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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. Page 2 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 q g pp 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. i i i 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 Page 3 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) Page 4 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 Page 5 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. Page 6 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 Page 7 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. Page 8 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 Page 9 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 n e p g p 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 b of �' p g Yg g M. Freeman said h e worked on this to keep the District in front of San place. M P Mateo County staff. Page 10 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 Page 11 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 Page 12 Meeting 08-02 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. Page 13 Meeting 08-02 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. Page 14 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 Page 15 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 Page 16 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- Page 17 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. Page 18 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 Page 20 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 Page 21