HomeMy Public PortalAbout20150311 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD)
*Approved by the Board of Directors on March 25, 2015
Meeting 15-06
REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE
MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
Administrative Office
330 Distel Circle
Los Altos, CA 94022
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
APPROVED MINUTES*
I. CALL TO ORDER
Director Siemens called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present: Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Cecily Harris Larry Hassett, Yoriko Kishimoto, Curt
Riffle, and Pete Siemens.
Members Absent: None.
Staff Present: General Manager Steve Abbors, Assistant General Manager Kevin Woodhouse,
Assistant General Manager Ana Ruiz, General Counsel Sheryl Schaffner,
Operations Manager Michael Newburn, Operations Project Manager Aaron Hebert,
Planning Manager Jane Mark, Management Analyst Gordon Baillie, and Interim
District Clerk Kim Marie Smith.
III. CLOSED SESSION
Director Siemens announced that a closed session had been held but no reportable actions were taken.
IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Motion: Director Hanko moved, and Director Kishimoto seconded to adopt the agenda.
VOTE: 7-0-0
IV. CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Approve Minutes of the February 25, 2015 Board Meeting
Board Meeting 15-06 Page 3
Directors Harris and Cyr said they had forwarded minutes corrections to the Deputy District
Clerk Maria Soria, and Director Riffle asked that the Interim District Clerk listen to the recording
to verify his vote on one item. Approval of the minutes was postponed to the next meeting.
2. Approve Claims Report
3. Amendment to Vegetation Management Agreement with Ecological Concerns Inc. for a
Total Authorized Amount of $142,970 (R-15-37)
Staff Contact: Cindy Roessler, Senior Resource Management Specialist
General Manager’s Recommendation: Authorize the General Manager to amend the existing
agreement with Ecological Concerns Inc. to increase the agreement amount by $50,000 for a total
not to exceed amount of $142,970, for an additional year of vegetation management services on
multiple District preserves.
4. Harkins Bridge Selection and Award of Purchasing Contract (R-15-42)
Staff Contact: Aaron Hébert, Project Manager, Operations Department
General Manager’s Recommendation: Authorize the General Manger to enter into contract with
Excel Bridge Co. for an amount not-to-exceed $71,170 to design, manufacture, store, and deliver
a vehicle bridge, which includes a 5% contingency to cover any changes in fuel costs at the time
of delivery and any minor modifications to the final design.
Motion: Director Kishimoto moved, and Director Harris seconded the motion to approve the
Consent Calendar items 2 through 4.
VOTE: 7-0-0
IV. BOARD BUSINESS
5. Adoption of Employee Compensation Guiding Principles (R-15-43)
Assistant General Manager Kevin Woodhouse reviewed a PowerPoint presentation that gave an
overview of the purpose of the policy, the background of the development process, and a
summary of the recommended policy including its purpose and principles.
Director Hanko referred to Principle 8, Competitiveness, about the District being willing to
explore innovative ideas to improve the regional challenge. She asked if staff had some ideas at
this point of what approaches might be tried. Mr. Woodhouse said that the District is fortunate to
have some housing available to employees, and would also be exploring the feasibility of
telecommuting policy. He said that the cost of living is a significant regional challenge and was
again a topic of discussion at the recent Joint Venture Silicon Valley conference.
General Manager Steve Abbors noted that the topic of the cost of living was discussed at
yesterday’s Planning and Natural Resources Committee meeting. He said that district facilities
would be more dispersed as build-out occurs, and also there would be different reporting
structures. These changes may allow staff to live in more affordable areas.
Assistant General Manager Woodhouse reviewed the preliminary estimate of cost implications
Board Meeting 15-06 Page 4
for three options. He said that Option C allows the Board the most flexibility to decide on
competitive benefits, has lower and more sustainable costs than the other options, and allows for
staff capacity to complete Measure AA projects sooner than in the other options. He said the cost
estimates for Option C, Year 1, with the current workforce, would be $460,000, rising to
$685,000 in Year 10 with the estimated future workforce.
Mr. Woodhouse next gave an overview of the benefits package, and clarified that the three types
of benefits listed (commonly-used, one-time or individual monetary benefits, and non-monetary
benefits) were used to compare District employee positions, not other agencies.
Director Hanko asked what the District provided in the way of growth opportunities for
employees. Mr. Woodhouse said that a core principle of the Financial and Operational
Sustainability Model (FOSM) study is to build an organization that provides a hierarchy for
employee growth, but there are some small departments with only one employee or one type of
employee, and the District is committed to workforce development opportunities so those
employees can develop professionally so they can compete for positions that are not in their own
chain of command. Some examples of those development opportunities include the Leadership
Academy, the Management Talent Exchange Program, and many other types of training.
Director Riffle asked how this study would be used and updated. Mr. Woodhouse said it would
be used as the Board’s policy direction in compensation matters, such as when new
classifications are created or salary schedules are changed. For example, when staff reports for
the Board for a decision, it could be noted if changes are consistent with the provisions of the
policy. He said that one trigger for review and update would be if the General Manager’s
recommendations began to vary frequently from the policy.
Director Kishimoto asked if there was any compelling reason to delay until the FOSM study is
complete. Mr. Woodhouse said that was not recommended because the FOSM study is about
function and number of staff, and there will not be a lot of variability that would affect this
policy. Also, a thorough cost analysis and benefits analysis for all salary ranges is a significant
undertaking, and a lot of that research will be done during labor negotiations.
The public hearing was opened at 7:45 p.m.
Mr. Don MacKessy, Lead Open Space Technician in Foothills, asked for clarification of the slide
about Option C, Preliminary Estimate of Cost Implications. Mr. Woodhouse explained that it is
more of an internal calculation, and refers to higher salary ranges than are currently in place.
The public hearing was closed at 7:47 p.m.
Director Riffle said that the District needs a total compensation package, and this document is an
attempt to start defining that. He felt it was important to push the organization to always be
looking for ways to make the compensation package as competitive as possible to attract and
retain top people.
Motion: Director Kishimoto moved, and Director Riffle seconded the motion to adopt the
Employee Compensation Guiding Principles Board Policy provided as Attachment 1 to the staff
report.
Board Meeting 15-06 Page 5
VOTE: 7-0-0
The Directors all offered their thanks and congratulations to Mr. Woodhouse and all the staff for
the hard work done on this project.
6. Proposed Purchase of the Burton/Robinson Property as an addition to Sierra Azul Open
Space Preserve located off of Mt. Umunhum - Loma Prieta Road in unincorporated Santa
Clara County (Assessor’s Parcel Number 562-20-023). (R-15-39)
Real Property Manager Michael Williams reviewed a PowerPoint presentation describing the
purpose of the purchase for the property and showed images of various views from the property
and the existing structures, vehicles and debris, and the horses that will be relocated. He
reviewed the terms and conditions of the purchase. He said it was listed on the open real estate
market at $400,000, and the District will withhold an escrow of $50,000 to allow one of the
sellers to remain on the property up to six months to complete the cleanup of all vehicles, trailers,
debris, trash, and personal property, but not necessarily the structures or horse corrals. He
explained the next steps in the process, and said they anticipate a cost of $243,000 for ultimate
cleanup and site restoration, planned for 2016.
At 8:05 p.m. the public hearing was opened. There were no speakers and the hearing was closed.
Motion: Director Hassett moved, and Director Cyr seconded the motion to adopt the General
Manager’s recommendation to:
1. Determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in the staff report.
2. Adopt a Resolution authorizing the purchase of the Burton property.
3. Adopt a Preliminary Use and Management Plan for the property as contained in the staff
report.
4. Indicate the intention to withhold dedication of the Burton/Robinson property as public open
space.
VOTE: 7-0-0
7. Calendar Year 2014 Field Enforcement Activity Report and Ten-Year Field Activity
Summary (R-15-22)
Management Analyst in Operations Gordon Baillie reviewed a PowerPoint presentation which
highlighted trends in violations over the last 10 years; differences in data collection methods
which are continuing to evolve; and the top five district violations, which included entering
locations after hours, entering temporary/regular closed areas, dogs in prohibited areas, dog leash
violations, required helmet violations, and trail use speed limit violations. He also reviewed staff
promotions and training programs. Emergency Response activities included 3 fatalities in 2014,
46 bicycle accidents, 24 vehicle accidents, 23 running/hiking accidents, and 16 fire incidents.
Director Hassett asked about data collection methods. Operations Manager Michael Newburn
said entries are still done by hand, using paper citations and incident reports, but administrative
assistants in each office now type the data into a database. He explained that data entry could be
done directly by supervisors into a laptop but only in locations where there is a strong Wi-Fi
Board Meeting 15-06 Page 6
signal. He said that the IT strategic plan would explore these issues in more depth. Currently the
ranger has no way of knowing is someone has been previously cited for another violation unless
the dispatch center is able to access local records.
Discussion followed about some apparent trends in reckless driving at the Skyline Ranch horse
trailer parking, and trespassing on Mt. Umunhum Road. Mr. Newburn said that District has a 20-
foot wide easement on that road and staff is now enforcing the ordinance on that easement.
The Board received the report and no action was taken.
V. INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
• Informational Report on the Accessibility Plan Update
No discussion was held on this item.
VI. Committee Reports
Director Riffle reported that the Planner and Natural Resources Committee met yesterday and
discussed progress on the Hawthorn Structures Renovation and began discussions on facilities
planning.
VII. Staff Reports
None.
VIII. Director Reports
Director Harris reported that she attended the Farm Bureau meeting, and also that she had been
getting a lot of requests for trash cans at Pulgas Ridge, which is a popular dog-walking area. She
also reported that the San Carlos City Council turned City Hall Park into a dog park, and voted to
continue community outreach about a bond act in November to buy land, particularly 25 acres in
town that could be a nice park. Director Harris said that the County through Measure A has also
been acquiring some land through a conveyance of Pedro Point Headlands in Pacifica.
Director Riffle reported that the Planning and Natural Resources Committee would have two
interesting meetings next week kicking off the Bear Creek Stables and planning process.
Director Kishimoto said she attended the Special Districts meeting with Director Siemens.
Director Cyr asked about the schedule for required Ethics Training. General Counsel Sheryl
Schaffner said she would verify which Directors needed to take the course and would notify
them.
Director Cyr also reported that he had visited the Pulgas Ridge and saw many people walking
dogs, most on leash. There were some people walking dogs off leash, but they complied without
objection when he mentioned it. He also went to Ravenswood for the first Walk with a Doc, and
also hiked San Pedro Valley north of the tunnel.
Director Hassett said he hiked with General Manager Steve Abbors at Russian Ridge and saw the
Integrated Pest Management program in action.
Board Meeting 15-06 Page 7
Director Siemens reported he attended the County’s Special Districts meeting, and said he shared
that the District thinks regionally and is very interested in wild land corridors, and Mayor
Liccardo was very responsive to those comments.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Director Siemens adjourned the Regular Meeting at 8:43 p.m.
_________________________________
Kim Marie Smith
Interim District Clerk