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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19791024 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 79-25 MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT 375 DISTEL CIRCLE,SUITE D-1,LOS ALTOS,CALIFORNIA 94022 (415) 965-4717 Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S October 24, 1979 375 Distel Cir. , Suite D-1 Los Altos, California I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Vice President Barbara Green at 7 : 35 P.M. Members Present: Dan Wendin, Barbara Green, Nonette Hanko, Richard Bishop, and Harry Turner. Members Absent: Katherine Duffy and Edward Shelley. Personnel Present: Craig Britton, Eric Mart, Charlotte MacDonald, Cynthia DiGiovanni, Stan Norton,and Sue Herda. II. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board adjourned to executive session at 7 :45 P.M. The Board reconvened at 8 :00 P.M. for the public meeting. III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS There were no written communications. IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA The Board adopted the agenda by concensus with the addition of Professional Services Agreement with Peninsula Open Space Trust, to be added under New Business With Action Requested. V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Robert Mark, 725 Cowper, Palo Alto, reiterated his statement regard- ing the problem of the no parking signs on Skyline Boulevard adjacent to the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve. He requested that the District look into the matter again and encourage Caltrans to design signs more fitting for a scenic corridor. Herbert A.Grench,General Manager Board of Directors:Katherine Duffy,Barbara Green,NonetteG.Hanko,RichardS.Bishop,EdwardG.Shelley,Harry A.Turner,Daniel G.Wendin Meeting 79-25 Page Two VI. OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Final Approval of the Historical Restoration of the Fremont Older Ranchhouse C. Britton introduced memorandum M-79-136 , dated October 18 , 1979, and said there were two items pertaining to the lease that S. Norton felt District staff should address: 1) the filing of as-built plans and specs with the District, and 2) a calculation establishing the original investment as compiled by the Levines. He suggested the Board direct staff to write a letter to the Levines asking for this information, notifying them that the Ranchhouse Committee' s work is complete, and thanking them for their excellent work. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board instruct staff to write a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Levine covering the three points mentioned: 1) request for the as-built plans, 2) request for a statement of the value of the capital improvements (using the wording in the lease) , and 3) notice that the Fremont Older Ranchhouse Committee has completed its work, while thanking them for their dedicated and excellent work. N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. By consensus, the Board also directed staff to write a letter of thanks to each Committee member. D. Wendin said it was appropriate to disband officially the Ranchhouse Committee. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board accept the Fremont Older Ranchhouse Committee report and concur that the work of the Committee is complete. R. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. B. Review of Use and Mangement of Planning Area VII (El Sereno and Costanoan Way Open Space Preserves) C. Britton introduced report R-79-36, dated October 18, 1979 and pointed out that the staff still has not approached the Board with a policy question regarding the criteria for emphasized and de- emphasized sites. El Sereno was assumed to be a de-emphasized site and the use and management plan reflected low level of development. B. Green asked when staff was going to complete the guidelines for emphasis and development of District sites. C. Britton said that it would be one of the first tasks of the new Land Manager. He felt that completion in six months would be realistic. Meeting 79-25 Page Three N. Hanko stated that she felt the District was going to be sanc- tioning the closure of some of the sites that haven't received the amount of public use anticipated by the District, and the Board had not addressed the emphasis/de-emphasis question. If she voted for the recommendation contained in the report, she wanted to have some assurance that the District would simply be holding-off the development until the Board addressed the policy question and that the roads would provide adequate access for hikers. C. Britton said there were no signs discouraging public access . B. Green suggested discussing the site emphasis question at the annual workshop. R. Bishop asked if the District had any signs that read "MROSD Open Space Preserve" at any of the entrances to El Sereno. E. Mart noted that the signs read "MROSD Open Space Preserve, District Boundary, " followed by a listing of two ordinances that cover all District regulations. He said two of the entrances have such signs. R. Mark said that he had not noticed the signs on many of the District sites, and there didn't seem to be any indication of public ownership. He felt that signs that list ordinances, without saying what those ordinances are,give the impression that the public is not allowed on the property. N. Hanko said she thought that when the Board adopted the policy of signs, the Board provided for notification to the public of the District rules. R. Mark suggested that a phrase like "Closed Dusk to Dawn" might be added to the sign. Sam Jones, 19 La Vuelta, Vallejo, asked where the public could obtain copies of the ordinances. B. Green said that they could be obtained at the District office. E. Mart said that he wanted to clarify the purpose of the signs. He stated that there is a legal requirement for an agency such as the District to post its boundaries at specified distances between points. The typeface that indicates the ordinances is an 1/8th inch high and was designed for the specific point of satisfying the legal requirement. He said it is not the standard open space preserve sign, which condenses the five page ordinances of the District. N. Hanko suggested that the staff review some of the Board policies regarding various sites. C. Britton said that he felt that staff had carried out current policy. B. Green reiterated that the Board should address the question of emphasis and de-emphasis of District sites as its annual workshop or at an open meeting. Meeting 79-25 Page Four D. Wendin said that he hoped that none of the discussion comments would be taken as being an item for staff action, without further discussion by the Board. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board adopt the use and manage- ment recommendations contained in report number R-79-36. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. C. Temporary Associate Land Acquisition Representative C. Britton reviewed memorandum M-79-138, dated October 19, 1979. He noted that Land Acquisition has a substantial amount of money in previously commited projects, and despite the available funds, there has not been one fiscal year where the District has spent over $3. 3 million for land purchases. Because of rising land costs, it was important to hire a Land Acquisition Representative for one year to assist in clearing up the backlog of commitments. Motion: N. Hanko moved that all of the recommendations contained in memorandum M-79-138, dated October 19, 1979, be approved and that the General Manager be authorized to fill that position. R. Bishop seconded the motion. Discussion: D. Wendin noted that the Budget Committee re- viewed the recommendations at its recent committee meeting and concured with the recommendations contained in the memorandum. H. Turner said that in addition, the Budget Committee wanted it emphasized that certain specified acquisition objectives should be fulfilled. He noted that the thrust of the purpose for hiring the Land Acquisition Representative was to clean out the backlog commitments for FY 78/79 and FY 79/80. The Budget Committee advised that the Board ask for regular reports on the progress from C. Britton at three month intervals . The motion passed unanimously. D. Professional Services Agreement with P.O.S.T. (Jon Olson) N. Hanko noted that since this was a non-agendized item, the Assistant General Manager should establish the need for the Board to take action on the emergency item. S. Norton noted that the Board' s rules provide that if the Board is going to take the item up as a non-agendized item, then the Board should vote to take it up and C. Britton should establish a basis for the emergency. C. Britton said the reason for requesting that the item be added to the agenda as an emergency item was to provide continuity for ongoing projects that Jon Olson was involved with as the former Land Manager, which have been in abeyance because of the absence of an agreement for services. Also, it was necessary for H. Grench to check with the new Land Manager before entering into such an agreement. Since Mr. Olson had been out of town, this was the first opportunity to present the agreement. He noted the projects Mr. Olson would work on need immediate attention. Meeting 79-25 Page Five Motion: B. Green moved that the Board take the item up as an emergency item. D. Wendin seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. C. Britton reviewed the proposed activities to be covered by the agreement with P.O.S.T. S. Norton summarized the legal aspects of the agreement. H. Turner asked why the agreement was with P.O.S.T. rather than with Jon Olson himself, and asked if P.O.S.T. was receiving any money from the arrangement. D. Wendin noted that paragraph 12, the insurance and hold harmless clause, is important to the District, because in hiring an ex-employee, there is a possibility of the State finding him to be an employee. The clause passes that burden onto P.O.S.T. C. Britton said Mr. Olson would be compensated at the rate of $32/hr out of the $35/hr District cost. N. Hanko wondered if the "District" in the agreement was the Board or the General Manager. She requested that the Board be involved, in six months time, in determining whether or not the agreement is ter- minated. D. Wendin said that this matter falls under the sole discretion of the General Manager. If any Board member wanted H. Grench to make a report available, it seemed feasible; however, including the item on an agenda seemed inappropriate. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board authorize the Assistant General Manager to sign the Agreement for Professional Services with P.O.S.T. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. VII. NEW BUSINESS WITH NO ACTION REQUESTED A. Public Access to Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve E. Mart introduced memorandum M-79-135, dated October 18 , 1979 and presented a brief slide show. He noted that the Seminary had painted the curbings red up to the Caltrans right of way and that the Seminary had employed a couple of its seminarians as security guards, primarily on Friday evenings and all day on Saturday and Sunday. Since 1975, use and management plans have shown that the District was going to try to utilize some of the property that Santa Clara County owns on Cristo Rey Drive for main access to the site. He referred to a map of the County' s plans for the proposed site and pointed out how the County' s plans will aid the District. He said that the St. Joseph' s entry into the site will not be eliminated since it provides access for private residences on the site and is used by District vehicles. R. Bishop asked for a timetable for the County' s development plans for the parking area at the new access through Cristo Rey Drive. Meeting 79-25 Page Six E. Mart said that he met with the Director of County Parks and the Engineer in charge of the project, and they felt that phase one (a gravel road to the creek and bridge) , a parking lot, and a rest- room facility would be completed by the fall of 1980. D. Wendin wondered if it was feasible for the District to advance the County the money to complete the project sooner, and then be reimbursed by the County. C. Britton suggested that if the County faced a manpower problem, rather than a money problem, the District might be able to assist in the preparation of plans and bids for the project. D. Wendin recommended that staff explore the possibilities with the goal of getting the parking lot in by peak summer season. N. Hanko asked if the County had agreed to a District sign on the site that would indicate the trail to the District property. E. Mart responded that he did not know at this time. S. Norton said he was concerned with the chain, which gives the impression that it goes across the entire entrance way, and he objected to the private property sign which he considered misleading to the public. He said there were some possible effects on the Dis- trict' s legal rights to use St. Joseph' s road. He suggested that a new sign be worded to cover both the Church' s and District' s concerns. N. Hanko stated that she would like to see a sign designating District property at the end of the road and indicating that hikers, bicycles and cars (by permit only) are welcome. An explanation of how permits can be acquired should be included. R. Mark said that he felt that Board action should have been taken two months ago and that the rights of the public are being infringed upon by the Church. He said he felt that the Church should be informed immediately that the current situation is unacceptable and in violation of the District' s and public' s rights. D. Wendin stated that the District effort should focus on the comple- tion of the parking lot by the County. He said the installation of a sign at the freeway would encourage public activity at the preserve, and the basic policy is to not encourage vehicular access to that preserve. R. Mark noted that most of the individuals who reach the point of the freeway overpass are already heading to the District site and are being discouraged by the current sign. N. Hanko said that the District should inform the public of Board policies for the site. Meeting 79-25 Page Seven D. Wendin suggested that if the District puts a sign near the freeway, the sign should read that the public is allowed on the preserve, but that the District must limit permit access because of the small ten-car parking lot. S. Norton suggested that District staff, and possibly a few Board members, have an exploratory meeting with the Church to discuss the situation. R. Bishop noted that the most urgent matter was to have the chain removed because it is a violation of District rights . He suggested that District Counsel be directed to write a letter so stating. C. Britton said that staff could contact the County to see if their project could be accelerated and discuss possible signing at the Cristo Rey Drive entrance. B. Green stated the consensus of the Board was : 1) for staff to continue discussions with the County on how to implement, facilitate, and accelerate the County park project, 2) for directing S. Norton to write a letter to the Church, and 3) for staff to decide whether or not a sign is going to be in order (as a subsequent action follow- ing S. Norton' s letter to the Church) . VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS C. Britton referred to the memorandum from H. Grench regarding the filling of positions of Land Manager and Administrative Assistant. C. MacDonald, referring to copies of the Palo Alto Weekly that she distributed, mentioned that it was a new publication, and the first edition contained an article on the District. She also mentioned that the District will have a booth at the International Conservation Fair the following weekend in Palo Alto, and urged Board members to attend. IX. CLAIMS Motion: D. Wendin moved the revised claims, C-79-21, dated October 24, 1979. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. X. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board adjourned to executive session at 10: 50 P.M. XI. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened and adjourned at 11:45 P.M. Sue Herda Secretary CORRECTIONS TO MINUTES OF III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. October 24, 1979 K. Duffy asked for an action update on the public access situation at Rancho San Antonio . Open Space Preserve. H. Grench reported S. Norton had sent a letter to the Catholic Church and staff was in the process of setting up a meeting with Santa Clara County officials to discuss alternate access. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the minutes of October 24 , 1979 be approved as presented. R. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. F A r CORRECTIONS MINUTES OF i