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Home My Public Portal About20190814 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) August 14, 2019 Board Meeting 19-20 *Approved by the Board of Directors on August 28, 2019 REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Red Morton Community Center 1120 Roosevelt Avenue Redwood City, CA 94061 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 APPROVED MINUTES* REGULAR MEETING Vice-President Holman called the regular meeting of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to order at 7:02 p.m. ROLL CALL Members Present: Larry Hassett, Karen Holman, Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, Yoriko Kishimoto, and Curt Riffle Members Absent: Jed Cyr and Pete Siemens Staff Present: General Manager Ana Ruiz, General Counsel Hilary Stevenson, Assistant General Manager Brian Malone, Assistant General Manager Susanna Chan, Chief Financial Officer/Director of Administrative Services Stefan Jaskulak, District Clerk/Assistant to the General Manager Jennifer Woodworth, Planning Manager Jane Mark, Real Property Manager Mike Williams ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Amy Shaw spoke in support of allowing dogs on more District preserves, specifically off-leash access. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: Director Riffle moved, and Director Hassett seconded the motion to adopt the agenda. VOTE: 5-0-0 (Directors Cyr and Siemens absent) Meeting 19-20 Page 2 CONSENT CALENDAR Public comment opened at 7:06 p.m. No speakers present. Public comment closed at 7:06 p.m. Motion: Director Riffle moved, and Director Kishimoto seconded the motion to approve the Consent Calendar. VOTE: 5-0-0 (Directors Cyr and Siemens absent) 1. Approve July 24, 2019 Minutes 2. Claims Report 3. Grazing Lease Extension with AGCO HAY LLC for the Driscoll Ranch Grazing Unit at La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve (R-19-108) General Manager’s Recommendation: Adopt a resolution authorizing the General Manager to extend the Grazing Lease with AGCO HAY LLC for an additional five years. 4. Contract Award to Community Tree Service, Inc., for Tree Mitigation Planting at Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve (R-19-112) General Manager’s Recommendations: 1. Authorize the General Manager to enter into a contract with Community Tree Service, Inc., of Watsonville, California to plant mitigation trees for a base contract amount of $91,000. 2. Authorize an allowance of $9,000 for the planting of additional trees, to be awarded only if acorn production is sufficient this fall, to further enhance native plant restoration efforts. 5. Written Response to Robert Ende General Manager’s Recommendation: Approve the written response to Mr. Ende 6. Contract Amendment for Legislative Consulting Services with Environmental and Energy Consulting (R-19-113) General Manager’s Recommendation: Authorize the General Manager to amend a legislative consulting services contract with Environmental and Energy Consulting (EEC) for an additional $13,750 for a not-to-exceed total of $58,750. BOARD BUSINESS 7. Regional Trails Overview - Informational Presentation (R-19-114) General Manager Ana Ruiz provided welcome comments and spoke in support of linking District preserves with open space owned by partners. The presentation will review the current Meeting 19-20 Page 3 and planned connections. Ms. Ruiz introduced the various speakers representing several partner agencies. Planning Manager Jane Mark reviewed the Board’s Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives related to expanding public access to connect them to a regional environmental protection vision. Ms. Mark described the District’s regional trail planning identified in the Vision Plan, including the District’s current regional trail planning priorities. These include the proposed Highway 17 crossing and connections and Saratoga-to-the-Sea and Skyline-to-the-Sea trails. Real Property Manager Mike Williams described several proposed trail connections through District lands, lands owned by District partners, and negotiated trail easements with property owners, including Cloverdale Ranch, Tunitas Creek Beach, and Johnston Ranch Uplands. Additionally, Mr. Williams described several planned regional trail corridors made possible through partnerships and continued protection of open space, such as the Purisima-to-the-Sea Trail, Ravenswood Bay Trail Connection, and Alpine Road Trail. Director Kersteen-Tucker inquired regarding camping opportunities along some of these regional trails. Ms. Mark reported the District has had conversations related to this topic with partner agencies, including California State Parks and San Mateo County Parks for camping opportunities on their lands. Director Kersteen-Tucker inquired regarding multi-uses for the regional trails. Ms. Mark explained multi-use trails are being planned, but some areas of the trail may prohibit some uses, but alternative on-street bicycle connections are being studied. Director Kersteen-Tucker inquired regarding ongoing maintenance and associated costs. Ms. Mark reported the District may enter into maintenance agreements, which will require negotiation with other agencies and property owners. Director Kishimoto commented on parking needs and the need to work with partners to identify various alternatives, such as bicycle and pedestrian access and transit options. Director Kishimoto spoke in favor of creating regional maps to facilitate visitor use. Ms. Mark reported the Peninsula Working Group and Santa Cruz Mountain Stewardship Network are discussing potential regional trail maps. Ms. Ruiz reported that members of the Peninsula Working Group are interested in having discussions on regional recreational parking needs. Director Riffle commented on the need to address ADA accessibility needs. Ms. Mark reported District staff is currently addressing this need on an individual basis for each trail. Meeting 19-20 Page 4 Laura Thompson representing the Association of Bay Area Governments and Metropolitan Transportation Commission described the Bay Trail Vision that seeks to create a 500-mile continuous hiking and bicycling trail around the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay. The trails are 70% complete and help promote healthy communities, promote environmental stewardship and education, and provide a commute alternative. Ms. Thompson highlighted several regional trail partnerships, including the expansion of the Bay Trail in Richmond, Sunnyvale, and East Palo Alto. Liz Westbrook representing the Ridge Trail Council provided an overview of projects completed in cooperation with the District, including the Mount Umunhum Trail and trails through various District preserves – Purisima Creek Redwoods, Skyline Ridge, Windy Hill, etc. Future projects include the Highway 17 crossing and connecting trails, Highway 35 crossing and potential North Purisima Staging Area Expansion, and Upper La Honda Creek open space public access. Tim Ramirez with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) spoke regarding watersheds throughout the Peninsula, which are managed by the SFPUC using the Peninsula Watershed Management Plan. Planned Peninsula watershed trail expansions include extension of the Southern Skyline Boulevard Ridge Trail and Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail. Rachael Faye, with the Peninsula Open Space Trust, provided an update on the Bay to the Sea Trail and the partners that are helping make the trail possible. When complete, the Bay to the Sea Trail will be the only east-west trail connection on the Peninsula and will also allow for north- south connections to other regional trails. Winsome Bowen from Facebook provided a timeline and described Facebook’s efforts to support Dumbarton Rail Corridor’s use as a potential mass and multimodal transit corridor. Ms. Bowen described the process being used and next steps on the project. San Mateo County Parks Director Sam Herzberg described the proposed Ohlone-Portola Heritage Trail, including the proposed route and historic significance, the process being used to design the trail, project accomplishments, and the partnerships supporting the Ohlone-Portola Heritage Trail. Member of the City of Palo Alto Parks and Recreation Commission and Palo Alto resident David Moss described a recent hike he and others completed from Palo Alto to the Sea. Mr. Moss described the process he used to map the trail route across lands owned by multiple agencies. Mr. Moss spoke in support of creating permanent trail easements across private land and comprehensive regional trail maps. Public comments opened at 9:19 p.m. Judd Volino commented on the need to complete a trail segment between Weeks Road and Bay Road in Palo Alto. Additionally, speaking on behalf of Trail Center he offered the organization’s support for regional trails and ongoing maintenance. Public comments closed at 9:20 p.m. The members of the Board thanked staff and the representatives of the partner organizations for their presentations and the work they are doing to support regional trails. Meeting 19-20 Page 5 Director Riffle spoke in support of connecting the public to the work being completed by the various organizations represented at the meeting. No Board action required. The Board recessed at 9:28 p.m. and reconvened at 9:33 p.m. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS A. Committee Reports No committee reports. B. Staff Reports No staff reports. C. Director Reports The Board members submitted their compensatory reports. ADJOURNMENT Vice-President Holman adjourned the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District at 9:33 p.m. ________________________________ Jennifer Woodworth, MMC District Clerk