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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19780322 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) dA, Meeting 78-8 Nb of MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S March 22 , 1978 375 Distel Circle Los Altos, CA I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by President Turner at 7 : 30 P.M. Members Present: Barbara Green, Nonette Hanko, Edward Shelley and Harry Turner. Richard Bishop and Daniel Wendin arrived at 7 : 32 P.M. Member Absent : Katherine Duffy Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Jon Olson, Craig Britton, Anne Crosley, Carroll Harrington, Del Woods, Eric Mart, Cynthia DiGiovanni , Rose Hartman and Stanley Norton. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of February 8 , 1978 Motion: N. Hanko moved approval of the minutes of February 8 , 1978 as presented. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. B. Minutes of February 22 , 1978 Motion: B. Green moved approval of the minutes of February 22 , 1978 , with the following changes : Page 2 - the first motion was made by N. Hanko rather than K. Duffy; Page 4 - the first motion should include the explanation that D. Wendin had to leave for a business meeting and therefore asked that Oral Communications be tabled until the Stanford acquisition had been considered; at the bottom of the page it should be noted that D. Wendin left the meeting at 9 :06 P.M. ; Page 5 - the word "and" should be stricken in the second sentence of the second paragraph on this page; Page 8 - in the second to the last paragraph on this page, the word "she" should replace the words "the Board" . Meeting 78-8 Page two E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 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. III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS A. Crosley referred the Board to the following Written Communi- cations : (1) a letter dated I-larch 9 , 1978 from the City Clerk of Redwood City requesting that agendas be sent to City Council- members; (2) a letter dated March 14 , 1978 from the Clerk of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors advising that the name "Rancho San Antonio Park" was given to the County park located by the District' s Rancho de San Antonio Open Space Preserve; (3) a letter dated March 11, 1978 from Purusha Obluda regarding the former "Land" community; and (4) a letter dated March 13 , 1978 from Mark Schneider on behalf of the "Land" community and Sorensen, Strickman & Tooby enclosing a Claim for Damages and other Appropriate Relief. H. Turner advised that the Claim for Damages would be discussed with Legal Counsel in Executive Session, and the Board would announce in public session its decision regarding a response to the February 14 , 1978 letter from Purusha Obluda. R. Bishop added that it was necessary to consult with Legal Counsel since the letter dealt with matters that now involve pending litigation. IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA H. Turner stated the consensus that the agenda be adopted with the addition of a request for authorization to purchase a vehicle under New Business With Action Requested. Meeting 78-8 Page three V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mark Schneider, 1759 Woodside Road, Redwood City, said he felt the Board would be circumventing the intent of the Brown Act if it discussed Purusha Obluda's letter in Execu- tive Session. He said the District held a public trust and should answer the letter without further delay so the truth would be known about the letter' s accusations. D. Wendin pointed out that the public trust can be protected through public dialogue or by following legal procedures. Since M. Schneider has chosen to use legal proceedings , the Board must act deliberately and cautiously and in accordance with advice from Legal Counsel. R. Bishop added that P. Obluda' s letter was extremely lengthy and dealt with many subjects, requiring substantial time on the part of staff and Legal Counsel in gathering information and preparing a draft reply. He said the District Board has the same right and duty to confer with an attorney that Mr. Schneider has , and it is appropriate to do so. D1. Schneider said he had to file the Claim for Damages no later than a certain date, or the "Land" community would have forfeited its right of appeal. He pointed out that the Claim asks for an alternate place to live in addition to $1 million damages. He suggested the Board hold a public Executive Session. VI. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY A. Planning Policy Committee Trails Plan N. Hanko introduced Mary Gordon, Chairperson of the Trails and Pathways Subcommittee of the Santa Clara County Planning Policy Committee. M. -Gordon and Bruce Freeland, Santa Clara County staff member, gave a slide presentation to the Board which highlighted the draft Master Trails and Pathways Plan for the County which is being circulated for comment. She noted that the District ' s Trails Task Force draft trails plan was incor- porated into the Subcommittee 's draft plan. She said the Subcommittee 's draft plan was meant to augment and coordinate with the plans of other public agencies . Betsy Fiksdahl , 11271 Magdalena, Los Altos Hills, said the Los Altos Hills Town Council had recently approved a pathway to the Duveneck property. Meeting 78-8 Page four H. Turner stated the consensus that N. Hanko and B. Green prepare recommended comments on the draft Master Trails and Pathways Plan, taking into consideration suggestions from members of the Trails Task Force and District staff, and return to the Board with recommendations on April 12 , 1978. VII. OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Surplus State College Site at Edgewood Road H. Grench introduced his memorandum (M-78-57) dated March 15, 1978, regarding the Surplus State College Site at Edgewood Road. He advised that the San Mateo County Board of Super- visors had just endorsed the joint acquisition concept as set forth in his memorandum. He recommended that the Board approve the joint acquisition concept and direct staff to work with San Mateo County staff to prepare for consideration of both Boards (a) draft legislation to declare the remainder of the site surplus and (b) a draft agreement between the District and San Mateo County. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the recom- mendations of the General Manager as set forth in memorandum M-78-57 . H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. B. Naming of Rancho de San Antonio Open Space Preserve Nancy Hertert, 22830 San Juan Road, Cupertino , said she had researched the question of the most appropriate wording for this site ' s name , and had come to the conclusion that although "Rancho de San Antonio" reflects correct grammatical form, "Rancho San Antonio" reflects the most commonly used form from a historical standpoint. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board approve changing the name "Rancho de San Antonio Open Space Preserve" to "Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve. " B. Green seconded the motion. Discussion: D. Wendin said he wished the minutes to reflect that the former name of "Rancho de San Antonio Open Space Preserve" was correct grammatically, if not historically. The motion passed unanimously. VIII. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Tentative Approval of Action Plan for Implementation of c y the 7 Basic Policy for the 1978 19 9 Fiscal Year a H. Grench introduced his report (R 78-9) dated March 15 , 1978, regarding Tentative Approval of Action Plan for Implementation Meeting 78-8 Page five of the Basic Policy for the 1978-1979 Fiscal Year. He said there should be one change in the General Management and Program Support page, which would add a "Possible additional part or full time support person" to Required Staff Resources. E. Shelley advised that the Budget Committee reviewed the draft Action Plan and concurred with it, and that minor modi- fications had been made as a result of their review. Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board tentatively approve the draft Action Plan for 'Implementation of t'-ie Basic Policy for the 1978-79 Fiscal Year. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. IX. NEW BUSINESS WITH NO ACTION REQUESTED A. Policies Regarding Volunteers H. Grench introduced his memorandum (M-78-56) dated March 14 , 1978, enclosing Administrative Policies regarding volunteers , and suggesting the Board may want to adopt its own Policies Regarding Volunteers . D. Wendin stated the consensus of the Board that no policy regarding volunteers be made at this time. E . Shelley sug- gested the Board may want the subject included in the Goals Workshop Follow-up. XIII. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED (continued) B. Authorization to Purchase District Vehicle J. Olson asked that this matter be considered as an emergency item, since staff just became aware of an April 1 , 1978 deadline for ordering from the State Department of General Services , and staff would like to replace the "Thing" with a pickup truck. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board finds that the request for Authorization to Purchase District Vehicle is an urgent matter which should be voted on at this meeting, in accordance with Section 1. 30 of the Rules of Procedure. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. J. Olson asked that the Board adopt a resolution authorizing the State Department of General Services to purchase a 1978 pickup truck for the District. He said the Board may be asked to declare the "Thing" surplus government property, which would probably be auctioned off in conjunction with an auction held by another public agency, but staff is checking into the appropriate procedure. Meeting 78-8 Page six Motion: E. Shelley moved adoption of Resolution No. 78-8 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional open Space District Author- izing the Department of General Services of the State of California to Purchase Certain Items for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board authorize staff to spend up to $7 ,000 .00 to purchase a District vehicle. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. X. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS A. Legislative Committee Meeting R. Bishop announced there would be a Legislative Committee meeting at 7 :30 P.M. on Wednesday, March 29 , 1978 at the District office for the purpose of discussing Propositions 8 and 13. B. Schedule for Application to Historical Register J. Olson advised that applications to the Historical Register are considered about-once every month and a half. XI . CLAIMS Motion: E. Shelley moved approval of the revised claims (C-78-6) dated March 22 , 1978 as presented. The motion passed unanimously, with N. Hanko abstaining from Claim No. 706 . B. Green asked that the Goals Workshop Follow-up include a discussion of the answering service. XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 9 : 30 P.M. to dis- cuss pending litigation. III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS (continued) The Board reconvened at 10 :50 P .M. R. Bishop advised that the Board could take three possible actions with respect to the Claim for Damages : grant the claim, grant the claim in part, or deny the claim. He Meeting 78-8 Page seven recommended that the claim be denied because he felt it was not valid, legally or factually, and it was also technically defective since it did not state the names of all the claimants. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board deny the Claim for Damages and Other Appropriate Relief submitted on March 13, 1978 by the Land community. D. Wendin seconded the motion. Motion to Amend: R. Bishop moved to amend the motion to add that the staff be instructed to give notice of the Board' s action in the manner pre- scribed by law. D. Wendin agreed to the amendment. The motion, as amended, passed unanimously. H. Turner advised that a response to the February 14, 1978 letter from Purusha Obluda would be prepared by staff and reviewed by the Board. He said the response would be made in light of the Claim for Damages and the District ' s respon- sibility to protect the public's interest. Purusha Obluda, 31570 Page Mill Road, Los Altos Hills, said he was disappointed at the Board' s action because he felt an injustice was being done. He said he felt the Board should answer the subjects raised in the Claim and in his letter, and it was his assumption that the Board would delay and try to cover things up. D. Wendin pointed out that the Board still intends to answer the letter, but must do so in light of pending litigation. He said the Board must proceed carefully and deliberately as part of its responsibility to the public. XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION (continued) D. Wendin left at 11 :10 P.M. The Board reconvened to discuss land negotiations at 11 :11 P.M. H. Turner left at 12 :13 A.M. , prior to Executive Session discussions relating to the Stan- ford acquisition. XIII. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to public session at 12 :44 A.M. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve a three-week extension on closing of escrow for the Stanford property, and that staff be instructed to gather further information from Stanford about its position in this matter. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed on the following vote : AYES - R. Bishop, B. Green, N. Hanko and E. Shelley; ABSENT K. Duffy, H. Turner and D. Wendin. Meeting 78-8 Page eight The meeting was adjourned at 12 :46 A.M. Anne Cathcart Crosley District Clerk B. Minutes of March 22 , 1978 Motion: D. Wendin moved approval of the minutes of March 22 , 1978 , with the following change : Page 7 , third paragraph - omit the word "staff" and insert the name "R. Bishop" . E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.