HomeMy Public PortalAbout19810708 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) AA. ting 81-17
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
July 8, 1981
I . ROLL CALL
President_ Richard Bishop called the meeting to order at 7: 39 P.M.
Members Present: Katherine Duffy, Barbara Green, Edward Shelley,
Nonette Hanko, Harry Turner, and Richard Bishop.
Member Absent: Daniel Wendin
Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Steven Sessions , Charlotte
MacDonald, Jean Fiddes , Stanley Norton, and Michael Foster.
II . APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A. May 27 , 1981
Motion: E. Shelley moved the approval of the minutes of May 27, 1981.
N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
III . WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
J. Fiddes reported the Board had received a letter, dated June 19,
1981, from Senator Alan Cranston in response to the resolution
passed by the Board regarding the cuts in Land and Water Conser-
vation Grant funds .
IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
H. Grench requested the addition of a new agenda item to New Business
with Action Requested following Item 5 on the agenda. He stated
S. Norton would present the new agenda item which dealt with the
possible reissue of the Windy Hill notes .
R. Bishop stated the Board' s consensus that the agenda was adopted
with the addition of the new agenda item to New Business with
Action Requested.
V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Harry Haeussler, 1094 Highland Circle, Los Altos , expressed his
appreciation to the Board for the new trail that had been con-
structed at the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve and en-
couraged the construction of similar trails .
Malka Kopell, Conservation Director for the Peninsula Conservation Center, and
Michael Rigney, a wildlife biologist, gave a slide presentation
on Bair Island in Redwood City and noted the Peninsula Conser-
vation Center was opposed to Mobil Oil ' s proposed development
on the island because of the impact of wildlife in the area and
the traffic that would be generated from the project.
VI. OLD EUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED
A. Approval of Interim Use and Management Recommendations for
Addition to Long Ridge Open Space Preserve (Bean Property)
R. Bishop, summarizing memorandum M-81-71, dated June 30 , 1981. He
stated the purchase of the Bean property had been authorized at
the meeting of June 24, 1981 and noted the Board had deferred the
Meeting 81-17 ge Two
adoption of the interim use and management recommendations ,
pending additional public input. There were no comments from
members of the public.
Motion: R. Bishop moved the Board approve the use and management
recommendations recommended by staff for the Bean property
addition to the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve. K. Duffy
seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
B. Presentation by Midpeninsula Trails Council
S. Sessions reviewed memorandum M-81-73 , dated July 1, 1981,
noting staff did not object to the concept of a Trails Council,
but a significant amount of staff time might be consumed if the
Board directed staff to serve as a liaison to the Council. He
said an alternative approach would be to recognize the Council
as an organized special interest group and to solicit input from
the Trails Council for the biennial reviews of use and management
plans and to utilize the Council as a resource during the planning
process.
D. Hubbard, Acting Chairman of the Mid-Peninsula Trails Council,
explained the history of the organization, its purpose, and its
benefits to the District. She noted the primary focus of the
Trails Council was trail development and maintenance within the
District' s preserves and those public areas which have the possi-
bility of linkage with open space lands and said the Council ' s
members would aim for specific knowledge of the plans and imple-
mentation of trail plans by the District, local, county, and State
governments. She requested the Board appoint an advisor to the
Council, whose duties would be to advise the Council and keep them
informed on all matters of interest to the Council in which the
District is involved and to keep the Board advised of the interests
and actions of the Council.
The following individuals spoke in favor of the Council and its
recognition by the Board: Fran Stevenson, Chair of the Los Altos
Hills Pathways Committee and member of the Trails Council; Francis
Spangle; Larry Farber; Carolyn Lemper, who represented the Cali-
fornia Roadrunners; Janie Killerman, President, League of Women
Voters, Los Altos-Mountain View Area; and Bob Doyle, vice-president
of the East Bay Area Trails Council. A letter, dated June 9, 1981,
from Artemas Ginzton, 28014 Natoma Road, Los Altos Hills, was read
into the record in support of the Council.
B. Doyle explained in detail the function of the East Bay Trails
Council, how it economically benefited local agencies, and re-
sponded to various questions posed by Board members.
H. Haeussler suggested substituting the word "liaison" for "advisor"
in the Council ' s By-Laws and expressed his support for the letter
distributed by J. Killerman from the League of Women Voters, dated
July 8, 1981, regarding the building of citizen participation into
every step of the planning and management of land resources and
encouraging the Board to establish a periodic public review pro-
cess for land acquisition and use planning.
Meeting 81-17 Page Three
D. Hubbard read a letter from Hewlett Hornbeck, Chief, Land Acqui-
sition Department, East Bay Regional Park District, on the history
of the East Bay Trails Council.
Bob Emert, Chief of operations and Maintenance of San Mateo
County' s Parks and Recreation Department, commended the Board on
encouraging the Trails Council, explained the various ways citizen
advisory groups function in San Mateo County, and said the County
would have, to the best of their ability, County staff members
at any Trails Council meeting where San Mateo County issues were
discussed. Dave Christy, Director of Parks and Recreation, Santa
Clara County, noted the District would have an inter-county special
interest group with the Council and said, due to current budgetary
cutbacks, he could not at this time offer. Santa Clara County staff
support to any voluntary group or commission.
Motion: K. Duffy moved the Board appoint a staff member as liaison
to work with the Trails Council. N. Hanko seconded the
motion.
Discussion: H. Grench stated S. Sessions had determined land
management staff would probably have to commit a range of
8-12 hours per month to the Council, and since this was a new
task being assigned staff, either priorities would have to
be shifted or possibly additional staff added. E. Shelley
noted it was important to compare staff sizes when comparing
the District to the East Bay Regional Park District since
they had more staff to commit to their trails council. He
said it would be useful for the Council to coordinate meeting
items and that the Board might want to consider the time
lapse between approving an acquisition and interim use and
management plans for the acquisition so that the Council would
have the opportunity to review the use and management recommen-
dations. Discussion centered then on having a representative
from the Council at all Board meetings.
Motion to Amend: H. Turner moved that the motion be amended to state
the General Manager or his designee as a liaison to work
with the Trails Council was contingent upon the Council
appointing a representative or representatives to attend
District Board meetings. B. Green seconded the motion to
amend which passed unanimously.
The main motion, as amended, passed unanimously.
D. Hubbard stated the Trails Council would meet the first Monday of
each month at the District office, beginning at 7 : 30 P.M.
The Board recessed for a break at 9 : 30 P.M.
The Board reconvened for the public meeting at 9: 43 P.M.
Meeting 81-17 Page Four
C. Position Statement on Monte Bello Open Space Preserve
R. Bishop stated, with the Board' s concurrence, this agenda item
would be considered before the item on the Monte Bello Open Space
Preserve Parking Lot Approval Process. He commended Director Duffy
for the position statement she had prepared for Board consideration
(memorandum M-81-77, dated July 2 , 1981) . Discussion centered on the
deletion of the second sentence in the conclusion paragraph which
referred to the District as having been put in an uncomfortable posi-
tion of being the "Dirty Guy Developer" and despoilers of open space.
Motion: R. Bishop moved the Board approve the position statement on
Monte Bello Open Space Preserve as drafted by K. Duffy with
the deletion of the second sentence in the conclusion Para-
graph. H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed on
the following vote :
Ayes: K. Duffy, B. Green, N. Hanko, H. Turner, and R. Bishop
Noes: E. Shelley
E. Shelley requested the record state he only opposed the modification
made to the report, not the report itself.
D . Follow-up ,on the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve Parking
Lot Approval Process
S. Sessions reviewed memorandum M-81-74 , dated July 1, 1981,
containing criteria the staff would ask the Board to adopt
at the July 22, 1981 meeting for the evaluation of potential
parking lot locations for the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve.
He noted four criteria had been added to the list which re-
presented concerns expressed by the Board, the Palo Alto
Planning Commission and City Council, and members of the
public. He stated staff was requesting the Board to approve
an expenditure of approximately $1800 to complete necessary
engineering studies to be used in the evaluation and site
selection process .
H. Turner, noting he would not be in attendance at the meeting
of July 22, 1981 , requested that a criteria be added to the
list that categorized initial size of lot to be studied and
expansion potential.
S. Session stated staff at the City of Palo Alto was in
agreement with the parking lot approval process adopted by the
Board at its previous meeting and noted Palo Alto staff had
suggested a joint field trip as part of the approval process .
Motion: E. Shelley moved the Board authorize the expenditure of
up to $1800 to complete necessary preliminary engineering
studies . N. Hanko seconded the motion.
Discussion: H. Haeussler requested that the provision
of horse trailer parking be taken into consideration
in the engineering studies .
The motion passed unanimously.
K. Duffy suggested staff investigate the amount of soils testing
required for the parking lot locations to be evaluated.
Meeting 81-17 Page Five
VII. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED
A. Approval of Short-Term Loan
M. Foster reviewed memorandum M-81-76, dated July 2 , 1981, re-
garding the Board's authorization for a six-month $1,500 ,000
tax anticipation loan from First Interstate Bank of California.
He noted a copy of the July 7 , 1981 letter from S . W. Pickard,
Vice President and Manager, First Interstate Bank of California,
176 Main Street, Los Altos , had been distributed to the Board
and said the letter indicated the tax anticipation note would
bear interest at a rate of 9 . 95% per annum.
M. Foster and S. Norton answered questions regarding the note
posed by Tom Kavanaugh, 1726 Spring Street, Mountain View.
Motion: B. Green moved the adoption of Resolution 81-17, a
Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula
Regional Open Space District Authorizing the Issuance
of Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Tax
Anticipation Note, Series 1981-82A. K. Duffy seconded
the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion: B. Green moved the adoption of Resolution 81-18 , a
Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula
Regional Open Space District Awarding Sale of Tax
Anticipation Note. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The
motion passed unanimously.
J. Fiddes stated she had provided the Board with incorrect motion
numbers prior to the moving of the two motions and said the
motions should have been numbered 81-38 and 81-39 respectively.
Motion: B. Green moved the number of Resolution 81-17 be changed
to 81-38 and the number of Resolution 81-18 be changed
to 81-39 . K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion
to correct the clerical error passed unanimously.
B. Reissue of Windy Hill Notes
S. Norton distributed a draft letter to the Board, dated July 8, 1981,
from Wally H. Leynse & Associates requesting the Board consider
adopting a resolution that would allow for the reissue of the
five $100 ,000 Windy Hill notes to a smaller denomination. He said
Wally H. Leynse & Associates , the owners of the notes , had been
unable to sell the larger denomination notes and had requested
the notes be reissued into $5 ,000 denominations . He noted the
District was under no obligation to accomodate the request and
that Leynse & Associates would pay any and all expenses incurred
by the reissue of the notes .
Motion: N. Hanko moved the adoption of Resolution 81-40 , a
Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula
Regional Open Space District Supplementing Resolution
No. 80-51 to Provide for the Issuance of the Midpeninsula
Regional Open Space District Negotiable Promissory Notes
(Windy Hill Open Space Preserve - P.O.S .T. Property) .
B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
Meeting 81-17 Page Six
C. Follow-Up on Issues and Questions from Site Emphasis and
Program Evaluation Workshops
H. Grench, referring to memorandum M-81-75, dated July 2 , 1981,
noted this agenda item had been deferred from previous meetings
and asked the Board to approve the summary on Board positions
on issues and questions from site emphasis and program I evaluation
workshops discussed at previous meetings and to adopt the
publicity guidelines related to site emphasis policy.
E. Shelley pointed out an inconsistency between the response to
question five on establishing classifications for each site and
the criteria listed in question six. N. Hanko suggested the
Board delete the words "which is consistent with classification"
in the eighth criteria listed under question six. R. Bishop
stated the Board's concurrence to delete the words .
Motion: N. Hanko moved the Board adopt the statements, as amended,
made in memorandum M-81-47 , dated May 7 , 1981, up to and
through the statement onsite stewardship, as a statement
of the policies the Board has adopted on site emphasis.
K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
N. Hanko explained she had proposed some wording changes to the
publicity guidelines relating to brochures since she felt the
emphasis of the brochure should be placed on providing the public
with information on what properties the District had acquired and
how to reach them, rather than discussing why certain sites were
emphasized. She said she would like the brochure to include a
very clear map showing where all District land was located.
Discussion centered on the practicality of having one large map
showing how to reach all preserves .
Motion: H. Turner moved the Board adopt the originally proposed
publicity guidelines related to site emphasis policy
contained in memorandum M-81-47 , dated May 7, 1981.
E. Shelley seconded the motion.
Motion to Amend: N. Hanko moved to amend the motion by striking
the word "Ideally" at the beginning fifth sentence of
paragraph Al under Brochures and beginning the sentence
with the word "The" . B. Green seconded the motion.
Discussion: C. MacDonald requested the phrase "an area
that for one reason or another" in the third sentence
of the paragraph be changed to "where for one reason
or another" to correct a grammatical error.
The motion to amend, including C. MacDonald' s correction,
--passed unanimously.
Motion to Amend: N. Hanko moved to amend the motion by adding
the sentence "The kind and availability of specific
site brochures will be considered at the adoption and
biennial review of individual land use plans . " at the
end of paragraph A2 under Brochures . B . Green seconded
the motion. The motion to amend passed unanimously.
Meeting 81-17 Page Seven
Motion to Amend: N. Hanko moved the motion be amended to include
the statement "With the exception of press releases used
to encourage public involvement in site planning, " at
the beginning of the first sentence in the paragraph
on press releases.
Discussion: Discussion centered on the need to include
the proposed statement, and N. Hanko subsequently with-
drew her motion.
Motion to Amend: N. Hanko moved to amend the motion by adding
the word "informational" before the word "tool" in the
first sentence of the paragraph on the Openspace
newsletter and deleting the word "potential" from the
same sentence. R. Bishop seconded the motion.
Discussion: H. Grench suggested substituting the word
"device" for "tool" in the first sentence. N. Hanko
and R. Bishop agreed to include the substitution in
their motion to amend. The motion to amend passed
unanimously.
The main motion, as amended, passed unanimously.
VIII . INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
H. Grench reported the informational signs to be installed at
the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve would cost $125 . He stated
staff had received favorable reports from the staff of the
California Coastal Conservancy on the approval of the District' s
joint grant application with the City of Mountain View. He
reported on the recent Special District Conference he had attended
in Du Page County, Illinois .
C. MacDonald reported on the recent San Francisco Bay Area California
2000 Conference that the District had co-sponsored.
S. Sessions reported on the status of the Black Mountain fire tower,
noting the tower had not been completed,and stated fire danger
signs had not been placed on Page Mill Road since the road was
outside the jurisdiction of the California Division of Forestry.
He reported the mitigation of hazards on the Monte Bello Open Space
had been delayed since staff had received some incorrect bids on the
project. He stated Santa Clara County was in the process of in-
stalling a fence at Rancho San Antonio County Park and reported on
two incidents that had occurred on District land on July 4 .
He informed the Board of an arson fire on Windy Hill earlier in
the day and another fire in the Long Ridge area which was not
on District property.
IX. CLAIMS
Motion: E. Shelley moved the approval of the revised claims,
C-81-14 , dated July 8 , 1981. B. Green seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Meeting 81-17 Page Eight
X. CLOSED SESSION
The Board recessed to Closed Session for land negotiations and per-
sonnel matters at 11 : 26 P.M.
XI. ADJOURNMENT
The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11 :59 P.M.
Jean H. Fiddes
District Clerk