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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19780308 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 78-6 MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S 375 Distel Circle March 8 , 1978 Los Altos , CA I . ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by President Turner at 7 : 36 P.M. Members Present : Nonette Hanko, Barbara Green, Edward Shelley and Harry Turner. Richard Bishop arrived at 7 : 38 P.M. , Katherine Duffy arrived at 7 :50 P.M. and Daniel Wendin arrived at 7 :57 P.M. Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Jon Olson, Craig Britton, Anne Crosley, Carroll Harrington, Del Woods, Cynthia DiGiovanni, Eric Mart, Judy Frosch and John Melton. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of February 8 , 1978 H. Turner stated the consensus that the minutes of February 8 , 1978 be considered for approval at the next regular Board meeting. B. Minutes of February 22 , 1978 A. Crosley referred the Board to the minutes of February 22 , 1978 and advised that the tapes of the meeting were available for those who wished to listen to them. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS A. Crosley advised the Board of two Written Communications : (1) a letter dated February 18, 1978 from David Tyack regarding the District's policy on dogs , and (2) a letter dated February 27 , 1978 from Purusha Obluda apologizing for recent remarks and inviting Board and staff members to Sunday morning breakfasts at Struggle Mountain. The Board agreed to place the Tyack letter on the next regular Board meeting agenda or the one thereafter. Meeting 78-6 Page two IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA H. Turner stated the consensus that the agenda be adopted with the following additions : (1) an introduction by Ellie Huggins under Special Orders of the Day and (2) consideration of the possible cancellation of the March 22 , 1978 Board meeting under New Business with Action Requested. V. ORAL COM1.1UNICATIONS Robert Mark, 725 Cowper, Palo Alto, complimented the Board and staff on the new Wildcat Trail on the Rancho de San Antonio Open Space Preserve, which he felt was quite spectacular. He said he hoped the County of Santa Clara would soon provide better access to the area. Mark Schneider, 1759 Woodside Road, Redwood City, said he still believed he had delivered Purusha Obluda' s letter of February 14 , 1978 around 11 :00 A.M. on Friday, February 17. VI . SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY A. Introduction of John Glare E. Huggins introduced John Glare, who designed the Los Trancos Open Space Preserve "earthquake trail" brochure, which will be available for site visitors to guide themselves along the trail . Members of the Board expressed their appreciation for the quality of Mr. Glare 's work, and the time he donated to the District. B. Introduction of Jane Hall E. Huggins introduced Jane Hall , who will be acting on E. Huggin' s behalf during the next six months as Coordinator of Volunteers . She will guide the docent program and coordinate other volunteers and interns for the District during that time. VII . OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Adoption of Goals Workshop Agenda B. Green introduced a memorandum (M-78-42) dated February 23 , 1978 from the Goals Workshop Committee recommending an agenda for the annual Goals Workshop, which is tentatively scheduled for March 19 at 12 :00 Noon at the District offices. H. Turner stated the consensus that copies of Land Use and Man- agement Policy Refinements be available at the Goals Workshop. Meeting 78-6 Page three Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board schedule the Goals Workshop for Sunday, March 19 , 1978 , at 12 : 00 Noon at the District offices , and approve the agenda as presented. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. B. Surplus State College Site at Edgewood Road H. Grench said the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors had not yet considered this item as expected, so he recommended postponing discussion until the Board of Supervisors has taken action on it. The Board agreed to do this. VIII . OLD BUSINESS WITH NO ACTION REQUESTED A. Proposition 13 (Jarvis-Gann Initiative) H. Grench introduced his memorandum (M-78-46) dated February 28 , 1978 , which accompanied materials relating to Proposition 13 (Jarvis-Gann Initiative) . He said the California Park and Recreation Society and the California Association of Recreation and Park Districts took official positions in opposition to the Initiative . He advised there was a bill being introduced in the legislature by Senator Rodda which would provide alter- nate revenue sources for thirteen "essential services" in the event Proposition 13 passed, but the services did not at this time include park and open space activities . He added that the recently approved Behr bill allows a maximum of a cost-of-living increase in property tax assessments. IX. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Rules of Procedure (Policies for the Du2lication and Dis- semination of Agendas , Supporting Materials , and Other Records of the District) N. Hanko introduced her report (R-78-8) dated February 28, 1978 regarding the Rules of Procedure (Policies for the Duplication and Dissemination of Agendas , Supporting Materials and Other Records of the District) . She recommended that staff be directed to prepare for Board consideration clarification that the term "confidential" does not apply to written communications and that replies to written communications be distributed to the Board. She further recommended that staff be directed to pre- pare for Board consideration changes to the Rules of Procedure to reflect the following policies : (a) replies to written communications which are answered at the discretion of a Board or staff member should be submitted to the District Clerk for distribution; (b) written communications requiring investigation should be sent with an explanatory note by the General Manager. Meeting 78-6 Page four H. Turner stated the consensus that all written communications should be sent to Board and press unless they are deemed "con- fidential" , which should be defined; but some communications may be accompanied by a tag from the General Manager indicating investigation is needed. Motion: D. Wendin moved that staff be directed to prepare for Board consideration appropriate changes in the Rules of Procedure to clarify the word "'confidential" , to pro- vide that the Board and press are to receive all written communications and replies , and that a label such as "draft response prepared by staff" be placed on replies to written communications that have not yet been con- sidered by the Board so that the draft does not appear to be an official response of the Board. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. B. Procedures for Selecting Candidate to Fill Upcoming Controller Vacancy H. Grench introduced his memorandum (M-78-47) dated March 2 , 1978 , regarding Procedures for Selecting Candidate to Fill Upcoming Controller Vacancy. He recommended the Board inter- view final candiates in Executive Session at the earliest pos- sible date. He said he had recently witnessed a public inter- view session and felt it proved to be embarrassing and unproductive for all parties concerned, and the District 's Legal Counsel said he believed conducting the interviews in Executive Session would be appropriate. E. Shelley said that he agreed with this procedure for District employees, but that appointments to the Board or citizens ' com- mittees would be another matter. Motion: D. Wendin moved that an Executive Session be scheduled to interview no more than three final candidates for the upcoming Controller vacancy. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. X. NEW BUSINESS WITH NO ACTION REQUESTED A. Planning for Picchetti Ranch K. Duffy introduced her memorandum (M-.78-52) dated March 2 , 1978 regarding Planning for Picchetti Ranch. She said that based upon the recently submitted winery proposal of John Rakich, she recommended the Board discuss the philosophy of permitting concessions on District sites , and form a committee to draw up guidelines for concessions. J. Olson advised that he intended to postpone completion of the use and management planning process for the Picchetti Ranch, including a consideration of the winery proposal , until he had received input from people knowledgeable about historic resources who will be given a tour of the site in May. He also wanted to investigate potential grant sources for this type of project. Meeting 78-6 Page five Motion : R. Bishop moved to refer consideration of concessions to the Committee on Structures . B. Green seconded the notion. The motion passed unanimously. John Rakich, 21822 Lindy Lane, Cupertino , said his proposal would include some restoration of the winery. Charles Lombard, a partner of Mr. Rakich's , said he felt both parties would benefit from this type of arrangement, which could be considered a "test case" for the District. H. Turner clarified that the Rakich winery proposal would be considered by staff and any citizens advisory committee involved in the use and management planning process for Picchetti Ranch. J. Olson said he would investigate application procedures for the National Register and report back to the Board at the next regular meeting. B. Possible Cancellation of March 22 , 1978 Board Meeting H. Grench asked the Board to authorize the President to cancel the March 22 , 1978 Board meeting in the event it appears appropriate to do so. Motion: E. Shelley moved that the President of the Board be authorized to cancel the March 22 , 1978 Board meeting if he deems it appropriate to do so. R. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion passed on the follow- ing vote : AYES - K. Duffy, B. Green, E. Shelley, H. Turner, R. Bishop and D. Wendin; NO - N. Hanko. XI . INFOP14ATIONAL REPORTS A. Election Results R. Bishop reported that one of the two people recently elected to the San Carlos City Council , John Buchanan, appeared to be favorable toward a joint District—San Carlos project to acquire the Hassler property. He felt the Hassler/Edgewood Committee should begin meeting, and that at some point a letter from the Board might be appropriate. K. Duffy reported on election results from her ward, which she felt were generally favorable from an environmental point of view. B. Fire Protection in the Foothills J. Olson said District staff had recently met with the City of Palo Alto and residents of the foothills to consider better fire protection for the area. The District would be discing Meeting 78-6 Page six and grazing on its open space preserves, and District rangers would coordinate fire patrols with other agencies during times of extreme fire danger. He pointed out that all District vehicles have fire-fighting capabilities which would be of benefit to put out an initial fire or assist in cleaning up after a fire has been controlled, and all rangers receive fire-fighting training. He said he may be recommending to the Board of Directors designation of a site on District land where fire equipment for volunteer firefighters could be kept. He said he was trying to persuade the Ford. Company in Milpitas to donate a virtually unused 1956 fire truck to the District. He said another meeting was planned to continu fire protection discussions. Harry Aine, 2 Palo Alto Square, Palo Alto, said he would like to see some specific recommendations . Barry Block, 30610 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, asked if the District had specific plans at this time to station a fully equipped fire fighting truck on one of its sites, since he believed there would be more people on public property than on a privately owned parcel. J. Olson repeated his previous remarks on fire protection, adding that the District closes its sites to the public on days when the fire hazard is greatest. Mickey Bernstein, Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, said she felt J. olson 's summary of the progress of fire prevention measures was quite complete. Winter Sojourner, Palo Alto Road, Palo Alto, said she was very pleased with the meetings on fire prevention. She felt there was a lot more which could be accomplished, but the progress to date had been satisfactory. C. District Volunteers 11. Grench introduced his memorandum (M-78-51) dated March 1 , 1978 , enclosing for the Board 's information a copy of the staff ' s Administrative Policy establishing Guidelines for Engaging and Working with Volunteers. D. Wendin said it should be clarified that Board members are not expected to request volunteer services. H. Turner stated the consensus that this item be placed on the next regular Board meeting agenda. Meeting 78-6 Page seven D• Rezoning of Santa Clara County Unincorporated Lands K. Duffy advised that the County of Santa Clara has recently rezoned lands in the Santa Cruz Mountains located within the unincorporated area of the County but outside Urban Service Areas to reflect a 20 to 160 acre minimum, based on a slope density formula. X. CLAIMS Motion: B. Green moved approval of the revised claims (C-78- 5 , dated March 8 , 1978) as presented. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, with H. Turner abstaining from Claim No. 665. XI. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 10 :06 P.M. XII. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11 :40 P.M. Anne Cathcart Crosley District Clerk C. Minutes of March 8, 1978 A. Crosley referred the Board to corrected minutes for the March 8 , 1978 meeting. Motion: B. Green moved approval of the minutes.of March 8, 1978, with the following corrections: Page 1 - the word "some" should be inserted before the word "recent" in the first paragraph under Written Communications; Page 3 - the last word in the paragraph discussing Proposition 13 should read "revenues" rather than "assessments. " Page 6 - the words "Page Mill" should replace the words "Palo Alto" in the last paragraph discussing Fire Protection in the Foothills. R. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.,