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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19800227 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 80-3 AA- MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT 375 DISTEL CIRCLE,SUITE D-1,LOS ALTOS,CALIFORNIA 94022 (415) 965-4717 Regular Meeting Board of Directors February 27, 1980 375 Distel Circle, Suite D-1 Los Altos, California I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by President Barbara Green at 7: 35 P.M. Members Present: Katherine Duffy, Daniel Wendin, Barbara Green, Edward Shelley, Nonette Hanko, Harry Turner, and Richard Bishop. Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Craig Britton, Steve Sessions, Mike Foster, Charlotte MacDonald, Jean Fiddes, Stan Norton, Pat Starrett, Cynthia DiGiovanni, and Sue Herda. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. January 9, 1980 B. Green stated the Board' s consensus that the minutes of January 9, 1980 be approved as presented, with the addition of the Revised Claims, C-80-1, which had been inadvertently deleted. B. January 23, 1980 B. Green stated the Board' s consensus that the minutes of January 23, 1980 be approved as presented with the addition of the Revised Claims, C-80-2 , which had been inadvertently deleted. Prior to approving the minutes, the Board reviewed a letter from Mr. Thomas P. McHugh, Attorney at Law, 2259 Derby Street, Berkeley, California, dated February 25, 1980 requesting that the Board consider his comments, based on personal notes from the January 23, 1980 meeting, for possible addition to the minutes. III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS B. Green noted the Board had received and considered a letter from Mr. Thomas P. McHugh, listing comments that he wished the Board to consider when approving the minutes of January 23, 1980. Herbert A.Grench,General Manager Board of Directors:Katherine Duffy,Barbara Green,Nonette G.Hanko,Richard S.Bishop,Edward G.Shelley,Harry A.Turner,Daniel G.Wendin Meeting 80-3 Page Two B. Green noted the Board had received a copy of a letter, dated January 29 , 1980, to Becky Evans, Chairperson, Sierra Club State Parks Committee from Terry Fieldhouse referring to the proposed condemnation of private lands surrounding the Castle Rock State Park area of Santa Cruz County. IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA The Board adopted the agenda by consensus. V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Robert Mark, 725 Cowper, Palo Alto stated that no parking signs were still adjacent to District preserves and that the no trespassing signs at Russian Ridge had not been removed. S. Sessions said that staff had contacted CalTrans regarding the no parking signs. He mentioned that staff planned to bring the matter to the Board' s attention at a future Board meeting. VI. OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Clarification of Dedication Status, Monte Bello Open Space Preserve (Former Boy Scout Parcel) - C. Britton C. Britton reviewed memorandum M-80-18 , dated February 19, 1980, and recommended that the Board rescind its action of January 23, 1980 which received and accepted the former Boy Scout parcel for the list of undedicated District lands. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board of Directors rescind the action that the Board took in classifying the Former Boy parcel as undedicated Scout land. B. Green secondedt he motion. The motion passed unanimously. VII. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Determination of Public Necessity - Proposed Addition to Monte Bello Open Space Preserve (McNiel Property) C. Britton reviewed report R-80-4 , dated February 19, 1980 regard- ing the District' s proposed acquisition of the McNiel property. S. Sessions noted the proposed acquisition' s proximity to various trail systems and mentioned the importance of acquiring the prop- erty in able to preserve the scenic nature of the Skyline Corridor. B. Green declared the Public Hearing open. S. Herda stated that staff received a letter from Christopher Taaffe, Attorney at Law, 405 Alberto Way, Los Gatos, California stating that Robert Huttlinger, Executor of the Estate of Dolores McNiel, intended to appear at the meeting and speak with respect to the adoption of a Resolution of Necessity if it were deemed necessary. i Meeting 80-3 Page Three B. Green asked if Mr. Huttlinger was present and invited him to comment. Robert Huttlinger stated that he wished to hold his comments in abeyance until he heard more discussion. R. Mark stated that he felt the McNiel property was an important acquisition and urged Board to adopt the proposed resolution. R. Huttlinger stated that he had no problem selling the property, noting that the Will was so written that he had more power than was normal in a probate. Motion: N. Hanko moved the adoption of Resolution 80-11, a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpen- insula Regional Open Space District, Finding and Requiring that the Public Interest and Necessity Require the Acquisition of Certain Properties for Public Use, to Wit; For Public Park, Recreation and Open Space Purposes, Describing the Properties Necessary Therefore and Authorizing and Directing Its Retained Legal Counsel To Do Everything Necessary To Acquire All Interests Therein. H. Turner seconded the motion. Discussion: B. Green asked Mr. Huttlinger if he had any additional comments. R. Huttlinger asked to have the financial condition of the District explained to him, stating that he was concerned about the District 's ability to pay for the property. He mentioned that if the property became tied up in condemnation litigation, he would become completely "hand-cuffed" as to what he could do with the property, and wondered what would happen if the District was unable to acquire the property. H. Grench stated that the District had ample monies budgeted for the project. C. Britton mentioned that the District' s filing of the condemnation action didn' t necessarily mean that the project would be tied up in litigation. C. Britton stated that the hoped to negotiate a settlement for the purchase of the property based upon an agreement of the parties. The motion passed unanimously. Motion: H. Turner moved the adoption of the Use and Management recommendations as contained in report R-80-4, dated February 19, 1980; the acceptance of the recommendation that the property be named as an addition to the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve; and the Board' s intent that, if acquired, the property would be dedicated as recommended in R-80-4 . B. Green seconded the motion. Discussion: D. Wendin stated that he intended to vote against the motion to register protest against the adoption of the motion as stated since further Board and staff Meeting 80-3 Page Four action would be required at a later date. The motion passed on the following vote: Ayes: K. Duffy, B. Green, E. Shelley, N. Hanko, H. Turner, R. Bishop No: D. Wendin B. Authorization to Create and Fill Two Additional Ranger Positions S. Sessions reviewed memorandum M-80-19 , dated February 19, 1980, requesting authorization to increase land management budget guidelines and create two additional ranger positions. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board approve the recommendations as stated in memorandum M-80-19 , dated February 19, 1980 and the creation and filling of two additional ranger positions and state its willingness to increase the Land Management budget guideline base by up to $34 ,000 for fiscal year 1980-81, with the exact amount to be determined during the budget process for the coming fiscal year. R. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. C. status of State Legislation of Interest to District H. Grench reviewed memorandum M-80-17, dated February 21, 1980 re- garding the status of State legislation of interest to the District. He stated that Bob Beckus, the District' s Legislative Consultant, had been working on SB 1550. The bill would be heard for the first time on March 4, and B. Beckus had requested that a Board member, in addition to the General Manager, attend the hearing. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board adopt recommendations. 1, 2, and 3 contained on page three of memorandum M-80-17. H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. H. Grench reviewed the East Bay Regional Park District bills and the status of other legislation of interest to Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. He mentioned that the Legislative Committee felt the entire Board should participate in the decision regarding what action should be taken to inform constituents about the effect of Jarvis II on the District. C. MacDonald suggested possible vehicles by which the staff could inform the public about Jarvis II. D. Wendin suggested that the Board agendize the matter for the second meeting in March. R. Bishop recommended that staff prepare a report for the Board stating the extent and type of campaign that staff felt it could undertake. Meeting 80-3 Page Five Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board adopt the recommended position on the State bills, leaving the State prop- ositions for further action at a later meeting. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. D. Extension of Investment Authority M. Foster reviewed memorandum M-80-13, dated February 20, 1980 regarding the renewal of the controller' s authority to renew temp- orarily idle funds. He noted that one of the provisions in the guidelines would enable him to purchase securities through the investment department of the District' s bank. Motion: B. Green moved that the Board adopt Resolution 80-12, a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Authorizing Certain Board Employees to Invest Temporarily Idle Funds in Securities Allowed by Government Code. R. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. E. Revised Budget H. Grench reviewed memorandum M-80-16, dated February 5, 1980, regarding the revised budget for fiscal year 1979-80. He said that the most critical item was the bottom line on new land purchases, and noted that the various changes in revenue had resulted in the new figures for land purchases. Motion: B. Green moved that the Board adopt Resolution 80-13, a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Adopting Revised Budget for Fiscal Year 1979-1980. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. F. Proposed Forestry Grant Application S. Sessions reviewed memorandum M-80-21, dated February 21, 1980, regarding a proposed forestry grant application which has a March 3rd deadline. He said that the grant will cover the cost of the plan, the first year program on a pilot basis, administrative costs and at this time was an $11, 000 project. The District' s share will be all in-kind and California Conservation Corps labor. He stated that there was no action required by the Board at this time. N. Hanko asked if the City of Palo Alto would be involved in approval of the plan. S. Sessions commented that the City of Palo Alto would be involved where the project included land within their jurisdiction. Meeting 80-3 Page Six K. Duffy expressed concern regarding the District' s liability in the project, and suggested that legal research be conducted before the project is presented for final approval. H. Grench suggested that the Board assign the task of researching the liability question to S. Norton, who could then advise the Board on the questions. S. Sessions mentioned that the consultant for the project had discussed liability with the staff and will be reporting back to staff. VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS H. Grench brought to the Board' s attention a study made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service entitled Public Attitudes Toward Critical Wildlife and Natural Habitat Issues. S. Sessions recounted the meeting he attended with the residents of Overlook Road in Los Gatos and mentioned that the residents were planning to form a road maintenance assessment group which would help to maintain Overlook Road. He noted the District uses the road to patrol the El Sereno Open Space Preserve. S. Sessions referred to a diagram showing the proposed parking area improvements at Saratoga Gap by CalTrans. He pointed out the proximity of the parking area to the District' s Saratoga Gap Open Space Preserve and mentioned that he intended to represent the District at the public CalTrans meeting being held on February 28 , 1980. S. Sessions showed the Board pictures depicting damages to District lands sustained from the recent heavy rains. He mentioned that damages included fallen trees and washed out roads and trails. He said that staff would be providing the Board with a complete report when the assessments of the damage were completed. S. Sessions stated that the Monte Bello Plan, which had been scheduled to be on the Palo Alto Planning Commission' s agenda the same evening, had been postponed for 90-days, due to Palo Alto' s requirement for an Investigative Soils Report to comply with the city' s code. He also noted that a question had arisen over the proposed placement of the parking area and staff would be re-evaluating the placement of the parking area. K. Duffy expressed concern that, due to the 90-day postponement the installation of restroom facilities planned for Monte Bello would be delayed. Since the wildflower walks were upcoming at the Los Trancos open Space Preserve, she noted that restrooms should be provided to accomodate the large amount of people that are expected to visit Los Trancos in the near future. She suggested that staff re-evaluate the Los Trancos Use and Manage- ment Plan, and report on the possibility of providing restroom facilities at Los Trancos in the interim. The Board concurred with K. Duffy' s request. Meeting 80-3 Page Seven C. Britton mentioned that he had given a slide presentation at a Kings Mountain Association gathering and that Jim Wickett, President of the Association, had requested a meeting with one of the District' s Board members. C. Britton suggested H. Turner meet with Mr. Wickett. H. Grench read a letter he had received from Frank Duveneck in response to the testimonial luncheon held a few weeks earlier. IX. CLAIMS Motion: D. Wendin moved the Revised Claims, C-80-3, dated February 27, 1980. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. X. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 9 :30 P.M. XI. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 12:10 A.M. Sue Herda Secretary