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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20090408 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Meeting 09-11 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT APRIL 8,2009 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Nonette Hanko called the Special Meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. She called the Roll. 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, Brian Malone 11. CLOSED SESSION President Hanko stated that the Board would meet in closed session to discuss Agenda Items 1, 2, and 3. The Board convened in closed session. The closed session concluded at 6:45 p.m. REGULAR MEETING 111. President Hanko called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:04 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, D. Topley, G. Sam, A. Speidel, R. Jurgensen, A. Duong, D. Sanguinetti, J. Andersen. President Hanko stated that there were no reportable items from the Closed Session Agenda Items 1, 2 and 3. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none. Meeting 09-11 Page 2 V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: Director Cyr moved adoption of the Agenda. Director Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VI. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR Director Hassett asked if he could comment on an FYI memo from T. Hugg. He said that a bullet was missing stating that staff would evaluate the possibility of a new structure. S. Abbors replied that it is understood by staff that a new structure evaluation was important to the Board. III Motion: Director Cyr moved adoption of the Consent Calendar to approve Agenda Item 3 Appointment of Maze& Associates as the District's Auditor for FY2008-09 and Authorize the General Manager to Execute an Engagement Letter Agreement in the Amount of$23,774.00; and Revised Claims 09-07. Director Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0 except for Revised Claims 10078 and 10 1 49R(AT&T), 10 118 and 10 140 (Verizon). Directors Davey and Hanko were recused from voting on the AT&T and Verizon claims. The vote for Revised Claims 10078 and 10149R (AT&T), 10118 and 10140(Verizon) passed with a vote of 5 to 0. VII. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item 4—Authorization to Purchase Four(4)New Ranger Patrol Vehicles at a Total Cost Not to Exceed $170,000—(Report R-09-37) D. Topley reviewed the staff report. Director Riffle asked clarifying questions about the District's vehicle purchasing program that D. Topley answered to his satisfaction. Director Davey asked if hybrid vehicles were considered. D. Topley said that they were, but it was difficult to find a hybrid with enough power to successfully navigate many of the steeper preserve fire roads in 4-wheel drive. Motion: Director Riffle moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to execute a vehicle contract with the State of California Department of General Services to purchase four(4) new ranger patrol vehicles at a total cost not to exceed$170,000.00. Director Davey seconded the motion. The motion passed with a vote of 7 to 0. B. Agenda Item 5—Approval of the Defensible Space(Fire Clearance) Permit System Program—(Report R-09-35) S. Abhors introduced the staff report and said that this program is one of the most important ways the District protects land it has acquired. J. Andersen gave a PowerPoint presentation, and described what defensible space is and the different ways to implement such a program. She said that the District's program allows for chipping, but not burning, and she reviewed the goals and guidelines of the program. Director Cyr said this was an excellent report and stated that he liked that the program would be reviewed annually. Director Hassett agreed that it was a great report. He asked for a definition of an occupied structure, specifically if horses in a barn qualified as an occupied structure. K. Lenington said that this topic had been discussed at the December Meeting 09-11 Page 3 meeting and that an occupied structure was a"permitted habitable structure,"which staff changed to "occupied structure"; however, he added that there was no formal definition. There was further discussion between the Board members and staff and it was suggested to define"occupied" as human habitation in a permitted structure and to consider adding barns. Director Hassett noted that he did not see that East Bay Regional Park District(EBRPD) or local State or County Parks were contacted and asked why those local agencies were not included. J. Andersen said that County parks did not have a policy and that State parks were still working on theirs. S. Abbors said that EBRP does have an extensive program,but they may not have a written document. He added that East Bay MUD does have a written policy. President Hanko said that she would have liked to have other agencies information to study prior to the meeting. She said she was concerned about approving just a portion of the larger wild land fuel management policy which had not yet received final Board approval. K. Lenington said he had understood from the earlier public workshop that the Board felt the defensible space policy was a priority, so it was scheduled ahead of the review of the full policy. He went over the schedule of when the Board would discuss the full policy. Director Hassett asked if the South Skyline Association(SSA) could be included in the initial notification phase that includes the southern portion of the District's boundary. K. Lenington gave the reasons why the initial notification would go to the southern-end District neighbors, including that staff is not sure of the response and is concerned about ability to handle many requests. There was further discussion and it was decided that the SSA could be part of the public notification process. President Hanko asked if there were maps available showing structures and that she would like to see it. K. Lenington said that structure locations are not available because they have not been mapped by either San Mateo or Santa Clara County. Director Riffle asked if this policy has been taken to neighbors, as was done with the slender false brome program. K. Lenington said that if the policy is approved, staff would do so by sending notices to the neighbors in the areas identified. Director Riffle said he thought they were missing an opportunity by not presenting the policy to the neighbors beforehand in order to get their feedback. S. Abhors asked B. Malone to tell how his meetings with the Fire Safe groups went and B. Malone described what had been discussed with the community prior to the Board meeting Director Riffle asked about notification and if people in areas outside of the Phase I area could request pen-nits. K. Lenington said that they could and that information would be available on the District's website. He added that the Fire Safe Councils would know about the program. Director Siemens asked clarifying questions regarding the actual permit that staff answered to his satisfaction. Motion: Director Siemens moved to approve the Defensible Space Permit System Administrative Guidelines to allow neighboring property owners, their contractors, and/or tenants to perform fire clearance work on District land to increase defensible space around occupied structures and reduce vegetative fuel loading; and determine that the Meeting 09-11 Page 4 recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) as set out in this report. President Hanko seconded the motion. Further Discussion: President Hanko suggested adding, "or additional restriction required"to #20 of the guidelines. S. Schectman said that where it is written that the General Manager is allowed to make designation, to add, "or his or her designee." Director Hassett asked if the SSA could be included in the motion. President Hanko asked if this caused a conflict of interest. S. Schectman said that it did not cause a conflict as the program is available to the entire District. S. Abbors asked that staff should be given the opportunity to present the program to the SSA and Director Hassett said he was fine with that and withdrew his request to include the SSA in the motion. Vote: The motion passed by a vote of 7 to 0. C. Agenda Item 6—Authorization to Amend the Contract with Vollmar Consulting to Conduct Second Year Pond Monitoring in the Former Wool Ranch Area of La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve—(Report R-09-34) K. Lenington presented a PowerPoint presentation and reviewed the ponds in the study area and the goals of the monitoring program. He reviewed the specifications of the contract. He described the failing dam at Pond DR06 and how staff had stopped the failure and would effect repair. Director Riffle said, as a fan of ponds, that the District needs to get better at monitoring and repairing the ponds and asked how many ponds were on District lands. K. Lenington 6 ponds. Director Riffle said that staff needs to et better at said there were about 0 p g monitoring ponds and not outsource the work to contractors. Director Riffle said that he is interested in the possibilities of educating the public and asked if the Vollmar data could be used to incorporate into docent led hikes and K. Lenington said it could be used that way. Director Cyr suggested putting the pond management information on the District's website. Director Hassett said he was not expecting to spend additional money on more pond studies and asked why District staff doesn't perform the pond studies. He said the ponds are there for grazing and that maybe the grazing contractor should manage the ponds. S. Abbors provided a few examples of the benefits of longer-term studies of species like the Red-legged Frog. President Hanko said that the District is committed to scientific research and likes the public to know and see what is going on. Director Siemens and Director Cyr asked for more information on the dam repair at DR06 and K. Lenington gave a detailed description of the work. Motion: Director Davey moved to authorize the General Manager to amend the contract with Vollmar Consulting for an additional $20,000 for a total contract amount not to exceed $70,000 to conduct a second year of pond monitoring at the former Wool Ranch Area of La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve; and determine that the Meeting 09-11 Page 5 recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) as set out in this report. Director Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. D. Agenda Item 7—Approval of Resolution Authorizing District Access to State and Federal Criminal History Information for Employment and Volunteer Background Checks—(Report R-09-44) G. Sam gave background information on how the District does background checks on employee candidates and he described the purpose of the proposed resolution. Motion: Director Hassett moved to adopt Resolution No. 09-11 to authorize District access to State and Federal criminal history information for employment and volunteer background checks. Director Riffle seconded the motion. Discussion: Director Harris asked if existing staff and volunteers would be involved. G. Sam said that this would not affect current staff or volunteers, but would be implemented for any new potential employees or volunteers. Director Riffle asked how many background checks were done per year and said that he hoped the information is controlled, G. Sam said it was difficult to say how many checks were done annually. He added that one staff person would need training and would be responsible for keeping the information confidential and secure. S. Abhors said that this records access provides an extra level of security when hiring a new employee. Director Harris said that the Board has not gone through the fingerprinting process. S. Schectman said that this was not a pre-condition to run for office. The Board members take an oath Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. E. Agenda Item 8—Authorization to Amend the"Agreement between San Mateo Count and Mid peninsula Regional Open Space District Regarding Fire Services" to Include District Funding for a Fire Emergency Services Rescue Vehicle- (Report R-09-52) S. Abbors gave background information and thanked S. Schectman for her successful efforts in working out a solution with San Mateo County. Director Hassett said this is a great solution and that he liked the choice of vehicle. President Hanko said she was happy to see this item. She was glad that a vehicle can now get closer to victims in need of help. Motion: Director Siemens moved to adopt Resolution No. 09-12 authorizing an amendment to the Agreement between San Mateo County and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Regarding Fire Services to include District funding for a fire emergency services rescue vehicle. Director Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS Meeting 09-11 Page 6 COMMITTEE REPORTS SKYLINE FIELD OFFICE AD Hoc COMMIT-FEE:Director Siernens,Chair, reported on the meeting. He said that staff was asked to re-look at options of remodeling versus a new building. Construction would start by next Spring. USE AND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE:Director Hassett, Chair, said the committee would be recommending major modifications to the Use and Management Plan Process; however, due to staff workload, the committee would take another look a year from now at a comprehensive revision to the Process. President Hanko suggested they discuss the Use and Management Process, so things don't take so long to get planned. She requested that the committee consider re-naming the Mills Creek Open Space Preserve and said she would like to see that resolved. She also said she would like the Legislation, Funding and Public Affairs Committee to meet. STAFF REPORTS S. Abhors went to Sacramento to support SB211 (Simitian). He said they created strong support for the new District in Santa Cruz and said the boundary between the District and Santa Cruz County would remain unchanged. He referenced a letter from an engineering association regarding the Alma College Historic Assessment project which stated that the District RFP had violated a state statute. S. Schectman said that staff cured the error and said that the project can move forward. S. Abbors spoke about AB979 concerning regulation of hunting on public lands and said that S. Schectman penned a strong letter to oppose this bill. He said it was bad legislation from the District's perspective. The Assembly hearing will be on April 14, 2009. A. Ruiz said there was a pre-bid meeting for phase two of the Administration Office re-model. She said 24 contractors attended and that the bids are due April 24, 2009. She said that the District's newsletter announces the May 19, 2009 La Honda Creek Master Plan meeting and that there would be a mailing on Monday, April 13, 2009. B. Malone reported on new trails, including the Giant Salamander Trail at El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve and the Bridle Trail at Thomewood Open Space Preserve. He said the bridge would be put in place on the Corte Madera Creek Trail. He said that K. Miller caught another car burglar at Rancho San Antonio. He said that he is working with Cal Fire on the upcoming Russian Ridge bum. There was a successful clean up of a marijuana site that filled an entire dumpster. R. Jurgensen announced that Representatives Honda and Lofgren each submitted a$4 million appropriation request for the Mt. Umunhum project and said it was great that there were now two strong supporters of the project. He said that he was scheduling a meeting with the Corp. of Engineers. S. Abbors thanked R. Jurgensen for his diligent work. DIRECTOR REPORTS Director Riffle said his compensable meetings included the Special Meeting on April 2, the Use and Management Committee and the Board meeting on April 6 and tonight's meeting(4/8). On March 26, he attended the Sempervirens dinner and met their new director. On March 29, he hiked at La Honda Creek with S. Abbors. He said that staff did a great job at the April 2 Spring Social. On April 4, he saw wildflowers at Coyote Hills and said he had a better appreciation for the wildlife corridors. He thanked the Board appointees and Board members involved in the Board Appointee evaluation workshop. Meeting 09-11 Page 7 Director Harris said her compensable meetings were the Special Meetings on April 2, April 6 and tonight's meeting(4/8). She said she enjoyed the Spring Social. She would be going on a ride-along on Friday, April 10, 2009. Director Siemens said his compensable meetings were the Ad Hoc and Special Meetings on April 2, the Use and Management Committee meeting on April 6 and Board meeting that night and tonight's meeting(4/8). He said he would not be at the April 22, 2009 Board meeting. Director Davey said her compensable meetings included the Special Meeting on April 2, the Board meeting on April 6 and tonight's meeting(4/8). She congratulated C. Koopman on his presentation on how to live with coyotes. She noted that C. Koopman was a fifth generation rancher. Director Cyr said his compensable meetings included the Special Meeting on April 2, the Board meeting on April 6 and tonight's meeting(4/8). On March 27, he hiked at Sam McDonald County Park and there were wildflower surprises. Director Hassett said his compensable meetings included the Special Meeting on April 2, the Use and Management Committee and Special Meeting on April 6 and tonight's meeting(4/8). He said he had a book to lend out, "Saw Mills in the Spanish Redwoods"which goes up to the year 1849. President Hanko said her compensable meetings included Special Meetings on April 2 and April 6 and tonight's meeting(4/8). She said she wanted to recognize Director Riffle and said it was his idea for the meet and greet with elected public officials. She said he also did a splendid job at the Board Appointee evaluation meeting. IX. ADJOURNMENT At 10:1 Opm, President Hanko adjourned the Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Lisa Zadek, Recording Secretary