HomeMy Public PortalAbout19871110 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 87-27
MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
OLD MILL OFFICE CENTER,BUILDING C,SUITE 135
201 SAN ANTONIO CIRCLE,MOUNTAIN VIEW,CALIFORNIA 94040
(415)949-5500
RESCHEDULED REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
November 10_ 1987
MINUTES
I . ROLL CALL
President Richard Bishop called the meeting to order at 7 : 34
P.M.
Members Present: Katherine Duffy, Robert McKibbi.n, Teena
Henshaw, Nonette Hanko, Gerry Andeen, Edward Shelley, and
Richard Bishop.
Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Craig Britton, David
Hansen, Jean Fiddes , Mary Hale, Del Woods , James Boland,
Michael Foster, Stanley Norton, and Joan Combs .
II . APPROVAL OF MINUTES
October 28 , 1987
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the
minutes of October 28 , 1987 . N. Hanko seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0 . E. Shelley
abstained from voting, as he was absent from the
meeting.
III . WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
J. Combs reported that the Board had received the following
written communications :
1) a letter dated October 23 , 1987 from Ernie Ramires , 325
East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, urging the Dog Committee to
take firm action regarding control of unleashed dogs on the
preserves; and
2) a letter dated November 9, 1987 from Kris Casto, P.O. Box
1051 , Mountain View, thanking the Board and staff for the
Fifteenth Anniversary hike on November 7 .
R. Bishop stated the Board' s consensus that Mr. Ramires ' s
letter would be considered during the agenda item on the
report from the Dog Committee and that the letter needed no
reply.
Herbert Grench,General Manager;Board of Directors:Katherine Duffy,Robert McKibbin,Teena Henshaw,Edward Shelley,Nonette Hanko,Gerry Andeen,Richard Bishop
Meeting 87-27 Page two
IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Eric Thompson, Star Route 2 , Box 415, La Honda, said he had
not yet received his agenda for the meeting, adding that
agendas should be mailed earlier. Bee z Jones , 166891
Stevens Canyon Road, Cupertino, suggested that the agendas
be mailed in envelopes so they would not be confused with
second class mail .
V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
R. Bishop stated that the agenda was adopted by Board
consensus .
VI . BOARD BUSINESS
A. Approval of Agreement With Prudential-Bache
_Agjt�eem_,___ pital
Funding to Serve as Managing Underwriters- ' of Negotiable
Promissory -Notes (Report R-87-164 of November 2 , 1987)
M. Foster reviewed his report to the Board, stating
that he was recommending that $12 . 5 million of notes be
sold by early February through Prudential-Bache Capital
Funding. He noted that after the note issue, the
District would still be well within its debt ceiling.
He said he was recommending selling floating rate ,
rather than fixed rate, notes . He stated that without
a new note issue the District could not purchase any
additional land for cash before December 1988 .
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board authorize the
General Manager to execute the Underwriting
Agreement with Prudential-Bache Capital
Funding and authorize staff to take all
actions necessary to arrange the issuance of
$12 . 5 million of twenty year notes . E.
Shelley seconded the motion. The motion
passed 7 to 0 .
B. Report_of_Dog t R-87-167 of November 3,-
19873
N. Hanko reviewed the findings and recommendations of
Dog Committee and the report of consultant Sam
McGinnis . She said that the Committee had decided to
endorse the continuation of dogs on the preserves where
they had already been introduced and stated that the
Committee was recommending allowing dogs on other
preserves as noted in the report .
R. Bishop said that the Committee intended to ask the
Board for continuation of permitting dogs on leash in
the present allowable areas , plus the addition of
Hassler and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves , as well
Meeting 87-27 Page three
as the Spring Ridge area of Windy Hill Open Space
Preserve. He said these additions would require staff
studies to delineate the areas where dogs would be
allowed.
E. Shelley said that he would vote against the
Committee ' s recommendations , as he felt it was more
appropriate to direct staff to return with its
recommendations on dog use at the next use and
management plan reviews for these preserves .
R. McKibbin said that he would also vote against the
Committee ' s recommendations for the following reasons :
1) representation on the Committee did not reflect the
opinions of the full Board; 2) Dr . McGinnis ' s study was
inadequate as a two-year baseline study; 3) the dog
program was intended as a short-term test program; 4) a
questionnaire is needed to determine opinions of
Preserve users; 5) a lack of clear criteria to
determine the best dog areas; and 6) lack of long term
District-wide analysis of dog areas . He said he
recommended freezing the expansion of dog use areas ,
reorganizing the Committee , and directing staff to
develop a baseline study and questionnaire , as well as
an accurate monitoring program.
R. Bishop said that he disagreed with R. McKibbin' s
statement concerning the Dog Committee, and said that
to implement R. McKibbin' s suggests would require
extensive and time-consuming study.
Motion: G. Andeen moved that the Board accept the Dog
Committee ' s report and thank the Committee
for its efforts . T. Henshaw seconded the
motion.
Discussion: K. Duffy said that she felt it
was important to provide some areas where
Preserve users could take their dogs . N.
Hanko said that the Committee had received
input from members of the public who did not
use District Preserves because dogs were not
allowed. E. Shelley said that the subject of
dog use needs to be brought before the Board
for formation of a general policy, which
would then be applied to use and management
plans .
E. Thompson suggested that the public should
be educated to respect the leash law on
District lands before adding other areas for
dog use .
Ernie Ramires , 325 East Meadow Drive , Palo
Alto, said that dogs and wildlife are
Meeting 87-27 Page four
generally not compatible , and suggested
trapping loose dogs on the Preserves .
D. Hansen said that the District needs to
establish a priority list of new sites using
the criteria suggested by staff . E. Shelley
said that he felt the entire Board should
vote on the adoption of criteria as a
starting point to establishing policy.
Motion to Amend: E. Shelley moved that the Board
adopt only the portion of the Committee ' s
report that recommended continuing existing
use on current approved preserves , with the
exception of Jones Trail on St. Joseph' s Hill
Preserve. R. McKibbin seconded the motion.
Discussion: N. Hanko said that the Committee
was interested in extending the dog program
and suggested that the Board direct the
Committee to develop criteria for the Board
to discuss and adopt. E. Shelley said that
he supported asking staff to return to the
Board with recommendations for dog use on
the new recommended sites when the use and
management plans for those sites are
presented and after the Board had adopted
criteria.
R. Bishop said that the Committee has not
established any policy without Board
approval , and suggested that the Board should
give staff policy guidelines . E. Shelley
said that a policy is needed first for
criteria for selecting sites .
T. Henshaw called the question.
The motion failed to pass on the following
vote :
Noes : K. Duffy, R. Bishop, T. Henshaw, G.
Andeen, and N. Hanko.
Ayes : R. McKibbin and E. Shelley.
Motion to Amend: E. Shelley moved to amend the motion
by including N. Hanko ' s minority
recommendation 7A that would exclude dogs
from the narrow part of Jones Trail on St.
Joseph' s Hill Preserve.
Discussion: D. Hansen said that not
allowing dogs on Jones Trail would invite
strong public protest; however, safety on the
trail was of primary concern to staff .
Meeting 87-27 Page five
The motion to amend failed to pass on the
following vote :
Ayes : E. Shelley, N. Hanko, and R. McKibbin.
Noes : K. Duffy, R. Bishop, G. Andeen, and
T.Henshaw.
The original motion, excluding item 7 that the
Committee noted was not part of their recommendation,
passed 5 to 2 on the following vote:
Ayes : T. Henshaw, R. Bishop, G. Andeen, N. Hanko, and
K. Duffy.
Noes : E. Shelley and R. McKibbin.
Motion: T. Henshaw moved that the Board direct the
Dog Committee to continue to meet and return
to the Board with a general policy concerning
dogs on District preserves to be reviewed and
considered by the full Board. N. Hanko
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7
to 0 .
K. Duffy resigned from the Dog Committee, and R. McKibbin
volunteered to serve on the Committee .
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the
appointment of R. McKibbin to the Dog
Committee. N. Hanko seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7 to 0 .
The Board recessed for a break at 9 : 20 P .M. and reconvened at
9: 28 P.M.
C . Final Adoption of the Revised Comprehensive Use and
Management Plan for Thornewood Open Space Preserve
{Report 1�718_7-166 of November _41987)
D. Hansen said that a letter of reply to Mr. Zand was
attached to the Board report in response to Mr. Zand ' s
letter that was discussed the previous meeting.
K. Duffy suggested that all preserve maps should be
dated and that the trail easement shown on the
Thornewood map be deleted from the map distributed to
the public to avoid confusion.
G. Andeen recommended that the public trail pass close
enough to the lease area so that Preserve users could
see the house.
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Board adopt the
revised Comprehensive Use and Management Plan
for the Thornewood Open Space Preserve as
contained in the staff report . E. Shelley
Meeting 87-27 Page six
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7
to 0 .
D. Final Adoption of the Revised Comprehensive Use and
Management Plan for El Sereno Open Space_Preserve
(Report R-87-165 of November 3, 198�7)
D. Hansen noted that minor adjustments had been
recommended in the Access and Circulation section of
the report concerning the gate at Linda Vista Road. He
said no public comments had been received.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt the
revised Comprehensive Use and Management Plan
for El Sereno Open Space Preserve as amended
in the staff report . R. McKibbin seconded
the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0 .
E. Proposed Cooperative Project With Santa Clara County
(Moody Gulch) (Report R-87-169 of November 4,_1987)
C. Britton showed the 177 acre property on the wall
map and reviewed the proposed cooperative project with
Santa Clara County. He said the Letter of Intent was a
preliminary step to forming an assessment district . He
said that the District would take over the 15 year
bonds and hold them to maturity, with the District' s
out-of-pocket costs being $50 , 000 on a present-value
basis .
Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board approve the
Letter of Intent and authorize the President
or Vice-President or other appropriate
officer to execute the document on behalf of
the District . T. Henshaw seconded the
motion. The motion passed 7 to 0 .
C. Britton said there would be a signing ceremony in
the office of Santa Clara County Supervisor Susanne
Wilson on Thursday, November 12, and that Director
Duffy could sign the agreement on behalf of the
District.
F. Progress Report on Access Discussions with CalTrans for
the Hassler Open Space Preserve (Report_R-87-168 of
November 4., 1987)
D. Hansen said that little progress had been made in
obtaining public access to the Preserve from the
Highway 280 locations . He said that staff had
contacted the San Mateo County Sheriffs ' Department and
local officials concerning the Vista Point and noted
that the General Manager had conferred with the
District ' s Legislative Consultant and State Parks
Meeting 87-27 Page seven
officials concerning how to approach CalTrans regarding
access problems .
R. Bishop stated the Board' s consensus that the oral
report was sufficient and that the present Use and
Management Plan for the Preserve would remain in
effect, with staff being directed to continue to work
with CalTrans and the Legislative Consultant to
identify the best procedure for obtaining public access
to the Preserve.
VII . INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
J. Boland reported that an equestrian had been injured
at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve on the
weekend and that District Ranger staff had responded to
the accident.
C. Britton said that the Air Force Sergeants
Association had asked permission to install the star on
Mt. Umunhum for the holiday season and that staff would
work with the Association unless there were objections
from the Board. No Director objected to having the
star installed on Mt. Umunhum.
D. Hansen reported to the Board on recent Land
Management activities , noting that: 1) most of
the Whole Access Trail at Purisima Creek Redwoods
Open Space Preserve had been completed, including
the installation of restrooms . He said that
Peninsula Open Space Trust was holding a
recognition ceremony on November 12 for donors who
contributed funds for the trail ; 2) a large
diseased eucalyptus tree very near the homes at
Saratoga Gap Open Space Preserve had been removed;
3) the installation of split rail fencing and a
pipe gate had been completed at El Sereno Open
Space Preserve; and 4) there had been a bicycle
accident on Charcoal Road and an equestrian
accident at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space
Preserve recently.
M. Hale reported that approximately 150 people had
attended the Fifteenth Anniversary Hike on November 7 .
R. Bishop complimented staff members who organized the
Anniversary event.
VIII . CLAIMS
S . Norton referred the Board to Claims Number 687 , and
explained that the $30 , 000 was in settlement of all
claims concerning Beverly Fike and that a settlement
agreement had been prepared for the President ' s
signature.
Meeting 87-27 Page eight
Motion: E. Shelley that the Board approve Revised
Claims 87-25. K. Duffy seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7 to D .
Ix. CLOSED SESSION
S . Norton announced that pending litigation matters to
be discussed in Closed Session fell under Government
Code Section 54954 .6 (b) (1) . The Board recessed to
Closed Session at 10 : 30 P.M.
X. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 11 : 56 P.M.
Joan Combs
Secretary