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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19790411 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 79-11 MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT 375 DISTEL CIRCLE,SUITE D-11,LOS ALTOS,CALIFORNIA 94022 (415) 965-4717 Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S April 11, 1979 375 Distel Circle Los Altos, CA I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by President Shelley at 7 :35 P. M. Members Present; Katherine Duffy, Nonette Hanko, Edward Shelley, Harry Turnbr, Barbara Green, and Daniel Wendin, Member Absent: Richard Bishop Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Jon Olson, Anne Crosley, Craig Britton, Stanley Norton, Charlotte MacDonald, and Julie Batenburg. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of February 4, 1979 E. Shelley stated the consensus that the minutes of February 4 be adopted as presented. B. Minutes of February 14, 1979 E. Shelley stated the consensus that the minutes of February 14 be adopted with the addition of K. Duffy seconding the motion made by N. Hanko on page three. C. Minutes of March 14, 1979 No action was taken on the March 14 minutes because the Board' received them too late for review. Robert Mark, 725 Cowper, Palo Alto asked that when the march 14 minutes are reviewed they reflect a change on page two which would read " . . .J. Olson said a chain link fence would not serve the purpose of preventing people from entering Foothills Park. . . D. Minutes of March 20, 1979 E. Shelley stated the consensus that the minutes of March 20 be adopted with the heading chaRged to read "Special Meeting of the Board of Directors. " r� Meeting 79-11 age two E. Minutes of March 28, 1979 E. Shelley stated the consensus that the minutes of March 28 be adopted as presented. i III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS I J. Batenburg referred to a written communication from Geraldine Albers, 925 Arbor Road, Menlo Park, dated March 31, 1979 urging support of Bob Naylor' s Assembly Bill 859 which would allow public agencies to purchase the playing tields and playgrounds of school sites at the original purchase price plus cost of inflation. IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA E. Shelley stated the consensus that the agenda be adopted as presented. V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS R. Mark, 725 Cowper. Palo Alto, called the Board 's attention to Senate Bills 1030 and 13 . The former would aid in preventing a person or group from unlawful closure of public trails. The latter deals with the dismantling of the coastal zone. R. Mark added that there has been a massive attack on the coastal zone planning recently and that the bill would be heard by the Ways and Means Committee on April 19. He encouraged Board members to attend if possible. R. Mark presented the Board with a donation of $31, 00. He said the money was from a renter' s refund he received from his landlord due to Proposition 13- tax savings. R. Mark asked staff if they knew anything about the signs posted at Los Trancos Open Space Preserve noting two new trails, Snake Run and Wild Frog. Mark Schneider, 18000 Skyline Blvd. ,.14bodiside askew. that Board and staff note that April 13 marks the three year anniversary of the Burns' property purchase and to reflect on the problems it ,caused many of the former residents. He also mentioned that the "Land" would be having their yearly Easter Celebration on Struggle Mountain and that Brett Turner was still being prosecuted due to the Burns ' property purchase three years ago. He added that he had a couple criticisms of the District. He said he felt that the District is answerable to no one, and secondly, that the District appeared to be 'buying backyards for the wealthy, rather than vacant lots in East Palo Alto. N. Hanko said that in the ballot argument in the elections in 1972 and 1976 the purpose and intention of the District to purchase land in the foothills, not in urban areas , was made clear to the voters. Meeting 79-11 age three VI. SPECIAL ORDER OF THE DAY The film "Valley of Heart' s Delight" was introduced by Charlotte MacDonald. She said the film was made by the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce in 1921 to promote the Santa Clara Valley as an ideal place to live. Beez Jones; 19 La Vuelta, Vallejo, said that her family is fourth generation Santa Clara Valley residents. She added that the reason so many ranches in the area' rapidly idis- appeared was due to the enormous taxes for the property owners . VII. OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUIRED A. Amendment to Agreement with Bodhi for Waiver of Right of First Refusal (Long Ridge Open Space Preserve/Pacific School Property C. Britton introduced memorandum M-79-54 dated April 4, 1979 regarding an amendment to a Restriction Agreement contained in an Agreement for Waiver of Right of First Refusal with Pacific School/Long Ridge Open Space Preserve. He said that Pacific School would block the property transfer to Bodhi if the District did not relinquish its right to a trail easement; other aspects of the original restriction agreement would still be acceptable. C. Britton recommended that the Board sign the amendment because he feels that the District could work jointly with Bodhi after the property transfer on open space planning and preservation matters of mutual interest. The District would still retain the right of first refusal in the event Bodhi wanted to sell the property. R. Mark asked that the minutes reflect that he feels the amendment is an outrage . N. Hanko said she would like to see staff work toward another trail easement. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board adopt Resolution 79-16 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Mid- peninsula Regional Open Space District Approving Amendment to Restriction Agreement as Contained in Agreement for Waiver of Right of First Refusal, Authorizing Officer to Execute Amended Restriction Agreement and Reaffirming Resolution 79-11 (Long Ridge Open Space Preserve/Pacific High School Property) . H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting 79-11 ige four B. Status of Personnel Consultant' s Work and Concurrence with Approach D. Wend in introduced memorandum M-79-57, dated April 5, 1979 regarding meetings between the Budget Cam-Littee and Personnel Consultant Gary Foss which concerned progress on developing a salary administration program for the District. Gary Foss has reached a point where he needs Board concurrence that his overall approach is correct, subject to final approval only when all of the details are presented. Under Foss ' s proposal, range analysis and possible adjustments would be part of the budget process, yielding an easily calculated "adjustment budget, " if any. The merit budget would be set separately under guidelines Mr. Foss would help the District develop. Motion: D. Wendin asked for Board concurrence on the personnel consultant' s approach to develop a salary administration program for the District. H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. VIII. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUIRED A. District Support of Santa Clara County' s Intention to Acquire the 120 Acre Ratto Property (Stevens Canyon) C. Britton introduced report R-79-14, dated April 5, 1979 concerning Santa Clara County' s intention to complete a purchase of the 120-acre Ratto property which is adjacent to the District' s 40-acre McCone parcel (Monte Bello Open Space Preserve) . The McCone parcel is essentially landlocked and without the purchase of the entire Ratto parcel, there would be no cross-access from the proposed trail to the valley floor. Additional reasons to support the purchase would be because both properties are a natural trail link of lower and upper Stevens Creek Parkrand the fragile nature of the riparian fauna and flora need additional protection from development pressure. Britton added that he has reason to believe that there is some opposition to the purchase of the entire property which will be presented to the Supervisors at a public hearing on April 16, 1979 . Motion: B. Green moved that the Board support Santa Clara County' s intention to acquire the 120 acre Ratto property (Stevens Canyon) . N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, Meeting 79-11 age five IX. Tentative Approval of Action Plan for Implementation of the Basic PaLLSIy for the 1979-80 Fiscal Year H. Grench introduced report R-79-13, dated April 4, 1979 regarding the District's proposed Action Plan for the 1979-80 fiscal year. The draft Action Plan reflects anticipated property tax revenue, State surplus or other funds that will bring he District to about the current year!s funding level, hich is approximately 60% of 1977-78 tax revenue. C. Britton said the Latid Acquisition rrogram would focus on acquisition of "high priority parcels" and coordination of the gifts program with Peninsula open Space Trust. J. Olson said emphasis in the Open Space Management Program will be placed on development of selected sites and the new Enterprise Subprogram which was created to handle all revenue- producing activities such as structure rental, agricultural leases and concessions. The Public Communications and Governmental Liaison Program would be seeking legislative and other remedies to the funding crisis and working harder to educate constituents, according to Charlotte MacDonald. A. Crosley said General Management and Program Support would be developing management strategies and Board policies to deal with reduced funding, investing temporarily idle funds and implementing anew salary administration system. E. Shelley recommended that a 10th item be added to Open Space Management Program-Planning, Design and Construction which would read: Make sites available to handicapped. J. Olson concurred. N. Hanko requested a statement regarding promoting public aware- ness for certain sites (which would tie in with the Open Space Management Program) be added to the Public Communications and Governmental Liaison Program-Public Participation and Education Subprogram. She asked H. Grench to return to the Board with specific wording which would make promotion of certain sites tentative upon adoption of Board policy. H. Grench said he would do so. D. Wendin requested a written report on major activity or in- activity for each program of last year' s Action Plan. H. Grench said he would have staff prepare such a report. E. Shelley stated the consensus that the Action Plan be adopted with the minor additions . Meeting 79-11 ,ge six X. Supplemental Land Management Budget Appropriation for Fiscal Year 1978-79 H. Grench introduced memorandum M-79-58, dated April 5, 1979 regarding report R-79-12 , dated April 5, 1979. The report recommends that the Board authorize the General Manager to transfer up to $15, 800 from Fixed Assets - New Land Commitments to Services and Supplies ($10,800) and Fixed Assets - Structures and Improvements ($5, 000) . The effect of such appropriation would bring the 1978-79 land management budget to approximately 80% of its 1977-78 allocation. J. Olson asked that a correction be made on page two of report R-79-12. The correction should read: "Water bills at Rancho San Antonio average between $150-200 per month. . . " . D. Wendin stated that the Budget Committee concurs with the recommendations in report R-79-12. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board authorize the appropriation of $15,800 for a maintenance supplement which includes $5, 000 for capital improvements as a supplement to the Land Management budget as contained on Chart A of report R-79-12, dated April 5, 1979. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. XI. Dedication of Los Trancos Open Space Preserve to Public Open Space Land H. Grench introduced memorandum M-79-51, dated March 14, 1979 regarding the dedication of Los Trancos Open Space Preserve. On February 28, 1979 the Board adopted Resolution 79-13 dedi- cating certain District lands to public open space purposes . The Los Trancos Open Space Preserve was inadvertently omitted from the list of lands to be dedicated. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board adopt Resolution 79-17 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Mid- peninsula Regional Open Space District Dedicating Certain District Lands to Public Open Space Purposes. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. XII . Scheduling of Special Meeting with San Mateo County Park and Recreation Commission H. Grench introduced memorandum M-79-59, dated April 6, 1979 regarding a request from the San Mateo County Park and Recreation Commission to have a joint meeting with the MROSD Board of Directors to discuss the Edgewood State college site project. The Board tentatively set May 9, 1979 for the- joint meeting. Meeting 79-11 ige seven XIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS H. Grench gave a brief report on the progress of the Hassler assessment district. He said 88 . 8% of the residents have signed despite the problems of absentee landowners, city-owned property and finding people at home. A. Crosley called the Board' s attention to the proposed schedule for the Budget Committee meetings. H. Grench said he saw no reason to hold the Legislative Committee meeting for April 18 . H. Turner asked about the status of the Edgewood State college site funding with the San Mateo County Supervisors. H. Grench said the San Mateo County Supervisors took no action at their last meeting and delayed the decision one week. Kathy Nellis, 22322 Regnart Road, Cupertino said she and her husband were there to answer any questions the Board might have concerning their letter to Regnart Canyon residents informing them of the Regnart Road improvement status, the request for dedication of road frontage as part of that improve- ment, and outlining the financial responsibility of individual lot owners. E. Shelley said that the Board hadn' t had time to review the letter as they had just received it that night. Robert Nellis, 22322 Regnart Road, Cupertino said that he and two other property owners in Regnart Canyon have decided to finance the improvements rather than create an assessment district because he felt it would be cheaper, more expedient, and a help to the residents. He also said that he is asking for land dedication to the City of Cupertino from each indivi- dual lot owner of the Regnart Road right of way. J. Olson said that staff would come back with an analysis of the improvements at the next meeting. B. Green said she attended a meeting at Congressman Pete McCloskey' s office concerning the National Park Service Study for Preservation of the Skyline area. She said Robert Augsburger, Director of the Peninsula Open Space Trust, volunteered to chair the research. Meeting 79-11 ge eight XIV. CLAIMS Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board approve the revised claims list (C-79-08) dated April 11, 1979. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously with N. Hanko abstaining from item 738 . M. Schneider asked the Board what portion of claim 766 from Rogers, Vizzard & Tallett went to Burns/Eldridge litigation,and asked H. Grench if he could have a copy of the bill. H. Grench said he would see about getting him the figures for the breakdown in the bill. XV. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 10 :10 P.M. to discuss Land Negotiations. XVI. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 12 : 21 A.M. Julie Batenburg Recording Secretary I �A r CORRECTIONS TO MINUTES OF A f7�! i j C. Minutes of April 11, 1979 Beez Jones, 19 La Vuelta, Vallejo requested an addition to page .four, VII, A. She said that the- letter that was sent to the i Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors stated that the Ratto property included a small portion of the creek area. She added that based upon information that she has, the property does not include any of the creek but she felt that the minutes should reflect that that information was included in the letter to the Board of Supervisors. R. Bishop stated that the word "contacted" should be added on page seven, XIII, first paragraph after the word "residents" . B. Green noted a correction on page two, V. , fourth paragraph should be "two" year anniversary. Mark Schneider, 18000 Skyline Blvd. , Woodside informed the Board that the "Land" Easter Celebration was held on "Lone Oak Hill" not "Struggle Mountain" as reflected on page two, V., paragraph four. B. Green referred to page seven, XIII., paragraph 9 . She said J. Olson also attended the meeting. She requested the minutes reflect that the meeting concerned a study for the Preservation of Skyline "Sweeney Ridge" and that Robert Augsburger volunteered to chair the "committee to study extending that preservation to the skyline. " I B. Green stated the consensus of the Board that the minutes of April 11 be approved as corrected . _ 'I CORRECTIONS '1 .INUTES OF I { I f I i j I I i I