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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20010523 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) J egional Open S ce MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 01-12 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETINGS BOARD OF DIRECTORS May 23, 2001 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Pete Siemens called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Larry Hassett, Deane Little (arrived at 7:10 p.m.), Ken Nitz, and Pete Siemens Members Absent: Mary Davey Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Tom Fischer, Mike Williams, Del Woods II. CLOSED SESSION P. Siemens stated that the Board would adjourn to Closed Session for a conference with General Counsel regarding existing litigation—Richmond vs. Krone Bishop et A, Santa Clara Superior Court Case No CV86195. The Board recessed to Closed Session at 7:05 p.m. and the Closed Session commenced at 7:05 p.m. The Board concluded the Closed Session at 7:30 p.m. REGULAR MEETING III. P. Siemens called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and noted that no reportable actions had taken place in Closed Session. Additional Staff Present: Gordon Baillie, Matt Freeman, Stephanie Jensen, Jodi Isaacs, I John Escobar, Cathy Woodbury, John Maciel, Lisa Zadek, David Sanguinetti, John Kowaleski, Dennis Dart, and Eve Dunkel. I 330 Distel Circle « Los Altos, CA 94022-1404 • Phone:650-691-1200 Fax:650-691-0485 . E-mail: mrosd@openspace.org • Web site:www.openspace.org z�' H".z:Y Board of Directors:Pete Siemens,Mary C. Davey,Jed Cyr,Deane Little,Nonette Hanko,Larry Hassett,Kenneth C. Nitz *General Manager:L.Craig Britton I Meeting 0 1-12 Page 2 IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Frank Kellers, 1140 Snowberry Court, Sunnyvale, talked about the District's volunteer release which S. Schectman had told him was a standard form. He said he does a lot of volunteering, and none of the other agencies he volunteers for ask docents to sign a release. Those who go on docent led hikes do not have to sign negligence releases. S. Schectman said she had emailed Mr. Kellers and told him she was meeting with the affected managers before speaking to him. She said she would meet with him to hear his objections and what he would like to see in the release, and then she will get back with the managers. She said it is important to the District's broker that they have good safety and risk management programs. She would check to see if the release has an impact on the District's insurance rates. N. Hanko said she would like to look into the policies, and asked to what extent the Board can be involved in the procedures being used regarding docents. S. Schectman suggested that N. Hanko check with staff and said there is a volunteer handbook. She would talk to Board members with respect to legal issues. She said the handbook was not something the Board develops. Mr. Kellers said it was only the negligence part of the fan-n that bothered him, and that it was a matter of principle. V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA C. Britton asked that Item 5 be considered as the first item of Board Business. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the agenda. L. Hassett seconded and the motion passed 6 to 0. VI. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including approval of the minutes of the March 14, 2001 Regular Meeting and the March 28, 2001 Regular and Special Meetings; a draft response to a letter from Mr. Charlie Edge, Leading Edge Technolo y, Inc., 1015 Helena Dr., Sunnyvale; agenda item 6, 9 Scheduling of a Special Meeting of the Board of Directors on May 30, 2001 and Cancellation of June 13, 2001 Regular Board Meeting; and Revised Claims 0 1-10. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. Meeting 0 1-12 Page 3 VIL BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. 5—Agreement with Santa Clara County Fire Department to Conduct a Prescribed Bum on the Rancho de Guadalupe Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve-, Determine that the Recommended Actions as Set Out in This Report are Categorically Exempt Under the California Environmental Quality Act, Authorize the General Manager to Execute the Attached Pen-nit to Enter For the Purpose of Allowinp,the Santa Clara County Fire Department to Conduct a Controlled Bum, For Training Purposes, on the Rancho de Guadalupe Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve - (Report R-01-62). G. Baillie presented the staff report, noting that there was some question as to whether County Fire could do the bum. They are asking for approval in case they can work out the details. He showed the bum site on a map. Captain Todd Bruce said the fire department seeks out opportunities to simulate wildfire conditions. However, it is very time consuming. The biggest issues are the weather and public perception. He said there would be no automatic meteorological equipment on site. G. Baillie said the 1997 bum was much more focused on high tech. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board determine that the recommended actions as set out in the staff report are categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); and authorize the General Manager to execute the Permit to Enter for the purpose of allowing the Santa Clara County Fire Department to conduct a controlled bum, for training purposes, on the Rancho de Guadalupe area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. B. Agenda Item No. I —Progress Report on the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve Resource Inventory and Assessment Project-, Receive and Comment on the Progress Report - (Report R-01-63)_ M. Freeman gave an Arc View GIS presentation of the data gathered including geology, hydrology, vegetation, wildlife, historical, cultural, and archeological sensitivity. He said the information could be used in trail design. He noted that the report and presentation were a group effort and acknowledged the work of J. Isaacs and D. Vu. Meeting 01-12 Page 4 M. Freeman said the project at Sierra Azul took two years, and he thought it would take at least another six years to study the rest of the District, given the budget. Other things could be added to this study map later. P. Siemens observed that it would be valuable to have a survey of structures. Discussion followed regarding a possible field trip with the consultants. C. Britton said the Use and Management Committee would be doing trips as part of the planning process. He added that he thought it would take closer to 20 years to complete the project of studying the entire District. M. Freeman said the RFP would go out in late summer for Phase Two, development of the master plan. C. Woodbury said the master plan would probably take 2-3 years and they will probably need to break it down into areas. N. Hanko said she thought they ought to incorporate some of the work from this study into District presentations. By consensus, the Board received the report. C. Agenda Item No. 2 - Program Evaluation for the 2000-2001 Action Plan for the Implementation of the Basic Policy of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Comment on and Accept Staff's Program Evaluation Report - (Report R-01-61). Staff members briefed the Board on the status of key projects and noted additional projects and activities not specifically included in the Action Plan that require significant staff effort. Open Space Acquisition Program—M. Williams A. Negotiations and Special Projects Page 3 last sentence - C. Britton said he thought the opportunity for assessment districts was very limited now. B. Enterprise M. Williams noted that the Silva property is now a rental rather than a life estate. C. Britton said about 1/3 of the enterprise rentals are rented by District field staff. C. Land Protection M. Williams answered questions regarding the proposed 28-acre easement on the McCarthy subdivision. Meeting 0 1-12 Page 5 C. Britton recognized that the staff members listed on the first page took part in preparation of the report. Operations Program—J. Maciel A. Field Operations—no questions or comments. B. Resource Management L. Hassett said he might forward the information regarding the rooted area to the South Skyline Association pig chairman. Regarding how often an area is re-rooted, J. Isaacs said they know some areas have been rooted four times in a season. P. Siemens commented that it would be valuable to have the pig information on GIS. J. Isaacs said they do not have enough staff to be able to map that activity on a consistent basis. She said she did not have information on whether trapping is affecting the amount of rooting. D. Sanguinetti said the Skyline office is down two rangers and there are two in training. He said it helped to have increased supervision. He said he felt they were meeting at least minimum standards and exceeding them in some areas. He thought morale and cooperation were good, and that was partly due to the influencing skills and leadership training they had received. J. Kowaleski said staff at the Foothills office is starting to feel the impact of taking over management of Rancho San Antonio. D. Sanguinetti noted that the Seasonal Open Space Technician program has been very valuable. In addition to the work that the seasonal staff does, the program provides the District with a pool of trained and experienced people, which assists in hiring of regular staff. In regard to the parking problems at Rancho San Antonio, J. Kowaleski said it is very busy. J. Maciel commented that they have limited ability to work on the parking problems. J. Maciel said since he came to work for the District, he had developed a different mindset from parks and had gained a different appreciation for resources. Open Space Planning Program—C. Woodbury A. Current Planning—no questions or comments. Meeting 0 1-12 Page 6 B. Advance Planning C. Woodbury talked about the use of GIS and regional cooperation. N. Hanko commended staff for their efforts in supporting the Board's position regarding Stanford Lands, an activity that had not been mentioned in the report. Public Affairs Program—S. Jensen A. General Public Information and Outreach S. Jensen talked about the Department's activities including responding to the public and other agencies, hiring, media monitoring, archiving images, revising and producing brochures, and newsletter production. B. Legislative, Funding, and Organizational Relations —no questions or comments. C. Visitor Services N. Hanko commented on the beautiful picture in the invitation to the B. Crowder memorial. S. Jensen said emails have tripled. They receive 2-3 media phone calls a day and 8-10 calls from the public and sister agencies. Administration Program—C. Britton A. Administration/Human Resources C. Britton answered questions regarding the hiring of D. Dolan's replacement. B. Legal Services—S. Schectman S. Schectman reviewed the major legal projects and litigation of the last year. Board members thanked S. Schectman. C. Britton noted that the District was suffering from growing pains. There are now 75 positions not including seasonals. He said he thought the District had a great staff that is responsive and available to the public. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board accept the staff s program evaluation report. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. D. Agenda Item No. 3 —Authorization to Utilize Design Concepts for Graphic Design and Harbor Printing Service, Selected Via Competitive Bids, Until Formal Requests for Proposals Yield New Contract Proposals,• Authorize the General Manager to Contract with Design Concepts to Perform Graphic Design Work Not to Exceed $14,000 and Harbor Printing to Complete Printing Projects Not to Exceed $50,000—(ftort R-01-65). Meeting 01-12 Page 7 S. Jensen said the bid included the cost of new brochures and two newsletters. The new Pulgas brochure includes the Benedetti property. She said brochures are marked with a revision date. She added that the packaging for art and wine festivals will be done again. Discussion followed regarding the notation on District letterhead of the use of soy based ink. S. Jensen said staff is spending about $15,000 a quarter on graphic design. Discussion followed about at what point the District would consider hiring a graphic designer. Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to contract with Design Concepts to perform graphic design work not to exceed $14,000 and Harbor Printing to complete printing projects not to exceed $50,000, until staff evaluates responses to formal Requests for Proposals and returns to the Board for contracting approval. N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. E. Agenda Item No. 4—Agreement with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF)to Conduct a Prescribed Burn at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, Authorize the General Manager to Enter Into an Agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to Conduct a Prescribed Burn at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve as an Ongoing Part of the Grassland Management Implementation Plan— (Report R-01-64). J. Isaacs presented the staff report, stressing that this fire was totally separate from the one at Rancho de Guadalupe. CDF is the lead agency however. The timing may change depending on objectives. The burn is adjacent to previous burns but is a new burn area. They will be working with adjacent neighbors. D. Sanguinetti said CDF deals with the air resources board regarding issues of when they can burn. J. Isaacs said consecutive burns are good. Regarding the possibility of the program growing, she said there has been good public response and staff is taking it step by step. She said a lot of this is a pilot project to see how feasible it is. She said they hoped they could use burns in other areas. In answer to why we have limited burns to this new area and not re-burned others, J. Isaacs said there are some species that benefit and others that are Meeting 0 1-12 Page 8 disadvantaged. There needs to be rotation and a resting period. She said they had done consecutive bums in order to eliminate star thistle. However, this does not necessarily mean they have eliminated it. The intent is to have rotation of different management techniques. She informed the Board that Red-winged Blackbirds would not be nesting at the end of July. She said they are doing some other forms of removal, including some continuation of mowing. Regarding the fire history in the area, C. Britton said in his history with the District, Russian Ridge had burned once. Motion: D. Little moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to enter into an agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) to conduct a prescribed bum consistent with the staff report at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve as an ongoing part of the Grassland Management Implementation Plan. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS In regard to "greening"the building, L. Hassett reported that the California State Energy Commission has increased the rebate and he expects there will be more benefits. D. Little: 1. He gave a talk to the San Juan Canyon Preservation Trust in Belmont. 2. He had hiked on Rancho San Antonio and said dusk is a great time to see wildlife. C. Britton: 1. He said staff had taken the packet directly to the post office and asked if Board members had received it sooner. 2. The Tony Look trail dedication is scheduled for June 23, 8 A.M. 3. He had a brochure from the Pescadero Conservation Alliance. 4. He said AB 104, the vehicle fee for the San Francisco Bay Program, had passed two committees in the Assembly and the Assembly floor. 5. The Ad Hoc Coastal Committee attended the Half Moon Bay city council meeting. 6. The auditors had completed their work and they expect the final audit in a few weeks. 7. He had talked to the Director of Parks and Recreation from Belmont regarding annexation and purchase of San Juan Canyon. S. Schectman passed out copies of a new Brown Act guide put out by the League of California Cities. L. Zadek reported that the Bike to Work day was very successful and staff is thinking of doing it once a month. Meeting 01-12 Page 9 S. Jensen: 1. She reported on the progress regarding the natural resources database and hiring in public affairs. 2. She had a copy of the San Mateo County Parks new book and said Skyline is working on one. 3. Staff is interviewing for the Community Program Specialist position. 4. She called attention to the memo regarding outreach opportunities for Board members. J. Maciel reported on the staff golf outing last week. J. Escobar said he had taken part in the golf outing and bike to work,but was not in the picture. IX. ADJOURNMENT At 11:02 P.M., the meeting was adjourned. Roberta Wolfe Recording Secretary