2. Roll
Directors Amoroso, Bertsch, Kayfetz, McClellan, Siedman present
Director Amoroso presiding
3. Manager’s Report
National Park Service Superintendent Don Neubacher will attend the November 15 BCPUD meeting to answer questions about the Rancho Baulines tenancy agreement. In a response to BCPUD’s letter querying the lack of openness to the public of meetings of the Point Reyes Committee of the Citizen’s Advisory Commission, Neubacher noted that the topic is on the agenda for the next public meeting of the Park’s Advisory Commission on October 21, 2000. There were no objections to Director Kayfetz’ proposal to send Neubacher a copy of Cela O’Connor’s letter from Wednesday’s Hearsay News, and to send copies to Senators Boxer and Feinstein and Congresswoman Woolsey, in the spirit of public participation.
Work began on Monday on the Alder Road pipeline installation project. Nearly a day’s work was lost when it was discovered that a connecting gate valve was unusable and had to be replaced. The majority of the work should be completed by the middle of next week.
The West water storage tank has been drained and should be dry by the weekend, preparatory to the refinishing work. The project is expected to take about 45 days and have a far lower impact on the neighbors than the first project on the East tank.
The water leak on Wharf Road on September 3 occurred in a line crossing the road that had never been abandoned. At some point the line needs to be completely removed.
Crewmember Kate Currey reports that the pipe running through the wall of the dry well at the lift station may need extensive repairs. She is researching solutions and assembling parts in case an emergency repair is needed.
Manager Buchanan reported that the Sheriff’s Department has been responsive to a letter requesting the removal of rubbish deposited along Nymph Road and on BCPUD property by the tow truck driver who was removing some abandoned vehicles under a deputy’s supervision. Director Kayfetz suggested pursuing the matter by filing a criminal complaint for misdemeanor littering against the Sheriff’s Office if the matter was not cleared up promptly.
The Board received a letter from Judy Chapman of Marin LAFCO regarding a pending Special District vacancy and encouraging increased attendance at the monthly LAFCO meetings.
Informational material on a board policy governance model and training workshop was received by directors.
Director Kayfetz requested that the language in Director Siedman’s article in the latest draft of the Pipeline be changed to avoid giving possible false hope of a water source for Mesa Park and thus increasing anger and frustration in the community, should a source not transpire. Director Siedman agreed. Directors may submit additional comments and proposed changes to the draft newsletter by Friday September 22.
Staff proposed a meeting with the Personnel Committee to consider ways to effectively increase productivity and flexibility in the area of administration, including increasing the administrative assistant’s hours to twenty a week as budgeted.
There were no objections to moving Item 5 forward.
5. Aircraft Overflight and Airspace Issues
Andrew Richards and three fellow air traffic controllers from the Federal Aviation Authority were present to answer questions about perceived excessive aircraft noise in Bolinas. Richards explained that the responsibility for aircraft noise doesn’t fall in one place. Beyond the immediate area of the airport and below 15,000 feet is the jurisdiction of the FAA. However the FAA has no control over the increasing number of flights scheduled by the airlines, in response to public demand. And moving flight patterns from one area to another only relocates the problem. The obvious option of moving paths out over the ocean is hindered by the limited airspace available – the military claims all airspace except a narrow coastal strip which is occupied by Asiabound flights. Although Bolinas is not in the area of a holding pattern, one of the solutions possible to the FAA is to raise the altitude of holding patterns. Currently, commercial flights coming in to San Francisco never fly below 11,000 ft. except in unusual conditions such as stormy weather. The louder sound remarked upon by Director Kayfetz could be explained by planes with older retrofitted engines.
Richards expressed the hope that some organization will take a lead on doing an airspace survey, finding out the needs of the communities, and, with regional consensus, indicate a direction for the FAA to follow. He noted that the only standard in place at present is the Federal regulation of CNELs, a measure computing level of noise, extent of time and number of people affected. He also indicated that he would be willing to obtain flight track information for any planes reported as being excessively noisy, if given the time of the occurrence.
In regard to non-commercial planes flying low, Richards said that if an observer could get the tail number of the offending plane and report it to Roger Zimmerman, the Flight Standards officer in Oakland, Zimmerman could take enforcement action against the pilot.
4. Community Expression
Director Amoroso asked Director Kayfetz what his plans are, now that he has put his Bolinas residence on the market. Director Kayfetz said that if the house sold for the asking price he would then either buy a smaller one in Bolinas or rent one.
Steven Kennedy asked the Board for a letter of endorsement of a video he is making on vegetation management and fire containment. He was asked to put the item on the agenda of the October meeting and submit a letter indicating what he intended to film in Bolinas and what effect the reaction of the board would have on his project.
Jenny Pfeiffer outlined the progress of the Bolinas Community Land Trust in negotiations to purchase the Gibson House for affordable housing. She said that Marin County has already given $250,000 towards the purchase, that the search for additional donors and lenders is still under way and the next stage is to seek grants and mortgage. Noting that the considerable financial support from Marin County to date could be jeopardized by a lack of apparent community support, and recognizing the troubled history of the Land Trust, she requested that directors send a letter of support for the project and consider the possibility of BCPUD becoming a partner, a move that would give the Land Trust much needed additional credibility.
Director Amoroso noted that some opposition might come from those who felt that the building should continue as a restaurant. Pfeiffer affirmed that the commitment of the BCLT is to provide affordable housing.
-- Kayfetz/McClellan unanimous to put the item on October’s agenda, to consider acting favorably, and to consider BCPUD involvement
-- Kayfetz/McClellan unanimous to send a letter to Supervisor Kinsey expressing general support and indicating openness to the idea of BCPUD involvement
Bob Gold reported that he had made enquiries about the noise level of the electricity generating wind machines he had described to the Board at the last meeting and the outcome so far is that the noise is negligible. The company is now planning machines with 270 ft. high towers which must be installed by its own staff. There will be a two-year wait before the current design can be approved by the State but it is possible to reserve some of the funds available for such a project. Staff will find out if reserving funds requires a commitment to the project. The topic will be revisited as an agenda item at the October meeting.
An anonymous letter pointing out advertising by a local resident in an “over the hill” publication was received by the board.
A letter signed by Dakar supporting a personally favored ballot measure
was received by the Board.
6. Committee Formation: vacation rentals; structure size limits
-- Kayfetz/no second to appoint all six applicants to the committee
Ilke Hartmann asked the Board to extend the deadline for applications.
Director Amoroso presented some numbers indicating that ten percent of the housing stock in Stinson Beach is now used for vacation rentals. He fears that Bolinas will may change similarly and suggested that the scope of the Housing Committee be expanded to address a community wide housing demographic study, with a view to developing a response to the findings. Director McClellan said that he didn’t think anything could be done to change the inevitable expansion in the number of second and vacation houses. Director Siedman stated that committees generally worked better with more specific commissions. Director Bertsch indicated that her original interest had been working with a finite set of objectives, with the goal of amending the Community Plan. She pointed out that two organizations devoted to affordable housing already exist. Amoroso noted that legal and planning changes are not within the realm of those two organizations and the survey proposed by the BCLT was on the back burner for the present. Hartmann suggested the committee prioritize goals.
-- Bertsch/Kayfetz unanimous to extend the deadline for applications to the committee one week, and to make the undertaking of the broader housing issues conditional on achieving the two original objectives.
7. Mesa Septic: Septic System Technical Advisory Committee (SepTAC) update
Director McClellan pointed out the glaring omission of the BCPUD from the appointees to the Marin County SepTAC. There were no objections to volunteering BCPUD as an ex-officio member.
8. Kale Road Maintenance: clarification of March 15, 2000 Board order to remove spoils; cost estimate for survey of public easements
Estimates for surveying the roads adjoining Jerry Tergis property on Kale and Poplar have been very high so far. Staff will continue to seek estimates.
Continued.
9. Request for Water Meter Suspension: Bolinas Museum
Directors Amoroso and Bertsch disqualified themselves from voting on this item.
The Museum had originally hoped to be able to sell the second water connection to their property but on establishing that that is not feasible would now like to suspend the additional meter to avoid paying the annual charges. Director Kayfetz stated that he was concerned about possible difficulties with inactive meters that provided no revenue to the District. Unused meters had originally been put into a state of abandonment, which was later modified to suspension. Kayfetz explained that abandonment need only apply to a property with double meters that no longer wished to pay the charges. Director Bertsch indicated that the Museum has no interest in maintaining the meter and would probably give it up if the annual charges continued to apply, with no possibility of transferring or otherwise gainfully using it. Director McClellan pointed out that unless a property is subdividable a second meter is of no use. Kayfetz suggested that the resolution be revised at another meeting, noting that action by this Board cannot bind future boards.
To be continued at the October meeting.
10. Surplus Property: report on inventory of parcels; sale proposal (AP# 188-090-14)
Subsequent to discussions with the Point Reyes National Seashore about constructing a fence to protect Pine Gulch Creek where it runs through District property, both the neighboring property owner and the Park Service are interested in purchasing the property. If directors make a finding that the property is surplus to District needs staff will find out the legal conditions of selling to either the Park Service or Michael Moritz, the adjacent property owner. The Park Service can pay no more than the established fair market value. Cela O’Connor expressed concern that the public would lose access if it became private property. Director Kayfetz said that acquiring funds to make necessary repairs to the water system must be a higher priority for the Board than maintaining marginal public access. The possibility of making public access a condition of sale was put forward.
Continued.
11. Resolution 453, Amending Loan Agreement No. 90-1-56100: repayment dates
-- Kayfetz/Bertsch unanimous to approve Resolution 453.
12. Other Business
a. Committee Reports
-- Finance: 4th quarter financial report
The Board received the 4th quarter financial report.
-- Legal:
Continued.
-- Sewer: digester pit construction proposal
Continued.
-- Solid Waste: Resource Recovery Project: August financial report; operations report
A tool shed is planned for the site.
-- Park and Recreation: Approval of questionnaire for SWRCB grant application for Mesa Park; application for grant under Proposition 12 for Mesa Park; Mesa Park Board vacancy
The Board directed staff to ensure that the questionnaire would be dealt with in time to meet the October 1 deadline.
Director Siedman reported that Oswald Engineering has developed a description of a project to design, purchase and install a treatment system for Pond 3 water to provide irrigation water for Mesa Park. Manager Buchanan stated that he thought the project for a digester pit at the sewage treatment plant would be better kept separate.
-- Kayfetz/Bertsch four ayes, Siedman abstained to appoint Robert Hunter as Treasurer of Mesa Park Board, subject to approval of Mesa Park Board.
Director Amoroso requested the addition of the Downtown Parking Committee to the Committee Reports on future agendas
b. Minutes of August 16, 2000 Meeting
-- Kayfetz/Bertsch unanimous to approve August 16, 2000 minutes.
c. Warrants
-- Kayfetz/Bertsch unanimous to approve warrants
d. Scheduling of Next Meeting(s)
Director McClellan indicated that he would probably be absent for the next two meetings.
Regular meeting – October 18, 2000
Special meeting - November 1, 2000
13. Adjournment
11:22 p.m.