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Home My Public Portal About20190925 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) September 25, 2019 Board Meeting 19-25 *Approved by the Board of Directors on October 9, 2019 REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Administrative Office 330 Distel Circle Los Altos, CA 94022 Wednesday, September 25, 2019 APPROVED MINUTES* REGULAR MEETING Vice-President Holman called the regular meeting of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Members Present: Jed Cyr, Larry Hassett, Karen Holman, Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, Yoriko Kishimoto, and Curt Riffle Members Absent: Pete Siemens Staff Present: General Manager Ana Ruiz, General Counsel Hilary Stevenson, Chief Financial Officer/Director of Administrative Services Stefan Jaskulak, Assistant General Manager Susanna Chan, Assistant General Manager Brian Malone, District Clerk/Assistant to the General Manager Jennifer Woodworth, Budget & Analysis Manager Carmen Narayanan, Finance Manager Andrew Taylor, Natural Resources Manager Kirk Lenington, Visitor Services Manager Matt Anderson, Planning Manager Jane Mark, Land & Facilities Manager Michael Jurich, Engineering & Construction Manager Jay Lin, Human Resources Manager Candice Basnight, Information Systems & Technology Manager Casey Hiatt, Public Affairs Manager Kori Skinner, Real Property Manager Mike Williams ORAL COMMUNICATIONS No speakers present. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: Director Cyr moved, and Director Riffle seconded the motion to adopt the agenda. Meeting 19-25 Page 2 VOTE: 6-0-0 (Director Siemens absent) CONSENT CALENDAR Public comment opened at 7:01 p.m. Marlene Zimmermann spoke regarding Item 3 stating her concerns that installing signage along St. Joseph Avenue to encourage hiking and biking access to Rancho San Antonio will have a negative impact on the neighborhood. General Manager Ana Ruiz reported the District is seeking solutions to the parking challenges at Rancho San Antonio, including encouraging multi-modal access to the preserve over vehicle access. The proposed signage is only one solution to encourage visitors who live nearby to access the preserve via bicycle or on foot through an existing bike/ped preserve entrance. Robert Dahl expressed concerns regarding members of the public parking along St. Joseph Avenue, especially on the weekend, and suggested added parking areas elsewhere. Susan Holtzapple spoke regarding the neighborhood use of Rancho San Antonio stating that many neighborhood users access it by walking and biking. Ms. Holtzapple spoke regarding potentially charging for parking or using rideshare options for access to the preserve. Public comment closed at 7:16 p.m. Motion: Director Cyr moved, and Director Kersteen-Tucker seconded the motion to approve the Consent Calendar, except for Item 3. VOTE: 6-0-0 (Director Siemens absent) 1. Approve September 11, 2019 Minutes 2. Claims Report 3. Award of Contract for Transportation Consulting Services for the Rancho San Antonio Multimodal Access Study Project at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve (R-19-125) General Manager’s Recommendations: 1. Authorize the General Manager to enter into a one-year contract with IBI Group to provide transportation consulting services for the Rancho San Antonio Multimodal Access Study for a total contract amount of $56,000. 2. Authorize a 10% contingency of $5,600, to be expended only if necessary, to cover additional unanticipated related tasks, for a total not-to-exceed contract amount of $61,600. 3. Authorize an allowance of $5,930 for an optional task to participate in a public open house for the public to learn about and provide feedback on the project and transportation alternatives. Director Riffle pulled Item 3 from the Consent Calendar. Item 3 was heard after the Consent Calendar. Meeting 19-25 Page 3 Director Kishimoto spoke regarding neighborhood users and encouraged them to access the preserve by walking or biking. Director Kishimoto reported the District is looking at numerous options to address parking shortages at Rancho San Antonio. Additionally, the proposed signage is to inform visitors that hiking and biking access is available from the St. Joseph Avenue entrance. The current signage is unclear as to what access is allowed. Director Riffle commented that appropriate city signage and enforcement may be needed to address illegal parking in the area. Assistant General Manager Susanna Chan reported the proposed signage will clarify that existing pedestrian and biking access is allowed. Ms. Ruiz reported staff can engage in additional outreach to the City of Los Altos to discuss parking enforcement. Director Holman suggested additional outreach to Los Altos city staff and neighbors would be helpful. Director Riffle spoke in support of additional outreach to Los Altos regarding enforcement and outreach to neighbors and requested staff report back to the Board. Motion: Director Riffle moved, and Director Cyr seconded the motion to approve the General Manager’s Recommendations with the following addition: - Work closely with the City of Los Altos to provide parking enforcement in the area. VOTE: 6-0-0 (Director Siemens absent) Director Riffle commented that he recently heard from a member of the working group for this project, Mountain View Mayor Lisa Matichak, who reported the possibility of a valet option for Rancho San Antonio should also be included in the study scope. This option was previously discussed by the Rancho San Antonio Stakeholder Working Group. 4. Written Responses to Cathy Del Masso and Udi Fishman General Manager’s Recommendation: Approve the written responses to Cathy Del Masso and Udi Fishman BOARD BUSINESS 5. Fiscal Year 2018-19 Annual Year End Report (R-19-126) Ms. Ruiz provided opening comments highlighting numerous accomplishments from the previous fiscal year. Chief Financial Officer/Director of Administrative Services Stefan Jaskulak provided the staff presentation describing the percentage of Action Plan projects completed, deferred projects, and projects added. Meeting 19-25 Page 4 The Board members commended staff on increasing the percentage of projects completing stating that it shows District staff is improving its ability to resource load its projects and staff time. Mr. Jaskulak highlighted projects from the District’s four programs: land acquisition and preservation, natural resources protection and restoration, public access, education and outreach, and Districtwide projects. The Board members requested and received clarification regarding various projects. Finally, Mr. Jaskulak reported on grants and awards received by the District during FY2018-19. Director Cyr suggested updating the project name for the wildfire resiliency program to “Post- Wildfire Resiliency Program” to address the work being done to sustain the landscape following a wildfire. Public comments opened at 8:07p.m. No speakers present. Public comments closed at 8:07 p.m. The Board members thanked staff for their incredible efforts throughout the previous year and continued work. No Board action required. INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM • Bear Creek Stables Design Development Contract • Santa Cruz Mountains Climate Resilience Project INFORMATIONAL REPORTS A. Committee Reports Director Kishimoto reported the Planning and Natural Resources Committee met to discuss wildfire resiliency program and Highway 17 wildlife and trail crossings. B. Staff Reports Public Affairs Manager Kori Skinner invited the Board members to attend the Ravenswood Kickoff Event on October 11. Ms. Ruiz reported on the recent meeting of the La Honda Creek Public Access Working Group, successful Volunteer Recognition Event, a coordination meeting with Peninsula Open Space Trust president, and other District and regional events. Also, the District will be releasing an op- ed piece regarding the District’s fire program to inform the public about the program and its components. Meeting 19-25 Page 5 C. Director Reports The Board members submitted their compensatory reports. Director Kersteen-Tucker commented on recent events she attended, including the Santa Cruz Mountain Stewardship Network’s Spotlight Stewardship Event, tour of Cloverdale Ranch, and Volunteer Recognition Event. Director Riffle reported on the recent meeting of the La Honda Creek Public Access Working Group, the Volunteer Recognition Event, and a meeting with representatives from Santa Cruz County LAFCO. Director Kishimoto commented on recent events she attended, including the Santa Cruz Mountain Stewardship Network’s Spotlight Stewardship Event, annual meeting of the Save the Redwoods Council, and the Committee for Green Foothills Nature’s Inspiration event. Director Cyr reported he attended a meeting held by the City of Cupertino regarding Lehigh Quarry, and attended the Volunteer Recognition Event and cybersecurity training. Director Hassett reported he attended the La Honda Educational Foundation dinner and a meeting of the La Honda Creek Public Access Working Group. Vice-President Holman commented that she attended the Committee for Green Foothills event and a recent badging ceremony for a new District ranger. Vice-President Holman also announced that the Committee for Green Foothills has created the Lennie Roberts Advocacy Fund to continue financial support for the Committee for Green Foothills. ADJOURNMENT Vice-President Holman adjourned the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District at 8:35 p.m. ________________________________ Jennifer Woodworth, MMC District Clerk