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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19760414 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) M. sing 76-12 MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S April 14 , 1976 745 Distel Drive Los Altos, CA I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by President Hanko at 7 : 32 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, Carroll Harrington, Jennie George, Brad Clifford, Phyllis Lee, Stanley Norton, John Melton and Del Woods. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of March 24 , 1976 K. Duffy asked that the last paragraph on page eight of the minutes be changed to read "does not meet her expectations or those of the Board and may lead to misunderstandings" after the words "Fre- mont Older Open Space Preserve. " N. Hanko suggested the last paragraph on page four of the minutes reflect that there seemed to be some doubt as to whether or not there was a consensus on publicizing District goals and policies. N . Hanko suggested the word "issued" be changed to "required" in the next to last paragraph on page five of the minutes. N. Hanko suggested the last sentence in paragraph one on page six substitute the words "agendized at a later date" for "be placed on the April 14 agenda. " B. Green suggested the word "at" be inserted between the words "that" and "the" in the third line of the second paragraph on page three of the minutes. N. Hanko stated the consensus that the minutes of March 24 , 1976 be approved with the above changes. Meeting 76-12 Page two III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS There were no written communications. N. Hanko referred the Board to an informational letter from East Bay Regional Park District regarding a special districts forum being held in May. IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA K. Duffy said she might like to have a discussion on the concept of the Citizens Advisory Group at a future meeting, prior to the establishment of any more such committees after the one for Fremont Older Open Space Preserve. H. Grench said E. Jaynes had an introduction to make under Special Orders of the Day. K. Duffy said she had been requested to ask the Board to consider support of a bond issue in the City of Saratoga regarding the acquisition of approximately 400 acres of land in the Saratoga foothills. She said she would try to get some written materials on the matter and bring the matter up at a future meeting. V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no oral communications at this time. VI. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY A. Introduction of Land Endowment Specialist E. Jaynes introduced Brad Clifford as the District' s first Land Endowment Specialist. He said Mr. Clifford had an extensive background in fund-raising and had recently worked at the Univer- sity of Santa Clara. His primary responsibility will be the development and administration of the District's land donations program, including locating potential gifts of land or open space easements, bargain sales, and supplementing the land acquisition program of the District in general. VII. OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Land Use Workshop Follow-Up (1) Land Management Budget Limitation as a Planning Tool. E. Shelley introduced his memorandum M-76-54, dated April 9, 1976, regarding his Projections of Land Management Costs. He said he felt that his model of land management costs predicted results similar to those found in the model developed by staff and Dr. Robert Mark, namely, that land use costs per acre could be substantial over the short term (5-10 years) , but over the long term (30 years) there Meeting 76-12 Page three could be a significant impact on the land acquisition program if cost per acre were not kept to within about $40. He recommended that a percentage budget limitation for land use costs be adopted from 7% for this year' s budget up to about 17 or 18% in 10 years. He said he would assume that inflation- ary increases would be balanced by adjusted assess- ments. D. Wendin introduced the Report of the Land Use Workshop Follow-Up Subcommittee (M-76-54 , dated April 9, 1976) , which suggests that for an initial ten year period, an average cost per acre of $50 will not significantly impact the land acquisition program of the District. However, on a longer time scale, it will be important to keep unit management costs in the $30/acre range in order to maintain a strong land acquisition program. Reducing cost per acre somewhat below the $30 figure would not have a long-term impact of great significance. De. Wendin emphasized that there was no way of knowing whether or not $30/acre is a practical or workable figure, but it appears to be, based on existing data. He added that it is the Subcommittee' s recommendation to use a percentage of the budget, rather than a dollar amount, for flexibility in the event annual revenues fluctuate. He noted that some land management units will cost more than $30 per acre and some will cost less. H. Grench introduced his report R-76-9, dated April 8 , 1976 , regarding Land Management Budget Limitation as a Planning Tool . He said that he generally agreed with the observations made by Directors Shelley and Wendin, and that it was a matter of Board Policy to decide at what point the cost per acre for land management will cause a significant adverse impact on the land acquisition program in terms Of lost purchasing opportunities. He suggested that it was reasonable to assume the District could use some type of percentage limit in budgeting for land management costs in an attempt to implement its policy. Dr. Robert Mark, 725 Cowper, Palo Alto, said the concept of establishing an upper percentage limit to spending funds for land management should be very carefully considered. He distributed a graph to the Board which he said indicated that development and use of sites can have a significant effect, and therefore too low an upper limit to cost per acre may not be feasible. Meeting 76-13 Page four D. Wendin recommended that land management program costs be allowed to rise from the present percentage up to about 18% of revenue at the end of ten years, although he added he preferred a 15% figure. E. Shelley expressed a preference for including capital improvements in the figure, which was why he suggested 18%. The relationship between maintenance and capital development costs can then be adjusted as necessary. E. Shelley said if the $30/acre management figure and the $50/acre capital improvement figure are accepted as set forth in the table in the General Manager' s report, then 18% should be the appropriate figure to work with. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the policy of the Midpenin- sula Regional Park District is that the budget for land management costs will be permitted to grow approximately linearly from next year 's budget (1976-1977) to 18% of tax revenue at the end of ten years, such percentages to be reviewed annually. B. Green seconded the motion. Discussion: H. Grench said he would like to clarify that the 18% figure includes capital improvements and the salaries of land management personnel, as well as pre-acquisition activities. The Board agreed, N. Hanko said she wanted staff to know that the Board would expect them to keep costs down as much as possible. E. Shelley said he hoped fixing a definite figure would be helpful in long term planning. The motion passed unanimously. K. Duffy and N. Hanko asked if there was any way the staff could compile better data on the cost of managing District lands. J. Melton replied that major cost items are identi- fied in the accounting process, but that it would not be cost effective to try to determine what category smaller items belong in. H. Grench added that J. Olson and Dr. Mark have been working on a system for compiling and evalua- ting land use data. In about a year, it is possible that sufficient data will have been collected to give the Dis- trict some indication of the relationship between land use and management costs. (2) Signing and Publicity. D. Wendin suggested that policies on signing and publicity may have the greatest effect on land use, and therefore costs. N. Hanko introduced her memorandum M-76-57 , dated April 12, 1976, regarding Signing and Publicity. She said the proposed policy statements represented what she considered to be the thinking of a majority of Board members. Her memorandum suggested that signing be used to protect Dis- trict sites , users and neighboring properties and to f D. Wendin recommended that land management program costs be allowed to rise from the present percentage up to Meeting 76-12 Page five indicate ownership at site entrances. If special environ- mental protection is required, signing will be used for protective purposes only. The policy would be reviewed on a yearly basis for specific sites. With respect to a policy on publicity, her memorandum suggested that infor- mation about District sites would be made available in the form of brochures on display at the office only. This policy would also be reviewed on a yearly basis. H. Grench suggested that the following sentence be added to the policy on signing: "Placement of signs on various sites will be timed so as to permit evaluation of the effects on use patterns resulting from changes so that adjustments on scheduling can be made as necessary. " He added that there may be reasons other than environ- mental why signs would not be posted, such as poor access and neighborhood problems . D. Wendin suggested the following phrase be added to the proposed policy on signing. " . . .or other special site- specific circumstances make it necessary. . . " after the phrase " . . . in certain cases where special environmental protection of the site. . . " which would include the kinds of circumstances mentioned. He added that details on sign placement should be left to the staff 's discretion. N. Hanko said she assumed signing would be included as part of site use plans presented to the Board. D. Wendin said his feeling was that this signing policy was more related to advertising of District sites, not protection. However , he felt site specific plans should include signing plans. B. Green asked when the Board might review size and design of signs. H. Grench advised that in the 1975-1976 Action Plan, one of the typical projects to be completed was the development of standards for signing. This project has been completed, and the results are available to interested Board members. Motion: E. Shelley moved that the policy of the District with respect to signing of its sites is as follows: "The District will provide signs to protect the site, users and neighboring proper- ties and to indicate ownership at the entrance or entrances of sites. However, in certain cases where special environmental protection or other special site-specific circumstances make it necessary, the District will provide signs only as required to protect the site, users and neighboring properties. This policy will be reviewed yearly as to specific sites. " D. Wendin seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting 76-12 Page six H. Grench said his interpretation of the proposed policy on publicity is that brochures would not be provided in other locations for general distribution, but would be available for office visitors or upon telephone request. E. Shelley said he felt the proposed policy was incon- sistent with the District' s Basic Policy statement on public communications. D. Wendin said he would prefer the policy be short-term only, that the words "on display" be removed, and that the word "through" replace the word "at. " B. Green said she would like the policy publicized and distributed to the press. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the policy of the District with respect to publicity be as follows: "For the next year, information about District sites will be made available in the form of informa- tional brochures through the office only. This policy will be reviewed at the end of the year. " B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed on the following vote: AYES - N . Hanko. B. Green, D. Wendin; NOS - E. Shelley and K. Duffy. N. Hanko said the Trails Task Force would like to meet with the Board of Directors towards the end of May to discuss trails policies. D. Wendin said he felt the matter of scheduling a meeting with the Trails Task Force should be agendized. N. Hanko stated the con- sensus that the matter be placed on the April 28 , 1976 Board meeting. N. Hanko asked if the Land Use Workshop Follow-Up Subcommittee would have a report on phasing policies by the April 28 meeting. D. Wendin and E. Shelley said they would try to meet to discuss the matter and present their conclusions to the Board by that meeting. K. Duffy said she might like to have a discussion of the concept of citizens advisory committees on a future agenda. The Board recessed at 8: 51 P.M. and reconvened at 9 :14 P.M. VIII. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Action Plan for Implementation of the Basic Policy of the Midpeninsula Regional Park District for the 1976-1977 Fiscal Year H. Grench presented his report (R-76-10 , dated April 8, 1976) on the proposed Action Plan for Implementation of the Basic Policy of the Midpeninsula Regional Park District for the 1976-1977 Fis- cal Year. He noted that the updating of the Action Plan is a Meeting 76-12 Page seven useful tool in structuring staff activities and priorities, in allocating budget funds, in evaluating progress, and in sum- marizing for people the activities of the District. He said the recent Board/staff discussions on land use have been very helpful in formulating the Action Plan this year. He pointed out that new activities related to a successful annexation of south San Mateo County were marked with an asterisk, but that the level of most other activities would increase. If annexation did not occur, some activities could be removed from the Action Plan and the budget adjusted accordingly. H. Grench indicated two typical projects which had been inadvertently omitted. E. Jaynes said there was little change in the Land Acquisition Program from last year except in the area of donations. The Donations Subprogram will be fully implemented by the new Land Endowment Specialist during the coming year. If annexation is successful, there is a possibility that an additional staff per- son would be needed to assist with the general land acquisition activities of the District. A. Crosley said the major change in the Governmental and Private Liaison Program was that last year ' s Annexation Subprogram had been eliminated, and annexation-related activities for the coming year were incorporated into all five Action Plan programs. If annexation is successful, a greater portion of staff time will probably be required for implementation of this program, even on a low-key basis. It could also be expected that the General Manager would allocate more of his time to this program, thereby delegating more general administrative work to other staff members. E. Shelley expressed concern that this program might not be getting the attention it should. H. Grench replied that it was Board policy to take a low-key approach to liaison activities. He added that the personal contact the District had been able to establish through luncheon meetings and other opportunities had been very helpful. J. Olson said the Open Space Management Program had been restruc- tured to better identify the major land management activities in the program. The new subprograms are General Land Administration; Site Planning, Design and Construction; Operation and Maintenance; and Volunteer, Docent and Intern. Depending on a number of differ- ent factors, more resources will be required to administer this Program. Annexation, additional acquisitions, location of acqui- sitions, intensity of use and other factors will affect the need for ranger personnel. It appears likely that a supervising ranger, a permanent planning position and an assistant land manager might be anticipated, as well as another ranger or ranger aide. In response to a question from E . Shelley, J. Olson stated that planning accounted for approximately 30% of his time during the past year, and that site operation and patrol would probably take more time than other activities during the coming year. Meeting 76-12 Page eight In response to a question from N. Hanko, J. Olson said review of the regional trails plan was included in Typical Project No. 6 on page ten of the Action Plan. He said site planning committees were included as part of the normal site planning process. J. Olson said he hoped to use existing buildings on District sites for storage of vehicles and equipment, and perhaps convert an appropriate building for use as a ranger field office. C. Harrington said the main goal of the Public Communications Pro- gram is to educate the public about the use of District lands as open space. She felt it was important to publicize the dona- tions program, prepare site brochures, and establish good contacts with the residents and officials of south San Mateo County in the event annexation is successful. She said the overall program is generally unchanged from last year 's Action Plan, but the activi- ties will take more time. She added that the docent program took more of her time, but she felt it was an extremely worthwhile program. H. Grench advised that the position of Public Communications Coor- dinator would continue in a part-time capacity, but would be supplemented by contractual help or other District staff aid in some instances, such as brochure design. H. Grench said some of the changes in the General Administrative Program anticipate a successful annexation. In that event, there will be some change in the District' s structure and in the overall workload. Due to a number of factors, the need for office space, secretarial assistance and general equipment and supplies will increase regardless of annexation, and at this time it is difficult to predict precisely what affect annexation would have on those services. He anticipated that his time would be allocated somewhat differently than last year, providing for some increase in time spent on Governmental and Private Liaison and on General Admini- stration. It was pointed out that there should be added to the Donations Subprogram a Typical Project No. 5 - "Form and coordinate with private 'Friends of the MRPD ' foundation which will raise funds for open space acquisition. " C. Harrington advised that the Public Education and Participation Subprogram should include a Typical Project No. 6 - "Assist with formation of citizens committees as appropriate . " Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board of Directors tentatively adopt the updated Action Plan presented in report R-76-10 , and as amended, to be used as the basis for formulation of the 1976-1977 fiscal year budget. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting 76-12 age nine B. City Responses to Draft Trails Plan. H. Grench introduced his memorandum M-76-52 , dated April 8 , 1976 , regarding City Responses to the Draft Trails Plan. He referred the Board to the memorandum of the Land Manager, and recommended that the comments of cities and other agencies be forwarded to the Trails Task Force for their consideration. The Trails Task Force could then return to the Board with its final recommended trails plan. J. Olson introduced his memorandum M-76-50, dated April 2 , 1976 , which explained the various City Responses to the Draft Trails Plan. He said the agencies who responded were generally supportive of the Trails Plan. Specifically, the cities of Saratoga, Cuper- tion and Mountain View recommended further planning with respect to trails along Stevens Creek, and linking Stevens Creek with other park areas. He asked that the Board refer the responses to the Trails Task Force for consideration. Motion: K. Duffy moved that the city and other agency responses to the draft trails plan be referred to the Trails Task Force for consideration, and that the Task Force then return to the Board with a final recommended plan. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unani- mously. IX. NEW BUSINESS WITH NO ACTION REQUESTED A. Docent Program H. Grench referred to his memorandum M-76-51, dated April 8, 1976, regarding the District 's Docent Program. He said the Coordinator of Volunteers, Ellie Huggins, was unable to attend tonight ' s meet- ing to summarize the progress of the docent program, and he suggested the matter be continued to the next Board meeting. Several Board members expressed an interest in the schedule of the docent training program, and C. Harrington advised that it would be sent to them. X. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS A. Billawala Rezoning Referral H. Grench advised the Board that the City of Cupertino has been responsive to the District 's requests for information which may have an affect on existing or possible District open space sites, as evidenced by the referral of a rezoning request from Noorudin A. Billawala to the District for response. This item was sent to the Board for informational purposes to illustrate the District ' s referral procedures. Meeting 76-12 Page ten B. Cupertino Proposal for County Park Plan J. Olson advised that there is potential for a joint County park and District open space preserve in the Permanente Creek Park area. Board members have been interested in seeing specific ideas, and staff had therefore prepared a schematic plan. He said there could be an outstanding scenic hiking experience along Permanente Creek forks which could begin at a County park area. XI. CLAIMS E. Shelley moved adoption of the revised claims (C-76-7) dated April 14 , 1976. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed on the following vote: AYES - D. Wendin, B. Green, E. Shelley and K. Duffy; ABSTAIN - N. Hanko, because of claim No. 1793 . XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 10: 22 P.M. to discuss land negotiations. XIII. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11:28 P.M. Anne Cathcart Crosley District Clerk