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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20131108 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) November 8, 2013 Board Meeting 13-31 *Approved by the Board of Directors on December 11, 2013 SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Mountain View Community Center, Room 3 201 S. Rengstorff Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040 November 8, 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 9:11 a.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Larry Hassett, Curt Riffle, and Pete Siemens Members Absent: Cecily Harris and Yoriko Kishimoto 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, Public Affairs Manager Shelly Lewis, Administrative Services Manager Kate Drayson, Human Resources Supervisor Candice Basnight, Co-Acting Planning Manager Meredith Manning, Co-Acting Planning Manger Tina Hugg, Natural Resources Manager Kirk Lenington, Real Property Manager Mike Williams, Real Property Specialist Elaina Cuzick, and District Clerk Jennifer Woodworth III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Director Riffle moved, and Director Siemens seconded the motion to adopt the agenda. VOTE: 5-0-0 (Directors Harris and Kishimoto absent) Director Harris arrived at 9:12 a.m. Meeting 13-31 Page 2 V. Discussion and Possible Board Action on Emerging Issues Affecting the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and Their Potential Effects on the Strategic Plan General Manager Steve Abbors welcomed Board members, District staff, and members of the public in attendance. Mr. Abbors provided an overview of the goals for the day and introduced the day’s facilitator, Dr. Marilyn Manning of The Consulting Team. Assistant General Manager Kevin Woodhouse reviewed the 2011 Strategic Plan outlining a conceptual model of how the Strategic Plan fits into the District’s Mission Statement, Vision Plan process, and annual Action Plan and Budget. Mr. Woodhouse also provided a progress report on the goals and objectives contained in the Strategic Plan reporting on the objectives that are currently underway, completed, and/or ongoing. Dr. George Manross of the Strategy Research Institute presented a brief summary of the findings from Peninsula Open Space Trust’s poll to ascertain the “Feasibility for Placing a Funding Measure on the Local Ballot.” Extensive discussion ensued related to Dr. Manross’s presentation including discussion of potential ballot language options, inclusion of Vision Plan priority actions in a potential ballot pamphlet, and description of the core values held by the District’s constituents. Based on Dr. Manross’s presentation and the potential increase in costs for delaying the potential measure to later election dates, General Manager Steve Abbors communicated to the Board that, absent an indication from the Board of a contrary intent, Mr. Abbors plans to move forward with preparations for the June 2014 election. The Board expressed no reservations, but will not be taking formal action on this until late February, after the results of a future the tracking poll are available. The Board also requested staff return to the full Board before that time to provide a general status update. The Board recessed at 11:13 a.m. The Board reconvened at 11:23 a.m. with Directors Cyr, Hanko, Hassett, Harris, and Riffle present. Director Siemens returned at 11:26 a.m. Assistant General Manager Ana Ruiz provided a summary of the Environmental Scan completed by District staff and described the key findings and takeaways that resulted from that analysis. Directors Harris and Riffle suggested that the District may in the future choose to work with partners that it does not currently work with. Ms. Ruiz summarized four areas of focus for the FY2014-15 Action Plan: (1) potential funding measure, (2) continuation of existing projects, (3) planning Phase 1 of Vision Plan implementation, and (4) flexibility within the Action Plan to delay or defer items as needed to allow the District to act on new opportunities. Meeting 13-31 Page 3 Director Riffle suggested that existing projects may require refinement as well as continuation. In addition to flexibility, Director Riffle stated that the District will need the capability to grow where necessary in order to accomplish goals. The Board recessed at 11:56 a.m. The Board reconvened at 12:00 p.m. with Directors Cyr, Hanko, Hassett, Harris, Riffle and Siemens present. Facilitator Marilyn Manning guided a discussion regarding the goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan, and the Board made suggestions for alterations to the current language. The Board requested staff return to the Board at a future meeting with the modified language for adoption by the full Board. Mr. Abbors described the need for the creation of a Board ad hoc committee to work with staff preceding a potential funding measure. The ad hoc committee would serve as a sounding board for information related to the measure and assist with District preparation for the potential funding measure. The ad hoc committee would be advisory in nature, and all decisions would go before the full Board for approval. Discussion ensued regarding the nature of the ad hoc committee and potential Board meetings for District staff to report on the progress of staff and ad hoc committee efforts. Motion: Director Riffle moved, and Director Hanko seconded the motion to approve creation of an ad hoc committee and empower it to meet with the General Manager and District staff to discuss various aspects of a potential funding measure as the District moves forward, and authorize the Board president to appoint three Board members to the ad hoc committee. VOTE: 6-0-0 (Director Kishimoto absent) Director Riffle thanked staff for their efforts and asked that for future years extend an invitation to members of the public and District partners to provide input on the environmental scan. VI. ADJOURNMENT President Cyr adjourned the Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District at 1:05 p.m. __________________________________ Jennifer Woodworth District Clerk