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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20020522 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional O en S, ce MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 02-10 REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS May 22, 2002 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING L ROLL CALL Vice President Nonette Hanko called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr,Mary Davey,Nonette Hanko,Larry Hassett,Ken Nitz, Pete Siemens, and Deane Little(arrived at 7:32 p.m.). Members Absent: None. Additional Staff Present: Craig Britton, Susan Schectman, John Cahill, Stephanie Jensen, Sandy Sommer, Lisa Zadek, Sally Thielfoldt,Mike Williams, John Escobar, and Del Woods. IL ORAL COMMUNICATIONS David Rude, 10 Almaden, Suite 1250, San Jose, attorney for Jack Paulin, said he considered himself a good friend of the District and described some of his past dealings with the District. Mr.Paulin had asked him to help resolve the dispute with the District. He got involved by asking the Paulin family to negotiate acquisition of their remaining property by the District. He said there had been a mediation and eventually they reached an agreement. They have been working to finalize a purchase agreement. He said he understood that the things Mr. Paulin had done that he considered improvements(cutting trees, building and maintaining roads)were considered by the District to be damage. He said Mr. Paulin has been very cooperative. They have proposed a $50,000 security deposit to be forfeited if Mr. Paulin does not do what he is supposed to do. He said he would do everything in his power to make sure the property gets cleaned up and that Mr. Paulin leaves. D. Little arrived at 7:32 p.m. 330 Distel Circle - Los Altos, CA 94022-1404 - Phone:650-691-1200 Fax:650-691-0485 - E-mail: nirosd@openspace.org - Web site:www.openspace.org #vr'w i DoF Board of Directors:Pete Siemens,Mary C. Davey,led Cyr, Deane Little,Nonette Hanko,Larry Hassett, Kenneth C. Nitz - General Manager:L..Craig Britton Meeting 02-10 Page 2 III. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the agenda. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. IV. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR N. Hanko removed Agenda Item 4, Adopt the Attached Resolution Authorizing Participation in State Disability Insurance for Management. Superviso[L and Mai Office Staff. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including approval of the minutes of the March 27, 2002 Regular Meeting; a draft response to a written communication from Mr. Peter P. Donohue, 792 Arguello Street, Redwood City; Agenda Item 5, Aut horize Staff to Solicit Bids to Construct the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA Funded Old Page Mill Trail Repairs at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve; Agenda Item 6, Authorize the General Manager to Enter into an Amendment to the Contract with Panko Architects of San Mateo for an Amount Not to Exceed $6.000 fo r Design and Engineering Services to Replace the Maintenance Shop Building for the Foothills Field Operation Facility at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve; and Revised Claims 02-09. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. V. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item I -Guadalupe River Watershed Natural Resource Damage Assessment; Authorize the General Manager to Extend Agreement for Legal Services with the Law Firm of Barg- Coffin, Lewis& Trapp and Authorize ftments Not to Exceed an Additional 120,000.Authorize the General Manager to Extend Agreement for Technical Consulting Services with the Firm of Locus Technologies and Authorize Payments Not LQ Exceed an Additional $25,000- (ftort R-02-62). S. Schectman reviewed the staff report. She stated that the regulatory agencies are meeting with the public and private parties, to attempt to negotiate a consent decree and settlement agreement in this matter. By its nature,that requires that the parties meet and attempt to resolve a legal dispute. All of the trustee agencies have signed a confidentiality agreement with the regulated parties to accomplish that. This is a means by which a lot of time and cost can be avoided, litigation can be avoided, and, most important,the resolution of the mercury issue can be accomplished in the quickest and most economical way. She noted that this is standard procedure. At the end, the consent decree must be approved by the US District Court and will be public. The District's negotiating documents are subject to attorney/client privilege available for Board Members to inspect within that privilege. Privileged documents will not be distributed. She said there are no projections for the TMDL costs at this time and it is not known whether that will Meeting 02-10 Page 3 be an active process. She explained the NRDA process seeks to recover damages for lost service in the past. To the extent that there is remediation needed in the future,that could happen by the TMDL process. Motion: L. Hassett moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to extend agreement for legal services with the law firm.of Barg, Coffin, Lewis& Trapp and authorize payments not to exceed an additional $30,000; and authorize the General Manager to extend agreement for technical consulting services with the firm of Locus Technologies and authorize payments not to exceed an additional $25,000. M. Davey seconded the motion. Discussion: S. Schectman said she would provide additional information as to what the$25,000 represented in the way of technical services. The technical consultants have been involved in evaluating restoration alternatives, working on the trustees' data, comparing it to all the other potentially responsible parties' data, determining a debit and credit analysis that both sides can agree on among a large group of PRPs, and preparing detailed analyses of various solutions that the District might want to consider presenting to the trustees. One of the consultants spent about 400 hours,the attorney has spent about 280 hours to date. D. Little said he would like to see that kind of information in the staff reports. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. B. Agenda Item 2 -Adopt a Resolution to Establish a "Deemed" Retirement S, sy tem Desiring "Medicare-Only" Coverage;Authorize the Payment of the District's Portion of the Retroactive Amount for Three Years for Employees Buying into the Medicare System in an Amount Not to Exceed $8 000;Authorize the General Manager to Enter into an Appropriate Legal Agreement. Subject to the Approval of the General Counsel, with any of the Eligible Employees to Advance the Funds to Pay the Three Year Retroactive Premium on Behalf of the Employee and Subject to the Obligation of the Affected Employees to Reimburse the District for the Advance of Funds Within Twelve Months for an Amount Not to Exceed $3 000 M Enllooyee—(Report R-02-71). S. Thielfoldt reviewed the staff report, pointing out the redline version at each Board Member's seat. She said she and C. Britton had met with all affected employees to discuss this proposal. Motion-, M. Davey moved that the Board adopt Resolution No. 02-14, Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Electing to Establish a"Deemed"Retirement System Pursuant to Section 218(D)6)of the Federal Social Security Act Desiring"Medicare-Only" Coverage; authorize the payment of the District's portion of the retroactive premium for Meeting 02-10 Page 4 three years to certain District staff to"buy" into the Medicare System in an amount not to exceed$8,000; and authorize the General Manager to enter into an appropriate legal agreement, subject to the approval of the General Counsel, with any of the eligible employees to advance the funds to pay the three year retroactive premium on behalf of the employee and subject to the obligation of the affected employee to reimburse the District for the advance of funds within twelve months for an amount not to exceed $3,000 per employee. N. Hanko seconded the motion. Discussion: S. Thielfoldt said that once the CaIPERS process is complete,there will have to be a formal vote in which any pre-1986 employees would be eligible to vote. C. Britton said they had gone through an exhaustive process with potentially affected staff who are generally supportive of this proposal. I Cyr clarified that as a public employee he was ineligible for Medicare because he was being paid by the County. When this law came in effect in 1986, it was mandated that all new teachers in his school district had to be part of Medicare. He had chosen to opt in, and noted that it is a personal choice that depends on one's situation Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. C. Agenda Item 3-Proposed Lease and Proper Management Agreement with Peninsula Open Space Trust for the Former McKann4y PLQVM Located Adjacent to Mt. Umunhum Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. Determine it the Recommended Actions are Categoric ally Exempt From the California Environmental QuWily Act as Set Out in this Report; Authorize the General Manager to Sign the Attached Lease and Management Agreement with Peninsula Q=Space Trust and. Subject to Approval by the General Manager and General Counsel. to Approve Minor Revisions to this Agreement Which Do Not Substantially Chan-Re Any Material Term of the Agreement:Tentatively A" the Preliminary Use and Management Plan Recommendations Contained in this Report—port R-02-72). M. Williams showed the location of the Hacienda Park subdivision on a map. He noted that this subdivision is similar to the Redwood Park subdivision in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve in that it is only a subdivision on paper. He presented the staff report and noted that the"white, spots indicated two acres that are privately owned by about 30 property owners. He thought some of the lots would be coming up in the tax sale. Motio M. Davey moved that the Board determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) as set out in the staff report; Meeting 02-10 Page 5 authorize the General Manager to sign the lease and management agreement with Peninsula Open Space Trust and, subject to approval by the General Manager and General Counsel, to approve minor revisions to this agreement which do not substantially change any material term of the agreement; and tentatively adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan recommendations contained in the staff report. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. D. Agenda Item No. 4- Adopt the Attached Resolution Authorizing Participation in State Disability Insurance for Management. Supervisory, and Main Office Staff - Moort R-02-73). C. Britton explained that employees had voted 2/3rds in favor of the SDI program and explained why one-third of the staff was opposed to the proposal. He said those who have a minimum of 43 days of leave on the books are covered and do not need this program. Managers made presentations to staff on SDI and the long-term program and had an open vote. He said as a side benefit, they will now be able to change the payroll system and integrate it with a human resources program. S. Thielfoldt said it would cost employees a maximum of$415 a year. She added that state disability covers far pregnancy which long-term does not. C. Britton said that he thought a 2/3 vote was surprising and indicated overwhelming support. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt Resolution No. 02-15, Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Authorizing Participation in State Disability Insurance for Management Employees, Supervisory Employees and All Other Office Staff. D. Little seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VI. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS K. Nitz: 1. He went to a Smart Growth workshop at which people spoke out against a redevelopment project in Daly City. He said it was very interesting. 2. He met David Weintraub on a hike. N. Hanko: 1. She talked about the outing at Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve. She said she and P. Siemens were there to bring out the fact that the District had received a $50,000 grant for seismic upgrade. She said there were two people from the Cupertino Historic Society, as well as the Superintendent of Schools. She said P. Siemens gave a nice presentation. 2. The farmers on the coast have expressed renewed interest in talking to the District. She was invited by the Marchi family on a tour to see some of the problems that are part of the water issue. C. Woodbury will join the tour. 3. She requested that Board Members receive their mail in a more timely manner. Meeting 02-10 Page 6 J. Cyr said he worked at the ROUT table at El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve. There was a light crowd because it was Mother's Day. He said he got his"ears bent" and was very impres sed with the ROW representatives. P. Siemens said the Picchetti visit was very interesting. Leslie Pantling told how she acquired the winery. He said the display board describing the District is missing. D. Little: 1. He thanked staff for their response to his concerns about the 2M consultantg. 2. He will go to the open space forum with J. Cyr, S. Thielfoldt, C.Britton, and S. Jensen. 3. He described an experience on Black Mountain. He saw a small rattlesnake at his feet eating a lizard. C. Britton: 1. He reminded everyone of the Special Board meeting next Wednesday at which the main item is changing the ward boundaries based upon the 2000 census. 2. There had been a meeting at the District regarding the-NASA cleanup. He said D. Simmons has done a wonderful job reviewing background information. However,the Navy will go ahead with the cleanup that they had already planned. 3. He met with Mary Burns, San Mateo County Parks Director, regarding population overlaps on per capita money for Proposition 40. He filled her in on the coastal annexation progress. 4. Paul Romero, Parks Directors for Santa Clara County, will be going to work for Santa Clara Valley Water District. 5. He reminded them that the June 12 meeting will be a very important meeting. He said staff hoped that meeting would be the kickoff of the formal process of coastal annexation. 6. The San Mateo County VIP tour is scheduled for June 22. 7. Regardirig the May revise of the State budget,the deficit is about$24 billion. He thought the chance of the District losing its multi-county exemption was high. 8. He talked about the newspaper articles about real estate values. 9. He described J. Dickey's experience at the auction for three Redwood Park parcels. 10. He had been on jury duty last week. S. Thielfoldt: 1. She provided a training update: Influencing Skills, a 3-day training taught by Art O'Neil; Substance Abuse Training for supervisors. 2. She attended a Liebert Cassidy consortium meeting and was invited to join the local human resources consortium which provides for sharing of training resources. VIL ADJOURNMENT At 8:30 p.m., the meeting was adjourned. Roberta Wolfe Recording Secretary