Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout20090708 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District i Meeting 09-21 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT JULY 8,2009 i MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Nonette Hanko called the Special Meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. She called the Roll Call. Members Present: Pete Siemens, Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Mary Davey, Larry Hassett and Cecily Harris Members Absent: Curt Riffle Staff Present: Steve Abhors, Sue Schectman, Duncan Simmons II. CLOSED SESSION President Hanko stated that there were no items to report on for Closed Session items 1 and 2. REGULAR MEETING III. President Hanko called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:03 p.m., and asked for the Roll Call. Members Present: Pete Siemens, Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Mary Davey, Larry Hassett and Cecily Harris Members Absent: Curt Riffle Additional Staff Present: D. Sanguinetti, A. Ruiz, N. Perez, K. Lenington, D. Simmons, A. Speidel, R. Jurgensen. A. Jatczak, A. Duong, M. Williams, A. Christenson, G. Lausten, Galli Basson, T. Hugg IV. NEW STAFF INTRODUCTION - A. Ruiz introduced Galli Basson as the new Planning i i gave background information about her, including that she had been Techn n and s c a a g �' g Meeting 09-21 Page 2 working as a GIS intern at the District. G. Basson said she was excited to stay at the District. The Board welcomed her. V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS—There were none. V1. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: Director Cyr moved adoption of the Agenda. Director Davey seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. VII. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR Director Hassett removed the Written Communications and asked to make corrections. President Hanko said those corrections had been made prior to the meeting. A. Jatczak said that Mrs. Kolluri had given additional information to A. Duong who made copies and gave them to the Board. Kathleen Kolluri, 24749 Olive Tree Lane, Los Altos. She said she read the letter and saw that they have been denied,but she did want to turn in a petition signed by 11 of her neighbors who have a strong interest in entering the park. She asked how an easement agreement could be signed by 1/3 of the people on a private road and not by all of the people on a private road. M. Williams gave a brief presentation and history about the Board action in 1994. He showed a map of the area. He said that after buying the Vidovich property in the early 1990's, that 13 neighbors contested the District's access to the property. He said the District did not have deeded access. He said the 13 neighbors in the area were very concerned about having public access in that area. The District entered into an easement agreement with those 13 neighbors to obtain patrol and maintenance access and as part of that agreement the homeowners reserved access to the preserve. He said there is a chain link fence with signage of no public access. He showed two other access points that the public can use. President Hanko asked if it was possible for Mrs. Kolluri to receive permission from the people in the unincorporated area to access District property from that gate. M. Williams said that he has not asked the neighbors, but he said he thought access might be granted. He said he thought Mrs. Kolluri had asked and had been denied. President Hanko recalled that she remembered the access problem in this area and she said she understood the predicament. Director Hassett said it looked like the District did not have the legal authority to grant Mrs. Kolluri access. He asked what the 13 properties have in common that the rest of the properties don't. M. Williams said they are in the unincorporated area of Santa Clara County. He said that the 13 owners' concern was that the District would allow public parking and the road would not be used for just patrol and maintenance vehicles. Director Siemens clarified that the reason the District entered into the property was because it had no easement to access the property. M. Williams said the District had no deeded easement, but the District had been using the access since the early 1980s. Director Siemens asked if the District had a deeded easement on the rest of the street. M. Williams said he did not believe the District had a deeded easement on the street, but had been using the street since the 1980s. M. Meeting 09-21 Page 3 Williams said it took three years to get all of the 13 neighbors to sign so the District could record the easement. Director Davey said she wanted to confirm that the District does not have the legal right to grant access. S. Schectman said that was correct, unless the 13 property owners will amend the agreement. Matt Kolluri, Kathleen Kolluri's husband, said he wanted to ask the same question. If the District does not have the legal right to give them access to the property, how did the District have the right to give access to the 13 people. He said the only distinction is that those 13 people belong to the county and the rest are part of the city of Los Altos. He said that either the agreement is invalid or it should be extended to the rest of the people on the street. He asked how the agreement could be limited to just 13 people. He said it is a private road. He said the agreement is flawed. President Hanko asked M. Williams if there were only 13 people who resided at the time when the agreement was entered into. M. Williams said that in the subdivision that contested District use of the road, there were 13 subdivided house lots and item 2 addresses that these homeowners reserved unto themselves the right of access. S. Schectman said that it is not uncommon to have disputes on the use of private roads. The record indicates that in 1994 there was a dispute and the property owners said the District did not have a right to use the road. The District disagreed and entered into an agreement with the 13 owners who objected at that time. She said that legislative decision at that time could have been made to include all, but it was not and the District does not have a legal authority to change the access without permission of the 13 owners. Mrs. Kolluri said that if one were to bring a lawsuit on this issue it might be found that there has been public access all along. She said that might bring up a can of worms to those not permitting access. She said the truth is that there is public access as those homeowners are the public. She said that these sorts of issues have come up in the past in the Town of Los Altos and have been resolved. Motion: Director Davey moved adoption of the Consent Calendar to approve the June 10 and June 16, 2009 Board Minutes; the Written Communications; and the Revised Claims 09-12. Director Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. V111. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item 4— Issuance of Owner's Letter of Concurrence for Peninsula Open Space Trust to Construct the Council Circle at Mindego Meadow in Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve—(Report R-09-87) S. Abbors said that this would be A. Christenson's final staff report before the Board and that she was heading off to MIT to continue her education. Meeting 09-21 Page 4 A. Christenson presented the staff report and gave background information about the Mindego Ranch purchase. She reviewed the timeline of the project and said that the project was reviewed and approved by the Legislative, Funding and Public Affairs Committee ("LFPAC"). She discussed the components of the project and the design elements. President Hanko said that the Board usually receives a report from LFPAC. Director Cyr said that LFPAC was in concurrence; Director Siemens said he did not have anything to add and Director Harris said she was pleased with the staff report. President Hanko said she had heard rumors that there was going to be a fence installed around the plaque. S. Abbors said he spoke with Audrey Rust of POST about that and he explained the circumstances and suggestions for a fence in the area, adding that the fence will be out of view of the plaque area. Director Hassett said he was concerned about the maintenance of the area. S. Abbors said that an agreement has not been worked out yet regarding this issue and added that Ms. Rust was open to ideas. Director Hassett suggested that the proposal should allow an access permit to POST in perpetuity to keep the area maintained. President Hanko suggested adding"and maintenance"to the LFPAC Recommendations item number 2. Director Cyr asked if that change might change the time frame. A. Ruiz suggested a slight modification so the added phrase would read, "or management agreement". There was agreement to this change. Motion: Director Hassett moved approval, as amended, to the Legislative, Funding and Public Affairs Committee recommendations (1) to authorize the General Manager to issue an Owner's Letter of Concurrence to San Mateo County to allow Peninsula Open Space Trust to construct the Council Circle at Mindego Meadow in Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve; (2) Authorize the General Manager to issue a Permit to Enter or Management Agreement to Peninsula Open Space Trust and its authorized agents for construction and maintenance of the Council Circle at Mindego Meadow in Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. Director Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. B. Agenda Item 5—Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Award of Contract to Golden State Engineering for the Fletscher Demolition and Site Cleanup at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve—(Report R-09-80) S. Abbors announced that this would be G. Lausten's first staff report presentation to the Board. G. Lausten summarized the background information for the project and reviewed the bid process, including staff s recommendation that Golden State Engineering be awarded the project. She said that staff did a thorough background check and all information was positive. Meeting 09-21 Page 5 Director Hassett expressed concern over the large discrepancy in the bid numbers. G. Lausten and S. Abhors gave further information which satisfied Director Hassett's concern. Director Hassett asked about the contingency amount and A. Ruiz said that the contingency was not a given and said that staff and Golden State Engineering would need to renegotiate if there were expensive unknown costs. Director Siemens asked if the bid includes septic tank removal. G. Lausten said that the bid includes the removal of four 500-gallon tanks. President Hanko asked if there was a begin date and end date for the project. G. Lausten said that the project should be completed in early September 2009 and would begin the last week of July or first week of August. Motion: Director Siemens moved that the Board determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in the report, and to authorize the General Manager to execute a contract with Golden State General Engineering for the bid amount of$29,500, plus an additional $21,900 for alternate bid items and contingency, for a total amount not to exceed $51,400 for the Fletscher Demolition and site Cleanup at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. Director Davey seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. C. Agenda Item 6—Approval of Salary Adjustments and Amended Employment Agreements for the Board's Appointees: General Manager, General Council and District Controller—(Report R-09-88) Motion: Director Davey moved approval of the Ad Hoc Board Appointee Evaluation Committee's recommendations including a 2.5 percent cost-of-living salary adjustment for the General Manager, General Counsel and a salary adjustment of $1,459.40 for the District Controller, and to adopt the resolutions approving the salary adjustments set out in Recommendation I and authorizing the Board President to execute the Employment Agreements. Director Siemens seconded the motion. Discussion: President Hanko stated that the report did not include language in previous drafts. S. Abbors explained the General Manager's salary discrepancy and why the language was different this time. Director Cyr said that the Board was extremely pleased with the work and professionalism the three direct-hired staff bring to the District. Vote: The motion passed 6 to 0. IX. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS COMMITTEE REPORTS—There were none. STAFF REPORTS M. Williams said that the District had closed escrow on three properties. He asked the Board's availability to have a Special Board meeting at the Elkus Ranch on August I I at 6:30pm. Meeting 09-21 Page 6 D. Sanguinetti announced the successful bum at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. He said 100 acres were burned and that the conditions were good as the smoke went toward the ocean. He said there were six letters of comment or concern. He thanked B. Malone and the SFO and Public Affairs staff. President Hanko commented that Palo Alto Online had a good article on the bum and that there were four comments attached to that article that staff should review. R. Jurgensen spoke about AB 979 , the importance of the bill to the District, and the fact that staff has achieved an exception for the District from onerous regulations inherent in the bill. S. Abbors attended Bill Cook's BBQ on July 4 and said it was an interesting event. Next week he will be meeting with representatives from East Palo Alto regarding Cooley Landing and is looking at how the District can work with them. President Hanko said she represented East Palo Alto and asked to be included. S. Abbors spoke about SB211 and discussed the issues with this bill as it related to the Santa Cruz Open Space District and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and said that the District can no longer support the bill. He told the author of the bill, Terry Corwin and she said she supported the decision and she may withdraw the bill. Director Harris said she had spoken with Lily Lee and asked if there could be a water trail site as part of the Cooley Landing project. S. Abbors said he did not have an answer yet about that. DIRECTOR REPORTS Directors Davey, Harris and Siemens had nothing to report. Director Cyr said he attended the Parks and Open Space Forum and he reviewed his experiences and gave detailed information about methods other agencies use relating to trail design, employee housing, fencing and gates used in grazing areas, and dog and bicycle access. He said he would be unavailable between August 8 and August 19, 2009. He attended the June 4 training bum at Sierra Azul. He said he turned in his June Board attendance sheet to the District Clerk. On July 5, he hiked the Stevens Creek trail extension with Sunnyvale's vice-mayor and some concerned residents. He attended the Russian Ridge bum. President Hanko pointed out that Director Cyr attended the Parks and Open Space Forum at his own expense. Director Hassett complimented CalFire and District staff on the July 41h activities in the Skyline area. He said there were no incidents of any illegal fireworks. He said he had been mowing his own property and only saw four or five star thistle plants and was happy to report that the bio- controls are working. President Hanko gave a report on the Resolution event held at El Corte de Madera on July 4. 40 people attended, including two relatives of William Kapell. She said it was a wonderful, well- planned event and she thanked staff. X. ADJOURNMENT President Hanko adjourned the Special and Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District at 8:30 p.m. Lisa Zadek, Recording Secretary