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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19740504 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 74-9 Oak MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT Special Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S May 4, 1974 Las Trampas Regional Park East Bay Regional Park District I. ROLL CALL Vice-President Duffy called the meeting to order at 10 :15 a.m. Members present: Daniel Condron, Katherine Duffy, Nonette Hanko Members absent: William Peters, Daniel Wendin Personnel present: Herbert Grench, Edward Jaynes Audience of 3 persons II. LAND MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP K. Duffy introduced John Nichols, Forest Resources Manager, East Bay Regional Park District,who conducted the Land Management Workshop. He presented the following information: A. Description of Las Trampas Las Trampas Regional Park is approximately 2,300 acres. Characterized by the District as a wilderness park, it has been a recent acquisition, and attempts at more intense development have met with strong resistance from outspoken opponents (citizen) at Board meetings. Present development consist of 12 picnic tables and barbecues, 4 fiberglass chemical toilets, and a 47-space parking lot at the entrance of the park. Material, construction, and labor for these developments were contracted for at $10,000 three years ago. These costs are estimated to be 25-30% higher if the work had been done in 1973-74. Sheet metal toilets in the original contract were replaced this year at a cost of $500 apiece. New fiber- glass construction has so far prove vandalproof. Watertank costs are between $500-$1,000 . In 1973-74, the East Bay Regional Park District budgeted $25, 000 for a part-time foreman, a groundsman, and a temporary assistant groundsman in the summer months (equivalent to two fulltime employees) . $1, 000 goes to maintenance costs. 1,1300 acres are covered by a grazing lease. Grazing has been encouraged here as a fire retardant. Hikers , horseback riders, and cows have proved to be compatible. Cows are fenced out of the parking lot and picnic grounds by fencing which permits physical entry by hikers only. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: N. Hanko moved acceptance of the minutes of May 4 , 1974 as presented. D. Condron seconded. The motion passed unanimously. eeting 74-9 . . . page 2 The District charges $5. 50 per animal unit. There are 35 cattle ($2,310 yearly) . The District provides fencing materials and the lessee the installation. Trail barriers prohibit access by motorcycles beyond the park- ing lot. Dogs are permitted only on leash because of the tendancy of dogs to harass cows and picnickers. A District ordinance titled #38, which is presently under revision by the Board, sets out approved activities for each park. Copies will be sent to the Midpeninsula Regional Park District when the ordinance is approved. It is the only ordinance adopted by the East Bay Regional Park District for this purpose. B. Land management Problems Most of the early land ownerships consist of grid-type boundary lines, whereas, park acquisitions and management considerations should be based on the best interests of the District. From this standpoint, it would be better to acquire pieces of ad- joining property that make visual and management sense, even if some of the pieces are sold at a later time. Land surveys are important to establish the exact boundaries. This will avoid disputes over where District controls begin and end. The fire incidence is high where there is adjacent residential development. Ridges are where fires are best stopped by fire breaks. These breaks can simply be roads (scars not visible from below) . This fact should be taken into account in ac- quisition, perhaps even purchasing beyond the ridge and down the other side both from a fire protection standpoint and a visual one, in case there is someone who wants to build an Empire State Building overlooking the park. Fires are less of a problem in grassland areas than in those containing dry chaparral. Cows are retained to encourage the continuation of grasslands. Some restricted burning could be done but it is not highly effective in chapparal areas that sprout heavily. It is necessary to look closely at fire protection. Often government entities formerly responsible for fire protection lose interest in continuing this service on land removed from the tax rolls. Contracting for protection, however, could be less costly than trying your own. There are 3-5 fires experienced at Las Trampas yearly. Most are people-caused--cigarettes, etc. From time to time some of the parks are closed for a few days during high fire hazard ratings from the end of July to the first rains. The California Division of Forestry provides a fire danger rating but not for every area of interest to the East Bay Regional Park District. They have a fire measuring station ($500 cost) from which measurements are taken twice a day during fire danger months. There are also a series of "No Smoking" and "No Fires" signs applied before it is necessary to close the parks. N. ing 74-9 . . . page 3 C. Control of Vehicles It isn' t necessarily important to fence every park. People will get in under fences. The best controls are gates which prevent vehicle access. Most people dislike being parted from their cars, and will respect a locked gate. Barrier logs are used in the interior of parks to discourage off-road vehicles. It is important to establish a policy of non- vehicular access through ironclad enforcement by tagging violators when the park is first opened. Later control is then made much easier. D. Patrolling and Vandalism Las Trampas is patrolled once daily. Most patrolling problems are caused by overzealousness of patrolling officers (asking for ID' s and other harassments) . Vandalism has been discouraged by replacing sheet metal toilets with ones which have been painted with artistic scences. Tunnels which formerly contained much graffiti have been repainted with flowers, and people have respected this. Toilets, which have long been a problem, are now in one-piece molded fiberglass. A 9/16 socket wrench is required to remove the wooden exterior from liner. The fiberglass is enclosed in a wooden structure. E. Liability It would appear that park districts live in fear of liability. However, it has not been a problem. It is our position that unless the public is invited into something that is blatantly hazardous, park districts cannot be held liable, Numerous signs are posted so that they can't all be stolen or missed in cases where trees are falling or unavoidable problems exist. Roads are sometimes closed. Persons who are employed to remove eucalyptus sign agreements releasing the EBRPD from liability. F. Recommendations for Staff A jack-of-all-trades is probably needed--an organizer, perhaps a Stanford graduate who knows his way around the Stanford Library for resource materials needed, someone not afraid to use the telephone to get answers, and not necessarily with land manage- ment experience. Certain infromation should be provided the Board in consideration of each acquisition. This could be done by the existing staff if they are not too busy with other matters. This information should itendify development and maintenance problems (availability and costs of providing water, need for chemical toiles, etc. ) . The EBRPD provides pre-acquisition reports which contain all this data, the relationship of the land to the plan for trails, and suggested uses for the land, fire protection, and so forth. Copies of these reports will be made available to the Mid- peninsula Regional Park District as examples. Once property is acquired, it is definitely necessary to have someone for maintenance, a vehicle for equipment, and appropriate equipment. :eting 74-9 . . . page 4 G. Land Tour Editorial Comment: During the afternoon tour, we noticed very deep rutting in the trails over which the cows and numerous horses had been travelling, which led us to discuss the problems of joint-use of trails and particularly of cow and horse usage in the rainy season. We met with at least 20 of the 35 cows (all friendly) along the way. ADJOURNMENT K. Duffy adjourned the Special Meeting at 3: 30 p.m. Nonette Hanko