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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20090325 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Meeting 09-08 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT MARCH 25,2009 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Nonette Hanko called the Special Meeting to order at 5:37 p.m. She called the Roll Call. Members Present: Pete Siemens, Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Mary Davey, Larry Hassett, Cecily Harris and Curt Riffle. Members Absent: None Staff Present: Steve Abbors, Sue Schectman, Duncan Simmons, Mike Williams, Ana Ruiz, Sandy Sommer, Rudy Jurgensen, David Sanguinetti. 11. CLOSED SESSION. The Closed Session commenced at 5:37 p.m. and adjourned at 7:05 p.m. to be reconvened after the conclusion of the Regular Meeting. REGULAR MEETING 111. President Hanko called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:05 p.m., and asked for the Roll Call. Members Present: Pete Siemens, Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Mary Davey, Larry Hassett, Cecily Harris and Curt Riffle. Members Absent: None Additional Staff Present: A. Ruiz,N. Perez, K. Lenington, S. Hooper, G. Sam, A. Speidel, A. Spiegel, M. Newburn, E. Cuzick, K. Britt, D. Heimer, A. Duong, L. Infante Bankosh, C. Roessler, G. Baillie. Meeting 09-08 Page 2 President Hanko stated there were no reportable items from the Closed Session and that the Board would reconvene to the Closed Session following the Regular Meeting. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none. V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: Director Riffle moved adoption of the Agenda. Director Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VI. INTRODUCTION OF NEW STAFF G. Sam introduced Anna Duong as the new Deputy District Clerk/Office Manager and he gave some background information about her. A. Duong said she was happy to be at the District and looked forward to a long association. The Board welcomed her to the District. VII ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR Director Cyr made a correction to the March 11 Board Minutes, page 2 under the"Adoption of the Consent Calendar"motion, the Board member that seconded the motion was Director Riffle. He added that he liked the addition of the"draft" stamp on the Minutes. Director Hanko referred to page 3 of the March 11 Minutes, Agenda Item 5, second paragraph and corrected the spelling of Jim Boland's name from"Bohlin." President Hanko said she was voluntarily recusing herself from the AT&T Claim and that Director Davey was also recusing herself from the AT&T claim. Motion: Director Cyr moved adoption of the Consent Calendar to approve Agenda Item 4—Approve Communications Site Lease Agreement Amendment and Exercise of Option with the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, at Black Mountain, Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve; Agenda Item 5 — Authorize Extension of Contracts with Design Concepts for Graphic Design Services and Direct Marketing Solutions, Inc. (DMSI) for Mailing Services, and Authorize Contract with Patsons Press for Printing Services for FY2009-2010; and Revised Claims 09-06. Director Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0 except for Revised Claim 9992. Directors Davey and Hanko voluntarily recused themselves from voting on the AT&T claim 9992. The vote for Revised Claim 9992 passed with a vote of 5 to 0. VIII. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item 6—Appoint Dennis Heimer as Peace Officer—(Report R-09-48) D. Sanguinetti presented the staff report and introduced Dennis Heimer as a new Peace Officer and Ranger for the District. He gave background information about D. Heimer. Motion: Director Siemens moved that the Board adopt a Resolution of the Board of Directors appointing Dennis Heimer as a Peace Officer. Director Riffle seconded the motion. Meeting 09-08 Page 3 Discussion: D. Heirner thanked the Board for their congratulations. D. Sanguinetti pinned the new badge on D. Heimer's uniform. D. Heimer introduced two co-academy classmates from the Santa Clara County Parks Department who were in the audience to attend the badging ceremony. Vote: The motion passed with a vote of 7 to 0. B. Agenda Item 7—Adopt the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's FY2009- 2010 Action Plan Consisting of the District's Annual Work Plan of Ongoing Activities and Key Projects—(Report R-09-43) A. Speidel presented the FY2009-2010 Action Plan with a PowerPoint presentation. She reviewed the significant projects including budget related changes and any fiscal impacts related to the changes. Director Siemens asked several questions about specific Planning and Real Property projects which staff answered to his satisfaction. He said the new process was well done. Director Harris referred to page 14 of the Administration section and asked about staff resources already being in place. G. Sam and S. Abbors answered her question. Director Harris requested that any mention of the"National WildlifeArea"be corrected to read"Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge." III Director Riffle said the Action Plan was a huge improvement and thanked the managers and staff. He said he liked how the Action Plan was tied to the budget. S. Abbors thanked the Board for their compliments and acknowledged that organizational changes can be challenging, but staff had adjusted to the changes and will be using the Action Plan as a tool. Motion: Director Riffle moved to adopt the proposed FY2009-2010 Action Plan. Director Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 7 to 0. C. Agenda Item 8a—Approve the FY2009-201 0 Budget as Recommended by the Administration and Budget Committee(ABC)—(Report R-09-42) Director Riffle said he was pleased and proud to present the proposed FY2009-201 0 budget. He said the ABC worked extensively with staff and the budget now ties in with the Action Plan. He said he was pleased at the rate of decrease in the 7% guideline was stopped. He reviewed the ABC recommendations and thanked the Committee members including Directors Harris, Hassett and President Hanko, all of the department managers, and B. Congdon, G. Baillie and especially E. Cuzick. Director Hassett said he appreciated the work the ABC had done and said the final budget product was the best he had seen in his years on the Board. Meeting 09-08 Page 4 Motion: President Hanko moved to approve the proposed FY2009-201 0 Budget as initially presented at the Regular Board meeting of February 25, 2009 (Report R-09-19), and as presented this evening(R-09-45), and adopt the Administration and Budget Committee recommendations as contained in the report. Director Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. D. Agenda Item 8b—Adopt the Budget for FY2009-201 0 Including a Two Point Five (2.5) Percent Salary Increase for all General Manager Appointed Employees—(Rgpo R-09-45) E. Cuzick presented the final review of the proposed FY2009-2010 budget. She noted changes to the budget since the first reading and said that all budget guidelines had been met. Motion: Director Cyr moved to approve a two-point (2.5) percent salary increase for the Office, Supervisory and Management employees at the beginning of the applicable pay period of April 1, 2009. The five-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)with the represented District Field Employees Association provides a two point five(2.5) salary increase, which commences with fiscal year 2009-2010; and adopt a Resolution approving the budget for FY2009-201 0 and the amendment to the Classification and Compensation Plan (Exhibit A to the Resolution)reflecting the two point five (2.5)percent salary increase for all District employees. Director Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. E. Agenda Item 9—Approve Annual Claims List for FY2009-201 0 (Report R-09-46) G. Sam presented the staff report and said an added recusal statement shown on the bottom of page 2 was added to the Annual Claims report. This statement was added to allow Director Davey and President Hanko to make an annual statement for recusing themselves from AT&T and Verizon claims. President Hanko read the statement into the record. Motion: Director Davey moved approval of the Annual Claims List, including debt service payment for FY2009-2010. President Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. F. Agenda Item 10—Consider the Remedial Investigation Report for the Former Driscoll Ranch Property, and Authorize an Amendment to the Contract with Northgat Environmental Management, Inc., to Provide Environmental Services to Implement the Final Recommended Actions—(Report R-09-28) K. Lenington reviewed the results of the consultants Remedial Investigation Report (RI Report) on the former Driscoll Ranch property, giving a brief history of the property and including the work at the property since August 2008. He said the consultant concluded that no further action needed to be done on the site. He reviewed the recommendations, showed an aerial photo of the tank farm and oil wells and said that the entire infrastructure had been removed. He displayed the soil sample results. Meeting 09-08 Page 5 Director Riffle said this was a very educational report. He referred to Recommendation #2 and asked why the District could not use this specific well. K. Lenington said that water sources were not an issue at the ranch because of the numerous ponds, so the well in that area was not needed. Director Riffle referred to Recommendation#4 and asked why they needed a Soil Management Plan. K. Lenington said there is an expected future use and if there is extensive work done there will need to be a Soil Management Plan in order to minimize exposure to workers. Director Cyr asked if there would be a link to the Master Plan for the area. K. Lenington said there was not a link between the property and the Master Plan yet. It would get triggered through the CEQA review process. S. Schectman agreed the CEQA review is important to linking the property to the Master Plan. Director Hassett asked if the Soil Management Plan (SMP)was an expense the District needed to incur. He asked if a no construction zone designation in the area would be enough to drop the need for a soil plan. A. Ruiz said that per the Master Plan no public access would be allowed in the areas discussed. She said that the SMP would be integrated into the Master Plan. Director Hassett asked if the SMP needed to be prepared. S. Schectman said that an SMP does need to be prepared according to the regulatory agency. Director Cyr said he did not want the SMP to get lost in the years to come. S. Abbors said staff was developing a tracking method to locate plans. A. Ruiz said staff could cross-reference the SMP at the end of the Master Plan. Director Riffle asked if the word "site"on page 3 should be"soil"and K. Lenington agreed that it should be changed. Motion: Director Hassett moved to accept the Remedial Investigation Report for the former Driscoll Ranch property; authorize the General Manager to amend the contract with Northgate Environmental Management, Inc. for an additional $20,000, for a total amount not to exceed $276,474 to provide environmental services to implement the final recommended actions at the former Driscoll Ranch property; and determine the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) as set out in the report. Director Davey seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. G. Agenda Item 11 —Approve Contract with Ecological Concerns Inc. to Maintain and Monitor Native Revegetation at the Skyline Ridge Tree Farm—(Report R-09-22) L. Infante-Bankosh presented the staff report and reviewed the bid process for the tree farm project, and said that staff recommended a contract with Ecological Concerns Inc. Director Hanko asked if photographs would be taken each year and L. Infante-Bankosh said there would be annual photographs. Director Hassett said he passes by the site daily and it is nice to see the area maturing and he complimented the people working on the project. �I Meeting 09-08 Page 6 Director Riffle commented that the Board needs to be smart in budgeting up-front. He said he received two comments from constituents and asked if volunteers can offset some of the maintenance costs and if this alternative was considered. L. Infante- Bankosh said volunteers were used for plantings and distributing hay,but the project is too extensive to maintain by volunteer hours. S. Abbors said that staff can examine how volunteers can help, but added there would need to be a project manager to oversee the volunteers, which would involve a cost to the District. Director Cyr said that organizing the volunteer hours would be a huge task and the project consultant cost was a reasonable amount to pay for the service. Motion: Director Cyr moved to authorize the General Manager to enter into a three-year contract and Agreement with Ecological Concerns Inc., for a total contract amount not to exceed $77,666.02, to perform maintenance and monitoring of native revegetation in Phase I of the Skyline Ridge Tree Farm Restoration Project. Director Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. H. Agenda Item 12 —Consider Creation of a Facilities Improvement Ad Hoc Committee to Support the District's Skyline Field Office Remodel Project and Appoint Board Members to the Committee—Report R-09-5 1) President Hanko recommended that Directors Siemens, Hassett and Riffle be appointed to a newly formed Facilities Improvement Ad Hoc Committee. She said it was important to A. Ruiz to have a committee to support the Skyline Field Office remodel project. She said it could eventually become a standing committee. Motion: Director Cyr moved to approve the creation of a compensable Facilities Improvement Ad Hoc Committee to review and refine remodel options for the Skyline Field Office and develop design recommendations for the full Board of Directors' review and approval, and appoint three Board members to the Committee. Director Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS COMMITTEE REPORTS BOARD APPOINTEE COMMITTEE: Director Riffle reminded the Committee members that on April 6 the Board would meet to begin conducting the Board Appointee evaluations. STAFF REPORTS S. Abbors discussed the memos in the FYI's. He said there is an effort in Santa Cruz County to form a new open space district and he had received a call from Peter Detwiler that there was a state senate bill, SB21 I (Simitian) to form the agency. He said there was a Senate hearing on April I in Sacramento. There was discussion between the Board and staff about the area of Santa Cruz County where the District owned property and it was decided that a meeting to discuss the issue would help. A. Ruiz confirmed the La Honda Master Plan meeting would be on May 19, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in Half Moon Bay. She said staff was moving forward on the Alma College conditions Meeting 09-08 Page 7 assessment and a RFP was sent out. She said she would like to meet with the newly formed Facilities Improvement Ad Hoc Committee on April 2. R. Jurgensen said the District has received 20 reservations to date for the April 2 Board meeting and social event. Director Riffle asked how the Board could access the public survey in preparation for the La Honda Master Plan meeting. R. Jurgensen said he could send the survey to all of the Board members. Director Siemens asked if there was an update on the Mt. Umunhum video. R. Jurgensen said staff would be scheduling an editing session. I M. Williams said there would be a Real Property Committee meeting scheduled for April 28 at 12:00 p.m. He reported the gates were missing at Mindego Hill and Mr. True had been contacted and admitted to taking the gates. DIRECTOR REPORTS Director Riffle said his compensable meetings included the Board meetings on March 11 and tonight's meeting(03/25). He said he attended the Cultural Resources training on March 17, which was well done. On March 18, he attended a workshop at his place of employment about wildlife linkages and corridors. He thanked D. Simmons for the tour of the Stevens Creek Nature Study Area on March 20. On March 21, he attended the first of three Deer Hollow Farm tours. He complimented District and POST staff on their joint flora workshop on March 24. He said he would be attending the Sempervirens' dinner on March 26. He said he cannot attend the land management seminar on July 9, and asked if someone else could go. He asked D. Sanguinetti if he could schedule a ride-along to go to La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve. Director Harris said her only compensable meeting was tonight's meeting(03/25). She said that on March 23 she gave a presentation at the Coastside Land Trust meeting. Director Siemens said his compensable meetings were the Board meetings on March 11, and tonight's meeting(03/25). He said he went on a tour with C. Roessler on Russian Ridge. He also went to the True Ranch remediation area. He requested that if a closed session was going to be scheduled on May 27, that it occur after the start of the regular meeting as he will be arriving late due to another meeting in Monterey that day. Director Davey said her compensable meetings included the Board meetings on March 11 and tonight's meeting(03/25). She said she attended the March 17 Cultural Resources training. She said the March 24 POST/District event was well attended and described the event in detail. Director Cyr said his compensable meetings included the Board meetings on March 11 and tonight's meeting(03/25). He said he found the tour of Area 25 led by D. Simmons to be very interesting. He thanked staff for the new business cards. Director Hassett said his only compensable meetings included the Board meetings on March 11 and tonight's meeting(03/25). He said he would be missing the May 27 Board meeting. He said he had received many positive comments on Director Harris' presentation at the Land Trust. Meeting 09-08 Page 8 President Hanko said her compensable meetings included the Board meetings on March 11 and tonight's meeting(03/25). She said she attended the Cultural Resources training at the Administrative Office. She thanked C. Roessler for the tour of Russian Ridge. IX. ADJOURNMENT At 9:35 p.m., President Hanko, adjourned the Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and announced the Board members would reconvene to Closed Session. The Closed Session reconvened at 9:43 p.m. and concluded at 10:15 p.m. President Hanko announced that there were no reportable items from Closed Session items 1, 2.A, 23, and 3 and adjourned the Special Meeting of the Board of Directors. Lisa Zadek, Recording Secretary