HomeMy Public PortalAbout20131018 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD)
October 18, 2013
Board Meeting 13-28
*Approved by the Board of Directors on November 20, 2013
SPECIAL MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
Hillview Community Center, Classroom 16
97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos, CA 94022
October 18, 2013
APPROVED MINUTES*
SPECIAL MEETING – BOARD RETREAT
I. CALL TO ORDER
President Cyr called the Special Meeting of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Board of Directors to order at 8:49 a.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present: Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Larry Hassett, Yoriko Kishimoto, and Pete
Siemens
Members Absent: Cecily Harris and Curt Riffle
Staff Present: General Manager Steve Abbors, Assistant General Manager Ana Ruiz,
Assistant General Manager Kevin Woodhouse, General Counsel Sheryl
Schaffner, Assistant General Counsel Hilary Stevenson, District
Controller Mike Foster, and District Clerk Jennifer Woodworth
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Director Siemens moved, and Director Hanko seconded the motion to adopt the agenda.
VOTE: 5-0-0 (Directors Harris and Riffle absent)
V. Board Governance and Efficiency
Brent Ives, of BHI Management Consulting, Inc. provided a training presentation, which
encompassed several topics including a Board’s role, obligations, authorities, and constraints,
description and discussion of the hourglass organizational model, and best practices for high
functioning Boards.
Meeting 13-28 Page 2
Director Curt Riffle arrived at 8:53 a.m.
Director Cecily Harris arrived at 10:21 a.m.
The Board recessed at 11:49 a.m. for lunch.
The Board reconvened at 12:31 p.m. with all directors present.
District Clerk Jennifer Woodworth provided a brief presentation describing the proposed Board
Policy Manual including its organizational structure and the process by which it can be amended.
The Board approved of the idea and requested that the proposed policy and manual structure be
brought back at a subsequent meeting for adoption.
Director Kishimoto inquired about the status of the District’s pursuit of a District Transparency
Certificate of Excellence, which is awarded by the Special District Leadership Foundation.
Ms. Woodworth reported that she has reviewed the requirements for the certificate, and the
District does not currently meet all of the required criteria. The Board directed Ms. Woodworth
to research the amount of staff time required to complete the necessary requirements and report
back to the Board with the information at a future Board meeting
Assistant General Managers Kevin Woodhouse and Ana Ruiz outlined several of the District’s
administrative processes that can be streamlined in order to allow for more efficient use of staff
time. These included (1) the creation of a biweekly report from the General Manager that will
provide status updates for current projects being managed by the District departments; (2)
refining the Board Committee referral process to create more clarity regarding which decisions
require Committee review prior to Board approval; (3) increased use of a consent calendar
during Board meetings to allow for more time to be devoted to agenda items requiring lengthy
discussion; and (4) reformatting the claims report.
Extensive discussion ensued. The Board supported all of the suggestions made by District staff
to improve efficiency and suggested that steps should be taken to administratively implement the
changes outlined in the Board report as soon as possible.
Upon suggestion by Directors Riffle and Siemens, Ms. Ruiz stated that District staff will
research the possibility of modifying the claims process to allow for the General Manager to
approve claims below a specified threshold without prior Board approval. These claims would
then be reported to the Board at regular Board meetings. A proposed policy for this process will
be brought to the Action Plan & Budget Committee for review and then to the full Board for
approval.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
President Cyr adjourned the Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula
Regional Open Space District at 3:53 p.m.
__________________________________
Jennifer Woodworth
District Clerk