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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19780913 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) leeting 78-20 0(am MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S September 13, 1978 375 Distel Circle, D-1 Los Altos , CA I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by President Turner at 7 :45 P.M. Members Present: Richard Bishop, Nonette Hanko, Edward Shelley, Harry Turner and Barbara Green. Members Absent: Katherine Duffy and Daniel Wendin. Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, ion Olson, Craig Britton, Nancy McComb, Del Woods, C. DiGiovanni, Julie Batenburg, Eric Mart, Stan Norton and Phyllis Lee. II. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS P. Lee referred to a letter dated September 8, 1978 to the Board from Geri Albers regarding District participation in the acquisition of the Hassler Health Home property in San Carlos . H. Turner acknowledged Ms. Albers letter. He said that the Board would consider the Hassler Health Home property at a public hearing which will be scheduled at tonight' s meeting. III. ADOPTION OF AGENDA H. Turner stated the consensus of the Board that the agenda be adop- ted with the following changes : 1) Agenda item No. 3 (Review of Public Information Practices in Light of Proposition 13) be moved to the end of the agenda following claims and informational reports; 2) Addition of an item to the agenda concerning Budget Con- tingencies. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS R. Mark, 725 Cowper, Palo Alto stated that he had given thought to the Controller's budget report in which the future of the land acqui- sition program had been discussed. He said that the item on tonight' s agenda regarding Public Information Practices in Light of Proposition 13 should be broadened to include more discussion of long range plan- ning for all programs of the District. Meeting 78-20 Page two N. Hanko said tonight' s agenda had already been distributed so that a change in the format was not possible. She said she would be will- ing to schedule a special meeting of the Board to discuss the future of the District as a whole. K. Duffy and D. Wendin arrived at 7 :55 P.M. V. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY N. McComb presented a slide show developed by D. Woods and C. DiGio- vanni, depicting the lands of the District, educational and recrea- tional opportunities available on District sites and an explanation i of the overall concept of open space preservation. She said that this slide show would be used as a tool for making the public aware of the District and its program. VI. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Proposed Acceptance of a Gift of LandZSie,rra, Cl'ub Thornewood Property. H. Grench gave an explanation of the concept of "matching funds" as used in Land and Water Conservation fund grant applications. He said the proposed gift of the Thornewood property would provide the local share needed for the District to receive grant funds to purchase the East Palo Alto baylands, J. Olson introduced report R-78-32 , dated September 7, 1978 regarding the Proposed Acceptance of a Gift of Land/Sierra Club Thornewood Property. He recommended that the Board adopt the interim use and management plans contained in the report and the attached resolution. R. Mark asked the Board to delay solicitation of proposals for long term use of the main house on the Thornewood property. He said that the public should be given an opportunity to take a look at the house and should be involved in discussion of proposals. He said he felt this property represented a unique acquisition since it would help to acquire baylands property through a federal grant. J. Olson stated that it was the intent of District staff to have one or more "open house" sessions for public inspection of the house. E. Shelley pointed out that any proposal for use of the house would be reviewed by the Special Use Committee, at which time the public would be able to participate in discussion. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board adopt Resolution No. 78-24 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Authorizing Acceptance of Agree- ment to Purchase Real Property, Authorizing Officer to Exe- cute Certificate of Acceptance of Grant to District, and Authorizing General Manager to Execute Any and All Other Documents Necessary to Closing of the Transaction (Thornewood Property) . R. Bishop seconded the motion. Meeting 78-20 Page three Discussion: H. Turner said that the volunteer efforts of the Sierra Club and particularly the Thornewood Committee were to be commended. Johann Matser of the Thornewood Com- mittee stated that when the Sierra Club accepted the care- taking and ownership of the property there was no agency such as the District who could potentially take over the re- sponsibility. He added that the Sierra Club had fulfilled its mandate and felt satisfied that the District would con- tinue to care for the property in the same spirit. The motion passed unanimously. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board approve the interim use and management plans contained in the report for the Thornewood property. D. Wendin seconded the motion. Discussion: N. Hanko expressed concern about the mention of possible demolition in two or three months of three guest cottages on the property. J. Olson replied that the build- ings would not be removed until a final decision could be made on the entire complex of buildings on the property. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting recessed at 8 :45 P.M. and reconvened at 9 :00 P.M. B. Budget Contingencies. H. Grench said that the adopted budget contained contingency items which require approval by the Board. He suggested that the Budget Committee meet at 7 :15 P.M. before the next regular Board meeting in order to present these items to the Board for approval. He ex- plained that the items to be discussed were for contingency fund ex- penditure for CETA positions and computer services. H. Turner stated the consensus of the Board that the Budget Committee would meet at 7 :15 P.M. immediately before the next regular Board meet- ing. C. Setting of Special Meeting for Public Hearing Regarding Hassler Property. H. Grench referred to memorandum M-78-184, dated September 1, 1978 regarding Setting of Special Meeting for Public Hearing Regarding Hassler Property. He said that although the San Carlos City Council had declined to participate with the District in a discussion of Hassler, the Board should consider having this discussion as part of a regular meeting to be held in San Carlos. He added that the Board would consider a regular agenda with the first item being a "public hearing" to assess the attitudes of the public with regard to preser- vation of the Hassler property. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board approve scheduling of the next regular Board meeting at San Carlos High School in San Carlos. B. Green seconded the motion. Meeting 78-20 Page four Discussion: E. Shelley said that anything which primari- ly affected the southern portion of the District should be kept off the agenda for the meeting to be held in San Carlos. R. Mark expressed concern about the District continuing to pursue this matter when the City of San Carlos had declined to participate in any further discussion. He further stated that the original feeling of the Board regarding the Hassler property had been that the District would only participate in the acquisition if it was a cooperative effort with San Carlos or another agency. R. Bishop pointed out that the scheduling of the public hearing was a means of assessing public opinion and did not indicate a policy decision on the part of the Board. H. Grench said that the Board had adopted a policy which stated that the District would par- ticipate in the Hassler acquisition under certain conditions; however, no policy had been set to cover a situation in which those conditions were not met. R. Mark said he recalled that when the District found out that San Carlos did not intend to participate in the acquisition, the Board had firmly re- stated the position that they did not intend to proceed with the acquisition alone. D. Wendin said he felt the Board had no choice but to solicit public opinion and then decide whe- ther to proceed or withdraw the original commitment to pur- chase the property. The motion passed unanimously. VII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS A. Lake Ranch Tour. J. Olson advised the Board that the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Commissioners would be going on a tour of the Lake Ranch property currently owned by the San Jose Water Works. He said that the Commissioners had invited Board and staff members to accompany them on the tour on Saturday, September 16 . B. Effects of Proposition 13 Forum. B. Green told the Board that she recently attended a meeting of Elected Women of Northern Santa Clara County. She said that one result of this meeting was an overall feeling that a forum should be started to discuss the effect of Proposition 13 on local govern- ment. She said that when the group meets again they plan to have prepared lists of various ways that Proposition 13 and the State re- quirements attached to funding of local agencies are effecting these agencies. she said that the group would attempt to have a member of the Governor' s Committee on Proposition 13 attend the group' s next meeting in late October. VIII. CLAIMS Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board approve the revised claims list (C-78-17 dated September 13 , 1978) as presented. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The Board recessed at 9 :20 P.M. to reconvene at 9 :30 P.M. Meeting 78-20 Page five NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED D. Review of Public Information Practices in Light of Proposition 13. H. Turner introduced memorandum M-78-187 , dated September 7, 1978 regarding Review of Public Information Practices in Light of Proposi- tion 13. A summary of issues raised and directive from the Board to staff follow: - In order to secure support for the District and its programs the District must develop its constituency into a support group. Accountability to the public may be facilitated by in- creasing public awareness of the goals of the District, increas- ing public understanding of District services; emphasizing site use. Some of the above could be implemented in the following ways : 1) promoting trail networks 2) encouraging cooperative efforts with cities, e.g. parking lot development 3) determining which sites can be emphasized without large capital expenditures - Concerns expressed regarding increased public awareness include : 1) the eventual overuse of sites even if no new programs are implemented. 2) management problems related to increased use 3) accessibility of sites - A primary reason for increasing public awareness/support is the necessity for such backing when opportunities arise for future funding for the District' s program. Also, increased public awareness would probably result in a more effective "fund raising" program in the event such a program becomes necessary. - The District may have more public support than it is aware of. Some supporters would include: 1) regular hikers on District sites; 2) supporters of the District at its inception; and 3) neighbors adjacent to District sites. - Before the issues of increased public awareness, site use and support for the District's program can be addressed, the Dis- trict must identify its constituents. - After the constituent groups are identified perhaps they could be helpful in long/short range planning for the District. In order for the District to mobilize these constituents it is necessary to formulate a structured program of involvement by the public. Meeting 78-20 Page six Most site users are supporters of the District; however, they may not become visible supporters until there is a threat to the District. In order to reach the majority of District constituents who are unaware of the District, it may be necessary to shift funds among programs to implement plans which would increase the District' s visibility. H. Turner stated the consensus of the Board that staff be directed to prepare a preliminary report which would contain the following: 1) Identify constituents of the District. a. type b. geographic location in the District 2) Formulate high level programs to reach the constituents . a. cost effectiveness b. impact on District's program H. Turner expressed the feeling of the Board that staff should attempt to determine the above without a large expenditure of staff time and perhaps the actual formulation of programs could be deferred if such programs are found to require large expenditures of funds. IX. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 12 :30 A.M. Phyllis Lee Recording Secretary f I l A. Minutes of September 13, 1978 H. Turner stated the consensus that the minutes of September 13, 1978 be approved with the notation under ROLL CALL that K. Duffy and D. Wendin arrived at 7:55 P.M. l I