[00:00:02]
THIS IS THE CLOSED SESSION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTR ICT ON DECEMBER 17TH, 2024, BEGINNING AT 11:11 A.M.. MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL?
[ROLL CALL]
YES.THANK YOU. MADAM CLERK, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE CLOSED SESSION AGENDA FOR TODAY? NO, WE DO NOT. PRESIDENT ECHOLS OKAY.
[CLOSED SESSION ITEMS]
THE BOARD CONFERENCE ROOM.SO, IN CONNECTION WITH ITEM THREE B ON THE CLOSED SESSION AGENDA, THE BOARD IS MEETING REGARDING ALLEGATIONS MADE BY REPRESENTATIVES OF THE LIVERMORE AREA RECREATION AND PARK DISTRICT ABOUT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICTS, PERTAINING TO A TAX SHARING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES.
GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE, AND WELCOME.
MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE TAKE THE ROLL?
[ROLL CALL]
YES, PRESIDENT ECHOLS.THANK YOU, AND I WOULD LIKE TO ASK DIRECTOR MERCURIO TO RECITE THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
[LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT]
DIRECTOR ROSARIO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ THE LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT, PLEASE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.JOIN US AS WE HAVE THE LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
ALL OF THE LANDS WITHIN THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT ARE THE ANCESTRAL LANDS OF THE EAST BAY, OHLONE, BAY MIWOK, AND NORTHERN VALLEY YOKUTS, WHO ARE RECOGNIZED TODAY AS THE CONFEDERATED VILLAGES OF THE LISJAN NATION.
THE OHLONE TRIBE AND THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA.
THE NORTHERN VALLEY YOKUT TRIBE AND THE OHLONE INDIAN TRIBE.
[APPROVAL OF AGENDA]
OKAY. NEXT, WE HAVE THE APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? OKAY. ALL RIGHT.
NOW WE GET TO THE GOOD PART, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TODAY.
WE'RE GOING TO START WITH THE SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS.
[SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS]
STARTING WITH OUR DEAR COLLEAGUE, DIRECTOR DEE.ON ON ABOUT YOU, BUT I WILL READ THE PROCLAMATION HONORING DIRECTOR ROSARIO, AND THEN WE'LL CALL UP SPEAKERS.
WHEREAS DEE ROSARIO BEGAN HIS REMARKABLE JOURNEY WITH THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT IN 1975.
HIS CAREER, MARKED BY A SERIES OF SIGNIFICANT ROLES FROM PARK RANGER AND FIREFIGHTER TO FIRE LIEUTENANT AND ULTIMATELY PARK SUPERVISOR OF REINHARDT REDWOOD REGIONAL PARK, REFLECTS AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE, AND WHEREAS IN HIS DISTINGUISHED 37 YEAR CAREER, DIRECTOR ROSARIO HAS MADE INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PARK DISTRICT.
HIS TENURE INCLUDED PIVOTAL, PIVOTAL MOMENTS, SUCH AS HIS HEROIC ACTIONS DURING THE 1991 OAKLAND FIRESTORM, WHERE HIS BRAVERY AND DEDICATION TO PROTECTING BOTH PEOPLE AND PLACE WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN MITIGATING THE DEVASTATION, AND WHEREAS DIRECTOR ROSARIO'S LEADERSHIP EXTENDED BEYOND HIS ON THE GROUND SERVICE AS A BOARD DIRECTOR BEGINNING IN NOVEMBER 2016, HE PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN ADVANCING THE PARK DISTRICT'S MISSION.
[00:05:05]
PUBLIC SAFETY.HIS GOVERNANCE ON THE BOARD WAS RECOGNIZED WITH THE PRESTIGIOUS 2024 CALIFORNIA SPECIAL DISTRICTS ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD, HIGHLIGHTING HIS EXCEPTIONAL, TIRELESS LEADERSHIP AND EFFECTIVENESS.
WHEREAS DIRECTOR ROSARIO'S VISION AND DEDICATION LED TO THE RENAMING OF REDWOOD REGIONAL PARK IN HONOR OF AURELIA REINHARDT, A PIONEERING FIGURE IN THE PARK DISTR ICT'S HISTORY.
THE ACT NOT ONLY CELEBRATED WEINERT'S LEGACY, BUT ALSO UNDERSCORED DIRECTOR ROSARIO COMMITMENT TO PRESERVING AND HONORING THE HERITAGE OF THE PARK DISTRICT AND THE DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF WHICH IT IS A PART, AND WHEREAS, THROUGH HIS CAREER, DIRECTOR ROSARIO HAS EXEMPLIFIED THE ESSENCE OF TRUE LEADERSHIP.
HE HAS CONSISTENTLY SOUGHT TO DEVELOP FUTURE LEADERSHIP, NURTURING THE NEXT GENERATION TO CONTINUE HIS LEGACY OF SERVICE AND DEDICATION, AND WHEREAS, DIRECTOR ROSARIO HAS ALSO CONTRIBUTED HIS EXPERTISE TO VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS BEYOND THE PARK DISTRICT, INCLUDING SERVING ON THE ALAMEDA COUNTY PARKS, RECREATION AND HISTORICAL COMMISSION, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE FRIENDS OF SAUSAL CREEK, THE REGIONAL PARKS ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS, THE OAKLAND FIRE SAFE COUNCIL BOARD, AND THE CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS IN ALAMEDA COUNTY, AND WHEREAS, FOLLOWING DIRECTOR ROSARIO RETIREMENT FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, HIS DEDICATION, ACHIEVEMENTS, AND THE INSPIRATION HE HAS PROVIDED WILL BE REMEMBERED AND CHERISHED BY ALL WHO HAVE HAD THE HONOR TO WORK WITH HIM.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT OFFICIALLY HONORS BOARD DIRECTOR DEE ROSARIO FOR HIS 37 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE WITH THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, AND ANOTHER EIGHT YEARS FOR HIS REMARKABLE CONTRIBUTIONS AS A BOARD MEMBER.
WE EXPRESS OUR DEEPEST GRATITUDE FOR HIS LEADERSHIP, COMPASSION, POSITIVE SPIRITS, JOY AND LAUGHTER, AND UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO THE PRESERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY'S NATURAL AND RECREATIONAL RESOURCES.
NOW. I KNOW THERE ARE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT DEE, AND I'M GOING TO FIRST CALL UP OUR ASSEMBLYMEMBER, MIA BONTA.
I'M HONORED TO BE HERE TODAY TO CELEBRATE THE INCREDIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DIRECTOR DEE ROSARIO, WHOSE UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY AND TIRELESS EFFORTS IN THE FIELD HAVE MADE A LASTING IMPACT ON THE LANDSCAPE OF OUR BEAUTIFUL EAST BAY.
NOT ONLY HAS DIRECTOR ROSARIO REPRESENTED WARD TWO OF OUR BEAUTIFUL PARK DISTRICT, BUT HE HAS ALSO HELD A SERIES OF SIGNIFICANT ROLES IN SERVICE OF OUR COMMUNITY, FROM PARK RANGER AND FIREFIGHTER TO FIRE LIEUTENANT AND ULTIMATELY PARK SUPERVISOR OF REINHART REGIONAL PARK, AND DURING HIS CAREER HE MADE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PARK DISTRICTS, SUCH AS HIS HISTORIC, HEROIC, AND HISTORIC ACTIONS DURING THE 1991 OAKLAND FIRESTORM AND HIS LEADERSHIP IN CO-CHAIRING THE COMMITTEE FOR MEASURE F, WHICH SECURED CRITICAL FUNDING FOR PARK IMPROVEMENTS, WILDFIRE PREVENTION, AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
DIRECTOR ROSARIO ALSO CHAMPIONED EFFORTS TO RENAME REDWOOD REGIONAL PARK IN HONOR OF AURELIA REINHART, A PIONEERING FIGURE IN THE PARK DISTRICT'S HISTORY. FOR YEARS, HE HAS WORKED SELFLESSLY TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES FACING OUR COMMUNITY, AND THROUGH HIS WORK, HE HAS ENABLED ALL OF US TO ENJOY THESE BEAUTIFUL NATURAL SPACES MY FAMILY HAS OFTEN FREQUENTED.
JOAQUIN MILLER AND TEMESCAL ESPECIALLY.
YOU HAVE BEEN A STEWARD OF THAT LAND FOR US FOR SO MANY YEARS AND WE ARE SO THANKFUL, ROSARIO THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE A PART OF OUR DISTRICT'S LIFE, OF OUR NATURAL LAND SUCH AN AMAZING STEWARD. SO WITH THAT, WE IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY AND I REPRESENT AND WANT TO BE ABLE TO HONOR ALONG WITH MYSELF AND 8018 ASSEMBLYMEMBER ORTEGA WHO IS HERE.
[00:10:03]
ASSEMBLYMEMBER BAUER-KAHAN.ASSEMBLYMEMBER WICKS WHO IS A PART OF YOUR DISTRICT AS WELL, AND CERTAINLY, SENATOR ARAGON, IN SHARING WITH YOU OUR RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF YOU, DEE ROSARIO, FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR OUR EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS, WITH GRATITUDE AND WITH AMAZING GRACE, YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HOLD US ALL IN OUR NATURAL LANDS AND WE ARE FOREVER THANKFUL.
PRESIDENT ECHOLS, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT THE REASON THAT WE TOOK THIS PHOTO IS ASSEMBLYMEMBER HAD TO LEAVE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO JUST NOW WE'RE JUST GOING TO MOVE THROUGH THE AGENDA.
SO I'M GOING TO LET YOU I DON'T HAVE THE LIST OF ALL THE SPEAKERS.
HI, EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS JOE HANSEN.
I'M THE SENIOR FIELD REPRESENTATIVE IN THE NOW CLOSING SLOWLY OFFICE OF CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE.
THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE LAST ONES THAT WE ARE GOING TO DO OF THIS PARTICULAR TYPE, AND I CAN'T THINK OF A MORE DESERVING RECIPIENT THAN DIRECTOR ROSARIO, WHO HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MY WHOLE TIME IN THIS OFFICE AND A LOT LONGER BEFORE EVEN I WAS BORN BUT IT SPEAKS TO AN AMAZING LEGACY.
THERE ARE A GREAT MANY PEOPLE WHO WILL TALK ABOUT YOUR CAREER.
DIRECTOR ROSARIO AND THERE ARE GREAT MANY PEOPLE WHO, INCLUDING ASSEMBLYMEMBER BONTA, WHO LAMENTED OVER ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU DID, BUT WHEN I SPOKE WITH THE CONGRESSWOMAN ABOUT THIS, AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WHAT TO DO FOR THE HONOR THAT WE WANTED TO BESTOW UPON YOU, WHAT WE CAME BACK TO IS THAT AS HER CAREER ENDS AND AS YOUR CAREER ENDS, THAT DEDICATION TO PUBLIC SERVICE IS A CHOICE THAT NOT THAT NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE MAKE AND NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE CHOOSE TO SERVE IN ELECTED OFFICE, AND SHE IS GRATEFUL FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP, AND WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THIS DISTRICT OVER YOUR MANY YEARS OF SERVICE.
IT IS NOT ONE THAT COMES WITH MANY HONORS.
ALTHOUGH RIGHT HERE TODAY YOU ARE VERY DESERVING.
SO THE CONGRESSWOMAN ASKED THAT THIS WILL BE ONE OF THE LAST ONES THAT WE DO TO CREATE AN INSERT IN THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD FOR YOU TO HONOR YOU FOR YOUR ALL OF YOUR YEARS OF SERVICE, AND SO I AM GOING TO ALSO LEAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU AND WE'LL GET A PICTURE.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A LOT. OKAY.
JUST STAY OUT HERE. THANK YOU.
OKAY. THE NEXT SPEAKER IS FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR AISHA WAHAB, A STAFF MEMBER, ASTRID SCOTT. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY.
[00:15:06]
DEDICATED SERVICE AND TO CELEBRATE HIS WELL-DESERVED RETIREMENT.YOUR REMARKABLE CAREER BEGAN IN 1975 WITH THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS, WHERE YOU SPENT SEVEN.
YOU SPENT 37 YEARS SERVING OUR PARKS AND COMMUNITY IN ROLES RANGING FROM PARK RANGER TO SUPERVISOR.
BEYOND HIS PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENTS, DIRECTOR ROSARIO HAS GENEROUSLY GIVEN HIS TIME AND EXPERTISE TO LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE OAKLAND FIRE SAFE COUNCIL AND FRIENDS OF SAUSAL CREEK, LEAVING A LASTING IMPACT ON OUR ENVIRONMENT AND OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
YOU LEAVE BEHIND A LEGACY THAT WILL BE TREASURED FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
FROM THE OFFICE OF ASSEMBLYMEMBER LIZ ORTEGA.
DISTRICT DIRECTOR KARISHMA KHATRI.
I'M ASSEMBLYMEMBER ORTEGA'S DISTRICT DIRECTOR.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE TONIGHT OR IT'S STILL NOON.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE TO HONOR DEE AND YOUR LONGSTANDING SERVICE.
YOUR MANY DECADES OF SERVICE SHOWS HOW MUCH YOU ARE DEDICATED TO PROTECTING OUR PARKS AND MAKING SURE THEY'RE ACCESSIBLE AND SAFE FOR EVERYONE, AND YOUR PASSION AND LEADERSHIP HAS MADE A LASTING DIFFERENCE IN THE MANY CAPACITIES YOU'VE SERVED THIS DISTRICT IN.
SO ON BEHALF OF ASSEMBLYMEMBER ORTEGA ON OUR CONSTITUENTS IN ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 20.
WE JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND WISH YOU A REALLY HAPPY, HEALTHY RETIREMENT, AND THEN WE WERE REALLY EXCITED TO SIGN ON TO THE ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION WITH ASSEMBLYMEMBER BONTA.
DISTRICT DIRECTOR MICHELLE HENRY.
THE ASSEMBLYMEMBER WANTED TO PASS ON HER PROFOUND THANKS FOR ALL OF THE WORK YOU HAVE DONE OVER THESE WONDERFUL, LONG CAREER THAT YOU'VE HAD, AND WE WERE VERY PROUD TO SIGN ON TO THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS PRESENTED.
WELL, GOOD. I GOT UP HERE EARLY BEFORE PEOPLE SANG EVEN MORE OF YOUR PRAISES.
SO FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW ME, I'M TED RADOSEVICH.
I WAS GENERAL COUNSEL FOR 25 YEARS HERE, FOLLOWED BY CAROL VICTOR, WHO ALSO HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH DEE BOTH AS AN EMPLOYEE AND THEN AS A BOARD MEMBER. SO PEOPLE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT A LOT OF WHAT HE'S DONE, AND I THINK ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THINGS AND WHAT'S MADE DEE SO SPECIAL, WHICH MAYBE OTHER PEOPLE WILL TALK ABOUT AS GENERAL COUNSEL AT SOME POINT 15, 20 YEARS AGO, I CAN'T REMEMBER.
[00:20:01]
THE DISTRICT DECIDED THAT ALL THE GRIEVANCES WITH THE UNION SHOULD BE HANDLED BY ONE PERSON IN MANAGEMENT, AND THAT I GUESS I DREW THE SHORT STRAW AND THAT WAS ME.DEE WAS THE CHIEF STEWARD FOR A WHILE FOR LOCAL 2428, AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MANAGEMENT AND THE UNION, I THINK IN GENERAL HAS BEEN PRETTY GOOD, BUT WHENEVER YOU'RE AT THE THIRD STEP, GRIEVANCE, EVERYTHING ELSE TO RESOLVE IT HAS FAILED, AND DEE AND I WOULD SIT DOWN AND THEY'D BE DIFFICULT ISSUES.
MAYBE SOMEONE'S GOING TO BE REASSIGNED.
MAYBE SOMEBODY HAD A PROBLEM WITH THEIR PARK SUPERVISOR.
MAYBE EMPLOYEES WERE AT EACH OTHER.
SO HOW DO YOU RESOLVE THESE THINGS? AND WHAT I LEARNED FROM DEE IS LISTENING TO PEOPLE, LISTENING TO THE ISSUES, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF GIVE AND TAKE.
WE'RE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDES, HAD A LOT OF GRIEVANCES.
NONE OF THEM EVER WENT TO ARBITRATION.
ON THE MANAGEMENT SIDE, PEOPLE WEREN'T MAD AT ME FOR THE RESULTS.
DEE, I GUESS, WAS EVENTUALLY ELECTED UNION PRESIDENT, SO THEY MUST HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH WHAT HE DID.
SO WHAT DEE BROUGHT TO THIS ORGANIZATION, IN ADDITION TO EVERYTHING ELSE, IS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE DISTRICT, IS BASED ON THE PEOPLE WHO WORK HERE, HOW WE WORK TOGETHER. WE'VE GOT GREAT LANDS, BUT IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A GREAT STAFF, A GREAT MANAGEMENT THAT WORKED TOGETHER EVEN WHEN THEY DISAGREED, IT WOULDN'T BE A GREAT ORGANIZATION.
SO, DEE FOR THAT, I THANK YOU BECAUSE YOU SET A TONE THAT'S MADE THE DISTRICT GREAT.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT LEADERSHIP.
THANK YOU. JUST A CORRECTION TO THAT.
WE HAD TWO ARBITRATIONS AND WE SPLIT THEM.
[CHUKLING] THE NEXT SPEAKER IS LINUS EUKEL, JOHN MUIR LAND TRUST.
PRESIDENT ECHOLS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ALL OF OUR MEMBERSHIP FOR JOHN MUIR LAND TRUST TO JOIN THE CHORUS OF PRAISE FOR AND WE'VE HEARD THE LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN LEADERSHIP AND ALL OF WHAT DEE HAS BROUGHT TO THE PARK DISTRICT OVER SO MANY YEARS, BUT I'D ALSO CHANNEL WHAT WAS JUST MENTIONED, BUT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A PERSONAL, ON THE GROUND PERSPECTIVE OUTSIDE OF THE PARK DISTRICT.
DEE HAS ALWAYS BROUGHT A CERTAIN TONE OF HUMANITY AND CARE TO A LEADERSHIP STYLE THAT HAS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND IN ACCOMPLISHING CONSERVATION THROUGHOUT OUR REGION, AND JUST REALLY APPRECIATE THAT CULTURE OF CARE THAT I ALWAYS SEEN IN HIS ACTIVITIES WITH THE LAND TRUST AND BEYOND, AND I'VE BROUGHT A FRAMED PIECE THAT HAS 5 OR 6 PROPERTIES ON HERE.
DON'T GO. [CHUCKLING] THIS IS OUR LAST SPEAKER THAT HAS PRESENTED A SPEAKER CARD.
WELL, BEFORE MY TIME HERE, I'M STILL HEARING FROM OUR DONORS AND SUPPORTERS ABOUT INTERACTIONS THAT YOU'VE HAD AT THE PARKS WITH OUR SUPPORTERS, AND I THINK THE WAY THAT YOU'VE INTERACTED WITH PEOPLE, TREATED PEOPLE IS THE REASON THAT THEY DO SUPPORT THE REGIONAL PARKS FOUNDATION.
TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU, PRESIDENT ECHOLS.
OH, DEE WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING.
THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF ELECTEDS HERE TODAY, AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION TODAY, BUT IT JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU HOW HOW INTERCONNECTED WE ARE AS A PARK DISTRICT WITH OUR LEGISLATORS.
[00:25:06]
WITHOUT THEM, WE ARE A BETTER.ORGANIZATION BECAUSE WE NEED EVERYBODY'S HELP.
NO ONE STANDS ALONE, AND I THINK IN THIS CELEBRATION OF MYSELF, IT REALLY IS A CELEBRATION OF THE PARK DISTRICT AND THE WORK THAT ALL OF THE EMPLOYEES HAVE, HAVE, HAVE DONE TO DATE AND WILL DO IN THE FUTURE, AND, AND I THANK ALL THE ELECTEDS FOR BEING HERE. IT'S SUCH AN HONOR AND I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH AND I CAN'T THANK EVERYBODY THAT I'VE KNOWN IN THE PARK DISTRICT. IT'S BEEN SUCH A BEEN SUCH A JOY AND A LABOR OF LOVE.
WE ALL HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER AND TOGETHER WE ARE WE ARE BETTER, AND SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU, DEE, AND I KNOW THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE UP HERE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW THINGS, TOO.
GO AHEAD. I'M GOING TO USE MY COMMENTS ABOUT DEE TO PRESENT OUR BOARD GIFT TO DEE, BECAUSE I THINK IT HELPS TO SHOW HOW MUCH WE LOVE DEE AND HOW MUCH WE WANT TO CELEBRATE HIM TODAY.
SO WE REALLY THOUGHT IT'D BE FUN TO GIVE DEE A GIFT THAT REALLY REPRESENTS THE EAST BAY AND REALLY THINK ABOUT YOU KNOW, OUR PARKS AND ALSO HELP FACILITATE SOME ADVENTURES FOR YOU AND ROBIN TO GO ON IN THE NEXT YEAR.
SO I WAS ON EBAY ONE NIGHT, AND I FOUND AND I'M CURIOUS IF YOU ALREADY HAVE.
I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THIS, BUT I FOUND THIS WONDERFUL 1953 BROCHURE ABOUT OUR REGIONAL PARKS AT THE TIME, AND SO WE HAVE LAKE TEMESCAL, WE HAVE TILDEN, WE HAVE REDWOOD IN HERE, AND IT'S JUST REALLY NEAT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THE OLD 1953 BROCHURE, AND IT'S IT SPARKED THE REST OF WHAT WE PUT TOGETHER HERE FOR YOU IN REGARDS TO CELEBRATING OUR PARKS AND ALSO TRYING TO FACILITATE SOME ADVENTURES FOR YOU.
SO I ALSO FOUND ONLINE THERE'S AN INCENSE COMPANY AND THEY MAKE AN INCENSE THAT'S INSPIRED BY TILDEN, AND SO NOW YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, USE THIS AND THINK OF THE EARTHY AND FLORAL WITH EUCALYPTUS SCENT OF TILDEN BUT I THINK THAT'S REALLY NEAT THAT WE HAVE ONE OF OUR PARKS INSPIRED THIS SCENT, AND THE OTHER ONE THAT WE FOUND THAT WE FOUND WAS ON THIS WEBSITE, TRAIL MEMORIES.
THEY ACTUALLY MAKE A MUG OF THE MISSION PEAK POLE, AND SO NOW YOU HAVE YOUR OWN MUG, AND TO GO WITH THAT THERE IS A TEA COMPANY IN BERKELEY, AND THEY MAKE BOTH A BERKELEY TEA AS WELL AS AN OAKLAND TEA.
SO YOU CAN COMPARE AND LET US KNOW WHICH ONE IS BETTER, AND THEN WHEN THIS WAS ORDERED, THEY ALSO SENT A SAMPLE OF SAN FRANCISCO TEA, AND I ALMOST DIDN'T INCLUDE IT IN HERE, AND THEN I REALIZED, WAIT A SECOND, A LOT OF SUNOL IS OWNED BY SAN FRANCISCO, SO THAT ALSO COUNTS FOR EAST BAY, AND THEN FINALLY, WE HERE ON THE BOARD WANT TO HELP FACILITATE SOME EAST BAY ADVENTURES FOR YOU AND ROBIN, AND ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE BOARD, WE GOT YOU BOTH A NICE CERTIFICATE TO THE BERKELEY REP THEATER SO YOU CAN ENJOY SOME SHOWS THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN AND THEN ON, AND SO THEN WHAT WE TRIED TO DO IS WE TRIED TO LOOK AT THE PARK THAT'S CLOSEST TO WHERE EACH OF US LIVES, AND WE WANT TO GIVE YOU AN ADVENTURE, AND YOU'RE WELCOME TO CALL US IF YOU WANT.
SO WHEN YOU GO TO SHADOW CLIFFS AND I INCLUDED A MAP FOR YOU, PLEASE CALL ME AND I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO WALK.
I THINK YELP RECENTLY RATED IT THE NUMBER EIGHT ICE CREAM SPOT IN THE UNITED STATES, AND IT'S VERY CLOSE TO SHADOW CLIFFS, AND THEN EACH BOARD MEMBER, I THINK, WHEN THEY GIVE THEIR COMMENTS, WILL SHARE THE GIFT THAT THEY HAVE IN HERE FOR YOU.
GO AHEAD JOHN. WELL, SOMEHOW I WON THE PRIZE AND I GOT TO SIT NEXT TO DEE ON HIS LAST YEAR ON THE BOARD AND I REALLY ENJOYED IT. DON'T LOOK TOO CLOSELY AT THE RECORDINGS OF OUR MEETINGS, BECAUSE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A ABOUT THAT KIND OF STUFF GOING ON HERE, BUT THAT'S
[00:30:10]
OKAY. I'VE JUST ALWAYS BEEN IMPRESSED WITH DEE'S, YOU KNOW, NOBODY'S USED THE WORD INTEGRITY YET, BUT I MEAN, I THINK IT'S ALL KIND OF ALL IN OUR HEADS ALREADY.IT KIND OF GOES WITH HIM THAT HE'S A MODEL FOR THAT AND, AND EMPATHY, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I LOOK UPON I LOOK TO ALL THE OTHER I LIKE I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, I LOVE SITTING ON A SEVEN MEMBER BOARD BECAUSE THERE'S JUST TWO MORE THAN YOU NORMALLY GET OF IDEAS AND EXPERIENCES AND PERSONALITIES AND FRIENDS.
SO, YOU KNOW, JUST REALLY IT'S REALLY BEEN GREAT.
ALSO I ENDED UP BECOMING TREASURER.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY KNOWS THIS.
I'VE BEEN THE TREASURER FOR THE LAST YEAR OF THE OF THE DISTRICT AND I, YOU KNOW, AND NOBODY TOLD ME WHAT TO DO, SO I ASKED DEE YOU'VE BEEN TREASURER. YEAH, AND SO HE TOLD ME ALL THE STUFF YOU NEED TO DO, WHICH ISN'T A WHOLE LOT, BUT HE GAVE ME SOME INSPIRATION ABOUT HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, YOU KNOW, AND SO I TRIED TO DILIGENTLY FULFILL MY ROLE AS TREASURER, WHICH BASICALLY CONSISTS OF READING THROUGH THE CHECK REGISTER EVERY MONTH, BUT YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S SO MANY THINGS.
I MEAN, I'LL DEFER TO THE REST OF THE BOARD, BUT I'VE JUST REALLY ENJOYED WORKING WITH DEE, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY THAT HE HEALS FROM HIS SURGERY, AND HE CAN GET OUT AND DO A LOT OF WALKING BECAUSE I GOT SOME GREAT IDEAS AND ALONG THOSE LINES.
SO OLIVIA MENTIONED THE GIFTS THAT WE ALL EACH BOARD MEMBER.
SO, DEE IS GOING THE LITTLE THING I HAVE PLANNED FOR YOU IS YOU'RE GOING TO GO OUT TO ROUND VALLEY REGIONAL PRESERVE, WALK THE BIG LOOP IN THE VALLEY AND THEN GO BACK.
AS YOU'RE GOING HOME, YOU'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH CLAYTON AND YOU'RE GOING TO GO TO ED'S MUDVILLE GRILL, AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A NICE, NICE LUNCH THERE AND IF YOU WANT TO HAVE SOME KIND OF CARBONATED ADULT BEVERAGE, THEY HAVE THAT AS WELL, BUT THAT'S WHAT I HAVE PLANNED FOR YOU.
ROUND VALLEY IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARKS IN MY WARD.
DIRECTOR WAESPI OR DIRECTOR COFFEY? DID YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD? GO AHEAD, IF YOU WANT.
OKAY. SO I'M STILL SEVERELY REGRETTING NOT SOMEHOW FORCING YOU TO RUN FOR REELECTION.
[CHUCKLING] I, YOU KNOW, MY WIFE HAS SOME RELATIVE WHO LOOKS A LOT LIKE YOU, AND I WAS THINKING, WELL, COULD WE GET AWAY WITH THIS? SIGN THE FORM AND GET YOUR NAME ON THE BALLOT.
[CHUCKLING] SO THAT DIDN'T WORK, AND I REGRET THAT I DIDN'T DO THAT.
IT'S AN OVERUSED TERM WHEN PEOPLE RETIRE AND PEOPLE GET UP AND SAY STUFF RIGHT ABOUT YOU, BUT THE TERM THAT COMES TO MIND THAT'S OVERUSED, BUT IN THIS CASE IS SIMPLY COMPELLING TO USE.
YOU HAVE BEEN THE CONSCIENCE OF GOODWILL FOR THIS BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
AS LONG AS I'VE BEEN HERE FOR EIGHT YEARS, YOU WERE THE ONE THAT WE ALWAYS LOOKED TO AND WAIT FOR TO SPEAK AND EXPRESS THE VIEW OF WHAT THE BOTTOM LINE IS IN GOOD CONSCIENCE THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING, WHICH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE A LOT OF US ARE MOTIVATED BY A WHOLE VARIETY OF STUFF, SOME VERY PAROCHIAL TO OUR WARDS, SOME VERY EMOTIONAL TO WHAT WE THINK OUGHT TO GET DONE AND HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE AND WE THEN WAIT FOR YOU AND GET THAT PATIENT.
YOU ARE THE CONSCIENCE OF THIS BOARD AND HAVE BEEN, AND YOU WILL BE SORELY MISSED, I THINK, BY ALL OF US, AND SO MY CONTRIBUTION TO THIS EFFORT TO MAKE SURE YOU AND ROBIN CONTINUE TO GET OUT AMONG OUR PARKS AND TRAILS. MILA AND I CAME UP WITH A GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE BEST. WITHOUT DOUBT.
SANDWICH. SANDWICH SHOP IN THE EAST BAY.
[00:35:04]
VERY, VERY HIGHLY RENOWNED, AND A HUGE DESTINATION FOR THE LITTLE TOWN OF CROCKETT.SCOTT, AM I RIGHT? YOU ARE RIGHT. SO FOR ALL THE MANY YEARS, MILA AND I HAVE BEEN TABLING ONE OF THE OUTINGS.
WE SUGGEST WHEN PEOPLE ASK IS GO TO LUCIA'S.
GET THESE INCREDIBLE SANDWICHES.
THEY'RE GOOD FOR SEVERAL DAYS.
HUGE, AND DO THE CARQUINEZ STRAITS TRAILS FROM CROCKETT TO BO VALLEY, FROM BO VALLEY TO PORT COSTA, FROM PORT COSTA TO THE GEORGE MILLER TRAIL, FROM THE GEORGE MILLER TRAIL TO MARTINEZ.
THEY ARE THE, AS I'VE OFTEN SAID, TRAILS WITH THE MOST COMPELLINGLY BEAUTIFUL VIEWS IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE.
I JUST I DON'T TRY TO REDUCE THAT, THAT REALM OF INCREDIBLE BEAUTY THAT THOSE TRAILS ENCOMPASS.
SO WE GOT THE WE GOT YOU LUCIA'S INFORMATION AND THE CARQUINEZ STRAIT BROCHURE WITH YOUR CHOICE OF THOSE TRAILS THAT YOU CAN IMMEDIATELY PROCEED TO AFTER GETTING THOSE SANDWICHES.
SO I'LL HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH MEMBER MERCURIO.
NOBODY KNOWS THAT ORIGIN STORY OF DEE AND I.
SO I'LL TELL IT AGAIN. IF YOU'VE HEARD IT, TALK AMONGST YOURSELVES OR GET A CUP OF COFFEE, BUT ANYWAY, IN 1975, I REMEMBER COMING TO WORK FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW AS A THREE MONTH PARK RANGER AT DON CASTRO PARK.
THERE WAS A TRADITION THERE, AND OUTSIDE OF THE HEADQUARTERS, RIGHT BY THE LAGOON, WAS A THE OFFICE, WHICH WAS JUST A LITTLE BARN, ESSENTIALLY, BUT I WAS COMING AND I CAME TO GO SIT ON THE PLANTER BOX WALL DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM THE DOOR AND WAIT FOR MY DAY TO START, AND THERE WAS THIS GUY IN MY SEAT, AND I'D NEVER MET HIM BEFORE.
I SAID, HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, MAN? IT'S PRETTY EARLY, ISN'T IT? AND OF COURSE, HE WAS WAY ON TIME.
IT WAS HIS FIRST DAY AND I WAS ALMOST LATE, BUT IT WAS DEE AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I MET HIM, AND, YOU KNOW, THESE HONORS AND ALL OF THE PROCLAMATIONS ARE ALL TRUE BUT HOPEFULLY I CAN TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DEE THAT YOU DON'T REMEMBER, BUT SO WE HAD A GREAT YEAR AT DON CASTRO.
AFTER THAT WE KIND OF GOT INTO THE PARK DISTRICT.
YOU DON'T REALIZE WHAT A GREAT PLACE REDWOOD PARK WAS IN 1977.
IT WAS AMAZING, AND, YOU KNOW, DEE WAS FAMOUS FOR A NUMBER OF THINGS, AND THEY'RE ALL POINTED OUT HERE TODAY, BUT IF WE HAD RECORDERS AND THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE HAD NOW, HIS RENDITION OF MUSKRAT LOVE AS WE WERE DRIVING THROUGH THE PARK COULD HAVE WON AN EMMY.
[CHUCKLING] ALL IT GOT US WAS WE WERE LAUGHING SO HARD.
I THINK HE HIT A POLE. I THINK HE HIT A GATE, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, BECAUSE IT WAS JUST SO MUCH FUN, AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD DREAMS. WE WERE YOUNG, WE HAD DREAMS. YOU HAD THE ABILITY IN THOSE DAYS TO DO PRETTY MUCH, YOU KNOW, WHAT? YOUR AVOCATION WAS SO DEE, AND I WANTED TO BE LUMBERJACKS, AND WHAT A GREAT PLACE TO WORK, BECAUSE WE WOULDN'T CUT ANY REDWOODS DOWN, BUT ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS GO TO ANTHONY CHABOT PARK, AND THOSE WERE THE EUCALYPTUS WERE.
WELL, THEY WERE PESTS, IS WHAT THEY WERE.
SO WE WOULD HAVE SO MUCH FUN CUTTING THESE GIANT TREES DOWN BIG BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FELLING A TREE, YOU KNOW, YOU DO A BACK CUT AND YOU DO THIS AND THEN YOU COME AROUND AND IT'S INTRICATE.
SO I THINK WE BOUGHT THESE OLD AND NOBODY REMEMBERS THIS BUT MCCULLOCH CHAINSAWS.
WE BOTH GOT THE SAME MODEL AND WE SAID, LET'S GO INTO BUSINESS, DEE.
LET'S TAKE THE WORLD OVER, AND I REMEMBER DISTINCTLY I WAS LIVING IN FAIRWAY PARK IN HAYWARD, AND I GO DEE, I GOT US SOME BUSINESS AND HE GOES, COOL, AND I HAD A PICKUP TRUCK AND HAD TWO SAWS AND WE WERE YOUNG AND VIBRANT.
[00:40:02]
WE WERE GOING TO GO GET THEM.GOOD PRICE, AND SO WE STARTED THIS WHOLE PROCESS.
LITTLE DID WE KNOW, YOU NEEDED A CHIPPER TO CUT DOWN A TREE BECAUSE IT WAS MANY TRIPS TO THE DUMPS.
CLEANING UP EVERYTHING WAS GREAT.
THE NEIGHBOR CAME HOME AND SAID, WHAT THE [EXPLETIVE] ARE YOU CUTTING MY TREE DOWN FOR? [CHUCKLING] WE WERE A LITTLE NAIVE AND WE WERE TRUSTWORTHY.
[CHUCKLING] I GOT OUT OF THE BUSINESS.
I THINK YOU CONTINUED, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
I SAID THAT WAS IT FOR ME. I'VE HAD ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, WE DID A LOT OF THINGS IN REDWOOD.
IT WAS A DIFFERENT ERA. AS I DESCRIBED MALCOLM MARGOLIN.
I HOPE THAT NAME RINGS A BELL TO YOU.
I REMEMBER WE FIRST MET MALCOLM AND MALCOLM.
ANNIE KENNEY WAS A PARK RANGER WHO HAD WORKED FOR HIM.
HE WAS GOING TO DO SOME DISCOVERIES FOR US OF SOME OF THE WORK HE'D DONE IN THE PAST, AND HE LOOKED AT DEE AND I AND I'LL TELL YOU, IN THOSE DAYS, I WISH I HAD THE SLIDE.
I LOOKED FOR IT. I COULDN'T FIND IT.
DEE LOOKED LIKE TARZAN, AND I LOOKED LIKE A VERSION OF JIMI HENDRIX.
IT WAS 1977 AND MALCOLM LOOKED AT US.
HE JUST SAID, GOD, THIS IS WHAT PARK RANGERS ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE, AND I'LL NEVER FORGET THAT, BUT ANYWAY WE SERVED IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TOGETHER FOR PROBABLY 25, 30 YEARS. JUST FUN, GREAT, WONDERFUL TIMES AND DEE.
I'LL APPRECIATE THAT FOREVER, AND MY GIFT TO YOU IS A GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE LAKE CHABOT MARINA.
WELL, THAT'S A HARD ACT TO FOLLOW.
I'M JUST GOING TO SAY, DEE, I'M GOING TO MISS YOU SO MUCH.
REALLY? I HAVE FELT SO FORTUNATE SERVING ON THIS BOARD WITH YOU AND YOU KNOW, I SO RESPECT WHAT YOU BRING TO THIS ORGANIZATION IN TERMS OF YOUR EXPERIENCE, YOUR UNDERSTANDING, AND HOW YOU APPROACH EVERYTHING WITH INTEGRITY, KINDNESS, WISDOM, HUMILITY AND EQUITY, AND SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT YOU'RE IRREPLACEABLE.
WHAT COULD I SAY? AND YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY HAVE BEEN A GUIDING LIGHT FOR THIS BOARD AND THIS ORGANIZATION AND YOUR EXPERIENCE RUN DEEP AND YOUR CONTRIBUTION AS WELL AND I THINK YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH WE LOVE YOU BY THE FACT THAT WE WANTED YOU TO TAKE A LITTLE PIECE OF THE PARK DISTRICT FROM EACH OF OUR WARDS AND, AND ALSO ENTICE YOU INTO COME VISITING US IN OUR WARDS AS WELL, AND SO I'LL JUST SAY YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD ABOUT, WELL, BERKELEY REP, AS WELL AS A FEW THINGS FROM RELATED TO TILDEN, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'D LIKE TO--OLIVIA AND I--WOULD LIKE TO TAKE YOU TO LUNCH AT THE OHLONE CAFE, WHICH IS NEAR UC BERKELEY.
WE ALREADY TRIED TO SET THAT UP, I THINK, YOU KNOW, BUT THEY'RE CLOSED UNTIL SPRINGTIME, SO THAT'LL HAVE TO WAIT TILL SPRING, BUT I DO HOPE THAT YOU KNOW, I BOY, YOU REALLY EARNED THIS RETIREMENT, AND I AM SO REALLY SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU STAYING ON AN ADDITIONAL EIGHT YEARS ON THE BOARD AFTER A LONG CAREER.
YOU COULD HAVE EASILY, YOU KNOW, SAID, OKAY, I'M DONE, BUT INSTEAD YOU CAME BACK AND CONTINUED TO SERVE, AND REALLY JUST APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US, AND I HOPE THAT YOU AND ROBIN CAN ENJOY YOUR TIME NOW AND TRAVEL AND DO THINGS FUN AND ALSO BE OUT IN THE PARKS, AND DON'T BE A STRANGER.
COME AND VISIT. COME ON OUR SITE TOURS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
OKAY, NOW WE HAVE GOT TO MOVE ON.
SO, OH, WAS THERE--I THINK THAT WAS IT IN TERMS OF COMMENTS FOR DEE.
RIGHT, AND WE WILL AFTER WE'VE GOT A LOT HAPPENING TODAY.
[00:45:06]
SO WE HAVE NOW TIFFANY MARGULICI IS GOING TO COME UP AND PRESENT A SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION, AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE WE ALSO HAVE OUR RECOGNITIONS FOR SEVERAL OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PEOPLE AND AFTER THAT WE'RE GOING TO BREAK FOR A NICE RECEPTION.IT IS MY PRIVILEGE, ALONG WITH MY TEAM FROM BUSINESS SERVICES, A FACILITY SUPERVISOR, SARAH LAMBORN, SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST JOY LIGHT AND MYSELF. I'M TIFFANY MARGULICI, THE BUSINESS SERVICES MANAGER, TO PRESENT THIS, TO INTRODUCE THIS SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO ELAINE TAYLOR AND THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION.
SO I WILL SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION'S AMAZING WORK AT CAMP ARROYO OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, AND THEN I WILL BE INTRODUCING ELAINE, WHO, OF COURSE, CAN TELL THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION STORY BETTER THAN ANYONE.
SO IN CASE ANYONE WASN'T FAMILIAR, THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION'S MISSION IS TO PRESERVE THE WELLNESS AND ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WHO ARE LIVING WITH LIFE THREATENING AND CHRONIC ILLNESSES, DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES, AND YOUTH AT RISK AND THEY DO THIS THROUGH PROVIDING UNIQUE THERAPEUTIC EXPERIENCES AND SUPPORT, PRIMARILY CAMPS BUT MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMS. SPEAKING OF ORIGIN STORIES, THE ORIGIN STORY OF THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION WAS OVER 30 YEARS AGO WHEN ELAINE AND BARRY TAYLOR STARTED THE FOUNDATION TO RAISE MONEY AND PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR THE FAMILIES OF BAY AREA CHILDREN LIVING WITH HIV AND AIDS, AND AS THAT WORK EXPANDED ELAINE AND THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION DECIDED THEY WANTED TO BUILD THEIR VERY OWN OUTDOOR CAMP TO SERVE THIS POPULATION. SO OVER SEVERAL YEARS, IN THE LATE 90S, THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT AND THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION TEAMED UP TO CREATE CAMP ARROYO, WHICH OPENED IN THE SPRING OF 2000, AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL COMPLEX.
IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN THERE WITH A DINING HALL, POOL, SIX DUPLEX CABINS, AND ALL OF THAT SITE INFRASTRUCTURE AND BUILDINGS WAS CONSTRUCTED AND FUNDED BY THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION.
SO BY THE TIME THAT CAMP ARROYO HAD OPENED, THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN LIVING WITH HIV AND AIDS IN THE BAY AREA HAD BEEN GREATLY REDUCED, AND SO THE TAYLOR'S EXPANDED THEIR PROGRAM OFFERINGS TO CHILDREN WITH A VARIETY OF LIFE THREATENING AND CHRONIC ILLNESSES AND DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES AND YOUTH AT RISK.
SO THEIR MISSION HAS REALLY BROADENED OVER THE YEARS.
SO DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS AND MANY WEEKENDS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, FOR OVER 20 YEARS, THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION PROGRAMS HAVE REALLY BEEN A HAVEN FOR CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES TO ENJOY TOGETHER.
THESE ARE PROGRAMS ARE ALL OFFERED COMPLETELY FREE, FUNDED BY THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION, AND I THINK WHAT REALLY SPEAKS TO ME AND ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN THE PROGRAMS, IS THAT THEY ARE LIVING EXAMPLES OF THE HEALING POWER OF NATURE AND THE HEALING POWER OF THE OUTDOORS, AND TO FURTHER LEVERAGE THE HEALING POWER OF NATURE.
THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION PROGRAMS HAVE A VERY HIGH PRIORITY ON CREATING SAFE EMOTIONAL SPACES FOR CAMPERS, SO NATURE, HEALTH, AND EMOTIONAL SAFETY WERE ALL BAKED INTO THE VERY CREATION OF CAMP ARROYO, AND THAT HAS CONTINUED ON FOR OVER 20 YEARS, AND I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT IT'S SO INGRAINED IN THE PROGRAMS AT CAMP ARROYO THAT IS GOING TO CONTINUE FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.
SO LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT ELAINE, TAYLOR AND ELAINE.
[00:50:04]
YOUR ENERGY, YOUR PASSION, AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON A VISION ARE, IN AND OF THEMSELVES, DESERVING OF RECOGNITION, AND I KNOW FOR ALL OF US IN BUSINESS SERVICES THAT HAVE WORKED MORE CLOSELY WITH YOU OVER THE YEARS.IT IS VERY PERSONALLY INSPIRING.
YOU ARE AN UNWAVERING ADVOCATE FOR THE PROGRAMS AT CAMP.
YOU DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER, AND I THINK IT IS REALLY A TESTAMENT TO HOW ONE PERSON HAVING A POSITIVE VISION AND ENERGY CAN REALLY SPREAD IN A POSITIVE WAY, AND GETTING OTHERS ON BOARD TO BUILD SOMETHING THAT'S TRULY LIFE CHANGING FOR SO MANY PEOPLE.
SO WITH THAT, IT WAS MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE ELAINE.
IF YOU'RE WILLING TO COME SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE FOUNDATION AND YOUR WORK.
CONGRATULATIONS. THAT'S SO NICE.
THANK YOU. WELL, SO WE STARTED WITH A HANDSHAKE, AND WE SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON THE BACK OF A COCKTAIL NAPKIN.
PAT O'BRIEN AND I, AND YOU GUYS WERE WANTING TO BUILD A SCHOOL CAMP, AND WE WERE WANTING TO BUILD A CAMP FOR CHILDREN IN NEED, AND SO WE HAD THIS MISSION, AND WE AMAZINGLY GOT IT DONE IN TWO YEARS, FROM THE TIME THAT WE SHOOK HANDS TO THE TIME THAT WE OPENED CAMP, AND WHILE THANK YOU FOR ALL THE KIND WORDS, IT TOOK A VILLAGE.
WE AND MY HUSBAND HAD A GREAT IDEA, AND WE GOT PEOPLE ON BOARD, AND WE GOT PEOPLE WITH WEALTH AND WISDOM AND THE ABILITY TO SHARE IN, YOU KNOW, MOVING, MOVING MOUNTAINS, CUTTING DOWN TREES, BUILDING BUILDINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, I WAS A DENTAL HYGIENIST AND A SALESPERSON. MY HUSBAND WAS IN THE SALES WORLD.
WE HADN'T EVER BUILT A STRUCTURE LIKE THIS.
OVER 80,000 CHILDREN IN OUR PROGRAMS HAVE COME THROUGH CAMP, YOU KNOW, AND OVER.
I WOULD SAY WITH FAMILIES INCLUDED, PROBABLY 150,000 PEOPLE HAVE COME THROUGH AND BENEFITED FROM CAMP ARROYO AND THAT'S JUST WHAT WE'VE DONE, AND WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU GUYS, WITHOUT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING, AND WE HAVE BEEN WISE AND FRUGAL SAVERS, AND WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE FOR AT LEAST 15 YEARS MINIMUM, AND WE ARE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SO FULL OF GRATITUDE, AND I'M JUST SPEAKING FOR ME, BUT THERE ARE ALL THESE FAMILIES WHO FINALLY FEEL LIKE THEIR CHILDREN, WHEN THEY GO TO THEIR CAMP PROGRAM ARE JUST LIKE ME.
SO I CAN I YOU KNOW, I CAN'T EVER THANK YOU GUYS ENOUGH.
THE HOPES ARE THAT SOMEDAY MY HUSBAND'S NAME WILL BE ON THE NAME OF A TRAIL HERE WITHIN CAMP ARROYO.
FOR ALL THAT WE HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS.
SO I HOPE THAT HAPPENS, AND I JUST THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH.
PRESIDENT ECHOLS, WE HAVE SOME FLOWERS AND A SMALL PRESENTATION FOR ELAINE, IF WE CAN PRESENT THAT RIGHT NOW.
COULD WE TAKE A PICTURE WITH THE BOARD? YEAH. OKAY. OKAY.
YEAH. I DON'T WANT TO BLOCK ANYBODY.
[00:55:35]
OKAY, SO AT THIS POINT WE'RE GOING TO RECOGNIZE THREE OF OUR PUBLIC SERVICE OFFICIALS.STARTING WITH ANTHONY SEGOTTA.
MADAM PRESIDENT, A MEMBER OF THE BOARD.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE FOR RECOGNIZING OUR EMPLOYEES NOW THAT THEY DECIDED TO RETIRE COMBINED, THEY GAVE US 81 YEARS OF THEIR LIVES, WHICH IS DEFINITELY AN ACCOMPLISHMENT.
ALONG WITH THE DIRECTOR ROSARIO, WE GO OVER 100 YEARS ALMOST AS OLD AS I AM, SO THAT'S GOOD.
CAPTAIN CHAVEZ, DO YOU WANT TO JOIN ME, PLEASE? WHILE WE RECOGNIZE THESE EMPLOYEES, I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT AS A POLICE CHIEF AND AS AN AGM OF PUBLIC SAFETY, I'M VERY PROUD OF THE SERVICE THAT THEY PROVIDED, THE WORK THEY'VE DONE.
THEY GAVE 100% PRETTY MUCH EVERY DAY, AND THEY LEAVE A HUGE LEGACY.
I'M THE CAPTAIN AT YOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND I OVERSEE THE SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION.
IT'S FOR THE RECOGNITION OF 31 YEARS OF EXEMPLARY SERVICE TO THE PARK DISTRICT.
WHEREAS ANTHONY SEGOTTA HAS DEDICATED OVER 31 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE TO THE PARK DISTR ICT.
HE HAS BEEN A LEADER THROUGHOUT HIS TENURED CAREER THAT STARTED AS PUBLIC SAFETY STUDENT AIDE IN 1993, AND WHEREAS ANTHONY SEGOTTA WAS HIRED AS A POLICE OFFICER IN 1996, AND DURING HIS SIX YEARS AS A POLICE OFFICER, HE WORKED A VARIETY OF ASSIGNMENTS BEYOND PATROL, INCLUDING BEING A FIELD TRAINING OFFICER, SPECIAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, DETECTIVE, EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT CONTRACT, AND WAS ASSIGNED TO THE SAFE TASK FORCE, AND WHEREAS, ANTHONY SEGOTTA WAS PROMOTED TO POLICE SERGEANT IN 2002, WHERE HE WORKED IN PATROL AND WAS NOTABLY KNOWN AS A SPECIAL ENFORCEMENT UNIT SERGEANT FOR NEARLY TEN YEARS.
HE WAS THE FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM COORDINATOR FOR OVER 15 YEARS, WHERE HE TRAINED AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF OFFICERS, ENSURING THEY SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM, AND WHEREAS ANTHONY SEGOTTA'S WORK ETHIC, ABILITY TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE AND DESIRE TO SHARE HIS EXPERIENCES WILL BE MISSED BY EVERYBODY.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT BE RESOLVED THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT HEREBY EXTENDS ITS CONGRATULATIONS AND HEARTFELT THANKS TO ANTHONY SEGOTTA FOR ALL HE HAS GIVEN TO THE PARK DISTRICT AS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD ON DECEMBER 17TH, 2024, AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, THE GENERAL MANAGER IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED AND DIRECTED ON BEHALF OF THE PARK DISTRICT AND IN ITS NAME, TO THANK ANTHONY SEGOTTA FOR 31 YEARS OF SERVICE AND WISH HIS CONTINUED SUCCESS IN HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
CONGRATULATIONS, SERGEANT SEGOTTA.
WE'RE JUST GOING TO READ THIS AND THEN TAKE A PICTURE TOGETHER.
THANK YOU. CONTINUING ON, WE'RE GOING TO RECOGNIZE SERGEANT DUSTIN MARTINELLI FOR HIS RECOGNITION OF 25 YEARS, 29 YEARS OF EXEMPLARY SERVICE TO THE PARK DISTR ICT. WHEREAS DUSTIN MARTINELLI HAS DEDICATED OVER 29 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE TO THE PARK DISTRICT.
[01:00:06]
CANYON, AND EAST COUNTY TRAILS AND WHEREAS, DUSTIN MARTINELLI TRANSITIONED TO A CAREER IN POLICING WHEN HE GRADUATED FROM THE ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF'S ACADEMY IN 1999, AND WHEREAS, DUSTIN MARTINELLI SERVED IN EVERY BEAT AS A PATROL OFFICER AS WELL AS VARIOUS SPECIALIZED ROLES, INCLUDING THE EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT CONTRACT, THE SPECIAL ENFORCEMENT UNIT, EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATIONS AND OFF ROAD INSTRUCTOR, FIELD TRAINING OFFICER, AND MARINE OFFICER, AND WHEREAS, DUSTIN MARTINELLI WAS PROMOTED TO SERGEANT IN 2019, WHERE HE WORKED IN PATROL AND RETURNED TO THE SPECIAL ENFORCEMENT UNIT WHERE HE OBTAINED HIS US COAST GUARD CAPTAIN'S LICENSE, AND WHEREAS DUSTIN MARTINELLI WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR HIS CONSISTENT DEVOTION TO PUBLIC SERVICE AND DEPENDABILITY, HIS DEDICATED SERVICE WILL LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON ALL THOSE THAT HAD THE HONOR OF WORKING WITH HIM.NOW, THEREFORE, IT BE RESOLVED THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT HEREBY EXTEND ITS CONGRATULATIONS AND HEARTFELT THANKS TO DUSTIN MARTINELLI FOR ALL HE HAS GIVEN TO THE PARK DISTRICT AS A AS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD ON DECEMBER 17TH, 2024, AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE GENERAL MANAGER IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED AND DIRECTED ON BEHALF OF THE PARK DISTRICT AND IN ITS NAME, TO THANK DUSTIN MARTINELLI FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS OF SERVICE AND WISH CONTINUED SUCCESS IN HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
CONGRATULATIONS, SERGEANT MARTINELLI.
I'M NOW GOING TO INTRODUCE ACTING COMMS MANAGER JANET SEVERIN.
PRESIDENT ECHOLS AND BOARD, THANK YOU.
I'M RECOGNIZING PATTY GERSHANECK FOR 21 YEARS OF EXEMPLARY SERVICE TO THE PARK DISTRICT.
WHEREAS PATTY GERSHANECK HAS DEDICATED OVER 21 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE TO THE PARK DISTR ICT.
SHE BEGAN HER CAREER AS A COMMUNICATIONS DISPATCHER IN 2003, WORKED AS A COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER PATROLLING THE DISTRICT, AND ALSO HELD SPECIAL SPECIALTY POSITIONS AS EVIDENCE TECHNICIAN COMMUNICATIONS TRAINING OFFICER.
PATTY HAS HELD IN HIGH REGARD BY ALL, INCLUDING HER PEERS, AS DISPLAYED BY HER RECORD NUMBER OF FIVE DISPATCHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS, AND WHEREAS, PATTY WAS PROMOTED TO DISPATCH SUPERVISOR IN 2008 AND WAS IN CHARGE OF THE COMMUNICATIONS TRAINING PROGRAM, WHERE SHE TRAINED AND MENTORED MANY OF THE DISTRICT'S CURRENT DISPATCHERS AND SUPERVISORS.
SHE'S HELD THIS ROLE UNTIL SHE BECAME AN ACTING COMMUNICATIONS AND RECORDS MANAGER IN 2014.
WHEREAS PATTY GERSHANECK WAS PROMOTED TO COMMUNICATIONS AND RECORDS MANAGER IN 2015, WHERE SHE SERVED THE REMAINDER OF HER CAREER, WORKING ON COUNTLESS LARGE SCALE PROJECTS THAT DROVE THE DISTRICT FORWARD, AND WHEREAS PATTY GERSHANECK'S UNWAVERING DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT TO SUCCESS WAS ILLUSTRATED BY THE FOLLOWING CRUCIAL PROJECTS.
THE LOW BAND RADIO MICROWAVE UPGRADE, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEXT GEN 9-1-1 AND TEXT TO 9-1-1 SYSTEMS. COLLABORATION WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO INTEGRATE A NEW RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT HEREBY EXTENDS ITS CONGRATULATIONS.
PROFOUND THANKS TO PATTY GERSHANECK FOR ALL THAT SHE HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE PARK DISTRICT AS PRESENTED ON THE BOARD, DECEMBER 17TH, 2014, AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE GENERAL MANAGER IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED AND DIRECTED ON BEHALF OF THE PARK DISTRICT AND ITS NAME, TO THANK PATTY OCEANIC FOR 21 YEARS OF SERVICE AND WISHES CONTINUED SUCCESS FOR HER FUTURE ENDEAVORS, DATED DECEMBER 17TH, 2014.
[01:05:45]
YEAH, WELL, I THINK WE'VE EARNED A BREAK HERE, AND I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR, WELL, BOTH DEE AND THE THREE PUBLIC SAFETY FOLKS WHO ARE JUST ACKNOWLEDGED AND THE TAYLOR FOUNDATION.REALLY, WE APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A SHORT BREAK.
FOR CAKE! YOU CAN BE SEEN AND HEARD.
YEAH, I THOUGHT I HEARD SOME FEEDBACK.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT, SO NOW AT THIS POINT, MOVING RIGHT ALONG WE WILL I WILL ASK OUR
[PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA]
CLERK, ARE THERE PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA FOR TODAY? YES, PRESIDENT ECHOLS, WE HAVE ONE.OKAY, GREAT, AND CAN YOU JUST LET THE PUBLIC KNOW HOW THEY CAN MAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS? YES, PRESIDENT ECHOLS.
ANY EMAILS THAT HAVE COME IN AFTER THIS DATE WILL PROVIDE IT TO THE BOARD AFTER THIS MEETING.
OKAY, AND IF YOU ARE HERE TO GIVE A COMMENT REGARDING AN ITEM THAT IS ON THE AGENDA, WE WILL CALL YOU TO SPEAK AFTER THAT ITEM IS CALLED AND THE BOARD DISCUSSES. SO AT THIS POINT WE WILL TAKE THE COMMENT THAT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA.
RENEE PATTERSON, PLEASE, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
MY NAME IS RENEE PATTERSON, AND I'M AN ADMIN ANALYST II IN OPERATIONS FOR BUSINESS SERVICES, AND I WORK HERE AT PERALTA OAKS ON THE THIRD FLOOR, AND I'M HERE TO REMIND YOU THAT THERE IS A PERBS FILING AT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEE BOARD FOR A FILING THAT AFSCME FILED FOR UNFAIR PRACTICE CHARGE ON AUGUST 26TH, 2022.
SO OVER TWO YEARS AGO, AFSCME FILED A CHARGE.
THE CHARGE WAS FOR BAD FAITH BARGAINING INTERFERENCE, DIRECT DEALING AND UNILATERAL IMPLEMENTATION, AND I'M JUST DOING MY REGULAR REMINDER, WHICH I'LL CONTINUE TO DO UNTIL SOMETHING IS SETTLED WITH THIS FILING.
IF THERE WAS SOMETHING SETTLED AND I DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT IT, THEN SOMEBODY SHOULD LET ME KNOW, AND IF IT'S NOT SETTLED, WELL, THEN SHAME ON SOMEBODY, BECAUSE IT'S OVER TWO YEARS AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M STILL COMING HERE AND DOING A REMINDER FOR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SETTLED, OR AT LEAST LOOKED AT OR RESOLVED IN SOME WAY LONG AGO.
ANYWAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY TO DIRECTOR ROSARIO, I WILL MISS YOU VERY MUCH.
I LOVE SEEING YOU SITTING THERE, AND I JUST WISH YOU THE BEST.
OKAY. SO AT THIS POINT, WE'RE MOVING ON TO THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
[CONSENT CALENDAR]
I UNDERSTAND THAT ITEM 8A4.[01:10:04]
WE HAVE A REQUEST TO PULL THAT ONE, AND THERE'S ALSO A CORRECTION THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE ON THAT ONE AS WELL AS ITEM 8A5. WE I'M GOING TO JUST READ THE CORRECTION FOR THIS ONE.SO BASICALLY WHAT I WANT TO NOTE FOR THE RECORD THAT THE STAFF REPORT FOR THIS ITEM OMITS THE VOTES CAST IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FOR WARD TWO.
AND SO WE WILL ASK THE CLERK TO CORRECT THE RESOLUTION FOR THIS ITEM PRIOR TO ADOPTION.
SO THIS IS IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY.
LINDA DESCHAMBAULT, 24,667 VOTES WITH 56.01% OF THE VOTE.
SHANE REISMAN, 12,219 VOTES WITH 27.74% OF THE VOTE, AND CASEY ALYSON FARMER, 7157 VOTES, 16.25% OF THE VOTES.
SO WE WILL IF THE CLERK CAN MAKE THAT CHANGE, AND I'LL ASK FOR UNLESS THERE'S ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR, I'LL ASK FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR WITH THAT CORRECTION AT THIS TIME MINUS 8A4, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO TAKE UP SEPARATELY.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR? IF WE CAN HAVE A QUESTION AFTER THAT.
OH, YOU CAN ASK YOUR QUESTION NOW.
OKAY, JUST A COMMENT ON EIGHT EIGHT, THE AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO A THREE YEAR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE CLAYTON CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL AND AQUATIC SERVICES.
I JUST WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE AQUATIC SERVICES DEPARTMENT FOR DOING THIS, FOR REACHING OUT THERE.
YOU KNOW, THE CRISES WAS OUR POOLS WERE OUR LAKES WERE FILLED WITH BLUE GREEN ALGAE.
CONTRA LOMA WAS BREAKING DOWN.
WE'RE TEACHING NOT ONLY SWIMMING CLASSES, BUT LEARN NOT TO DROWN CLASSES AND EVEN INSTRUCTING BASIC LIFE SUPPORT, FIRST AID, CPR CLASSES AND STOP THE BLEED PROGRAM FOR WE CAN DO THIS WITH SMALL KIDS AND I'M VERY HAPPY WE'RE DOING THIS, AND I CAN'T WAIT TILL THE TIME WHEN SOME SIX YEAR OLD KIDS ON TV SAYING, YEAH, I SAVED MY DAD WHEN HIS HEART HAD A HEART ATTACK AND I WAS GIVING HIM CPR THAT I LEARNED FROM THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT.
YEAH. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A QUICK COMMENT.
CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL IS MY HOME.
I DIDN'T GO THERE, BUT THAT'S WHERE I LIVE AND MY DAUGHTERS GRADUATED FROM THERE.
I WAS VERY PROUD TO SEE US INVOLVED IN THAT SCHOOL.
SO THANKS FOR MAKING THAT HAPPEN.
IS THAT I THINK WITH THE INCOMING NEW BOARD MEMBERS, I THINK THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME THERE WILL BE A WOMAN MAJORITY ON THE BOARD. NO? NO, I THINK IT WAS. I THINK IT WAS A WOMAN MAJORITY WHEN I WAS FIRST GOT ON THE BOARD.
WE HAD. WELL, WE HAD ME, ELLEN, BEVERLY AND ANNE.
OH, YEAH. I STAND CORRECTED ALREADY.
OKAY. SO DID YOU WANT TO MAKE THE MOTION TO ADOPT THE CONSENT CALENDAR MINUS 8A4.
OKAY, SO THERE'S A MOTION BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR WAESPI.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES.
OKAY. SO JOHN, YOU WANTED TO BRING UP 8A4 SEPARATELY, SO THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
[4. Appointment of Board Officers for 2025 Year]
YEAH. THE REASON FOR PULLING THIS OUT OF CONSENT WAS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS KNOW THAT WE'RE RESHUFFLING THE CHAIRS UP HERE, AND SO THE NEXT TIME YOU TUNE IN OR COME IN, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT OFFICER POSITIONS BEING OCCUPIED, AND SO I[01:15:01]
THINK THE TREASURER AND THE SECRETARY AS SHOWN HERE ARE GOING TO BE FLIPPED HERE.RIGHT? SO THE SECRETARY OF THE DISTRICT WILL BE DIRECTOR WAESPI.
THE TREASURER WILL BE DIRECTOR COFFEY.
DIRECTOR SANWONG WILL BE THE VICE PRESIDENT AND I WILL BE THE PRESIDENT.
SO THAT'S HOW IT'S GOING TO BE CHANGING, AND I JUST WANTED TO BE JUST OPEN AND TRANSPARENT ABOUT THAT, THAT WE'RE DOING THAT AND WE'RE GOING TO VOTE ON THAT SEPARATELY. SO YEAH, AND TO BE CLEAR, WE'RE FOLLOWING THE USUAL ROTATION, WHICH WE CHANGE EVERY YEAR IN ORDER OF SENIORITY.
COLIN'S ACTUALLY AHEAD OF DENNIS IN THE ROTATION.
YOU DON'T JUST THROW UP YOUR HANDS.
SO ANYWAY, WE HAVE PLENTY OF WARNING.
LET'S GO. WHAT'S IN STORE FOR US? AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR WITH THE NEW OFFICERS ON THE BOARD.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THIS ITEM.
OKAY. MOVED BY DIRECTOR MERCURIO AND SECONDED BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES.
ALL RIGHT, SO AT THIS POINT SINCE WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS HERE TO TALK ON C1.
I AM GOING TO SUGGEST, AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER'S OFFICE THAT WE MOVE SECTION B TO THE END OF THE AGENDA, AND THEN WE CAN GO AHEAD AND TAKE UP THE BRIONES PILOT PROJECT.
I DON'T NEED A VOTE ON THAT, DO I? I CAN JUST I CAN JUST MAKE A MOVE.
OKAY. PRESIDENT ECHOLS ARE WE GOING TO FOLLOW THAT AND DO C2? BECAUSE THERE ARE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE HERE IN THE ROOM TO COMMENT ON THAT ALSO.
OKAY, BUT WE'RE GOING 2C? YES. YES. OKAY.
[ACQUISITION, STEWARDSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION]
ALL RIGHT. SO NOW WE'RE STARTING WITH BRIONES PILOT PROJECT.OH, ACTUALLY, AND ACTUALLY I'M BEFORE I GIVE MAX THE FLOOR, AND WHILE THEY'RE SETTING UP, I DID WANT TO SAY THAT A FEW MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HAD EXPRESSED CONCERN PRIOR TO THE DECEMBER 6TH, 2024, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING.
THEY WERE CONCERNED THAT THE MEETING HAD NOT BEEN PROPERLY NOTICED PURSUANT TO THE BROWN ACT, AND SO, ALTHOUGH STAFF HAS DETERMINED THAT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING WAS PROPERLY NOTICED, THE BOARD WILL NOT CONSIDER THE RECOMMENDATION BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
SOUNDS GOOD. WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, DIRECTORS MAX KORTEN, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, AND THAT WORKS GREAT, TOO, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE SAME SLIDESHOW WITH ADDITIONS.
SO AND I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A QUICK INTRO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WEEK EIGHT FOR ME, BUT IT'S REALLY BEEN A PLEASURE TO WORK ON THIS PROJECT AND SORT OF SUPPORT OUR TEAM AROUND TRAILS AND SEAN WILL TAKE OVER IN A MINUTE, AND I THINK WE ALSO HAVE MEMBERS OF OUR STEWARDSHIP TEAM AND OTHERS TO HELP DESCRIBE OUR PRESENTATION TODAY, BUT , YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS IS REALLY AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF SORT OF LEADERSHIP IN THIS AREA OF WORK.
THIS WAS A COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITY BETWEEN STEWARDSHIP OPERATIONS, OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND PLANNING, AND I REALLY WANT TO APPRECIATE THE ENGAGEMENT OF THE COMMUNITY IN THIS PROCESS.
THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO CAME OUT TO LEND THEIR VOICES AND IDEAS, AND OUR STAFF THAT LISTENED, AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, THE FOLKS WHO VOLUNTEERED AND CAME OUT TO LEND THEIR HAND IN THE PARK TO MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE, AND REALLY, THAT THIS BUILDS ON PAST EFFORTS OF, OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE DISTRICT, BUT IT ALSO BUILDS ON
[01:20:04]
BEST PRACTICES FROM PARKS IN GENERAL AND AROUND THE REGION AND WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IN OTHER PLACES.SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO SEAN AND JUST APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP.
GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M SEAN DOUGAN, I'M THE TRAILS PROGRAM MANAGER, AND I AM HERE TODAY TO GIVE AN UPDATE AND RECOMMENDATION FOR THE BRIONES PILOT PROJECT.
NOW, THE BRIONES PILOT PROJECT WAS STARTED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE GENERAL MANAGER, GIVEN TO HER BY THE BOARD UNDER ORDINANCE 38, SECTION 200.5, THE GM OR DESIGNEE AUTHORIZED TO ISSUE IS AUTHORIZED TO ISSUE TEMPORARY RULES AND REGULATIONS AND TAKE ACTIONS TO PRESERVE PARKLANDS PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY, PROTECT HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTE PARKLAND RESOURCES AMONG COMPETING USES.
THE GENESIS OF THIS PILOT PROGRAM REALLY BEGAN DURING THE TRAIL USER WORKING GROUP PROCESS IN 2020.
AFTER THE BOARD WORKSHOP IN 2019, WHERE WE DISCUSSED TRAILS IN DEPTH AND THE ISSUE OF BOOTLEG TRAILS IN THE PARK DISTRICT WE BROUGHT TOGETHER AS MANY TRAIL USER GROUPS AS WE COULD, WE TALKED ABOUT THESE ISSUES AND A SUBSET OF THAT GROUP STARTED TALKING ON THEIR OWN ABOUT SOMETHING THAT COULD HAPPEN IN BRIONES.
AS WE'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT INCREASED BIKE ACTIVITY THERE, BOOTLEG TRAIL ISSUES IN BRIONES.
THIS WASN'T DISCUSSED AS A PART OF THE TRAIL USER WORKING GROUP.
I DON'T THINK ANYBODY UNDERSTOOD OR KNEW WHAT IT WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE AT THAT TIME, BUT WHAT IT IS MEANT TO BE WAS A TWO YEAR TEMPORARY PILOT PROJECT TO TEST A VARIETY OF TRAIL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE USER EXPERIENCE AND PROTECT AND RESTORE HABITAT AND WATERSHEDS WITHIN THE PILOT PROJECT ZONE IN THE NORTHEAST SECTION OF BRIONES.
IT'S ABOUT I BELIEVE IT'S ABOUT 2000 ACRES OR SO.
AT THE TOP OF THIS SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE PROJECT WEB PAGE.
WE ARE HERE IN THE 20TH MONTH, AND SO WE HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE BASED ON THE DATA AND THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD, THE MULTIPLE PUBLIC MEETINGS WE NOW HAVE, WE NEED TO START SOMETHING NEW AND END THE PILOT.
THAT'S WHAT I'M HERE TODAY TO DISCUSS.
WE SET UP PROJECT GOALS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA FOR THIS.
THIS WAS AN INTERNAL MEASURING STICK FOR US.
WE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE OUR SUCCESS.
RIGHT. THE FIRST IS TO ELIMINATE THE CREATION OF NEW ILLEGAL BOOTLEG TRAILS IN THE PILOT ZONE.
INCREASED TRAIL VOLUNTEERISM TO ASSIST WITH RESTORATION AND MAINTENANCE, COMPLIANCE AND MANAGEMENT, COMPLIANCE WITH MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND THE PILOT PROJECT RULES WAS CRUCIAL. COLLECT QUALITATIVE DATA WHICH IS SURVEYS, ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY, ETC, AND THEN OBTAIN TRAIL USE DATA TO BE ABLE TO MAP THE PATTERNS AND AMOUNTS OF PEOPLE, VOLUMES AND BEHAVIOR WITHIN THE PARK.
ON THE RIGHT YOU SEE THE PILOT PROJECT MAP, AND JUST TO GO OVER IT AGAIN ALL OF THE TRAILS THAT ARE COLORED GREEN, YELLOW OR ORANGE, INCLUDING THIS SMALL DASHED LINES WITH AN R IN FRONT OF THEIR LABEL.
THOSE ARE ALL BOOTLEG TRAILS THAT WERE KNOWN TO EXIST IN THE PILOT PROJECT ZONE.
AT THE TIME OF THE START OF THE PILOT, THE GREEN TRAILS WERE DESIGNATED AS HIKER ONLY.
AS A PART OF THE PROJECT, THE YELLOW TRAILS WERE ALLOWING BICYCLE ACCESS, DOWNHILL ONLY BICYCLE ACCESS, AND THEN THE ORANGE TRAILS WERE ARE OUR DUAL USE TRAILS.
SO PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE, AND AS I MENTIONED, THE RESTORED TRAILS ALL IN DOTTED THE COMMUNITY DIDN'T NECESSARILY SEE THESE RESTORED TRAILS, BUT THESE WERE THE TRAILS THAT WE TOOK OFF THE MAP.
AFTER LOOKING AT ALL THE DATA AND AFTER 20 MONTHS OF THIS PROJECT, WE'RE HERE TODAY.
THE SPECIFIC ACTION FOR THE BOARD TODAY IS TO AMEND ATTACHMENT A OF ORDINANCE 38 TO INCLUDE TRAIL DESIGNATIONS AND RULES ON 5.75 MILES OF TRAILS WITHIN THE BRIONES REGIONAL PARK.
THAT'S ESSENTIALLY THE YELLOW AND THE ORANGE TRAILS.
SO THE FIRST GOAL ELIMINATE THE CREATION OF NEW BLUE LAKE TRAILS IN THE PILOT ZONE.
FOR YEARS, PARK STAFF HAS BEEN TRYING TO CLOSE MANY OF THESE TRAILS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
POLICE ACTIONS, STING OPERATIONS, BARRIERS, FENCES, LOGS TO BLOCK ACCESS.
[01:25:04]
ALL TO BE ABOUT A MONTH LATER AND THEY WOULD BE OPEN UP AGAIN.SO SOMETHING NEW NEEDED TO BE TRIED HERE.
THE GOAL HERE IS THAT THERE ARE NO NEW PILOT.
THERE ARE, SORRY, THERE ARE NO NEW BOOTLEG TRAILS WITHIN THE PILOT ZONE DURING THE PILOT PROJECT.
IF YOU LOOK ON THE LEFT YOU CAN SEE THE MAP BEFORE THE PILOT.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEGEND THAT IT'S QUITE A BIG RANGE.
YOU SEE, THE THINNEST LINE ON THIS IS ABOUT 0 TO 500 USERS.
WE SEE ABOUT 500 A MONTH IN THIS PARK, AND ON THE RIGHT, YOU SEE, DURING THE PILOT, ALL OF THE BOOTLEG TRAILS THAT EXISTED BEFORE THE PILOT ARE SHOWN ON THE LEFT AND ON THE RIGHT, YOU SEE THAT THERE ARE NO NEW PILOT.
THERE ARE NO NEW BOOTLEG TRAILS IN THE PILOT ZONE AFTER 20 MONTHS.
CLOSE AND RESTORE. DESIGNATED BOOTLEG TRAILS.
THIS IS. THIS IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT.
THIS IS THE ISSUE THAT THE PARK DISTRICT FACES WITH BOOTLEG TRAILS.
THEY DO NOT GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION, AND THEY DO NOT, AND THEY HAVEN'T BEEN CREATED IN THE WAY THAT THE PARK DISTRICT WOULD NORMALLY DO IT, AND SO WE NEED TO WE NEEDED TO CLOSE 75% OR MORE OF THE RECOMMENDED CLOSURES, AND BY THE END OF THE PILOT, WE EXPECTED THAT 100% OF THE TRAILS THAT WE DID PHYSICALLY CLOSE WOULD NOT SHOW SIGNS OF USE.
SO AT THIS POINT, I'D LIKE TO BRING UP MATT GRAUL, OUR STEWARDSHIP MANAGER, TO DISCUSS THE PROCESS THAT WE WENT THROUGH TO EVALUATE THESE TRAILS AND THE BENEFITS THAT WE SAW AS A PART OF THAT.
THANKS, SEAN. MATT GRAUL, DIVISION LEAD FOR STEWARDSHIP, AND FROM THE STEWARDSHIP PERSPECTIVE, THIS AREA HAS HAD A HISTORY OF ILLICIT TRAIL CONSTRUCTION, AND THAT USE HAS CREATED HABITAT FRAGMENTATION.
SO THE BASELINE CONDITION WE ARE STARTING WITH WITH THIS PILOT WAS AN AREA OF FRAGMENTED HABITAT.
SO STEWARDSHIP STAFF CONDUCTED RECONNAISSANCE LEVEL FIELD SURVEYS.
WE ALSO CONDUCTED A DESKTOP REVIEW, REVIEWING CMDDB AND DATABASES OF WILDLIFE OCCURRENCES IN THE AREA, AND IDENTIFIED THE BOOTLEG TRAILS THAT WOULD HAVE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY FOR CLOSURE, AND SO WE DID THOSE SITE VISITS AND ESTABLISHED THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA.
SO WE LOOKED AT DOES THE, YOU KNOW, DOES AN EXISTING TRAIL GO THROUGH HIGH QUALITY HABITAT FOR FEDERALLY AND STATE LIFTED SPECIES SUCH AS ALAMEDA? WHIPSNAKE IS THE TRAIL SEGMENT WITHIN THE LINE OF SIGHT OF A KNOWN GOLDEN EAGLE NEST.
DOES THE TRAIL SEGMENT CROSS STREAMS OR OCCUR WITHIN A STREAM CORRIDOR? ALSO, IS THERE OBSERVABLE EROSION OCCURRING ALONG THE TRAIL SEGMENT? DOES THE TRAIL SEGMENT TRAVERSE SENSITIVE PLANT COMMUNITIES, AND IS IT ESTABLISHED AND ACTIVELY BEING CONSTRUCTED OR BEING USED? AND SO WE USE THOSE CRITERIA AND CAME UP WITH THIS IDENTIFIED SEVERAL KEY RESOURCES SHOWN HERE ON THE ON THE MAP AND SHOWS SOME OF THE FRAGMENTATION THAT WAS OCCURRING.
SO WE PRIORITIZED THOSE AREAS.
SO THE AREAS WHERE THE TRAILS WERE BISECTING ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE HABITAT, WE PRIORITIZE THOSE FOR REMOVAL, AND WE ALSO THE TRAILS WERE RESULTING IN EROSION AND DEGRADATION OF STREAM HABITAT, DISTURBANCE OF NESTING GOLDEN EAGLES.
SO WE TOOK ALL THOSE CRITERIA, AND THEN THAT'S HOW WE PRIORITIZED THE TRAILS FOR CLOSURE.
SO, SORRY, OH WELL WE'LL JUST WORK WITH OKAY.
WE ALSO REMOVED A TRAIL THAT WAS WITHIN A LINE OF SIGHT OF A GOLDEN EAGLE NEST, SO THAT WAS ANOTHER ONE WE MARKED FOR CLOSURE, AND OVERALL, THE PROJECT HAS REDUCED THE HABITAT FRAGMENTATION BY REMOVING THOSE TRAILS AND THOSE TRAILS, AS SEAN MENTIONED, HAVE STAYED CLOSED.
SO BY REALLY BY REDUCING THE OVERALL NUMBER OF BOOTLEG TRAILS.
[01:30:05]
SO. THANK YOU, MATT.MANY OF THESE TRAILS ACTUALLY HAD SMALLER SEGMENTS THAT WERE ANALYZED AS A PART OF THAT PROCESS THAT MATT GRAUL JUST DESCRIBED, BUT WE LUMPED THEM TOGETHER INTO THESE SIMPLE TRAIL NUMBERS ON THE MAP, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF SEASONS, WE'VE DONE AN ANALYSIS OF WHICH TRAILS WERE STAYING CLOSED, WHICH SIGNS WERE RIPPED OUT AND THROWN TO THE SIDE THAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE BEGINNING, BUT THAT CEASED TO OCCUR AFTER THE COMMUNITY SEEMED TO GET ON BOARD AND UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS PROJECT, AND WE JUST RECENTLY DID THIS IN NOVEMBER AGAIN, AND ALL OF THE TRAILS ARE SHOWING NO SIGNS OF USE, EXCEPT FOR THE TRAIL THAT MATT MENTIONED THAT WE NEED TO GET ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITS AND REGULATORY PERMITS TO RESTORE BECAUSE OF WHERE IT IS, AND OCCASIONALLY WE'LL GET USE ON THOSE, BUT BUT IT IS A SMALL NUMBER.
IT'S A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE AND IT STILL IS WITHIN OUR SUCCESS CRITERIA.
HERE'S A FEW PICTURES THAT YOU MAY HAVE SEEN.
YOU CAN SEE THE REMNANTS ON THE RIGHT OF SOME JUTE NETTING THAT WAS USED TO HOLD THE SOIL IN PLACE TO ALLOW THE VEGETATION TO REGAIN SOME PURCHASE ON THE HILLSIDE, AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE CURRENT CONDITION OF THAT TRAIL THERE ON THE LEFT.
THIS WAS THE TRAIL THAT WAS JUST MENTIONED ABOUT THE EAGLE'S NEST.
THAT'S PRETTY ESTABLISHED ON THE LEFT.
HERE IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW ON THE RIGHT, AND IT'S COMING BACK NICELY.
OBVIOUSLY WE SIGNED ALL OF THESE TO BE CLOSED AND BLOCKED THE ENTRANCES.
SOME OF THEM WE PHYSICALLY RESTORED THE WHOLE SECTION, BUT LOGS AND THINGS THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO PASS OR PLACED, AND THEN HERE'S THREE MORE PICTURES OF WHERE THERE WAS A VERY ESTABLISHED TRAIL PREVIOUSLY IS NOW RETURNED TO HABITAT.
THE GOAL NUMBER THREE WAS TO INCREASE TRAIL VOLUNTEERISM TO ASSIST WITH TRAIL RESTORATION AND MAINTENANCE, AND THIS IS ESSENTIALLY BRINGING IN THE COMMUNITY TO COME IN AND HELP US ALLEVIATE THE SITUATION, REMEDY THE BOOTLEG TRAIL ISSUES IN THE PARK AND THE SUCCESS CRITERIA WE SET UP WAS BASED ON HAVING SEVERAL EVENTS AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE RECEIVED AMPLE AMPLE ATTENDANCE.
EXCUSE ME. TURNS OUT WE REALLY ACTUALLY COULDN'T HAVE ENOUGH.
THERE WAS SO MUCH POPULARITY AROUND THIS PROJECT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF IT THAT WE HAD, YOU KNOW, AND THE OUTREACH THAT WE DID, THE PUBLIC MEETING THAT WE HAD, THE THAT WE HAD, YOU KNOW, NOT ENOUGH CREW AND NOT ENOUGH DAYS TO ACCOMMODATE ALL THE VOLUNTEER REQUESTS, WHICH IS ACTUALLY A DISTRICT, PROBABLY A GLOBAL DISTRICT ISSUE RIGHT NOW, BUT IN 2023, WE HAD SIX COMMUNITY DIG DAYS AND FIVE STEWARDS OF BRIONES DIG DAYS.
NOW, THE STEWARDS OF BRIONES IS A NONPROFIT THAT TOOK EXTREME INTEREST IN THIS PROJECT BECAUSE THEY SAW AN INCREASE IN USE ON MANY OF THESE TRAILS, AND THEY WERE CONCERNED THAT OPENING THESE TRAILS IN THEIR CURRENT CONDITION, WHICH WAS A CRITERIA OF OUR PROJECT, THAT THEY WERE JUST GOING TO ERODE MORE.
THERE WERE DRAINAGE ISSUES AND THE USE WAS EXACERBATED.
SO THEY CAME TOGETHER AND THEY, THEY STARTED, YOU KNOW, PARTNERING WITH THE DISTRICT NOT ONLY TO MAINTAIN THESE TRAILS, BUT ALSO ACTING AS A MOUTHPIECE TO SPREAD THE MESSAGE THAT BOOTLEG TRAIL BUILDING IS NOT GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
SPREADING MESSAGES AS A PARTNER WITH THE DISTRICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND, AND EXPRESSING THE IMPORTANCE OF OF COMPLYING WITH THESE RULES THROUGH THIS PROJECT BECAUSE OF THE POSITIVE BENEFITS THAT COULD LEAD AFTERWARDS.
OVERALL, WE HAD 23 EVENTS, 389 VOLUNTEERS AND SOME OF THEM MAY BE RETURNING AND THEN 2456 HOURS OF VOLUNTEERING.
I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THAT THERE ARE VERY THE MOUNTAIN BIKING COMMUNITY, THE HIKING COMMUNITY, THE EQUESTRIAN COMMUNITY, THEY'RE ALL IF YOU TAKE THE LABELS AWAY, THEY'RE ALL JUST PEOPLE TRYING TO USE OUR PARKS.
RIGHT, BUT THE ADVOCACY THAT'S DEVELOPED AROUND THE MOUNTAIN BIKING COMMUNITY HAS BEEN IN RESPONSE TO YEARS OF REQUESTING AND ASKING FOR THESE TRAILS, FOR TRAILS THAT THEY WANT TO RIDE, AND OVER TIME, THE FRUSTRATION HAS BUILT SUCH THAT COMMUNITY HAS FRACTURED, AND SO YOU HAVE LARGE GROUPS OF BICYCLE ADVOCACY GROUPS THAT ARE, THAT ARE NOT TALKING TOGETHER AS A RESULT OF THIS PROJECT.
[01:35:03]
ONE OF THE POSITIVE BENEFITS IS THAT WE ARE NOW SEEING THOSE GROUPS WORKING TOGETHER, COMMUNICATING AND UNDERSTANDING.COMPLIANCE WITH MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
THIS WAS MAINLY WHY WE PUT UP MULTIPLE CAMERAS TRAIL COUNTERS AND WATCHED WHAT WAS GOING ON OUT THERE THROUGH STRAVA, THE HEAT MAP DATA AND OUR AI, OUR PLACER.AI DATA, WHICH IS CROWDSOURCED CELL PHONE DATA.
SO THIS TABLE IS A LOT, BUT BUT IT SURE IS PRETTY, BUT LET'S LET'S GO THROUGH IT A LITTLE BIT.
CAN I ASK YOU A QUICK QUESTION? EXCUSE ME JUST A MINUTE.
CAN I GET RID OF THIS THING? THANK YOU. APOLOGIES.
OKAY, SO ON THE TOP, WE HAVE THE WEEKLY AVERAGE COUNTS DOWN THE COLUMNS.
YOU SAY WE SEPARATED THAT BY BIKERS, HIKERS AND EQUESTRIANS.
YOU SEE THE SOURCE OF THE DATA ON THE SIDE ON THE FAR RIGHT, AND THEN WE SPECIFICALLY SEE ALTERNATIVE DAY COMPLIANCE BY USER GROUP IN THE MIDDLE AND EACH AREA.
SO YOU HAVE THE BRIONES PILOT PROJECT..
SORRY, IT DEFINITELY ISN'T MY FIRST TIME, BUT OKAY.
NOTICE THAT THERE'S 4515 WEEKLY AVERAGE COUNTS OR TRIPS INTO THE PARK, AND MOSTLY FROM ALHAMBRA CREEK, BUT OLD BRIONES AND REALLY EAST VALLEY AS WELL.
IF YOU LOOK DOWN ON THE BOTTOM LEFT, YOU CAN SEE SOME COMPARABLE AREAS THAT WE KNOW ARE VERY POPULAR, AND YOU CAN KIND OF COMPARE LIKE HOW BUSY IS IS BRIONES, RIGHT? THE I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT PB7, ALSO CALLED THE TRAVERSE TRAIL, ON A WEEKLY AVERAGE BASIS.
THIS TRAIL IS GETTING 167 TRIPS.
WE HAVE CAMERAS AND COUNTERS THAT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN BIKERS AND HIKERS.
ON THIS TRAIL. YOU CAN SEE THERE'S LIKE ABOUT AN EVEN SPLIT BETWEEN HIKERS AND BIKERS ON THIS TRAIL AND THE COMPLIANCE RATE THERE AND THEN SOMETHING THAT'S INTERESTING, I WANT TO POINT OUT IS A TRAIL THAT WE ACTUALLY DIDN'T INCLUDE IN THE PILOT, BUT WE KNOW IS NEAR A STREAM AND IT NEEDS SOME WORK.
IT'S BEEN THERE. MANY OF THESE TRAILS HAVE BEEN THERE FOR 30, 40 YEARS, BUT THIS ONE'S BEEN THERE SINCE PEOPLE CAN REMEMBER, AND THIS ONE IS THE MOST USED TRAIL IN THE PARK, AND WE SEE SCHOOL GROUPS, WE SEE FAMILIES, WE SEE KIDS, EVERYONE WANTING TO WALK IN THE SHADE AT BRIONES ALONG THIS TRAIL, AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT IN THE FUTURE.
SO AS FAR AS COMPLIANCE GOES, WE KNEW THAT THE PILOT PROJECT WAS NOT GOING TO STOP ALL ILLEGAL TRAIL USE IN THE PARK DISTRICT AND EVEN TRAIL BUILDING IN THE PARK DISTR ICT. THIS IS THE FIRST STEP IN THIS.
THIS IS NOT THE END. I'M NOT HERE TODAY SAYING, OH, WE DID IT.
EVERYONE'S COMPLYING AND NOW WE CAN WE CAN WALK AWAY.
THIS IS REALLY THE BEGINNING OF THIS PROCESS WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMPLYING.
PEOPLE ARE COMING IN ON THE DAY THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO, AND YOU SEE, YOU DO SEE AN INCREASE IN USE ON THESE BIKE TRAILS IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PILOT, BUT YOU ALSO SEE 100% IN SOME CASES IN THE FIRST YEAR, AND WE GOT THERE IN THE SECOND YEAR ON ALL THOSE R TRAILS DECREASE IN USE ON THE RESTORED TRAILS AND THEN COMPARING 2024 TO 2023, YOU DO SEE A FURTHER DECREASE IN USE, AND WE'RE SEEING THAT ACTUALLY FROM THE PANDEMIC.
WE ARE SEEING A STEADY DECREASE IN USE ACTUALLY IN MOST OF OUR PARKS, BUT THIS THIS IS SHOWING THAT THIS IS THIS IS CONTINUING TO LEAN THAT WAY, AND, AND FOLKS ARE COMPLYING WITH OUR RULES.
[01:40:01]
SO I DO HAVE CAPTAIN CHAVEZ HERE, IF YOU HAVE ANY FOR DISCUSSION AFTERWARDS FROM OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, BUT THIS SLIDE KIND OF SHOWS WHAT CITATIONS WERE ISSUED AND SOME OF THE BIKE ACCIDENTS AND ACTIVITY IN THE PARK DURING THE PILOT.YOU CAN SEE THAT 99 CITATIONS WERE ISSUED IN THE PARK ALTOGETHER OVER THE LAST TWO, ALMOST TWO YEARS OR 20 MONTHS, RATHER AND ON THE BOTTOM LEFT.
FOR COMPARISON, YOU CAN SEE OTHER PARKS WITH THE NUMBER OF CITATIONS, BUT OF THOSE CITATIONS, 30 OF THEM WERE BIKE RELATED AND MOST OF THEM WERE PARKING RELATED.
ON THE RIGHT YOU HAVE BRIONES BICYCLE ACCIDENTS REPORTED BY PUBLIC SAFETY.
YOU CAN SEE IN 2020 THERE WERE SIX.
IN BRIONES 2021 IT WENT DOWN TO 522.
IT KEPT LOWERING, AND THEN 2023 WE STARTED THE PILOT.
IT WAS ONLY TWO BIKE ACCIDENTS IN THE PARK REPORTED IN 2024, A SLIGHT INCREASE.
THE BAR CHART MAKES IT LOOK DRAMATIC, BUT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SIX TOTAL, WHICH IS WHICH IS IN 2020, WHICH IS GOOD, AND ONLY 3 IN 2024, AND I SHOULD MENTION VOLUNTEER TRAIL SAFETY PATROL OUT THERE, NOT ONLY TABLING IN THE BEGINNING, FIRST TWO MONTHS OF THIS PROJECT, WHICH DRASTICALLY HELPED SPREAD THE WORD, BUT 166 HOURS, 144 HOURS AT THE EDUCATION BOOTHS AND TABLES AND HOURS OF OF PATROL, AND SO I WANT TO REALLY GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THEM FOR HELPING OUT SO MUCH.
OKAY, AND THEN COLLECTING QUALITATIVE DATA.
BEFORE THE PROJECT STARTED, WE COLLECTED A LOT OF FEEDBACK ON HOW WE SHOULD ORGANIZE THIS.
WE DID OUR BEST TO MAKE THE PILOT PERFECT.
JUNE 15TH, 2024 WE HELD ANOTHER MEETING.
THESE WERE ALL NOTICED ON NEXT DOOR BRIONES FACEBOOK PAGE.
THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE WEBSITE.
THE CITY OF PLEASANT HILL WEBSITE.
LOCAL MEDIA IN AND AROUND BRIONES, THE DIABLO GAZETTE, CLAY COURT, LAMORINDA WEEKLY, AND THE EAST BAY TIMES WEEKLY, AS WELL AS ON OUR PROJECT WEB PAGE AND TO OUR EMAIL LIST SERVE, WHICH WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF EMAIL ADDRESSES ON THERE.
WE PUT UP A TON OF INFORMATIONAL SIGNS, PROBABLY ABOUT 100 SIGNS, AND TRYING TO LEARN HOW THE PARK DISTRICT CAN BETTER ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY.
THIS WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR THE PARK DISTRICT.
WE WERE HOPING TO GET ABOVE 60% POSITIVE RATING OR GREATER.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF SURVEY DATA.
I CAN'T GO THROUGH IT ALL, OBVIOUSLY, BUT WE ASK QUESTIONS LIKE, HOW OFTEN DO YOU VISIT? AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ANSWERED THE SURVEY, IN THIS CASE, THE FIRST SURVEY WERE WEEKLY OR MONTHLY OR DAILY VISITORS, RIGHT? SO THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY USE THE PARK THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM.
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE PILOT PROJECT? YOU CAN SEE SOCIAL MEDIA BEATING ALL OTHER WAYS THAT WE SPREAD THE WORD.
THIS IS VALUABLE INFORMATION NO MATTER HOW WE MOVE FORWARD.
YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOW THE WAY THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE LEARNING ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND WE SHOULD CONSIDER THAT IN OUR MESSAGING, AND THEN WORD OF MOUTH, YOU KNOW, WHICH I THINK IS GREATLY FROM THE TABLING THAT OCCURRED, BUT THE DISTRICT WEBSITE, NOT SO MUCH.
HAS THE PARK DISTRICT STRUCK A BALANCE BETWEEN QUALITY RECREATION EXPERIENCE VERSUS PROTECTING HABITAT? OVERWHELMINGLY, A YES, 80% ON THAT SURVEY QUESTION, AND THEN WE DID ASK WHAT TYPE OF USER YOU WERE WHEN YOU ANSWERED THESE BIKERS, HIKERS AND EQUESTRIANS, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE BY STRATEGY KIND OF WHERE THEY'RE AT.
YOU CAN SEE OVERWHELMINGLY LIKE THE BIKERS WERE HAPPY WITH THE ONE WAY TRAIL SEPARATING USES, ETC, AND AS YOU MOVE OVER, THE HIKERS SHOWED A PRETTY POSITIVE RESPONSE THERE AS WELL. FOR MANY OF THESE EQUESTRIANS, IT STARTS TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE SPLIT, AND IN PARTICULAR THE ALTERNATING DAYS, I THINK.
I THINK THE QUESTION IS ACTUALLY LIKE THAT, LIKE THAT LIKE THAT RULE.
THIS YEAR WE RELEASED ONE LAST SURVEY BETWEEN AUGUST AND OCTOBER.
THIS IS ALSO INCLUDES INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECTED AT THE JUNE 15TH MEETING.
[01:45:06]
THEY'RE TIRED OF ANSWERING, I DON'T KNOW, BUT BUT OF THE OF THE RESPONDENTS, THERE WAS AN OVERWHELMINGLY 93% POSITIVE EXPERIENCE CHANGE IN THE BRIONES PILOT SINCE IT STARTED.HOW EFFECTIVE WERE THE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES? YOU CAN SEE EACH ONE HERE CLOSING BOOTLEGS, OPENING BOOTLEGS.
ONE WAY TRAILS AND SEPARATING USE ON TRAILS.
OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE RESPONSE.
WE RECEIVED THE MOST COMPLAINTS ABOUT THAT, AND IT WAS FRANKLY, THE MOST DIFFICULT TO ENFORCE, AND HOW HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE PILOT MOVE FORWARD? 153, 77% VOTED TO ADOPT THE PILOT, AND I WOULD LIKE TO JUST INVITE JOE MILLER UP TO SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE QUALITATIVE DATA AND THE EXPERIENCE WITHIN BRIONES.
HE'S GOING TO SPEAK REAL BRIEFLY.
FIRST, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE BOARD AND THE GM FOR FOR PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO THIS.
WE'VE HAD ISSUES OUT AT BRIONES FOR A WHILE AND WE'VE NEEDED HELP AND WE'RE FINALLY GETTING IT.
THIS KIND OF STARTED OUT IN A WAY, BECAUSE OF SOME TRAIL USER CONFLICT ISSUES WE HAD, BUT THEN IT SORT OF MORPHED INTO SOMETHING BIGGER, AND AS IT DID THAT WE HAD MORE DEPARTMENTS FROM WITHIN THE PARK DISTRICT COMING TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT I FIND AMAZING.
I HAD NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE HOW WE ALL CAN POTENTIALLY WORK TOGETHER THIS WELL, BRINGING ALL OUR DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND FINDING A WAY FORWARD THAT MADE SENSE, AND IT I KIND OF.
WE'VE MANAGED TO CLOSE TRAILS THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO CLOSE FOR YEARS, AND WE'VE MANAGED TO KIND OF STEM THE, THE COMPLAINTS THAT WE WOULD FEEL, YOU KNOW, EITHER THROUGH EMAILS OR PHONE CALLS.
WE DIDN'T HEAR FROM THE MOUNTAIN BIKERS TOO MUCH AT THE TIME, BUT UNDERSTANDABLY THEY PROBABLY DIDN'T FEEL WELCOME AT THAT POINT.
WE HAD COMPLAINTS FROM EQUESTRIANS ABOUT THE HAZARDS THAT WERE INVOLVED WITH THE INTERACTION OF THESE TWO USER GROUPS, AND I'M NOT HEARING ANY MORE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THAT.
SO AS MUCH AS I LIKE TO TALK TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT THINGS.
THEY'RE NOT CALLING ABOUT THAT WE'RE EMAILING.
SO I THINK THAT MEANS SOMETHING, AND THE OTHER DIFFERENCE THAT WE'VE SEEN IS THAT THE MOUNTAIN BIKERS, THEY INTERACT SO MUCH BETTER WITH THE PUBLIC.
THEY WOULD RIDE BY, THEY WOULD WAVE, THEY WOULD SAY HI.
THEY WERE JUST SO, YOU KNOW, NICE, AND INSTEAD OF TRYING TO LIKE, LIKE MAYBE THEY FELT THEY WERE HAD THEY HAD TO SNEAK BY OR SOMETHING. IT'S TOTALLY DIFFERENT.
THAT'S A POSITIVE THING BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S GETTING A LITTLE BIT OF A BENEFIT FROM THIS.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT FOR EACH, EACH GROUP, BUT I THINK WE DID SOMETHING POSITIVE FOR EVERYBODY, FOR OUR BRIONES STAFF FOR HIKERS, EQUESTRIANS, MOUNTAIN BIKERS THEY CAN COEXIST NOW, AND THAT'S ALL THANKS TO THIS, THIS PROJECT.
SO, SEAN SAID WE HAD THOSE PUBLIC MEETINGS AT THE VERY FIRST ONE, WE SPLIT OUT INTO TABLES AND HAD EVERYONE FROM DIFFERENT GROUPS COME UP TO DISCUSS THIS TOGETHER, AND I HAD A PRETTY GOOD MIXTURE OF DIFFERENT FOLK THERE, AND THE EQUESTRIANS BROUGHT UP AN ISSUE THAT HAD COME UP WHERE WE HAD MADE A CHOICE, WHERE IT SORT
[01:50:08]
OF UNKNOWINGLY LIMITED THEIR ACCESS TO THE PARK, AND AFTER THEY BROUGHT THAT UP, THEN SOME OF THE MOUNTAIN BIKERS WERE SAYING, WELL, YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO THEM.THAT'S NOT FAIR, AND THAT'S WHEN I KNEW SOMETHING HAD CHANGED, BECAUSE THESE TWO GROUPS THAT WERE ALMOST BATTLING EACH OTHER BEFORE HAD NOW TEAMED UP AGAINST US.
SO I TRIED TO TURN IT AROUND INTO A POSITIVE THING, AND I SAID, LOOK, THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE'RE HERE, TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS AND FIGURE OUT A WAY WHERE IT SERVES EVERYBODY BECAUSE WHAT WE ESSENTIALLY DID, WE BROUGHT ALL THESE DIFFERENT GROUPS TOGETHER WITH DIFFERENT SIDES, DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, AND WE ALL EDUCATED OURSELVES ON A BETTER WAY TO DO THIS, AND I THINK IT'S BEEN A REALLY POSITIVE EFFECT, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALLOWING US TO PURSUE THIS AND WE'VE GOT A LOT OF POTENTIAL HERE, AND I HOPE MAYBE WE DO IT IN SOME OTHER PARKS AND CONTINUE IN BRIONES.
ALSO, WE CONTINUE TO HEAR ABOUT SOME ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.
SO THIS IS THE SECTION OF THE SLIDE.
WE ALSO DID OBSERVATIONAL COUNTS BY OURSELVES, AND WE USED STRAVA HEATMAP DATA AND VERIFIED WHETHER THAT WAS GOOD DATA TO USE WITH OUR TRAIL COUNTERS, AND WE DID FIND A CORRELATION BETWEEN THOSE TWO.
JUST IN SHORT, SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE COLLECTED, YOU KNOW, SHOWS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF USERS COMING IN TO THE PARK, AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN 2024 OR SORRY, SINCE THE PILOT STARTED, IT'S STILL A MAJORITY OF PEDESTRIANS COMING INTO THE PARK. 13% CYCLISTS AND HORSE RIDERS 2%.
THIS IS FROM OUR PLACER.AI DATA, WHICH IS BASICALLY TAKING CELL PHONE USE THAT WE SUBSCRIBE TO, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE IN 2000, IT'S FROM 2017 TO 2024, YOU SEE TOTAL BRIONES VISITOR TRIPS.
NOTICE THE PANDEMIC AT THIS POINT.
HERE YOU SEE A DRASTIC SHOOT OR A INCREASE, AND OVER TIME YOU SEE IT DECREASING, BUT THE PANDEMIC, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T JUST A LINE, UNFORTUNATELY, A ONE TIME EVENT, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT USE IS DECREASING BACK TO A MORE AVERAGE LEVEL OF USE AFTER THE PANDEMIC, AND WE CAN SHOW YOU GRAPHS OF MANY, MANY PARKS THAT ARE SHOWING THE SAME TREND RIGHT NOW.
WHAT ARE WE RECOMMENDING? WHAT ARE WE ASKING THE BOARD TO TAKE ACTION ON? WHAT WE'RE ASKING THE BOARD TO TAKE ACTION ON IS TO AMEND ATTACHMENT A OF ORDINANCE 38 TO INCLUDE THE 5.75 MILES OF TRAIL THAT ARE IN YELLOW AND ORANGE HERE, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY ALLOWING BIKE USE ON THOSE TRAILS.
WE'RE PROPOSING TO END THE PILOT, REMOVE THE ALTERNATIVE DAY RESTRICTION SO THE ZONE CAN GO AWAY.
WE DO PLAN TO DO MINOR MAINTENANCE ON ONE OF THE TRAILS THAT HAS SOME EROSIVE AND SOME DRAINAGE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM AS A PART OF THIS, AND ALSO REROUTE A SECTION OF THE TRAVERSE TRAIL THAT WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT, THAT IS A DUAL USE TRAIL IN ORDER TO TAKE AWAY THE STEEPEST PART OF THAT TRAIL, THAT TRAIL IS ACTUALLY AN ON CONTOUR TRAIL.
IT'S NOT AS STEEP AS OTHERS, AND IT ALLOWS USERS TO AVOID THE STEEP PEAK ON THE BRIONES CREST TRAIL, AND IT'S ALSO VERY CRUCIAL TO THE CONNECTIVITY OF THESE OTHER TRAILS AND THE SYSTEM ACTUALLY WORKING.
SO WE'RE NOT PROPOSING TO REMOVE THAT DESIGNATION, AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE HEARD FROM THE HIKERS THAT THEY LIKE TO HIKE ON THIS SECTION OF B-4, THE LOWER SEGMENT, AND WE HEARD FROM THE BIKERS THAT THEY ACTUALLY DON'T REALLY RIDE IT THAT MUCH.
[01:55:03]
SO WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO AND AGAIN, THIS ISN'T A PART OF YOUR ACTION.SO THIS TRAIL SEGMENT ESSENTIALLY WILL TURN ORANGE.
THIS IS THE LITTLE SNAP OF ATTACHMENT A.
IT'S WORD SOUP. IT'S HARD TO ENFORCE, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE, AND THIS IS THE METHOD THAT WE HAVE TO ADOPT THESE TRAILS OR CODIFY THEM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT, THOSE ARE THE NAMES OF THE TRAILS THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS GIVEN THEM, AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, LIKE WE'RE NOT.
SO THE CONTINUING EFFORTS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO EDUCATE ON TRAIL ETIQUETTE.
THERE WILL STILL BE A POLICE PRESENCE AS FAR AS EDUCATION ENFORCEMENT GOES IN BRIONES.
WE'RE NOT PROPOSING THAT WE LEAVE AND LET THIS LET OUR GOOD INVESTMENT GO BAD, RIGHT? WE'RE STILL GOING TO HAVE VOLUNTEER DIG DAYS.
WE'RE STILL GOING TO COORDINATE WITH PARK STAFF AND, AND COME UP WITH WAYS THAT PARK STAFF CAN CONTINUE TO BE THE CONDUIT BETWEEN WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE PARK AND PUBLIC SAFETY. WE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THAT DURING THIS, THIS PROCESS, AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE A LOT OF THE SENSORS AND COUNTERS AND CAMERAS OUT THERE TO KEEP TRACKING DATA AND KEEP MEASURING WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STILL HAVE AN EYE ON THIS AREA.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT TOP THERE, THE TOP RIGHT, THERE'S A ROLLOVER GATE.
OVER TIME, THE COWS KEPT GETTING OUT BECAUSE THIS KEPT GETTING CUT.
WELL, NOW THE COWS AREN'T GETTING OUT, BUT THERE'S STILL ACCESS.
WE PUT SAFETY DEVICES LIKE A CHICANE IN THE IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT HERE.
OUR BIKE BELL STATION AND OUR TRAIL VOLUNTEER SAFETY VOLUNTEER TRAIL SAFETY PATROL, EDUCATING BIKERS AT THE SIGN IN THE FRONT, AND THEN OF COURSE, OUR VOLUNTEERS ON THE LEFT. SO LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE WE ARE PROPOSING THAT THE ACTION THE BOARD TAKES TODAY IS TO AMEND ATTACHMENT A OF ORDINANCE 38 TO INCLUDE THE TRAIL DESIGNATIONS AND RULES ON 5.75 MILES OF TRAILS WITHIN THE BRIONES REGIONAL PARK, AND I'M HAPPY TO OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION AT THIS POINT.
I'M SURE THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION POINTS, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
I KNOW SOME FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS WHO WOULD LIKE TO GO FIRST.
THIS WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK, AND I THINK YOU'VE MET A LOT OF SUCCESS HERE, AND MY ONLY CONCERN WITH THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT IS GETTING RID OF THE ALTERNATE DAYS.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS YOU SAID IN THE BEGINNING, THIS STARTED OUT AS A CONFLICT ISSUE AND I THINK IF WE OPEN THIS BACK UP WITHOUT THE ALTERNATE DAYS, I THINK WE'RE, I THINK WE COULD BE ASKING FOR WE'RE GOING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN CONFLICTS.
I THINK AND SEEING OTHER PARK SYSTEMS THAT HAVE SEPARATE TRAILS FOR DIFFERENT USES, AND THIS IS OUR WAY TO DO IT.
I THINK IT HELPS DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF CONFLICT, AND I THINK THAT'S ULTIMATELY THE SAFETY OF OUR USERS IS TANTAMOUNT AS WELL AS THE ENVIRONMENT, AND I THINK SO THAT'S MY ONLY REAL BIG CONCERN ABOUT THIS PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION. I THINK THE RESTORATION OF THE TRAILS IS HUGE.
I THINK THIS WHOLE PROJECT HAS REALLY EDUCATED USERS OF ALL TYPES, AND THAT'S KUDOS TO YOU AND TO THE STAFF AND BUT I JUST I'M HESITANT ABOUT THE, THE ALTERNATE REMOVING THE ALTERNATE DAYS.
THANKS, AND DIRECTOR ROSARIO, I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD'S ACTION TODAY IS AMENDING THE ORDINANCE TO ALLOW BIKE USE ON THE CERTAIN TRAILS THAT WOULD BE NEEDED FOR THE ONGOING ACTIVITIES ON THOSE TRAILS, BUT RELATED TO THE ALTERNATE DAYS, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, A MANAGEMENT TOOL THAT'S NOT
[02:00:03]
IN THE ORDINANCE.YOUR BOARD COULD PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF TO CONTINUE THE ALTERNATE DAYS.
YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION TO CHANGING THE ORDINANCE.
ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY. DIRECTOR COFFEY.
YES, SO I TOOK SOME TIME LAST NIGHT AND SOME THOUGHTS JUST SO I WOULDN'T BE CATCHING YOU FOLKS BY SURPRISE, AND IT SHOULDN'T BE, IN ANY EVENT, BECAUSE HAPPILY, I FIND MYSELF BEING REPETITIVE OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS IN TERMS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PILOT AND NOW THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PILOT AS PERMANENT RULES.
I AGREE WITH DIRECTOR ROSARIO.
WELL, BACK UP. FIRST OF ALL, I AGREE WITH THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PILOT AS A HUGE SUCCESS.
BASED ON ALL THE OUTCOMES, ALL THE QUANTIFICATION, ALL THE SCIENCE THAT'S BEEN APPLIED TO THE PILOT AS A PILOT AND, AND THE OUTCOMES.
I AM PERHAPS INORDINATELY INFORMED BY JUST REALLY ENJOYING THAT PARK AND TAKING THE LAST TWO YEARS DURING THE INCEPTION OF THIS PLAN, AND TO ME, THAT GOES BACK TO TAKING A WALK OUT THERE WITH JIM O'CONNOR WHEN THIS WAS GERMINATING, AND WE WERE LOOKING AT INNOVATIVE CONFLICT REDUCTION EFFORTS IN COLORADO IN I REMEMBER ANOTHER ONE IN ARIZONA.
I PARTICULARLY REMEMBER WALKING DOWN THE ALHAMBRA CREEK TRAIL WITH JIM AS HE WAS DESCRIBING THE POTENTIAL PILOT, AS IT WAS VERY PRELIMINARY AT THAT POINT, AND LITTLE KNOWN.
THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT WAS FOCUSED ON INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES BY WHICH THE OTHER AGENCIES--PARK OPERATORS, NOT AGENCIES--WERE REDUCING CONFLICTS, SPECIFICALLY BIKES, EQUESTRIANS AND HIKERS.
HE HADN'T REALLY INCORPORATED THE CONCEPT OF CAPTURING THE ROAD TRAILS AT THAT POINT, THE BOOTLEG TRAILS AT THAT POINT, AND I HAD HEARD ENOUGH FROM MY COLLEAGUES AS THIS CONCEPT WAS GERMINATING AND WAS VERY ACUTELY AWARE OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAD BEEN GONE ON, HAD BEEN GOING ON SINCE THE TRAIL USERS GROUP KIND OF COALESCED INTO A BRIONES SMALLER GROUP INVOLVING SIERRA CLUB, AND I MEAN, YOU KNOW, NORM AND JIM SCOTT AND AMELIA.
YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST THIS, SORRY, AMELIA.
THAT GROUP HAD BEEN SIMILARLY TRAVERSING THE ZONE AND TALKING ABOUT IT, AND IT WAS CLEAR TO ME THAT ONE OF THE OUTCOMES AS WE WERE FORMULATING THE WHOLE PLAN WAS THAT WE HAD TO RECAPTURE BOOTLEG TRAILS THAT HAD BEEN DESTRUCTIVE TO HABITAT, BECAUSE THERE'S NO QUESTION, NOBODY ARGUES THAT HUMANS, TRAILS, BIKES, EQUESTRIANS, OUR VERY EXISTENCE DISTURBS HABITAT WHEN WE GO INTO PARKS, AND OUR WHOLE MANTRA, OUR WHOLE M.O.
WHEN IT COMES TO OPERATING THESE PARKS IS TO DO THE LEAST DAMAGE POSSIBLE TO HABITAT AND TO TAKE NOTE OF PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE HABITAT AND STAY AWARE, PROTECT IT.
SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY BALANCING ALL THESE COMPETING INTERESTS IN OPERATING PARKS AND TRAILS.
THAT SAID TO ME AND THIS WAS EVENTUALLY INCORPORATED.
OBVIOUSLY, WE HAD TO RESTORE A WHOLE BUNCH OF NATURE COMPARED TO THAT WHICH WE WERE PERMANENTLY ALLOWING TO CONVERT TO DOWNHILL BIKE TRAILS.
[02:05:03]
HANK AND FRANK.IF HANK AND FRANK WAS GOING TO CONTINUE TO EXIST, AND I HAD FOR YEARS BEEN, YOU KNOW, CHECKING, YOU KNOW, WALKING AROUND THAT TRAIL, ACTUALLY TRYING TO CLIMB UP IT, THAT NEVER WORKED.
WE HAD TO COUNTER THAT WITH RESTORING A WHOLE BUNCH MORE HABITAT THAN WE WERE ALLOWING TO CONTINUE TO EXIST IN THOSE FORMERLY BOOTLEG TRAILS.
THERE THERE WAS A REQUEST OF THE PARTICIPANTS THAT THIS BE UNDERSTOOD, THAT THIS WAS A NECESSARY OUTCOME IF IT HAD NOT BEEN AN OUTCOME YOU CAN PROJECT TO US.
THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A SUCCESS TO ME.
SO WITH THAT BEING THE PRIORITY AND THE GREATEST SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT, TO ME, THAT WE HAVE REGAINED SUBSTANTIAL HABITAT AS A RESULT OF THIS PILOT, AND THAT MEANS WE CAN REGAIN EVEN MORE, AND I AM REALLY THRILLED TO HEAR MAX DESCRIBE HIS MARINE EXPERIENCE OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS OF DURING THE COURSE OF EIGHT YEARS, MARINE EMPLOYING SOME OF THE SAME TECHNIQUES AND COLLABORATION AMONG COMPETING TRAIL USE INTERESTS.
THEY'VE RECAPTURED ALL THE BOOTLEG TRAILS THAT YOU GUYS WERE DEALING WITH.
OKAY. YEAH, SO A MAJORITY OF THEM, YOU RESTORED LOTS OF HABITAT USING SOME OF THESE SAME TECHNIQUES.
SO TO ME, IT'S A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS.
HAVING SAID ALL THAT, FROM THE BEGINNING, I THOUGHT INCLUDING THE TRAVERSE TRAIL WAS A MISTAKE.
I JUST I TOLD JIM THAT I WALKED IT YOU KNOW, THERE THERE WAS A PARTICULAR INTEREST.
IT'S BETWEEN I THINK WHAT YOU FOLKS LABEL R9, WHICH IS THE NEW ONE OF THE ALLOWED BIKE TRAILS OR.
I DON'T KNOW BUT IT'S BETWEEN THE TRAVERSE TRAIL, IT'S B7.
I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME.
IT'S NOT THE ONE THAT YOU'RE SEEKING TO MODIFY, BY THE WAY.
THE WHOLE TRAIL. IT'S A SINGLE TRACK TRAIL.
IT'S NOT A MANUFACTURED TRAIL.
IT'S NOT DESIGNED FOR BIKES, AND IT'S NOT A GOOD TRAIL TO SHARE WITH BIKES.
I'M UNCOMFORTABLE SHARING BIKES WITH THAT TRAIL.
I VOICED THAT FROM THE VERY INCEPTION OF THIS PROJECT.
DURING ALL OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS, I SAID, YOU KNOW, THIS IS STILL A BIG PROBLEM WITH ME.
THERE HAVE BEEN THOSE WHO HAD VOICED A COMPROMISE THAT I THINK I COULD SUPPORT, AND THAT IS THAT THE TRAVERSE TRAIL IS REALLY MOSTLY PROBLEMATIC AS BIKES COME DOWN THOSE HILLS OR COME AROUND THAT BEND AND THEY'RE HEADING NORTH TOWARD THE LAGOONS, AND THAT'S REALLY NOT THE MAIN TRAFFIC DIRECTION THAT THE BIKES TAKE.
THE BIKES TAKE THE OTHER DIRECTION, COMING IN TO GO TO THOSE NEWER TRAILS THAT THEY'RE ALLOWED IN.
SO MY THOUGHT WAS THAT THE TRAVERSE TRAIL SHOULD BE ONE WAY, AND THAT SOME OF THOSE INNOVATIVE OPERATORS THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IN COLORADO AND ARIZONA.
I PARTICULARLY REMEMBER THE COLORADO ONE.
THEY WERE USING ONE WAY TRAILS THAT HELPED MITIGATE THE ISSUE OF HAVING WHAT'S ESSENTIALLY A ONE TRACK TRAIL, A PEOPLE TRAIL SHARED BY BIKES, MAKE THEM LET THE BIKES USE THEM.
ONE WAY TO GET TO THE TRAILS THAT YOU IDENTIFY AS A CONNECTION PROBLEM.
SO I STILL HAVE THAT PROBLEM AND IT'S PRETTY SEVERE.
I'VE HAD IT FOR TWO YEARS AND IT'S JUST IT'S STILL THERE.
THEN THE OTHER ISSUE IS I COMPLETELY AND STARTED APPLAUDING DIRECTOR ROSARIO'S CONCERN ABOUT DOING AWAY WITH THE ALTERNATE DAYS, WEEKEND DAYS AS A FACET OF THE PILOT THAT GETS IMPLEMENTED PERMANENTLY IN THAT TWO YEARS THAT I FREQUENTLY CIRCLED ON AND OFF, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE OLD BRIONES TRAIL TO GET ACROSS THE RIDGE, ALHAMBRA CREEK TO GO UP AND VISIT THE NEWLY DESIGNATED DOWNHILL BOOTLEG TRAILS TO SEE HOW THINGS WERE GOING.
SO DURING THE COURSE OF THOSE TWO YEARS, I MADE IT A POINT I'VE SOMETIMES RELATED AT THESE MEETINGS TO TALKING TO PEOPLE.
I'VE WALKED THE THESE TRAILS WITH SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES, AND IF YOU'RE IN UNIFORM, IF YOU GOT ALL YOUR REGALIA ON AND YOUR NAME TAG, PEOPLE REALLY LOVE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT THIS, THIS PROJECT AND THIS PILOT, AND SO MY EXPERIENCE GENERALLY WAS
[02:10:07]
ALL SEGMENTS OF OUR USERS THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA AND SUPPORTED IT AND HAD POSITIVE RESPONSES FROM SOME EQUESTRIANS THAT DIDN'T WANT BIKES AT ALL.THAT'S NOT A LOT, YOU KNOW, IN TWO YEARS.
BICYCLISTS WHO REALLY, REALLY, REALLY DIDN'T LIKE THE ALTERNATIVE DAY RULE BUT THOUGHT, HEY, THIS IS OVERALL IT'S A GOOD, GOOD, GOOD PROJECT, GOOD PILOT, GOOD OUTCOMES, AND THEN THE HIKERS I TALKED TO FAR MORE HIKERS AND SHOW UP IN YOUR SURVEY, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST A COUPLE HUNDRED OVER THE COURSE OF YEARS, JUST, YOU KNOW, ANECDOTES.
I NEVER MET A HIKER WHO THOUGHT ANY OF IT WAS A BAD IDEA.
HIKERS HAD NO REASON TO THINK NEGATIVELY TOWARD THE ALTERNATE DAYS.
THEY ON THE ON PAPER, THEY WEREN'T IMPACTED.
THE REALITY IS, THE RESPONSE THAT I WOULD GET FROM HIKERS IS, GEE, WE REALLY ENJOY THAT.
ONE DAY ON THE WEEKEND WE HAVE OFF WORRYING ABOUT BICYCLES, ESPECIALLY PARENTS WITH KIDS, AND ESPECIALLY YOURS TRULY AND HIS WIFE. IT IS A REAL NICE THING TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT ONE DAY.
IT WASN'T JUST EQUESTRIANS WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GREAT IDEA.
IT WAS A LOT, A LOT OF HIKERS, AND SO I'M AT ODDS WITH YOUR THIS GOT MIXED REVIEWS THING.
IT GOT MIXED REVIEWS FROM BICYCLISTS.
IT WAS FUNDAMENTAL TO WHAT I PERCEIVED AS THE PUBLIC'S VIEW OF THAT PILOT BEING A REALLY GOOD THING WAS HAVING THAT ONE ONE DAY OFF, AND SO I'M AGREEING WITH THE DIRECTOR, ROSARIO, AND WE MIGHT JUST HAVE TO MAKE A MOTION TO INCLUDE THAT IN THE PERMANENT IMPLEMENTATION OF IT AND I CAN TRY TO DEAL WITH THE TRAVERSE TRAIL.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE ARE CAPABLE OF MAKING DECISIONS THAT AREN'T TOTALLY REJECTING A STAFF RECOMMENDATION WE ARE CAPABLE OF DISCUSSING ALTERNATES, ALTERNATE TIMELINES, DELAYING THIS, DOING THAT, ADDING THIS.
SO WE ARE I THINK WE'RE PRETTY GOOD AT THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO WE CAN WORK THAT ONE OUT ON ALTERNATIVE DAYS AND SEE IF OUR COLLEAGUES AGREE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE TIME.
THANK YOU. IT'S INTERESTING, I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ON MARIN COUNTY IN COLORADO AS WELL.
SO I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP AFTER YOUR COMMENTS.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THOSE.
I GUESS I LOOKED AT THIS FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE, JUST THINKING ABOUT IT FROM A REALLY, LIKE HIGH LEVEL OF WHY, YOU KNOW, THIS PILOT PROJECT IS SO IMPORTANT TO EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT.
YOU KNOW, KIND OF SOME OF THE BIGGER PICTURE SITUATION THAT WE HAVE HERE, AND, YOU KNOW, IT OCCURRED TO ME ACTUALLY YESTERDAY WHEN I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT DEL VALLE REGIONAL PARK WITH MAX, AND, YOU KNOW, I LOOKED UP THE MARIN COUNTY DATA AND THEIR POPULATION SIZE AS WELL AS THEIR NUMBER OF SQUARE MILES.
YOU KNOW, MARIN COUNTY, THE TOTAL COUNTY, 260,000 PEOPLE IN TERMS OF POPULATION AND 520MI², AND THAT'S PRETTY EQUIVALENT, ACTUALLY TO THE AREA OF DUBLIN, PLEASANTON, LIVERMORE, EASTERN ALAMEDA COUNTY AND SUNOL, WHERE THE POPULATION IS BETWEEN 250,000 TO 260,000 AND IT'S 425MI² AND SO IT'S VERY INTERESTING TO THINK ABOUT THESE COMPARISONS, AND SO THEN WHEN I ALSO THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR TWO COUNTIES, ALAMEDA COUNTY IN TOTAL AND CONTRA COSTA COUNTY IN TOTAL, AND YOU KNOW, IN ALAMEDA COUNTY, TOTAL 821MI² WITH A POPULATION OF 1.6 MILLION.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, A POPULATION OF 1.1 MILLION AND 804MI².
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT POPULATION DENSITY HERE ACROSS THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT SERVICE AREA OF THE TWO COUNTIES, ALAMEDA AND CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, AND THE REASON I'M SHARING ALL THESE STATISTICS IS, YOU KNOW, THIS MAKES ME THINK A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE OUR CONVERSATION ACTUALLY, IN REGARDS TO FUELS REDUCTION AND WILDFIRE MITIGATION, THIS WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE, AND WE HAVE SUCH A SPECIAL REGION IN TERMS OF OUR GEOGRAPHY WITH, YOU KNOW, THE HILLS AND THE PROTECTION OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A PRETTY HIGH POPULATION
[02:15:07]
DENSITY AS WELL THROUGHOUT AND PROXIMITY TO THESE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, AND IT'S VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE SITUATION IN MARIN COUNTY AS WELL AS IN COLORADO.SO FOR SOME REASON, YOU KNOW, THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM SEEMS TO THINK THAT I LIKE TO WATCH THESE VIDEOS OF PEOPLE THAT TAKE THEIR MOUNTAIN BIKES UP ON THE SKI LIFTS DURING THE SUMMER AND GO DOWN THE TRAILS, AND ACTUALLY, THEY'RE QUITE FUN VIDEOS TO WATCH AND I KNOW MY LOCAL BIKE SHOP IN PLEASANTON REALLY WANTS TO TAKE ME UP ON THE PLEASANTON RIDGE ON A MOUNTAIN BIKE, AND SO MAYBE, MAYBE ONE DAY THAT COULD BE GOOD PREPARATION FOR ONE OF THESE WILD MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDES I'M SEEING IN COLORADO, GOING UP THE SKI LIFTS, BUT I WANT TO SHARE THIS AS AN IMPORTANT POINT.
IT'S SURROUNDED BY 350,000 ACRES OF NATIONAL FOREST LAND.
THE POPULATION OF THIS COUNTY, EAGLE COUNTY, IS 55,000 PEOPLE.
SO SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THE POPULATION DENSITIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE, AND THE SQUARE MILEAGE OR THE NUMBER OF SQUARE MILES, EXCUSE ME, IS 1692, WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF THE SQUARE MILES ACROSS OUR TWO COUNTIES.
SO A VERY DIFFERENT SITUATION IN EAGLE COUNTY, AND SO I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO FIND SOME EXAMPLES THERE IN TERMS OF MANAGING THE TRAIL USER CONFLICTS, BUT ALSO, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO RECOGNIZE HERE IN THE EAST BAY THAT WE ALSO HAVE, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT SET OF CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF DIFFERENT USER GROUPS AND A LOT MORE PEOPLE AND DIFFERENT NEEDS, AND I THINK THAT IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO MENTION THAT TODAY AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT AND I KNOW AS WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, THE SECOND CENTURY DISTRICT PLAN, I THINK THESE MIGHT BE SOME DIFFERENT EXAMPLES ALSO FOR US TO CONSIDER AND WHY SOMETHING LIKE THIS PILOT PROJECT IS SO IMPORTANT.
YOU KNOW, THE OTHER POINT I WANT TO MAKE, JUST BECAUSE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT OUR BOARD SITE TOUR IN JUNE, AND I KNOW YOU DID SUCH A NICE JOB EARLIER WITH YOUR SONG IN HONOR OF ELLEN'S BIRTHDAY, AND YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST SHARE, YOU KNOW, LISTENING TO THE PRESENTATION TODAY, I KNOW FOR ME, THE FINAL TIME I SAW ELLEN AND I THINK FOR MANY OF US WAS AT OUR BOARD SITE TOUR IN JUNE, AND, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO ALSO THANK JOE.
I KNOW YOU WERE SO KIND WHEN WE WERE HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF A MIX UP AT THE END OF THE DAY IN REGARDS TO ELLEN'S BACKPACK AND I THINK I'LL ALWAYS THINK OF ELLEN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS, YOU KNOW, PROJECT AND BRIONES.
SO I JUST WANT TO MENTION THAT TODAY, AND THEN IN TERMS OF MY QUESTION, I HAVE ONE QUESTION. I MAY HAVE SOME MORE QUESTIONS.
I'M CURIOUS TO HEAR, YOU KNOW, FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, BUT FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, WE'RE IN THE NEXT STEP THAT WE'RE TAKING, AND I KNOW THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE NECESSARILY IMPACTED BY WHAT THE PROPOSED VOTE IS IN FRONT OF US, BUT I KNOW THAT WE ARE ALSO ENGAGING IN STUDIES OF OTHER PARKS, AND SPECIFICALLY DEL VALLE AND PLEASANTON RIDGE AND I'D LIKE TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHY WE CHOSE THESE TWO PARKS TO STUDY NEXT IN REGARDS TO YOU KNOW, MOUNTAIN BIKES AND TRAIL CONFLICTS AND ALSO IN REGARDS TO THE IMPLICATIONS OF TODAY'S VOTE, HOW MIGHT THAT INFLUENCE FUTURE DECISIONS AT, YOU KNOW, THESE TWO PARKS AND OTHER PARKS? I'LL HAND IT OVER TO SEAN, BUT I'D JUST SAY THAT ANY FUTURE PROJECTS UNRELATED TO THIS ONE, RIGHT? THIS IS SORT OF ITS OWN MOMENT IN TIME, AND REALLY, THIS IS SORT OF LOOKING BACK AT WHETHER THIS EFFORT WAS SUCCESSFUL AND THAT COULD PROVIDE A POTENTIAL PATH FOR FUTURE ENDEAVORS, BUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE ENDEAVORS AREN'T CONTINGENT ON ON THIS ONE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. YEAH.
SO WE HAVE STRAVA DATA AND WE HAVE PLACER.AI DATA FOR THE ENTIRE PARK DISTRICT, BUT BEFORE WE HAD THAT DATA, WE'RE VERY AWARE OF WHICH PARKS HAVE MORE BOOTLEG TRAILS AND MORE MOUNTAIN BIKING ACTIVITY THAN OTHERS.
THE THREE MAIN PARKS ARE BRIONES, PLEASANTON RIDGE AND DEL VALLE.
AT THIS POINT AND THEN YOU CAN ADD IN CROCKETT HILLS, AND SO THAT THE, THE MAIN REASON WE CHOSE TO EVALUATE AND DO A TRAIL INVENTORY OF, OF THOSE PARKS IS TO VERIFY THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE SEEING SIMILAR TO LIKE TO THE AMOUNT OF BOOTLEG TRAILS THAT
[02:20:01]
WE SEE IN BRIONES.WE WANTED TO VERIFY, IN FACT, THAT THE SAME THAT THERE WERE NO NEW BOOTLEG TRAILS IN THE BRIONES PILOT PROJECT, BUT ALSO IN TIME, TAKE A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT IS IN BRIONES, PLEASANTON, RIDGE AND DEL VALLE SO THAT WE CAN USE THAT AS OUR BENCHMARK OF WHAT WE SHOULD, AND USE THAT AS DATA TO DETERMINE WHICH TRAILS WE SHOULD BEGIN RESTORING IN THOSE PARKS.
WE WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO USE THAT DATA FOR ALL KINDS OF OTHER REASONS FOR EVALUATING TRAILS TO OPEN, TO RESTORE, ETC, BUT WE CHOSE THOSE PARKS TO START WITH BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THOSE HAVE THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION OF ILLEGAL BOOTLEG TRAILS.
SO SO WE'RE GOING TO TEST OUT THIS DATA.
WE'RE GOING TO SEE HOW WE CAN USE IT AND SEE HOW USEFUL IT IS.
WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO SLOPE ANALYSIS WITH THAT DATA TO DETERMINE WHICH OF THESE TRAILS ARE OR, AND ROADS ARE EXTREMELY STEEP AND MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE REROUTED, AS WELL AS RESTORATION OPPORTUNITIES BASED ON THE HABITATS AND AREAS THAT THESE THAT THESE TRAILS ARE WITHIN.
SO THERE'S A LOT WE CAN DO WITH IT, BUT I HOPE THAT KIND OF ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION AS TO THE WHY, AND THEN I SUPPOSE YOU KNOW, ONE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE, AND THEN THIS WILL BE MY LAST QUESTION UNTIL MAYBE AFTER WE HEAR FROM PUBLIC COMMENT JUST GIVEN MY FAMILIARITY WITH BOTH DEL VALLE AND PLEASANTON RIDGE, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF YOU KNOW, LARGE ACREAGE FENCE LINE NEIGHBORS THAT SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, MOUNTAIN BIKERS LIKE TO GO AND RIDE THEIR BIKES ON PROPERTY THAT'S NOT MANAGED BY THE PARK DISTRICT OR IS TECHNICALLY NOT OPEN TO RECREATION AND I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S GOING TO BE PART OF THE PARAMETERS OF THIS STUDY.
WE'LL CONSIDER THAT. DIRECTOR WAESPI.
THE WAY IT WAS DONE WAS REALLY SUCCESSFUL.
I, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY THE COLLABORATION.
I ALWAYS LOVE THAT THE FACT THAT WE GOT JOE IN HERE AND HIS STAFF.
HE FACED ALL THE PROBLEMS FOR ALL THESE YEARS, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE STAFF MANAGEMENT STAFF CAME IN AND SAID, HEY, WE'RE GOING TO FIX THIS AND WE'RE GOING TO WORK WITH YOU, AND I LOVE THAT INTERPLAY BETWEEN DIVISIONS.
I HOLD THE SAME OPINIONS AS DIRECTOR ROSARIO AND DIRECTOR COFFEY.
I LIKE THAT COMPROMISE AND I HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT IN THE FUTURE.
I THINK THE MAJOR CHALLENGE TO OUR SUCCESS IS GOING TO BE MEASURED BY, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT IN THIS PILOT AREA, WHETHER WE WERE SUCCESSFUL WITH, YOU KNOW, CLOSING OFF BOOTLEG TRAILS, WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO COME BACK, WHETHER EVERYBODY WAS BEING NICE DURING THE PILOT PERIOD, AND NOW, HEY, WE'RE OPEN, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A IT'S PARTY TIME AGAIN.
I FIND IT I'VE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE IN NAMING TRAILS IN THE PARK DISTRICT.
I WAS LOOKING AT THE NAME OF THESE TRAILS.
I ASSUME TRAILS THAT WERE IN PLACE.
I'M SAYING THAT KIND OF HUMOROUSLY, BUT HOW DID THESE COME ABOUT? I THINK I KNOW, BUT THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THE NAMES CAME FROM, BUT THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY NAMED THEM, AND THAT IS WHAT THEY'RE LABELED AS ON STRAVA, AND SO IT'S REALLY HARD TO GET PEOPLE TO CHANGE WHAT NAME THEY WOULD BE CALLING THESE.
WE DO NEED TO NAME MANY OF THESE SEGMENTS IN CASE THERE DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR MAPS, BUT ALSO IN CASE THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME SORT OF RESPONSE OR PUBLIC SAFETY ACTION THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, AND SO WE JUST YOU KNOW, RATHER THAN TRY TO REINVENT THE WHEEL, WE'RE SUGGESTING THESE NAMES BE ADDED TO THE LIST, SINCE THAT'S WHAT EVERYONE'S GOING TO CALL
[02:25:10]
THEM ANYWAY, AND TRY TO AVOID CONFUSION, BUT I REALLY DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING.THEY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT, FOR THE RECORD.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
SO I SEE AT LEAST THREE BIG THINGS.
I'M SURE I'M MISSING SOMETHING, BUT THREE BIG THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THIS.
NUMBER ONE THERE'S LESS USER CONFLICT.
I MEAN, LIKE, REALLY CONFLICT, ALMOST TO THE POINT OF PHYSICAL CONFLICT.
I THINK THERE'S LESS OF THAT MOUNTAIN BIKE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN PROVIDED, AND THEY PROVIDED IT THEMSELVES IN MOSTLY BETTER PLACES FOR THEM TO DO THEIR SPORT, WHICH INCLUDES YOUTH.
BY THE WAY, I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE MENTION THAT THE VALUE TO THEM AND THE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THIS IS A RESTORATION ELEMENT WHERE FIVE MILES OF TRAIL HAVE BEEN RESTORED, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE, BUT I'M TRYING TO MAKE ORDER OUT OF MY VERY DISORGANIZED NOTES HERE, AND SO I'LL ADDRESS SOME OF THE STUFF THAT'S BEEN SAID ALREADY.
THE ALTERNATE DAYS I WAS GOING TO SAY CHARADE.
IT'S NOT IT'S NOT A CHARADE, A SCHEME.
I THINK IT'S WORTH CONTINUING THAT.
I'VE SEEN IT UP AT UP AT LAKE TAHOE ON THE TAHOE RIM TRAIL.
A FEW TIMES AND UP AROUND INCLINE VILLAGE AND YOU KNOW, YOU GO ON AND I'VE BEEN ON ACTUALLY, I'VE BEEN ON IT TWICE.
BOTH WERE BIKE DAYS, BUT I MEAN, IT WAS THERE WAS A LOT OF LOT OF COOPERATION.
VERY POLITE. IT SEEMED TO WORK OUT PRETTY WELL.
SO I THINK THAT IT HASN'T BEEN GIVEN ENOUGH OF A CHANCE.
I THINK IT'S ONE OF THOSE DON'T LET THE PERFECT BE THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD WHERE THERE'S, THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOME NONCOMPLIANCE. I HAVE A CONSTITUENT THAT CONTACTED ME WHO LIVES IN THE AREA AND GOES UP THERE A LOT.
HIKES. THEY'RE A HIKER, AND SAID THEY NEVER THEY NEVER WERE UP THERE HIKING ON AN OFF BICYCLE DAY WHEN THEY DIDN'T SEE A BICYCLE ON THE TRAIL, YOU KNOW? SO AGAIN, IT'S NOT PERFECT, BUT I THINK IT'S AN APPROACH THAT I THINK IS WORTH CONTINUING.
I, TOO, HAVE BEEN ON THE TRAVERSE TRAIL WITH DIRECTOR COFFEY.
WE'VE BEEN ON THERE AND I SUPPORT THAT ONE WAY.
IF WE CAN POSSIBLY MAKE A CHANGE THERE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A BETTER WAY TO OPERATE THAT, AND AGAIN, ABOUT THE RESTORATION, I KNOW THERE'S THE NOTION OF CONTINUING THE RESTORATION EFFORT, AND I REALLY, REALLY THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE A HIGHER PRIORITY THAN, THAN I PERCEIVE AS BEING GIVEN AT THE CURRENT TIME, I WOULD SAY PERSONALLY.
YOU KNOW, RESTORE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, AT LEAST AS MUCH AS HAS ALREADY BEEN RESTORED AND MAYBE MORE, AND THE WAY YOU DO THAT IS WE HAVE STAFF, WE HAVE VOLUNTEERS.
SO BETWEEN THAT, THOSE FOUR ELEMENTS, I MEAN, THERE'S ENOUGH LABOR TO GET THIS DONE.
IT'S NOT REALLY MATERIALS THAT MUCH.
THE MATERIALS ARE ALREADY THERE.
SO I REALLY, REALLY THINK THAT FOR US TO HAVE A DEFENSIBLE POSITION WITH THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY, THAT WE NEED TO GO OUT THERE AND DO MORE RESTORATION AND GET USERS OUT OF AREAS WHERE THEY DON'T BELONG.
I DO AGREE WITH THE PRIORITIZATION THAT'S BEEN DONE.
GET THEM OUT OF THE CREEKS FIRST AND THEN WORRY ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE AS TIME GOES BY, AND THEN ALSO TO CONTINUE.
[02:30:05]
IN BRIONES OF BOOTLEG TRAILS.WE NEED TO GET OUT TO THE REST OF THE PARK AND WORK IN THERE TOO.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE.
WE CAN DO IT. WE NEED TO MAKE IT A PRIORITY, AND THEN FINALLY KIND OF LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITY, THE MOUNTAIN BIKING COMMUNITY AGAIN.
SO I'M TRYING TO RESPECT THE CONCERNS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY AND THEN I WOULD ALSO EXPECT THAT THE MOUNTAIN BIKING COMMUNITY CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS TO YOU KNOW, PRACTICE THE PEER TO PEER PRESSURE OR ENCOURAGEMENT OR WHATEVER, WE WANT A VERB YOU WANT TO USE PEER TO PEER.
YOU KNOW YOU SHOULDN'T BE OUT THERE.
DON'T DO IT. YOU'RE GOING TO RUIN IT FOR THE REST OF US.
IT SHOULD BE GOING OUT TO THE WIDER GROUP, BUT I'M JUST SAYING THAT I WANT I WANT THAT TO CONTINUE AND SLOW AND SAY HELLO.
OKAY. WELL, I'LL BE BRIEF IN THE INTEREST OF TIME.
FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS, BOTH ON THE PART OF VARIOUS GROUPS WITHIN THE PARK DISTRICT, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE USER GROUPS THAT WERE INVOLVED. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE COLLABORATION AT ALL LEVELS, AND ALSO APPRECIATE THE SUCCESS IN RESTORING THE BOOTLEG TRAILS, AND AS MY COLLEAGUES, INCLUDING JOHN, JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, A LOT MORE WORK THERE TO DO, AND, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY WE CAN FIND A WAY TO DO IT.
I THINK THERE'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A LOT MORE VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT, NOT JUST IN THESE TYPE OF RESTORING THE BOOTLEG TRAILS, BUT IN OTHER, THINGS AS WELL.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE IT DOES TAKE TIME FOR STAFF TO MANAGE VOLUNTEER GROUPS, BUT I THINK IF WE CAN REALLY GET THE RIGHT STAFF IN PLACE, WE CAN LEVERAGE A LOT OF VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE VERY EAGER TO DO THE WORK AND ESPECIALLY FOR, YOU KNOW, LIKE SOME OF THE HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS AND THOSE FOLKS, IT DOES TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE THE, YOU KNOW, REALLY THE STEWARDSHIP AND WANTING TO CARE FOR THIS LAND IN ADDITION TO RECREATE IN THE LAND.
SO I THINK THAT THOSE ARE ALL GOOD THINGS.
YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU REALLY TRIED TO MAKE THIS A WELL, BOTH AN INCLUSIVE PROJECT PROCESS, BUT ALSO THE USE OF DATA, I THINK, IS, YOU KNOW, REALLY IT'S ALWAYS EVOLVING, ALWAYS MORE WE CAN DO, BUT THE DATA IN THE PRESENTATION WAS, REALLY HELPFUL, AND SO WITH THAT, I THINK WE CAN I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING TO TALK, SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO PUBLIC COMMENT, AND I BELIEVE OUR, CLERK CAN CALL UP THE FIRST PERSON ON THE LIST.
HELLO, CHAIR ECHOLS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, AND GENERAL MANAGER LANDRETH.
MY NAME IS JIM HANSEN, VOLUNTEER CONSERVATION CHAIR CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY TRAIL USER GROUP MEMBER OVER TWO YEARS, AND ALSO ONE OF THE MANY CNPS VOLUNTEERS AND ONGOING IN THE PARKS.
THERE ARE THINGS DEFINITELY TO BE LEARNED FROM THE BRIONES PILOT AND ALL PARK BRIONES PARK USERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE NEXT STEPS.
HOWEVER, FOR THIS MEETING, THIS IS A BUSY SEASON FOR STAFF AND EVERYBODY TOO, AND I JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT THE NOTICE TO CONSTITUENTS THROUGH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA, SUCH AS FACEBOOK, JUST CAME OUT LAST NIGHT AND I KNOW EVERYBODY'S BUSY, BUT I ALSO WAS AT BRIONES LAST THURSDAY AND THERE WAS NO NOTICE OF THE MEETING ON THE MAIN ENTRY BOARDS.
AND WE NOTICED THERE WAS A GENERAL LACK OF THE HIKING COMMUNITY, WHICH WAS 85% OF THE USERS THERE, AND I THINK THEY REALLY NEED TO BE PART OF THESE NEXT STEPS.
ALSO ADD THAT WE DO HAVE TWO NEW BOARD MEMBERS TO COME ON TO THE BOARD THAT HAVE EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE ON TRAIL ISSUES AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS FROM THEIR SERVICE ON THE PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND I HOPE THAT THEY CAN WEIGH IN ON SOME IMPORTANT DECISIONS BECAUSE THEY'LL BE IMPLEMENTING THEM WITH YOU ALL.
[02:35:08]
AS YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CONCERNS WE REPEATEDLY BROUGHT UP, AND I APPRECIATE MENTIONING IT TODAY, IS THE TRAVERSE TRAIL.IT'S NARROW, STEEPLY SIDED AND WITH MANY, MANY BLIND CORNERS.
UNFORTUNATELY, ON BOTH DIRECTIONS, BECAUSE WHAT GOES UP, WHAT COMES DOWN AND IT HAPPENS BOTH WAYS.
THE YOUTUBE VIDEO WE SHOWED YOU FROM EARLY IN THE YEAR FROM A MOUNTAIN BIKE INFLUENCER SHOWS, REALLY ILLUSTRATES THE SAFETY RISK THAT'S THERE FROM COMBINED USE ON THAT TRAIL.
THIS PROJECT DOES SET AN IMPORTANT PRECEDENT, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE OTHER OUTCOMES BESIDES, AND FRANKLY, THERE WASN'T MUCH IN THE WAY OF TRAILS FOR HIKERS THERE.
IT IS AN ASSET FOR HIKERS, AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE FOR HIKER USE.
THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT TO BOTH SIDES OF THE PARK USING THE RIDGE TRAIL.
SO I'LL JUST MENTION WE'RE ALSO SEEING SOME RUTTING AND ROLLING OUT ON THIS TRAIL.
SOME OF THE BANKING, THE CHANGES IN THE AND THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT, AND I THINK I'M GETTING TOWARDS THE END, BUT WE WOULD ASK THAT AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT BE DONE AND THAT THE HIKERS BE INVOLVED IN DESIGNING THE NEXT STEPS, INCLUDING THE NAMES OF THE TRAILS.
I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF SPRAWL DEV.
I GUESS MAYBE I'M A LITTLE DENSE HERE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE 30 MILES, ROUGHLY, OF BOOTLEG TRAILS.
SO WHAT'S HAPPENED WITH THOSE 20 MILES, AND WHY ISN'T THERE ANY DISCUSSION OF THOSE? I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO SAY.
THERE'S BEEN SUCCESS WITH CLOSURE OF BOOTLEG TRAILS WHEN YOU HAVE 20 MILES STILL OPEN.
WELL, HOW IS THAT GOING TO BE PAID FOR AND HANDLED IN THE FUTURE IF ENFORCEMENT IS GOING TO GO BACK TO WHAT IT WAS BEFORE? HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE BOOTLEG TRAILS WON'T, NEW BOOTLEG TRAILS WON'T BE REOPENED UP AND OLD ONES USED AGAIN, AND THEN WE'RE BACK TO WHERE WE WERE WITH SQUARE ONE.
THERE'S BEEN NO ANALYSIS OF THAT IN THIS REPORT ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN THERE, AND THEN THERE'S REALLY NO ANALYSIS SUFFICIENT, IN MY OPINION, FOR CEQA ANALYSIS AS TO THE 5.7 MILES OF TRAILS THAT ARE GOING TO BE OPENED UP AS BIKER ONLY TRAILS THAT WERE ONCE BOOTLEG TRAILS.
JUST SAYING WELL, IT LOOKED LIKE EVERYTHING'S FINE OUT.
WHEREAS THE INITIAL STUDY THAT'S REQUIRED UNDER CEQA, NOWHERE IS THAT ANYWHERE INVOLVED.
NOWHERE IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THESE OTHER BOOTLEG TRAILS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ANALYZED AND WHAT THE IMPACT IS GOING TO BE ON ENVIRONMENTALLY WITH THOSE COMPONENTS? AND I WOULD SAY THAT I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS COSTS, HOW MUCH MORE COST IS GOING TO BE INVOLVED WITH GOING FORWARD WITH HOWEVER YOU'RE GOING TO HANDLE THIS, THE RESTORATION WORK, ENFORCEMENT WORK.
AS I PUT IN A LETTER, IT LOOKED LIKE THERE'S ANOTHER 100 TO $200,000 IN ACTUAL COSTS.
WHERE IS THAT GOING TO COME FROM TO PAY FOR THIS PARK OUT OF THE BUDGET? WHICH LEADS ME WITH THE LAST POINT, WHICH IS I REALLY THINK THIS SHOULD BE CONTINUED, AT LEAST UNTIL THE TWO NEW DIRECTORS GET ON BOARD.
IT'S ONLY FAIR TO THEM, PARTICULARLY THE WARD FOUR DIRECTOR WHO I MEAN.
PARDON ME. WARD TWO DIRECTOR, THAT THERE'S NOBODY HERE DUE TO THE UNTIMELY PASSING OF ELLEN CORBETT.
I THINK THOSE TWO PEOPLE NEED TO BE.
YEAH. WARD FOUR NEED TO BE INVOLVED WITH THIS AS A FINAL DECISION, AND THERE'S NO RUSH.
I DON'T SEE ANY RUSH IN WAITING UNTIL AFTER THE TWO NEW DIRECTORS COME ON BOARD.
[02:40:08]
HELLO, EVERYONE.I'M GOING TO THROW OUT MY PREPARED REMARKS HERE AND ADDRESS SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT HAVE COME UP.
IN TERMS OF THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS THE LATE ELLEN CORBETT SAID ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, HOW MUCH IS THE PARK DISTRICT WILLING TO SPEND TO ACCOMMODATE A USER GROUP THAT'S 16% OF THE TRAIL USERS IN BRIONES AND LOOKS LIKE QUITE A BIT.
BRIAN HOLT, AT THE MEETING LAST JUNE AT BRIONES, SAID THAT WAS ABOUT $200,000 AND THERE'S A COST TO PARK OPERATIONS.
THERE'S COST TO THE POLICE, AND WE'RE HAPPY THAT THE MOUNTAIN BIKERS ARE IN SUCH A GOOD MOOD.
SO THEY'RE BEING PLEASANT AND NICE, AND THAT PART IS GOOD, BUT THE BENEFITS TO THE EQUESTRIAN COMMUNITY FROM THE BRIONES PILOT WERE PRETTY MEAGER. WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE CHICANES AT THE BASE OF THE HANK AND FRANK TRAIL TO PREVENT INJURY ACCIDENTS WHERE THAT TRAIL INTERSECTS WITH THE ALHAMBRA CREEK TRAIL, BUT THE ALTERNATING DAYS DIDN'T WORK FOR THE EQUESTRIANS FOR TWO REASONS. ONE IS THAT THE CYCLISTS WOULDN'T STAY OFF THOSE TRAILS, AND EVENTUALLY THE EQUESTRIANS JUST GAVE UP ON THE IDEAL OF HAVING A BIKE FREE TRAIL RIDE ON HIKERS AND HORSES DAYS.
THE SECOND REASON IS THAT THE ORCHARD TRAIL WAS LEFT OUT OF THE ZONE, AND WE DISCUSSED THIS AD INFINITUM, AND SEAN AND HIS COLLEAGUES GET A LOT OF CREDIT FOR THEIR OUTREACH TO THE EQUESTRIAN COMMUNITY, AND I THINK THE BOARD AND THE STAFF UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT EQUESTRIANS WANT IS A BIKE FREE EXPERIENCE, NO MATTER HOW COURTEOUS THE BICYCLISTS MAY BE THERE IS AN INNATE INCOMPATIBILITY.
BIKES AND HORSES DON'T MIX, SO IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD RETOOL THE ALTERNATING DAYS SCHEME SO THAT THERE IS REAL ATTENTION PAID TO HAVING IT BE A BIKE FREE DAY THOSE FOUR DAYS PER MONTH, AND HOPEFULLY WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH GOODWILL AND IT WOULD BE EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN IT'S ALREADY BEEN DEEMED.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT TODAY.
PRESIDENT ECHOLS, DIRECTORS AND STAFF.
WE ASK YOU TO APPROVE THAT GENERAL MANAGER RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT THE AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE A, OR ATTACHMENT A OF ORDINANCE 38 TO INCLUDE TRAILS, DESIGNATIONS, AND RULES ON FIVE AND THREE QUARTER MILES OF TRAILS WITHIN BRIONES REGIONAL PARK.
IT DEFINITELY IMPROVED HABITAT PROTECTION COMPARED TO THE SITUATION PRIOR TO THE PILOT.
I THINK THAT IS EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ENGAGING THE TRAIL COMMUNITY, AND MANY SUCCESSFUL ACTIONS IN THE PILOT TRAIL CLOSURES WERE MAINTAINED.
BY AND LARGE, THE TWO TRAILS THAT WERE DESIGNATED DIDN'T GET CLOSED, REQUIRE ADDITIONAL PERMITTING.
SO WITHIN THE PILOT ZONE, I THINK IT WAS VERY EFFECTIVE AT RESTORATION.
BY AND LARGE, USER EXPERIENCES WERE IMPROVED AS WELL.
I MEAN, THERE ARE SOME ISSUES WITH ALTERNATING DAYS, AND I THINK THAT'S WORTH FURTHER DISCUSSION, BUT THE ACTION TODAY ASKED OF THE BOARD IS THE AMENDMENT OF ORDINANCE 38 IS THE KEY ACTION FOR TODAY.
WE ASK YOUR SUPPORT IN FURTHER EXPANSION.
[02:45:01]
AREAS. PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR MORE TRAILS CLOSER TO HOME.SOME CONCERNS WERE RAISED AT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND ALSO TODAY ABOUT WILL THE MOUNTAIN BIKE COMMUNITY COMPLY? IF ORDINANCE 38 IS UPDATED.
THE COMMUNICATION OUT THERE IS DON'T SCREW THIS UP.
SO AS HAS BEEN STATED, THIS IS NOT THE END ALL.
THE PILOT WAS THE BEGINNING AND MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE.
WE'VE HEARD 30 MILES OF BOOTLEG TRAILS, WHATEVER THE CORRECT NUMBER IS.
THERE'S MORE THERE. THIS WAS NOT A COMPLETE TRAIL SYSTEM REDESIGN.
SO THE MOUNTAIN BIKE COMMUNITY REALIZES THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE LINE, AND COMPLIANCE IS NEEDED TO GET ENGAGEMENT FROM THE PARK DISTR ICT. SO IT IS A TWO WAY STREET.
SO THAT'S MY RESPONSE TO THOSE CONCERNS, WHICH I THINK ARE VALID CONCERNS TO ASK.
IT WAS ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT BROUGHT ME TO THIS AREA WAS BRIONES.
I'VE LIVED IN THIS AREA FOR TWO DECADES.
I SPEND 100 DAYS A YEAR IN THE PARK, MAYBE MORE.
I'VE DONE 15,000 PLUS MILES OF HIKING AND BIKING IN THE PARK.
I'VE BEEN ALL OVER IT AND SEEN EVERYTHING.
THE WAY THE BICYCLE COMMUNITY HAS COALESCED BEHIND THE LEADERS AND THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE STEPPED UP AND VOLUNTEERED, AND THE WAY THE PARK HAS STEPPED UP AND VOLUNTEERED HAS BEEN AMAZING.
IT'S BEEN AN OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FOR US AS A COMMUNITY, AND WE WANT TO SHARE THAT POSITIVITY WITH ALL THE OTHER USER GROUPS, AND WHEN EVERYBODY IS HAPPY AND GETTING ALONG, IT MAKES IT BETTER FOR EVERYBODY.
I WANT TO ADDRESS THE ALTERNATE DAYS AS WELL.
WITH THE ALTERNATE DAYS, IT'S AN EDUCATION THING.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COME FROM OTHER CITIES.
OH, BRIONES. YOU CAN GO RIDE YOUR BIKES LEGALLY THERE.
NOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A CRIMINAL WHEN YOU GO OUT ON YOUR BIKE, AND THEY DON'T FULLY RESEARCH IT AND KNOW, OH, YOU CAN'T COME HERE ON AN EVEN DAY, AND SO THEY DRIVE FOR 20 MILES AND SHOW UP AND THEN THEY GO, OH WELL, YOU KNOW, NOW WHAT DO I DO? AND SOME PEOPLE CHOOSE TO RIDE AND THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT THING, AND THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE LIKE US AND NOT NECESSARILY ALL THE NAYSAYERS, BUT THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE, YOU KNOW, AND WE TRY AND WE'RE TRYING TO OBEY THE RULES AND WE WANT TO WORK WITH YOU.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS, GENERAL MANAGER, THE PARKS AND EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS PARK STAFF AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE FOR YOUR TIME TODAY AND FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU DO FOR OUR PARKS.
I CALL IT HOME AGAIN, WHERE I'M RAISING MY FAMILY.
I'VE BEEN AN AVID HIKER AND BIKER IN BRIONES FOR OVER 35 YEARS.
WE'RE STANDING HERE TODAY AT THE EDGE OF AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY.
I COMMEND THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK STAFF FOR WHAT OTHERS HAVE NOT DONE, THAT IS CHANGE, THAT CHANGE WAS NEEDED AND THAT COLLABORATION IS POSSIBLE.
THIS PILOT PROJECT ISN'T JUST ABOUT TRAILS IT'S RECOGNIZING A GROWING MOUNTAIN BIKE COMMUNITY AND EMBRACING THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THEM, NOT AGAINST THEM. AS A RESULT, WE HAVE SEEN OVERWHELMING OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT.
THE STEWARDS OF BRIONES ARE PROUD AND HONORED TO HAVE PARTNERED WITH EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS, BRINGING IN 389 VOLUNTEERS OVER 23 DIG DAYS AND CONTRIBUTING NEARLY 2500 HOURS IN JUST 20 MONTHS, BUT THESE NUMBERS ONLY TELL PART OF THE STORY.
[02:50:06]
THE REAL IMPACT LIES IN THE OPPORTUNITY THIS PROJECT HAS CREATED FOR A YOUNGER GENERATION, IT HAS GIVEN THEM A SENSE OF PURPOSE, OWNERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT. ALL BECAUSE OF THIS PARK AND DISTRICT IS LISTENING AND ACTING.THE STUDENT ATHLETES FROM MULTIPLE BAY AREA NICA TEAMS HAVE SHOWN UP IN TIME AND TIME AGAIN, NOT JUST FOR MEETINGS LIKE THE WILDCAT FLOW TRAIL, WHICH BROKE PARTICIPANT RECORDS OR VOLUNTEER DIG DAYS, BUT ALSO FOR RESTORATION IN BRIONES.
WE ARE EXPERIENCING THIS POSITIVE CHANGE NOW AND IN REAL TIME.
I WANT TO RECOGNIZE ONE OF MY STUDENT ATHLETES, BENJI, WHO RECENTLY GRADUATED, AND TO HIGHLIGHT THE RESOUNDING IMPACT THIS PROGRAM IS HAVING, BENJI LOGGED THE MOST VOLUNTEER HOURS IN THE ENTIRE NORCAL LEAGUE LAST SEASON.
THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES OR ATHLETES ALL HERE IN BRIONES.
HE DIDN'T DO THIS FOR SCHOOL CREDIT.
HE DIDN'T DO THIS FOR BRAGGING RIGHTS.
HE JUST PINGED ME THE OTHER DAY COMING BACK FOR WINTER BREAK AND SAID, COACH, WHEN'S THE NEXT DIG DAY? I WANT TO HELP.
IT'S BECAUSE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY THAT BENJI AND HUNDREDS OF OTHERS LIKE HIM WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN BRIONES IN OUR PARKS, BUT NONE OF THIS COULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH FACILITATED BY THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK STAFF.
ALL THE PARK USERS WERE INVITED TO ATTEND NUMEROUS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS WITH ALL THE USER GROUPS, AND WHERE I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING SOME OF YOU, THESE EXPERIENCE REALLY OPENED OUR EYES AND THE MOUNTAIN BIKERS SAW AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE AND DO BETTER.
TODAY WE SEE RIDERS USING BELLS TO KEEP INTERACTIONS POSITIVE AND RIDERS COMPLYING WITH THE RULES IN THE PARK, AND THE CONTRA COSTA COMPOSITE TEAM NOW ISSUES BELLS TO ALL OUR RIDERS AND ATHLETES, SO I URGE YOU TO PLEASE APPROVE THIS.
WE HAD SOMEBODY IN THE ZOOM ROOM, AND THEIR HAND IS NO LONGER RAISED.
ROBBIE, I WILL BE MOVING YOU TO PANELIST.
HI THERE. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. MY NAME IS ROBBIE MEYER, AND I'VE BEEN PRIVILEGED FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY MAKING UP WOULD BECOME THE STEWARDS OF BRIONES. IT'S BEEN AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE TO WITNESS THE POSITIVE IMPACT THIS PROGRAM HAS BROUGHT TO OUR COMMUNITY AT BRIONES.
I'VE WITNESSED AN INCREDIBLE EFFORT BY HUNDREDS OF INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTEERS.
I'VE SEEN A COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER AND UNITE IN THE DIRECTION OF A COMMON CAUSE, AND I'VE GOT TO BE PART OF BUILDING SOMETHING REMARKABLE IN SUPPORT OF PROGRESS AND EQUITY IN THE PARKS DISTRICT. SO TODAY, MY PRIMARY REASON FOR COMMENTING IS SIMPLY ONE OF GRATITUDE TO HAVE BEEN AFFORDED SUCH A REMARKABLE OPPORTUNITY.
I WANT TO RECOGNIZE THE EFFORTS OF THE PARK DISTRICT AND THE CONSIDERATION OF THE BOARD TO PROVIDE OUR COMMUNITY WITH THE CHANCE TO PROVE NOT ONLY OUR ABILITY TO COORDINATE AN OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER EFFORT IN SUPPORT OF THE PILOT PROGRAM, PROVIDING MORE THAN 2500 VOLUNTEER HOURS, BUT ALSO THE PLATFORM FOR US TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WE, THE MOUNTAIN BIKE COMMUNITY OF THE EAST BAY AREA, ARE RESPECTABLE, COLLABORATIVE, COOPERATIVE AND MORE SO, AN ENTHUSIASTIC AND RELIABLE VOLUNTEER PARTNER, WILLING AND ABLE TO WORK UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE PARKS DISTRICT STAFF IN MAINTAINING AND DEVELOPING A TRAIL SYSTEM SPECIFIC TO MOUNTAIN BIKE USE.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND RESPECTFUL TOWARD THE OPPORTUNITY AFFORDED US TO CONTINUE TO COORDINATE EFFORTS TOWARD AND IN RESPECT TO MORE LEGAL, MOUNTAIN BIKE SPECIFIC TRAILS IN THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS DISTRICT.
AS WE HAVE UNQUESTIONABLY ILLUSTRATED, WE WILL BE HERE IN SERVITUDE TO PROVIDE EFFORT AND PASSION, TO MAINTAIN THE TRAILS, TO EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY, TO MINIMIZE CONFLICT AND ENCOURAGE COOPERATION WITH NOT ONLY OTHER PARK USERS, BUT WITH THE PARK MANAGEMENT AS WELL.
[02:55:01]
VOLUNTEERS, PROVIDING THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF ENTHUSIASTIC TRAIL WORK, IS TESTAMENT TO OUR WILLINGNESS TO WORK HARD TOGETHER FOR ALL PARK USERS.WE ARE HOPEFUL YOU RECOGNIZE OUR STEWARDSHIP COMMITMENTS AND THE EFFORTS OF OUR VOLUNTEERS, AND WILL VOTE TO APPROVE NOT ONLY THE TRAILS OF THE PILOT PROGRAM FOR MOUNTAIN BIKE USE, BUT WILL ALSO CONSIDER MOUNTAIN BIKE SPECIFIC TRAILS AND ANY FUTURE PLANNING GOING FORWARD.
JOEL. I'M GOING TO MOVE YOU UP TO PANELIST.
CAN YOU UNMUTE AND SHARE YOUR VIDEO.
HELLO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD, JOEL SCHROCK HERE, THE ADVOCACY LEAD FOR BAMBI.
OUR GROUP OF BAY AREA MOUNTAIN BIKERS NOW HAS MORE THAN 15,000 MEMBERS.
I WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO SINCERELY THANK YOU FOR APPROVING THE BRIONES PILOT PROJECT TWO YEARS AGO, AND THANK THE MEMBERS OF YOUR TRAIL TEAM THAT HAVE WORKED TIRELESSLY TO CREATE AND SUPPORT THE PILOT, SEAN DOUGAN, SEAN CONNELLY AND BRIAN HOLT, AS WELL AS THE GM SABRINA LANDRETH FOR HER SUPPORT.
THE PILOT IS SUCH AN AMAZING DEVELOPMENT FOR MOUNTAIN BIKE ACCESS HERE IN THE EAST BAY.
THIS MEANS MY SON AND I CAN GET OUT AND RIDE TOGETHER MORE OFTEN.
IN ADDITION TO RIDING, HE AND I HAVE BOTH ATTENDED A NUMBER OF DIG DAYS AND RESTORATION DAYS TO HELP SUPPORT THE PILOT AS WELL, SOME ORGANIZED BY THE PARK AND OTHERS ORGANIZED BY THE STEWARDS OF BRIONES, WHOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PARK WE ARE ALSO DEEPLY THANKFUL FOR.
THEY HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB IN KEEPING THE TRAILS FOCUSED ON WHAT CYCLISTS ARE LOOKING FOR.
IT'S SO GREAT TO GET OUR SON OFF VIDEO GAMES AND OUT INTO THE OUTDOORS ON OUR BIKES, TO SET HIM ON A PATH OF LIVING AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE AND APPRECIATING NATURE, WHILE ALSO LEARNING HOW TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH VOLUNTEER EFFORTS.
IT SEEMS THE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL, ESPECIALLY HOW THE TRAIL CONFLICTS ARE AVOIDED BY SEPARATING USERS THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DOWNHILL BIKE ONLY TRAILS WHEN SPEEDS TEND TO RISE.
AS MANY OF YOU HAVE LEARNED, WHAT MAKES A TRAIL FUN TO RIDE A BIKE ON CAN ALSO MAKE THEM VERY CHALLENGING TO NAVIGATE FOR FOOT TRAFFIC BECAUSE OF THE ROUGH NATURE OF BANKED TURNS AND STEEPER SLOPES, SO HAVING BIKE ONLY TRAILS ALLOWS THEM TO BE MUCH BETTER SUITED AND FUN FOR CYCLISTS, WHICH HAS THE ADDITIONAL BENEFIT OF CONCENTRATING BIKES ON THESE TRAILS SO THEY'RE A LOT EASIER TO AVOID FOR OTHER PARK USERS.
I HOPE YOU WILL VOTE TO FORMALLY ADOPT THESE TRAILS, AND POSSIBLY CONSIDER OTHER PILOTS IN A COUPLE OTHER PARKS TO SERVE THE BROADER EAST BAY COMMUNITY; DEL VALLE AND PLEASANTON RIDGE COME TO MIND.
BY OPENING BIKE TRAILS IN A COUPLE OTHER PARKS, COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE EAST BAY WOULD HAVE THE PLACE TO RIDE THAT IS CLOSER TO WHERE THEY LIVE, AND IT WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEM TO GET OUT MORE FREQUENTLY AS WELL.
THANKS FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE, DEE.
FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO LIKE TO RIDE OUR BIKES IN NATURE, THANKS FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE, DEE.
THAT'S ALL THE PUBLIC COMMENT.
SO IS THERE SOMEONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION AT THIS POINT? DEE. ALTERNATE.
COMMENTS, SPECIFICALLY THE TRANSVERSE TRAIL AND ALTERNATE DAYS.
HOW WOULD? WOULD THOSE BE SEPARATE? SO DEE. YOU CAN AMEND IT.
DEE IF I COULD HELP MAX COULD FILL IN, BUT I WOULD CHARACTERIZE IT AS A MOTION TO ADD TO THE STAFF
[03:00:04]
RECOMMENDATION. ADOPTION OF THE PILOT PROJECTS ALTERNATE DAYS PROGRAM.IN OTHER WORDS, WE'RE NOT APPROVING THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
WE'RE SIMPLY ADDING ALTERNATE DAYS TO IT FOR ULTIMATE APPROVAL.
SO IF I COULD JUST MAKE A COMMENT.
SO THE ACTION IS CHANGING THE ORDINANCE TO ALLOW BIKES TO ADD THOSE TRAILS IN ORDINANCE 38 THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE BIKE ALLOWED TRAILS THERE.
THE STAFF CAN TAKE MANAGEMENT ACTIONS, INCLUDING THE ALTERNATE DAYS OR ONE WAY DIRECTIONAL TRAFFIC ON A TRAIL, AND YOUR BOARD CAN PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF TO UTILIZE THOSE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, AND THAT CAN BE PART OF YOUR MOTION TO PROVIDE THAT DIRECTION TO STAFF, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
IT SOUNDS DOES THAT SOUND AMENABLE? SO MOVED. NO.
YES. SO THE MOTION TO ADOPT THE RECOMMENDATION FROM STAFF, WITH THE DIRECTION TO LOOK AT UNIDIRECTIONAL FOR THE TRANSVERSE TRAIL AND KEEPING THE ALTERNATE DAYS.
IS THERE A SECOND? QUESTION. LET'S SECOND IT.
I'LL SECOND IT AND THEN YOU RAISE YOUR QUESTIONS.
OKAY. SO IN GENERAL I, I DO WANT TO SUPPORT THIS, BUT I ALSO DO WANT TO CIRCLE BACK TO SOME OF THE COMMENTS WE HEARD.
YOU KNOW, FEELS MEAGER AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE CONCERNS FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY THINKING ABOUT SOME SOME OF SOME OF THEIR CONCERNS, AND I'M CURIOUS, SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT YOU KNOW, THE ALTERNATE DAYS AND STAFF TAKING MANAGEMENT ACTION, IS IT POSSIBLE TO SOMEHOW AMEND, YOU KNOW, THIS MOTION TO ALSO INCLUDE SOME TYPE OF DIRECTION THAT WHILE I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF SUCCESSES WITH THIS PILOT PROJECT, WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO IN TERMS OF BRINGING IN THESE DIFFERENT USER GROUPS AND SOMEHOW BEING ABLE TO BOTH APPROVE THIS TODAY, BUT THEN ALSO WORK TOGETHER TO MEET THESE CONCERNS THAT WERE ADDRESSED TODAY.
BECAUSE IT DOES GIVE ME SOME PAUSE, AND SO THAT'S ONE QUESTION THAT I HAVE, AND THEN I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW MY SECOND QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE PILOT PROJECT ENDS THIS MONTH WITH THAT 20 MONTH PERIOD.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS WASN'T PASSED? I'D JUST LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THAT SCENARIO LOOKS LIKE.
WHAT HAPPENS IF FOR SOME REASON THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN? WHAT WHAT WOULD BE THE EFFECT OF THAT? OKAY, SO I THINK YOUR FIRST QUESTION IS, COULD YOU PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF TO ENGAGE DEEPLY WITH THE DIFFERENT VISITORS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS AROUND POTENTIAL FUTURE CHANGES? AND YES, I THINK YOU CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE THAT DIRECTION, AND I THINK THAT'S THE INTENT OF OUR TEAM REGARDLESS.
SO YES, I THINK WE'RE VERY ALIGNED, AND THAT MAKES A TON OF SENSE, AND THEN YOUR SECOND QUESTION ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOUR BOARD DID NOT APPROVE THIS ACTION.
SO THERE'S OPTIONS THAT YOU HAVE, BUT IF THE PILOT SUNSETTED AND YOU DIDN'T CHANGE THE ORDINANCE, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN IS IT COULD GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS BEFORE BEFORE THE PILOT.
IS THERE A SUNSET? YEAH. DO YOU KNOW WHAT? YEAH, YEAH. SO OUR NOTICE OF EXEMPTION WAS A NOT TO EXCEED 20 MONTHS, AND THEN WE'RE AT 20 MONTHS.
WE HAVE DISCUSSED HAVING TIME TO ADJUST CHANGE SIGNAGE BASED ON THIS BOARD'S DIRECTION UNTIL IT STARTED IN APRIL OF 2023 SO WE COULD GO.
SO TECHNICALLY, APRIL 2025 WOULD BE TWO YEARS.
[03:05:05]
SOME OF THE OPTIONS WE HAVE, RIGHT.AS WE LOOK OUT AND EXPAND OUR VIEW OF THE ENTIRE PARK, THOSE OPTIONS ACTUALLY BECOME MORE PLAUSIBLE, AND SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE KNOW THE PILOT WASN'T PERFECT.
WE KNOW THAT IT THAT THE TRAIL SYSTEM ISN'T PERFECT, BUT AGAIN, IT WAS SOMEWHAT LIMITING, AND THE CONNECTIVITY THAT WAS REQUIRED TO MAKE THE PILOT WORK IN ORDER TO REALLY TEST THESE STRATEGIES OUT, YOU KNOW, TO CONFINE IT INTO THAT SECTION OF THE PARK WAS SO THAT IT WAS MANAGEABLE, YOU KNOW, WAS ACTUALLY LIMITING.
SO I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE LESSONS LEARNED AND HOW WE'VE ENGAGED THE COMMUNITY IN SUCH A WAY WHERE THEY'RE ACTUALLY COMING IN AND WORKING WITH US NOW, AND I THINK WE HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF SUCCESS AS WE EXPAND OUR OUTLOOK OUT FROM THE PILOT.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT, AND SO MAYBE THE WAY TO LOOK AT THIS, YOU KNOW, SHOULD THIS GET APPROVED TODAY YOU KNOW, AS WE ZOOM OUT AND LOOK AT THE ENTIRE PARK, MAYBE IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO SOMEHOW AMEND THE MOTION TO SAY THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH THESE GROUPS.
AND I THINK I KNOW WE REALLY LIKE TO HAVE MULTI-USE TRAILS, BUT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO CONSIDER THE IDEA OF A BIKE FREE TRAIL, POTENTIALLY, OR A BIKE FREE LOOP, AND I THINK COMMITTING TO THAT, I WOULD HOPE HELPS THE EQUESTRIAN COMMUNITY, FOR EXAMPLE, FEEL LIKE WE'RE REALLY, YOU KNOW, TAKING SERIOUSLY SOME OF THEIR COMMENTS TODAY AND JUST UNDERSTANDING THAT IT IS TRUE THAT IN MANY CASES, HORSES AND MOUNTAIN BIKES DON'T ALWAYS MESH WELL ON TRAILS.
IS THAT POSSIBLE TO AMEND OUR MOTION ALONG THOSE LINES? IT'S MORE OF A STATEMENT.
GO AHEAD, COLIN. SIMILARLY, I HAVE CONCERNS THAT THERE ISN'T AN ENFORCEMENT COMPONENT AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION TODAY OTHER THAN THE VERBAL, WHICH IS WE WILL CONTINUE TO ENFORCE THESE RULES AS THEY NOW BECOME PERMANENT.
GOING BACK TO THE INCEPTION OF THE PILOT, YOU VOICED ENFORCEMENT CONCERNS THAT WERE RATHER VIGOROUS.
I DID, YOU KNOW, BEFORE YOUR TIME.
SO THAT IS A CONCERN OF MINE, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FORM A MOTION OR THAT AMENDS BECAUSE MAX KEEPS COMING BACK AND TELLING US.
WELL, WE'RE DEALING WITH ORDINANCE 38, AND WE'RE DEALING WITH MANAGEMENT TOOLS, AND THAT 'S WHY WE CAN EASILY IMPLEMENT ALTERNATIVE DAYS.
IT'S THERE. IT'S PART OF THE EXISTING PILOT, AND WE CAN JUST IMPLEMENT IT.
THE CHANGING THE PROPOSED RULES FOR THE VARIOUS TRAILS OR SOMETHING WE CAN DO.
SO A COUPLE OF US AND SOME OF OUR COMMENTERS HAVE IDENTIFIED THE TRAVERSE TRAIL AS AN ISSUE. SO WE CAN DO THAT AND WE CAN ACT ON THOSE.
I DON'T SEE HOW WE ACT ON ENFORCEMENT ISSUES YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND DIRECTOR MERCURIO IS TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE EXPANSION OF NOT JUST THE MODELS CREATED HERE, BUT THE GREATER ISSUES OF, HABITAT RESTORATION THROUGHOUT BRIONES, WHICH IS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE THAT WE ALL SHARE PURSUIT OF. SO MY THOUGHTS AS YOU WERE TALKING IS YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, RIGHT? THESE ARE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY THAT'S EASILY IDENTIFIABLE, AND THAT'S WHY I'M NOT MAKING A MOTION ON ENFORCEMENT, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FRAME THAT.
SO THESE ARE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND THAT WE SHOULD ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO PURSUE, AND THAT'S HOW I VIEW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT THE MOTION DIRECTOR ROSARIO MADE.
[03:10:01]
ADD ALTER ONE ASPECT OF THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION AND ADD TO THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION THE ALTERNATE DAYS MODEL THAT WAS PART OF THE PILOT.ALL RIGHT. WELL, I JUST HAVE A QUESTION FOR LEGAL COUNSEL FIRST.
OKAY. SO SO I MEAN, THIS IS THE TITLE OF THIS IS TO AUTHORIZE AN AMENDING ATTACHMENT A FOR BASICALLY WHAT'S INCLUDED HERE THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, BUT IS THERE A AND I SEE WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO JUST LIMIT IT TO WHAT'S IN ORDINANCE 38, BUT I MEAN, I'M NOT ALSO NOT CLEAR SINCE ALL OF THIS HAS TO DO WITH ORDINANCE 38 AND TRAILS. WHY COULDN'T WE ADD SOMETHING THAT SAYS TO FOCUS ON DO WE WANT WE ALSO DIRECTING STAFF TO ENGAGE OTHER GROUPS OR OTHER USER GROUPS IN FUTURE, YOU KNOW, FUTURE PLANS, FUTURE TRAIL PLANS? AND ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT ENFORCEMENT.
I MEAN, IS THERE A REASON WHY YOU COULDN'T DO THAT? I DON'T SEE ANY REASON WHY YOU CAN'T TODAY ASK STAFF TO DO SOMETHING RELATED TO OTHER USER GROUPS.
THERE'S SOME OTHER REASONS WHY I THINK YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL, AND WE SHOULD PROBABLY LOOK MORE CAREFULLY AT WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SAY REGARDING ENFORCEMENT, AND SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE BETTER SUITED TO A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM.
YEAH. BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT TO ASK THEM TO SAY ABOUT ENFORCEMENT ANYWAY.
SO THAT WOULD THAT MAKE SENSE THAT WE COULD BREAK IT OUT THAT WAY.
SO WE INCLUDE THE ENGAGING THE OTHER USER GROUPS IN FUTURE.
I MEAN, HOPEFULLY WE'RE ALREADY ENGAGING THESE GROUPS, BUT I GUESS THE IDEA BEING SINCE THEY DIDN'T GET I MEAN, NOT EVERYONE GOT ALL THEY WANTED ACROSS THE BOARD, BUT I AM, YOU KNOW, HEARING CONCERN BOTH FROM THE EQUESTRIAN COMMUNITY AND FROM THE HIKING COMMUNITY THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY ALSO NEED TRAILS THAT ARE SINGLE USE TRAILS OR AT LEAST GOING FORWARD THEY NEED MORE TOO.
SO SO I GUESS WHAT WE COULD DO IS, IS ADD THAT IN AND WE ALREADY HAVE THE AMENDMENT THAT OR THE DIRECTION THAT DEE PROVIDED, AND THEN ALSO TO FOCUS ON THE OTHER USER GROUPS AS WE, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO, SO IS THAT I MEAN, IS THAT YOUR WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD THAT? YEAH, I THINK IT IS, BECAUSE I THINK IT SHOWS OUR COMMITMENT AND OUR PROMISE TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT USER GROUPS, AND WHILE IT MAY NOT BE DIRECTLY WITHIN THE UMBRELLA OF, YOU KNOW, THESE SPECIFIC TRAILS IN THIS SMALL AREA OF A MUCH LARGER PARK OF BRIONES, I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THIS HERE, I'M THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF HABITAT, WHEN WE WENT ON THE BOARD SITE TOUR, WE HEARD ABOUT THE POND RESTORATION PROGRAM THAT'S ALSO HAPPENING ACROSS THE ENTIRE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, BUT THEN ALSO SPECIFICALLY AT BRIONES, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH THAT'S BEEN COMMUNICATED AS A PART OF THIS PILOT PROJECT WITH THE USER GROUPS, BUT MAYBE SOME OF THESE DIFFERENT EFFORTS THAT WE'RE DOING YOU KNOW, FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE PARK DISTRICT, WE COULD ALSO CONSIDER COMMUNICATING THAT AS WELL WITH THESE DIFFERENT USER GROUPS.
OKAY. SO, SO DEE, SINCE WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE TABLE DO YOU WANT TO ACCEPT THIS AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO ALSO ASK STAFF TO DIRECT STAFF TO FOCUS ON OTHER GROUPS GOING FORWARD OR NOT? I ACCEPT. OKAY.
ALL RIGHT. SO IN THAT CASE LET'S GO AHEAD, AND WE HAVE A MOTION.
WE HAVE WE STILL HAVE AS LONG AS YOU ACCEPT THE AMENDMENT TOO BECAUSE YOU SECONDED.
SO SO THERE'S A MOTION BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO.
IS EVERYONE CLEAR ON WHAT THE MOTION IS? OH, YEAH.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES.
OKAY, AND NOW WE HAVE TO APPROVE THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION, AS AMENDED.
AM I RIGHT? I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT WE JUST DID.
DID WE INCORPORATE? BECAUSE THE MOTION I DIDN'T.
[03:15:03]
DID WE ADD IN APPROVAL OF THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION? YEAH. THAT WAS A BASELINE MOTION.I KNOW, YOU KNOW, THESE ISSUES ARE TOUGH, AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL HANGING IN THERE AND PARTICIPATING CONSTRUCTIVELY ON THIS PILOT PROJECT AND OTHER TRAIL PLANNING THAT WE DO.
I THINK A TEN MINUTE BREAK IS IN ORDER.
SO WE CAN CONTINUE WITH THE AUTHORIZATION TO AMEND THE ON CALL TRAIL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS TRAIL STEWARDSHIP. SEAN DOUGAN, TRAILS PROGRAM MANAGER.
THIS IS AN AMENDMENT TO A CONTRACT.
AN ON CALL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS.
THIS IS THE ACTION BEFORE YOU IN THE AMOUNT OF 1.5 MILLION.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT SIMPLY WASN'T A LOT OF MONEY.
IT WASN'T ENOUGH MONEY TO BE AN ON CALL TRAIL SERVICES.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS TRAIL STEWARDSHIP.
THEIR PROFESSIONAL TRAIL BUILDERS CREWS OPERATE ALL KINDS OF EQUIPMENT.
THEY HAVE FAMILIARITY WORKING UNDER THE CALIFORNIA PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS, AND THEY'VE PROVEN THEIR SKILL AND EFFICIENCY IN WORKING WITH AGENCIES UNDER THESE PERMIT RESTRICTIONS BY CONSTRUCTING THE RECENTLY LAST YEAR THE VALLE VISTA TRAIL.
I'M SORRY. IT'S STILL THIS YEAR IN 2024, AND IT'S A REALLY GREAT TRAIL.
AND EVERYONE WHO HAS USED IT IS RAVING ABOUT IT.
THAT ALL GO INTO DIFFICULT TRAIL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
THIS IS A FEW PICTURES OF THE VALLE VISTA TRAIL THAT THEY DID COMPLETE IN 2024.
YOU CAN SEE IT ON THE MAP THERE IN RED.
WE ACTUALLY HAD TO CUT THIS TRAIL DOWN IN SIZE DUE TO SOME IMPACTS THAT WE JUST DID NOT WANT TO.
THEY'RE GETTING OUT OF THEIR EQUIPMENT LOOKING AT WHAT THEY'RE DOING, AND THEY'RE DOING VERY, VERY FINE TUNED SPECIALIZED CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS A SKILL THAT WE THAT HAS ATROPHIED, I WOULD SAY, AT THE DISTRICT.
AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE A LOT TO DO AT THE PARK DISTRICT.
THERE ARE A LOT OF TRAILS IN THE QUEUE.
YOU CAN SEE JUST SOME THAT FIT IN THIS SLIDE HERE.
THEY'RE ALL LISTED HERE IN GARIN, PLEASANTON RIDGE, SIBLEY, CALAVERAS RIDGE TRAIL IN LAFAYETTE, AND MAINLY THOUGH WE'RE LOOKING AT PLEASANTON RIDGE, WHICH HAS MULTIPLE TRAILS THAT ARE PERMITTED, AND THOSE PERMITS ARE GOING TO EXPIRE.
WE REALIZED THERE WAS A TRAIL NAMING CONFLICT IN PLEASANTON RIDGE WITH THAT TRAIL.
SO NOW IT'S CALLED THE VAL VISTA TRAIL.
JUST TO CLARIFY, BUT WE STILL HAVE THE TEHAN CANYON TRAIL AND THE PHILIP SCHOLZ TRAIL AND PIECES OF A BUNCH OF OTHER TRAILS WITHIN PLEASANTON THAT WE REALLY NEED TO GET DONE, AND AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LONG LIST.
ONE OF THOSE WE HAVE A FIVE YEAR MAINTENANCE BACKLOG.
OUR STAFF, WHEN THEY DO BUILD NEW TRAILS, WE HAVE TO PULL THEM AWAY FROM THAT MAINTENANCE WORK.
WE ALSO HAVE A VERY RESTRICTED WORK WINDOW.
RIGHT. SO ONCE WE BUILD THEM, WE HAVE TO KEEP GOING BACK TO THEM AND TAKING CARE OF THEM, AND IT'S HELPFUL TO HAVE SOME OUTSIDE HELP WITH THAT, AND HAVING THIS STAFF LOGISTICS AND COORDINATION WITH PERSONNEL FOR BIO MONITORING AND REPORTING AND THINGS, IT'S REALLY GREAT TO HAVE A THIRD PARTY TO KIND OF TAKE CONTROL OF THAT, THAT WE PAY, RATHER THAN MY STAFF OF THREE HAVING TO PULL THEM OFF OF OUR LONG LIST OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO GET THAT DONE, AND THOSE THINGS ARE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, BIO MONITORING IS VERY EXPENSIVE AND IT'S VERY TIME CONSUMING MANAGING.
[03:20:01]
YOU KNOW, GIVING 24 HOURS OF NOTICE IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE OUT THERE ET CETERA.NOW, THIS ISN'T MEANT TO REPLACE THE DISTRICT'S WORK AND THE DISTRICT'S STAFF WORK.
THIS IS MEANT TO COMPLEMENT IT.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BUILD TRAILS AND DO MAINTENANCE WORK WITH OUR SMALL TRAILS CREW.
TO BE QUITE HONEST, IF WE CAN GET THREE TRAIL PROJECTS DONE WITH THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY, I WOULD BE HAPPY, BUT IT'S PROBABLY HONESTLY, REALISTICALLY, MORE LIKE TWO PROJECTS OUT OF ALL THOSE EIGHT. SO JUST KNOW THAT TRAIL PROJECTS ARE MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE.
A LOT OF THEM REQUIRE BRIDGES NOW IN OUR PARKS, AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO AMEND THIS CONTRACT AND THEN HAVE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN TRAIL STEWARDSHIP STILL CONTINUE TO HELP US OUT OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS AND TRY TO GET SOME OF THIS WORK DONE.
WHICH TWO OUT OF THE EIGHT HAVE YOU PRIORITIZED? I WOULD SAY THE PHILIP SCHOLZ TRAIL, AND MAYBE A PORTION OF A PORTION OF THE TEHAN CANYON TRAIL IF WE CAN AFFORD IT BUT THE RIDGE TRAIL BETWEEN VARGAS AND GARIN IS ON THE LIST OF TRAILS ON THE LOUIS PROPERTY THAT WE NEED TO BUILD AND WE NEED SOME HELP WITH, AND THERE'S DEFINITELY COMPLICATED ISSUES WITH THAT CULVERT, DAYLIGHTING OF CREEKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT WE NEED SOME EXPERTISE ON.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR SEAN? OKAY. I THINK IT MIGHT BE JUST HELPFUL TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PERMITTING PROCESS AND THE REQUIREMENTS ON US WHEN WE'RE BUILDING NEW TRAILS IN REGARDS TO PERMITS, AND I GUESS I CAN GIVE A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE.
CITY OF PLEASANTON RECENTLY OPENED TRAILS IN THE LUND RANCH ON THE LUND RANCH PROPERTY, BUT THEY WERE ABLE TO DO THAT BY HAVING THE TRAILS CONSTRUCTED BY THE DEVELOPER BEFORE THE LAND BECAME PART OF CITY OF PLEASANTON, AND I GUESS DID NOT HAVE THE SAME PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS THAT THE CITY WOULD HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN REGARDS TO CONSTRUCTING THOSE TRAILS. AND I THINK IT'S HELPFUL TO HEAR, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN'T JUST GO OUT THERE AND, YOU KNOW, PUT A TRAIL IN PLACE WITHOUT FOLLOWING THE PROPER PERMITTING PROCESSES. YEAH.
AGREED. THEY ARE OVER TIME, WE ARE BEING SCRUTINIZED MORE AND MORE BY OUR ACTIVITIES IN OUR PARKS, AND BIOMONITORING WAS AN IDEA TO MITIGATE FOR THESE ACTIVITIES JUST DURING CONSTRUCTION YEARS BACK WHEN I FIRST STARTED DOING THIS.
NOW IT'S REQUIRED ON EVERY PROJECT AND THE MITIGATION RATIOS AND THE MONITORING PERIODS.
THOSE ARE ALL NEGOTIABLE IN THE PERMITTING PROCESS, AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE AGENCIES TO TRY TO STREAMLINE THAT THROUGH OUR CUT THE GREEN TAPE INITIATIVE AND OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH CDFW IN THAT WAY AND OUR LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS THAT WE'RE ATTEMPTING TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE STILL PROTECTING RESOURCES, BUT ACTUALLY ABLE TO GET SOMETHING DONE AND NOT NOT, YOU KNOW, SPENDING 40% OF OUR BUDGET ON ON BIOMONITORING, IF POSSIBLE, BUT I'M SORRY IF I'M NOT ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION.
I WASN'T SURE IF I UNDERSTOOD IT.
I THINK YOU'RE ANSWERING IT JUST FINE.
IT WAS A PRETTY BROAD QUESTION, I GUESS JUST GOING BACK TO THE SLIDE WHERE YOU HAVE THE EXPIRATION DATES ON HERE AND WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO PRIORITIZE THE TRAILS THAT WE HAVE THE PERMITS FOR, BECAUSE IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE TO RENEW THIS AND TO RESTUDY THIS, AND THEN I THINK ALSO JUST MENTIONING THE AGENCIES.
IT'S MULTIPLE AGENCIES DEPENDING ON THE TRAIL.
SURE. YEAH. IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR IMPACTING.
IF THERE'S A SPECIES, A FEDERAL SPECIES, THEN THERE'S A FEDERAL NEXUS, AND IF YOU'RE IMPACTING A STREAM BED OR ALTERING A STREAM BED, THEN IT'S CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE. WE HAVE THE REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD.
WE HAVE THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS.
IF NEEDED, WE HAVE THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, AND THEN, OF COURSE, WHEN WE'RE NEAR THE SHORELINE, WE YOU CAN JUST BCDC, THE BAY CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IS A PART OF THE MIX AS WELL, BUT THOSE ARE PRETTY MUCH THE REGULATORY AGENCIES THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS, NOT ONLY DOES STREAM CROSSINGS, ET CETERA, BUT ALSO SECTION SEVEN OF THE I'M SORRY THE CULTURAL SIDE OF IT, THE CULTURAL RESOURCES SIDE OF IT, I THINK I GOT THAT WRONG.
THANK YOU. DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION, COLIN?
[03:25:09]
JUST A COMMENT. OKAY.I CONTINUE TO HAVE QUALMS ABOUT OUTSOURCING A WORKFORCE FUNCTION THAT WE CAN DO FROM BY EXPANDING OUR OWN WORKFORCE THAT ALREADY DOES THIS WORK, AND I HAVE ACCEPTED AND SUPPORTED YOUR CHARACTERIZATION OF THE NEED BEING SO GREAT TO GET TO THESE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS SOONER THAN WE CAN, TRYING TO DEVELOP FURTHER OUR OWN WORKFORCE.
I ACCEPT THAT AND I SUPPORT THAT, AND IT'S JUST BALANCING TO ME PRIORITIES AND IDEOLOGICAL CONCERNS.
SO I WOULD JUST LIKE IT IF MANAGEMENT KEPT IN MIND, PRESUMING THAT I REFLECT OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THAT THIS IS A FUNCTION THAT WILL, AS YOU'VE DESCRIBED, CONTINUE TO BE A DEMAND ON OUR WORKFORCE AND THIS OUTSOURCING WORKFORCE FOR YEARS, SO THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DEVELOP OUR OWN INTERNAL EXPANDED WORKFORCE TO DO THIS WORK BECAUSE IT'S NOT TEMPORARY.
IT'S GOING TO BE ONGOING FOR YEARS.
IT'S A BUDGETING ISSUE, IT'S FUTURE FUNDING ISSUE.
I JUST WANT TO KEEP IT ON EVERYBODY ON MANAGEMENT'S RADAR THAT THEY'RE QUALMS ABOUT THIS.
THAT'S IT, BUT I'M GOING TO SUPPORT AND VOTE FOR IT.
THANK YOU. YEAH, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TAKE A TO HAVE MULTIPLE WAYS IN WHICH WE DO THIS WORK.
WE ARE SUCH A LARGE AGENCY WITH SO MUCH LAND THAT A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH IS REALLY WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND; STAFF, CONSERVATION CORPS CREW, SOME CONTRACT WORK, BUT BUT THE GOAL IS THAT WE DO NEED TO STRENGTHEN OUR STAFF AND THE PARK DISTRICT'S ABILITY TO DO THESE PROJECTS, AND THAT IS A GOAL THAT WE SHARE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS ON THIS.
OKAY. IS THERE ANYONE ELSE? AND I'LL JUST. OKAY.
SO I'LL BEFORE CALLING FOR A MOTION, I JUST I WANT TO SAY THAT I AGREE WITH COLIN'S COMMENTS AND I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU NEED THE HELP AND YOU NEED MORE PERMANENT HELP AS WELL.
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DO ALL THAT YOU DO WITH A STAFF OF THREE.
SO YEAH, BUT ANYWAY SO YEAH, DEFINITELY GOOD TO KEEP OUR EYES ON PERMANENT STAFF WHERE WE CAN HIRE PERMANENT STAFF AS OPPOSED TO CONTRACTORS, BUT ASIDE FROM THAT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, AND IF SOMEONE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE IT A MOTION WE CAN.
MOTION BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO AND SECOND BY DIRECTOR.
YES, THERE WAS A PUBLIC COMMENT.
PRESIDENT ECHOLS, DIRECTORS, STAFF.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT.
WE ASK THAT YOU APPROVE THE GENERAL MANAGER RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AUTHORIZE THE AMENDMENT TO THE ON CALL TRAIL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN TRAIL STEWARDSHIP.
I THINK THERE'S SEVERAL POINTS THAT WERE MADE UP THAT BROUGHT UP TODAY THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT, I THINK THE REALLY TIGHT CONSTRUCTION WINDOWS AND THE TIME LIMITS ON THE PERMITS ARE JUST EXAMPLES OF MANY OF THE OBSTACLES THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE WAY OF GETTING TRAILS BUILT IN THE DISTRICT.
ALSO, THE LIMITED CAPABILITIES IN-HOUSE HAVE BEEN A LIMITATION AS WELL.
I THINK THIS IS A WAY TO ADDRESS THAT SHORT TERM SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN TRAIL STEWARDSHIP HAS WORKED WITH A VARIETY OF LAND MANAGERS AND DOES VERY GOOD WORK, AND I THINK IT'S A CHALLENGE TO GET THOSE SKILLS IN-HOUSE, PARTICULARLY IN THE TIMEFRAMES THAT THIS WORK OCCURS DURING THE YEAR, AND TO HAVE ENOUGH WORK.
[03:30:05]
CONSTRUCTION, THOSE SKILL SETS ARE HARD TO FIND OUT THERE.AND SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN TRAIL STEWARDSHIP HAS THAT.
SO I THINK A TWO PRONGED APPROACH IS DEFINITELY WARRANTED, AND THERE MAY BE OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK WITH SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN TRAIL STEWARDSHIP TO SOMEHOW BUILD SOME TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE WITHIN THE DISTRICT.
THEY FACILITATE, I THINK, THE LARGEST VOLUNTEER TRAIL STEWARDSHIP WORK GOING ON IN OUR REGION.
THERE WERE MANY COMMENTS, BOTH AT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND TODAY ABOUT MANY DEMANDS FOR VOLUNTEER TRAIL STEWARDSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO PUT THAT OUT THERE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, TO THINK ABOUT IT, THAT THEY MAY BE AN ORGANIZATION TO LEARN FROM, OR PERHAPS PARTNER IN SOME MEANS TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY OR LEARN HOW THEY MANAGE IT AND ARE VERY SUCCESSFUL AT IT, AND MAYBE THAT CAN BE BROUGHT IN-HOUSE TO EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT.
I THINK THEY'RE A POTENTIAL PLACE TO LEARN FROM.
THANK YOU. JIM HANSEN, CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY, EAST BAY.
I JUST WANT TO SAY I WAS ACTUALLY, I THINK DOING THE TRAIL REPAIR AND MOVING AHEAD IS GOOD.
I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THE WILDCAT DOWNHILL BIKE ONLY TRAIL ON THIS LIST.
I'M NOT GOING TO GET INTO THAT TOPIC OR COMMENT ABOUT IT TONIGHT, BUT WE KNOW THAT, AND MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT HIKE THE TRAILS AND MANY OF YOU DO, FOR INSTANCE, HEAVILY USED TILDEN PARK AND ABOVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL AREA, AND MANY OTHER TRAILS ARE IN SERIOUSLY ERODED CONDITIONS.
I'M TALKING TRENCHES LIKE TWO FEET DEEP WHERE YOU'VE GOT TO KIND OF SKIRT UP ALONG THE COYOTE BUSH.
I THINK IF THE I WOULD ASK THAT THE BOARD, IF THE DISTRICT IS LOOKING AT SPENDING MORE MONEY ON TRAILS AND IT'S NEEDED THAT THE PRIORITY BE PUT ON THE REPAIR OF REALLY SERIOUSLY ERODED TRAILS THAT ARE HEAVILY, HEAVILY USED BY MANY CONSTITUENTS.
SO LET'S SEE, I THINK WE ALREADY HAD A MOTION AND A SECOND, AND DO YOU HAVE THEIR NAMES? DIRECTOR ROSARIO.
DIRECTOR ROSARIO MADE THE MOTION AND YOU SAY DIRECTOR MERCURIO SECONDED IT.
SO ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. ALL RIGHT. ALL
[FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIVISION]
RIGHT. OH.GOOD EVENING. I'M DEB SPAULDING, AGM OF FINANCE AND |MANAGEMENT SERVICES, AND I'M HERE TO TALK YOU THROUGH THE ADOPTION OF THE 2025 OPERATING BUDGET AND APPROVAL OF THE 2025 GANN LIMIT.
THE PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE REVIEWED THIS ON NOVEMBER 25TH AS WELL.
DECEMBER 3RD WE BROUGHT TO THE BOARD FOR THE INTRODUCTION AND PUBLIC HEARING.
DECEMBER 5TH, WE HAD A STAFF PRESENTATION HERE IN THE BOARDROOM, AND THEN TODAY WE'RE HERE FOR BUDGET ADOPTION, AND I WANT TO THANK THE BOARD, WHO MANY OF WHOM HAVE READ THIS DOCUMENT VERY CLOSELY AND PROVIDED SOME HELPFUL FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS.
[03:35:02]
LOOKING AT THE REVENUE SOURCES, IT'S JUST A PIE CHART TO SHOW YOU THAT THE LARGEST SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR US IS TAXES AND ASSESSMENTS.80% OF OUR REVENUE CHARGES FOR SERVICES 17.2%, AND THE OTHER SOURCES ARE VERY SMALL INDEED, AND THEN LOOKING AT APPROPRIATIONS BY EXPENDITURE TYPE.
SO PERSONNEL COSTS 56.1%, SUPPLIES AND SERVICES 24.2%.
INTER-DISTRICT CHARGES ARE 9.5%, DEBT SERVICE 5.5%, CAPITAL OUTLAY 4.1% AND INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS POINT 6%. WE WERE ABLE TO ADD 16.73 NEW STAFF BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR.
SO 6.3 OF THOSE WERE ALLOCATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY, 3.25 TO OPERATIONS ASD 3.18 FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES, TWO NEW FTE, THE GM'S OFFICE ONE AND HUMAN RESOURCES ONE.
AND THEN JUST RECAPPING A FEW OF THE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS.
ADDITIONALLY, FUNDING FOR NARROW GAUGE TRAILS AT PLEASANTON RIDGE, WHICH YOU ALSO JUST HEARD, ABOUT.
ALLOCATING TWO NEW POSITIONS FOR CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION.
AN ADDITIONAL $400,000 TO REDESIGN THE EXHIBITS AT COYOTE HILLS.
3 MILLION FOR FUELS MAINTENANCE PROJECTS AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION, AND THEN SOME FUNDING FOR INCREASED FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFFING, AND THEN ALSO ALLOCATING SOME NEW STAFF AND FUNDING FOR DATA AND TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS, INCLUDING OUR ERP SYSTEM, NETWORK MONITORING AND IMPROVING CONNECTIVITY AT THE REMOTE PARK SITES.
AND THEN LASTLY, A WHOLE BUNCH OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
SEWER REPLACEMENT PROJECT AT ANTHONY CHABOT CAMPGROUND, OYSTER BAY STAGING AREA, THE TILDEN EEC DESIGN AND MANY OTHER PROJECTS WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT AT THE PRIOR MEETINGS, AND NOW JUST A FEW SLIDES TO SUMMARIZE OUR PROJECT BUDGET, WHICH IS A SEPARATE BOOK OF OUR BUDGET. SO WE HAVE IN TOTAL 83 PROJECTS RECEIVING FUNDING THIS YEAR OF 34.3 MILLION, AND THEY'RE BROKEN DOWN INTO DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROJECTS. YOU CAN SEE INFRASTRUCTURE IS 35% OF OUR PROJECTS.
WE HAD THAT OYSTER BAY ACCESS PROJECT, FOR EXAMPLE.
THE FUNDING SOURCES FOR ALL OF OUR ACTIVE PROJECTS PREDOMINANTLY COME FROM DISTRICT FUNDS.
WE HAVE 22% OF OUR PROJECT FUNDING COMES FROM BONDS.
SO MEASURE WW, AA AND PROMISSORY NOTES.
GRANT SOURCES MAKE UP 21% OF PROJECT FUNDS, AND THEN WE HAVE 4% COMING FROM OTHER FUNDING SOURCES.
AND THEN THE SECOND RESOLUTION IN THE PACKET IS TO APPROVE THE GANN LIMIT.
SO WE PROVIDED OUR FINANCE COMMITTEE WITH THE GANN LIMIT CALCULATION ON NOVEMBER 25TH.
IT WAS ALSO POSTED IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPERS FOR PUBLIC REVIEW ON NOVEMBER 15TH.
SO THAT WAS THE BRIEF SUMMARY.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS, AND THEN WE HAVE TWO RESOLUTIONS FOR YOU.
ONE IS TO APPROVE THE BUDGET AND THE OTHER IS TO APPROVE THE GANN LIMIT.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR DEBORAH.
GO AHEAD. FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO YOU AND TO YOUR TEAM.
[03:40:08]
REALLY FEEL LIKE WE'VE DONE A THOROUGH JOB OF REALLY, YOU KNOW, TAKING A DEEP DIVE AND A GOOD LOOK AT THIS, THIS BUDGET AND REALLY THINKING ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'RE FACING.I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
SO YOU MENTIONED HOW WE HAVE 83 TOTAL PROJECTS, AND BETWEEN THE PREVIOUS BOARD MEETING AND THIS ONE, I DID READ AGAIN THE VOLUME TWO, THE PROJECT BOOK, AND I NOTICED THAT WE HAVE COMPLETE AND AWAITING CLOSEOUT SECTION ON PAGE SIX ABOUT HOW THE PARK DISTRICT HAS 23 PROJECTS THAT ARE COMPLETE. HOWEVER, THEY'RE STILL OPEN AND ACTIVE STATUS.
AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE WAITING A FEW FINAL THINGS.
SO IS THAT 23 PART OF THE 83 OR IS IT SEPARATE? SO IS IT 83 PLUS 23? GOOD EVENING. KATIE DIGNAN ASSISTANT FINANCE OFFICER.
NO, THE 23 IS SEPARATE, SO THE 83 ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE RECEIVING APPROPRIATIONS.
WELL, THOSE 23 THAT ARE IN THE CLOSEOUT PHASE AREN'T RECEIVING ANY FUNDING THROUGH THE 2025 BUDGET.
WE'RE JUST REFLECTING THAT THOSE PROJECTS ARE STILL IN OUR OVERALL BUDGET AND ARE AWAITING CLOSEOUT.
SO THAT BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I ALSO LOOKED A LOT MORE CLOSELY AT THE CIP FOLD OUT PAGE THAT WE HAVE HERE.
I DON'T HAVE A PAGE NUMBER FOR IT, BUT I GUESS RIGHT AFTER PAGE 19, AND I JUST WANT TO LOOK MAYBE SPECIFICALLY AT THE PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECTS, AND I REALLY LIKE HOW THIS IS LAID OUT, BY THE WAY.
I LIKE HOW WE SHOW WHERE THERE'S PRIOR YEAR FUNDING.
THE 2025 APPROPRIATIONS AND THEN THE FUNDING NEEDS IN THE FUTURE, STARTING IN 2026.
SO MY QUESTION IS SO, SO WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE BUDGET TODAY, SO THEN WE WOULD BE APPROPRIATING IT LOOKS LIKE 6.2 MILLION TOWARDS YEAH.
6.2 MILLION TOWARDS ACCESS PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECTS.
CORRECT. THAT ARE FEATURED IN THE PAGES.
YES, AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE FUNDING NEEDS, THE 2026 TO 2029 COLUMNS.
SO SO MY QUESTION HERE IS IT GETS MUCH LARGER RIGHT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT 6.2 MILLION FOR THE 2025, BUT THEN IN 2026 IT LOOKS LIKE WE JUMP UP TO 54.2, AND THAT'S ONLY FOR THE PROJECTS THAT ARE LISTED HERE UNDER PUBLIC ACCESS.
THAT'S CORRECT. BASED ON CURRENT ESTIMATES OF THOSE PROJECTS THIS IS WHAT WE'RE FORECASTING THAT WE'RE GOING TO REQUIRE IN 2026, BUT AS THEY PROGRESS IN DESIGNS, THE ESTIMATES MAY CHANGE OR THEY MIGHT EXPERIENCE DELAYS THAT PUSH THEM FURTHER OUT.
SO MY NEXT QUESTION IS, I MEAN, WE HAVE A PRETTY TALL ORDER FROM WHAT I CAN SEE LOOKING AT THIS, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE AND I KNOW THIS IS MORE LIKE AT A HIGH LEVEL.
MAYBE JUST A SUMMARY STATEMENT, YOU KNOW, DO WE FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PULL THESE FUNDS TOGETHER? ARE WE EXPECTING TO BE ABLE TO BRING IN OTHER RESOURCES, WHETHER IT'S GRANT FUNDING OR PARTNERSHIPS OR, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE HOPING TO REALLY MAKE THIS BIG JUMP HERE IN REGARDS TO THE AMOUNTS IN THIS PUBLIC ACCESS SECTION? GREAT QUESTION. THANK YOU.
SO THESE LARGER AMOUNTS OF PROJECTS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO GO INTO CONSTRUCTION IN 2026, YOU KNOW, SUCH AS THE WHICH BIG ONE HERE FOR DEER VALLEY, FOR EXAMPLE? OKAY, THAT'S 14.3.
SO THAT'S ON OUR GRANTS PRIORITY LIST.
SO A LOT OF THESE ARE NOW LIKE ON A LIST THAT WE HAVE OF OUR PRIORITIES THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY SEARCHING GRANTS FOR, AND THEN NEXT YEAR REALLY FOCUSING ON GETTING MORE DETAILS ON THE ESTIMATES AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY ACCOMPLISH.
THAT'S GREAT, AND THAT'S WHAT I EXPECTED.
BUT IT'S JUST HELPFUL TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
SO THEN IT DOES LEAD ME TO THE NEXT TOPIC, AND I KNOW THIS ISN'T AN UNKNOWN TOPIC THAT I WOULD PROBABLY BE BRINGING UP, AND I WANT TO FIRST STATE THAT WE DID RECEIVE LATE PUBLIC COMMENT VIA A LETTER FROM CITY OF PLEASANTON IN REGARDS TO GARM STAGING AREA, AND I BELIEVE THIS WAS SHARED WITH EACH MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND I THINK IT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO RECEIVE THIS FROM A CITY PARTNER, AND I DO AGREE WITH YOU KNOW, WORD CHOICE IS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND I DO AGREE WITH THIS CLASSIFICATION,
[03:45:06]
WITH THIS IDEA THAT THE CLASSIFICATION OF INACTIVE PROJECTS IMPLIES CERTAIN THINGS.SO WHAT I'M SPECIFICALLY REFERENCING, AND I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING, G7 AND G8, WHERE WE HAVE A LIST OF PROJECTS THAT ARE LISTED AS INACTIVE, AND ONE OF MY PROPOSALS TODAY, AS WE THINK ABOUT FINALIZING THIS, IS CONSIDERING CHANGING THE WORD CHOICE HERE AND CALLING IT PENDING PROJECTS.
WE HAVE YET TO REVIEW GARMS AND MAKE A DECISION AS A BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND I THINK PENDING IS A MORE ACCURATE REFLECTION OF THE STATUS OF THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT. I HAVEN'T LOOKED AS DEEPLY INTO SOME OF THE OTHER PROJECTS, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A PUBLIC FACING DOCUMENT, AND I THINK IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN WE CONSIDER YOU KNOW, HOW WE PRESENT THESE PROJECTS.
OKAY. SO THE INACTIVE PROJECTS THAT IS A NOW THAT YOU'RE BRINGING THIS TO MY ATTENTION IS A MISTAKE, IT IS THE IF YOU GO TO PAGE 25 OF THE BOOK.
YES. GARMS IS ACTUALLY LISTED AS A FUTURE PROJECT.
OKAY, SO CAN WE MAYBE THEN ON G7, G8 SAY FUTURE PROJECTS.
SO THIS INACTIVE PROJECT LIST IS SUPPOSED TO BE PROJECTS THAT SHOULD BE CLOSED FAIRLY SOON.
THEY'RE NOT AND HAVEN'T HAD ANY ACTIVITY IN IN MANY YEARS.
SO THEN THEY MOVED THEM TO THE INACTIVE.
THAT'S ACTUALLY REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO THANK YOU. SO THIS IS WHY THIS IS WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT PROCESS HERE IN PLACE SO THAT I THINK IS REALLY HELPFUL, AND THEN YOU KNOW, MY NEXT COMMENT I WANT TO MAKE, I THINK SO WE HAVE OUR CAPITAL PROJECT PRIORITIZATION WORKSHOP SCHEDULED IN MARCH, AND I THINK WE DO HAVE QUITE A BIT OF WORK BETWEEN NOW AND THEN TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THAT CPP MATRIX AND THINKING ABOUT THE PROJECTS AND THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE LIST OF FUTURE PROJECTS AND HOW WE'RE PRIORITIZING IT, THINKING ABOUT OUR SCORING CRITERIA.
AND I REALLY WANT TO SEE US, YOU KNOW, WE WILL ALSO HAVE TWO NEW BOARD DIRECTORS.
I REALLY WANT TO SEE US STRONGLY INVEST IN PREPARING TOWARDS THAT MARCH DATE, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY IMPORTANT PROJECTS AND SOME THAT MAY NOT EVEN BE ON THIS LIST, BUT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU KNOW, MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND I REALLY WANT US TO BE ABLE TO SOMEHOW AND I THINK WE MENTIONED THIS AT THE WAS IT IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER AT OUR PREVIOUS CAPITAL PROJECT PRIORITIZATION WORKSHOPS, THE IDEA OF 1 OR 2 PET PROJECTS PER BOARD MEMBER TO BE BROUGHT FORWARD AND TO GO THROUGH THE SCORING CRITERIA.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR THE BOARD TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE, BUT THEN ALSO FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO PARTICIPATE AND TO BE ABLE TO BE INVOLVED, AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE A VERY STRONGLY WORDED STATEMENT ABOUT THE NEXT THREE MONTHS BETWEEN ADOPTING THE BUDGET TODAY AND THIS WORKSHOP COMING UP IN MARCH.
OKAY. ANYBODY ELSE HAVE QUESTIONS? DIRECTOR MERCURIO.
JUST SOME EXPRESSIONS OF GRATITUDE FOR THE WORK THAT YOUR TEAM HAS DONE AND RECOGNIZING THE COMPLEXITY OF IT AND HOW THESE DOCUMENTS DON'T JUST SPRING INTO LIFE, YOU KNOW, AT THE VOICE OF A WORD.
I MEAN, IT TAKES A LOT OF COORDINATION, AND YOU'VE GOT TO GO AFTER ALL THESE DIFFERENT PROJECT MANAGERS FOR THE PROJECT BUDGET AND THEN ALL THE OTHER DATA FOR THE OPERATING BUDGET. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT.
I KNOW THAT FROM EXPERIENCE AND NOT ONLY HAVE YOU DONE THAT ON TIME, BUT IT JUST THE PRESENTATION OF IT IS MORE AND MORE PLEASING.
I GUESS YOU CAN SAY OR EASY TO UNDERSTAND THAN IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I PUT THAT OUT THERE, THAT THIS IS A MAJOR THING, AND THEN YOU BASICALLY TURN AROUND AND START DOING IT ALL OVER AGAIN.
[LAUGHTER]. SO WHEN DO YOU OPEN THE BUDGET SEASON? WHAT MONTH DOES IT GENERALLY HAPPEN? JULY. YEAH, WE START AT LIKE JUNE, JULY.
YEAH OKAY. THAT'S WHAT I FIGURED.
[03:50:07]
JUST CONTINUES TO GET BETTER AND BETTER EVERY YEAR THAT I'VE BEEN AROUND, WHICH IS A PRETTY LONG TIME.HAVING A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THIS, AND THEN, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THOSE OF US ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE GET MULTIPLE EXPOSURES TO THIS, AND SO THAT'S WHY I DON'T HAVE ANY REAL QUESTIONS FOR YOU, BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY HAD A CHANCE TO GO OVER IT.
AND I APPRECIATE YOU INCORPORATING SOME OF MY SUGGESTIONS.
THANK YOU. ANY OTHER DIRECTORS? DIRECTOR COFFEY.
I WAS OUT OF TOWN AND I REALLY APOLOGIZE.
I'VE BEEN CATCHING UP, SO I'M KIND OF SHEEPISH ABOUT THE ONE ITEM THAT I HAVE TO BRING UP, BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SEVERAL HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN A BUDGET, AND MY CONCERN IS ABOUT A $1.5 MILLION PROJECT OUT OF BIG BREAK, BUT THIS IS MY OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE IT BECAUSE I'VE MISSED THE MEETINGS PRIOR TO THIS, OTHER THAN THE THIRD.
ANYWAY I WANT TO RAISE THAT AND THEN JUMP ON SOMETHING DIRECTOR MERCURIO SAID.
I THINK WHAT AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE.
I WAS FINALLY FINISHING THE REVIEW I AND MY ASSISTANT HAVE OF THE BUDGET AND YOU KNOW, LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AGAIN NEXT YEAR BECAUSE I'VE BEEN OFF A COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO THAT'S GOING TO ENABLE ME TO PURSUE SOME JUST FUNDAMENTAL BUDGET ISSUES THAT OCCUR TO ME AND ARE RATHER PAROCHIAL TO MY WARD.
IT WAS PROBABLY 23 WE WERE OUT AT BIG BREAK, I THINK, BUT YOU AND I AGREED AS WE SAT OUT THERE AND HEARD THE PRESENTATION ON THE NEED FOR THE NEW SHADE STRUCTURE OF HOW EFFECTIVE THE STAFF MADE IT, BY PLACING US IN THE UNPROTECTED AMPHITHEATER ON A REALLY HOT DAY, TALKING ABOUT A REALLY EXPENSIVE SHADE STRUCTURE.
[LAUGHTER] AND I JUST THAT'S WHAT STANDS OUT IS YOUR COMMENTARY TO THAT EFFECT, AND I'M LIKE, YEAH, WELL THAT WAS A GOOD WAY TO PRESENT IT TO US AS A BOARD, AND AT THAT FIELD TRIP, I HAD THE IMPRESSION THAT WAS GOING TO GET DONE QUICKLY, AND I LEARNED TO BE PATIENT, BUT THAT ONE IN PARTICULAR IS A PROJECT THAT HAS MULTIPLE.
WHAT IS THE WORD WHERE? CASCADING EFFECTS.
MUCH AS I'VE DESCRIBED THE CONCERN I HAVE ABOUT THE ONGOING DELAY IN GETTING THE BLACK DIAMOND TIMBER PROJECT DONE, IT'S A RETURN ON INVESTMENT ISSUE.
IF THAT KIND OF PROJECT AND THIS KIND OF PROJECT AREN'T DONE.
THE CASCADING IMPACT IS OTHER INVESTMENTS WE'VE MADE AT BLACK DIAMOND IT'S THE STAIRS.
IT'S THE COAL MINE EXPERIENCE $7 MILLION THAT WE'VE INVESTED THAT ISN'T BEING UTILIZED FOR AS, TO ITS FULL EXTENT, ITS ORIGINAL DESIGN TO OUR PUBLIC AT BIG BREAK.
IT'S A CENTRAL CORE FEATURE OF THEIR PROGRAMING OUTSIDE OF THE VISITOR CENTER AT BIG BREAK IT'S THAT AMPHITHEATER WHERE THE NATURALISTS, THE DOCENTS, AND WE HAVE A GREAT CREW OF DOCENTS OUT THERE AND ICA, ALL OF THOSE FOLKS DO PROGRAMING IN THAT AMPHITHEATER.
MILA AND I GO TO MOST OF THE SUMMER CAMP FIRES, WHICH, YOU KNOW, THE ABILITY TO DO THAT WITHOUT THE SHADE STRUCTURE OVER THE AMPHITHEATER IS VERY PROBLEMATIC AND IS IMPACTING VOLUMES, I THINK, FROM WHAT I'VE NOTICED COMPARED TO PRIOR YEARS WHEN THE SHADE STRUCTURE WAS STILL THERE.
THE NATURALISTS ARE YOU KNOW, RELUCTANT TO COMPLAIN, BUT CLEARLY THIS WAS SOMETHING THEY EXPECTED TO GET DONE IN PRIOR BUDGETS, AND I COULDN'T FIND IT IN THIS BUDGET AND EMAILED, AND THE ANSWER IS IT'S JUST NOT.
[03:55:05]
IT'S IN FUTURE PROJECTS.IT'S IN LIMBO, AND THAT TELLS ME THAT I GOT TO GET IT ON MY OWN PRIORITIZATION AND BRING IT UP DURING THAT IN THE SAME KIND OF PROCESS THAT YOU JUST ARTICULATED IN PART OF OUR WORKSHOP AT THE CAPITAL BUDGET SESSION.
SO JUST BECAUSE IT'S MY JOB ON BEHALF OF MY WARD, I'D LIKE TO GET IT ON ALL OF YOUR RADAR THAT PROJECT DESCRIBED DURING THAT FIELD TRIP ON THAT VERY HOT DAY DIDN'T GET DONE AND IS IN LIMBO, APPARENTLY BECAUSE OF SCORING ISSUES.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO WORK ON THAT SCORING ISSUE BECAUSE MY EXPERIENCE IS MAYBE THAT CASCADING EFFECT IN THIS CASE ON PROGRAMING AT BIG BREAK PER SE, THAT WRIT LARGE MAYBE DOESN'T GET SCORED.
SO THERE ARE WAYS TO DEAL WITH IT, AND THAT'S MY ISSUE OUT OF SEVERAL HUNDRED MILLION.
THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO SAY IS, YOU KNOW, OMG YOU FOLKS ON THIS AGENDA TOPIC ON BRIONES, ON OPERATING GUIDELINES, AND WE AS A BOARD HAVE BEEN INUNDATED WITH RESPONSIVE, NOT JUST INFO.
WE ALREADY GOT ALL OF THAT, BUT VERY RESPONSIVE INFORMATION BACK FROM THE STAFF'S PLURAL TO SPECIFIC QUESTIONING YOURS.
HERE'S THE QUESTIONS ON DECEMBER 3RD.
IT IS AN INCREDIBLE DEGREE OF RESPONSIVENESS TO THE EFFECT THAT IT WAS REALLY HARD TO KEEP UP WITH IT. I WAS UP LATE AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL THE EMAILS ON THESE TOPICS, EVERYTHING THAT GOT TO US ON THESE MAJOR AGENDA TOPICS TONIGHT WERE A RESULT OF THESE FOLKS AND THESE FOLKS WORKING OVERTIME AND ACTUALLY TRACKING THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ASKED ON EACH OF THESE TOPICS BUDGET, OPERATING GUIDELINES, BRIONES, AND WE'RE GETTING BACK DETAILED RESPONSES TO THESE SOMETIMES VERY MUNDANE QUESTIONS THAT WE RAISE, BUT I JUST I'M JUST I'M BLOWN AWAY BY THE EFFORT THAT YOU THAT AT EVERY STAGE WE'RE GETTING THAT KIND OF RESPONSIVENESS AND IT'S REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATED.
AND I'M NOT AND I HAVEN'T BEEN USED TO IT, AND YOU'RE TWO YEARS IN AND JUST THAT I ALWAYS THOUGHT WE WERE REALLY GOOD AT BUDGETING, AND NOW WE'RE REALLY, REALLY GOOD AT BUDGETING SO AND RESPONSIVENESS IN TERMS OF GETTING INFORMATION TO US.
YEAH I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANTED TO DOUBLE DOWN ON WHAT DIRECTOR COFFEY JUST STATED ABOUT THE RESPONSIVENESS OF TO OUR QUESTIONS, NOT JUST FROM YOUR DEPARTMENT, BUT EVERYBODY'S DEPARTMENT, BUT I JUST WANT ONE THING, ONE COMMENT I DO WANT TO MAKE ABOUT FUTURE, FUTURE BUDGETS IS THAT YOU CONTINUE TO BUDGET YOURSELVES SO THAT YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR, EACH DEPARTMENT HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THEMSELVES, TO SEE WHERE THEIR WEAKNESSES LIE AND WHERE AND STRENGTHS ARE AND HOW YOU CAN DO THE JOB BETTER.
I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND INFORMATIONAL SERVICES IS GOING THROUGH A STRATEGIC PLAN LISA GOORJIAN OVER THERE HAS GOT A THIRD THIRD PARTY LOOKING AT HER OPERATION, AND SO I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERY DEPARTMENT SHOULD, BE DOING ON A REGULAR BASIS, JUST SO THAT, YOU KNOW, FRESH EYES ALWAYS HELPS. AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY FUNDING EACH DEPARTMENT CORRECTLY AND ESPECIALLY HOPEFULLY THIS BOARD WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE PEOPLE THAT WORK ON THE BOTTOM THAT ARE KEEPING THE PARKS THEY JUST NEED SUPPORT TO KEEP THOSE PARKS CLEAN AND SAFE AND OPEN.
IT'S BEEN IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE.
OKAY. WELL, YES, I WAS ALSO GOING TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWERS TO OUR QUESTIONS, BECAUSE THAT MAKES MY QUESTIONS VERY SHORT BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE. SO THAT'S GOOD, AND I DO APPRECIATE YOUR RESPONSIVENESS ON THAT AND DITTO EVERYBODY ELSE'S.
[04:00:01]
I ALSO WANT TO UNDERSCORE WHAT DEE SAID ALSO ABOUT REALLY MAKING SURE WE'RE HITTING THAT, AND I'M REPHRASING IT A LITTLE BIT, BUT MAKING SURE WE'RE REALLY HITTING THAT SWEET SPOT BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTING WHEN NEEDED AND HAVING OUR OWN STAFF, AND, YOU KNOW, I DID SEE YOUR ANSWER ABOUT FINANCE.I'D ALSO ASKED LAST WEEK OR TWO WEEKS AGO ABOUT THE IT DEPARTMENT IN PARTICULAR, BECAUSE I KNOW NECESSARILY THEY ARE GEARING UP FOR A BIG CHANGE, AND WE WELCOME THAT CHANGE IN TERMS OF THE NEW I FORGET WHAT YOU GUYS CALL IT, BUT THE NEW SYSTEM COMING ONLINE.
SO BUT I DID NOTICE, YOU KNOW, LIKE A 42% INCREASE IN SERVICES, AND SO IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE INSIGHT INTO THAT.
SO HOW MUCH OF THAT SERVICES IS FOR STAFFING AND HOW MUCH OF THAT ALREADY IS FOR ONGOING STAFFING? BUT I THINK, YEAH, IN GENERAL THAT MOST OF OUR QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED.
SO THANK YOU AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
I KNOW IT'S A HEAVY LIFT, AND I AGREE WITH OTHERS WHO HAVE SAID THAT THE PRESENTATION WAS REALLY CLEAR AND IT WAS VERY EASY TO YOU COULD JUST FLIP THROUGH AND SEE, YOU KNOW, EXACTLY THE LINE ITEM ON ON WHAT YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN TO, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT.
SO I YEAH, IT MADE IT VERY ACCESSIBLE.
AND SO SO THANK YOU, AND WITH THAT, WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT MOTIONS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE.
I THINK THE FIRST ONE IS TO APPROVE THE BUDGET ITSELF.
SO DO I HAVE A MOTION? OH, DO WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT? EXCUSE ME? OTHER THAN THE LETTER FROM THE CITY OF PLEASANTON, NO PUBLIC COMMENT.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR MERCURIO AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO.
ALL, AND THIS IS TO APPROVE THE BUDGET.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE, AYE. OPPOSED? OKAY. MOTION CARRIES.
OH I SEE. APPROVAL OF THE 2025 ARTICLE 8B CALIFORNIA APPROPRIATION LIMIT.
OKAY. THE GANN LIMIT, IN OTHER WORDS.
YEAH. DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR THAT? OKAY. MOTION BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO.
SO ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU GUYS.
ALL RIGHT. SO NEXT WE HAVE ALLYSON.
[HUMAN RESOURCES]
OH, AND BEFORE YOU.OKAY. AND THEN ONCE YOU'VE ACTUALLY MADE THE MOTION, THEN YOU NEED TO READ THAT SCRIPT.
OR ONCE YOU'VE APPROVED IT, THEN IT GETS READ INTO THE RECORD.
WAIT, YOU JUST SAID TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO YOU WANT US TO READ THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT AFTER WE'VE APPROVED THE CONTRACT.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT, AND GO AHEAD ALLYSON.
OKAY. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT ECHOLS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE SEEKING AUTHORIZATION TO APPROVE AN EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT FOR A TERM OF THREE YEARS FOR GENERAL COUNSEL, LYNNE BOURGAULT, AND ADOPT A SALARY SCHEDULE FOR THE GENERAL CLASSIFICATION.
THE GENERAL COUNSEL CLASSIFICATION.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR ALLYSON? NO. OKAY.
WELL, THEN, IN THAT CASE COULD I GET A MOTION TO APPROVE THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT AS IS? OKAY. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR ROSARIO.
[04:05:02]
OKAY. MOTION BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO.WE'RE GOOD. THANK YOU, AND THEN YOU WANT ME TO READ? OKAY. SO, IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE BROWN ACT, THERE WILL BE A FINAL ACTION ON SALARY, BENEFITS AND SALARY SCHEDULE FOR A LOCAL AGENCY EXECUTIVE.
THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED ACTIONS.
THE SALARY FOR THE GENERAL COUNSEL WILL BE INCREASED BY 3%, EFFECTIVE THE FIRST FULL PAY PERIOD IN MARCH 2024 AND BY 2% EFFECTIVE THE PAY PERIOD THAT INCLUDES NOVEMBER 1, 2024, AND BY 5% EFFECTIVE.
THE PAY PERIOD THAT INCLUDES JANUARY 26, 2025, WITH A RESULTING ANNUAL SALARY OF $293,077 AND $0.37, AND THE SALARY RANGE FOR THE POSITION WILL BE ADJUSTED ACCORDINGLY.
[GENERAL MANAGER'S OFFICE]
THANK YOU FOR PATIENTLY WAITING, ERICH.OKAY. ERICH PFUEHLER, LEAD OF GOVERNMENT AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS DIVISION, AND JUST QUICKLY GIVEN THE HOUR I'LL GO THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM FOR 2025 2026.
THANK YOU. JUST VERY BROAD OVERVIEW OF THE WORK THAT WE DO WITH YOU ALL IN TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BOARD, THAT'S REALLY MEMBER TO MEMBER OR ELECTED TO ELECTED TYPE OF WORK, WHERE WE HAVE OUR CONFERENCES BOTH IN SACRAMENTO AND IN WASHINGTON, AND THEN NOW WITH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM.
A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR CITY COUNCIL AND COUNTY SUPERVISORS, AND THEN WITH REGARD TO MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS, THOSE ARE MORE SLIGHTLY MORE STRATEGIC IN THE SENSE THAT WE WOULD BRING SOMEBODY TO A PARK LIKE ASSEMBLYMEMBER LIZ ORTEGA TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OYSTER BAY.
WE WOULD ALSO FACILITATE SITE VISITS WITH STAFF TO HELP THEM BECOME MORE AND MORE AWARE OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE ADVOCATING ON, AND THEN OUR PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH WE ALSO MANAGE.
THEY'RE OUR EYES AND EARS IN THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
AND THEN THE THIRD COMPONENT YOU'LL SEE HERE IS OUR ANALYTICAL WORK AND OUR RESEARCH WORK, WHICH IS POLICY, THE LEGISLATION AND DATA, AS WELL AS THE SURVEYS WE DO WITH EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL FIRMS FOR COMMUNITY SURVEYS AND VOTER SURVEYS.
AT A HIGH LEVEL IN 2024, I THINK JUST INITIATING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM WAS A VERY HIGH LEVEL EFFORT AT THE LOCAL PART OF THIS COMPONENT AND THEN AT THE STATE LEVEL.
VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE PASSED A BILL, AB 2091, THAT WILL ALLOW TRAILS TO OPEN MORE QUICKLY IF THEY'RE ALREADY EXISTING ROADS OR FIRE ROADS OR CATTLE ROADS, AND THAT LEGISLATION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY AND WAS CHAPTERED BY THE GOVERNOR.
VERY, VERY, VERY RARE THAT THERE IS NO OPPOSITION TO SOMETHING THAT ADDRESSED A CEQA REFORM.
AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF PENDING COMMUNITY BENEFIT PROJECTS MOVING THROUGH, BUT UNCLEAR WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THE FINAL BUDGET PROBABLY COMING UP IN 2025 AS A CONTINUING RESOLUTION FROM THIS YEAR.
SO SOMETIME IN MARCH, WE MAY HAVE A BETTER IDEA WHETHER THOSE WILL CONTINUE TO GO THROUGH, AND THEN WE DO HAVE SOME LANGUAGE IN THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT ON JUDGE JOHN SUTTER REGIONAL SHORELINE.
THE ADVOCACY GOALS HAVE NOT REALLY CHANGED.
WE DID CHANGE THANKS TO PRESIDENT ECHOLS OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH TITLE TO EQUITABLE PARK ACCESS.
[04:10:03]
HOWEVER, THE DEFINITION IS COMPLETELY THE SAME, AND THEN WE ALSO CHANGED SEA LEVEL RISE PREPAREDNESS TO EXTREME WEATHER PREPAREDNESS IN LIGHT OF EXTREME WEATHER.THERE IS, AS YOU I'M SURE ALL KNOW, THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT A REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSIT MEASURE, SO WE'LL BE MOSTLY FOCUSING ON THAT AND WHERE THAT IS HEADED, AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION FUNDING AT BOTH THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL.
WITH REGARD TO EQUITABLE PARK ACCESS, SOME OPPORTUNITIES DEFINITELY AT THE STATE LEVEL WITH THE OUTDOORS FOR ALL INITIATIVE, AND ALSO LOOKING AT THE OUTDOOR EQUITY GRANTS PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE EQUITABLE ACCESS THROUGHOUT THE STATE, AND THEN WE ARE LEARNING MORE AND MORE ABOUT THROUGH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM, ABOUT EFFORTS AT THE LOCAL STAGE WHERE WE CAN ENGAGE AND WORK TOGETHER WITH OUR PARTNERS ON ACCESS.
WITH REGARD TO ECOSYSTEM STEWARDSHIP.
WE DO HAVE CLEANUP LEGISLATION PROPOSED, AND WE ARE WORKING WITH ASSEMBLYMEMBER WILSON'S OFFICE ON MOVING THAT FORWARD, AND THAT BROADLY WILL ELIMINATE SOME OUTDATED PROVISIONS AND THEN HAVE SOME UPDATED, PROVISIONS FOR WHERE WE ARE NOW IN TERMS OF THE GROWTH AS AN AGENCY.
MUCH OF THAT LEGISLATION OR MUCH OF THAT CODE HAS NOT BEEN TOUCHED SINCE 1934.
WITH REGARD TO EXTREME WEATHER PREPAREDNESS THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CLIMATE BOND THAT PASSED THIS YEAR THROUGH PROP FOUR, THROUGH THE COASTAL CONSERVANCY AND THEIR COASTAL RESILIENCE PROGRAM, AND ALSO THROUGH WILDFIRE MITIGATION FUNDING THROUGH CAL FIRE AND CAL OES, AS WELL AS SOME FUNDING FOR WATER AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT.
GREEN JOBS. THERE WAS ALSO $50 MILLION IN THE CLIMATE BOND FOR THE CONSERVATION CORPS.
BOTH THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS AND CIVIC CORPS TO EXPAND THEIR WORK IN THEIR LOCAL AREAS.
FOR CIVICCORPS FOR WELCOMING VISITOR USE FACILITIES, WE ARE LEARNING A LOT THROUGH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM WITH REGARD TO PRIORITIES, AND THEN WE'LL BE WORKING WITH YOU ALL IN TERMS OF THE CAPITAL PRIORITIZATION PLAN TO DETERMINE WHAT WE CAN ALIGN IN TERMS OF ASK AT THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL WITH NEED.
I DID WANT TO POINT OUT ON THE LAND WATER CONSERVATION FUND, JUST REAL BRIEFLY.
AGAIN, PROP FOUR FUNDING AT THE STATE LEVEL, AND WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO WORK AND MAKE SURE THAT FEMA FUNDS AND FUNDS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ARE STILL AVAILABLE TO US SHOULD WE HAVE THE NEED.
AND THEN WE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE LOOKING AT SOME MORE LOCAL MEASURES, INCLUDING WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT EAST BAY, MUD AND THE CITY OF BERKELEY AND UC BERKELEY ON THE GRIZZLY PEAK COLLABORATION PROJECT THAT IS A PROJECT THAT WE BELIEVE WE CAN RECEIVE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THROUGH THE PROP FOUR ALLOCATION TO CAL FIRE, AND THAT IS OUR PROGRAM PROPOSAL FOR 2025, 26, AND WE ARE LOOKING FOR A SUPPORT POSITION, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS? DIRECTOR SANWONG. GO AHEAD.
YEAH, I MOSTLY JUST HAVE A FEW COMMENTS.
I THINK THIS IS REALLY GREAT OVERALL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER.
I SUPPOSE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, THINKING ABOUT EXTREME WEATHER SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN DROUGHTS AND FLOODS IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT'S VERY YOU KNOW, IMPORTANT TO ME AND SOMETHING THAT I'M VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING AND THINKING ABOUT, AND I SEE YOU HAVE LAKE HEALTH UNDER EXTREME WEATHER PREPAREDNESS AS WELL AS THE PHRASE CLIMATE RELATED CHALLENGES, AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS. YOU KNOW, WITH LAKE HEALTH, IT CAN WORK THERE.
[04:15:05]
CHOICE CAN MATTER.IN TERMS OF ADVOCACY AND ALSO IN TERMS OF THINGS LIKE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, AND, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THIS AROUND THE WORLD, THESE EXTREME FLOODING EVENTS, BUT THEN WHAT WE ALSO SEE IN TERMS OF EXTREME WEATHER THAT I'D LIKE FOR US TO ALSO THINK ABOUT ADDRESSING, AND I BELIEVE USING THESE TERMS FLOODING AND THEN THE OTHER TERM OR THE OTHER PHRASE EXTREME HEAT.
I THINK YOU'LL ALSO LIKELY FIND MORE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT, AND I'M GUESSING ON THAT A LITTLE BIT, BUT I DO HEAR A LOT MORE SUPPORT, REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL AFFILIATION FOR THOSE TWO TOPICS SPECIFICALLY, AND THEY DO AFFECT YOU KNOW, THE EAST BAY AND, YOU KNOW, JUST SOME CONSIDERATION FOR THINKING ABOUT WORD CHOICE AND ITEMS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN WITH CLIMATE RELATED CHALLENGES, I THINK IT'S TRUE, AND I SUPPORT IT, JUST SO YOU KNOW, BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE WORD CLIMATE OR CLIMATE CHANGE AND GRANTED, CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT IS NOT HERE, BUT THAT CAN SPARK ALMOST AN IMMEDIATE REACTION FROM SOME, AND SO JUST TO THINK ABOUT THAT AS WE'RE MAYBE PUTTING TOGETHER MESSAGING AND POSITIONING.
SO THOSE ARE THE POINTS THERE, AND THEN ON THE LOCAL PROGRAM FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND AS WE'RE LAUNCHING THIS AND WORKING, CONTINUING TO WORK ON THIS IN 2025 THIS LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM DOES NOT INCLUDE THE BROWN ACT LIAISON MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.
IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. OKAY.
SO I THINK WE ARE LOSING SOME OF OUR BROWN ACT LIAISON MEETINGS WITH SOME OF OUR DIFFERENT PARTNERS, AND I USE THIS AS AN EXAMPLE BECAUSE I WAS A PART OF IT IN 2023.
WE HAD TWO LIAISON MEETINGS WITH CITY OF FREMONT THAT WERE BROWN ACT MEETINGS WHERE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE AND PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT. AND I THINK THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY VALUABLE TO OFFER, AND IN 2024, WE'VE HAD ZERO OF THESE MEETINGS WITH CITY OF FREMONT, AND I'D REALLY LIKE FOR US SOMEHOW, AND IT MAY NOT BE WITHIN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE OF THIS GROUP WITHIN EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, BUT I THINK THAT THESE BROWN ACT LIAISON MEETINGS ARE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT, AND I DON'T WANT US TO LOSE THOSE GOING FORWARD.
SO WHEREVER THEY FIT INTO OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE TO MENTION THAT.
OKAY. ANYBODY ELSE? SURE. DIRECTOR MERCURIO.
NO. I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR ALL THIS WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO THIS, AND WE ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO IT ON BEHALF OF OTHERS TOO, THAT ARE SMALLER THAT YOU KNOW, THEY CAN BENEFIT FROM THE THINGS THAT WE ACHIEVE LEGISLATIVELY.
SO I LIKE THAT A LOT, BUT I ESPECIALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR STEPPING UP AND TAKING ON A WHOLE OTHER REALM IN THE GOVERNMENT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEETINGS PROGRAM THAT YOU'VE BEGINNING TO SET UP, AND WE'RE, WE'RE BEGINNING TO DO.
THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO DO, AND I WAS SORT OF TRYING TO DO THEM MYSELF, BUT IT WAS IT JUST IS HARD TO DO, YOU KNOW, AND BUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING YOU PROFESSIONALS ON IT WAS REALLY A BIG HELP.
SO I JUST FEEL LIKE, OKAY, NOW I DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE YOU'VE ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF IT FOR ME, AND I CAN GO FOCUS ON OTHER THINGS, BUT THE OTHER THING ABOUT THOSE IS THAT REAL GENERALLY, MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN IN THOSE MEETINGS THAT REAL BENEFIT COMES TO THE TO US AND TO THE CITIES AND THE COUNTY OR WHATEVER. AS A RESULT OF THOSE MEETINGS, THAT FRANK DISCUSSIONS THAT GO BACK AND FORTH ARE VERY USEFUL.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, AND I ALSO THINK THAT THERE'S SORT OF A SORT OF A SOFT ASPECT TO IT, AND THAT IS I THINK THEY APPRECIATE THAT WE'RE REACHING OUT AND PROACTIVELY ASKING THEM TO BE PART OF THESE, THIS CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, AND SO I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO GOODWILL AMONGST AGENCIES, THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO INCREASE THAT.
SO THAT'S MY TAKE ON IT, I THINK.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, AND THANK YOU FOR REFERENCING THAT, AND I WOULD BE REMISS WITHOUT THANKING LISA BALDINGER AND REN BATES FOR MOVING THAT PROGRAM FORWARD. THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB.
[04:20:06]
OF THE CITIES HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY BENEFICIAL, AND IT'S VERY IT JUST BREAKS THE ICE AS FAR AS GETTING TO KNOW ALL OF OUR CITIES.I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO MEET WITH ALL OF MY CITIES, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OAKLAND SO FAR IN A SESSION WHERE WE JUST HAVE A FRANK DISCUSSION AND IT'S BEEN WELL RECEIVED AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT EFFORT.
IT TAKES A LOT AND LISA AND ELSA.
ELSA IS A GREAT ADDITION TO THE TEAM BY THE WAY.
SO YEAH, I THANK YOU, AND THE FEDERAL AND STATE ADVOCACY.
I MEAN, AS YOU CAN SEE IT WITNESSED THERE THOSE DON'T HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT.
WE'RE ON THEIR RADAR, AND I LIKE TO THINK THAT THOSE THAT RECOGNITION THERE FROM OUR LEGISLATORS IS BECAUSE OF THE WORK WE DO IN THE CONTACT YOUR DEPARTMENT DOES. SO THANK YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND THANK YOU, DEE.
[LAUGHTER] OH, I JUST REALIZED YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE AT THOSE SESSIONS.
OH MY GOODNESS. WE RELIED ON YOU TO A HUGE.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO STEP UP, COLIN.
YEAH. [LAUGHTER] OH DEE WILL HANDLE THIS ONE.
DIRECTOR WAESPI. ANYWAY, THANK YOU, ERICH, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TEAM.
AND IT'S ALWAYS VERY, VERY EXTENSIVE AND GREAT, AND YOUR PRODUCT IS WONDERFUL AND I APPRECIATE IT.
I LOOK FORWARD TO THIS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO ENDORSING THIS AND VOTING FOR THIS PLAN.
ALTHOUGH I DO SHARE DIRECTOR SANWONG SENTIMENTS THAT THERE ARE SOME VERY VALUABLE LIAISON COMMITTEE MEETINGS THAT I THINK WE SHOULD TRY TO LIAISON GROUPS THAT WE SHOULD KEEP AND THEN CULTIVATE THAT RELATIONSHIP ALSO.
YEAH. SO EVERYONE'S GONE, RIGHT? WE GOT EVERYBODY.
OKAY. SO A COUPLE OF PEOPLE HAVE MENTIONED THE LIAISON GROUPS.
DO YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT, SABRINA ABOUT WHAT THE YOU KNOW WE'RE RELOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE GROUPS? IF YOU PROBABLY SAW IN THE OPERATING GUIDELINES, THERE IS THAT WHOLE BIG LIST, AND SO I ASKED, WELL, WAIT, WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THIS? AND SO THE IDEA IS THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GETTING RID OF THEM WHERE WE'RE JUST RELOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE GOING TO MANAGE THESE COMMITTEES GOING FORWARD AND WHAT MAKES SENSE, AND SO THAT'S THEY'RE NOT THEY'RE NOT GOING AWAY.
IF YOU IF YOU FEEL A NEED FOR ONE, THEN WE CAN HAVE IT.
BUT I THINK I'LL LET SABRINA TALK TO THAT.
PRESIDENT ECHOLS CAPTURED IT PRETTY WELL.
SO I THINK WHEN WE CAME TO YOU EITHER EARLIER THIS YEAR OR LATE LAST YEAR TO PRESENT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM AND I THINK WE HAVE 90 MEETINGS, 93 MEETINGS OR SOMETHING INSANE ON THE LIST.
YEAH. LISA B ALSO DID A WHOLE FORENSIC REVIEW OF THOSE LIAISON COMMITTEES AND WHY WE HAVE SOME AND SOME WERE CREATED MAYBE BY RESOLUTION.
THERE WAS ONE THAT WAS A JPA, AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT'S KIND OF IT'S BEEN BECAUSE OF OVER THE DECADES THERE'S BEEN ACUTE ISSUES WITH THE CITY OR, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER PARTNER.
SO REALLY WITH THE EFFORT OF FOCUSING ON THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM FOR THE NEXT 18 MONTHS, OR WAS IT 18 MONTHS TO DO THOSE 93 MEETINGS ATTACHED TO YOUR DISTRICT PLAN UPDATE WITH THE IDEA THAT WE WOULD COME BACK WITH KIND OF A REFRESH OF THE LIAISON COMMITTEES AND BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE THAT BACK INTO THE BOARD'S ANNUAL PROCESS, AND SO THERE ARE IT'S KIND OF A IT'S ON THEIR WORK PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR, AND IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE A MEETING, BUT CERTAINLY IT'S NOT IT'S NOT PART OF THE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO FOR YOU TO ADOPT TODAY, AND IN THE NEXT ITEM ON YOUR BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES, WE ACTUALLY GO AHEAD AND WE TAKE OUT AGAIN THAT THE FRANKENSTEIN LIST, AND WE JUST INCLUDE, I THINK, ALL 93 AGENCIES SO THAT THERE'S THE OPTION AND THERE'S MORE FLEXIBILITY TO HAVE EVEN MORE MEETINGS WITH YOUR OTHER PARTNERS IF YOU SEE FIT.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS ON OUR WORK PLAN TO BRING BACK NEXT YEAR.
[04:25:10]
PLAN. IT JUST MAKES SENSE TO SIT DOWN WITH THESE FOLKS IN THE MEETING THAT I'VE HAD SO FAR HAVE BEEN REALLY GOOD AND REALLY PRODUCTIVE, AND IT'S JUST IT'S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN WITH FOLKS AND REALLY ASK THEM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? AND, WHAT WHAT IS IT THAT YOUR DISTRICT OR CITY OR WHATEVER NEEDS AND HOW WE CAN PARTNER IN ALL OF THESE, YOU KNOW, FUN QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE.IT'S THEY'RE VERY THEY'RE VERY GOOD MEETINGS.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TEAM WHO'S LISA AND ELSA, WHO'S BEEN WORKING ON PUTTING THAT TOGETHER AND ROLLING IT ALL OUT, AND THE OTHER THING THAT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW, BUT I REALLY LOVE THE UPDATES ON OTHER LOCAL PLANNING.
OKAY. SO I THINK I ALREADY HAD MY QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, SO I'M GOOD.
SO I WILL NOW ASK FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PLAN.
SECOND. OKAY, SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR ROSARIO AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR WAESPI.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? OH, I DIDN'T ASK FOR PUBLIC.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? NO PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY.
OKAY. MADAM CHAIR? YES. CAN I MAKE A MOTION.
YES. CAN WE PUT THIS OFF? I APOLOGIZE, BUT CAN WE MOVE THIS TO NEXT MONTH OR MONTH LATER? WE'RE INTO ALMOST 7:00 HERE, AND I THINK WE HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS THAT WILL TAKE US QUITE A BIT INTO IT.
YEAH. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS WORKS, BUT.
YEAH, WELL, WE I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE TO DO IT BY MOTION.
IS YOU TELL ME TO CHANGE THE AGENDA.
A COUPLE OF PEOPLE HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERN, GIVEN THE LATENESS OF THE HOUR.
OH, YEAH. YOU CAN JUST CONTINUE THE ITEM TO THE NEXT MEETING, I WILL.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.
YEAH. YEAH. IF YOU CAN INDULGE ME FOR A SECOND ON THAT, IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR I THINK THAT WE AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE AMANDA GALLO HERE, WHO HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK ON THIS, AND I THINK THAT SHE'S REACHED OUT TO EACH OF YOU, AND I BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY BUT ONE HAS TAKEN HER UP ON HER OFFER TO SIT DOWN.
SO IF YOU DO PUT THIS OFF, I REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU, IF YOU DO HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OR IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OR YOU WANT TO JUST DISCUSS IT WITH US, REACH OUT TO AMANDA. SHE'S VERY FLEXIBLE AND THERE'S A LOT OF CONTEXT THAT WE CAN PROVIDE.
THEY'RE VERY OUTDATED IN MANY, MANY SECTIONS, AND I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME, PROVISIONS THAT DO WARRANT SOME ADDITIONAL CONVERSATION, AND WE CAN BRING THOSE TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NEXT YEAR AND TRY AND TACKLE THOSE, BUT JUST REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO REACH OUT TO AMANDA.
WE GOT ONE EMAIL AT ALMOST 9:00 AND ANOTHER ONE TOMORROW MORNING, SO I CAN ONLY IMAGINE EVERYTHING THAT WENT IN BETWEEN, AND, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW YOU'VE ALSO BEEN INCREDIBLY RESPONSIVE AND AS SABRINA SAID, REACHED OUT TO EACH OF US AND OFFERED TO MEET AND PATIENTLY GONE THROUGH OUR QUESTIONS AND TRIED TO ADDRESS THEM ALL.
AND THIS IS I MEAN, THIS IS A HUGE JOB.
IT'S A BIG DOCUMENT, AND THERE'S A LOT OF US TOO AND THERE'S WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
YOU KNOW, I WOULD LIKE I THERE WERE A NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT WERE SORT OF SUGGESTED FOR LATER ON. I FEEL LIKE IF THERE'S ANY IN THERE THAT ARE LOW HANGING FRUIT, IF IT WOULD BE GOOD TO ADDRESS THOSE IN THE NEXT MEETING TOO, TO MOVE THINGS ALONG.
I KNOW YOU DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO ADDRESS THEM ALL OR SOME OF THEM, AS SABRINA SAID WARRANT SOME MORE CONVERSATION TO REALLY GET THE LANGUAGE RIGHT, AND WE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE RAN OUT OF TIME, BUT BUT TO THE EXTENT WE COULD GET THAT READY FOR THE FOR THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY TOO I THINK THAT WOULD THAT WOULD HELP, AND THEN THAT WAY WE'LL BE THAT MUCH
[04:30:01]
FURTHER ALONG AND THERE'LL BE LESS TO GO TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.OKAY. SO WITH APOLOGIES TO AMANDA, REALLY.
YEAH, AND I APPRECIATE YOU WAITING PATIENTLY ALL THIS TIME AND BEING READY TO GO, BUT I DO THINK GIVEN THE LATENESS OF THE HOUR AND IT MAKES SENSE TO COME AT THIS FRESH IN JANUARY.
SO I DON'T THINK WE HAD ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLOSED SESSION? CORRECT. NO ANNOUNCEMENTS.
OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANY PROPOSED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? YOU DON'T HAVE TO PROPOSE THEM HERE.
REMEMBER, WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS.
YOU CAN JUST TWO OF YOU CAN SUGGEST ONE AT ANY TIME.
[BOARD COMMENTS]
THEN WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE BOARD COMMENTS, AND DEE IF YOU'RE READY TO GO, I'LL LET YOU CHOOSE.YOU CAN EITHER GO FIRST OR LAST OR IN BETWEEN.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO? I'LL GO FIRST. OKAY, GREAT.
SET THE BAR HIGH FOR US, I KNOW.
SO LET'S SEE AFTER THE BOARD MEETING ON THE THIRD.
SO ON THE FIFTH, I MET WITH DGM MAX KORTEN.
ON THE 10TH, I MET WITH SABRINA AND LYNNE OVER THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND THEN ON 12-11 ATTENDED THE REOPENING OF THE LAFAYETTE MORAGA TRAIL WITH EAST BAY MUD AND THE CITY OF MORAGA.
THAT WAS VERY WELL DONE, THANKS TO STAFF ON THAT.
OH, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING WITH SABRINA'S EXECUTIVE TEAM KIND OF A INFORMAL GATHERING AND TALK.
IT WAS IT WAS VERY NICE, AND I THANK YOUR TEAM AGAIN.
AGAIN, THANKS TO LISA AND LISA GOORJIAN, LISA BALDINGER AND ELSA.
AGAIN, GOOD FEEDBACK FROM THE CITY, AND I THINK THEY'RE REALLY THESE MEETINGS ARE, I THINK, THE START OF SOMETHING NEW, GOODWILL ALL THE WAY AROUND, AND THEN AND I'M HERE TODAY AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR EVERYTHING TODAY.
IT'S QUITE A CIRCUS, BUT VERY WELL APPRECIATED AND VERY HEARTFELT.
YEAH, IT'S HARD, AND THEN JUST MY LAST MEETING IS TOMORROW AT THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING, WHICH I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, AND I'LL TURN IN MY COMPUTER.
AND THEN WHEN WE COME, TIME COMES.
I'D LIKE TO ADJOURN IN MEMORY OF A RECENT RETIREE WHO JUST PASSED AWAY, BILL NICHOLS.
ALL RIGHT. SO ON THESE ARE ALL DECEMBER.
ON DECEMBER 3RD, I WAS AT THE BOARD MEETING HERE THE NEXT DAY.
EXCUSE ME. I ATTENDED THE DISTRICT WIDE HOLIDAY LUNCHEON AT BRIDGE YARD, WHICH WAS I ALWAYS MARVEL AT THAT EVENT.
IT'S BIG AND IT'S REALLY FUN, AND THERE'S A LOT GOING ON THERE, AND I ENJOYED IT.
ON THE FIFTH I WAS INVITED TO ADDRESS TO TALK TO THE KIWANIS CLUB, I GUESS IT'S OF SAN RAMON VALLEY IT WAS IN DANVILLE, AND JUST KIND OF GAVE THEM AN UPDATE OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE DISTRICT, FOCUSING ON THE AREA AROUND DANVILLE, MOSTLY, AND I WAS AMAZED AT HOW ENGAGED THEY WERE IN THAT TALK, YOU KNOW, YOU WONDER SOMETIMES BUT I DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY OR WONDER ABOUT THEM.
THEY ASKED A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND I MOSTLY HAD ANSWERS.
IT WAS GOOD. THEN WE HAD THE BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE SIXTH, AND THEN ON DECEMBER 7TH I ATTENDED A COMMEMORATIVE EVENT IN CONCORD AT CAL STATE, THE PEARL HARBOR BEACON LIGHTING CEREMONY THAT'S DONE EVERY
[04:35:03]
YEAR. THAT IS SPONSORED BY SAVE MOUNT DIABLO.BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT INSTIGATED THE RESTORATION OF THE BEACON, AND GOT TO HEAR A TALK BY WHAT'S HIS NAME? CHUCK KOHLER.
I THINK HIS NAME IS WHO ACTUALLY WAS THERE AT PEARL HARBOR, AND HE TOLD THE STORY OF HOW HE DISOBEYED ORDERS AND WENT AND GRABBED A GUN AND STARTED TRYING TO SHOOT DOWN PLANES.
IT WAS AN AMAZING STORY AND HE TELLS IT WITH SUCH VERVE, AND HE'S 100 YEARS OLD.
YEAH. THEN ON THE NINTH, I ATTENDED THE BIG RECOGNITION DINNER WE HAD IN ANTIOCH.
THAT WAS FUN TOO, AND THEN ON THE 10TH I ATTENDED THE CITY OF CONCORD'S CITY COUNCIL REORG MEETING, WHICH WAS ESPECIALLY NOTABLE BECAUSE THEY HAVE A NEW A NEW COUNCIL MEMBER COMING ON BOARD, AND YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO GO SUPPORT HIM.
HE'S SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL BECAUSE HE WAS ON THE PARKS AND REC AND OPEN SPACE COMMISSION.
SO I THINK HE'S AN ALLY OF OURS, ESPECIALLY.
AND THEN ON THE 11TH, I WAS ALSO AT THAT RIBBON CUTTING MEETING, AND WE HAD, I GUESS WE HAD TV AND RADIO BECAUSE KCBS WAS THERE TOO. YEAH, THAT WAS A BIG DEAL, AND THAT WAS A PROJECT THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR EIGHT YEARS.
ON, LATER THAT NIGHT, I WENT TO HAYWARD AREA RECREATIONAL DISTRICT'S 80TH ANNIVERSARY GALA, WHICH WITH DIRECTOR WAESPI, AND THAT WAS WELL DONE.
THEY GOT A GREAT FACILITY THERE AND A BEAUTIFULLY DECORATED HOME NEXT DOOR, THE MANSION NEXT DOOR.
THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL, AND THEN FINALLY I ALSO ATTENDED THE MEETING THAT DEE JUST MENTIONED, THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEETING WITH WALNUT CREEK, AND I THINK THAT WAS PRODUCTIVE WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND THE MAYOR.
THANK YOU. ON DECEMBER 6TH, I ATTENDED THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING.
ON DECEMBER 9TH, I ATTENDED THE DISTRICT'S 90TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IN ANTIOCH.
ON DECEMBER 11TH, I ATTENDED THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, AND ALSO THAT EVENING I ATTENDED [INAUDIBLE] 80TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, WHICH WAS A GREAT EVENT ALONG WITH DIRECTOR MERCURIO AND LUANA SHOWED UP, TOO.
SO IT WAS GREAT TO SEE HER THERE.
YESTERDAY I HAD A MEETING WITH MAX KORTEN, AND WE WENT TO LAKE DEL VALLE AND TALKED ABOUT SOME WATER ISSUES AND THEN TALKED ABOUT SOME WARD THREE ISSUES, AND IT WAS VERY PRODUCTIVE MEETING.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO AFTER 50 YEARS, BUT ANYWAY, I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE, AND I WOULD LIKE TO JOIN DEE IN MEMORIALIZING BILL NICHOLS, BUT I'D ALSO LIKE TO ALSO CONGRATULATE TERRY DEPPE.
TERRY DEP WAS A LONG TIME EMPLOYEE IN THE PARK DISTRICT, RETIRED JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
DECEMBER 10TH, WE HAD A LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEETING WITH THE CITY OF NEWARK.
YESTERDAY. SAME MEETING AS DENNIS.
OUR OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING, AND I'M REALLY GLAD THAT DEE'S ON THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.
SO WE'LL BE TOGETHER AGAIN TOMORROW FOR ANYONE THAT WANTS TO JOIN US.
YOU KNOW, BILL WAS JUST POSTING HIS PHOTO WORK A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO.
I MEAN, I HAD HEARD THAT HE'S ILL.
HE WAS FOR MANY YEARS A PARK RANGER, AND ULTIMATELY, I THINK, SUPERVISING PARK RANGER AT MARTINEZ SHORELINE, AND IN RETIREMENT, HIS HOBBY WAS LITERALLY WELL, ASIDE FROM ADVISING ALL OF US ON MARTINEZ SHORELINE AND CARQUINEZ STRAITS PARK OPERATIONS, THAT WAS ONE OF HIS RETIREMENT HOBBIES.
THE OTHER WAS EVERY MORNING, GOING OUT AT DAWN AND TAKING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
[04:40:07]
PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE STRAITS OF THE MARINA AREA OF MOSTLY WILDLIFE, AND POSTING THEM IN THE VARIOUS MARTINEZ AND CARQUINEZ STRAITS FACEBOOK PAGES.AND SO I GOT THOSE PHOTOS EVERY DAY AND ENJOYED THEM A LOT AND WILL MISS THEM AND MISS BILL AND HIS ADVICE, AND I'M SAD TO HEAR OF HIS PASSING.
I JUST WANT TO LAND ON ONE ITEM THAT I'M VERY, VERY PROUD OF AND THAT IS, I WAS RECENTLY APPOINTED BY THE DELTA PROTECTION COMMISSION, WHICH IS A STATE AGENCY, AN AGENCY OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, WITH A COMMISSION APPOINTED. I'M NOT SURE HOW IT'S APPOINTED IT'S A COMBINATION OF LEGISLATIVE GOVERNORS AND THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATIVE, I BELIEVE.
IN ANY EVENT, THAT COMMISSION, UPON MY APPLYING FOR IT, APPOINTED ME TO THE NATURAL, I'M SORRY.
THE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE DELTA PROTECTION COMMISSION.
THE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA IS A REGIONAL DESIGNATION ESTABLISHED BY THE US CONGRESS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY OF REGIONAL AREAS WITH DISTINCT HISTORIES THAT NEED TO BE RECOGNIZED.
SO OF ALL THE PANOPLY OF NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS AND ONWARD, THERE IS A NICHE THAT CONGRESS HAS ESTABLISHED FOR NATIONAL HERITAGE REGIONS, AREAS ESTABLISHED BY CONGRESSIONAL ACTION, AND THIS ONE WAS SPONSORED BY CONGRESSMAN GARAMENDI.
SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND GOT ESTABLISHED, AND AS PART OF THAT THERE'S MINIMAL FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THIS HERITAGE AREA BUREAU, THE BUREAUCRACY, THE ADMINISTRATION OF IT THROUGH THE DELTA PROTECTION COMMISSION AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FUNDS IT A BIT.
IT IS ALSO A CREATURE OF THE A COMMITTEE OF THE DELTA PROTECTION COMMISSION UPON WHICH OUR MIKE MORAN SERVED FOR YEARS, AND MIKE GOES BACK WITH VARIOUS ARMS OF THE DELTA PROTECTION COMMISSION AND THEIR WORK FOR MANY YEARS.
SO MIKE IS, AGAIN ONE OF OUR SUPERSTARS IN TERMS OF THE RECOGNITION THAT HE HAS AND DESERVES BASICALLY THROUGHOUT THE STATE, AND I'VE LEARNED WITH THIS STATE AGENCY, THE COMMISSION IS NOW CHAIRED BY MY PREDECESSOR, DIANE BURGIS, AND WE I HAD MY FIRST MEETING, I BELIEVE, IS DECEMBER 6TH, AND IT WAS IN A HISTORIC SCHOOLHOUSE IN CLARKSBURG ON THE SACRAMENTO RIVER, AND IT'S A VERY ENJOYABLE FOR ME TO BASICALLY PARTICIPATE AN PRESENT AS A MEMBER OF THIS BOARD AND A REPRESENTATIVE OF EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTR ICT, THE BOUNDARY OF THE CONGRESSIONALLY CREATED NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA FOR THE SAN JOAQUIN SACRAMENTO RIVER DELTA INCLUDES BASICALLY THE BOUNDARIES OF WARD SEVEN FROM HERCULES TO BRENTWOOD.
IT'S REMARKABLE HOW CLOSE THE BOUNDARIES ALIGN WITH WARD SEVEN.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S A NEW ADVENTURE FOR ME AND ROLE AND HAD THE FIRST MEETING IN DECEMBER AND I'M ALL I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
ITS PURVIEW IS PROMOTING AND FIGURING OUT WAYS TO PROMOTE AND GAIN RECOGNITION THROUGHOUT THE DELTA REGION OF ITS CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL LEGACY.
AND THAT, OF COURSE, IS SOMETHING I VERY MUCH ENJOY GETTING INVOLVED IN, AND THE PARK DISTRICT IS IN THE FOREFRONT OF, AND IN ADDITION TO MIKE MORAN, BRIAN HOLT HAS PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THIS FACET OF THE DELTA PROTECTION
[04:45:02]
COMMISSION, AND NOW I'M UP THERE DOING THIS WORK WITH THAT COMMITTEE, AND I'M VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.SO ON THE SIXTH, I ATTENDED THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
ON THE 10TH, I MET WITH SABRINA AND LYNNE REGARDING THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.
ON THE 11TH, ATTENDED THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON THE 14TH, DEE AND I REPRESENTED THE EAST BAY PARKS AT BARBARA LEE'S TRIBUTE.
THIS WAS ACTUALLY IT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL.
IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS A SORT OF LAST MINUTE, I THINK, BECAUSE SHE WAS RESISTING HAVING A TRIBUTE, BUT STAFF PUSHED THROUGH AND IT WAS A REALLY INCREDIBLE EVENT WITH SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE THERE AND LOTS OF ELECTED LEADERS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS AND OUR STATE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS, STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, STATE COMPTROLLER, STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, ETC, AND DEE AND I BOTH HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AND REALLY HONOR BARBARA LEE, WHO HAS BEEN SUCH A GREAT FRIEND TO THE PARKS.
SO THAT WAS THAT WAS REALLY GREAT, AND THEN LET'S SEE, ON THE 16TH WE HAD THE PRE BOARD MEETING, AND THEN I'M HERE TODAY.
YOU KNOW, IN WRAPPING UP, I JUST WANT TO SAY HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU, ALL THE BOARD, THE STAFF, THE MANAGEMENT, OUR CLERKS, EVERYBODY AND OUR PUBLIC TOO, IT'S REALLY GREAT TO WORK WITH AN ENGAGED PUBLIC WHO, YOU KNOW, MOSTLY, IS CONSTRUCTIVE AND HELPFUL AND ALWAYS PASSIONATE ABOUT ABOUT OUR PARKS, AND SO THAT'S I CONSIDER THAT A REAL PRIVILEGE.
AND I WANT TO WISH EVERYONE A SAFE, HAPPY, HEALTHY HOLIDAYS, AND ALSO FOR THE BOARD, IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHAT THESE PLOTS ARE SITTING HERE FOR, THIS IS NOT A NEW DECORATION.
SO THEY COULD BE RED ORANGE, YELLOW, PURPLE, PINK.
SO SOMETIME IN THE SPRING YOU'LL SEE WHAT COLOR YOU GOT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO HAVE, LIKE, A TANGIBLE THANK YOU BECAUSE I KNOW HOW HARD YOU ALL WORK AS WELL, AND SO THAT'S YEAH.
SO THANK YOU TO THE BOARD AND THEN FINALLY, YOU KNOW, I'M THIS IS SORT OF SAD, BUT I'LL JUST SHARE IT WITH YOU THAT YOU KNOW, I HAD SEVERAL TIMES IN THE SPRING, I HAD PROMISED ELLEN THAT WE WOULD ABSOLUTELY CELEBRATE HER BIRTHDAY BECAUSE SHE SAYS, YOU KNOW, MY BIRTHDAY IS DECEMBER 31ST.
THANK YOU TO OLIVIA FOR OR DEE.
THANK YOU, DEE FOR THAT, FOR ORGANIZING THAT, AND I TRUST YOU'LL SHARE THAT WITH HER FAMILY, AND YEAH, BECAUSE WE'RE ALL THINKING ABOUT HER AND MISSING HER, ESPECIALLY THIS TIME OF YEAR, AND ESPECIALLY WITH HER BIRTHDAY COMING UP, AND I WILL BE THINKING ABOUT HER ON THE 31ST AND, AND WISHING HER A HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY, SO TO SPEAK.
CAN I JUST THROW IN ONE MORE COMMENT? SURE.
YES. OH, THANK YOU FOR BEING OUR PRESIDENT.
OH, WELL, IT GOES WITH THE TERRITORY.
CORRALLING US AND WRANGLING US AND ALL THAT, THAT GOES WITH THE JOB.
WELL, THANK YOU, JOHN, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING UP THE BATON NEXT YEAR.
SO WE'LL THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.
SO YEAH, MY DAUGHTER IS EXPECTING MORE TIME NEXT YEAR.
WE'LL SEE HOW THAT WORKS OUT, BUT.
MAYBE CUT OUT A FEW MINIONS ANYWAY.
THANK, AS I SAID, BOARD, STAFF, MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, REALLY APPRECIATE
EVERYBODY'S DEDICATION TO OUR PARKS, AND WITH THAT, WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 7:06 P.M..
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.