K.Nitz said he was glad to see the lease for the stable on the Bear Creek
Redwood Master Plan.
M. Williams said that his department will continue working with Planning and
Operations for purchased properties that may have possible grazing uses.
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Meeting 08-02
C. Riffle asked if M. Williams should have something written in his action plan
about getting the new General Manager up to speed. M. Williams asked if the
Board would like him to include some language about that, and they said they
would like to see it under"Land Purchase".
K. Nitz asked about page 8, number 7 (under Land Protection), asked about why it
referred to resource management agencies, and said it could just state"other
agencies" and not limit it to resource management agencies. M. Williams said
that was fine. K.Nitz asked why they would need to create an ordinance to
present to the Board. S. Schectman replied that an ordinance would be developed
specifically for this.
N. Hanko commented further on number 7, the ordinance to be adopted. She said
that they should consider having a document(brochure) available to the public
explaining the ordinance and making it clear what the public should expect from
the District and what the District expects from the public.
C. Riffle asked about page 8, evaluating purchasing land and the cost and asked if
they should look at it financially. M. Williams said they do look at that, especially
with new properties,the cost of clean-up issues. C. Britton said this is reflected
under the Operations program.
L. Hassett asked if there is adequate timing to do analysis of the purchase of
property and the costs associated required. C. Britton gave an example and said
that the best they can do is make a guess sometimes about the costs. M. Williams
said that their practice is to bring in Planning and Operations when considering
purchasing a property to get their impressions for costs. C. Britton gave the
upcoming agenda item about the Beatty property as an example of looking at the
different aspects of purchasing a property.
K. Nitz asked if they could make the District"greener". He said he would like
everyone to start thinking in that direction. C. Britton said he thought this would
fall under Administration and somewhat under Operations, especially D. Topley's
interest in this area.
11. Planning Department
A. Advance Planning and Geographic Information Systems
B. Resource and Stewardship Planning
C. Public Access Improvements and Staff Facilities
M. Freeman asked the Board to follow along with the green sheet hand out that
showed the Planning Department's notes. He said he was requesting a new
position for a Senior Resources Planner to reflect the growing demand for
resource purposes. He said that the request for this new position reflects the many
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Meeting 08-02
programs underway and growing, including conservation grazing, efforts to
protect water quality, and CEQA compliance. This position will also increase the
supervisory capacity within the Planning Department. He said he was working
closely with D. Sanguinetti in mirroring their departments so that they will work
more efficiently with each other in the growing resource management programs.
vi wed the emphasis of the Coastal Protection program. He said
M. Freema
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IS coordinator will allow the opportunity the new G pP tY for data collection and
analysis and mapping in-house. He said that they are anticipating completing both
of the Master Plans under their Long-Range planning. Grant funding has been
applied for the Almaden site project. They will be looking at a comprehensive use
and management plan for Russian Ridge to incorporate the Rapley and Mindego
ranches in the process.
M. Freeman said that the emphasis for their GIS program would be to consolidate
their data and educating the staff on what they have and how to use it to apply
toward projects. He said a new project is to introduce the public to the GIS data
through the website. He said this is a key project in Public Affairs too. He said
they will also be working with Operations to assess the feasibility of developing a
land management database. He pointed out page 4 regarding completing the
upper section repairs at Alpine Road and then managing it as a regional trail. He
said that San Mateo County is very interested in this project.
He reviewed their plan for Resource and Stewardship Planning and the projects
that fall under this section.
M. Freeman reviewed the public access projects, and gave an update on trails. He
said there are two new projects under this section, if they receive grant funding.
M. Freeman said that staff has interviewed architects and they hope to bring a
contract for the upgrades to the Administration and Skyline Field offices. The
architect is laying out a plan with alternatives, so he will be working with the
Budget committee to tell staff how much they can spend to make the buildings
"green". P. Siemens asked if there are grants available. M. Freeman said that
PG&E has funded projects.
N. Hanko said that the Planning program was presented very well and she hoped
they would be able to accomplish the projects described.
L. Hassett referred to the focus of going green and said the focus is the cost,but
he said he thought staff should bring in information about the long-term savings
'n green. He said he is hoping the MOU with San Mateo County will be in
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M. Freeman said h e worked on this to keep the District in front of San
place. M P
Mateo County staff.
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Meeting 08-02
C. Riffle asked about page 2 under Key Projects, Sierra Azul, he asked about the
Alma College site and if they were planning on tearing the buildings down. M.
Freeman said the intent is to determine the cost benefit of keeping the buildings
and listing them on the historic registry, but that some buildings were too
damaged to keep in place. C. Britton gave some additional edits for this section.
K. Nitz referred to page 2, and asked if M. Freeman would add anything about
helping Real Property with getting the lease at Bear Creek. M. Freeman said they
could add that. K. Nitz asked about page 3, number 3 he asked why the slender
false broom eradication was taken out. M. Freeman said that the eradication of
slender false broom is an ongoing activity that Operations is responsible for.
K. Nitz asked if Skyline was included in the comprehensive use and management
plan for Russian Ridge. M. Freeman said that Skyline was not included because
he wanted to narrow the focus of the project.
K. Nitz asked if the improvements at Windy Hill would be completed. M.
Freeman said that this is a"b"priority, but it is being worked on. K. Nitz said
that they should be working at preserves where the public goes.
K. Nitz asked if staff would be looking at ponds other than those at Driscoll
Ranch. M. Freeman said that consultants are hired and working on the Driscoll
ponds and at Schilling Lake. C. Britton said that the cattails at Alpine Pond are
being worked on separately.
P. Siemens asked about page 2, the update of the District wide Master Plan and
Regional Open Space Study, if there was a way to consolidate these. M. Freeman
said they could combine them. P. Siemens asked about page 5, the off-site study
review, if they are still following the Moffett Trail. M. Freeman said they were
reviewing that as part of the Bay Trail. C. Britton clarified the question for P.
Siemens.
P. Siemens referred to page 9 and asked about allowing bicycles in the area. He
asked if this would be a problem. M. Freeman said it could be similar to the
problem at El Corte de Madera if it is not addressed.
111. Operations Department
A. Field Operations—D. Sanguinetti
B. Resource Management—C. Roessler
D. Sanguinetti handed out additional information. He said it is the Operations
Department commitment to continue to provide the most responsible stewardship
to the District lands. He said there were additional staff proposals, including a
new ranger position for the Foothills area, an Open Space Technician to the
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Meeting 08-02
Skyline area, a Resource Specialist with a partial focus on grazing, and elevating
the Resource Management Specialist position to Senior Resource Management
Specialist, which would raise the level from a Planner II level to a senior level.
He said the key projects are to move field staff assistance on resource
management projects to miscellaneous on-going projects. He said this will
emphasize the importance of resource management. It is an on-going, regular
component.
He said they want to develop, budget and implement a pilot seasonal ranger
program. This is a good time to implement this program, as there are a number of
ranger positions open at the District currently. This will provide an opportunity to
observe a ranger to see if they fit in with the District. There has been a great deal
of success with the seasonal Open Space Technician program.
D. Sanguinetti referred to the handout that they plan to implement the Santa Clara
County Sheriff's contract, once it has been approved. They will also look into
improving response times with San Mateo County Sheriff s office. He said that
this is an addition to their program.
K. Nitz referred to item 2, the radio system, and noted that it is now a three to five
year and that a year and half has gone by. C. Britton said it was always a three to
five year program, and that they hoped to have it completed in three, but told the
Board it might take longer. D. Sanguinetti said they are in year two and hope to
complete in year three. K. Nitz suggested inserting the starting year and proposed
ending year so that the time frame is specific.
K. Nitz suggested adding the word, "draft" in front of the words "Maintenance
Operations Manual"because it is not completed yet. C. Britton suggested the
wording to be, "Newly Completed Draft of the Maintenance Operations Manual",
and K.Nitz said that would be fine as long as the word"draft" was included.
K. Nitz referred to page 5, number C, regarding working with the database
consultant on improving reporting abilities of current citations. D. Sanguinetti
said they are still looking on how to utilize gathering the information. They are
moving into the beta-testing program. They eventually want to have a database
where they can get the information quickly.
K. Nitz asked how many total new positions were being requested for the
upcoming year. D. Sanguinetti said they are asking for three new positions and
the elevating of one position.
N. Hanko said that this is the only time of the year to review the proposed Action
Plan. She said that she has said before that this item should be a single item for
discussion at a Board meeting, so that the Board can give their whole attention to
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each of the department's proposals. She said that she will make a motion that the
Board holds a Special Meeting for a single agenda item for the presentation of the
Preliminary Action Plan each year. K. Nitz agreed, as did L. Hassett. J. Cyr said
he supported the motion. S. Schectman gave some guidance on how to insert
language into the Administration's section that this report is done annually at a
Special Meeting.
D. Sanguinetti asked if the Board had any questions about the Resource
Management section.
C. Riffle suggested adding language about reaching out to neighbors and visitors
to educate them about what the District is doing. He said that so much work is
being done under resource management that it would be good for people to know
what is going on. P. Siemens said that this language could fall under the Public
Affairs program. R. Jurgensen said that this is covered in his program too.
C. Riffle referred to page 9, 3-C, and asked about developing the native grass seed
increase contract. C. Roessler replied that it is difficult to purchase native grass
seed, so the only way to get native seeds is to hire a contractor to collect the seeds
and it takes about two to three years to grow enough. She said that the District
has a small amount left in its stock, so they will need to get this program started
again to replenish the seed stock.
C. Riffle asked about the bluebird nesting and said he didn't know the District
was doing this. D. Sanguinetti said that they have been doing this for a number of
years. He said the Rangers are very active in the placing and checking of the
boxes so that the bluebird population has a chance to compete.
C. Riffle asked about the wildlife surveys and if there was a plan associated with
the surveys. C. Roessler replied that they do specific surveys for the rare species,
and there has been community interest in the bluebird and deer surveys. She said
that volunteers on an annual basis do the surveys.
K. Nitz asked about page 7, 1-C, if it referred to pond management. C. Roessler
replied that the most important ponds to focus on are the Driscoll pond series.
Staff has done surveys District wide, but in the next year the focus will be on the
Driscoll ponds, followed by the Monte Bello ponds.
K. Nitz referred to page 8, 2-A, asked if there are specific Sudden Oak Death
(SOD) trees being examined. C. Roessler said that they are not sure if the trees at
Los Trancos suffer from SOD's. She said she changed the language in this
section so that staff would have more flexibility on deciding what type of trees
they will treat, instead of just treating heritage trees.
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K. Nitz asked about hiring a mapping consultant and why they were proposing
this when there is in-house GIS staff. C. Roessler explained that the software they
were going to purchase had too many problems,but after staff looked into it and
speaking with other agencies, they decided not to recommend purchasing the
Now the are looking into a program used by the National Parks
�'
program. Y g p
Service to adopt a system they are using instead.
s and tracking wildlife sightings and asked if
K. Nitz referred to the wildlife survey g
w. C. Roessler said that there is a specific
the data is input into a spreadsheet no P
P
form that staff has been trained to fill out and she inputs the important sightings in
a database for her to track quickly. He mentioned the deer sightings an d how to
figure out wildlife corridors and where they go, and he asked if the forms asked
for the location of the sighting. C. Roessler said the form did have this; however,
she added that the level of surveys they are doing would not help staff determine
wildlife corridors. K. Nitz asked how wildlife corridors are determined. C.
Roessler said she has seen reports on interpretation of habitat connectivity, using
aerials and habitat use. M. Freeman added information about how wildlife
corridors are determined.
L. Hassett commented about the large tree at Los Trancos and asked if staff is not
sure what is killing it. C. Roessler said that was correct. She said non-invasive
samples have been taken to the best labs in California and they are not certain
what is causing the tree to die.
IV. Pub
lic Affai
rs Department
A. Public Information and Outreach
B. Legislative, Funding and Organizational Relations
C. Community Programs
R. Jurgensen said they did not propose any new positions; however, he said they
Affairs Supervisor,
rvisor but instead hiring a
recommend not hiring the Community Af p � g
v role in
Specialist. He said this pos
ition will offer a mor
e active o
Communications Sp p
department.
material for the de
the media and drafting p
P. Siemens asked if the website staff needed to be a full time position, rather than
what was proposed last year as being a half-time website coordinator and half-
time communications specialist. R. Jurgensen said that there is a huge need to get
the website up-to-speed,the website staff works with all of the departments on
keeping different parts of the site up to date with projects and information. He
said she spends much of her time fixing links that are not working, or uploading
documents. He added that they are submitting an ambitious web program in their
Action Plan for the next year.
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Meeting 08-02
R. Jurgensen replied to C. Riffle's previous question about research management
public outreach and he referenced page 2, under the first Key Project, shows the
research management outreach goals. C. Riffle asked, if by example, if that
would cover explaining grazing at Driscoll, and R. Jurgensen said it would.
N. Hanko said a reference under"Other Projects and Activities" on page 4,
number 2, about completing and distributing the Good Neighbor Policy brochure.
She said that in order to do this,the Public Affairs department needs to work with
LFPAC to develop revised policies for Board consideration and to hold annual
good neighbor public meetings. She said this is clear under the Administration
section;however, it is not clear that an annual meeting is to be held under the
Public Affairs section. R. Jurgensen said that he will add a sentence to this
section to reference the annual meeting. N. Hanko said that the Board had special
meetings to hear what their neighbors had to tell them and she said she did not
want to loose that option. C. Britton asked for clarification about what type of
annual meeting the Board wanted to hold. N. Hanko replied that nothing was in
the Action Plan about having any meetings and that her point was that there
should be something stated about it in the plan.
N. Hanko also reminded staff that they were supposed to be updating the
Notification Policy and that this was not shown in the Action Plan either. S.
Schectman said that the Notification Policy was mentioned under the Legal sub-
program.
K. Nitz referred to page 3, about having web pages in foreign languages and said
that was very important. R. Jurgensen said they were going to have assistance by
foreign speakers, and they have text drafted and hope to have this done fairly
quickly. He said the languages they are going to use are Spanish, Vietnamese, and
Chinese and they would be directed to the foreign language page from the home
page. Not all of the website pages would be translated.
K. Nitz referred to page 4, number 5, he asked how many Tails and Trails books
were left. R. Jurgensen said there were a few hundred left to sell.
K. Nitz asked if staff would consider producing a calendar instead of a coffee
table book. C. Britton said that they had many beautiful pictures taken by former
Board member, Deanne Little, and he said they could be made into a coffee table
picture book. K. Nitz,suggested looking at producing a calendar each year. C.
Britton said that he would like to also see a screen saver that they could send out
to people.
K. Nitz referred to page 12 and asked why the maps of GIS coordinates language
was struck-out. R. Jurgensen said that they are still working on a prototype that
will allow them to do this. He said they want to transition the maps from
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Meeting 08-02
Illustrator to GIS. Once that is done, then they will have maps that feature GIS
coordinates and they will work with Planning on that project.
K. Nitz referred to page 14, number 23, and asked about the progress. R.
Jurgensen said that staff is still working on this project.
K. Nitz asked for clarification on number 6, on page 7 of 14. C. Britton said that
the end of the two-year session is in November, so in January the Board will be
approving a new Legislative Program.
P. Siemens asked if the ARMS Program is new and he was told it is. R.
Jurgensen said that staff will be sending out a memo about this program. He said
P. McKowan led this and that he worked with Operations to develop a program
that enables the District volunteers to work on projects without District staff
supervision. K. Nitz asked if Board members could be part of this program. R.
Jurgensen said that this program will start small to see how it goes.
N. Hanko asked about the newsletter being sent out electronically and that there
was no longer a hard copy of it. R. Jurgensen said that the newsletter referred to
was not the District's Open Space Views newsletter, but the Volunteer Newsletter
sent out by P. McKowan. This is a separate newsletter just for the volunteers and
docents. He said that people can sign up to receive the Open Space Views
newsletter electronically, but that it is still produced and mailed out.
M. Davey thanked R. Jurgensen for section 1 on page 13 about researching the
feasibility to reimburse school districts to allow children to visit the open space.
R. Jurgensen said that they will be looking for funding for this program. P.
Siemens suggested that they find out if the school districts have money in their
budgets for transportation. He suggested they start by contacting the district
offices before calling the individual schools.
C. Riffle asked that something be added about the Board being available to speak
on behalf of the District. P. Siemens agreed that was a good idea. R. Jurgensen
said he would add it and appreciated their participation.
P. Siemens commented on page 10, number 1, about the Daniels Nature Center
having a donors' plaque for recognition for contributions on behalf of the upkeep
of the center.
V. Administration Department
A. Administration - G. Sam
B. Human Resources—G. Sam
C. Legal Services— S. Schectman j
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Meeting 08-02
G. Sam said he was proposing a half-time Administrative Assistant position to
serve both the Legal program and the General Manager. He said the new General
Manager was interested in having a support person. C. Britton said that he had
never wanted an assistant. S. Schectman said that adding this position is a
reflection of the growing number of staff and the additional work load. L. Hassett
asked if there was space to put the new person for this position. C. Britton said
there really was not a place for the person to sit.
K. Nitz asked if there were two Senior Accounting Specialists. G. Sam said that
there is only one Senior Accounting Specialist and that he had just wanted to
rearrange the order of the listed staff. M. Davey said the rearrangement was very
logical.
N. Hanko referred to page 6, number 14, the Good Neighbor Policy meetings, and
she said this should be stated that this is an on-going project, rather than
completed. C. Britton suggested rewording this section.
N. Hanko asked that they find the right area under Administration to insert
language that the Preliminary Action Plan be presented as a single item at a
special meeting on an annual basis.
K. Nitz referred to page 5, number 10, and asked what software they are using
now. G. Sam said they are using Microsoft 2000 and Microsoft XP currently. He
said that Microsoft will not support these programs in the near future, so they need
to look at obtaining new software for the District. G. Sam said they will be
moving toward upgrading to Microsoft 2007 over time.
K. Nitz referred to page 4, number 6, and asked that new Board chairs be added.
P. Siemens agreed that this should be added.
K. Nitz referred to page 12, number 1, asked for clarification. G. Sam said the
HRIS system is an HR software package to improve efficiency. It is a database.
S. Schectman said that she anticipated a decision in the Riverside case and the AG
opinion. She said the Public Notification Policy is included under the Legal
Services Program.
K. Nitz asked if she was working on the Bear Creek stable lease. S. Schectman
said that Duncan Simmons was working on that project. He asked that it be added
to the Action Plan because it was not listed.
No formal action was required. The Board of Directors accepted the report.
D. Agenda Item 4—Approval of Santa Clara County Funding Agreement to Support
District's Purchase of the Beatty-Trust Propeqy as an Addition to the Kennedy-
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Meeting 08-02
Limekiln Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County APNs
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 the Report•, Adopt the Resolution Authorizing the
Execution of the Funding Agreement with the County of Santa Clara Towards the.
Purchase of the Beatty Trust Property, Including Conveyance of an Open Space
Easement Over the Beatty Trust Property to the County—(Report R-08-14)
Motion: K. Nitz moved approval of Santa Clara County Funding
Agreement to support District's purchase of the Beatty Trust
Property as an addition to the Kennedy-Limekiln area of Sierra
Azul Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County APNs 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 the report; Adopt Resolution No.
08-05 authorizing the execution of the Funding Agreement with
the County of Santa Clara towards the purchase of the Beatty Trust
Property, including conveyance of an Open Space Easement over
the Beatty Trust Property to the county. M. Davey seconded the
motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
E. Agenda Item 5—Approve Board Policy for Meeting Compensation,
Reimbursement of Authorized Necessary Expenses for Performance of Official
Duties, and Adoption of Ethics Training Requirements Pursuant to AB 1234;
Approve the Resolution Adoption a Board Policy for Meeting Compensation,
Reimbursement of Authorized NecessM Expenses for Performance of Official,
Duties, and Adoption of Ethics Training Requirements Pursuant to AB 1234—
(Report R-08-13)
J. Cyr asked about Board members keeping written records of the training. He
asked if this is part of the law. P. Siemens suggested removing this requirement.
S. Schectman said that AB 1234 states the District is required to maintain records;
however she said she strongly advised the Board members to keep their own
records. She said that any trainer is required to provide a certificate stating they
attended the training. She said it is a good idea for the Board members to keep
these documents. S. Schectman said that staff can request duplicate certificates if
they are needed.
P. Siemens asked if the law does not require that the Board member maintains
documentation. S. Schectman said that was correct. P. Siemens said that he
would make a motion to delete the Board member requirement to maintain the
documentation. S. Schectman said it can be struck, but she said she still advised
them to keep their own records.
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Meeting 08-02
C. Britton said that they would strike that language from Section 2 of the
Resolution and from the Policy, last page under D.
Motion: J. Cyr moved approval of the Board policy for Meeting
Compensation, Reimbursement of Authorized Necessary Expenses
for Performance of Official Duties, and adoption of ethics training
requirements pursuant to AB 1234; Approval of Resolution No.
08-06 for adoption a Board policy for Meeting Compensation,
Reimbursement of Authorized Necessary Expenses for
Performance of Official Duties, and Adoption of Ethics Training
Requirements pursuant to AB 1234 as amended. K. Nitz seconded
the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
F. Agenda Item 6—Approve the Board President's Recommendations for
Appointments to the Standing and Ad Hoc Committees.and Appointments as
Board Representatives to Other Bodies, as Contained in this Report, Including the
Determination of Compensation Status for Attendance at Board Committee
Meetings—(Report R-08-18)
K. Nitz said that ad hoe committees are usually temporary and for a specific
reason. He noted that the Board Appointee Evaluation Committee has been listed
for a number of years and said it is not temporary, but it is for a specific subject.
He asked S. Schectman why this is considered an"Ad Hoc" committee. S.
Schectman said it has a designated function until it is disbanded. She said it
would be in order to disband it; however, her concern is that they may want to
meet with a Board appointee, so if it is disbanded, then a new committee would
need to be formed. P. Siemens said they would be better off to reappoint Board
members for the next fiscal year. C. Britton suggested adding the fiscal year for
the Committee so that it is time-specific. There was general consensus.
Motion: K.Nitz moved, as amended, the approval for the Board President's
recommendations for appointments to the Standing and Ad Hoc
Committees and appointments as Board representatives to other
bodies, as contained in this report, including the determination of
compensation status for attendance at Board committee meetings.
C. Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
VIII. INFORMATIONAL/COMPENSABLE MEETING REPORTS
S. Schectman gave instructions on how the Board can deliver information about their
compensable meetings. They can either give the information orally, or in written form to
the District Clerk.
C. Riffle said his compensable meetings included the January 16 Board meeting and
tonight's meeting (1/30). He said the mountain lion seminar was very well done.
Page 19
Meeting 08-02
J. Cyr said he was giving his compensable meeting report in written form to the District
Clerk. He attended the mountain lion seminar and said that staff did a superb job. He
said a question came up at the meeting that a docent was able to answer about how to
reach the District's emergency numbers. He requested a card with these numbers. C.
Britton said it was in process.
N. Hanko, said she was submitting her compensable meeting report to the District Clerk.
She met with POST to meet with the person designing the donation plaque for the people
making donations towards the Mindego Hill project.
K. Nitz said his compensable meetings were the January 16 Board meeting and tonight's
meeting(1/30). He asked D. Sanguinetti if the trees that were cut down at Los Trancos
were left at the site or were they chipped. D. Sanguinetti said they left the trees at the
site. K. Nitz asked about the water tank and asked if it was still there. M. Williams said
he would look into that and reply back. K. Nitz said he hiked at Pulgas in the rain and
that it was very nice.
M. Davey said her compensable meetings included the January 16 Board meeting and
tonight's meeting(1/30). She said she spoke on behalf of the District at a sustainable
conference hosted by the League of Women's Voters and Liz Kniss. She said it was a
standing room only group that included a show and tell about all of the activities going on
in Santa Clara County regarding sustainability.
L. Hassett said his compensable meetings were the January 16 Board meeting and
tonight's meeting (1/30).
P. Siemens said he submitted his compensable meeting report to the District Clerk.
C. Britton said that they would be moving away from using or having bottled water at
Board meetings. He pointed out a letter in the FYI's that he wrote to David Lewis based
on Save the Bay's legislative proposal. He said the FYI's also contains the fourth quarter
Resource Management report. And, he noted that a memo about the progress on the
Sheriff's contract was also included in the FYI's. C. Britton offered a mountain lion
calendar to a member of the Board. The calendar was a gift from Lynn Saddler, President
and CEO of the Mountain Lion Foundation. He gave a brief update on staff s work with
the Town of Woodside.
M. Williams said there would be a special meeting about the Mindego property. He said
he wanted to schedule a meeting of the Real Property Committee. There was discussion
about finding a date to schedule this and other meetings for other Board committees.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
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i
i Meeting 08-02
The Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space
District adjourned at 11:57 pm.
Lisa Zadek
Recording Secretary
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