HomeMy Public PortalAbout19830423 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 83-10
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MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
375 DISTEL CIRCLE,SUITE D-1,LOS ALTOS,CALIFORNIA 94022
(415) 965-4717
SPECIAL MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
APRIL 23, 1983
MINUTES
I . ROLL CALL
President Barbara Green called the meeting to order at 9 : 01 A.M.
Members Present: Katherine Duffy, Daniel Wendin, Barbara Green, Edward
Shelley, Nonette Hanko, Harry Turner, and Richard Bishop.
Staff IMembers Present: Herbert Grench, Craig Britton, David Hansen,
Charlotte MacDonald, Michael Foster, Jean Fiddes, John Escobar, and Dennis
Danielson.
Members of the Public Present During the Meeting: Robert Augsburger and
Tamra Peters of the Peninsula Open Space Trust, 11larion Blukis, Robert
Fisse, Sylvia Ferguson, Chris Pechini, and Betsy Crowder.
BLUE SKY SESSION
Following a brief introductory statement by B. G.reen, members of the
Board, staff and public individually presented their "blue sky" comments
on their vision of what they would like the District to be in ten years .
B. Green noted the reality session called for comments on what the Dis-
trict will be in ten years based on present policy and budget guidelines .
The following is a summary of those comments :
K. Duffy: Vast District lands with a connecting trail system; a hike
'n but system; one or two people-active centers; public transportation
to District sites; a larger land and field staff; and a staff communica-
tions problem because of the larger field staff size. She expressed
concerns about not becoming an officious bureaucracy, about direct urban
access to preserves, and the District' s relationship with cities and
counties, and said that realistically the next ten years would be similar
to the District' s first ten years .
H. Turner: Actively adopt as a style perpetual addressing of what are
n..ew, different, unimagined ways of using open space, such as hostels,
horsemen ' s camps, and search and rescue training areas for dogs; intro-
duction of some developments and programs not currently in existence;
recognition of some preserves as non-wilderness areas and have three
broad categories of open space areas that would be regional wilderness,
regional open parkland, and regional shoreline, and seeking ways to
broaden the District ' s clientele so as to deal with the mid-peninsula ' s
political conservatism and to maintain the District ' s constituency.
E. Shelley: Continuous public land or public trails along the Skyline
Corridor and the Bay; campgrounds and hostels on District land, but
not managed by the District; three or four "Monte Bellos" but with the
same amount of development as Monte Bello; no picnic tables unless on
District lands where other agencies are operating; wants District to
remain an open space district, a special district, rather than being some
Meeting 83-10 Page two
more of the county park system; and placing a limit on District expan-
sion. He said he sees a much more politicized Board and the Board trying
to respond immediately to special interest groups as pitfalls.
N. Hanko: Board could use public more - create public committees of
special interest; address needs of the elderly on open space; encourage-
ment of the private sector to join with District in establishing hostels;
and, in terms of land acquisition, the District would come to grips with
Stanford' s land ownership.
R. Bishop: Competition for money getting more difficult; therefore, the
District would build -constituency support; challenge of getting political
support; get new groups of people to have openspace experience, while
preserving pristine openspace; enjoy and nurture interested young people
in openspace; more short, interpretive trails; more programs like those
at Rancho San Antonio; and pressure for expansion of District boundaries .
D. Wendin: more optimistic about future of the District; have balanced
program of acquisition and facilities expenditures, but feels tilt
will still be toward land acquisition; sees District as a facilities
district, but clarified the programs at these facilities would not be
run by the District.
B. Green: Noted that 1986 was the last year of Santa Clara County bond
funding for parks acquisition and maintenance.
H. Grench: "Stay the course" ; likelo see same kind of conservation-
oriented—Board; significant new sources of funding; doubling of District
land; completion of Bayland.s Trail in District; site development according
to site development plan; an expanded volunteer program; and some adjust-
ments of District boundaries.
C. Britton: Provided a series of humorous anecdotes on the next ten years.
D. Hansen: Envisions land uses as being very similar to present uses;
sorting out with Counties on which lands will be open space; a nature
center; campgrounds or hostels; completion of the Skyline and Bayfront
Trails; completion of other connecting trails; extensive day camp programs;
public transportation to District sites; 30 -rangers taking care of 40, 000
acres with rangers broken into safety officers, interpretivd /general
rangers, and construction rangers; full time volunteer coordination staff
and expanded volunteer program; a living history program; and a dump truck.
C. MacDonald: Monthly newsletter to everyone in the District; an
adopt-a-preserve prograra with corporate sponsorship; some specialized
preserves ; more focus on demands of special interest groups; and weekly
Cable-TV program.
J. Fiddes: Close to 35 employees; greatest growth in Open Space Manage-
ment section (another planning position, at least three more Rangers;
at least three to five permanent Ranger Aides; and an Assistant Land
Manager) ; a new regular position of Assistant General Manager and
Director of Administration /Personnel; District would be self-insured
and have a purchasing agent on the staff; at least one employee union;
combination of the Public Communications and Volunteer Programs; and
an interpretive center that might be part of a multi-use facility
that generates income for the District.
D. Danielson: Provide an open space experience for everyone and not
necessarily provide for the special needs of groups; District will not
become a park district like East Bay Regional Park - District; in twenty
years will be part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Meeting 83-10 Page three
J. Escobar: Bayfront and Skyline Trails will be completed; District
will look for ways to lessen use of sites; difficulties in responding
to special interest groups; become a unifying agency for all park
agencies in the Santa Cruz Mountains; finance will be a real question,
and a pitfall will be trying to get involved in too many programs and
special uses at the expense of land acauisition.
Robert Augsburger: Extend District boundaries south of Santa Clara
County to Monterey, County; make a distinction in both land acquisition and
management policies between resource protected lands and recreational
land; broaden base of people involvement in District activities.
Tamra Peters: Do a community needs assessment survey on what people
want done with land; more volunteers; P.O.S.T. would take over much of
the District ' s volunteer coordination and assist the District in
fundraising and development.
Marian Blukis: Would like to see a few changes on the Board that is strong,
balanced, and interested in long-term planning; have a good development
and maintenance program; an aggressive Land Manager; more education of
public on how to use open space; and a refined volunteer program.
Robert Fisse: Sees no changes on the Board within next ten years;
developing District office on District land; an improvement of good
neighbor policies; rehabilitate some recreational areas like Searsville
Lake and Stevens Creek Reservoir Area; District will take a pro-active
role in nature-type activities such as stocking and/or developing ponds
for fishing; a pressure for expansion of District into Santa Cruz
County and resistance from people in area who would be involved; less
use of eminent domain.
Chris Pechini: Would like to see more areas for use by the handicapped
and more acquisition of agricultural land.
Sylvia Ferguson: Would like the District to improve its public
relations image.
B. Green summarized general topics that had been introduced consistently
during the blue sky session, including
1) uses of the land - ways of using land and various degrees of
involvement of the private sector in managing the land;
2) the need and use of volunteers; and
3) public relations with the District 's constituents and preserve
users.
E. Shelley noted that expanding the District' s constituency did not
mean having to cater to special interest groups ' needs; rather, he
noted, the District should work to educate the public as to why they
would want the District to be what it is.
N. Hanko stated the need to provide for the handicapped and the elderly
and to begin to provide ways for people to get to preserves. She
noted the Public Transportation Committee would play an important
role in this matter.
D. Hansen noted the District needed to look at itself from a regional
perspective and have more interaction and cooperation with the East
Bay, -Monterey, and Marin Districts .
B. Green asked how the District could get involved in and benefit from
the national events of the Democratic Convention, Olympics, and Super
Bowl. R. Augsburger discussed "Areas of National Interest" and noted
Meeting 83-10 Page four
he'd like to see the District involved in preserving the coastline south
of San Francisco through this program.
III. REALITY
H. Grench introduced this portion of the workshop. He noted he did not
think the Land Management Budget Guidelines could be maintained as they
currently exist.
M. Foster reviewed various charts he had prepared on District funding
and expenditures in the future. He said he projected, based on various
cash flow assumptions, that $53 million would be available over ten
years that would purchase 9,000 - 10,000 acres. He also discussed
expenses versus land purchases, each program's share of operating
expenses, and operating expenses by department over the next ten years.
He discussed the recent growth in the Public Communications Program
as compared with other District programs.
C. Britton stated he felt the bulk of the greenbelt concept would have
to be completed over the next ten years. He said he thought the
District would be getting into more open space easements, and projected
that 25,000 acres of land would have been acquired within the District
boundaries, either by public agencies, including the District, and
non-profit groups, such as P.O.S.T. and the Sempervirens Fund. He
said the District would contribute about 15,000 acres to this total.
D. Hansen discussed the benefits of the site emphasis program and
noted the land management budget guidelines were too restrictive for
the land management program because of the bulk of funds spent on
salaries and benefits. He discussed looking to outside sources for
funding; increased volunteer efforts; increasing the field staff by
ten people; leasing vehicles; satellite field yards; and specialization
among the Ranger staff. He said Skyline Ranch would receive major
emphasis, as would the "extremes" of the District (area south of
Highway 17 and Whittemore Gulch area). He foresaw a volunteer mounted
patrol and a ranger residency program in full swing.
H. Grench noted that in ten years the Whittemore Gulch, Long Ridge,
and Russian Ridge sites, although not highly emphasized, would have
good public access and signing.
E. Shelley noted land management costs were related to development
of District land, rather than acreage.
C. MacDonald discussed changes in the Public Communications Program,
including a full-time media person, more articles about the District,
more media coverage, an expanded speakers bureau, and a full-time
receptionist.
Discussion focused on the portion of the Basic Policy relating to
public relations. H. Turner stated the District had fallen short of
informing the public about the District, and D. Wendin said one of
the challenges for the next ten years would be to meet the objectives
of the public relations portion of the Basic Policy.
Betsy Crowder asked the Board to consider campgrounds on District
preserves.
A recess was called at 11:09 A.M. and the meeting reconvened at 11:22 A.M.
IV. FUTURE DIRECTIONS
B. Green stated more emphasis should be placed on public transportation
in the future.
Meeting 83-10 Page five
R. Bishop discussed a new "Blue Sky" idea of the District having a
mini-bus that would serve different groups of people each day and
stated the District needed to investigate the growing group of people
who were early retirees as potential volunteers.
N. Hanko suggested private industries provide the buses for groups
to use.
K. Duffy stated the District needed to think of the rasic Policy in
terms of what steps needed to be ta.ken over the years to build a
core of volunteers.
D. Wendin listed five areas he felt should be future directions: 1) do
more relative site emphasis planninq; 2) public transportation -
solving public access to District lands by means other than private
vehicle; 3) office location; 4) volunteer program; and 5) adjustment
of the Basic Policyand Master Plan since the emphasis had been on
the District's first ten years.
E. Shelley stated he felt the Basic Policy and Master Plan should be
reviewed, but not necessarily revised.
N. Hanko stated a committee should be formed to review the documents,
and H. Turner stated the Budget Committee would be asking the Board 's
permission to conduct a review of the Land Management spending guidelines.
E. Shelley noted the budget guidelines could be changed without
changing the Dasic Policy, the District' s "constitution" , and said ,
with reference to volunteer programs , that there are staffing and other
costs that are associated with expanded volunteer programs.
Discussion centered on how volunteer programs could be organized. D.
Hansen and Tamra Peters discussed the Appalachian Mountain Club
volunteer project, expanded Trail Days, certificates for volunteers,
organized solicitatio� of volunteers, and a volunteer brochure.
H. Turner suggested the Basic Policy be amended to include a specific
statement regarding volunteer activity to the effect the District
encourages creative projects carried out by private and/or not for
profit organizations.
Discussion then centered on what would happen when Santa Clara County' s
parks bond expired in 1986 and intergovernmental activities in which
the District should be involved. H. Grench stated he did not see
the District taking a leadership role in Almaden Valley activities.
B. Green summarized discussion points requiring follow-up: 1) estab-
lishment of a committee to review the Basic Policy; 2) review the
Land Management budget guidelines, perhaps in the fall; 3) pursuing
the topic of volunteerism; 4) have the Dog Committee examine specifically
the training of dogs on District property in search and rescue tech-
niques; 5) having the Public Transportation Committee meet. H. Grench
noted items for which the Board felt follow-up was necessary could
be included in the Action Plan.
K. Duffy stated another topic requiring Board follow-up was more
complex forward planning for expansion of site emphasis planning. E.
Shelley noted this item was tied closely to the Land Management budget
guideline review.
B. Green stated the Board ' s concurrence that the items concerning
establishment of a committee review of the Basic Policy, review of
the Land Management budget guidelines and forward planning for expansion
Meeting 83-10 -Page six
of site emphasis planning, and pursuing the topic of volunteerism
should be discussed by the Board at the first regular meeting in
June. She noted that, at that meeting, the Board could determine
how to deal with each item.
Discussion then centered on how to promote the District and use of
the recent Sunset article as one of the measures of the public ' s
interest in the District.
V. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 12: 28 P.M.
JE!an H. Fiddes
District Clerk