HomeMy Public PortalAbout20010808 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) i
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Regional Open S )ce
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MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
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Meeting 01-1
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REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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August 8, 2001
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MINUTES
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I. ROLL CALL
jPresident Pete Siemens called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m.
Members Present: Jed Cyr, Mary Davey, Nonette Hanko, Larry Hassett, Deane Little,
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Ken Nitz, and Pete Siemens
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Members Absent: None
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Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Sandy Sommer, Gordon Baillie, Stephanie
Jensen, John Escobar, Lisa Zadek, and Michael Williams
II. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Doug Anderson, Portola Road, Box 8215, Portola Valley, spoke regarding the Windy Hill
plant cover that was not there in the past. He said there is thistle and tarweed, but his
primary concern was coyote brush. He said it seemed a shame that the preserve is being
colonized by invasive vegetation and asked if there was a plan to control it.
N. Hanko noted that the District has the same problem on Monte Bello. She asked staff if
Windy Hill had been grazed, and C. Britton informed her that it was before the District
bought it. K. Nitz noted that the growth is going through a succession, and will
eventually be Douglas Fir.
N. Hanko asked when it would be a good time for the Board to talk about a policy for
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grasslands. J. Escobar said the District has resource management policies, but the are
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not specific to each site. He said they would not be able to maintain all of the District's
grasslands in a grassland state. The District has undertaken the pilot study at Russian
Ridge. He said this issue has to come up in the course of a resource management plan for
each specific site.
N. Hanko said she thought any kind of delay would make it worse to develop a policy. J.
Escobar said the Board would consider the strategic plan for resource management this
fall. D. Little agreed that the District needed to act quickly to address the problem and
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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
Board ofOrrectors:Pete Siemens,Mary C.Davey,led Cyr,Deane Little,Nonette Hanko,Larry Flassett,Kenneth C.Nitz •General Manager:L.Craig Britton
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Meeting 01-157 Page 2
that the public would find a lot of support on the Board to dedicate resources toward
control of exotic species. He noted that Mr. Anderson could work with existing volunteer
programs and suggested that he contact individual Board members.
Mr. Anderson said he would write to the local newspaper. C. Britton commented that it
is important to have public debate on each site as to how it is managed. He thought it
would be a good debate for the Board, and perhaps a workshop would be in order.
III. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the agenda. K. Nitz seconded and the
motion passed 7 to 0.
IV. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR
K. Nitz removed agenda item 5, Authorization to Solicit Bids for Roof Repairs to the
"Ranch House" Employee Residence at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve; Determine
that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt From the California
Environmental Quality Act as Set Out in This Report; Authorize Staff to Solicit Bids for
Re-Roofing the"Ranch House" Employee Residence at Skyline Ridge Open Space
Preserve.
Staff answered g
ar questions regarding Claim 2304
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Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including
approval of the Minutes of the May 30, 2001, and July 17, 2001, Special
Meetings; and Revised Claims 01-15. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The
motion passed 7 to 0.
V. BOARD BUSINESS
A. Agenda Item No. I —Guadalupe River Watershed Natural Resource Damage
Assessment: Approve an Agreement and Authorize the General Manager to Sign
an Agreement for Legal Services with the Law Firm of Barg Coffin, Lewis &
Trapp on Behalf of the District and Authorize Initial Payment for Services in an
Amount Not to Exceed $45,000, Approve an Agreement and Authorize the
General Manager to Sign an Agreement for Technical Consulting Services with
the Firm of Locus Technologies and Authorize Initial Payment for Services in an
Amount Not to Exceed $55,000— (Report R-01-95).
S. Schectman reviewed the staff report.
N. Hanko said she thought it was important to get involved as early as possible
and she believed the firms were good choices.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to
i nagreementf r l 1 rvic s with the law firm of Bar sign a o legal services g,
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Coffin, Lewis & Trapp on behalf of the District and authorize
initial payment for services in the amount not to exceed $45,000;
and authorize the General Manager to sign an agreement for
technical consulting services with the firm of Locus Technologies
and authorize initial payment for services in the amount not to
exceed $55,000. M. Davey seconded the motion.
Discussion: S. Schectman said the cost would depend on the tasks the
consultants recommend. At this time, staff does not know the total
cost in the long run. C. Britton said that when staff comes back to
the Board, part of the process would be to get a better handle on
the cost.
S. Schectman said the first step will be approval of the cooperative
agreement, then staff will come back with more detail about what
the next steps will be. S. Schectman said the funding is coming
out of the acquisition budget new land commitment. She said staff
expects this project will probably be ongoing in the next budget
cycle.
Regarding the scope of work for the amount requested, S.
Schectman said the initial scope of work is general and consists of
providing technical support to the District as they work through the
NRDA and TMDL process. She said there would be careful
monitoring of the consultants' work.
C. Britton said the tasks identified will be very specific and staff
will know how much each various task will cost. S. Schectman
said the goal is retaining people with specialized expertise so the
District can achieve an equitable result. She agreed that not being
represented could expose the District to much greater potential cost
for any settlement.
P. Siemens commented that he believed the District has one piece
of property that may be contributing to the problem. The District
got the property for a good price when it was bought and
negotiated a discount when the potential for this kind of problem
was realized.
li Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0.
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B. Agenda Item No. 2- Authorization to Execute a Contract with Cotton Shires&
Associates to Provide Geotechnical Engineering Services in an Amount Not to
Exceed $23,000 for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-
Funded Old Page Mill Road Repairs at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve;
Authorize the General Manager to Execute a Contract with Cotton Shires&
Associates of Los Gatos in an Amount Not to Exceed $23,000 to Investigate
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Geologic Conditions and Prepare Geotechnical Plans and Specifications for the
FEMA-Funded Old Page Mill Road Repairs at Skyline Ridge Open Space
Preserve—(Report R-01-93).
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S. Sommer presented staffs recommendations. She said that ultimately the old
road did connect through to Portola Park and would provide another direct
connection from Skyline Ridge to Portola State Park.
J. Escobar said the roadbed exists all the way to the state park. There are some
gaps where it is damaged. He said it is 90 percent intact as a road and was built at
a 9%grade which is a perfect trail grade.
C. Britton added that staff is always looking for loop trail connections and
connections to regional trails and parks. Staff sees this as a major connection
between Skyline Ridge and Portola State Park.
S. Sommer said this is seen as a permanent fix.
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Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to
execute a contract with Cotton Shires & Associates of Los Gatos in
an amount not to exceed $23,000 to investigate geologic conditions
and prepare geotechnical plans and specifications for the FEMA-
funded Old Page Mill Road Repairs at Skyline Ridge Open Space
Preserve. M. Davey seconded the motion.
Discussion: C. Britton commented on the budget, noting that those costs will
be $23,000. The civil engineer cost $28,000. The total costs will
probably expand to $140,000 as budgeted. J. Cyr commented the
District is probably picking up half of the cost of the repair from
FEMA.
Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0.
C. Agenda Item No. 3- Authorization to Contract with Cambria Corporation for
Consolidation and Improvements to Specified District Databases: Authorize the
General Manager to Contract with Cambria Corporation for Improvements To and
Consolidation of Specified District Databases for an Amount Not to Exceed
$20,000—(Report R-01-91).
G. Baillie presented the staff report. He said it is difficult to say how many
databases are run out of the server. Staff would not know until they have met
with the contractor. He talked about security on the system. In regard to fixing
errors, he said it would be more accurate because it is not manual. Cambria will
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not be doing data checking. He said there would be a query for duplicate names,
addresses, and street names. That will be part of Cambria's job. In regard to
there being only one response to the RFP, G. Baillie said this is a fairly
specialized area. There will be no additional virus protection. He said staff must
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work within the existing system and the software will be on the server. G. Baillie
did not look at other software because they would have to buy and learn it. Staff
will be working with Cambria and will be streamlining and adding additional
facets. G. Baillie talked about what happens with the present system when a
change of address comes in.
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to
contract with Cambria Corporation for improvements to and
consolidation of specified District databases for an amount not to
exceed $20,000. L. Hassett seconded the motion. The motion
passed 7 to 0.
D. Agenda Item No. 4—Authorization to Modify the Title and Duties of a Vacant
Supervisory Public Affairs Position; Authorize the General Manager to Modifv
the Duties of the Community Programs Specialist Position and to Change the
Position Title to Community Programs Supervisor—(Report R-01-94Z
S. Jensen presented the staff report.
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C. Britton added that it was not necessary for staff to come to the Board with this
item as long as it stayed essentially the same and the salary did not change.
However, in this case, he felt it was important because they are leaving out the
interpretive part of the job and will come back to the Board in the future with a
plan to fill that need.
N. Hanko expressed concern that that the District is headed toward bringing in
more personnel. She asked who would do the web design and interpretive. She
also had concerns about the public opinion survey.
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C. Britton said the web site would probably be done by a consultant and staff
would be trained to keep it up. At this time he was not prepared to say how staff
is going to handle the interpretive position. He said they have not been able to
hire anyone in two attempts and need a different pool of candidates. He said there
would be no additional cost right now, in fact the District is saving money. The
unfortunate thing is that Public Affairs has not had supervision over the volunteer
programs.
Regarding the public opinion survey, C. Britton said typically that would be done
by a consultant. It is a question of timing. It could be brought back to the
Legislative, Finance and Public Affairs Committee.
S. Jensen said Public Affairs staff have been thinking about creative solutions and
how to do it without more people. C. Britton noted that S. Jensen has not had the
supervisory help she needs. S. Jensen talked about the way they prioritized
activities in the action plan. Regarding the interpretive matter, C. Britton added
1 that the District has the Nature Center and exhibits that the District has invested
in, and the District needs to continue this program.
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S. Jensen said she did not think staff could use the applications on file and agreed
that they need a new applicant pool. Regarding the structure of Public Affairs, S.
Jensen said that has been discussed. She said she spends a lot of time in people
managing, not project managing.
C. Britton commented that as far as fundraising, that is POST's job. Regarding
grants, most are acquisition grants. He said staff does hire an outside consultant
for grant writing. The District has received $11.5 million in grants this year, and
he felt staff does the grant program very well. As a public agency, there are not
as many grants available as to non-profits. He talked about the grants received
this year and said he did not feel the District was missing significant
opportunities.
C. Britton said there was not an item in the budget for recruitment for each group,
and most of the expense is advertising. J. Escobar commented, as acting Human
Resources Manager, noting that recruitment has changed with the Internet. He
was not sure more money was the answer. He said it is hard to attract people to j
the area because of the high costs of living.
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S. Jensen said all of the private environmental groups in the area have been
notified of the position.
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to
modify the duties of the Community Programs Specialist position
and to change the position title to Community Programs
Supervisor. K. Nitz seconded the motion.
Discussion: P. Siemens commented regarding the design of the web site, noting
that some of what is on the web might be policy and it might be
good to have a workshop. S. Jensen said the consultant will be
providing a report about how many people are using the web and
who they are. C. Britton said staff will take a careful look at the
policies aspects of the web.
N. Hanko talked about the Beautiful Bay Area program on KQED
that showed some of the District's preserves. She said she wanted
to be sure that the District's web site was informative. C. Britton
said he thought the existing District web site is a good one.
Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0.
E. Agenda Item No. 5, Authorization to Solicit Bids for Roof Repairs to the"Ranch
House" Employee Residence at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve; Determine
that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt From the California
Environmental Quality Act as Set Out in This Report; Authorize Staff to Solicit
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Bids for Re-Roofing the"Ranch House" Employee Residence at Skyline Ridge
Open Space Preserve—(Report R-0 1-92).
J. Escobar said the house is between 1,700-1,800 sq. ft. plus an outdoor patio
about 40 ft. long. M. Williams said he did not know yet if there is dry rot present.
C. Britton talked about what had been done to the barn. P. Siemens cautioned
staff on the use oil-based paint on the barn.
Motion- J. Cyr 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; and
authorize staff to solicit bids for re-roofing the"Ranch House"
employee residence at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve. K.
Nitz seconded the motion.
Discussion: J. Cyr commented that for a building that size and with the
difficulty of getting materials to the site, he thought the price was
reasonable for a 40-year roof. M. Williams said staff did not
consider anything other than a composition roof.
Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0.
V . INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
M. Davey: 1. She referred to postcards regarding the coastside meetings that are
planned. 2. She had heard from the County and Liz Kniss's office that she was
appointed as second alternate to the Stanford Land Use Committee. She talked about the
12 appointees and said she would attend all meetings.
N. Hanko: 1. The Ad Hoc Coastal committee met last week and worked on the
brochure. Staff members will be making presentations at coastal meetings. C. Britton
stated staff would try to focus on what the District does and minimize discussion of the
annexation which will be the subject of future hearings.
D. Little said that while hiking at Russian Ridge he noted that more non-native grasses
had come back in force. He asked if staff intended to do a bum this year and if not, why
not. J. Escobar said it is planned, but it is getting late in the season. G. Baillie said CDF
could not come through for the previous burn, but CDF is working on a bum plan.
C. Britton: 1. He received notice that Menlo Park got a$40,000 grant for Bay Trail
planning. 2. He served on a panel in Sacramento regarding how to preserve open space
and farmland. 3. M. Williams and he met with Lloyd Wagstaff of the Open Space
Authority and talked about some projects they are doing near the District's sphere where
there might be an opportunity to work together. 4. He reminded Board members that
August 16 is the date for the volunteer recognition event at Saratoga Springs, and
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September 14 is employee recognition event at the same location. 5. The next stop for
AB 104 is the Senate Appropriations Committee.
S. Schectman will be on vacation September 17-24.
S. Jensen: 1. She talked about Sen. Boxer's field representative tour of District land,
focusing on Mount Umunhum. She thought it went well. 2. She and Kristi Webb met
with the new political reporter from the Metro and are also expecting a story from Paul
Rogers, of the San Jose Mercury News, within the next two weeks. 3. She asked that
Board members confirm attendance at the volunteer recognition event and get their
tickets. 4. The next LFPAC meeting will be August 23. 5. She talked about the music
on the Beautiful Bay Area program on KQED which features three District preserves as
well as other open space areas in the Bay Area.
G. Baillie announced a"transition" party for J. Isaacs and L. Raymaker on August 27 at
5:30 p.m. at Palo Alto's Foothills Park. He hoped the names of the new rangers would be
announced that day.
VH. ADJOURNMENT
At 9:08 p.m., the meeting was adjourned.
Roberta Wolfe
Recording Secretary