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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19750226 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) � AA, Meeting 75-5 i MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S February 26, 1975 745 Distel Drive Los Altos, CA I. ROLL CALL President Duffy called the meeting to order at 7 :34 P.M. Members Present: Katherine Duffy, Barbara Green, Nonette Hanko, Edward Shelley and Daniel Wendin. Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Edward Jaynes, Jon Olson, Anne Crosley, Stanley Norton and Carroll Harrington. Audience of six persons. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of January 22, 1975 Motion: N. Hanko moved approval of the minutes of January 22 , 1975, with the following change on page nine in the paragraph beginning "N. Hanko advised. . . " : "N. Hanko advised that, as a result of her presentation to the League of Women Voters on what made the Midpeninsula Regional Park District a "special" special District, Mr. Diridon had stated that he was not intending to include the District in his plans to consolidate special districts within Santa Clara County because of the Dis- trict' s truly regional nature and po- tential of extending across County boundaries into San Mateo County. She said League members indicated support of the Midpeninsula Regional Park District. " K. Duffy stated the consensus that the minutes of January 22, 1975 be approved as amended. II . APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of February 26, 1975 B. Green pointed out that the word "policy" should read "police" in the eighth line of paragraph three on page six of the min- utes. E. Shelley suggested that a comma and the word "one" be inserted at the end of the sixth line of paragraph two on page seven of the minutes. D. Wendin asked that the first sentence in paragraph five on page seven be changed to read as follows : "D. Wendin said he thought the citizens' committee should be established as soon as possible. He thought it might be difficult to find representatives with a regional perspective for the permanent committee. " K. Duffy stated the consensus that the minutes of February 26, 1975 be accepted as amended. Meeting 75-5 Page two B. Minutes of February 2, 1975 D. Wendin pointed out that the introduction on page one of the February 2, 1975 minutes indicates that the District owns 1, 600 acres of land. It was the consensus of the Board that the words "has acquired" be changed to "has interests in. " D. Wendin, referring to page six of the minutes, said he wished to make it clear that he preferred the staff review city agendas prior to sending pertinent items to him. D. Wendin suggested the first paragraph on page nineteen of the minutes did not reflect the concern of some Board members that additional staff time spent on applying for grants would be justified by the return to the District. No change in wording was made. N. Hanko said she did not ask the question reflected in the first sentence of the last paragraph on page eighteen of the minutes, and suggested the words "N. Hanko asked" be changed to "It was asked. . . " E. Shelley said he did not make the statement attributed to him in the second sentence of paragraph eight on page six of the minutes. N. Hanko advised that she made the statement. E. Shelley said he would like the minutes, on page eleven, to reflect his reservations that neighbors of District-owned land would have a strong role in planning for the use of the land inasmuch as they would be unlikely to have a regional per- spective. E. Shelley asked that page sixteen of the minutes include the statement made by A. Ginzton that qualified conservationists might be hesitant to challenge an incumbent Director who had served the District well, because such a challenge would be interpreted as indicating that the incumbent had not, in fact, done a good job. He said this would be an argument in favor of a two-term limit for Directors. K. Duffy stated the consensus that the minutes of February 2, 1975 be approved as amended above. C. Minutes of February 7, 1975 D. Wendin pointed out that the meeting of February 7 , 1975 was a Special Meeting, not a Regular Meeting of the Board of Direc- tors. K. Duffy stated the consensus that the minutes of the meeting of February 7, 1975 be approved with that amendment. Meeting 75-5 Page three III . ADOPTION OF AGENDA K. Duffy said she would like to report on the recent meeting she and H. Grench had with Mr. Diridon, Santa Clara County Supervisor, under New Business Not Requiring Action. She said she thought the Board should also consider the letter received from the Mexican American Community Services Agency under the same category. She stated the consensus that the agenda be adopted as presented with those two additions. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no oral communications V. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS H. Grench referred the Board to correspondence received from Mr. and Mrs. James Maguire regarding the proposed Stevens Creek Trail System. A. Crosley advised that copies had been sent to the appropriate Trails Task Force members. Mrs. Patricia Maguire, 1013 East Cardinal Drive, Sunnyvale, asked the Board if they had any questions about the problems raised in the letters. D. Wendin said he had discussed the correspondence with Tony Look, who had assured him that he would study all the existing and potential problems mentioned in the letters. VI. OLD BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION A. Goals Workshop Follow-Up H. Grench said that many items had been discussed at the Feb- ruary 2, 1975 Goals Workshop, but no specific action had been taken at that time. He referred the Board to his report (R-75-1) dated February 22, 1975, which lists the subjects that the Board wanted to see action taken on, their priorities in the General Manager' s opinion, and recommended action for the Board to take at this meeting. H. Grench distributed a chart showing his proposed timetable for next year from the preparation of the annual report to the adoption of the final budget. He noted that this year' s annual report would be delayed due to other commitments and the fact that it covers two years of District history rather than just one year. He said he hoped there would be more evaluation of the District' s accomplishments at next year' s Goals Workshop. H. Grench said he thought the Action Plan was a very useful working document for the Board and staff, and for explaining to the public what the District is doing. Meeting 75-5 Page four H. Grench advised that the staff planned a two-day retreat on March 10 and 11 to work on a recommended revision of the Action Plan. He said he hoped to make the Action Plan more quantified and a better document this year. After the adoption of the Action Plan, work would begin on the budget for the 1975-76 fiscal year. The preliminary budget would be adopted and for- warded to the County in June and, after receipt of the final revenue figures from the County sometime in August, the Board could then adopt its final budget. H. Grench said he hoped to include subjects resulting from the Goals Workshop in the updated Action Plan. D. Wendin said he hoped the recommended Action Plan resulting from the work done at the staff' s retreat would indeed reflect the staff' s thinking, and the General Manager should feel free to recommend ideas not previously agreed to by the Board. Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board direct the General Manager to prepare an updated Action Plan for the 1975-76 fiscal year. N. Hanko seconded the motion. Discussion: H. Grench said that although the Action Plan is generally intended to serve as a guide for the upcoming year, it also indicates the direction the District is moving toward in the following years. The motion passed unanimously. VII. RECESS President Duffy called a short recess at 8: 07 P.M. so Board members could examine the kinds of vehicles proposed as part of the District' s land management program. The Board recon- vened at 8 :18 P.M. VI. OLD BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION (continued) 1. Land Acquisition Program Following discussion, K. Duffy stated the consensus that a discussion of the possible formation of a "Friends of the MRPD" foundation for gifts program be scheduled for a future Board meeting as the agenda permits. Following discussion, K. Duffy stated the consensus that the completion of draft Master Plan Acquisition Policies, with particular attention to statements referring to acceptance of gifts of land or rights in land for agri- culture and lower priority open space uses, and the recom- mendations of the Trails Task Force, be referred to the Master Plan Policy Statements Subcommittee. The Subcom- mittee is scheduled to return to the Board with its recommendations at the March 12, 1975 meeting. Meeting 75-5 Page five D. Wendin said he felt it was important to address the question of urban open space of regional significance as soon as possible. Following discussion, K. Duffy stated the consensus that the Master Plan Policy Statements Subcommittee consider the question of urban open space of regional significance and the use of the "Urban Service Area" designation, and that the Subcommittee attempt to return to the Board with its recommendation at the March 12 Board meeting. 2. Governmental and Private Liaison Program Following discussion, K. Duffy stated the consensus that the General Manager be directed to prepare a report on ways to improve the District' s governmental and private liaison and to update the Action Plan in this regard, with attention to the possibility of increased participation in meetings with other agency officials, further review of agendas, minutes and EIR documents, and the use of citizen monitors. 3 . Public Communication Program N. Hanko said she thought the Board should take no action with respect to advertising of its meetings until the League of Women Voters' study on special districts has been completed. D. Wendin said he did not feel it was necessary to adver- tise the District' s meetings, because any time there is an important item the press gives it adequate publicity, and there would be little point in advertising agendas which have items of lesser importance. K. Duffy stated the consensus that the Board consider agenda advertising, two-term limits for Directors and funding of candidates' statements when the League of Women Voters can present its report, possibly at the April 9 Board meeting. In the meantime, the General Manager is directed to keep records of the publicity received prior to Board meetings, E. Shelley is directed to prepare a proposal and pro arguments regarding a two- term limit for Directors, N. Hanko is directed to prepare con arguments on the two-term limit, K. Duffy is directed to prepare pro arguments and D. Wendin is directed to prepare con arguments on the question of funding of candidates' statements, and the General manager is direc- ted to prepare a cost report regarding funding of candi- dates' statements. Meeting 75-5 Page six 4. Open Space Resources Program H. Grench said he felt there was already consensus among Board members on some of the land management decisions which must be made. He emphasized that even after deci- sions on hiring and purchasing are made, there is often a period of several months before a new staff member is actually hired or a new piece of equipment is obtained. J. Olson introduced his memorandum (M-75-41) dated Febru- ary 22, 1975 , which outlines the basic decisions the Board must make in order to implement its land management pro- gram. He referred to the patrol coverage chart on page three of the memorandum, which indicated that, according to present projections, patrol coverage should be avail- able 39 hours per week during winter and 67 hours per week during the summer. He added that any acquisition of land by the District in the southern part of the County would substantially increase mileage and patrol time. He emphasized that only time would tell whether or not the patrolling schedule was realistic and adequate. J. Olson advised that Santa Clara County Communications was willing to assist the District in setting up its recommended two-way radio system, which would cost about $7, 500. 00. He said he hoped to use volunteers and student interns to monitor the radio during daylight hours when the office is not officially open. He added that the fire department will respond immediately to an emergency call, but that policy respond in order of priority. He said he would investigate the possibility of transferring after-hours calls to the County. J. Olson said it appeared the District would require two vehicles, one heavy duty four-wheel drive pick-up (type A) , fully equipped, for construction and maintenance work and fire protection, and one light-weight two-wheel drive utility vehicle (type D) with good gas mileage for routine patrolling purposes. Motion: D. Wendin moved that staff be directed to prepare a plan for storage of the type A vehicle as well as specifications for bidding. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Motion: B. Green moved that the Board concur with the recommendation of the staff to purchase a type D vehicle. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting 75-5 Page seven K. Duffy stated the consensus that the Board concurred with the staff recommendation to pursue planning of two-way radio equipment for the District. J. Olson suggested a three-step planning process for determining the use and management of District lands: (1) an initial study, (2) an interim classification system, and (3) a long range management and use plan. He suggested citizens be invited to participate in this process, with the selection of five representatives from each ward who would be appointed by the Directors, and five neighborhood representatives who would possibly be nominated by neighborhood groups. The citizens' committee could advise the staff and Board in the prepar- ation of long-range use plans for District properties. N. Hanko suggested the Directors could act as liaisons for the properties located within their respective wards, and perhaps some Trails Task Force members could be represented on the citizens' committee. H. Grench said he thought it a good idea that the citi- zens' committee would advise both the staff and Board. Then, the staff report to the Board would have the com- mittee' s input, yet the committee could still make its own further recommendations to the Board. He said he would assume the meetings of the committee would be open to the public. D. Wendin said he thought the citizens' committee should be established as soon as possible, although he thought it might be difficult to find representatives with a regional perspective. H. Grench said he thought it was important to have representatives on the commit- tee with a regional viewpoint for a balanced outlook. Tony Look suggested the citizens' committee should have a designated chairperson who would serve a definite term of office, as well as a definite set of rules to work from. K. Duffy stated the consensus that staff be directed to return to the Board with a proposal for the establish- ment of a citizens ' committee to advise the District on management and use plans for its lands. Motion: N. Hanko moved that staff be directed to pre- pare a job description and proposed salary range for a park ranger position for consider- ation at the March 12 Board meeting. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unani- mously. Meeting 75-5 Page eight K. Duffy stated the consensus that the staff be directed to prepare draft regulatory ordinances for the March 26 Board meeting if possible, and a report on a volun- teer program for the District. VIII. NEW BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION A. Acquisition Policy Statement Concerning Trails A. Grundmann introduced his memorandum dated February 2, 1975, which submits the recommendation of the Trails Task Force regarding the Master Plan Acquisition Policy Statement on trails to the Board. He said the Task Force felt trans- portation should be the main concern of agencies other than the MRPD, and that the phrase "public trails of regional significance" was broader than "regional trail system. " Mrs. Mary Ann Mark, 725 Cowper, Palo Alto, suggested the Board consider making the second acquisition policy state- ment more flexible so that cities are encouraged to insti- tute their own trails programs rather than relying on the MRPD to do it. K. Duffy stated the consensus that the recommended acquisi- tion policy statements proposed by the Trails Task Force be referred to the Master Plan Policy Statements Subcom- mittee for its consideration. The Subcommittee is to return to the Board with a report at its March 12 meeting if possible. IX. OLD BUSINESS NOT REQUIRING ACTION A. Urban Service Area Boundaries H. Grench advised the Board that the Town Council of Los Gatos had accepted the compromise Urban Service Area bound- aries proposed by LAFCO with two conditions : (1) that joint planning efforts begin with Santa Clara County imme- diately; and (2) that the County put a moratorium on new development in the area pending completion of the planning study. H. Grench noted that the compromise would add just under 1, 000 acres to the Urban Service Area of Los Gatos, which will be much less than the 5, 000 acres originally requested. X. NEW BUSINESS NOT REQUIRING ACTION A. Assembly Bill 523 H. Grench referred to his memorandum (M-75-35) dated Febru- ary 11, 1975, which states that Assemblyman Calvo is enlist- ing District support for AB 523. He said there have already Meeting 75-5 Page nine been amendments to the bill, and suggested the Board might want staff to prepare a report on both AB 523 and AB 15 (known as the Warren bill) for the next Board meeting. D. Wendin said he would be interested in working on the re- port also. The consensus of the Board was that D. Wendin would work with the staff in preparing a report on AB 523 and AB 15. B. Enabling Legislation Report H. Grench advised that he and S. Norton had met with legis- lators in Sacramento last week to seek their support of the District' s proposed changes in regional park district en- abling legislation. He said the legislators were very sup- portive of the changes, and the Legislative Counsel is pre- paring a bill incorporating these changes. He said Assembly- man Calvo intends to introduce the bill on Monday. H. Grench said there had also been a further addition to the list of proposed changes to amend the present legislation where it requires three cities to be a part of a new regional park district. The change would allow a regional park dis- trict to be formed with only part of one city, providing the population exceeds 50, 000. S. Norton advised that annexations are not affected by this. C. Meeting with R. Diridon K. Duffy said she and H. Grench met with Mr. Diridon of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors recently. H. Grench said Mr. Diridon was interested in setting up a meeting of representatives from Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County and San Mateo County to discuss the creation of a preserve or park which would encompass lands in all the counties. K. Duffy said she would talk to J. Olson about the possibility of both of them attending the meeting. T. Look said there would probably be representatives from the Castle Rock Advisory Committee who would be interested in attending the meeting. D. Letter from MACSA K. Duffy referred the Board to a letter from the Mexican American Community Services Agency, Inc. , dated February 10, 1975, which announces a seminar and conference series on the topic "Shaping a Liveable Urban Environment. " She suggested the District ought to be represented at the ser- ies. H. Grench advised that A. Crosley planned to attend on behalf of the District. Meeting 75-5 Page ten XI. CLAIMS Motion: B. Green moved acceptance of the revised claims (C-75-5) dated February 26, 1975. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session to discuss land negotiations at 10: 45 P.M. XIII. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11: 34 P.M. Anne Cathcart Crosley Administrative Secretary