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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20070509 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 07-10 REGULAR and SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS May 9, 2007 AMNENDED MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President K. Nitz called the special meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Members Present: Ken Nitz, Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Curt Riffle, Pete Siemens, L. Hassett, and Mary Davey Members Absent: none Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sally Rice II. CLOSED SESSION K. Nitz stated that there were no reportable items from the Closed Session regarding Item 1. REGULAR MEETING III. K. Nitz called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. Additional Staff Present: S. Schectman, M. Williams, R. Jurgensen, J. Maciel, M. Manning, C. Beckman, D. Simmons, M. Freeman, K. Lennington, and S. Cousins IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none. V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: L. Hassett moved to adopt the Agenda. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. Meeting 07-10 Page 2 VI. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR M. Davey stated that she would be recusing herself from Revised Claims numbered 6856, 6900-R, and 6901-R. N. Hanko stated that she should voluntarily abstain herself from Revised Claims 6856, 6898, 6900-R, and 6901-R. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including Revised Claims 07-08. C. Riffle seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0 on Agenda Item 4. The Revised Claims 07-08 passed 5 to 1 on Revised Claim numbers 6856, 6900-R, 6901-R with a recusal from M. Davey and an abstention from N. Hanko; Revised Claim number 6898 passed 6 – 1 with N. Hanko abstaining, and the remaining Revised Claims passed 7 to 0. VII. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. 1 – San Francisquito Creek Watershed Road and Trail Erosion Inventory Informational Report – (Report R-07-47). M. Freeman gave a brief introduction giving an overview of the staff presentation. He included information that the District has three critical watersheds in the open space; that Tim Best had finished work on the San Francisquito Creek project; and that staff was beginning to have a working relationship with County agencies. He then asked M. Manning to provide some information. M. Manning gave background information on the San Francisquito Creek and gave a PowerPoint slide presentation. She said it is a sediment-impaired creek. The District received a $200,000 grant to reduce sedimentation. She said that there were five District Preserves in this watershed. She then introduced Tim Best, who did the road and trail erosion inventory for the District. Mr. Best continued the PowerPoint presentation and told how he had evaluated the road and trail conditions, developed a plan to fix the problems and set priorities. His field based inventory covered three areas; (1) stream crossings; (2) trail drainage; and (3) landslides. The data collection included documenting the location of each site using GPS, noting the site characteristics, the potential impact, looking at treatment prescriptions and determining if the treatment priority was low, moderate, or high. He then showed slides of high priority sites. Mr. Best said he prepared an inventory report, working closely with District Planning and Field staff. He reviewed the treatment prescriptions which included how to fix or repair sites and looking at consistency. He showed a map showing areas that need work. Mr. Best reviewed the types of problems and issues stating that there are 58 culverts and stream crossings, with damage including rusting, undersized, and/or poor alignment. Meeting 07-10 Page 3 K. Nitz asked if it is possible to insert a new pipe into existing pipe and Mr. Best said it is; however they would need an engineer to do the work, but he added that there were other issues involved. Mr. Best said that there were plugged culverts, outlet erosion, and diversion. He said they could be fixed by cleaning, upsizing culverts, or removing culverts that are not needed. He described different types of fixes and showed slides of examples. Mr. Best said that over 34 miles, there were 192 inventory sites throughout five District preserves. He gave a breakdown of costs of the moderate-high sites and showed high priority trails and the costs of repairing them. He said that most of the District trails are doing really well and that treating many sites early on will save money in the long term. K. Nitz thanked Mr. Best for his very thorough report. N. Hanko referred to the draft report and asked detailed questions about the trail alignment shown on the Los Trancos map. C. Beckman described how the trail would be aligned. Mr. Best said he showed his recommendation, but left the District crew to determine the best place for the alignment. L. Hassett asked what Mr. Best’s familiarity of the Searsville Lake and dam. Mr. Best said he was not familiar with those areas. L. Hassett said that they have records showing a major siltation problem. The records show that there is high siltation during earthquakes and low siltation in other years. Mr. Best said that erosion is not constant, it is episodic and occurs most during earthquakes and large storm events. He said the plan looks toward designing for big storm events, or a “50-year” event. L. Hassett asked about county roads, such as Alpine Road and C. Britton said that Public Works have not responded. He added that he thought the District would get money from the county for bicycle trails, adding that it has been a problem for 15 to 20 years. K. Nitz asked if they would receive any funds from FEMA. M. Freeman said a small amount of $50,000 was allocated, but for a different area. C. Riffle stated that the District is responsible for a small portion of the watershed area overall and M. Freeman agreed that this was true. C. Britton noted that other adjacent agencies will be forced to do something, and that by the District taking the lead, the other agencies will follow. C. Riffle asked if now that the District has this data, can we apply for more grant funds. M. Freeman said they could and that K. Lennington was applying for grant money for these projects. Meeting 07-10 Page 4 C. Riffle asked how the data is used to make projects. M. Freeman said that there were limited financial and staff resources and that there are factors that need to be looked at to choose projects, including looking at the budget and determining the priority projects. C. Riffle asked Mr. Best if he assumes the type of trail usage on a trail. Mr. Best replied that the base assumption is that the trail will receive its current usage; however he will ask District staff if usage might change. If change is anticipated, he will adjust his determination. J. Cyr said that this was a superb report. He said that there are different types of soils and thought that was a critical element in the study to be considered. Mr. Best said that was true. He used trails at El Corte de Madera trails as an example which are mostly sand, and when trails there erode, they become like beach sand; and at Windy Hill the soil is clay and ruts easely. M. Davey asked about Windy Hill trails with ruts, and Mr. Best said that some erosion is due to use; however he didn’t think increasing the trail grade would be wise. N. Hanko asked if Mr. Best will be making recommendation on the best type of use of trails, and would he prescribe those uses? Mr. Best said he could recommend removing a trail or relocating the trail, but would not really be recommending usage of trails. K. Nitz said that he thought Sausel Pond at Windy Hill was a problem. Mr. Best said he saw the area in the summer and didn’t notice any problems. K. Nitz asked if Mr. Best knew about sediment in Shilling Lake at Thornewood. Mr. Best said that there were a lot of landslides causing problems there. P. Siemens asked how long it took to work on the report. Mr. Best said it took about eight months to prepare. M. Manning handed out discs of the report to the Board. C.Britton thanked Mr. Best and said he appreciated his work and the value it has for the District. The Board thanked Mr. Best and staff. No official Board action was required. B. Agenda Item No. 2 – San Gregorio Creek Watershed Fisheries Assessment Informational Report - (Report R-07-59). M. Baldzikowski presented the staff report about the San Gregorio Creek watershed fisheries assessment and gave a PowerPoint slide presentation. He Meeting 07-10 Page 5 showed slides for salmon habitat requirements and reviewed the life-cycle (there is a 3-year cycle). He explained that salmon are an indicator species showing the health of a river. M. Baldzikowski showed a map of the watershed area, which includes 520 miles and 30,000 acres, including approximately 10,000 acres located on District preserves. He said that the fisheries assessment took place at La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve. This area is a top 10 critical area designated by the Federal government, and a priority watershed identified by both the State and Federal governments. M. Baldzikowski said that seven and one-half miles were assessed and a three- mile area was assessed (lower section of the creek). He said that steelhead trout were found throughout the assessment areas, and that Coho salmon were found in 2005. He showed detailed pictures of the different look and details of the streams, and he described how the food system worked and the biology of a healthy stream. He also showed an area with a slide and gave recommendations on how to restore and prevent further damage to the area. He also gave recommendations on how to maintain healthy streams. J. Cyr said that this showed fantastic cooperation with the Department of Fish and Game. He asked if a channel is opened would the fish spawn above where they had previously spawned. M. Baldzikowski said that the fish would use the first available habitat. The fish go to the same place, but some fish do stray and go to new or different places. J. Cyr asked if high stream flow would clean out some of the sediment and M. Baldzikowski said it would. N. Hanko said that she liked to have maps included with reports and requested that staff include the maps that are presented before the Board. C. Riffle said that this was a good report and liked it that the District was sharing the information with other agencies. He asked if the information will also be shared with the District’s neighbors. M. Baldzikowski said that the information with the Department of Fish and Game will be shared. K. Lennington added that other agencies will work with the private land owners. C. Britton said that it is important for the District to work with other agencies as the District does not have any regulatory powers. N. Hanko asked if presenting this meeting could qualify under the Good Neighbor Policy if the District had an informational meeting on the coast side. S. Schectman said that the information will be part of the master plan. M. Freeman said that the drafted master plan for the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve will be before the Board in December 2007. Meeting 07-10 Page 6 K. Nitz asked that the three final slides of the presentation be made part of the Minutes for this meeting (see Attachment A). He asked why only the area at La Honda Creek was done and not El Corte de Madera. M. Baldzikowski said that the focus of this report was on La Honda Creek. K. Lennington further explained the purpose of the study and monitoring of the La Honda Creek area. K. Nitz said he had read some materials about cattle and asked if it is okay for cattle to be near the rivers and streams. K. Lennington said that East Bay Regional Parks had authored that material and that they generally do not want cattle in streams. The Board of Directors accepted the report and thanked staff for presenting the information. No further Board action was needed. C. Britton added that the information was very well done. C. Agenda Item No. 3 –Program Evaluation for the 2006-2007 Action Plan for the Implementation of the Basic Policy of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District – (Report R-07-61). C. Britton gave a brief preview stating that the District had a terrific year. He said that staff used the Action Plan as a basis for the budget, and that this annual review will show that the District is a very active agency. 1. Real Property Department. M. Williams, the Real Property Manager, reviewed the major high points for his department, including their success in receiving grants of over $6 million and receiving gifts of $17 million. He said that the Hanson exchange project was a major achievement. One the highlights of the Property Management program was the letter of intent of a long-term lease with the Picchetti Winery tenant. C. Riffle referred to page 3 and asked what the Redwood Park paper subdivision is. M. Williams explained the meaning. C. Riffle asked about the land swap area for the Hanson Permanente property, and C. Britton answered and explained where the land swap occurred. N. Hanko made a statement about it being a very productive year and she congratulated M. Williams. J. Cyr said he would like information on McCarthy. He also referred to page 6, the Picchetti lease, and asked when the negotiations will be completed. M. Williams said that he expected the lease to be signed by the end of summer, adding that the current lease will expire in the fall. P. Siemens thanked staff for the closure of the easement work. M. Williams said that M. Reeves did that work and should be given the credit for it. Meeting 07-10 Page 7 2. Planning Department. M. Freeman, Planning Manager, started by saying that this had been a transitional year for the Planning Department. They had three new hires and four promotions. M. Freeman’s major points included getting a good foundation for the Grazing Policy, noting that it has been a successful process. They had completed the fencing project at the Big Dipper/Silva property. The master plans are moving forward, albeit slowly, and the outreach efforts have been successful; adding the combined acreage for the master planning encompassed 24,000 acres within the District. The Thornewood project required extensive engineering and there were a number of outreach efforts by staff. This project had received a $200,000 grant. He said that staff had completed the Dusky Footed Woodrat trail at Pulgas Ridge and the Picchetti winery building upgrade. L. Hassett said that this had been an outstanding year for M. Freeman and gave his compliments on the Thornewood project. K. Nitz said that the District’s public outreach efforts were working and gave an example from a hike he had taken and when he met other hikers who had complimented District staff. N. Hanko complimented M. Freeman saying that he is an exceptional planner and it has been exciting to see him grow in his job. M. Davey thanked M. Freeman for his work. J. Cyr reiterated the other Board members appreciation of M. Freeman, adding that he sees the outreach as being very positive for staff and for the District. 3. Operations Department. J. Maciel, Operations Manager, said that the high points for his department included the collaboration his staff had with other District departments, adding that this had been a very productive year. Getting approval for upgrading the radio system is a big step. The Resource Management program under C. Roessler’s management has shown tremendous growth. He said that the Maintenance Manual was also moving forward. N. Hanko thanked J. Maciel for handling the Los Trancos project and bringing it in on time. She noted that the language on page 4, section A had not been changed. C. Britton replied that the language change is shown in the 2007-2008 Action Plan. Meeting 07-10 Page 8 J. Cyr referred to page 3, the Radio contract, and asked about the cost. J. Maciel said that staff had negotiated for a new contract to include the previous contract which will save the District $50,000. M. Davey thanked J. Maciel for his years of service with the District. 4. Public Affairs Department. R. Jurgensen, Public Affairs Manager, gave many high points for the department, including the Driscoll land hiking tours; partnering with the Ridge Trail Council; and designing a visitor survey. He said that they had produced 46 press releases, 7 of which were for Resource Management projects or subjects. The Good Neighbor Policy is 95% completed. His staff worked on the Special Park District Forum in partnership with East Bay Regional Parks. Staff had prepared for the polling; helped with the Initiative, and hired a lobbyist in Washington, DC to advocate for Mt. Umunhum. They had looked into having a task force to look at the Volunteers working on their own. They had looked at geo-caching on District lands. Under the Volunteer and Docent programs, there were 40 new trail patrol volunteers, and the Spaces and Species program had targeted new schools, focusing on coastal schools. P. Siemens asked about the word usage of “backgrounder” on page 7, paragraph 5. He asked if R. Jurgensen was keeping track of information and a history of who did what. C. Britton gave an update that the Federal Government agreed to the clean-up; however they made it a part of FUD; however this is not a FUD project. He said the lobbyists have researched this and came up with a strategy to get funding, but the District needs to do some background work. N. Hanko thanked R. Jurgensen for his work on the Good Neighbor Policy. K. Nitz asked if the Board can help with the Preserve survey. R. Jurgensen said that was difficult as there were no written questionnaires. At later stages there will be kiosks, and at those the Board is welcome. M. Davey thanked him for a good year. J. Cyr said that he had seen more positive press this year. He noted that the same commentary shows up in two places, #2 at the top “Docent program”, and the same information shows up at #1 at the bottom. 5. Administration Department. S. Rice, Assistant General Manager, gave some brief highlights, including recruitments, elections, and budgets. She said they were almost done with the Personnel Manual. Meeting 07-10 Page 9 A. Legal Services. S. Schectman, General Counsel, said that this had been a successful year for litigation, including Fogarty, Saratoga Country Club, and the coastal lawsuit. P. Siemens asked about the Saratoga issue, a joint feasibility study, and asked if someone was hired for it. S. Schectman said there was, Jacoby and Associates, and that the District was cost-sharing with the country club. J. Cyr stated that the selection of outside counsel has been hugely beneficial and the success rate shows that. The Board thanked staff for the information. No Board action was required. D. Agenda Item 4 – Approval of Agreement with City of Mountain View to Provide District Radio Dispatch Services; Authorize the General Manager to Execute a New Six-Year Agreement With the City of Mountain View to Provide District 24- Hour Radio Dispatch Services; Authorize the General Manager to Approve Expenditures for Such District Radio Dispatch Services in an Amount Not to Exceed $80,000 in Fiscal Year 2007-2008; Approve a Six-Year Funding Plan for District Dispatch Services from 2007 to 2013 for a Total Amount of $737,740, Contingent Upon Future Approval of Budget Expenditures After Fiscal Year 2007-2008; Authorize the General Manager to Make Necessary or Appropriate Revisions to the Agreement, Subject to Approval of the General Counsel, Provided There are No Material Changes to the Terms and Conditions of the Agreement – (Report R-07-58). J. Maciel gave a brief report. Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board approve the agreement with City of Mountain View to provide District radio dispatch services; Authorize the General Manager to execute a new six-year Agreement with the City of Mountain View to provide district 24- hour radio dispatch services; Authorize the General Manager to approve expenditures for such District radio dispatch services in an amount not to exceed $80,000 in fiscal year 2007-2008; Approve a Six-Year Funding Plan for District dispatch services from 2007 to 2013 for a total amount of $737,740, contingent upon future approval of budget expenditures after fiscal year 2007-2008; Authorize the General Manager to make necessary or appropriate revisions to the Agreement, subject to approval of the General Counsel, provided there are no material changes to the terms and conditions of the Agreement. P. Siemens seconded the motion. Discussion: C. Riffle asked if the City of Mountain View would be able to work with the new District radio system when it is ready. J. Meeting 07-10 Page 10 Maciel said they would be ready for it. C. Riffle said that the agreement was a lot of money and asked if the Sheriff department provided dispatch services. J. Maciel said that both Santa Clara County and San Mateo County were contacted and neither was interested in bidding on the contract. C. Britton added that the District received the best price possible. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS P. Siemens said his compensable meeting was tonight’s Board meeting. L. Hassett said his compensable meeting was tonight’s Board meeting. He said he would attend the Invasive Wildlife Resource workshop at Rancho San Antonio on May 10th. He attended a meeting at Jasper Ridge and saw areas that the public does not get to see. C. Riffle said his compensable meeting was tonight’s Board meeting. N. Hanko said her compensable meetings included the May 8th Good Neighbor Policy meeting and tonight’s Board meeting. She announced that she would not be able to attend the Louis Hogle event. J. Cyr said his compensable meetings were the May 8th Good Neighbor Policy meeting and tonight’s Board meeting. He said he liked the size of the wall maps at tonight’s meeting. On April 29th he went on the Fremont Older tour. On May 4th he hiked at Russian Ridge and said the trails were muddy. He said that he would like to spend time at the weed field course and asked if that was possible. C. Britton said it might be difficult, but he should call the office. M. Davey said that her compensable meeting was tonight’s Board meeting. She asked about an event on May 24th and C. Britton said that it had been cancelled. K. Nitz said his compensable meetings were the May 8th Good Neighbor Policy meeting and tonight’s Board meeting. He said he had hiked at Thornewood and at Pulgas. He complimented the brushing at Pulgas. He asked why the Coyote brush at Windy Hill had been cut and J. Maciel said that District staff had not done that work and they are researching who did. C. Britton said that he and R. Jurgensen had gone to Sacramento today and that they had witnessed a unanimous vote in the Assembly Committee on the District’s bill (AB697). He and M. Williams had met with POST staff to look at how to use grants to move along trail development to the San Mateo coast. Regarding the ants at Jasper Ridge, he said that C. Roessler and K. Lennington went to Jasper Ridge and that they will be looking at that project. He announced that the Focus Group date is May 24th and that there is one opening. It will have two sessions in Redwood City at 5:00pm and 8:00pm, and he asked Meeting 07-10 Page 11 which Board members would like to attend at which time. He said that focus group members will be paid $75.00 for their time. S. Schectman said that in the Coast appeal, the plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss the District’s cross-appeal was denied. She said that staff had developed a map showing a 500-foot buffer for any District projects nearing a Board member’s residence so that they can be compliant under FPPC rules. IX. ADJOURNMENT At 11:07 p.m., the Regular meeting was adjourned. K. Nitz announced that the Special Meeting Closed Session would reconvene immediately. The Board members reconvened the Special Meeting at 11:07 p.m. The Special Meeting Closed Session was adjourned at 11:30 p.m. Lisa Zadek Recording Secretary ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A: PowerPoint Slides for Agenda Item 2 Revised Claims 07-08 Meeting 07-10 Page 12 ATTACHMENT A [PLEASE ASK MATT BALDZIKOWSKI FOR POWERPOINT SLIDES]