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Home My Public Portal About19930922 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Space et w Open tW « k MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 93-19 REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS September 22, 1993 MINUTES I. ROLL CALL President Betsy Crowder called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. Members Present: Ginny Babbitt, Betsy Crowder, Wim de Wit, Nonette Hanko, Robert McKibbin, and Pete Siemens. Member Absent: Teena Henshaw. Personnel Present: Craig Britton, Jean Fiddes, Randy Anderson, John Escobar, Malcolm Smith, Del Woods, Stanley Norton, David Sanguinetti, and Deborah Zucker. II. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Lloyd Chambers, 145 Cherokee Way, Portola Valley, stated his opposition to proposed closure of certain District trails to cyclists, the 15 miles per hour speed limit, and the helmet requirement. He submitted his written recommendations for consideration by the Board. III. ADOPTION OF AGENDA B. Crowder stated that the agenda was adopted by Board consensus. IV. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR Motion: R. McKibbin moved that the Board adopt the consent calendar, including approval of minutes of September 8, 1993 regular meeting; approval of responses to written communications concerning canine access on District preserves from Cheryl S. Smith, 241 Friar Way, Campbell, and from Nancy V. Carter, 237 Canyon Drive, Portola Valley; adoption of Resolution 93-30, a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Authorizing Acceptance of Purchase Agreement, Authorizing Officer to Execute Certificate of Acceptance of Grant to District, and Authorizing Acting General Manager to Execute Any and All Other Documents Necessary or Appropriate to Closing of the Transaction (Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve - Lands of Norton) and reaffirming tentative adoption of the Preliminary Use and Management Plan recommendations contained in report R- 92-130, including naming the property as an addition to Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, and reaffirming its intention to dedicate the property as public open space; approval of the parking violation bail sche dule contained in report R-93-l06, Open Space . . . for room to breathe 20th Anniversary - 1972-1992 330 Distel Circle Los Altos, California 94022-1404 Phone: 415-691-1200 - FAX: 415-691-0485 Grnc'4 NI,I,I,6gcl Herhof (;rune h Baud of Direc tot+ fete Siemens,Robert McKibben, Iecrw He°nsIi,m (tinny Babbitt,Nonctte Hanko I;etsy Crowd(,,,Wint de Wll i Meeting 93-19 Page 2 adoption of Resolution 93-31, a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Approving the Application for Grant Funds for the Local Agency Grant Program - Fiscal Year 1994-1995 Under the Habitat Conservation Fund Program of the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 for the Following Project: Devils Canyon (Acronico Property) Acquisition; and approval of revised claims 93-16. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. V. BOARD BUSINESS A. Response to 1992-1993 Santa Clara ountYG Grand JuryFin Final Re—ort � ePo t R- 93- 99) P. Siemens noted that the sentence preceding Table 3 on page 5, "Excluding debt service, theP s as o actual expenditure allocation i follows:" ows." needed correction noting that the acquisition related expense total of $6.12 million probably included debt service. R. McKibbin recommended mentioning in the same paragraph that expenditures will amount to approximately 41 percent of the property tax revenue for this fiscal year despite an 18 percent reduction in the District's budget. G. Babbitt, referring to Table 2, suggested that the percentage of operations activities expenses related to acquisition might also be shown. She noted that the response might emphasize that a number of the public affairs goals had already been met or had been implemented even though they had delayed by budget constraints. G. Babbitt recommended the following specific changes: on page one, under Recommendation 1: Public Affairs, the first sentence of the first paragraph be changed to read, "The District has, particularly in the last year, made a substantial effort to involve the public in its decision-making processes." On page one, under Recommendation 1, the first sentence of the second paragraph be changed to read, "The following new items have been added to the Public Affairs Plan and are being implemented as part of the ongoing activities:" On page three, the first sentence of the first paragraph be changed to read, "An integral part of developing a plan to maintain the road is negotiating a maintenance agreement among the parties using the road, which they claim is private." On page three, the last sentence of the first paragraph be changed to read, "We hope to negotiate an agreement to provide for ongoing maintenance and public access." C. Britton stated that road maintenance and public access were not necessary related matters and that he would not recommend adding public access to this part of the response. G. Babbitt added that she thought it was important to emphasize that many of the delays related to Mt. Umunhum were due to a number of external influences, including federal participation in clean up of the site, state budget constraints, and grievances by neighboring property owners. C. Britton stated that the response also included the following changes: on page one of Attachment B, in the second sentence of the second paragraph, "and in estimates" was to be i Meeting 93-19 Page 3 deleted, and that the first sentence of the fourth paragraph was changed to read "This overall planning process is outlined to clarify the path that decisions about significant commitments to maintenance should take." B. Crowder directed P. Siemens, M. Smith, and C. Britton to review Table 3 and the sentence preceding it and to make any necessary correction and to incorporate changes as recommended and approved by Board consensus. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board approve the response to the Santa Clara County Grand Jury report, and authorize the President of the Board to sign the letter on behalf of the District, with finalized wording as approved by Director Siemens and C. Britton. R. McKibbin seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. B. Proposed Addition of Bartels Property to the Mt Umunhum Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve (Report R-93-103) C. Britton stated that the standard purchase agreement to purchase the 56-acre property included a purchase price of $325,000 with an agreement to lease back the seller's mobile home site at $300 per month, escalated at 5% per year, for up to ten years. D. Woods described the property location relative to the Mt. Umunhum Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. He showed slides exhibiting the natural features of the property, including dense vegetation in the Herbert Creek watershed portion of the property. P. Siemens asked if there were any trails to open for public use. D. Woods stated that although there were remnants of trails in the area, there were no existing trails to open for use at this time. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt Resolution 93-32, a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Authorizing Acceptance of Purchase Agreement, Authorizing Officer to Execute Certificate of Acceptance of Grant to District, and Authorizing Acting General Manager to Execute Any and All Other Documents Necessary or Appropriate to Closing of the Transaction (Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve - Lands of Bartels). G. Babbitt seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board tentatively adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan recommendations contained in the report, including naming the Bartels property as an addition to the Mt. Umunhum Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, and indicate the Board's intention to withhold the property from dedication as public open space at this time. G. Babbitt seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. I Meeting 93-19 Page 4 C. History of Preserves (Report R-93-102) B. Crowder requested Board approval to work with staff and knowledgeable members of the public to create a program to document and publicize the history of District lands. C. Britton stated that creation of the program would eventually require implementation that would be considered by the Board in the future. N. Hanko volunteered to help put together the history of Monte Bello Open Space Preserve. Motion: G. Babbitt moved that the Board authorize B. Crowder to work with staff and members of the public to create a program to document and publicize the history of District lands. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. D. Continued Discussion of Board Policies Pertaining, to Board Records (Report R-93-105) N. Hanko stated that she and S. Norton reviewed and revised the draft policy recommendations. The Board discussed and further revised the recommendations as follows: a. Written notification be sent to all Board members of all legal action taken by the District, and that a written status report of outstanding legal actions be sent to Board members quarterly. b. Summary of action taken in closed session shall be signed by the general manager and the President of the Board and retained by the legal counsel as client-Privileged information. C. The Board's annual written evaluation of each Board appointed officer (general manager, legal counsel, controller) be signed by the Board President and the officer and copies retained by the District clerk and made available to the officer. Motion: G. Babbitt moved that the Board adopt the policies, as revised, pertaining to Board records. R. McKibbin seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. VI. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS C. Britton reported that the U.S. Senate appropriated $5.25 for the Phleger property acquisition. He said that Cupertino would reopen its general plan hearings for the St. Joseph's Seminary property. He stated that the more conservative element of the Republican party might make passage of the Governor's sales tax proposition on the November ballot more difficult than had been anticipated. Reporting on legislative matters, he said that two majority- vote assessment district bills for Sacramento and San Diego Counties and two amendments to the Brown Act that would affect meetings of members of the Board were before the Governor for his approval. C. Britton said that he would be meeting with representatives from East Bay Regional Park District i Meeting 93-19 Page 5 to create legislative proposals for multi-county districts. P. Siemens reported that volunteers in Los Gatos built a trail from downtown Los Gatos through the former Novitiate property to St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve. W. de Wit stated that he and B. Crowder had joined others in Redwood City the previous weekend and collected 1200 signatures for the CALPAW initiative. He also reported that his parked car was vandalized at Alpine and Willowbrook Roads while he was hiking at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. B. Crowder stated that she had received an invitation to Deer Hollow Farm's 15th annual recognition dinner and that, although she was unable to attend, she hoped that other members of the Board and staff would attend. She also reported that she gave a talk at a senior citizen's luncheon and that information about the District and the slide presentation were well received. M. Smith distributed Kids Art of Open Space posters and entry forms and said that the art work was donated by the artist, Marty Somers. He said that the reception for the children who submit artwork would be given by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation on November 16. J. Escobar reported on four accidents on District preserves. He said that docent training began on September 21, that volunteer patrol training was to begin on September 23, and that the Thornewood house tours were scheduled for the following weekend. VII. CLOSED SESSION C. Britton announced that a decision to enter into litigation to be discussed in Closed Session fell under Government Code Section 54956.9 (c). The Board recessed to Closed Session on litigation, labor negotiations, and personnel matters at 9:02 P.M. VIII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:52 P.M. Deborah Zucker Recording Secretary i