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MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
Meeting 91-37
I
REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
December ll 1991
MINUTES
I . ROLL CALL
President Nonette Hanko called the meeting to order at 7 : 35
P.M.
Members Present: Nonette Hanko, Robert McKibbin, Betsy
Crowder, Ginny Babbitt , and Richard Bishop. Katherine Duffy
arrived at
7 : 46 P .M.
Member Absent : Teena Henshaw.
Personnel Present : Herbert Grench, Craig Britton, Mary
Hale , Jean Fiddes , John Escobar, Alice Cummings , Stanley
Norton, and Joan Combs .
II . APPROVAL OF MINUTES
November 13 1991
Motion: G. Babbitt moved that the Board ap
prove the
minutes of November 13 , 1991 . R. McKibbin i
seconded the motion.
Discussion: In response to a question from B .
Crowder concerning discussion of Action Plan items
as noted on page 5 para
graph h 6 P g r of the P minutes 9 P N.
Hanko said that discussion of the items could be
placed on a future agenda in Januar
y. R. McKibbin
stated that the Board needs an opportunity
to
discuss Action Plan items before the Budget
Committee meets .
The motion passed 5 to 0 .
November 20 1991
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the minutes
of November 20 , 1991 . G. Babbitt seconded the
motion. The motion passed 5 to 0 .
201 San Antonio Circle,Suite C-135 • Mountain View,California 94040 • Phone:(415)949-5500 • FAX:(415)949-5679
General Manager:Herbert Grench Board of Directors:Katherine Duffy,Robert McKibbin,Teena Henshaw,Ginny Babbitt,Nonette Hanko,Betsy Crowder,Richard Bishop
Meeting 91-37 Page two
III . WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
J . Combs stated that the Board had received the following
written communications :
1) a letter from Chris Santeramo , 1382 Page , #2 , San
Francisco, urging the Board to consider purchasing
Devil ' s Canyon;
2) two letters , dated November 20 , 1991 , from H.
Haeussler, urging clearer trail signing on District
preserves and suggesting a publication date be added to
the Sharing the Trails brochure , and a third letter,
dated November 30 , 1991 , urging the District not to
proceed with the formation of an assessment district .
J. Combs stated that responses to the first two letters
were drafted for Board approval . C . Britton noted that
in the draft response to Mr . Haeussler ' s letter , the
words '"Many of" should be inserted at the beginning of
the next to last sentence in paragraph 12 , and the word
"most" should replace "all" in the first sentence of
paragraph 2 . N. Hanko, with the Board ' s concurrence ,
approved sending the replies .
N. Hanko stated that she had received a letter from the
Central California District Council of Carpenters . C .
Britton suggested that this item be considered under
Oral Communications .
IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mel Sakata , 365 Woodview Drive , Morgan Hill , said that he
represented the Central California District Council of
Carpenters and reviewed the letter he had sent to the
District concerning rejection of the low bid by E . W.
Thorpe , Inc . and contract award to Roma Construction
Corporation for the District ' s new office building. Mr .
Sakata said that the Council challenged the responsibility
of Roma Construction Corporation as a contractor and
requested that the contract be awarded to E . W. Thorpe , Inc .
S . Norton said that the Board had determined a material
deficiency in the Thorpe bid and had approved in writing the
next highest bid. C . Britton reviewed the bid opening
process , and said that a subcontractor list had not been
included in the Thorpe bid, to which other contractors
present had objected.
Mr . Sakata said that the California Public Contract Code
requires public agencies to award contracts to the lowest
Meeting 91-37 Page three
bidder , and said that rejection of the Thorpe bid was an
error on the District ' s part . He said that the Code does
not require the rejection of an original bid because of a
partial subcontractor list .
S . Norton stated that there is no requirement for the Board
to reconsider its decision and award the contract to E . W.
Thorpe , Inc . and that there had been no violation of the
law.
Mr . Sakata said that the Council is prepared to file legal
action against the District . C . Britton stated that the
matter should be discussed in Closed Session because of the
possibility of legal action by the Council .
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the letter from the District
Council of Carpenters be referred to staff for
consideration and response . M. Hanko seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0 .
Gibson Anderson, 19571 Farwell Avenue , Saratoga, said that
he represented the Committee for Open Space Access , which is
interested in raising funds and providing volunteer labor to
provide an alternate access trail to El Sereno Open Space
Preserve .
V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
H. Grench suggested postponing discussion of the first
agenda item in case T. Henshaw was able to attend a later
portion of the meeting. N. Hanko stated the Board ' s
concurrence to discussion of items 2 through 7 before
discussing item 1 .
VI . BOARD BUSINESS
A. Land and Water Conservation Fund A lication for the
pp
Windy Hill Public Access Project (Report R-91-141 dated
December 4 1991)
A. Cummings reviewed the public access project , noting
that the project had a total cost of $260 , 000 , half of
whi
ch will be reimbursed upon completion .p son . She
e said
that undergrounding of utilities , required by the Town
of Portola Valley, was projected to cost $200 , 000 , and
was not included as part of the grant project .
Meeting 91-37 Page four
Motion: B . Crowder moved that the Board adopt
Resolution 91-46 , a Resolution of the Board
of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional
Open Space District Approving the Application
For Land and Water Conservation Funds for the
Windy Hill Public Access Project . R.
McKibbin seconded the motion. The motion
passed 6 to 0 .
B . Resubmittal of Land and Water Conservation Fund
Application for the Saratoga Summit Gateway Acquisition
Project (Report R-91-142 dated December 4 , 1991)
A. Cummings reviewed this acquisition project , which
would provide a site for a "Saratoga Summit Gateway"
visitor center . C . Britton noted that the land is
owned by Sempervirens Fund.
Motion: R. McKibbin moved that the Board adopt
Resolution 91-47 , a Resolution of the Board
of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional
Open Space District Approving the Application
for Land and Water Conservation Funds for the
Saratoga Summit Gateway Acquisition Project .
B . Crowder seconded the motion . The motion
passed 6 to 0 .
N. Hanko suggested consideration of the remaining
agenda items before the Public Communications Committee
report item, in case T. Henshaw was able to attend the
later portion of the meeting. The Board concurred in
this change to the agenda.
C . Approval of Administrative Analyst Job Classification,
Job Specification, Salary Range , and Filling of
Position (Report R-91-143 dated December 5 , 1991 )
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Board approve the
creation of an Administrative Analyst job
classification, approve the job specification
for the full-time position and assign it a
salary range of Step Number 235 to 260 with a
corresponding monthly salary of $2924 to
$3750 , and authorize staff to fill the
position as soon as possible . B . Crowder
seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to
0 .
Meeting 91-37 Page five
D. Dedication Status of District Lands (Report R-91-138
dated November .26 , 1991)
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Board adopt
Resolution 91-48 , a Resolution of the Board
of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional
Open Space District Dedicating Interests in
Certain District Lands for Public Open Space
Purposes . R. McKibbin seconded the motion.
The motion passed 6 to 0 .
E. Final Adoption of the Preliminary Use and Management
Plan for the Jones et al, Property Addition to La Honda
Creek Open Space Preserve (Report -R-91-140 dated
November 26 , 1991)
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Board adopt the
Preliminary Use and Management Plan for the
Jones et al . property addition to La Honda
Creek Open Space Preserve, including the
naming, as contained in report R-91-116 , and
indicate its intention to dedicate the
property as public open space . R. McKibbin
seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to
0 .
F. Final Adoption of the Preliminary Use and Mana gement
Plan for the Gazzano and Wooster Property Additions to
Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve (Report R-
91-139 dated November 25, 1991)
Motion : K. Duffy moved that the Board adopt the
Preliminary Use and Management Plan for the
Gazzano and Wooster property additions to
Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve ,
including the naming, as contained zn report
R-91-128 , indicate its intention to withhold
the Gazzano property from dedication as
public open space at this time, and indicate
its intention to dedicate the Wooster
property as public open space . R. McKibbin
seconded the motion . The motion passed 6 to
0 .
Meeting91-37
Page six
i
G. Public Communications Committee Report (Report R-91-144
dated December 5 1991)
N. Hanko reviewed the two recommended actions in the
report, and said that the first recommended action
should be expanded to say: the full recommendations of
this Committee be tentatively adopted by the Board and
submitted to staff, to return with a schedule for
implementation. She said it was hoped that the
calendar could be prepared by staff for the second
meeting in January. She noted that the second
recommended action concerned appointment of a 20th
Anniversary Committee and consultant .
N. Hanko stated that each committee member would
present two sections of the committee report .
G. Babbitt presented the committee ' s recommendations
for Public Communications : Direction for the 90 ' s .
She noted the items with the highest need for action :
increasing public awareness , more aggressive approach
by Public Communications , improving preserve maps , and
creating a multi-year strategy to promote a District
funding measure . K. Duffy suggested that item "a"
should be more District-specific; R. Bishop suggested
adding the words "and the open space district" .
R. McKibbin said that it might be difficult for staff
j to include this item in the requested calendar , and
said that he would like staff to work on items ' c ' and
' d ' as top priorities . K. Duffy said that item ' c ' ,
concerning a multi-year funding strategy, might not
belong in Public Communications , whose role was
promoting a funding measure , not creating strategy. R.
Bishop said that it was proper to put this item in the
Public Communications program, because of its support .
R. McKibbin suggested changing the wording to read,
"Assist in creating and implementing a multi-year
strategy to promote a District funding measure . "
B . Crowder reviewed the Public Outreach: Define and
Discuss section , noting that many additional
suggestions had been made by staff and public .
Discussion centered on public events . K. Duffy noted
that the recommendation to stage public events was
general and not specific , and asked if staff should
recommend the number of events to be held. N. Hanko
said that staff needs to suggest how to implement this
1 recommendation. H . Grench noted that several public
events have been held, including St . Joseph ' s Hill Open
Meeeting 91-37
Page seven
Space Preserve and Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space
Preserve events . He said that the recommendation
implied that no public events have been held.
R . McKibbin suggested that a regular yearly event would
generate publicity.
M. Hale requested the Board to
give staff direction concerning focus . She said that
voters could be targeted with urban events , rather than
events held on preserves . Discussion centered on the
audience the District wishes to contact .
N. Hanko reviewed item 3 , Informational Programs :
Docents , Volunteers , Staff and Board. She said that
expansion of the docent and volunteer programs was
recommended. She said that the committee considered
the Adopt-A-Trail and Adopt-A-Preserve programs
important , and that these recommendations should be
further discussed. She noted strong support for a
variety of slide shows ,
and also for ranger appearances
during docent-led hikes . She said that the committee
recommended an increase in local official and press
contacts by Board members . G. Babbitt said that staff
would need time to assess these recommendations .
K. Duffy said that the Board needs
to prioritize and
set goals .
Discussion centered on the desirability of increasing
the docent and volunteer programs . R. Biohop said that
he favored increasing the programs , and noted that an
increase would involve additional staffing .
G. Babbitt reviewed the committee ' s recommendations
concerning the 20th Anniversary. She said that, in the
interest of time , the committee recommended that an
anniversary committee be appointed immediately, and
that the committee be a Board committee with advisors
and subcommittees .
H. Grench noted that there was $20 , 000 in the budget
for 20th Anniversary projects through March 1992 .
Discussion centered on the hiring of a consultant for
the 20th Anniversary. R. Bishop stated that he thought
the appointment of a consultant was premature . He said
that the Board and staff should decide on the type of
events wanted, then contract with a consultant for
specific events . Discussion centered on who would hire
the consultant and for whom the consultant would work .
R. McKibbin suggested adding "to work with staff" to
Meeting 91-37 Page eight
recommendation ' a . ' G. Babbitt suggested restating
recommendation ' b ' to , read "Consider appointing a
consultant to work with staff . "
Discussion centered on the makeup of the committee . M.
Hale requested that at least one member of the new
committee be a member of the Finance Committee because
of the tie-in with the anticipated capital campaign .
B . Crowder reviewed item 5, District Publications ,
stating that the committee favored more economical
means of distribution, i . e . , newsprint . R. Bishop felt
that it was not necessary to in the frequency of
newsletters . He said that he was also opposed to the
use of newsprint as inappropriate for District
publications . He suggested deleting the word "more" in
item ' b' . He said that the Board needed to review the
impact on staff of increasing the frequency of
publications .
R. McKibbin suggested deferring any recommended actions
until staff reports back to the Board. N. Hanko said
that she felt tentative adoption of the recommendations
was important before staff commented.
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the recommendations in
the committee report be submitted to staff
for comment and evaluation and returned to
the Board. R. Bishop seconded the motion.
Discussion: N. Hanko said that the Board
needs to clarify its directions to staff . G .
Babbitt said that the broad picture needed to
be defined before consideration of detailed
suggestions . K. Duffy said that the Board
can decide which suggestions should be
implemented when it has decided on
priorities . The motion passed 6 to 0 .
Motion: R. McKibbin moved that recommended action 2
be changed to read: Begin by hiring a
consultant and commence work with staff
immediately.
Discussion: K. Duffy suggested omitting the
second sentence of the recommended action.
The Board concurred with the suggestion. K.
Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed
6 to 0 .
K. Duffy suggested that appointing of the 20th Anniversary
Committee be an agenda item for the December 18 meeting.
Meeting 91-37 Page nine
VII . INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
K. Duffy said that she had attended a meeting of the Santa
Clara County Board of Supervisors concerning the County
Trails Plan, and said that consideration of this item had
been deferred to January 28 , 1992 .
B . Crowder reported that the Woodside Town Council had
approved the creation of an assessment district to help
acquire Teague Hill .
N. Hanko requested that a Resolution of Appreciation be
Placed on the December 18 agenda for Karen Nillson, who died
December 7 .
N. Hanko stated that it was time for the President of the
Board to appoint the District representative to Peninsula
Open Space Trust , and recommended that Vince Garrod be
reappointed. The Board concurred in Mr . Garrod ' s
reappointment .
H. Grench showed a framed Resolution of Cooperation signed
by the various agency representatives who participated in
the Big Sail of the scow schooner Alma.
H. Grench noted that an organizational improvement
suggestion that had emerged from the staff committee
involved streamlining the format of Board reports , and said
that the new format would be applied to an acquisition
report in the December 18 packet .
H. Grench reported on the 2020 Implementation Committee
meeting he attended.
C . Britton reported that the cabin on the Ringo property had
burned .
J . Escobar reported that a bike injury had occurred December
1 on Fremont Older Open Space Preserve .
Meeting 91-37 Page ten
VIII . CLAIMS
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve Revised
Claims 91-22 . R. McKibbin seconded the motion. In
response to a question from N. Hanko regarding
claim number 1653 to Design Concepts , J . Fiddes
said it covered several different projects ,
including coordinated logo design, preparation of
materials , and brochure printing. The motion
passed 6 to 0 .
IX. CLOSED SESSION
C . Britton stated that litigation matters to be discussed
fell under Government Code Section 54956 . 9 (a) , MROSD vs .
Ringo. He said that land negotiations to be discussed
concerned San Mateo County parcel numbers 076-350-150 and
076-350-240 , owned by Corte Madera Associates , with Ryland
Kelly being the representative.
The Board recessed to Closed Session at 10 : 33 P .M.
X. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 10 : 27 P .M.
Joan Combs
Secretary