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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19740508 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 74-10 MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S May 8 , 1974 745 Distel Drive Los Altos I. ROLL CALL President Peters called the meeting to order at 7 :35 p.m. Members present: Daniel Condron, Katherine Duffy, Nonette Hanko, William Peters, and Daniel Wendin Personnel present: Herbert Grench, Carroll Harrington, Edward Jaynes, and Stanley Norton Audience of 15 persons II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: K. Duffy moved acceptance of the minutes of the April 24 , 1974, meeting as presented. D. Condron seconded. Amendment: D. Wendin moved that the minutes be amended by adding to his first motion on page 3, after the words "attached to R-74-14) : "for a trial period of six months. " N. Hanko seconded. The amendment passed unanimously. The amended motion passed unanimously. III. ADOPTION OF AGENDA A. Motion: N. Hanko moved that item No. 5 be considered after item No. 1. W. Peters stated the consensus that this agreeable. i B. W. Peters asked that the May 18 , 1974 , Special Meeting be placed on the agenda as item No. 3B under OLD BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION. The Board concurred. C. The Board agreed that the minutes of the Special Meeting held May 4 , 1974, at Las Trampas Regional Park would be placed on the agenda as 3C under OLD BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION. W. Peters stated that the agenda was adopted as modified. IV. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY AND PUBLIC HEARINGS Permanente Creek Park Acquisition H. Grench summarized his report (R-74-16) dated May 3, 1974 , regarding a proposed Permanente Creek Park acquisition. He stated that since--- !` Motion: D. Wendin moved acceptance of the minutes of May 8, 1974 as presented. N. Hanko seconded. The motion passed unanimously. eting 74-10 . . . page 2 the time the District was formed and the Board had hired the General Manager, the Board has been working on general policy of the District and had formulated overall acquisition priorities. These are now in writing as parts of the Basic Policy document (adopted March 27, 1974) . He went on to say that the District will soon be engaged in preparation of a Master Plan which will show priorities for land acquisition. In the meantime the Board has adopted the Open Space Element of the General Plan of Santa Clara County as an Interim Master Plan for the District. He emphasized that lands of high scenic value close to the urbanized area have rated high in discussions . H. Grench went on to state that as the District's acquisition priorities were being formulated, the owners of the Perham Ranch approached the District about the possibility of acquisition of their property. Since the property appeared to rank high in the acquisition priorities which were developing, the District was receptive to these discussions. During the past months the staff has attempted to negotiate a purchase agreement, expert appraisal information has been obtained, and staff has indicated willingness to work out an arrangement which would enable the owners to continue to live on the property (including the provision of a life estate for one of the owners) . This property is shown as Long Term and Permanent Open Space in the Interim Master Plan of the District. on February 9 , 1972 , the Board of Supervisors adopted a Plan for Regional Parks, Santa Clara County, which shows a proposed Permanente Creek Park in the vicinity of the Perham Ranch. This is the unofficial name chosen for the pro- posed MRPD project. He continued that he felt that it was necessary to acquire the Perham Ranch property to accomplish the objectives of the District' s parks and open space program. H. Grench then described the location of this property. It is in proximity to the heavily urbanized Midpeninsula area. It lies in unincorporated territory within the Sphere of Influence of the Town of Los Altos Hills and also quite close to Los Altos, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale. He showed slides of the property. He suggested potential low-intensity recreational uses, e.g. , picnicking, hiking, horseback riding, nature walks, demonstration farm, kiteflying, photography, bird watching, and primitive camping. H. Grench concluded by recommending that the Board adopt the Resolution attached to report (R,74-16) . N. Hanko asked if all of the property is in unincorporated Santa Clara County jurisdiction. H. Grench replied that it was. She further questioned the Sphere of Influence. H. Grench said that essentially all of it was in the Sphere of Influence of Los Altos Hills, although a small corner may show up as being in Cupertino' s Sphere of Influence, but that the intent was the it all be in the Sphere of Influence of Los Altos Hills . N. Hanko asked if H. Grench felt that the park proposal is consistent with the General Plans of Los Altos Hills and Cupertino. H. Grench said that it is in his opinion, and it is also consistent with the County General Plan. eting 74-10 . . . page 3 President Peters opened the Public Hearing. Marge Sutton, 609 Rosita, Los Altos, Land Use Chairman, Sierra Club, commented that this parcel seems to be precisely the kind of land that should be acquired by the MRPD, because it has unique physical attributes. She mentioned the possibility of cooperating with the Environmental Volunteers at the Peninsula Conservation Center in using this land as a nature study area. In conclusion, she urged acceptance of the General Manager' s recommendations. David Jansson, 27440 Sherlock Road, Los Altos Hills, asked about the size of the parcel. H. Grench responded that it is 393 acres. Mr. Jansson added that it should be a good purchase for the District. Artemis Ginzton, 28014 Natoma Road, Los Altos Hills, said that it would be a tremendous asset. Rey Cochran, 2555 Park Blvd. , Suite 5, Palo Alto, stated that this parcel would serve Sunnyvale and Cupertino residents and it is a good selection. President Peters asked if there was anyone else in the audience who wished to speak. There was no one. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Public Hearing be closed. D. Wendin seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Motion: D. Wendin moved acceptance of Resolution 74-10, Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Park District, Finding and Requiring that the Public Interest and Necessity Require the Acquisition of Certain Properties for Public Use, To Wit, for Public Park, Recreation and Open Space Purposes, Describing the Properties Necessary Therefor and Authorizing and Directing its Retained Legal Counsel to do Everything Necessary to Acquire all Interests Therein. He read the complete Resolution. N. Hanko seconded. K. Duffy stated that she was very much in favor of the Resolution and felt that it was an important step for the District. The motion passed unanimously. Motion: N.Hanko moved that a map depicting the property be trans- mitted to the Trails Task Force for their information; and that the Trails Task Force be requested to develop pedestrian and bicycle routes to this property. K. Duffy seconded. Amendment: W. Peters moved that the motion be amended to read that the Trails Task Force be requested to consider possible pedestrian and bicycle routes to the property. N. Hanko accepted. W. Peters stated that this amendment was accepted by consensus. Discussion: D. Wendin suggested adding a reference to the Santa Clara County transit system to the motion. The Board agreed to add: "including Santa Clara County transit access to the property. " The motion as amended passed unanimously. (Note: See page 5 for a change in this amended motion. ) -eting 74-10 . . . page 4 V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no oral communications. VI. OLD BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION A. Structure of Secretarial and Public Communications Duties H. Grench referred to his report (R-74-13) dated April 12 , 1974 , regarding the Public Communications Program. He summarized the duties for this position. W. Peters questioned the feasibility of this being a halftime position. D. Condron stated that he felt that it would work quite well with this position. H. Grench stressed that the Public Communications Program should stand on its own merits, and there there should be flexibility with this and other programs in the future. D. Condron said that the General Manager should not be bound by the job descriptions but should feel free to use resources (including staff) in the best interests of the District. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Public Communications Program in report R-74-13 be accepted. D. Condron seconded. The motion passed unanimously. B. Master Plan Consultant H. Grench referred to his memorandum (M-74-58) dated May 6, 1974 , regarding his recommendation for a Master Plan consultant. He recommended that the Board of Directors approve William Spangle and Associates as consultants for the MRPD Master Plan study and direct the President to execute the contract. Motion: N. Hanko moved acceptance of H. Grench' s recommendation in M-74-58. K. Duffy seconded. The motion passed unanimously. C. Special Meeting of may 18 , 1974 W. Peters stated his concern that the Special Meeting on May 18 , 1974 , had been scheduled without his approval. H. Grench replied that this date had been chosen because Lawrence Klein, who is in charge of the Taxation Structure Workshop at this Conference, will be leaving on a sabbatical leave in early June and this was the only available date for him. In addition, H. Grench had had contacted each Board member that he would reach, and there was general agreement that this date was acceptable. D. Minutes of Special Meeting, May 4 , 1974 N. Hanko stated that she had taken the minutes of the May 4 , 1974, meeting at Las Trampas Regional Park because Carroll Harrington was unable to attend. She asked that these minutes be on the agenda at the May 22 , 1974, meeting. ,eting 74-10 . . . page 5 E. Motion Regarding Trails Task Force on Page 3 Motion: D. Wendin moved reconsideration of the motion regarding the Trails Task Force earlier in the meeting. N. Hanko seconded. The motion passed unanimously. D. Wendin said that he does not want the public to think that property will necessarily be open to the public in the sense that a park is thought of as being open. He added that the information regarding the Permanente Creek Park property should be transmitted to the Trails Task Force for information purposes only. Artemis Ginzton, 28014 Natoma Road, Los Altos Hills (advisor to the Trails Task Force) said that she felt the Trails Task Force would like to have the information, but felt that the Board would not want the Trails Task Force to consider trails until the land use of the property had been determined. Motion: N. Hanko moved that a map depicting the property be transmitted to the Trails Task Force for their information. D. Wendin seconded. The motion passed unanimously. (This motion supercedes N. Hanko' s motion on page 3. ) F. Stevens Creek Park Chain W. Peters asked that this item be added to the agenda at this point. The Board agreed. Marge Sutton, 609 Rosita, Los Altos, noted the meeting regarding the Stevens Creek Park Chain which will be held on Thursday, May 9, 1974, 7: 30 p.m. , Mountain View Recreation Center, 201 South Rengstorff. She expressed hope that citizens from the different cities will attend the meeting. The Board recessed at 9: 05 p.m. and reconvened at 9 :15 p.m. VII. NEW BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION Personnel Policies H. Grench referred to his report (R-74-15) dated April 22 , 1974 , regarding Personnel Policies. While summarizing this report, he noted that formal Job Descriptions do not need to be approved by the Board of Directors, although descriptions of duties will ordinarily be formulated for new positions. Recommended Policies A. Positions There was consensus that the policies as presented were acceptable. !eting 74-10 . . . page 6 B. Salary Adjustments 1. Paid Vacation Plan There was consensus that fulltime employees would receive 15 paid working days vacation per year. W. Peters stated that employees should have to take this vacation and it should be nonaccruable. Gerald Grow, 1611 Via Corte, Los Altos, commented that the General Manager should be the major determinant based on the work loads and the people available at the time. He added that management should not be in the position of telling the employee what is best for him or her. N. Hanko suggested that H. Grench take a new look at the vacation plan and puce it on the May 22, 1974, agenda. D. Wendin said that he would support a future recommendation that the number of vacation days be increased after a number of years of service. He also suggested that the vacation plan be phased around the calendar year. 2. Paid Holidays D. Condron suggested that the District add a floating holiday to the holiday schedule. This would be associated with another holiday in order to give the employees a long week- end. H. Grench said that Rules and Procedures of the District list days on which the office is closed, and this must be taken into account. After discussion about days of Statewide elections being paid holidays , W. Peters stated the consensus that these would no longer be automatic paid holidays. H. Grench suggested that the Board approve one or two floating holidays to be determined by the General Manager. The Board agreed. D. Wendin stated the consensus that the Board was approving 122days of holidays and would support any number of float- ing holidays within this list to be determined by the General Manager. He supported the General Manager setting the holidays in advance each year. It was the consensus that the General Manager return with proposed revised Personnel Policies. vIII. CLAIMS Motion: N. Hanko moved adoption of claims (C-74-9) (see attached) as presented. D. Wendin seconded. The motion passed unanimously. IX. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS There were no written communications. eeting 74-10 . . . page 7 X. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 10:15 p.m. to discuss land negotiations. X. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11: 55 p.m. Carroll Harrington Secretary