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MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
Meeting 98-02
REGULAR AND SPECIAL MEETINGS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
January 28, 1998
MINUTES
I. ROLL CALL
President Betsy Crowder called the Special Meeting to order at 5:33 P.M.
Members Present: Mary Davey, Betsy Crowder, Ken Nitz, Jed Cyr, Pete Siemens,
David Smernoff, and Nonette Hanko.
Members Absent: None
Personnel Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Deirdre Dolan, John Escobar
II. DISTRICT PROCEDURES WORKSHOP
The Board concluded the Procedures Workshop at 6:05 P.M. and B. Crowder called the
Regular Meeting to order at 7:39 P.M.
Additional Personnel Present: Del Woods, Mike Williams, Jodi Isaacs, Randy Anderson,
Annette Coleman Carleen Bruins.
III. ADOPTION F A A ADO ONO GEND
N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt the agenda. D. Smernoff seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7 to 0.
IV. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR
B. Crowder
q requested removal of the response to a written communication from Dan
Bernstein and agenda item 6, Acceptance of the Informational Report on the Ranger
Bicycle Patrol Program in 1997,
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including a
response to a written communication from Mr. Harry Haeussler, 1094
Highlands Circle, Los Altos, CA 94024-7016; agenda item S,
Authorization h nize District's Desilanation of Authorized i n
for Entering District Safe Deposit Boxes, including adoption of Resolution
98-05 a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional
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Celebrate 25 Years of Open Space Preservation 330 Distel Circle - Los Altos,CA 94022-1404 - Phone:650-691-1200
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Board of Directors:Pete Siemens,Mary C.Davey,Jed Cyr,David T.Smernoff,Nonette Hanko,Betsy Crowder,Kenneth C.Nit2 , General Manager:L.Craig Britton
Meeting 98-02 Page 2
Open Space District Establishing Signatories for Entering Safety De o�sit
Boxes (Mid-Peninsula Bank); and Revised Claims 98-02. P. Siemens
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
V. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
B. Crowder suggested that instead of sending Mr. Bernstein two letters, we send one
stating that the January 15 letter covered his points. C. Britton said Mr. Bernstein
responded to the draft response and staff changed one sentence.
R. Anderson said there is a District brochure on dog etiquette. P. Siemens suggested
adding information to that brochure as to why we require leashes based on specific
incidents. P. Siemens will work with R. Anderson. Following discussion, it was agreed
to add wording to the letter stating that in the next edition of the brochure, the District
will include specific examples of dog-related incidents on preserves where dogs are
permitted.
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board approve the response to the written
communication from Dan Bernstein, Peninsula Access for Dogs, 1165
Eureka Avenue, Los Altos, CA 94024, as amended. D. Smernoff
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
VI. BOARD BUSINESS
B. Crowder moved the agenda to Item No. 6.
A. Agenda Item No. 6- Acceptance of the Informational Report on the Ranger
Bicycle Patrol Program in 1997 - (Report R-9847.)
A. Coleman said the bicycle patrol hours had tripled and reviewed he numbers
in
the report and said all rangers were given loves and helmets. The four rangers
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assigned to the patrol were given the special jackets and long pants, and could buy
additional bike patrol items with their uniform allowance. Three rangers earned
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and ants b riding the shared bicycles enough hours. She said as the bikes jackets p y g y g es
h will need to be replaced, b the are holdin u well and are in et older t out a be
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well taken care of.
Board members agreed that the bike patrol is a good way to interact with the
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public. A. Coleman said the bike patrol doesn't just enforce rules, but they help to
repair bikes and she was impressed b the widevariety of contacts mad
e them.
Public contact has been very positive, and they have more mobility and can cover
h 't drive
trails they can't e on.
B. Crowder encouraged staff to apply in the budget if they think they need more
bicycles. J. Escobar said the need to measure the priority against others and the
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bike patrol is just one function of the ranger staff. A. Coleman agreed with him
that they should stay with the same number of bikes for this year and evaluate the
program. J. Escobar said breakdowns have not been an issue. A. Coleman said
Meeting 98-02 Page 3
rangers use their discretion as to when it is too wet to ride. P. Siemens said he
wanted to consider potential expansion of the program.
J. Escobar said perhaps being on bikes put rangers in a position to make more
contacts in areas not accessible to vehicles. A. Coleman said having bike patrol on
Stevens Canyon Trail has reduced problems.
B. Agenda Item No. 1 - Appointment of 1998 Board Committees - (Report R-98-
19
C. Britton noted that the Ridge Trail Committee representative position was
changed to non-compensable during the workshop.
N. Hanko asked if it would be advisable to keep the Pichetti Committee in place in
case subjects come up that could be dealt with by them. C. Britton said questions
would be referred to Acquisition and Enterprise Committee.
Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board approve the President's
appointments to standing and ad-hoc committees as contained in
the report, including the determination of compensation status, with
the change to the Ridge Trail Committee representative. N. Hanko
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
C. Agenda Item No. 2 -District Appointments to the Midpeninsula Regional Open
Space District Financing Authority Governin Board e R-98-20
r Motion:, P. Siemens moved that the Board a the President's
�. approve h
appointment of Directors Nitz Smernoff, and Dave to serve on
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the Governing Board of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space
District Financing Authority. N. Hanko seconded the motion. The
motion passed 7 to 0.
D. Agenda Item No. 3 -Proposed Addition of Vanderpan Property to Kennedy-
Limekiln f Sierr l OpenDetermination
Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from the California
Environmental Quality Act;Tentative Adoration of the Preliminary Use and
Management Plan Recommendations Including Naming the Property as an
Addition to the Kennedy Limekiln Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve; and
Indicate their Intention to Dedicate the Prosy as Public Open Space- (Report
R 98-14.)
D. Woods presented the staff report, showing the location of the property on a
map. He said there are a number of developed properties on Soda Springs Road.
D. Smernoff asked about the likelihood of connecting Mt. Thayer to the Kennedy
Limekiln Area. D. Woods pointed out a trail that is public to the edge of District
property, so it can't be used to get to Mt. Thayer. He showed slides of the
property, including one from the Ridge Trail which does not go through the
property. He showed alternative alignments for the Ridge Trail and said the
Meeting 98-02 Page 4
property is in close proximity to the Trail and certainly in the view shed.
M. Williams outlined the terms and conditions of acquisition. He said they are
looking at other properties which might be acquired with the balance of the grant.
Motion.; D. Smernoff moved that the Board determine that the
recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California
Environmental Quality Act as set out in the staff report; adopt
Resolution 98-03 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 General Manager to Execute Any and All Other
Documents Necessary or Appropriate to Closing of the Transaction
(Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve -Lands of Vanderpan);
tentatively adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan
recommendations contained in the staff report, including naming the
Vanderpan property as an addition to the Kennedy Limekiln Area
of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve; and indicate their intention to
dedicate the property as public open space. P. Siemens seconded
the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
E. Agenda Item No. 4- Authorization to Retain Cotton, Shires& Associates Inc. for
Consultina Services to Prepare Construction Documents and Increase the Project
Budget for Schilling Lake Spillway Repairs at Thornewood Open Space Preserve_
Authorization for the General Manager to Execute an Agreement with Cotton_
Shires Associates in the Amount of$18,500 Increasing the Project Budget from
$15.000 to $3 S 000 - (Report R-98-1 S)
C. Britton noted that a clearer accounting of the project had been given to Board
Members tonight.
R. Anderson presented the staff report, stating that they changed engineers
because of liability insurance and that caused some lost time and effort. He said
they had looked at other options, including trenching and draining the lake. He
said the lake is used by native water fowl and animals and that the repair should be
a permanent cure of this problem. Engineers have walked the dam and were not
concerned about earthquakes.
C. Britton explained the circumstances under which the property could be disposed
of. N. Hanko said when they acquired the Thornewood property, they didn't
expect it to be such a draw from the standpoint of the public. She felt that the
earlier decisions made by the Board had been good ones.
C. Britton added that staff is not looking into the possibility of disposing of the
property but are looking into RFPs for a long-term tenant. Without different
direction from the Board, staff considers it one of the permanent open space
preserves. P. Siemens said he thought the property was an asset to the District.
Meeting 98-02 Page 5
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board Authorize the General Manager to
execute an agreement with Cotton, Shires& Associates, Inc. in the
amount of$18,500 to provide geotechnical engineering consulting
services on the spillway repair project, and authorize increasing the
project budget from $15,000 to $35,000.
F. Agenda Item No. 5 - Tentative Adoption of Preliminary 1998-1999 Action Plan
for Implementation of District's Basic Policy - (Report R-98-12)
C. Britton said any changes discussed at this meeting would be an assignment for
the Budget Committee. He said staff would highlight key projects and be available
to answer questions.
Open Space Acquisition Program
Negotiations and Special Projects Subprogram
M. Williams highlighted key projects. M. Williams noted the key addition of Lisa
Zadek who was promoted to Real Property Assistant. Staff answered questions
regarding the relocation assistance program (Item 11 under Other Projects and
Activities).
Enterprise Subprogram terp se u n og am
M. Williams noted four Key Projects.
Board Members agreed it would be useful to tour the District's enterprise
B. Crowder also suggested touring acquisition properties before the
properties. gg g q P P Y
come to the Board. C. Britton said they plan to have more meetings of the
Acquisition and Enterprise Committee. S. Schectman said other Board Members
can attend committee meetings as observers.
M. Williams gave an example of the type of proposal that would be considered
under Other Projects and Activities, No. 4 on page 6. C. Britton said they get all
kinds of proposals and requests and investigate the ones that have merit.
Open Space Planning Program
Advance Planning Subprogram
Current Planning Subprogram
R. Anderson said the work program had been resented at the last meeting and is
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still a draft which will be finalized during the budget process. He said the spillway
(Key Project 2, page 10, Thornewood Schilling Lake Dam Spillway Restoration
and Landslide Repair) should be completed this summer. Referring to Key Project
2 on page 9, Trail Use Policy and Guidelines Review, B. Crowder suggested
using the Regional Open Space Study mailing list. N. Hanko agreed that might be
Meeting 98-02 Page 6
valuable.
R. Anderson said that in regard to Item 6 on page 10 (Soda Springs Parking and
Trail Plan), they are still studying where the parking will be, including the possible
interim use of county parking.
H. Haeussler asked about alignment of the trails at Windy Hill. He was informed
that there is a huge backlog of trail projects and other trails had higher priorities, in
some cases because of grant funding.
P. Siemens suggested establishing a data base regarding signs which could be tied
in with preserve maps.
N. Hanko said people attending Resource Management meetings indicated that the
District is doing what the public wants, and that is acquiring properties.
Operations Program
J. Escobar pointed out that the outline on the second page of the report needs to
be updated to show that Resource Management has been moved to the Operations
Program.
Field Operations
J. Escobar said they were not recommending any staff changes for the year. He
outlined the four Key Projects. He noted that the Key Projects tended to focus on
the administration and management aspects of the department; however, Key
Project 4 speaks to what the field staff does. He said the efforts to prevent
establishment of undesignated trails would include barriers, signing, focusing on
compliance, and restoration work to make the trails unusable. Regarding the
Wilderness Trail policy, J. Escobar said Planning would be the lead, but Operations
would be closely involved.
J. Escobar said the total seasonal hours on page 11, third line from the bottom,
should be 7,500, not 8,500 as listed. In response to concerns about the trail
machine being idle except for a few weeks a year, J. Escobar said it has more
applications than trail building, including maintenance.
D. Smernoff said it might be useful to have an accounting of volunteer hours to
give a sense of how much support we are getting from the community. J. Escobar
said they would report actual hours during program evaluation. He recognized J.
Isaacs as a preparer of the report.
Resource Management
J. Isaacs described the Key Projects.
J. Escobar commented on the work plan, stating they planned for the Use and
Meeting 98-02 Page 7
Management Committee to be a Resource Management oversight steering
committee which would study the plan within the next 30 days prior to bringing it
back to the Board. He described the kind of detail they would be bringing to the
Committee over the course of the year.
J. Isaacs said she thought this is the kind of situation where the Use and
Management Committee could be helpful in presenting options and cost analysis.
She said the plan does not specifically address invasive native plants, but
monitoring them would be a good project for an intern.
Public Affairs Program
General Public Information and Outreach Subprogram
C. Bruins said the four Key Projects are similar to those from last year. She said
educating bikers and dog owners on proper trail etiquette was not a Key Project;
however, there is a trail etiquette brochure. J. Escobar said they have discussed
the matter with M. Smith and Planning and they feel there is a need to get out and
meet with those groups at their regular meetings.
Legislative. Funding and Organization Relations Subprogram
C. Britton described the Key Projects.
Visitor Services Subprogram
C. Bruins said the Kids' Nature Express and the 1998 Special Districts Forum
were new Key Projects. She said they would get schedule information on the
Forum out as soon as possible. She said they do keep track of all volunteer hours.
Administration Program
Administration/Human Resources Subprogram
C. Britton listed the Key Projects. Regarding the personnel manual, S. Schectman
said it could appear under both Subprograms as they would both be working on it.
In regard to Item 10 on page 23, D. Smernoff said the District needs to be more
careful about what they purchase, since their goal is to protect the environment.
Referring to Item 11 on page 23, C. Britton informed the Board that D. Woods is
in charge of computer programs. He said they have implemented some of the
recommendations in the Grant Thornton management letter and there will be a
response to that letter.
Legal Services Subprogram
S. Schectman said they sometimes have unanticipated Key Projects and described
the new ones, including Coastal Expansion.
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board adopt the Preliminary Action Plan
as amended; and charge the 1998 Administration and Budget
Committee with conducting a review of the Preliminary Action Plan
i
Meeting 98-02 Page 8
on the Board's behalf as part of the budget review process. D.
Smemoff seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
G. Agenda Item No. 7 - Approval of Amendment to District Legal Counsel
Employment Agreement Reclassifying Position From One-Half to Two-Thirds
Time and Approval of Salary and Benefit Adjustment - (Report R-98-13)_
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board Adopt Resolution 98-04 a
Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional
Open Space District Approving an Amendment to District Legal
Counsel Employment Agreement. J. Cyr seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7 to 0.
VII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
P. Siemens described a meeting with special districts regarding representation on LAFCO.
C. Britton pointed out this was listed on page 17 of the preliminary action plan under
other projects and activities.
N. Hanko said the period for response to the Yosemite plan has been expanded and
described some of the elements of the plan.
D. Smernoff said he, B. Crowder and J. Cyr had been out with the El Corte de Madera
(ECDM) Task Force and it was a valuable tour.
K. Nitz said he and B. Crowder and many volunteers went to Pulgas Ridge and pulled
broom and acacia trees.
B. Crowder had attended the hearing on the Castle Rock State Park Master Plan.
C. Britton reported as follows: 1. The third annual State of the District Message was
presented the previous Friday to staff. 2. The Operations Program review kickoff is next
Monday. The consultant will be here. 3. Art O'Neal's next round of training will be
regarding District-wide agreements. 4. In the FYIs was information on the Pichetti ranch
award for architectural excellence. 5. March 14-15 will be the Planning and Conservation
League symposium in Sacramento.
J Escobar presented an update on the victim of the accident at ECDM.
R. Anderson said in regard to Teague Hill, they have a copy of a memo from the town's
legal counsel to the planning director stating the general plan consistency issue is resolved.
Therefore we can submit our application but we will wait until after the Summit Springs
property exchange.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 P.M.
Roberta Wolfe
Recording Secretary