Board Meeting Packet November 4, 2014

Home , Doolan Canyon, Friends of Five Creeks, Mixer (service)

Clerk of the Board MEMO to the BOARD OF DIRECTORS EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT ALLEN PULIDO

(510) 544-2020 PH

(510) 569-1417 FAX

East Bay Regional Park District The Regular Session of the NOVEMBER 4, 2014 Board Meeting is scheduled to commence at Board of Directors 2:00 p.m. at the EBRPD Administration Building, AYN WIESKAMP 2950 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, CA President - Ward 5 WHITNEY DOTSON Vice-President - Ward 1

TED RADKE Treasurer - Ward 7 Respectfully submitted, DOUG SIDEN Secretary - Ward 4 BEVERLY LANE Ward 6 CAROL SEVERIN

Ward 3 ROBERT E. DOYLE JOHN SUTTER General Manager Ward 2 ROBERT E. DOYLE General Manager

P.O. Box 5381 2950 Peralta Oaks Court Oakland, CA 94605-0381 (888) 327-2757 MAIN (510) 633-0460 TDD (510) 635-5502 FAX www.ebparks.org

AGENDA

The Board of Directors of REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 4, 2014 the East Bay Regional Park BOARD OF DIRECTORS District will hold a regular EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT meeting at the District’s Administration Building, 2950 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, CA, commencing at 12:45 p.m. 12:45 p.m. ROLL CALL (Board Conference Room) for Closed Session and 2:00 p.m. for Open Session, on PUBLIC COMMENTS Tuesday, November 4, 2014.

CLOSED SESSION Agenda for the meeting is listed adjacent. Times for agenda items are approximate A. Conference with Labor Negotiator: only and are subject to change during the meeting. If you wish Agency Negotiator: Robert E. Doyle, Dave Collins, to speak on matters not on the Jim O’Connor, Sukari Beshears agenda, you may do so under Public Comments at either the Employee Organizations: AFSCME Local 2428 beginning or end of the agenda. Unrepresented Employees: Managers and Confidentials If you wish to testify on an item on the agenda, please complete B. Conference with Legal Counsel: a speaker’s form and submit it to the Clerk of the Board. A copy of the background 1. Anticipated Litigation: materials concerning these agenda items, including any a) Initiation of Litigation – Subdivision (c) of Gov’t Code material that may have been Section 54956.9 (1 case) submitted less than 72 hours before the meeting, is available for inspection on the District’s 2. Existing Litigation – Subdivision (a) of Gov’t Code Sec. 54956.9: website (www.ebparks.org), the Administrative Building a) SPRWLDEF v EBRPD, Alameda County Superior reception desk, and at the Court Case No. RG13663903 meeting.

b) EBRPD v. City of Alameda et al., Alameda County Superior Agendas for Board Committee Court Case No. RG12655685. Meetings are available to the c) United States v. 1.41 Acres of Land et al., public upon request. If you wish United States District Court, Northern District of California to be placed on the mailing list d) EBRPD v. Sweningsen Trust, Alameda County Superior to receive future agendas for a specific Board Committee, Court Case No. RGl4745591 please call the Clerk of the e) EBRPD v. Louie et al., Alameda County Superior Board’s Office at (510) 544- Court Case No. VG-10551038 2020.

District facilities and meetings comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If special accommodations are needed for you to participate, please contact the Clerk of the Board as soon as possible, but preferably at least three working days prior to the meeting.

2:00 p.m. OPEN SESSION (Board Room)

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

A. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

B. PUBLIC COMMENTS

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

a. Approval of District Check Listing for the Period of September 22, 2014 through October 5, 2014 (Auker/Doyle) (Resolution) (No Cost) b. Approval of the Minutes for the Board Meeting of September 16, 2014 (Pulido) (Resolution) (No Cost) c. Resolution to Support Pending State Legislation AB 1193 (Ting) – New Class IV Bikeway Designation (Pfuehler/Doyle) (Resolution) (No Cost) d. Resolution to Support Pending State Legislation SB 1183 (DeSaulnier) – Local Bike Infrastructure Enhancement Act (Pfuehler/Doyle) (Resolution) (No Cost) e. Authorization to Transfer Funds and Enter into a Sole Source Purchase Agreement with Airbus Helicopters, Inc. for Helicopter Hydraulic Servo-Controls and Frequency Adapters (Probets/T. Anderson) (Resolution) (Budget Change) f. Partial Vacation of Resolution Certifying the Environmental Impact Report and Adopting California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Findings and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Albany Beach Restoration and Public Access Project: McLaughlin Eastshore State Park (Victor/Nisbet) (Resolution) (No Cost) g. Acceptance of Bid and Authorization to Award a Contract to Slurry Seal: Contra Costa Canal Trail (Barrington/O’Connor) (Resolution) (Budgeted Funds) h. Authorization to Amend the 2014 Budget and Transfer General Funds to an Other than Asset Project Account for District-wide Drought Recovery (Ragatz/O’Connor) (Resolution) (Budget Change) i. Authorization to Negotiate with Various Property Owners (Musbach/Nisbet) (Resolution) (No Cost) j. Resolution to Oppose the City of Dublin Annexation of Doolan Canyon, Measure T (Pfuehler/Doyle) (Resolution) (No Cost)

2:30 p.m. 2. FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES

a. Authorization to Apply to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for Fuels Management Grants: District-wide (McCormick/Rasmussen/Collins) (Resolution) (No Cost)

2:50 p.m. 3. BOARD AND STAFF REPORTS

a. Actions Taken by Other Jurisdictions Affecting the Park District (Doyle)

3:00 p.m. 4. GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

3:20 p.m. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLOSED SESSION

3:25 p.m. 6. BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS

a. Legislative Committee (4-18-14) (Sutter) b. Legislative Committee (5-16-14) (Sutter) c. Legislative Committee (6-20-14) (Sutter)

3:40 p.m. 7. BOARD COMMENTS

4:00 p.m. D. ADJOURNMENT

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6 CONSENT CALENDAR

AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

a. Approval of District Check Listing for the Period of September 22, 2014 Through October 5, 2014 (Auker/Doyle)

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the Board of Directors approve the Check Listing for the period of September 22, 2014 through October 5, 2014.

Per Resolution No. 1992-1-40, adopted by the Board on January 21, 1992, a copy of the Check Listing has been provided to the Board Treasurer for review. A copy of the Check Listing has also been provided to the Clerk of the Board, and will become a part of the Official District Records.

7 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 – 11 –

November 4, 2014

APPROVAL OF DISTRICT CHECK LISTING FOR THE PERIOD OF SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 THROUGH OCTOBER 5, 2014

WHEREAS, District Resolution No. 1992 – 1 - 40, adopted by the Board of Directors on January 21, 1992, requires that a listing of District checks be provided to the Board Treasurer for review;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District hereby approves the check listing for the period of September 22, 2014 through October 5, 2014;

Moved by Director , seconded by Director , and adopted this 4th day of November, 2014 by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSTAIN: ABSENT:

8 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

b. Approval of the Minutes for the Board Meeting of September 16, 2014 (Pulido)

9 Unapproved Minutes Board Meeting of September 16, 2014

The Board Meeting, which was held on September 16, 2014 at the EBRPD Administrative Building, 2950 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland CA 94605 was called to order at 12:45 p.m. by Board President Ayn Wieskamp.

ROLL CALL

Directors Present: Ayn Wieskamp, President Whitney Dotson, Vice President Doug Siden, Secretary Beverly Lane Carol Severin John Sutter

Directors Absent: Ted Radke, Treasurer

At this time, the Board of Directors met in Closed Session to discuss those items outlined on the agenda.

The Open Session of the Board Meeting was called to order at 2:05 p.m. by President Ayn Wieskamp.

Staff Present: Acting GM Dave Collins, Jim O’Connor, Debra Auker, Bob Nisbet, Diane Althoff Police Chief Tim Anderson, Carol Victor, Mona Koh, Liz Musbach, Larry Tong, Pam Burnor, Jeff Rasmussen, Mark Ragatz, Jason McCrystle, Jim Townsend, Kristina Kelchner, Kelly Barrington, Julie Bondurant.

A. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

By motion of Director Siden and seconded by Director Dotson, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Agenda:

Directors Present: Whitney Dotson, Beverly Lane, Carol Severin, Doug Siden, Ayn Wieskamp, John Sutter. Directors Absent: Ted Radke.

B. PUBLIC COMMENTS

Susan Schwartz, President of Friends of Five Creeks, stated that their group has more would-be volunteers, primarily composed of high school and college students, than they could accommodate on their projects. She suggested that the Park District could do more with these volunteers if it dedicated a staff member to supervise these volunteers in various park locations. Directors Sutter and Lane suggested that AGM for Operations Jim O’Connor and the Operations staff consider Ms. Schwartz’ suggestions as volunteers do contribute extensively to the parks.

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

The following item was pulled from the Consent Calendar and will be considered at a future Board meeting:

Item C-1-e Authorization to Grant a 33,317-Square Foot Recreational Trail Easement and 7,982- Square Foot Utility Easement to the City of Richmond: Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline

10 Unapproved Minutes Board Meeting of September 16, 2014

By motion of Director Sutter and seconded by Director Lane, the Board voted unanimously to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar:

Directors Present: Whitney Dotson, Beverly Lane, Carol Severin, Doug Siden, Ayn Wieskamp, John Sutter, Directors Absent: Ted Radke.

C-1-a. Approval of District Check Listing for the Period of July 28, 2014 to August 17, 2014 Resolution No. 2014 – 09 - 227 (attached)

C-1-b. Authorization to Purchase One John Deere Tractor Resolution No. 2014 – 09 - 228 (attached)

C-1-c. Authorization to Negotiate with Various Property Owners Resolution No. 2014 – 09 - 229 (attached)

C-1-d. Authorization to Augment the Construction Contingency and Amend the Contract for Construction Management Services to Complete Contracted Work for the Iron Horse Trail from Dublin/Pleasanton BART to Santa Rita Road in Pleasanton Resolution No. 2014 – 09 - 230 (attached)

C-1-f. Quagga/Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention Grant Program Application and Funding Agreement, District-Wide Resolution No. 2014 – 09 - 231 (attached)

C-1-g. Authorization to Apply for Grant Funds from the Habitat Conservation Fund for Trail Access Improvements: Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park Resolution No. 2014 – 09 - 232 (attached)

C-1-h. Authorization to Amend the 2014 Budget for Federal TIGER II Grant and Federal Earmark Fund Sources: District-Wide Regional Trails Resolution No. 2014 – 09 - 233 (attached)

C-1-i. Authorization to Amend the 2014 Budget with Mid-Year Appropriations from the Major Renovation and Replacement Fund Resolution No. 2014 – 09 - 234 (attached)

C-1-j. Authorization to Amend the 2014 Budget with Mid-Year Appropriations from the General Fund Resolution No. 2014 – 09 - 235 (attached)

2. SPECIAL PRESENTATION

C-2-a. Contra Costa Transportation Authority - 2014 Countywide Comprehensive Transportation Plan

AGM for Land Division Bob Nisbet introduced Mr. Martin Engelmann, Deputy Executive Director of Planning for the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA), who provided a brief presentation on the agency’s 2014 Countywide Transportation Plan. He stated that the Plan provides a blueprint for the County’s transportation system over the next 25 years and is updated every 5 years. It also serves to identify goals for

11 Unapproved Minutes Board Meeting of September 16, 2014 bringing together all modes of travel, networks and operators, to meet the diverse needs of Contra Costa. Since the last update in 2009, Mr. Engelmann stated that the unemployment rate in Contra Costa County and the Bay region had gone down, and in the East Bay, housing prices has doubled. He enumerated various accomplishments since then, such as the completion of the fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel, the continued widening of State Route 4, new pedestrian overcrossings intermodal transit centers, among others. He also spoke about the various challenges faced by the county, including increased population and traffic, and their plans for the future, such as the Highway 4 widening, eBart expansion, implementing the growth management program by implementing the urban limit line, support for clean technology and alternative modes of travel, and funding of new programs.

3. BOARD AND STAFF REPORTS

C-3-a. Actions Taken by Other Jurisdictions Affecting the Park District

Dave Collins, AGM for Finance and Management Services, Acting for GM Robert Doyle, discussed those items listed on the staff report.

4. GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

AGM for Operations Jim O’Connor provided a brief update to the Board on Mission Peak regarding the revised park operating hours, which is planned for implementation beginning September 29, 2014. He also discussed the various outreach activities planned by staff to inform the public. Director Wieskamp asked that District staff meet with Ohlone College to inform them of the new hours. Mr. O’Connor also stated that he will be meeting with staff from the City of Fremont later in the week. With respect to a question from Director Sutter regarding the status of the Lake Temescal closure, AGM O’Connor stated that it has been opened on Labor Day.

AGM Dave Collins introduced Aquatics Manager Pete DeQuincy, who presented on the current drought’s impacts on Lifeguard Services throughout the District’s swim facilities. He highlighted that attendance numbers increased at Cull Canyon and Don Castro, given the water issues at the other parks contributing to low attendance numbers. Director Sutter asked about the possible use of City of Oakland pools in case of future lake issues; Mr. DeQuincy stated that District staff are not allowed to transport individuals and that it may conflict with Oakland Park and Recreation programs. He will, however, explore future partnerships.

5. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLOSED SESSION

There were no announcements from the Closed Session.

6. BOARD COMMITTEE MINUTES

a. Operations Committee (6-19-2014) (Lane) b. Operations Committee (7-17-2014) (Lane)

Director Lane asked that minor corrections be made to the 7-17-2014 Committee minutes, which AGM O’Connor noted.

12 Unapproved Minutes Board Meeting of September 16, 2014

7. BOARD COMMENTS

Director Siden reported on meetings attended. Director Siden  Attended the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce monthly mixer at the Chabot Community College campus;  Moderated the San Leandro City Council Candidates Night;  Attended the retirement event for District Counsel Ted Radosevich;  Reported that a scheduled meeting with the City of Alameda Park and Recreation Director was cancelled at the last minute;  Attended the recent Board field trip to Crockett Hills;  Attended the District’s 80th Gala Anniversary event last September 13 at the Claremont Hotel;  Attended the San Leandro Creek Alliance meeting last night;  Will attend the Alameda City Council meeting tonight;  Will attend the EB EDA Fall Membership meeting on September 18 in Concord;  Will attend the Coastal Clean-up event on September 27;  Will have a one-on-one meeting with the GM next week;  Will attend the CSDA Annual Conference in Palm Springs.

Director Lane reported on meetings attended. Director Lane  Attended the retirement event for District Counsel Ted Radosevich;  Attended the Moonlight on the Mountain event sponsored by Save Mt. Diablo;  Finished her Oral History interviews with Laura McCreery;  Attended the recent Board field trip;  Attended the California Women’s Lead reception in Danville;  Attended the 80th Anniversary Gala;  Will be attending the District’s Health and Safety Fair;  Handed out the Tilden EEC – District 80th Anniversary event flyer scheduled for September 28;  Will be speaking to the Berkeley Path Wanderers on the Anza Trail;  Suggested that staff read the recent Park and Trail magazine article on Prescriptions for Parks, Trails and Play;  Will be attending an event on October 28 where the Eugene O’Neill Foundation will be recognizing Congressman George Miller for his work in supporting the O’Niell National Historic Site, as well as the District for Hulet Hornbeck’s efforts regarding the National Historic Site and the Corduroy property.

Director Severin reported on meetings attended. Director Severin  Attended the Moonlight on the Mountain event;  Attended the 80th Gala Event in Berkeley;  Attended the recent Board field trip;  Attended the Alameda County Farm Bureau dinner;  Attended the Alameda County Mayors Conference held at the Chabot College in Hayward;  Attended her regularly scheduled Board and committee meetings.

Director Sutter reported on meetings attended. Director Sutter  Attended the Contra Costa Mayors Conference in Moraga;  Attended the Moonlight on the Mountain event;  Attended the retirement event for District Counsel Ted Radosevich;  Met with Director Siden and others at the Alameda Shoreline to discuss improvement opportunities for the entrance;  Attended the Board field trip;

13 Unapproved Minutes Board Meeting of September 16, 2014  Attended the Executive Committee meeting;  Attended the District’s 80th Anniversary Gala celebration;  Attended the Measure DD Committee meeting in Oakland;  Will be attending the Coastal Clean-up Day;  Will be attending the Chabot Space and Science Center Gala on Saturday, September 20;  Will be attending the program called Art in Nature at Redwood Regional Park on Sunday, September 21

Director Dotson reported on meetings attended. Director Dotson  Attended the last Board meeting;  Attended the meetings of the Pinole and Richmond RDA Oversight Committees;  Attended the Executive Committee meeting on September 11;  Attended the Richmond Liaison Committee meeting on September 5;  Attended the 80th Anniversary Gala in Berkeley;  Conducted a tour of the Breuner Marsh restoration project with District staff Chris Barton;  Will be attending the National Land Conservation Conference from September 18 – 20;  Will be attending the CSDA Annual Conference in Palm Springs from September 29 – October 2;  Mentioned that the North Richmond Shoreline Festival will be on October 4.

Director Wieskamp reported on meetings attended. Director Wieskamp  Attended the 80th gala event in Berkeley;  Attended the Moonlight on the Mountain event;  Attended a meeting with Fremont Mayor Harrison, the City Manager, District staff Carol Johnson and Erich Pfuehler to discuss issues at Mission Peak;  Attended Sen. Ellen Corbett event in San Leandro for the Habitat Award winners;  Attended the meetings of the Executive Committee and Alameda County LAFCO;  Attended the Board field trip;  Alameda County Farm Bureau dinner;  Presented to the Pleasanton Seniors group assisted by District staff Jim Townsend;  Met with Richard Waters, Ohlone College Trustee, regarding Mission Peak this morning;  Will attend the Pleasanton Elected Officials event to meet with the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce.

D. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 4:05 pm.

Respectfully submitted:

Allen Pulido Clerk of the Board

14 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

c. Resolution to Support Pending State Legislation AB 1193 (Ting) – New Class IV Bikeway Designation (Pfuehler/Doyle)

RECOMMENDATION

The General Manager and Board Legislative Committee (by unanimous vote) recommend that the Board of Directors adopt a resolution to support AB 1193.

REVENUE/COST

There would be no cost impact as a result of this action.

BACKGROUND

Assembly Member Phil Ting has introduced legislation to add a new class of bikeways – Class IV (also known as ‘cycletracks’ or ‘protected bike lanes’) – which will require the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to develop minimum safety design criteria for bike lanes on or directly adjacent to existing roadways. Currently, Caltrans does not have standards or criteria for bike lanes to include physical barriers against traffic. Criteria need to be articulated within the California Highway Design Manual (HDM). Because there are no criteria for physical barriers in the HDM, many California cities have refrained from developing protected bike lanes even though they are considered to be the safest design for cyclists.

Common in some parts of Europe, the construction of cycletracks is on the rise in the United States. In 2011, there were an estimated 62 cycletracks across the country. That number has now risen to at least 102 in 32 U.S. cities, with over 100 more planned in 2013. Several California cities have installed cycletracks, including Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Long Beach's cycletracks in the downtown area have been open for nearly three years. According to the city, the lanes have been "remarkably successful.” Since installing the separated facilities, Long Beach has seen a more than 50% increase in the number of bicyclists using the street, a dramatic drop in the number of bicyclists riding on the sidewalk, and a dramatic decrease in the number of both bike and vehicle-related crashes. Long Beach is confident this drop is due to the traffic calming associated with the separated lanes.

15 The California Bicycle Coalition is supporting this effort. District Trails Manager Jim Townsend stated about the legislation, “We would be supportive of the formalization of the ‘cycletrack’ concept in the Highway Design Manual. Anything that encourages cycling as a transportation mode is good for us.”

ALTERNATIVES

No alternatives are recommended.

16 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 - 11 -

November 4, 2014

RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT PENDING STATE LEGISLATION AB 1193 (TING) - NEW CLASS IV BIKEWAY DESIGNATION

WHEREAS, Assembly Member Phil Ting has introduced legislation to add a new class of bikeways – Class IV (also known as ‘cycletracks’ or ‘protected bike lanes’) – which will require the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to develop minimum safety design criteria for bike lanes on or directly adjacent to existing roadways; and

WHEREAS, the lack of criteria within the California Highway Design Manual (HDM) has stalled the development of protected bike lanes throughout the state even though they are considered to be the safest design for cyclists; and

WHEREAS, the City of Long Beach has had protected bike lanes in place for three years and seen a significant reduction in bicycle-vehicle related crashes; and

WHEREAS, an increased number of protected bike lanes throughout the East Bay would be consistent with the District’s Green Transportation Initiative and help create safer connections to the District’s paved trail network; and

WHEREAS, actions which encourage cycling as a transportation mode are generally positive for the District;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District hereby support AB 1193; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the General Manager is hereby authorized and directed, on behalf of the District and in its name, to execute and deliver such documents, and to do such acts as may be deemed necessary or appropriate to accomplish the intentions of this resolution.

Moved by Director , seconded by Director , and adopted this 4th day of November, 2014 by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSTAIN: ABSENT:

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18 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

d. Resolution to Support Pending State Legislation SB 1183 (DeSaulnier) – Local Bike Infrastructure Enhancement Act (Pfuehler/Doyle)

RECOMMENDATION

The General Manager and Board Legislative Committee (by unanimous vote) recommend that the Board of Directors adopt a resolution to support SB 1183.

REVENUE/COST

There would be no cost impact as a result of this action.

BACKGROUND

SB 1183 would authorize a city, county or regional park district to impose a vehicle registration surcharge of up to $5 on vehicles registered in its jurisdiction to fund local bicycle infrastructure and maintenance. The amount of the surcharge would be specified in an ordinance adopted by the local agency, and DMV would administer the collection of fees and distribution of net revenues to the local agency, after deduction collection costs. The ordinance is a special tax subject to two-thirds approval by the local electorate. The bill requires net revenues to be used for improvements to paved and natural surface trails, including the rehabilitation, restoration, and expansion of existing trails, the development of new trails, and the maintenance and upkeep of existing local and regional trail systems and networks.

Studies conducted by the District in support of the Green Transportation Initiative show bicycling has become a viable transportation alternative for commuters and students. Use patterns on paved trails tend to mirror those on adjacent streets and highways. The District’s extensive paved trail network began in the late 1970’s. While more and more cyclists use District trails, funding for maintenance and operation of aging infrastructure has not kept pace, leading to deferred maintenance issues that impact safety. For example, in 2012 the Contra Costa Canal Trail alone had Pavement Condition Indices (PCI) of 18, 27 and 30 in three key gaps. Overall, the District’s PCI was 63 in 2011 (a PCI of 85 is considered ideal for regular maintenance). To eliminate the District’s maintenance backlog, it would need to spend $15.3

19 million each year for four years – which would be approximately 15% of the operating budget – and not realistic. While the District has been successful at securing state and Federal funding to expand its trail network, those funds cannot offset increased maintenance costs.

According to staff at the Contra Costa County Transportation Authority, there were an estimated 722,220 autos and 141,952 trucks registered in 2013 in Contra Costa County. The same spreadsheet indicated there were 1,010,519 autos and 176,958 trucks registered in Alameda County in 2013. If all 2,051,649 autos and trucks in the two counties were assessed a $5 registration surcharge, the revenue generated would be $10,258,245 (roughly $2 million annually per $1 assessed). This would go a long way toward eliminating the District’s maintenance backlog. Discretion to sunset the surcharge is given to the sponsor of the ballot measure.

In addition to paved trail funding needs, the District’s substantial network of over 1,000 miles of unpaved trails has seen a tremendous growth in use by mountain bikers. In the recent park land use plans for Pleasanton Ridge, the District included new trail construction of 17 miles of narrow, natural, surface trails as a response to input from the mountain biking community. The 2013 Master Plan revision recognizes the growing interest for the use of narrow trails by mountain bike riders, and it is now a key consideration for future land use plans. Additionally, to further support bicycle use in the East Bay, the District is recommending the development of a bicycle skills park in our land use plan for Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline. If successful – and more and more bike users learn new skill sets – bicycle market share will grow, but so will trail maintenance needs.

Additional maintenance revenue means additional jobs. From serious repair jobs along the Iron Horse Trail to summer youth crews which maintain mountain biking trails, the District would be employing additional workers. One focus would be to provide local at-risk youth trail maintenance jobs within our parklands in the summer – similar to the wildfire fuels management Civicorps crews.

Overall, this legislation presents an opportunity for regions like the East Bay to keep up with the growth in popularity of bicycle use. As bicycling modal shares continue to increase, additional support for the maintenance of paved and unpaved trails will be required. SB 1183 is a big step in allowing regional and local governments to secure that support.

ALTERNATIVES

No alternatives are recommended.

20 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 - 11 -

November 4, 2014

RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT PENDING STATE LEGISLATION SB 1183 (DESAULNIER) – LOCAL BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENT ACT

WHEREAS, SB 1183 would authorize a city, county or regional park district to impose a vehicle registration surcharge of up to $5 on vehicles registered in its jurisdiction to fund local bicycle infrastructure and maintenance; and

WHEREAS, the registration surcharge would need to be enacted by a two-thirds vote of the local jurisdiction, but there is considerable flexibility in how the ordinance can be written; and

WHEREAS, the District’s extensive paved trail network began in the late 1970’s and more and more cyclists now use District trails for commuting and getting to school; and

WHEREAS, funding for maintenance and operation of aging infrastructure has not kept pace, leading to deferred maintenance issues that impact safety; and

WHEREAS, this legislation would enable the District a way to secure needed maintenance revenue for its Green Transportation paved trail network;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District hereby support SB 1183; and

Moved by Director , seconded by Director , and adopted this 4th day of November, 2014 by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSTAIN: ABSENT:

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22 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

e. Authorization to Transfer Funds and Enter into a Sole Source Purchase Agreement with Airbus Helicopters, Inc. for Helicopter Hydraulic Servo- Controls and Frequency Adapters (Probets/T. Anderson)

RECOMMENDATION

The General Manager recommends that the Board of Directors authorize the transfer of funds and entering into a sole source agreement with Airbus Helicopters, Inc., Grand Prairie, Texas, for the purchase of three Hydraulic Servo-Controls and a set of Frequency Adapters for the District’s helicopters in the total amount of $85,687 including applicable sales tax and delivery.

REVENUE/COST

This action proposes to transfer and appropriate funds within the Air Support Unit budget as follows:

TRANSFER FROM: Account 101-8230-000-6414 P/S Helicopters/Repairs and Maintenance Services – Non-contracted $ 40,000

TRANSFER TO: Account 101-8230-000-5311 P/S Helicopters/Repairs and Maintenance Supplies 58,438 Total amount available $ 98,438

PROPOSED ENCUMBERANCE Hydraulic Servo Controls 52,762 Frequency Adapters 32,925 $ 85,687

BACKGROUND

Airbus Helicopters, Inc. manufactures and sells the helicopters currently owned and operated by the District, as well as factory authorized replacement parts and supplies to support continued airworthy operation of the helicopters. Dynamic components utilized on helicopters, such as the Hydraulic Servo-Controls and the Frequency Adapters, have imposed life-limited retirement time periods due to airworthiness considerations, based upon number of flight hours flown and/or condition. Hydraulic

23 Servo-Controls are primary components of the aircraft flight control system. Frequency Adapters are elastomeric bearings that support the main rotor blades. The replacement interval for the hydraulic Servo-Controls is once every 3,000 hours in use while the Frequency Adapters are replaced on- condition. Increased stress on the aircraft components, such as occurs when lifting, hauling and dropping water on fires, may result in this time-interval being reduced due to the impact on the dynamic components. The Hydraulic Servo-Controls will be installed on Eagle 7 and the Frequency Adapters will be installed on Eagle 6.

Airbus Helicopters, Inc. is recommended as the sole source supplier for these particular time/life limited parts because: 1) they are the original and sole factory parts provider, providing guaranteed airworthiness and; 2) they provide a 10% cost reduction for parts purchased. The Hydraulic Servo- Controls currently on Eagle 7 are nearing their service-before-retirement-life limit and are scheduled for replacement. The Frequency Adapters currently on Eagle 6 are also nearing their “on-condition” life limit and are scheduled for replacement based on projected and realized flight hours.

District Counsel has reviewed and approved the sole source designation for this purchase.

Staff is requesting Board approval of this transfer of funds as it exceeds $25,000.

ALTERNATIVE

Staff could attempt to locate used aircraft components with service time remaining. However, this alternative is not recommended due to the uncertainty of locating available airworthy parts and the increased maintenance and installation costs.

24 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 – 11 -

November 4, 2014

AUTHORIZATION TO TRANSFER FUNDS AND ENTER INTO A SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH AIRBUS HELICOPTERS, INC. FOR HELICOPTER HYDRAULIC SERVO-CONTROLS AND FREQUENCY ADAPTERS

WHEREAS, the Hydraulic Servo-Controls and the Frequency Adapters for the District’s Airbus helicopters are “time/life or on-condition” items which must be replaced at the end of their airworthy life cycles; and

WHEREAS, these components are nearing the end of their service life and its timely replacement ensures the helicopters’ continued availability for District needs and are available from the factory provider, Airbus Helicopters, Inc. at a 10% cost reduction, thereby eliminating the need and expense of bidding for this equipment purchase;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District hereby authorizes entering into a sole source agreement with Airbus Helicopters, Inc. for the purchase of Hydraulic Servo-Controls and the Frequency Adapters in the total amount of $85,687 including sales tax and delivery, as well as the transfer and appropriation of funds as outlined on the attached Budget Change form; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the General Manager is hereby authorized and directed, on behalf of the District and in its name, to execute and deliver such documents and do such acts as may be deemed necessary or appropriate to accomplish the intentions of this resolution.

Moved by Director , seconded by Director , and approved this 4th day of November 2014 by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSTAIN: ABSENT:

25 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT BUDGET CHANGE FORM

NEW APPROPRIATIONS BUDGET TRANSFERS New Appropriation X Between Object Classes From New Revenues Between Projects DECREASE BUDGET ACCOUNT AMOUNT INCREASE BUDGET ACCOUNT AMOUNT Account Name: Expense: General Fund- Account Name: Expense: General Fund- Public Safety Helicopter-District-wide- Public Safety Helicopter-District-wide- Repair & Maintenance Services Repair & Maintenance Supplies

Account: 101-8230-000-6414 $ 40,000 Account: 101-8230-000-5311 $ 40,000 REASON FOR BUDGET CHANGE ENTRY As being presented at the Board of Directors meeting on November 4th, 2014 the General Manager recommends that the Board of Directors approve the transfer of $40,000 Public Safety General Fund services budget for the helicopter unit to the same cost center's supply budget, to allow for the sole source purchase of hydraulic servo-controls and frequency adapters for the District's helicopters, at a total cost of $85,687.

As approved at the Board of Directors Meeting on date: 11/4/2014 Board of Directors Resolution Number: 2014-11- Posted By: Posted date:

T:\BOARDCLK\BOARD MATERIAL\2014\19 - Nov 4\Helicopter Controls Purchase.xlsx

26 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

f. Partial Vacation of Resolution Certifying the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Adopting California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Findings and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Albany Beach Restoration and Public Access Project: McLaughlin Eastshore State Park (Victor/Nisbet)

RECOMMENDATION

The General Manager recommends that the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District (District) partially vacate Resolution No. 2012-11-285 (the EIR certification for the Albany Beach Restoration and Public Access Project, and adoption of CEQA findings and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program) to the extent that the resolution approved: (a) the EIR’s description and disclosure of the off-leash dog baseline, and (b) any related analysis in the EIR of whether the Project as projected to be used by the public and their dogs will have a significant impact on the environment and the effectiveness of any mitigation measures in the EIR concerning use by dogs.

REVENUE/COST

There are no costs associated with partial vacation of the resolution.

BACKGROUND

On November 20, 2012, the District certified the EIR (SCH# 2012032072) for the Albany Beach Restoration and Public Access Project (Project), adopted the CEQA Findings and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, and adopted a Resolution of Need and Necessity for acquisition of property needed for the Project. The Sustainability, Parks, Recycling and Wildlife Defense Fund (SPRAWLDEF) filed litigation challenging the District’s approvals. Following briefing and a court hearing, the Alameda County Superior Court issued a Writ of Mandate requiring the District to vacate in part the District’s certification of the EIR to the extent that it approved the EIR’s description and disclosure of the baseline for off-leash dogs, and any related analysis of whether the Project as projected to be used by the public and their dogs will have a significant impact on the environment and the effectiveness of any mitigation measures concerning use by dogs.

The Court did not set aside the District’s Resolution of Need and Necessity for acquisition of property needed for the Project. Furthermore, the Court explicitly allowed the District to proceed with Phase I of the Project since it was unaffected by the Court’s decision.

District staff is in the process of revising the EIR to further address the environmental impacts that could occur due to the increased number of dogs visiting the site as a result of the Project. Staff anticipates that the Supplemental EIR will come before the Board for certification early next year.

ALTERNATIVES

No alternatives are recommended.

28 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 – 11-

November 4, 2014

PARTIAL VACATION OF RESOLUTION CERTIFYING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR) AND ADOPTING CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) FINDINGS AND MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM FOR THE ALBANY BEACH RESTORATION AND PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT: MCLAUGHLIN EASTSHORE STATE PARK

WHEREAS, on November 20, 2012, the District certified the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (SCH# 2012032072) for the Albany Beach Restoration and Public Access Project, adopted the CEQA Findings and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, and adopted a Resolution of Need and Necessity for acquisition of property needed for the Project; and

WHEREAS, the Sustainability, Parks, Recycling and Wildlife Defense Fund (SPRAWLDEF) filed litigation challenging the District’s approvals for the Albany Beach Restoration and Public Access Project; and

WHEREAS, following briefing and a court hearing, the Alameda County Superior Court issued a Writ of Mandate requiring the District to vacate in part the District’s certification of the EIR to the extent that it approved the EIR’s description and disclosure of off-leash dog baseline, any related analysis of whether the Project as projected to be used by the public and their dogs will have a significant impact on the environment, and the effectiveness of any mitigation measures concerning use by dogs; and

WHEREAS, the Alameda County Superior Court explicitly allowed the District to proceed with Phase I of the Albany Beach Restoration and Public Access Project since it was unaffected by the Court’s decision;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District does hereby partially vacate Resolution No. 2012-11-285 (the EIR certification for the Albany Beach Restoration and Public Access Project, and adoption of CEQA findings and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program) to the extent that the resolution approved: (a) the EIR’s description and disclosure of the off-leash dog baseline, and (b) any related analysis in the EIR of whether the Project as projected to be used by the public and their dogs will have a significant impact on the environment and the effectiveness of any mitigation measures in the EIR concerning use by dogs;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Manager is hereby authorized and directed, on behalf of the District and in its name, to execute and deliver such documents and to do such acts as may be deemed necessary or appropriate to accomplish the intentions of this resolution.

29 Moved by Director , seconded by Director , and adopted this 4th day of November, 2014 by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSENT: ABSTAIN:

30 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

g. Acceptance of Bid and Authorization to Award a Contract to Slurry Seal: Contra Costa Canal Trail Barrington/ O’Connor)

RECOMMENDATION

The General Manager recommends that the Board of Directors accept the bid from and authorize the award of a contract to Bond Blacktop of Union City, California to slurry seal the Muir Road to Geary Road segment of the Contra Costa Trail in Pleasant Hill.

REVENUE/COST

The Board appropriated funding for the purpose of maintaining and preserving the District’s network of asphalt paved roads, regional trails, and parking areas. The funding source is from Account number 336-5940-651-6444, Project #520700 (Pave Roads & Trails) and Project #505900 (Two County Trail Paving).

SOURCE OF FUNDS: Account number 336-5940-651-6444 Project # 520700 $ 149,019 Project # 505900 18,860 Total Available Funds $ 167,879

PROPOSED ENCUMBRANCE:

Bond Blacktop Base Bid Price $ 137,879 Contingency 30,000 Total Encumbrance $ 167,879

BACKGROUND

The Board of Directors and staff are committed to preserving and maintaining the District’s existing infrastructure. An important component of this infrastructure is the District’s network of paved roads, trails, and parking lots. This project will repair the asphalt trail on the Contra Costa Canal Trail from Muir Road to Geary Road in Pleasant Hill. A total of 5 miles of trail will

31 be repaired. The trail section has a current average PCI of 51 and will increase to an average of 80 after repairs are completed. This project is included in the on-going District-Wide Pavement Maintenance and Preservation Program (PMPP).

The Notice to Bidders was published on September 16, 2014 in the McGraw Hill Construction Plan Room. Four firms purchased Bid Documents and two firms submitted a bid on Thursday October 9, 2014 as follows:

PLANHOLDER BASE BID TOTAL Bond Blacktop $137,878.96 Union City, CA

American Asphalt $140,105.00 Hayward, CA

Staff’s cost estimate for this project was $200,000- $250,000. The bid submitted by Bond Blacktop met the specifications and conditions for the project; therefore, Bond Blacktop is the lowest responsible bidder.

ALTERNATIVES

None are recommended.

32 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 – 11 -

November 4, 2014

ACCEPTANCE OF BID AND AUTHORIZATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT TO SLURRY SEAL: CONTRA COSTA CANAL TRAIL

WHEREAS, the District has included funding in its 2014 Budget for the purpose of managing, maintaining, and preserving the District’s pavement infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, the asphalt repairs on the Contra Costa Canal Trail are included in the ongoing District-wide Pavement Maintenance and Preservation Program (PMPP); and

WHEREAS, funds are available in the project accounts 520700 (Pave Roads & Trails) and 505900 (Two County Trail Paving); and

WHEREAS, requests for bids for the Contra Costa Canal Trail Slurry Seal were solicited and received; and

WHEREAS, two firms submitted qualified bids and of Bond Blacktop was the lowest responsible bidder;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District hereby authorizes the award of contract for services to Bond Blacktop of Union City, California for a total not to exceed $167,879, with $149,019 and $18,860 to be encumbered from Project numbers 520700 and 505900, respectively, both under Account number 336-5940-651-6444; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the General Manager is hereby authorized and directed, on behalf of the District and in its name, to execute and deliver such documents and to do such acts as may be deemed necessary or appropriate to accomplish the intentions of this resolution.

Moved by Director , seconded by Director , and adopted this 4th day of November, by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSTAIN: ABSENT:

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34 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

h. Authorization to Amend the 2014 Budget and Transfer General Funds to an Other than Asset Project Account for District-wide Drought Recovery (Ragatz/O’Connor) RECOMMENDATION

The General Manager recommends that the Board of Directors authorize the amendment of the 2014 Budget and the transfer of General Funds to a new Capital Project account for the District- wide Drought Recovery project.

REVENUE/COST

The Board of Directors has authorized funds in the 2014 mid-year budget for the purpose of mitigating drought damage in the parks. It is proposed that these funds be transferred from the General Fund to a new Capital Project, Project #512000, District-wide Drought Recovery as follows:

SOURCE OF FUNDS: Beginning Balance, Park Operations Administration Other Services, Account 101-5110-000-6191) $ 511,470 Expenditures to date 5,007 Total Available Funds: $ 506,463

Proposed Amount for Transfer $ 500,000

PROPOSED TRANSFER: Drought Recovery, District Wide Account No. 336-5110-000-6191-512000-DS10 Transfer Amount $ 500,000

BACKGROUND

Funds were appropriated and transferred mid-year 2014 from the General Fund unassigned fund balance to meet the funding needs that have arisen since the 2014 Budget was approved. Per Resolution 2014-09-235, $500,000 was appropriated and transferred to the General Fund-Operations Administration account 101-5110-000-6191 for restoration of drought damaged lawns, gardens, or other public use facilities, re-establishment of springs and wells, or conversion of low use lawn areas

35 to gardens or habitat areas.

Staff requests that these funds be transferred to a project account to better manage the distribution of the funds over time.

ALTERNATIVES

None are recommended.

36 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 – 11 -

November 4, 2014

AUTHORIZATION TO AMEND THE 2014 BUDGET TRANSFER GENERAL FUNDS TO AN OTHER THAN ASSET PROJECT ACCOUNT FOR DISTRICT WIDE DROUGHT RECOVERY

WHEREAS, the East Bay Regional Park District included funding in its 2014 Budget for the purpose of preserving the District’s turf; and

WHEREAS, the drought has caused extensive damage to turf throughout the District and is in need of repair; and

WHEREAS, funds were appropriated for this purpose and are available in the Park Operations Administrations account;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District hereby authorizes the amendment of the 2014 Budget and the transfer of $500,000 from Park Operations Administration Account number 101-5110-000-6191 Other Services to Capital Account number 336-5110-000-6191-512000-DS10 per the attached Budget Change form, to be used over time for restoration of drought damaged lawns, gardens, or other public use facilities, re- establishment of springs and wells, or conversion of low use lawn areas to gardens or habitat areas; and

Moved by Director , seconded by Director , and adopted this 4th day of November, 2014 by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSENT: ABSTAIN:

37 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT BUDGET CHANGE FORM

NEW APPROPRIATIONS BUDGET TRANSFERS X New Appropriation X Between Funds From New Revenues Between Projects DECREASE BUDGET ACCOUNTAMOUNT INCREASE BUDGET ACCOUNT AMOUNT Account Name: Expense: General Fund- Account Name: Expense: OTA Fund- Operations Administration-District Wide- Operations Administration-District Wide- Services Services/Drought Recovery Project- District Funds Account: 336-5110-000-6191/512000 Account: 101-5110-000-6191 $ 500,000 DS10-009 $ 500,000 TRANSFERS BETWEEN FUNDS Account Name: TRANSFER OUT: Account Name: TRANSFER IN: Other General Fund-Non Departmental-District Than Asset Fund-Non Departmental- Wide-Transfer Out District Wide-Transfer In

Account: 101-9110-000-9980 $ 500,000 336-9110-000-3980 $ 500,000 REASON FOR BUDGET CHANGE ENTRY As being presented at the Board of Directors meeting on November 4th, 2014 the General Manager recommends that the Board of Directors approve the transfer of $500,000 from the General Fund Operations Administration services budget to a new Other Than Asset project 512000 to be used for ongoing drought recovery costs, District-wide. These funds were appropriated mid-year, to the General Fund at the September 16th board meeting.

As approved at the Board of Directors Meeting on date: 11/4/2014 Board of Directors Resolution Number: 2014-11- Posted By: Posted date:

T:\BOARDCLK\BOARD MATERIAL\2014\19 - Nov 4\502100 Drought Recovery.xlsx

38 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

i. Authorization to Negotiate with Various Property Owners (Musbach/Nisbet)

RECOMMENDATION

The General Manager recommends that the Board of Directors authorize the General Manager and the Assistant General Manager, Land Division, to negotiate with:

APN/ADDRESS PROPERTY OWNER PARK/TRAIL Contra Costa County 208-160-007 and 208-160-008 David Podva, Trustee Las Trampas Regional Midland Drive, Danville Wilderness

208-240-007 Faria LT Ventures LLC Las Trampas Regional Bollinger Canyon Road, Wilderness San Ramon

REVENUE/COST

Items of cost, terms or conditions of any option are subject to negotiation and would be presented to the Board for formal approval at a later date.

BACKGROUND

The proposed resolution for this item is in direct response to the Brown Act. According to District Counsel, "The Board may meet in Closed (Executive) Session prior to or during negotiations to give instructions to its negotiator regarding the price and terms of payment for the purchase or the lease of the property only after it has identified the parcels of concern, and has identified the people with whom this negotiator may negotiate in open session."

ALTERNATIVES

No alternatives are recommended.

39 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 – 11 -

November 4, 2014

AUTHORIZATION TO NEGOTIATE WITH VARIOUS PROPERTY OWNERS

WHEREAS, Government Code Section 54956.8 requires that prior to or during the negotiations concerning the acquisition of real property, the Board of Directors in closed session may give instructions to its negotiator regarding the price and terms of payment of such property; and

WHEREAS, prior to the closed session, the legislative body of the local agency shall hold an open and public session in which it identifies the real property or real properties which the negotiations may concern, and the person or persons with whom its negotiator may negotiate;

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District hereby approves the authorization to negotiate as presented to the Board of Directors on November 4, 2014; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Manager and the Assistant General Manager, Land Division, are hereby authorized by the Board of Directors on behalf of the East Bay Regional Park District and in its name to negotiate the price and terms of payment of the following parcels of real property:

APN/ADDRESS PROPERTY OWNER PARK/TRAIL Contra Costa County 208-160-007 and 208-160-008 David Podva, Trustee Las Trampas Regional Midland Drive, Danville Wilderness

208-240-007 Faria LT Ventures LLC Las Trampas Regional Bollinger Canyon Road, Wilderness San Ramon

Moved by Director , and seconded by Director , and adopted this 4th day of November, 2014, by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSTAIN: ABSENT:

40 Environmental Programs & GIS Applications AUTHORIZATION TO NEGOTIATE t:\bstone\mxd projects\A2N\ 2014\A2N-November-4-2014.mxd Date: November 4, 2014

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CONTRA COSTA COUNTY ¸ Park/Trail: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness !" Owner: David Podva, Trustee APN: 208-160-007 and 208-160-008 Location: Midland Drive, Danville, CA

¹ Park/Trail: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness !" Owner: Faria LT Ventures LLC APN: 208-240-007 Location: Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA

Page Left Blank Intentionally

42 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

1. CONSENT CALENDAR

j. Resolution to Oppose the City of Dublin Annexation of Doolan Canyon, Measure T (Pfuehler/Doyle)

RECOMMENDATION

The General Manager and Board Legislative Committee (by unanimous vote) recommend that the Board of Directors adopt a resolution to oppose the City of Dublin Annexation of Doolan Canyon, Measure T, also known as the Let Dublin Decide Initiative, on the November 4, 2014 General Elections.

REVENUE/COST

There would be no cost impact as a result of this action.

BACKGROUND

Measure T on the November 4, 2014 ballot puts the future of Doolan Canyon before Dublin voters, who will decide whether the city should annex the canyon. A “Yes” vote opens the door to development; a “No” vote leaves Doolan outside city boundaries as the last bit of open space between Dublin and Livermore.

The Dublin City Council voted unanimously in June, 2014 to exclude Doolan Canyon from the city’s urban growth limit, leaving it as unincorporated agricultural open space. Developers, however, moved forward with Measure T which is meant to confuse voters and to nullify the City Council adopted urban limit line.

Opponents include every Dublin city councilmember and its planning commissioner, the Dublin Unified School District, the Dublin San Ramon Services District Board members, Tri-Valley Conservancy, Save Mount Diablo, the Sierra Club, Greenbelt Alliance, the Ohlone Audubon Society and the California Native Plant Society.

The District’s Doolan Canyon Preserve is adjacent to the proposed development site. The District’s Board Legislative Committee and staff believe the existing urban growth limit is

43 appropriate and consistent with District efforts to develop a positive park experience at Doolan Canyon.

ALTERNATIVES

No alternatives are recommended.

44 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 - 11 -

November 4, 2014

RESOLUTION TO OPPOSE THE CITY OF DUBLIN ANNEXATION OF DOOLAN CANYON, MEASURE T

WHEREAS, the Dublin City Council voted unanimously in June, 2014 to exclude Doolan Canyon from the city’s urban growth limit, leaving it as unincorporated agricultural open space; and

WHEREAS, the Dublin City Council voted unanimously to oppose a competing effort that would allow development of Doolan Canyon; and

WHEREAS, the competing effort will be on the November 4, 2014 ballot as the City of Dublin Annexation of Doolan Canyon, Measure T, also known as the Let Dublin Decide Initiative; and

WHEREAS, the District’s Doolan Canyon Preserve is adjacent to the proposed development site contemplated by Measure T; and

WHEREAS, the adopted, existing urban growth limit voted on in June, 2014 is appropriate and consistent with District efforts to develop a positive park experience at Doolan Canyon;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District hereby oppose the City of Dublin Annexation of Doolan Canyon, Measure T; and

Moved by Director , seconded by Director , and adopted this 4th day of November, 2014 by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSTAIN: ABSENT:

Page Left Blank Intentionally

46 FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES

AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

2. FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES

a. Authorization to Apply to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for Fuels Management Grants: District-wide (McCormick/Rasmussen/Collins)

RECOMMENDATION

The General Manager recommends that the Board of Directors authorize grant applications to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Calfire) for Fuels Management, District wide.

REVENUE/COST

This action proposes approval of grant applications of up to $1,250,000 for fuels management District-wide. No grant match is required. The proposed projects would focus on maintenance of previously treated areas; therefore these projects will not likely increase the ongoing operational cost of the District.

BACKGROUND

Calfire is offering grants through two new grant programs, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) and State Responsibility Area (SRA) grants. The GGRF receives Cap and Trade auction proceeds and requires projects that demonstrate greenhouse gas benefits and net carbon sequestration. SRA grants fund projects that are aimed at reducing the wildfire effect on structures in State Responsibility Areas (SRA) particularly along the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).

In support of the District’s Fuels Management Plan, staff proposes to submit grant applications for a variety of fuels management projects, largely focused on maintenance of previously treated areas. To increase the regional significance of projects, the District may partner with the Hills Emergency Forum for the submission of grant applications.

ALTERNATIVES

No alternatives are recommended.

47 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO.: 2014 – 11 -

November 4, 2014

AUTHORIZATION TO APPLY TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION FOR FUELS MANAGEMENT GRANTS: DISTRICT-WIDE

WHEREAS, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Calfire) is offering grants through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) and State Responsibility Area (SRA) grants;

WHEREAS, the GGRF receives Cap and Trade auction proceeds and requires projects that demonstrate greenhouse gas benefits and net carbon sequestration; and

WHEREAS, the SRA grants fund projects that are aimed at reducing the wildfire effect on structures in SRAs particularly along the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI); and

WHEREAS, staff proposes to submit grant applications for a variety of fuels management projects in support of the District’s Fuels Management Plan largely focused on maintenance of previously treated areas; and

WHEREAS, the District may partner with the Hills Emergency Forum for the submission of grant applications;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District hereby authorizes the submittal of grant applications of up to $1,250,000 in funding to both the GGRF Cap and Trade and SRA grant programs;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Manager or Assistant General Manager of Finance and Management Services be authorized, as an agent of the District, to conduct all negotiations and execute and submit all documents, including, but not limited to, applications, contracts, receive grant funds, amendments, payment requests, and compliance with all applicable current state and federal laws and perform such acts which may be deemed necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Chief Financial Officer or Budget Manager is hereby authorized to amend the current year’s budget, without further Board action, upon receipt of the executed contract from the Grants Manager. The budget amendment will include an increase in budgeted revenue and a corresponding increase in appropriation for the amount stipulated in the contract.

48 Moved by Director , seconded by Director , and adopted this 4th day of November, 2014 by the following vote:

FOR:

AGAINST: ABSTAIN: ABSENT:

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50 BOARD AND STAFF REPORTS

AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

3. BOARD AND STAFF REPORTS

a. Actions Taken By Other Jurisdictions Affecting the Park District (Doyle)

City of Oakland – Waste Management Garbage and Organics Collection Contract

On Monday, September 22, 2014, by a count of six votes with one absent and with one abstention, the Oakland City Council awarded a $1 billion dollar, 10-year solid waste and organics collection contract to Texas-based Waste Management, Inc. The Council had previously awarded the contract to the Oakland-based company, California Waste Solutions (CWS) in early August. However, following that action, Waste Management, who had previously held the Oakland contract for more than a century, sued the City and CWS and began collecting signatures to place a referendum on the November ballot. At the September 22nd meeting, CWS representatives recommended that the City Council give the contract back to Waste Management; CWS will be a subcontractor for collection of recycling as part of the new agreement. The new contract includes a variety of requirements for Waste Management that impact their long-term plans at the Davis Street Transfer Station (DSTS) located in San Leandro. In accordance with a revised facility Master Plan that was approved by the City of San Leandro in 2011, a nearly 1,000-foot long green waste / organics processing facility will be built near the site’s boundary with Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline. Upon submittal of a building permit for the project, the District will receive $185,173 from Waste Management to install landscaping to screen the building from the park. During a recent meeting with staff, Waste Management indicated that construction is anticipated no later than 2018.

City of Oakland – Coliseum City

On October 21, 2014, the Oakland City Council voted 6-1 in closed session for a 90-day extension of an exclusive negotiating agreement with an investment team concerning Coliseum City. The Coliseum Area Specific Plan and draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was released in August of 2014 and proposes near-term redevelopment at the Coliseum site and long-term development plans for the surrounding area, including lands around the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline. The project seeks to retain the City’s sports teams while creating a regionally significant jobs and employment area, and a vibrant mixed use district comprised of new housing and commercial uses. The plan includes the potential for three new sports venues to accommodate the Raiders, Warriors, and A’s sports teams along with 14 million square feet of science and technology, office, light industrial, and retail space.

51 Additionally, the plan includes over 6,300 new residential units. The 90-day extension is intended to allow the project team to identify a master developer for the project and solidify support of the sports teams. The plan as currently proposed includes development directly adjacent to lands leased from the Port of Oakland and managed as the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline. Additionally, the plan proposes development on the 8-acre Edgewater Seasonal Wetland owned by the East Bay Regional Park District that was established as mitigation for a project at the Oakland Airport. District staff has coordinated with City of Oakland staff in expressing concern about wetland impacts and the restriction for the Edgewater property to be maintained as wetland habitat in perpetuity. The District submitted formal comments on the Specific Plan and draft EIR addressing wetland concerns, potential for sea level rise, and the need for inclusion of more parks and open space within the plan area. City staff are expected to provide responses to comments and potential project modifications in early 2015.

52 GM COMMENTS

AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

4. GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

STAFF PRESENTATION Information Services Manager Jim Tallerico will give an update on recent staff changes and accomplishments in the IS Department.

GM COMMENTS From August 17 to September 18, 2014 the Public Safety Division handled 799 service calls and 615 total incidents. Highlights are included below.

Police There were 43 arrests made throughout the District for a variety of felony and misdemeanor offenses, including DUI, weapons possession, drug possession, violation of court restraining orders, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, and indecent exposure. Officers also issued 397 citations for Ordinance 38, vehicle code, and parking violations. Officers handled 337 field interviews (contacts without citations or arrests) and contacted 17 people on probation or parole to conduct compliance checks.

 Anthony Chabot: On September 15, an officer contacted two occupants of a vehicle for park curfew violation. The passenger had a loaded concealed firearm in his bag and was arrested on a dangerous weapons charge. The driver was released at the scene.

 Castle Rock: On September 1, officers responded to the report of a group of people smoking marijuana. The group was contacted and officers located a loaded revolver on the table. The owner of the weapon was arrested for a weapons offense.

 Crown Beach: On August 17, a sergeant arrested two juveniles for being under the influence of alcohol. Alameda Police were called for assistance when the sister of the juveniles became combative and tried to free her brothers from the patrol car. She was arrested for felony assault on a peace officer.

 Delta De Anza Trail in Bay Point: On August 23, officers responded to the report of an armed robbery on the trail. The victim provided suspect information and officers located two of the suspects. Both were arrested and transported to the Juvenile Detention Center, one for robbery and the other for being under the influence of alcohol.

53  Lake Temescal: On September 9, an officer contacted four occupants of a vehicle for curfew violation. One of the passengers had an arrest warrant out of Oakland and was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.

 Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline: On September 2, an officer contacted a subject for a curfew violation. The subject, who provided a false name to the officer, was determined to be a registered sex offender out of registration compliance. He was arrested for giving false information to a peace officer and for the sex offender registration violation.

On September 2, an officer contacted the occupants of a vehicle backed into a handicap stall with no license plate or placard. The vehicle was determined to be stolen out of El Cerrito. The driver was arrested.

On September 9, a sergeant contacted a driver with no front license plate. The subject was on probation, and a search of his truck turned up a glass smoking pipe and methamphetamine. He was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.

 Out of Park at Golden Gate Fields: On August 17, officers assisted Albany Police with removal of over 100 vehicles that were being driven erratically in a side show in the parking lot.

 Out of Park in the Bay Area: On September 6 and 7, eight members of the Special Response Unit team participated in Urban Shield, a 48-hour training exercise funded by an Urban Areas Security Initiative grant. Over 30 teams competed in various training scenarios. District officers and staff hosted a well-received training on EBMUD property.

 Out of Park in Richmond: On August 23, as part of the Avoid the 21 DUI, enforcement program officers performed an enforcement stop for a cell phone violation. The driver had a suspended license and was intoxicated. He was arrested for DUI. Participation in this program is fully funded through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.

 Point Isabel at Mud Puppies: On September 9, an officer took a report from a victim of a dog bite. Animal Control was contacted and the owner of the dog voluntarily surrendered her dog for quarantine. No criminal charges were filed by the victim.

 South Watershed on Redwood Road: On September 13, an officer responded to the report of a disoriented person laying beside a barbed wire fence. The subject had mental health issues and was transported by ambulance to the hospital for evaluation.

 Wildcat Canyon: On September 14, an officer contacted two occupants of a vehicle for littering. The driver, who was in violation of a court restraining order and in possession of a glass smoking pipe and methamphetamine, was arrested. The passenger was released at the scene.

54 Fire Operations Fire Training  Lake Chabot: On September 25, firefighters participated in Technical Rope Rescue training. Firefighters practiced essential knots, and the raising and lowering systems for ambulatory and non-ambulatory patients from steep hillsides.

Special Service  Ardenwood: On September 1, firefighters provided medical standby for the Ardenwood Rail Fair.

 Out of Park in El Cerrito: On September 20, firefighters attended the El Cerrito, Albany, and Kensington Tri-City Safety Day. Firefighters staffed a booth and passed out fire prevention brochures, children’s helmets, and stickers.

 Tilden EEC: On September 28, firefighters provided medical standby at the 80th anniversary event, Passport to History: Celebrating 80 years.

Out of County  Out of Park, Moffett Field: On September 6, firefighters participated in Urban Shield, a premier first responder training program, as low angle rescue evaluators and tech support.

 Out of Park: On September 15, firefighters were requested to respond to the King Fire in El Dorado County. The fire grew to 97,000 acres and burned for over a month. A District crew was deployed for 10 days. Costs will be fully reimbursed by CALFire.

Fire Fuels Management  Briones: Contractors began the Briones Service Yard Fuel Reduction project.

 Tilden: Contractors continued the Tilden Park – Wildcat Canyon Road Wildland Fuels Reduction and Risk Tree Removal contract.

Lifeguard Service  Lake Temescal: On August 30, the lake was reopened as swim at your own risk for the remainder of the season.

 Shadow Cliffs: On August 31, Lifeguard Service responded to a 3-year old suffering from multiple seizures. Lifeguards provided rescue breathing and emergency oxygen. The victim was transported by ambulance to Valley Care.

 On September 21, the 2014 swim season ended. This is the fifth consecutive season with zero guarded drowning deaths.

 Roberts: On September 27, Lifeguard Service partnered with the Boy Scouts to provide a day at the pool for scouts to work on their swimming and lifesaving merit badges. Approximately 35 families attended the event.

55 56

Event Calendar November – December 2014 Board Meeting Date: November 4, 2014

Date Day Time Event Location Sponsoring Organization 11/1/14 Saturday 11 am – 12:30 pm Dedication: East Bay Oakland: Coliseum EBRPD Greenway 1st Segment BART Station 11/8/14 Saturday 10:30 am – 12 pm Dedication: Carquinez Strait EBRPD George Miller San Regional Shoreline Francisco Bay Trail 11/15/14 Saturday 9 am – 11 am Healthy Parks Healthy Sunol – Ohlone EBRPD People Multicultural Regional Wilderness Nature Walk 11/15/14 Saturday 11 am – 4 pm Cowboy Hootenanny Sunol – Ohlone EBRPD Folk Festival Regional Wilderness 11/21/14 Saturday All Day Free Third Friday All Parks EBRPD 11/30/14 Sunday 12 – 4:30 pm Mine Open House Black Diamond EBRPD Mines Regional Preserve 11/28 – Friday, Saturday 1 pm – 2 pm Marvelous Monarchs Ardenwood EBRPD 11/30/14 & Sunday Historic Farm 12/6 & Saturday 10 am – 3 pm Christmas at Ardenwood EBRPD 12/7/14 & Sunday Ardenwood Historic Farm 12/7/14 Sunday 3 – 4:30 pm Meet the Artists: Tilden Nature Area, EBRPD Natural Science Tilden Regional Park Illustrators Guild

BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS

AGENDA BOARD LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE Friday, April 18, 2014 12:45 p.m., Peralta Oaks Board Room The following agenda items are listed for Committee consideration. In accordance with the Board Operating Guidelines, no official action of the Board will be taken at this meeting; rather, the Committee’s purpose shall be to review the listed items and to consider developing recommendations to the Board of Directors. AGENDA

STATUS TIME ITEM STAFF

12:45 p.m. 1. STATE LEGISLATION / ISSUES (R) A. NEW LEGISLATION Doyle/Pfuehler Plan Amendment 1. AB 1193 (Ting D-San Francisco) – New Class IV Bikeway Designation 2. AB 2193 (Gordon D-Menlo Park) – Habitat Restoration

and Enhancement Act 3. ACR 96 (Olsen R-Merced) – The 150th Anniversary of the California State Park System

(R) B. ISSUES Doyle/Pfuehler 1. Drought Relief 2. SB 1183 (DeSaulnier D-Concord) – Local Bike

Infrastructure Enhancement Act of 2014 3. SB 1086 (de Leon D-Los Angeles) – Park Bond effort

Doyle/Pfuehler (R) II. FEDERAL LEGISLATION / ISSUES

A. NEW LEGISLATION 1. S. 2016 (Feinstein) and H.R. 4239 (Huffman) – Western States Emergency Drought Relief Act 2. H.R. 956 (Kind D-WI) – Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act of 2013

(R) B. ISSUES Doyle/Pfuehler 1. Land and Water Conservation Fund Competitive Grant Program 2. Outdoors Alliance for Kids 3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Healthy

Communities Program 4. Department of Labor 21st Century Conservation Service Corps 5. Child and Adult Care Food Program

III. DISCUSSION ABOUT LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES

IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS

VI. ARTICLES

(R) Recommendation for Future Board Consideration (I) Information Future 2014 Meetings: (D) Discussion May 16, 2014 August 15, 2014 November 21, 2014

Legislative Committee Members: June 20, 2014 September 19, 2014 December 19, 2014 Doug Siden, Chair, Ted Radke, John Sutter, July 18, 2014 October 24, 2014 Whitney Dotson, Alternate Erich Pfuehler, Staff Coordinator

58 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

6. BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS

a. (Legislative 4.18.14) (Sutter)

The Legislative Committee met at District headquarters on Friday, April 18, 2014.

Present: Directors: Doug Siden, John Sutter, Whitney Dotson (Alternate) Staff: Erich Pfuehler, Jeff Rasmussen, Carol Victor, Larry Tong Consultants: Doug Houston, Houston Magnani & Associates Public: Pat O’Brien

I. STATE LEGISLATION / ISSUES A. NEW LEGISLATION 1. AB 1193 (Ting D-San Francisco) – New Class IV Bikeway Designation Advocate Doug Houston reported Assembly Member Ting has proposed a new class of bikeways in response to active transportation projects in urban areas. These Class IV bikeways or ‘cycletracks’ are separate, distinct bicycle pathways adjacent to an existing roadway. Typically, there is some sort of physical barrier that separates the bike route from the vehicles. Currently, Caltrans does not have standards or criteria for bike lanes which include physical barriers against traffic. Caltrans is responsible for establishing minimum safety design criteria for the planning and construction of bikeways and roadways where bicycle travel is permitted. These criteria are contained within the California Highway Design Manual (HDM). Because there are no criteria for physical barriers in the HDM, many California cities have refrained from developing protected bike lanes even though they are considered to be the safest design for cyclists.

These bikeways are very popular in other parts of the country and Europe. Through the use of cycletracks the incidents of accident and injury between cyclists and vehicular use have been reduced by 50%. Several California cities have installed cycletracks, including Long Beach, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Long Beach's cycletracks in the downtown area have been open for nearly three years. The lanes were installed as part of a federal experiment on these types of facilities. According to the city, the lanes have been "remarkably successful.”

The California Bicycle Coalition is supporting this effort. District Trails Manager Jim Townsend supports the legislation.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to support AB 1193.

2. AB 2193 (Gordon D-Menlo Park) – Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Act Government Relations Manager Erich Pfuehler stated AB 2193 removes some regulatory barriers for small scale environmental restoration projects. AB 2193 would streamline the permitting process associated with watershed ecosystem restoration projects which are less than five acres in total size and are proven to be environmentally beneficial.

Staff indicated this program could help in urban creek, Bay shoreline and Delta restoration projects.

AB 2193 also would create a habitat restoration enhancement account to help underwrite some of the costs for these programs in both public and private settings. Houston commented that he doesn’t think this provision will stick because there is opposition by Governor Brown to fund new programs. Pfuehler said there is an expectation that some private money, whether it be from foundations or other entities, would contribute to the fund. This bill would make it easier for volunteer groups to complete small scale restoration projects with private money.

Director John Sutter asked if it was assumed that these properties would be acquired by nonprofits, by gifts, or land trusts. Houston speculated that it is primarily for the land trust community although it should not preclude the District from utilizing the program.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to support AB 2193.

3. ACR 96 (Olsen R-Merced) – The 150th Anniversary of the California State Park System

This measure would recognize the 150th anniversary of the California State Park System and would urge all Californians to join in celebrating this important anniversary.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to support ACR 96.

B. ISSUES 1. Drought Relief Houston reported $650 million dollars have been identified for immediate use to try and create new water capacity in the State of California. This is not new money, but funds that were available through previous water bonds including Propositions 50 and 84. Of the identified monies, $472 million dollars are set aside for the Integrated Regional Water Management Program. Of the $472 million, $200 million was already slated to be spent later this year, but the release of these funds has been expedited for immediate use. Grants Manager Jeff Rasmussen stated the District has submitted five applications in this category. Rasmussen commented there is $72 million for the Bay Area watershed.

There is $13 million dollars set aside for the local California Conservation Corps for water efficiency and fire fuel reduction programs. Rasmussen added the California Conservation Corps in Napa has provided the District four months and $200,000 worth of free work for fuels management. Sutter inquired about the Student Conservation Association.

60 Rasmussen added they are a non-profit and did not receive the state funding. There is also $20 million dollars of Cap and Trade revenues which will be administered by the Department of Water Resources for water use and energy efficiency. The District is exploring the possibility of installing solar panels for water pumping purposes at reservoirs.

The Committee discussed working with the local California Conservation Corps. Houston said it would be desirable for the District to partner with them on good conservation projects. Director Whitney Dotson inquired if the California Conservation Corps mostly works in fuel reduction. He wondered if they have any involvement in wetlands restoration. Houston replied that the State Corps does many different types of conservation projects.

2. SB1183 (DeSaulnier D-Concord) – Local Bike Infrastructure Enhancement Act of 2014 Houston reported he worked closely with Senator DeSaulnier’s office on SB 1183. The bill is intended to provide a funding mechanism for the maintenance, operations and improvements to paved and natural surface trails. Originally, the concept for the bill was a point of sale surcharge on bicycles. It could be a percentage of the sale, or a flat surcharge of ten dollars per bike.

Originally, SB 1183 would authorize the District to go to the voters and ask them for their approval to assess a point of sale in the amount of $20 dollars per bike. SB 1183 would be a local authorization, not statewide and would take a majority vote in the legislature, 2/3rds within the jurisdiction.

The bill was scheduled for a hearing two weeks ago, but there was push back from the retailers and the retail association. They are a formidable force in Sacramento and have convinced the chair of the Governance and Finance Committee, Lois Wolk, that a different tack needs to be taken. She has made it clear the point of sales tax proposal would not pass in her committee. Houston met with some of the stakeholders to discuss an alternative way to collect revenues for bike infrastructure improvements. Houston suggested a vehicle registration surcharge. It means that each time a vehicle is registered, there would be $2, $4 or $5 added specifically for bike infrastructure improvements. For every vehicle registered in the District’s jurisdiction, there would be $1 to $5 dollar increment of this surcharge.

Senator DeSaulnier will be advancing the vehicle registration proposal instead of the point of sale bike surcharge. SB 1183 will still need the 2/3rds vote within the local jurisdiction and majority vote within the legislature. There are approximately 2 million registered vehicles in the District’s jurisdiction, so a $1 dollar add-on could generate about $2 million dollars and take care of a lot of trail maintenance throughout the District’s trail network.

Houston commented there is likely to be opposition from Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and possibly new car dealers.

Sutter asked who, besides a regional park district, can bring a measure forward to the voters. Houston said a city or county. Sutter asked could the City of Oakland, County of Alameda and Park District all pass the surcharge proposal. Houston said yes.

61 Houston continued the bicycle groups were not in support of bike sales tax. They believe using bikes as a form of transportation should be incentivized and not taxed. They will, however, support the new revision from a bicycle tax to a vehicle registration fee.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to support SB1183.

3. SB 1086 (de Leon D-Los Angeles) - The Safe Neighborhood Parks, Rivers, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2014 Houston reported SB 1086 is a placeholder for a new state park bond. There is no money ascribed to the bill at present. It simply represents a host of funding programs seen in previous resource bonds. Two weeks ago, General Manager Robert Doyle was invited to be the lead Northern California witness while Senator de Leon represented Southern California. Doyle testified in front of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. SB 1086 was forwarded on by the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife with a vote of 7 to 1 on April 8.

Houston commented the challenge with advancing SB 1086 is a Park Bond is being viewed as competition to the existing Water Bond. There are also some programs and funding opportunities in the Water Bond that might be duplicative of what is proposed in SB 1086. In addition, there is urgency from the Governor associated with the Water Bond. Senator de Leon, in his position as the prospective Pro Tempore, is being very deferential to his members and wants to make sure the Water Bond advances appropriately. He does not want to undermine those efforts by virtue of a Park Bond.

The hope is to see a Park Bond on a future ballot. If not in 2014, at least by 2016. They expect to begin polling next month to test the voter threshold for a Park Bond.

Director Doug Siden asked if per capita was included in the de Leon legislation. Houston replied SB 1086 contains a per capita. It doesn’t specify how it will be administered, it doesn’t have an amount, but it has a per capita. SB 1086 could have $400 million dollars for statewide per capita distribution and then a separate $100 million dollar set aside for heavily urbanized agencies which would include the Park District. Sutter asked if that figure was statewide or just the two East Bay counties. Houston said statewide. Every state agency that operates parks would be entitled to a sum of money. Generally there are minimums, so every entity would receive something. He added in Prop. 40 there was $350 million per capita statewide and the District received $6 million. Sutter asked what about agencies which operate state parks. Houston said those funds would go through state parks under a competitive grant program for regional park agencies. Sutter asked what the overall bond dollar amount would be. Houston said the current thinking is $3 billion state wide.

Siden asked for an update on the Water Bond. Houston stated the $11.2 billion package is still on the ballot. Republicans want $3 billion for storage in any new Water Bond. Siden asked if water storage is in the current bond. Houston said yes. Sutter asked if any of the proposals include money for the tunnels. Houston said no.

62 II. FEDERAL LEGISLATION / ISSUES A. NEW 1. S. 2016 (Feinstein) and H.R. 4239 (Huffman) – Western State Emergency Drought Relief Act Pfuehler reported while staff and Board members were in D.C. they spent some time advocating in support of Senator Feinstein’s bill to provide funding for drought disaster relief. Included in the original package was money for FEMA to provide emergency resources for pre-disaster mitigation including fuels management work. The District thought it would be a good opportunity to prioritize projects in the urban-wildland interface, like the Oakland hills. Upon returning from D.C., the Senator changed her bill and took out the $300 million in emergency funding because she didn’t have the 60 votes she needed to pass it in the Senate with the new additional dollars included. The bill now removes some cost-share agreements for the Bureau of Reclamation, provides some resources for Lake Mead to make sure it is full and some other bureaucratic measures to move existing funding more quickly. It is a much less compelling bill for the District. In addition to what’s in the bill, there have been some headlines relatively recently where the Senator has stated she’s willing to do more to ensure that the agricultural interests in Southern California receive the water they need for this year’s growing season regardless of the risk to the Delta smelt and other fish.

Pfuehler recommended this bill be watched to see if it evolves beyond where it is now.

Dotson inquired what other actions could be done to protect the fish. Pfuehler responded the District could continue to advocate in D.C. on S. 2016, but it might be prudent to advocate with Senator Boxer because she’d be more sympathetic to making sure those protections remain. On the original version of S. 2016, Boxer was a co-sponsor. Pfuehler pointed out the National Resources Defense Council will fight S. 2016 if Senator Feinstein goes too far.

Sutter suggested letters be written to both Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer expressing the District’s opposition.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to watch S. 2016.

2. H.R. 956 (Kind D-WI) Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act of 2013 H.R. 956 allows a medical care tax deduction for up to $1,000 per individual and $2,000 per married couples. The deduction is placed in a medical savings account and can be used for anything that promotes physical activity for your health. Gym membership and recreational programs would quality. It is a fairly unique way to provide a financial incentive for people to stay active. NRPA supports H.R. 956.

Dotson agreed it is positive to reinforce healthy behavior. Pfuehler said he felt H.R. 956 is the kind of legislation that could have bi-partisan support.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to support H.R. 956.

63 B. ISSUES 1. Land and Water Conservation Fund Competitive Grant Program Pfuehler reported Doyle testified two-years ago in front of a U.S. House Subcommittee in support of a national competitive grant program within the stateside portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. For the first time this year, the Department of Interior decided to fund that program at $3 million dollars nationwide. They have indicated they would probably award about six grants throughout the country. They have made it clear they want those grants to be with traditionally strong partners. The District is in a solid position to compete, particularly while Rep. George Miller is in Congress, as he would likely support a grant request if it were in his district. Although these funds can’t be used for planning money, the District will find a project that can be targeted for this funding. Pfuehler also reported that D.C. Legislative Advocate Peter Umhofer is working to ensure that special districts remain eligible.

2. Outdoors Alliance for Kids Pfuehler stated the District presented the Kids Healthy Outdoors Challenge information to the National Park Service (NPS) in D.C. NPS staff suggested the District get more involved with the Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK). OAK is a partnership of environmental groups, outdoor industries (i.e. YMCA, Heart Association, REI, The North Face) that are trying to draw more attention and pool resources for activities like outdoor education, health and wellness, environmental stewardship. Pfuehler indicated he is in the process of getting all the details of what will be required to participate and what the benefits would be. Membership dues are $100 dollars and partners have to participate in two conference calls per year.

Pfuehler commented there is a value in being associated with companies like REI, The North Face, and some of the other environmental groups supporting this effort, so it could be a great opportunity for the District.

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Communities Program Pfuehler reported the meeting with CDC staff was good, but the Community Transformation Grant (CTG) program has been discontinued. The District’s CTG application in 2012 was accepted, but not funded because of the challenges with the Federal budget and government shutdowns. A new grant program has replaced it called the Healthy Communities Program. The Program works with communities through local, state and territory, and national partnerships to improve population-based strategies that reduce the burden of chronic disease and achieve health equity. Currently, 331 communities and 52 state and territorial health departments have been funded. CDC will be allocating $80 million toward Healthy Communities grants this year. CDC staff said the District could repackage their prior CTG grant and apply. The criteria and request for proposal (RFP) have not been released so it is uncertain if the District will be able to apply.

Pfuehler cited the only open grant is a $250,000 program for New England, but staff will continue to track the status of future RFPs. This grant deals more with lower income seniors who live in housing developments that are somewhat unhealthy.

64 Sutter commented the City of Richmond might be eligible for this type of grant, but the District probably isn’t the right agency to apply for this. Pfuehler said there is a movement funded by the California Endowment in which Richmond is included. The Endowment’s Healthy Communities initiative takes a holistic approach, from schools, to parks to transportation, to health in all policies.

Dotson suggested the District work a little more closely with the Health Departments for both Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Dotson continued that CDC received a lot of direction from the American Public Health Association. CDC’s program guidelines will probably evolve out of the American Public Health Association.

4. Department of Labor 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Pfuehler said the Department of Labor staff proposed the District consider the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) as a way to address job training needs. Their charter calls for them to develop “National Partnerships to support 21CSC.” The Partnership supports the development and implementation of the 21CSC to reach its goal of engaging 100,000 young people and veterans per year in conservation service. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell strongly supports this program. She has raised private money to fund placing youth and veterans into conservation corps. Secretary Jewell has raised about $1.2 million so far, but her goal is $10 million dollars. Agencies are invited to participate. It may be something in which the District should participate. The program does, however, assume the participating agencies will match private dollars given with operational supervision and maintenance. If the Park District takes on a Corps crew, it will take on the expense of the supervision and management of their project.

III. DISCUSSION ABOUT LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES Pfuehler informed the Committee there are five measures of interest and two measures in need of direction.

Sutter inquired if there is a policy about when the District gets involved with ballot measures and when they don’t. Pfuehler replied most measures brought before the Committee deal with land use and transportation. The District is becoming active in health issues, so measures pertaining to health have also been considered. Pfuehler stated it might be a good idea to consider having an overarching criteria or policy that the District adopts.

Masonic Home Initiative Interagency Planning Manager Larry Tong contacted the Union City Clerk to discuss the initiative and inquire whether the city had requested their staff to prepare an analysis. As of today, the city has not requested an analysis, which is a little bit unusual. In many cases, the city council requests a 9212 report (a reference to the elections code section). The city typically asks staff to prepare an analysis of how the initiative might affect its finances, general plan, and how it impacts parks and open space. At this point the City Council of Union City has not asked for such a report.

The initiative is vague and does not identify the amount of development, nor does it identify the site location of any proposed development. There are 63 acres adjacent to Mission Blvd. A small portion is immediately adjacent to the May Road entrance to Grain Regional Park. The initiative does not identify what the immediate effect would be on the District.

65 The property the Land Division would like to acquire to improve the May Road entrance will potentially still be available should the measure pass.

There is an interest at the staff level to make sure the Board is aware of the initiative before making any decisions, but there should be a thoughtful discussion if this action went on the ballot.

Sutter wondered if it was in the District’s best interest to take a position on this initiative or to remain neutral. The committee agreed that there should be no position taken.

City of Alameda Pfuehler reported the Friends of Crown Beach exceeded their required 4400 signatures and intend to file shortly after Earth Day. Their initiative would re-zone the GSA property to open space. The Committee discussed waiting until the initiative was certified before a position is taken.

Dublin Open Space Initiative and Let Dublin Decide Pfuehler reported these are dual efforts to influence what will happen in Doolan Canyon. The Dublin Open Space Initiative allows the voters to eliminate a planned housing development, and the Let Dublin Decide allows the voters to approve the development. The Open Space Initiative is supported by Save Mount Diablo, Sierra Club, etc. As a competing measure, the former mayor and one of the developer companies have been circulating the Let Dublin Decide Initiative. They are still in the process of collecting signatures, so it is not known if they both will end up on the ballot.

Tong said his understanding is the Open Space Initiative would put an urban limit line on the existing city limit and Doolan Canyon would remain outside of that line. The Let Dublin Decide Initiative would allow the urban limit line to include Doolan Canyon and make it possible for 2000 dwelling units to move forward as identified by a general plan amendment through the City of Dublin.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to watch measures Dublin Open Space Initiative and Let Dublin Decide.

Alameda County Essential Health Services Taxes Pfuehler reported the Alameda County Essential Health Services Taxes will be on the June ballot. It is basically a fifteen year extension of a sales tax that funds county health services including Highland, Alameda and San Leandro hospitals. The Board of Supervisors has decided to put a twenty year extension on the ballot for this June. Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who is the chair of the committee to renew the tax, has sent a letter to Doyle asking the District to support. Director Ayn Wieskamp asked for this to be brought forward to the Legislative Committee in advance of the May 6 Board meeting. If the Board wants to take any kind of action prior to the June election, there must be a vote in the May 6 Board meeting.

In the materials sent to Doyle, the committee to renew the tax stated the program is going well, they have some results, and they have transparency measures to show they are spending the money wisely.

The Legislative Committee moved unanimously to support the Alameda County Essential Health Services Taxes measure and to put it on the May 6 Board meeting agenda.

Rodeo-Hercules Fire District parcel tax The District, as a land owner in the jurisdiction of the Rodeo-Hercules Fire District, has the opportunity to cast a ballot in the assessment election; it’s a mail ballot. General Counsel and Finance wanted to bring it before the Board Legislative Committee for a recommendation about how to vote on the assessment. In 2002, the District was asked to pay this parcel tax. District Counsel and Finance staff contested the assessment because the District properties were not developed and the District has its own fire suppressions services. It is not clear there is any direct benefit to this measure passing, although any additional fire support is usually a good thing. There would be a financial impact to the District in paying the assessment. In the last go around the District was being assessed the equivalent of a business. It’s hard to justify the District’s assessed amount being the same as a house, a business, or a condo because there are no structures or development on the property.

Sutter inquired what amount the District would need to pay. Rasmussen stated in 2002 it was $440.00 per parcel and the District had six parcels. Rasmussen said he took a quick look at the engineer’s report for this program, and it looks like open space may be charged as little as three cents per acre.

Assistant District Counsel Carol Victor mentioned this is a Prop 218 assessment so government entities can’t be exempted from this property related fee. It does look like the rate is very low for open space and District Counsel will research how it will affect Park District property.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to put the matter of the Rodeo- Hercules Fire District assessment on the May 6 Board meeting agenda.

Sutter wanted to make it clear that the reason the Board Legislative Committee is not making a recommendation is because there is currently not enough information to do so.

IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS None.

Respectfully submitted:

______Erich Pfuehler Government Relations and Legislative Affairs Manager

Page Left Blank Intentionally

AGENDA BOARD LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE Friday, May 16, 2014 12:45 p.m., Peralta Oaks Board Room The following agenda items are listed for Committee consideration. In accordance with the Board Operating Guidelines, no official action of the Board will be taken at this meeting; rather, the Committee’s purpose shall be to review the listed items and to consider developing recommendations to the Board of Directors. AGENDA

STATUS TIME ITEM STAFF

12:45 p.m. 1. STATE LEGISLATION / ISSUES (R) A. NEW LEGISLATION Doyle/Pfuehler 1. AB 1799 (Gordon) – Endowment Exemptions for Public Agencies for the Long-term Stewardship of Mitigation

Properties 2. ACR 130 (Rendon) – Parks Make Life Better Month!

(R) B. ISSUES Doyle/Pfuehler 1. Governor’s May Budget Revise 2. Park Bond Efforts

3. DeSaulnier Bicycle Infrastructure bill 4. Other issues

Doyle/Pfuehler (R) II. FEDERAL LEGISLATION / ISSUES

A. NEW LEGISLATION 1. H.R. 188 – 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps Act (Kaptur D-OH)

2. H.R. 750 – Congressional Gold Medal for Steward Lee Udall (Thompson D-CA)

(R) B. ISSUES Doyle/Pfuehler 1. Update on NRPA debrief

2. Other issues

III. PUBLIC COMMENTS

IV. ARTICLES

(R) Recommendation for Future Board Consideration (I) Information Future 2014 Meetings:

(D) Discussion June 20, 2014 October 24, 2014

Legislative Committee Members: July 18, 2014 November 21, 2014 Doug Siden, Chair, Ted Radke, John Sutter, August 15, 2014 December 19, 2014 Whitney Dotson, Alternate September 19, 2014 Erich Pfuehler, Staff Coordinator

69 AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

6. BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS

b. (Legislative 5.16.14) (Sutter)

The Legislative Committee met at District headquarters on Friday, May 16, 2014.

Present: Directors: John Sutter, Whitney Dotson (Alternate) Staff: Erich Pfuehler, Dave Collins Consultants: Doug Houston, Houston Magnani and Associates Public: Bruce Kern

I. STATE LEGISLATION / ISSUES A. NEW LEGISLATION 1. AB 1799 (Gordon D-Menlo Park) – Endowment Exemptions for Public Agencies for the Long-term Stewardship of Mitigation Properties Legislative Advocate Doug Houston reported Santa Clara Valley Water District is sponsoring AB 1799. When a public agency receives mitigation property, or sets aside mitigation property for purposes of development within the agency, they are required to establish endowments for the operation and management of the property in perpetuity. AB 1799 seeks to relieve local agencies from this obligation. The primary opponent is California Council of Land Trusts which represents the non-profit agencies that also accept, operate and manage mitigation lands. The exception would not apply to non-profits because they rarely have the fiscal operational capacity local agencies have.

Government Relations and Legislative Affairs Manager Erich Pfuehler commented it’s an effort for agencies like the District to free up additional money for other operational expenses rather than being perpetually tied up in an endowment. The land trust community worries that public agencies would let property go fallow or not be maintained. Assembly Member Gordon has since added language to safeguard against this unlikely possibility. The safeguard is triggered if the public agency’s credit rating is downgraded or if the agency fails to provide adequate stewardship. Should either circumstance occur, the state or local agency enforcing the mitigation requirement may require the posting of collateral in the form of a performance bond, escrow account, casualty insurance, letter of credit or other appropriate instrument. Pfuehler stated the reality is public agencies are going to manage mitigation property regardless of an endowment. He believed this would be a positive bill for the District.

70 The bill is supported by the California Special Districts Association, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Open Space Authority Santa Clara Valley and the Contra Costa Water District. It has been opposed by the California Council of Land Trusts, Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In deference to the California Council of Land Trusts, the Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to watch AB 1799.

2. ACR 130 (Rendon D-Lakewood) – Parks Make Life Better! Month Houston stated this is the California Park and Recreations Society’s (CPRS) annual resolution declaring July 2014 as “Parks Make Life Better!” Month. CPRS is urging support from all its member agencies for this resolution.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to support ACR 130.

B. ISSUES 1. Governor’s May Budget Revise Houston reported he didn’t see much in the Governor’s budget that would have direct impact on the District. There is a little bit of an increase in the Active Transportation program, some money for State Parks, and there may be some new funds in the Resources budget for drought relief. In general, the budget has a surplus of between $4 and $5 billion. The Governor’s revise reflects his significant commitment to paying down the $340 billion “wall of debt” in addition to the “rainy day fund.” The Governor would like to set aside 10% of the General Fund as a reserve “rainy day fund.” This proposal was approved by the legislature and will be on the November ballot. Money needs to be directed to Medi-Cal caseloads because of the Affordable Care Act. New Medi-Cal enrollments have increased 30%. Also, in light of Toyota’s exodus from Torrance and some other smaller companies, the Governor is setting aside $750 million in tax incentives for job and business retention in the state.

Board Member John Sutter asked if there were any changes to State Parks. Houston replied the January budget had a one-time allocation of $40 million to State Parks to help address their backlog of deferred maintenance. The Legislature, through AB 2150 (Rendon), is attempting to encourage prioritization of how State Parks intends to spend the money. AB 2150 also creates a new division within State Parks. It is called the Community Initiatives and Outdoor Recreation Division which is asking State Parks to get more involved in urbanized settings and become more relevant to the changing demographics of California. Board Member Whitney Dotson suggested one of the focuses should be providing transportation and information on how the public can access transportation to parks. Houston mentioned within the context of advancing a new Park Bond, there has been discussion about creating a program to aid or assist urban youth to access outdoor experiences.

2. SB 1086 (de Leon D-Los Angeles) - The Safe Neighborhood Parks, Rivers, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2014 SB 1086 is a placeholder for a Park Bond. It was heard in the Senate Natural Resources Committee last month. General Manager Robert E. Doyle was a key witness. The bill

71 passed the committee 7 to 1. It then went to the Senate Governance and Finance Committee and obtained a support vote of 5 to 2. It has been placed on the Suspense File in Appropriations. The bill remains in a skeletal form; it just talks in generalities about some programs and doesn’t have any dollars attached. A statewide poll will be sent out soon to see what the voters’ tolerance is for a park bond. Results should be ready in about 3-4 weeks.

3. SB1183 (DeSaulnier D-Concord) – Local Bike Infrastructure Enhancement Act of 2014 SB 1183 is the District’s sponsored bill for bike infrastructure funding. It passed the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee by a vote of 5 to 2 vote and is currently in Senate Appropriations. Doyle testified before the committee as a lead witness. SB 1183 essentially authorizes cities, counties and regional park agencies to impose a surcharge of up to $5 dollar per vehicle registration. Cities and counties, and some in the bike community, are asking that modifications be made to SB 1183 to expand its applicability beyond trails. It would require 2/3rds vote of the local population to secure the revenues. If passed, the DMV would have to modify their registration forms in the applicable community to reflect the add-on amount.

Every dollar in surcharge revenue for the East Bay would amount to about $2 million annually for bike infrastructure improvements. Sutter asked if these monies would have to be shared with the county or city. Houston replied no, but Senator DeSaulnier would like the District at some point to work with the county transportation agencies. One of the Senator’s priorities is connectivity. If the District is ultimately the agency that imposes the fee, the Senator would like the District to work with the local communities to create more of an integrated continuous bikeway system.

Pfuehler commented Senator DeSaulnier and Doyle discussed SB 1183. The Senator questioned if a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MTC in the Bay Area) could run the ballot initiative. The concern Doyle has is if MTC were to administer the funds, the money would disappear and not trickle down to the District. Pfuehler said the District has to work with the author to address the connectivity issue without losing control over how the money would be directed. A 5% limit will be added into the bill for administrative costs. The District would have to pay the Registrar of Voters to put it on the ballot.

4. Other issues Pfuehler commented the May revise of the budget was remarkably agreed to by both sides. Houston reported the new Assembly Speaker is Toni Atkins (D- San Diego). The leadership change in the Senate will happen after the budget is completed and adopted. Senator Kevin de León (D- Los Angeles) is expected to become the next Pro Tempore of the Senate

Houston mentioned with three fewer Democratic Senators it will be a challenge to get a 2/3rds vote on a revised Water Bond. The $11.2 billion Water Bond is still slated to appear on the November ballot. It does not include anything specific for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, but many of the provisions, forged five years ago, are obsolete. It is not a perfect measure, but there are some good things for the District in it. What is not in the bond is funding for conservancies. There is no money for the Bay Area program

72 administered by the State Coastal Conservancy. It was quite intentional and meant as a punishment to the Northern California Legislators.

II. FEDERAL LEGISLATION / ISSUES A. NEW 1. H.R. 188 (Kaptur D-OH) – 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps Act This is an effort by Representative Marci Kaptur who represents an area in Ohio that had a lot of unemployment during the recession. H.R. 188 sets out to revise the concept of the Civilian Conservation Corps. It has been introduced for quite a while and its prospects of passage aren’t very good in this Congress. Pfuehler stated when Secretary Sally Jewell was in town she talked with Doyle about the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps. This is an effort to duplicate what the Kaptur legislation is trying to do at the Administrative level. The Department of Interior is trying to generate private funding to pay for it. Jewell has received pledges from American Eagle, CamelBack, and other corporation’s to provide funding to reach the goal of 100,000 students and veterans signed up in the program.

The District would like to participate in this program. If the Department of Interior secures enough money sponsor crews, they will need places to send them and projects on which to work. If the District could afford to supervise it, there would be plenty of work (i.e. trails maintenance, fuels management). The idea behind supporting this legislation is two-fold; to support the concept in Congress and to share that correspondence with the Secretary. It would let her know the District is engaged and could lead to opportunities to work with her. This legislation is also consistent with the District’s history and current job training needs.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to support H.R. 188.

2. H.R. 750 (Thompson D-CA) Congressional Gold Medal for Stewart Lee Udall Pfuehler reported H.R. 750 was introduced by Representative Mike Thompson to provide a Congressional Gold Medal to Stewart Lee Udall. The Gold Medal is in recognition of his contributions to the Nation as a hero for the environment, a champion for conservation, a civil right activist, a Native American crusader and an advocate for the arts. There is bi- partisan support for this legislation so it is possible H.R. 750 will move forward.

The District took the unprecedented step of contracting with former Interior Secretary Udall’s firm to facilitate the development of its Master Plan in 1973. Given the District’s history with Stewart Udall – and that the sponsor of the legislation now represents portions of the District near Martinez, Crockett and Hercules – it would be appropriate to support this legislation.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to support H.R. 750.

B. ISSUES 1. Update on NRPA debrief Pfuehler reported the Water Resources Development Act passed and the language allowing the District to take on the responsibility of the Oakland Inner Harbor Canal was approved. The language to declassify the Lower Walnut Creek Watershed was also included. This will

73 give Contra Costa County Water Flood Control the ability to work with the District on an alignment for the Iron Horse Trail. The Innovative Financing provision was included, which is a way to provide revolving loan money for projects related to water quality, water adaption to climate change, and perhaps useful to the District for Crown Beach sand restoration.

Pfuehler added the District made an offer to Senator Feinstein’s State Director to tour the Gateway and GSA properties. In discussions with Feinstein’s D.C. staff person, he recommended the District invite Feinstein’s California State Director Sean Elsbernd to tour those facilities.

Grants Manager Jeff Rasmussen and Pfuehler continue to look for a request for proposal (RFP) from the Land and Water Conservation Fund Competitive Grant Program. The criteria recommended by the Department of Interior are being reviewed by Congress. It is speculated there will be modifications, so the RFP has not been released. Until the guidelines are known, the District can’t zero in on a specific project. Pfuehler stated the program is looking for five or six projects, $500,000 per project, with partners that have good track records. When staff met with the Department of the Interior they were encouraged.

2. Other issues AGM Dave Collins mentioned there is a concern about obtaining additional funding for Quagga Mussel prevention. In order to receive the money, the District may have to get a resolution passed by the County Board of Supervisors. The District is trying to seek acknowledgment that it is a government agency with its own elected entity, and should receive the funds with just a simple resolution from its own Board.

Pfuehler added this concept also relates to Plan Bay Area. Currently, there is some discussion on priority conservation areas and how they get designated. Because ABAG has a strong role in this process, they are looking to have a provision that requires a city resolution of support for designating a priority conservation area.

III. PUBLIC COMMENTS None

Respectfully submitted:

______Erich Pfuehler Government Relations and Legislative Affairs Manager

AGENDA BOARD LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE Friday, June 20, 2014 12:45 p.m., Peralta Oaks Board Room The following agenda items are listed for Committee consideration. In accordance with the Board Operating Guidelines, no official action of the Board will be taken at this meeting; rather, the Committee’s purpose shall be to review the listed items and to consider developing recommendations to the Board of Directors. AGENDA

STATUS TIME ITEM STAFF

12:45 p.m. 1. STATE LEGISLATION / ISSUES (R) A. NEW LEGISLATION Doyle/Pfuehler Plan Amendment 1. AB 2150 (Rendon) – Establishes a new State Parks Division of Community Initiatives and Park Access

2. SB 1021 (Wolk) – Variable Rate Parcel Taxes for School Districts

(I) B. ISSUES Doyle/Pfuehler 1. State Budget 2. Parks Forward Update 3. Park Bond Update 4. Water Bond Update 5. Other issues

Doyle/Pfuehler (R) II. FEDERAL LEGISLATION / ISSUES

A. NEW LEGISLATION – N/A

(I) B. ISSUES Doyle/Pfuehler 1. Possible Federal grant opportunities

III. PLAN BAY AREA UPDATE Pfuehler/Tong

IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS

V. ARTICLES

(R) Recommendation for Future Board Consideration (I) Information Future 2014 Meetings: (D) Discussion July 18, 2014 September 19, 2014 November 21, 2014

Legislative Committee Members: August 15, 2014 October 24, 2014 December 19, 2014 Doug Siden, Chair, Ted Radke, John Sutter, Whitney Dotson, Alternate Erich Pfuehler, Staff Coordinator

AGENDA REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

C. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD

6. BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS

c. (Legislative 6.20.14) (Sutter)

The Legislative Committee met at District headquarters on Friday, June 20, 2014.

Present: Directors: John Sutter, Ted Radke, Doug Siden Staff: Erich Pfuehler, Robert E. Doyle, Larry Tong Consultants: Doug Houston, Houston Magnani & Associates Public: N/A

I. STATE LEGISLATION / ISSUES A. NEW LEGISLATION 1. AB 2150 (Rendon D-Lakewood) – Establishes a new State Parks Division of Community Initiatives and Park Access Advocate Doug Houston reported AB 2150 is authored by Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), Chair of the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee. AB 2150 pre-anticipates some of the recommendations being generated through the Parks Forward Commission. AB 2150 intends to create a new division within State Parks called the Division of Community Initiatives and Park Access. The theory behind creating this new division is the concern that State Parks is losing touch with the changing demographics of the state, particularly in urban and disadvantaged rural areas. In order to remain relevant with these growing demographics, State Parks need to be more involved with communities of color throughout the state.

AB 2150 also requires a modernization of Department of Parks and Recreation’s (DPR) antiquated fee and data collection systems. It further requires State Parks to look at its backlog of deferred maintenance projects and prioritize them. AB 2150 will extend the moratorium on state park closures for an additional year.

Director Ted Radke asked if State Parks plans to shift existing employees or hire new staff for the proposed Division of Community Initiatives and Park Access. Houston stated they would likely draw internally from existing staff. The bond dollars State Parks have been using and administering over the last ten years have dried up. Consequently, the workload associated with those bond dollars has begun to dissipate. General Manager Robert E. Doyle commented this will be more work for State Parks without any new resources. Staff may not have the expertise to look at all infrastructure issues. He added he didn’t think State Parks fully realizes how bad their infrastructure is or what the true cost of replacement will be. Houston added DPR estimated $17 million and the consultants pinned

76 it at $6 million. Director Doug Siden stated it was probably pre-mature to create a new division. He also mentioned the critique of Parks Forward by John Woodbury, General Manager Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District. Director John Sutter mentioned he was inclined to support the effort, but concluded it might be premature to take a position.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to watch AB 2150.

2. SB 1021 (Wolk D-Davis) – Variable Rate Parcel Taxes for School Districts Houston stated last year a piece of legislation was introduced by Assemblymember Rob Bonta, AB 59, which tried to overturn a court case, Borikas v. City of Alameda. The Borikas decision negated differentiated tax rates for residents and businesses in the City of Alameda. The way the City’s school parcel tax was structured residential units and commercial spaces were assessed at different values. The schools didn’t have explicit taxing authority to establish differential tax rates. Park District Counsel is concerned the ruling establishes a very negative precedent and could potentially have an impact on Measure CC renewal if the District cannot apply different rates to residential units.

Houston spoke with the author’s office to amend SB 1021 to apply to all agencies. The author’s office holds the opinion the District currently has the authority to impose differential rates through previous legislation. Her office believes schools do not have the authority and they are seeking to remedy the situation for schools. Sutter asked if the staff person was an attorney and wondered if District Counsel should speak directly with him. Houston added 20 years ago, when there were some revisions in tax law, the law specifically allowed the District to impose differential rates for unimproved property versus improved property. It was suggested by Government Relations Manager Erich Pfuehler the District work with the California Special Districts Association (CSDA) to amend SB 1021. Houston stated the Senator is having a challenge getting the bill through even in its current form. Sutter wondered if the League of Cities would help. Houston stated he would check with CSDA, the League of Cities and the association of counties.

The Legislative Committee of the Board voted unanimously to work with CSDA and others to amend SB 1021.

B. ISSUES 1. State Budget Houston reported the $156.3 billion State Budget was signed by Governor Brown. A $1.6 billion rainy day fund was included in anticipation of future downturns. In addition, $400 million was added to CalStrs, some debt payment on general obligation bonds was accelerated, and some increases for pre-school expansion for low income families. The Governor was successful in dedicating 25% of all future proceeds from Cap and Trade auction for the high-speed rail project. This projects out to about $250 million annually for high-speed rail. In addition, for this year an additional $400 million of Cap and Trade proceeds will go to high-speed rail.

Doyle stated both the environmental organizations and the Republicans are upset that the Governor is putting 25% of Cap and Trade, which is supposed to go for clean air and carbon reduction, into high-speed rail.

Sutter asked if the 25% of high-speed rail was locked in for the future. Houston said yes and explained the budget breakdown of Cap and Trade: 25% for high speed rail; 20% for sustainable communities (affordable housing); 10% for transit operations in inner cities; 5% for low-carbon transit operations; and 40% subject to an annual appropriation and programming through the legislature.

Houston continued there might be opportunities for funding for parks, money for urban forestry, CEQA, fire suppression, and land acquisition. Siden asked where would be the best opportunity for the District. Houston thought there might be some funding available through the Sustainable Communities/Affordable Housing section, but the bulk of funding for which the District can compete will come through the 40% annual appropriation. With the election of Kevin de León as Pro Tempore of the California Senate there is an opportunity for money for disadvantaged communities in the form of park projects, greenways and non- motorized trails.

Sutter wondered if there would be acquisition money from Cap and Trade. Doyle said possibly if it can be shown the land would otherwise be developed for housing. Sutter asked who decides. Houston answered the legislature and various departments. Radke asked who allocates the money. Houston stated the Sustainable Growth Council.

The California Energy Commission will be allocating funds for weatherization. Some percentage of those funds will go to the Resources agency. There is also $30 million dollars earmarked for wetlands restoration, mountain meadow restoration, and watersheds.

Doyle reported State Parks has committed $3.9 million dollars in existing Prop 84 funding to assist in the development of the Brickyard at the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.

2. Parks Forward Update Doyle reported Parks Forward has drafted a long-term plan for the State Park system. They have spent $3.5 million on consultants and public hearings throughout the state. The report emphasizes partnerships and having more flexibility within the DPR to cooperate with partners; more like equal partners instead of the current tenant/landlord relationship. The most controversial item is the creation of a statewide conservancy. The statewide conservancy is being described up as a public/private partnership. There would be private philanthropic funding, and there would be public funding. It is unclear what authority they would have vis-à-vis the State Parks Director. Doyle expressed concern about how the public would perceive this concept; would the funding be comingled, what’s the transparency on the public side? The intent is to raise a lot more money, have the ability to be more entrepreneurial and innovative, and less bureaucratic. It seems to be the model of the Golden Gate Conservancy, but with more clout. Sutter asked about the role of the State Parks Foundation. Houston responded the Foundation thought the statewide conservancy could be a threat. Sutter also stated the model sounds more private than public; it is a business model. Doyle added accountability is an issue. It is also unclear what role the conservancy would have in a new park bond. For example, would they be the granting agency rather than DPR? There are a few additional Parks Forward hearings scheduled, a redrafting of the plan, and then in November the commission sunsets.

78 In the midst of the Parks Forward Commission’s work, Major General Anthony Jackson departed as Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation after only 18 months of service. The Parks Forward Commission will likely play a role in recommending his replacement.

3. Park Bond Update Houston reported Senator Kevin de León hosted a joint informational hearing in Los Angeles on June 6 about a possible park bond. The audience at the hearing and those testifying were mostly non-governmental organizations. There were not many actual park and recreation managers or agencies in attendance.

At present, the park bond is in a holding pattern as the legislature and governor determine the future of the water bond. Senator de Leon has promised not to advance a park bond effort until there’s some resolution on the water bond. Polling has consistently indicated the price tag associated with the current water bond is a concern. That opinion is softening a bit, in light of the drought, but not much. The latest proposal advancing through the legislature has about a $10.5 billion price tag, which is not much of a reduction from the current $11.14 billion measure. There is also concern from some environmental groups the water bond will pay the mitigation for the tunnels. Doyle stated the pain of conserving during this drought will likely improve support for the water bond.

Houston said they are in the process of putting together a survey on the park bond that will be circulated in the near future. Sponsors of the poll include California Park and Recreation Society, State Parks Foundation, Trust for Public Land, East Bay Regional Park District, and the Nature Conservancy.

Doyle stated he and Houston are working to get a coalition of park and recreation agencies to push for per capita. There has not been a traditional park bond in ten years. Local agencies have really suffered through the recession, so per capita funding is even more important now. Doyle stated Senator de Leon is urban centric and wants to see parks in urban poor communities. The District would like to make sure there are some things beneficial to large agencies as well.

Doyle indicated that Senator de León was the author of Prop. 84 grant application guidelines. The per capita is important as it guarantees some level of park bond funding for all districts, cities and counties. The Prop. 84 grant program did not meet that guarantee.

4. Water Bond Update Houston said he is working with others to ensure there is money in the water bond for the Bay Area program. The latest draft of SB 848, which many consider has the most traction, has $75 million for the Bay Area program.

5. Other issues – Please see attached election results memo Pfuehler reported that this was not an election, but an important action by the Dublin City Council who voted 5-0 to establish an urban limit line. The competing proposal was sponsored by the developers. It would push the urban limit line further out toward Doolan Canyon. It is going on the ballot even though the Council voted to oppose it. It will be voted on in November.

Pfuehler stated Senator Corbett is 415 votes behind the second place challenger in her Congressional race. It is doubtful she will make it up, so it will be smooth sailing for Rep. Eric Swalwell.

Radke commented about the Environmental Labor Coalition meeting he attended. The members expressed concern about the constant attack on CEQA. The Planning Conservation League, as well as other environmental groups, has taken a lead role in trying to protect CEQA. Radke suggested the District speak with the Environmental Labor Coalition about this issue.

Sutter inquired about bills pending relating to reserve funds and school districts. His concern is the District could be impacted. Pfuehler said CSDA and the District will be watching this issue.

Sutter reported the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority met this week and made the final decision to not put their measure on the ballot. Sutter reported Senator Feinstein told some of the Authority’s members that she thought Silicon Valley businesses should pay to restore the South Bay and not taxpayers. Without her support, the Authority has limited fundraising ability. One of the commissioners brought up the Mid-Peninsula bond measure and how close it was, and that was a lesson that the Authority should be careful. Doyle commented that Mid-Peninsula’s bond measure was very well funded and the election was tight. The polling results said there were 60% yes and 8% leaning yes. The Polling firm EMC Research said it could pass if there was significant funding.

Sutter said the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority plans to target 2016 for a ballot measure.

II. FEDERAL LEGISLATION / ISSUES A. NEW LEGISLATION – N/A

B. ISSUES a. Possible Federal grant opportunities Department of Labor Apprenticeships Pfuehler reported the District had two grant opportunities. The Department of Labor (DoL) apprenticeship program grant announcement was recently issued: the $450 million employment, labor and training grant program (funding opportunity number SGA- DFA-PY-13-10). The application deadline is July 7th and grants will be awarded to community colleges in every state. The program is a part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance and Community College and Career Training (TAA-CCCT) competitive grant program. They are looking for scalable apprenticeship projects that would be pilots to fund. In March, the District met with the DoL in D.C. The District informed the DoL of the job training needs of park professionals, and how it is a growing need. This could be an attractive grant proposal, but only community colleges are eligible to apply. The District will need to work on growing its relationships with community colleges in the East Bay.

80 Pfuehler stated a meeting has been set up with Peralta College, a discussion with Merritt College is planned and he has reached out to the Contra Costa College system. Pfuehler has been working with Operations AGM Jim O’Connor, under the General Manager’s direction, to build relationships with the colleges. If the apprenticeship program continues next year, the District hopes to have a strong enough relationship with local community colleges that an application to DoL can be submitted. Sutter mentioned reaching out to Chabot College as well.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Partnership to Improve Community Health Pfuehler reported the Community Transformation Grant program by the CDC was terminated. A new Partnership to Improve Community Health (PICH) grant program has essentially taken its place. The PICH grant program (funding opportunity number CDC-RFA-DP14-1417) will fund and support a new 3-year, $50 million/year initiative to improve health and reduce the burden of chronic diseases through evidence and practice-based strategies to create or strengthen healthy environments that make it easier for people to make healthy choices and take charge of their health. The District looked at ways to qualify and apply, but was unable to meet all the criteria alone. The good news is “park and recreation departments” are mentioned as part of the multi- sectorial entities encouraged to partner and apply. Staff reached out to both Alameda and Contra Costa County Departments of Health. AGM of Public Affairs Carol Johnson and Pfuehler met with staff at the Contra Costa County Department of Public Health. It does not seem a joint grant application is likely to move forward this year, but Contra Costa County Department of Public Health is interested in partnering with the District on future grants.

III. PLAN BAY AREA UPDATE Sutter commended the staff and the Park Advisory Committee (PAC) for their work on Plan Bay Area. He continued by stating this is very good use of the PAC and there is an abundance of impressive talent providing good advice to the Board.

Pfuehler stated the environmental groups have been involved in this process. The Nature Conservancy, Greenbelt Alliance, and Bay Area Open Space Council have been pushing to get more inclusion of special districts in the next iteration of Plan Bay Area. Part of their effort was to write a draft letter to ABAG and MTC on behalf of special districts. Several reviewed the draft and felt it missed the mark. In particular, the draft letter agreed with the proposal that cities and counties would be required to pass a board resolution to nominate a priority conservation area (PCA). Pfuehler explained to the environmental groups that the District Board Members would not agree to be required to obtain a city or county resolution to nominate a PCA. Pfuehler submitted some comments to the environmental groups about their letter and informed them the District would send its own letter. The PAC ad hoc subcommittee provided some very valuable input into what should be included in the letter.

The four points the Park District made in the letter to ABAG President Julie Pierce were to:  Ensure the District is independently eligible for PCA grants.  Ensure the District does not need to seek a city or county resolution to either designate a conservation area, or apply and receive a PCA grant.

81  Make the case that “hard-lining” PCAs can actually undermine the ability to ensure properties are protected for their conservation value in perpetuity.  Work to move urban greening projects out of the PCA funding stream and into the Priority Development Area (PDA) funding pot which had much more money allocated to it than the PCA pot in the last Plan Bay Area effort.

Pfuehler has proactively reached out to ABAG staff, but has not received comments yet on the letter. Pfuehler has spoken to MTC Commissioner Amy Worth. She agrees with the concepts the District raised, but is in a tough spot as Chair of MTC.

Sutter asked for an overview to explain how this process evolved. Interagency Planning Manager Larry Tong gave the Committee a brief outline of the inception of Plan Bay Area.

In 1970, ABAG had the only adopted regional plan which included an open space component. The most significant part of the regional plan was the linkage it made between development and the natural environment. Since then, there have been other regional plans. BCDC has a 2007 Bay Plan which identifies open space and park provisions. The District has a master plan which highlights areas for open space and natural resource protection. Plan Bay Area was adopted in 2013 and identifies both priority development areas and priority conservation areas.

Plan Bay Area initially allocates $10 million dollars for a priority conservation areas (PCAs) pilot program. The District has secured $1.9 million from the $10 million dollar pot. For the priority devolvement areas (PDAs), Plan Bay Area allocates $320 million dollars for the first four years of this plan. For the life of the plan, they allocate $14.5 billion dollars for PDAs.

Pfuehler explained that out of the $292 billion total of Plan Bay Area funding about $230 billion is obligated directly to Federal Transportation projects, but there is a $60 billion pot of discretionary funding. The realistic numbers for what would be possible for conservation is zero to $60 billion. Clearly, not all of the discretionary money will be spent on conservation, but it should be more than the allotted $10 million.

Tong stated in the iteration adopted last year, the District, along with other open space agencies, submitted a formal request for a 5% set aside of the $60 million. ABAG and MTC jointly adopted the plan. BCDC and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District had very minor roles. In theory it was a four-agency joint effort, in reality, it was ABAG and MTC.

In the first go around in 2007-8 through the Focus Program, MTC and ABAG solicited proposals for PCAs. The District submitted the parks (and future parks) identified in the master plan. MTC and ABAG actually hard-lined areas where they thought the parks would be. Tong noted the District never hard-lines future parks. The Focus Program then went to the various local land-use jurisdictions and allowed them to veto the District’s proposals. For example, the District proposed a potential regional park in the Concord Naval Weapons Station area that was vetoed by the City of Concord because they felt the entire area should be identified as a PDA.

82 Tong added another consideration is the implementation process of the initial $320 million dollars for PDAs during this current four-year cycle. For implementation purposes, the plan says the local congestion management agencies – Alameda County Transportation Commission and Contra Costa Transportation Authority – will allocate those monies. Alameda County was allocated $63 million and Contra Costa County was allocated $45 million. Plan Bay Area could have identified PCA funding as well within the $110 million. In reality what they allocated for PCAs grants was zero dollars.

Pfuehler commented the staff of ABAG and MTC are looking at the next version of this plan. They have asked for input on how to design future PCAs, how to allocate money, and what should be the criteria.

Doyle said when he and Pfuehler met with MTC and others they were told this was new to them, a new concept. They don’t currently have the support for allocating more PCA money at this time. It has been good, however, to tee this up for the future.

Pfuehler said through the deliberations of the PAC ad hoc subcommittee there was a strong emphasis on the tone of the letter being respectful. PAC members relayed ABAG and MTC staff reacted strongly to the initial 5% set aside letter signed by all of the Bay Area open space agencies. They viewed it as an overreach. In fact, the quote was “how dare they.” Rather than hit them right away with the need for more money, the thought is to set some parameters around a conversation. It would be helpful to get a response and some direction on where we really should be going. That’s why the letter to doesn’t bring up the dollar figure right away.

PAC Member Bruce Kern commented there are a couple of connections that are implicit. Specifically, the reference to Measure WW as a matching program which is an existing partnership between local government and the District. In an indirect way, ABAG and MTC will have to prioritize because there are inadequate resources to be able to achieve their mission. The conservation areas are needed to meet their SB 375 requirements as much as the development.

Tong noted the PAC ad hoc subcommittee is extremely invaluable in terms of identifying the opportunities to move forward with this process.

IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS None

V. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Siden expressed appreciation to Pfuehler for providing the election returns. Siden asked that the addition of Alameda County Superintendent be added to the election returns.

Siden announced the Friends of Crown Beach have submitted 6,000 signatures for an initiative to be on the ballot to maintain open space at Crown Beach. The Attorney for the City of Alameda has recommended the Council adopt a resolution stating any future legal action as a result of rezoning the property should be the District’s responsibility.

83 Siden commented on the action by BCDC regarding the government suing the State of California, the vote was 17 to support BCDC taking legal action, one opposing and one abstaining.

Doyle expressed his appreciation for the hard work Pfuehler, Grants Manager Jeff Rasmussen and Tong have done on behalf of the District on Plan Bay Area.

Respectfully submitted:

______Erich Pfuehler Government Relations and Legislative Affairs Manager

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Save the Redwood League’s Fern Watch Program Helps Monitor Climate Change

Sharol Nelson-Embry, East Bay Regional Park District | October 24, 2014, KQED.org

East Bay Regional Parks naturalists practice measuring swordfern fronds for the “Fern Watch” Project. (Sharol Nelson-Embry)

The first rainfall of autumn has already soaked in or evaporated, leaving our forests and grasslands thirsty for more. My thoughts turn to the mighty redwoods gracing our East Bay hills. Oftentimes, as we lead children on field studies in these forests, I’ll have them “shake hands” with a sword fern and thank it for the petroleum products we use today. With over 200 million years of history on our planet, the ferns and redwoods were large contributors to the planet’s reserves of gas and oil. Ironically, those same petroleum products are large contributors to climate change.

Deborah Ziertan, Education Manager with Save the Redwoods League, instructs naturalists about redwood ecology and the “Fern Watch” in the East Bay redwoods. (Sharol Nelson-Embry)

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Recently, the East Bay Regional Park naturalist team participated in a citizen science training with the Save the Redwoods League (SRL). The “Fern Watch” study has sites set up throughout Northern California to monitor how climate change may be impacting the redwood forest. One of the study sites is in Redwood Regional Park in the Oakland Hills. You can find a map of these study site locations on SRL’s website. The naturalists learned how sword fern fronds are longer where there is higher rainfall and fog drip in forests farther north, and shorter in our area where there is comparatively less rainfall and fog. The idea for the new Fern Watch study is to capture baseline data, collected by citizen science teams, to monitor how and where fern frond lengths change over time as rainfall and fog events change.

Sword ferns, along with eight other redwood ecosystem species, are especially adept at absorbing moisture — fog as well as rain — through their leaves as well as their roots. Emily Limm, Director of Science for SRL studied this foliar uptake phenomenon in 2004 and reported her findings in “Understanding the Physiological Consequences of Fog for Redwood Forest Plants.” The study may provide important information to scientists to predict how the redwood ecosystem will react to less moisture from fog events as well as rain.

Under the redwood canopy, naturalists hear the background about the “Fern Watch” project. (Sharol Nelson-Embry)

If you’d like to participate in this citizen science initiative, go to the “Fern Watch” page on the SRL website. It can turn an outing in the woods into a science safari and you might just help out our forest, too. You can also check the East Bay Regional Parks website to find a naturalist program where you can participate in a study with our staff or just join us for a walk in the woods.

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Meet the Future: A New Generation Rising at the East Bay Parks by Lexi Pandell on October 22, 2014, Bay Nature

East Bay Parks Interpretive Naturalist Francis Mendoza looks to the future from the top of Mission Peak in Fremont. (Photo by Lexi Pandell)

Because this story is about parks, and parks are, in part, about the people who visit them and treasure them, this story begins with our society, the way it is changing, and the direction it is headed. Start 26 years in the future: the Bay Area in 2040, a reasonable target for the retirement party of a current early-career park supervisor. What do you plan for? Silicon Valley churning out brain-implant devices and 3D-printed clothes; a foodie landscape of engineered nutritional drinks; a solar-powered transit utopia? Or trends easier to predict: 2.1 million additional residents facing environmental challenges like rising sea level and threats to shoreline infrastructure, increasingly dense urban areas, and intensifying development in the suburbs?

That’s the challenge for the modern generation of East Bay Regional Park District staffers, such as Francis Mendoza, Sergio Huerta, Akin Lee, Jose Cabrera, Kate Collins, and Ashley Elliott. Their employer, one of the largest landowners in the Bay Area and recreation destination for millions of Bay Area residents each year, sits at the nexus of societal and environmental change. It acquires and manages land next to cities like Oakland, Fremont, and Richmond and in suburbs like Clayton and Sunol. It restores and manages parks along the shores of San

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Francisco Bay, where sea level rise looms. It needs to convey the value of parks to a more diverse and more tech-savvy audience than ever before. It has to engage citizens who hold the future of park funding and land protection in their hands. That engagement falls not just to the park’s current leadership, but to those who are working in the field today and will be leading the district when 2040 rolls around.

Inside a reconstructed traditional Ohlone dwelling, Naturalist Francis Mendoza talks with students from Union City Hillview Crest Elementary School about the people who once inhabited the area that is now Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont. (Photo by Scott Braley, scottbraley.com)

Today, though, Francis Mendoza is thinking about the past. Mendoza, 38, an EBRPD interpretive naturalist, is at Mission Peak Regional Preserve in Fremont, leading a group of four women and one sixth-grade boy on a twilight hike up the 2,517-foot peak. From the lookout point where they’re taking a break you can see “where the South Bay meets the East Bay,” Mendoza says: Coyote Hills Regional Park, the Dumbarton Bridge, the salt ponds and the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Oakland skyline peeking out from the fog. “I like looking at the expanse of the Bay and thinking about what it looked like in the olden days,” he says.

A Fremont native working primarily at Coyote Hills, Mendoza draws on a background as a social worker for troubled youth and combines it with a love of nature, making him an ideal interpreter of cultural and technological trends for a district celebrating its 80th year.

The EBRPD has become known for fostering long-term employees, but the baby boomers who were hired during the district’s major expansion years of the 1970s

88 3 are retiring. Robert Doyle, the EBRPD general manager and a product of that generation of hires himself, says about 75 percent of those at the senior management level have retired in the last five years. “As much as there’s huge change going on here with a vast amount of knowledge going out the door,” he says, “I think the new energy, new ideas, and diversity slowly coming into the district is very exciting.”

The parks remain full of traditional users: nature lovers, joggers, horseback riders, and dog walkers. But now they’re joined by those documenting their finds with naturalist apps and meeting up for events through social media, as well by those Mendoza calls “the selfie groups.” At the top of Mission Peak, the selfie groups are out in full force. They do victory dances to music playing from their iPhones and huddle together for group photos. Others clamber up the iconic old directional monument to take pictures and videos. One young man walking down the hill talks to a friend with FaceTime. “I come here every day,” he shouts at the screen, the wind carrying his voice away.

Sergio Huerta, a park employee since 1990, is now the supervisor at Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley. (Photo by Scott Braley, scottbraley.com)

Once upon a time, going into nature meant leaving gadgets at home, and it’s still that way in some of the open spaces. Up in the hills at Tilden Regional Park, cell reception can be so poor that using a smartphone isn’t an option. That’s just fine

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by park supervisor Sergio Huerta. “It’s not that we’re opposed to technology,” he says. “Just that, being off the grid, we enjoy the fact that we’re not linked in. When you come to the park, it’s time to turn off devices and just experience the natural features of the park.”

Huerta came on with the park district as a temporary employee at Tilden in 1990 and “immediately fell in love with the East Bay hills,” he says. He was formally hired in 1991 and went from the roads and trails crew to becoming a supervisor, spending time all over the district, from Tilden to Point Pinole to the campgrounds at Anthony Chabot to the East Contra Costa trails, while also serving on the district’s firefighting team. Two years ago, Huerta was brought back to Tilden. “Back to where I want to be,” he says.

Tilden is a haven for those who want to detox from the wired world: Even GPS is unreliable there. “We definitely get great feedback from people who come here and say it’s a refuge for them,” Huerta says. “It’s a spiritual place, a place where people have so many fond memories, and being entrusted to take care of it is really an honor.”

But those tech refuges are becoming increasingly rare, as Mission Peak and many other locations demonstrate. “The reality is, more than likely, soon everyone will have their smartphone,” says Anne Kassebaum, EBRPD’s chief of interpretive and recreation services. “So the question becomes, how can we use that as a complement to what’s going on outdoors?”

The EBRPD has naturalists and staff from public affairs, recreation, planning, and public safety generating posts for their various social media accounts. Visitors can scan QR codes on info panels at Lake Chabot in the Oakland hills and along an interpretive walk at Crab Cove in Alameda. The district supports a number of web and mobile apps, too, including ones to help people find activities at different parks and information about trail safety. There’s an app for an annual Trails Challenge that helps users track hikes they’ve completed, and a Trailsafe app that provides safety tips, phone numbers, and a way for users to “check in” with friends and family.

Mendoza is one of the district’s most active employees online, snapping photos of wildlife and program attendees for his personal accounts and for the district. The district has more than 8,600 Twitter followers (@ebrpd), 841 Instagram followers, and 29,000 photos from 1,400 followers in its “EBRPD Official Fans”

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Flickr group. Mendoza’s personal account on his social media platform of choice, Instagram, has more than 400 followers. (He’s @roving_ranger.)

Social media has enticed new visitors into the parks. But increased use means increased wear: fences and rocks tagged with Instagram handles, “bootleg” trails, trash, graffiti, and noise pollution. It’s great to see so many people in the parks, Mendoza says, especially young people, but there’s a downside. “We want them to love the parks, but not love them to death,” he says. Mission Peak, which has seen exponential increases in park visitors (it’s been tagged on Instagram 83,000 times and counting) over the past several years, is one such example, and the district has started outreach efforts and ramped up enforcement of the existing nighttime curfew to try and minimize damage to the park’s resources and preserve its natural beauty.

With rosy cheeks and a youthful grin, Mendoza has the approachable look of a camp counselor, but he can certainly get serious when it comes to protecting open spaces. When two girls start jogging up a hill off-trail, he calls out, “Down! You can’t go that way.” The girls pause, confused, and he has to call out to them once more before they head back down to the path.

Certainly, some of the visitors have a contradictory relationship with nature, Mendoza says, but he also sees people use their phones to post beautiful nature photos, consult bird-tracking apps like eBird, and gather info about plant and wildlife species during bioblitzes. He counts the River Otter Ecology Project, with its Facebook page for posting otter sightings, as a huge tech success. “It’s not feasible to have scientists who work with river otters going all over looking for river otters,” he points out. “Instead, we can teach citizen scientists about the apps so they can contribute.”

The digital world is omnipresent in the activity on Mission Peak, but fundamentally the visitors are all just people in nature. A woman in the group comments, “Could this be more exemplary of the Bay Area? Young, old, every race and grouping, couples and singles.” A guy with tattoos and a 49ers backpack charges up the hill with speakers blasting hip-hop, Spanish-speaking friends stop to say hello as they pass each other on the trail, preteens hike alongside their parents, and a group of young men in matching white T-shirts make their way slowly up the trail toward the peak.

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East Bay Parks Recreation Supervisor Philip Coffin embraces his two young recreation leaders Akin Lee (left) and Jose Cabrera (right), at Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline in Oakland. (Photo by Lexi Pandell)

Engaging youth goes beyond the screen. Mendoza, who has worked with youth in Oakland, Hayward, Hunters Point, and Richmond, spends a great deal of time working to break down barriers to visiting the parks. Some young people in those neighborhoods don’t know about the parks because their parents don’t have the knowledge or time to introduce them, he says. Others fear parks as places where bodies are dumped by gangs, where people commit suicide, and where they’ll encounter wild animals. Many don’t have cars and aren’t familiar with how to take public transportation to the parks (if it’s available at all). For Mendoza and others, the impact of educating such kids about the positive aspects of the parks is twofold: People from all walks of life can reap the benefits of free outdoor spaces, and nature can benefit from more engaged visitors.

It is especially important to engage the communities that have been less active in open space issues but make up increasingly large shares of the population. About 86 percent of people in the Bay Area identified themselves as “white” in the 1970 census; by 2010, that number was down to 45 percent, while 23 percent identified as Latino, 21 percent identified as Asian, and 6 percent identified as African-American. By 2040, it’s expected that Latinos will make up the largest demographic segment, at 35 percent.

“If we don’t start engaging kids when they’re young, they’re not going to preserve, protect, and support the district—or the state parks, or the national parks— because they’re just not going to have a relationship with it,” Kassebaum says.

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The district’s outreach efforts have led to a new generation of park staff, people like Jose Cabrera and Akin Lee, seasonal employees at the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, who reflect the increasing diversity of the East Bay.

On a clear summer afternoon, Cabrera and Lee are at the Tidewater Boating Center, where they’ve just finished up a full day of work as recreation leaders. Lee and Cabrera met three years ago through Teen Eco Action Week, a program that gives youth ages 13 to 17 the chance to participate in restoration projects and other activities throughout the parks. For both, that brush with the district turned into interest in the parks and, eventually, a job.

Lee was introduced to the outdoors by his family, who took him on regular camping and fishing trips. He spent some time in East Bay parks, but didn’t know anything about the district until Teen Eco Action Week. “Growing up in East Oakland, I’m so blessed to have this job,” he says. “Without it, I’d be working at KFC or somewhere else breathing in the smell of fast food all day. And if that were the case … I don’t know where I’d be.”

As part of the Teen Eco Action and the Teen Afterschool Outdoor Leadership teams, Lee leads canoeing, kayaking, biking, and fishing programs for day campers, teens, and the general public. “Basically I help out with all the programs here,” he says with a smile.

Some of his favorite moments come when he uses nature to help people come out of their shells—teaching them how to fish, for example, and seeing their faces light up with their first catch. “Usually the first day everyone is quiet,” he says of the Teen Eco Action Weeks he helps lead. “They mumble a word here and there. But by the end of the week everybody is laughing and enjoying each other. Nobody wants to leave.”

“He’s Mr. Reliable,” Philip Coffin, his supervisor, chimes in. Lee is currently a student at Merritt College and he’ll be juggling work and classes during the academic year. But Coffin says he thinks Lee will be with the district for a long while. Ask Lee if he sees a future in the EBRPD and he responds quickly, and with a big grin: “I hope so.”

Cabrera hails from East Oakland, too, though he lived in Michoacán, Mexico, before moving to the U.S. at age 8. Growing up here, he explored the city and went to parks on his own. Like many immigrant families just trying to get by, his didn’t have the time to spend with him outdoors. “When my dad gets home from

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work, I don’t think he has the energy to get out to the parks and pitch a tent,” Cabrera says. “My uncles and aunties are in the same position.” But he was encouraged to attend Teen Eco Action Week by a teacher who knew he liked the outdoors, and he later took part in an after-school program at the Tidewater Boating Center. He learned to kayak, tried archery, participated in trash cleanups, did trail maintenance, and learned how to get to the parks using public transportation. “I got hooked,” he says.

Though he currently attends Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a computer science major and hopes to get a job related to his major upon graduating, Cabrera returned to the EBRPD to work during the summer. Though his major “doesn’t have a lot to do with nature,” he says, “I do like the idea of working with something park-related in the future.”

Cabrera, as part of the EBRPD’s Community Outreach Outdoor Programs team, leads overnight camping trips, among other things: “We’re really there to just make sure [all the campers] have a great time.”

Both Cabrera and Lee encounter people who aren’t accustomed to seeing people of color working as recreation leaders in the parks. Cabrera says, “People sometimes turn and look a little too long. Like, ‘When did they get here?’”

“I think people get used to seeing a white ranger dressed like Smokey the Bear and they have this idea of what a park staff person looks like,” Coffin says. “But the regional parks belong to everybody and it’s our legacy. The parks belong to Jose and Akin just as much as they belong to me.”

Interpretive Naturalist Ashley Elliott draws visitors to her outreach table at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve by offering to let them touch Tyler the gopher snake. (Photo by Lexi Pandell)

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Ashley Elliott reaches into a glass tank. “Let me pull out our friend Tyler,” she says. “Ooh, he’s big,” a mother says, clearly wary. The group of kids in front of her is clamoring for a better view of Tyler, a gopher snake. The mother’s eyes grow enormous as Elliott brings Tyler closer to the crowd. The kids don’t seem to mind, though, and take turns reaching out to touch him. Others peer at a second terrarium, which houses Sydney, a female gopher snake currently taking a dip in her water dish.

Elliott and interpretive student aide Courtney Whiteside have set up a table under a blue E-Z-up in a parking lot at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Antioch to educate park-goers about local snakes. They have informational books and brochures, a dried-out skin that Sydney shed recently, fact cards, and laminated photos, including one of a snake extending its jaws around a rabbit, the back legs and fluffy tail dangling from its mouth. “Want to touch my snake?” Whiteside calls out. By the end of the day, Elliott and Whiteside have talked to 107 visitors about snakes, the park, and the district’s programs.

Black Diamond employees have been at the forefront of the district’s engagement challenge. “We work with youth more than any other [demographic] group,” says supervising naturalist Kate Collins. “Students and all kinds of youth groups come on field trips for mine tours. We also go to schools and libraries, anywhere there are people who might want to learn more.”

Collins spent 12 years working in national parks before coming to the ebrpd, including time in Alaska’s Denali National Park as an interpretive ranger and guide. Growing up in Southern California, Collins lived with “an urban canopy,” and today she hopes primarily to connect people with nature near where they live. She’s gone on long group trips in remote areas and “inevitably, when you’re about to turn around, people say, ‘It’s too bad I have to go back to the real world,’ meaning their homes in urban and suburban areas. It makes me sad that people feel they have to be so far from home to have an uplifting natural experience.”

Ashley Elliott grew up in Castro Valley and always loved nature, although as a kid she didn’t spend much time in the nearby East Bay Parks. “We were a beach family,” she says. An environmental studies major at UC Santa Cruz, she earned a master’s in environmental education, then worked at the Aquarium of the Bay and the California Coastal Commission. Her love for the ocean became a gateway to parks, which she became interested in during grad school in Seattle.

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Elliott has been with the EBRPD as an interpretive naturalist for just over a year, focusing mostly on outreach at Black Diamond. She’s a natural teacher, the kind of person that both kids and adults can easily relate to, and she’s tech savvy, too. She posts “Throwback Thursday” historical photos, along with information about upcoming park programs and images of wildlife, to the EBRPD and Black Diamond Instagram pages. “We don’t have a social media department here at the park — though, I guess at Black Diamond, I’m it,” she says with a laugh. For the upcoming Teen Eco Action Week in Bay Point, she won’t allow the participants to use phones during the day, but she created a hashtag for them to use when posting photos at home after the program.

“There is a dichotomy between naturalists who like technology and naturalists who are wary of it,” Elliott says. “All of us understand the importance of it, but we get scared. You hear about kids spending eight hours a day staring at a screen, and we don’t want to encourage that. We want them to be out here. But at the same time, if that’s what they’re paying attention to … For me, it’s a teaching tool. Just like you use a microscope to look closely at something, you can use social media to connect with people.”

Recently Elliott has been thinking about how to educate people about climate change. She’s especially concerned about the shoreline parks, which could become inundated by the rising waters of San Francisco Bay. Hoping to teach visitors about changes going on in their parks and how they can be environmental stewards, she helped lead a training for interpretive staffers on incorporating climate change into their materials and programs. For example, some staff at Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont have begun talking to visitors and school kids about the environmental impacts of food production, which fits seamlessly into the park’s educational programs. “If you’re not familiar with how to talk to people about [climate change], it can seem daunting because it’s controversial,” she says. “But once you learn how to communicate about it, it becomes second nature.”

“It’s hard to find good, inspiring, useful information to talk about the impacts of climate change,” Collins says, adding, “[Ashley is] on the cutting edge of this and is helping bring us forward.”

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Supervising Naturalist Kate Collins at the entrance to the historic Hazel-Atlas Mine at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve near Antioch. (Photo by Scott Braley, scottbraley.com)

When we first talked, Robert Doyle asked me a question: “Do you have a crystal ball?” No, I replied, though I wish I did. “I wish you did, too,” he laughed. “I would rent it.”

Doyle recognizes it won’t be his district in 2040, and that it’s the new staff members—college kids or recent graduates, part-timers like Doyle was in 1973 — who will be the ones to see those changes take hold and guide the district through them.

The EBRPD will need more staff to facilitate the growth in visitors, Huerta says, as well as funding to address aging infrastructure and for opening new parks. Elliott expects there will be more houses bordering the parks, which may be tougher on wildlife but will further acquaint and involve people with their neighboring open spaces. Cabrera hopes the parks will help ground our tech- fueled culture, and Lee sees future visitors from a variety of cultures coming together to enjoy what the parks have to offer. Employees such as Mendoza and Huerta are bringing their kids up in the district (“they get dirty and muddy like me,” Mendoza says of his two daughters, ages 8 and 9) and are thinking about how technology might promote better connection with the parks.

“I think [the younger generation of staffers] looks at things differently,” Doyle says. “They’re more willing to say, ‘What is my mark going to be and what am I going to do? I want to make my own mark.’ I think that’s a good thing.

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O'Neill Foundation to honor congressman, EBRPD at awards dinner

Both played important roles in preserving playwright's Danville home

by Amanda Aguilar DanvilleSanRamon.com October 21, 2014

George Miller. (File photo)

The Eugene O'Neill Foundation, Tao House will honor a local veteran member of Congress and the East Bay Regional Park District at its Oct. 28 awards dinner in Danville.

Congressman George Miller, first elected to Congress in 1974, and the park district played significant roles in preserving the home and property where playwright Eugene O'Neill and his wife Carlotta lived from 1937-1944, according to foundation representatives.

Miller, who is retiring at the end of his current term, first entered the House of Representatives in 1975. He introduced legislation, with late Sen. Alan Cranston, that led to the establishment of the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site in the hills west of downtown Danville.

"Congressman Miller has been a longtime supporter in preserving historic areas in Contra Costa County," said Gary Schaub, a member of the O'Neill Foundation Board. "In addition to the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site in Danville, he has

98 2 also played a significant role in protecting and preserving the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond and the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial."

After the National Park Service took over operation and maintenance of the Tao House, EBRPD acquired 1,018 acres of Corduroy Hills Ranch with an 18-month purchase option on a 14-acre parcel -- which included Tao House and adjoining property.

This move allowed the Eugene O'Neill Foundation time to raise funds necessary to protect the property from development.

"Without the East Bay Regional Park District, efforts to acquire and preserve Tao House would have gone nowhere," Schaub said. "They came through at the right time, and helped assure that the Tao House property would be saved."

At the 40th Anniversary Celebration and Awards Dinner, Miller will be honored as "Tao House Hero" for his legislative efforts. EBRPD will receive the Partnership Award for their cooperative efforts to continue the life and literary contributions of O'Neill.

"It is most appropriate that we recognize both Congressman Miller and the East Bay Regional Park District during the O'Neill Foundation's 40th anniversary year," said Linda Best, an early member of the O'Neill Foundation Board of Directors. "Without the steps that they took, this important cultural resource would likely have been lost, and there would not be a Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site in Danville today."

99 Richmond: Man arrested in attempted rape at Wildcat Canyon Park

By Karina Ioffee , Bay Area News Group, October 21, 2014 POSTED: 10/22/2014 06:53:26 AM PUPDATED: 2 DAYS AGO

RICHMOND -- A 31-year-old man has been arrested and charged with attempting to rape a woman who was hiking Monday evening in Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, according to the East Bay Regional Park District.

The attack occurred around 5:15 p.m. on a trail at the Richmond park, when a suspect grabbed a 39-year-old woman, threw her on the ground and attempted to drag her into some bushes.

The woman fought back and screamed, eventually scaring the suspect, who fled. Police conducted a ground and aerial search and arrested Julio Rodriguez, 31, of San Pablo, after matching him to an earlier case.

Rodriguez, who has an outstanding felony arrest warrant, has been charged with attempted rape, kidnapping and false imprisonment, authorities said.

Investigators believe Rodriguez is linked to at least one earlier attack at the park and are seeking help from members of the public who may have spotted him in the area. Anyone with information about possible incidents is asked to call 510-881-1833.

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Barnidge: Woman's dream of an all abilities playground in Walnut Creek comes true By Tom Barnidge, Contra Costa Times Columnist October 20, 2014 POSTED: 10/17/2014 09:50:31 PM PDT: 5 DAYS AGO Sandra Jacobsen has been watching a dream come true for the past five months. It has sprung from the ground in resplendent colors -- yellow canopies, orange ramps, purple slides and red playhouses -- across 30,000 square feet at Heather Farm.

Jacobsen has championed an all abilities playground -- a facility equally accessible to children with and without disabilities -- for more than eight years, beginning when she was on the Walnut Creek Park, Recreation and Open Space Commission. "It was important to me to make it inclusive," she said, standing at the site, "so kids in wheelchairs would have something to do here and not be pushed off to the side. Here, they can be in the middle of it all." Pathways are made of a resilient rubberized surface, playhouses are open on two sides, and wide ramps ascend to elevated play structures -- all navigable by wheelchair. Jacobsen recognized the need for such a playground years ago, as the parent of a child with special needs. She and her daughter Tess, who was born with hydrocephalus, became friends with a couple whose daughter was afflicted with cerebral palsy. When they went on outings to a neighborhood, there was no way for Tess' friend to enjoy the playground equipment. "Her friend would have to sit in her wheelchair and watch everybody," Jacobsen said. "There was nothing for her to do. Most playgrounds had sand then. You couldn't even push her wheelchair through it." Those memories were awakened nine years ago, when Jacobsen visited family in Salt Lake City and happened upon a park with a playground designed to accommodate all children. ("I said to myself, we've got to get one of those for Walnut Creek," she said.) Shortly thereafter, that was all her fellow commissioners heard from her.

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Jacobsen won the support of colleagues Rich Carlston and Tom Worthy, and she got encouragement from Councilman Bob Simmons. But the impetus to turn vision into reality came with the 2012 implementation of revised standards of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. Walnut Creek, like all municipalities, had to improve access to its playgrounds or completely redo them. All that remained was the money to pay for the project. Jacobsen marvels at how that came together -- $350,000 from Measure WW, an East Bay Regional Park District bond; $490,000 from Contra Costa County Parks and Recreation funds; and $75,000 from city park funds. It was a handsome sum, but more than $100,000 short of what was needed to fully implement the vision. "The city asked where the money was going to come from," she said. "I was so committed at that point, I said, 'I'll raise it.' " With help from Worthy and guidance from the Walnut Creek Civic Pride Foundation, Jacobsen made good on her word. Five benefactor foundations -- Fremont Bank, HEDCO, William A. Kerr, Thomas J. Long and Dean & Margaret Lesher -- made grants of $50,000 or more. Local Rotary and Lions clubs added to that, and more than 40 individual and corporate donors each kicked in at least $1,000. "It was so rewarding to see the community interest in this project," she said. The dream comes to life Saturday, with a grand opening at 10 a.m. Jacobsen plans to be there, in the midst of what's expected to be a large crowd. She'll be easy to recognize. She'll be the one with the biggest smile.

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Alameda: Ceremony set for land transfer for veterans clinic, columbarium

By Peter Hegarty bayareanewsgroup.com, October 19, 2014 POSTED: 10/15/2014 04:59:2 ALAMEDA -- The U.S. Navy will officially transfer land next month to the Department of Veterans Affairs for a veterans health clinic and columbarium at Alameda Point.

The ceremony will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Alameda Theatre & Cineplex, at 2317 Central Ave.

The outpatient clinic at the former Alameda Naval Air Station will offer health care for at least 9,000 local veterans, while the columbarium will be a national cemetery and eventually house the remains of about 300,000 veterans. The $210 million project is located near a colony of endangered California least terns, which nest at the former base for about four months each year as they migrate along the West Coast.

Along with the bird colony, the approximately 624-acre site in the northwest of the former military base will be near a future regional park. Architect Greg Lehman's design of the clinic features a glass-fronted lobby facing San Francisco, plus an overhanging winglike roof that was inspired by the bird colony and the area's history as an air station. The two-story, 158,000-square-foot clinic will be on 20 acres and replace the VA's current facility on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland. It will be served by AC Transit and offer a range of services, including specialized treatment for female veterans. The clinic is also expected to offer services for active duty Air Force and Coast Guard members, according to Mark Raymond Chandler, an advocate for veterans who has been working on the project. It will have a staff of about 250.

The clinic and columbarium will take up 112 acres of the overall site. While no groundbreaking date has been announced, the construction will take part in phases. The first phase will be the clinic, some parking and a portion of the cemetery with about 25,000 niches, David Reel, a consultant for the VA, told the San Francisco

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Bay Conservation and Development Commission in January, when the commission approved the project's provisions for public access to the shoreline. An additional 25,000 niches will be made available about every decade until about 2116, when the site is expected to be built out, Reel said. No ground burials will take place because of liquefaction. What helps make the columbarium needed is that the two closest national cemeteries, in San Bruno and San Francisco's Presidio, no longer accept new interments, local veterans say. As a result, the closest burial options are San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Santa Nella and Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, which can be difficult for elderly spouses of veterans who have died to visit. In November last year, the VA and the Navy jointly issued their final environmental assessment on the project, which found that it would cause no significant impacts to the environment. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also issued a study in August 2012 that found the clinic and cemetery would not put the least tern colony in jeopardy. The agency was initially calling for a national wildlife refuge at the former Navy base. A conservation management office staffed by the wildlife service and the East Bay Regional Park District is also planned for the site. Alameda city leaders formally endorsed the clinic and columbarium in September 2010.

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Kayak Lawsuit to Be Filed

Friday, October 17, 2014 The Independent Sunrise Mountain Sports is preparing to sue East Bay Regional Park District, charging that it competed a contract for the kayak concession at Del Valle Regional Park in an unfair manner and improperly awarded it to another store.

Livermore-based Sunrise created the kayak concession in 2006 and has operated it since then, building clientele and the popularity of the sport as it became a force in regional kayaking.

The contract was rebid early this year, as the previous contract was coming to a close. In a complex and controversial sequence of events, Sunrise first lost to Outback Adventures, a Fremont kayak store, then was declared the winner by vote of an operations committee, then was again declared the loser.

The impending suit will allege that East Bay Regional Park District staff behaved improperly in several respects, many of which were outlined by Sunrise in a seven page protest letter last May when it was notified for the second time that it had lost.

Among other complaints, that letter claimed that the District published rules for the concession competition and then ignored them when it processed bids, that it gave preferential treatment to the winning bidder during the review process, and that Park District staff broke their promises to conduct interviews and check references.

Sunrise’s attorney, Stuart Flashman, of Oakland, said that he will file the suit in Alameda County Superior Court “in the next week or two.”

He alleged that the competition had clearly been improperly carried out. In publishing bidding instructions, he said, Park District staff announced, “‘Here are

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the criteria.’” Then, in processing the bids, “They came back and said, ‘Here are different criteria.’ That’s unfair.

“If you say you’re going to follow these rules, then you have to follow them. You can’t just say you changed your mind.”

Flashman said he had met with the Park District and “put it on notice” that “we would file” if necessary.

In the meantime, he said, Sunrise is in its final weeks of Del Valle kayak rentals, with water levels declining at the lake in preparation for the winter. He said he would seek an injunction if necessary to keep the Park District from evicting Sunrise from its lakeside facilities while the lawsuit is under consideration.

“They shouldn’t be shooing (Sunrise) out,” he said.

Neither the East Bay Regional Park District nor Outback Adventures responded to requests for comment.

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Why has Mission Peak Become the Thing to Do?

Apparently, no journey to the 2,000 foot summit is complete without a selfie. by Lakshmi Sarah on October 16, 2014, Bay Nature OnLine

Mission Peak attracts people from around the Bay Area. Photo: Mallory Pickett

Hiking up to Mission Peak on the outskirts of Fremont, I passed a woman with a small dog peaking out of her backpack and a group of teenagers, an elderly couple, and a mother cow with her baby calf.

As the path continued, a few wild turkeys flapped in the distance as another hiker stopped to take a photo. Trekking higher, after switchbacks and a rocky climb, the view from the top of the peak was worth the two-hour uphill journey.

Apparently other people suddenly think so, too. No one can say exactly why, but hiking to the top of Mission Peak, where a pole anchors the top, has become a thing these days. And no journey that exhausting (or exhilarating) can apparently be complete in this day and age without sharing the moment on social media.

Mark Ragatz, the interim chief of park operations at the East Bay Regional Park District, believes the numbers have been building for the last three to four years, but really “took off” last year. In December, the park service installed a device to count the number of people, and summed up an average of 22,700 visitors a month, or about 750 a day from December to August 2014. On some days, hikers wait up to 30 minutes to get a picture on the pole.

“You would expect numbers to drop off in the winter,” Ragatz said, but this was not the case for Mission Peak.

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Happy hikers celebrate at the top with a photo. Photo: Mallory Pickett.

Normally, park personnel are happy to see people getting out and using their trails. After all, that’s one of the ways the conservation community makes its case for park funding and expansion. And although this cliché has been trotted out repeatedly in the Mission Peak debate, it is true that there can be “too much of a good thing.”

Noise complaints from local residents, illegal parking on neighborhood streets and a desire from the park service to preserve and maintain the area, has led the EBRPD to decrease hours at the park’s Stanford Avenue entrance (one of two main entry points to the park) from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm until the end of October. Curfew hours have been in effect since July, and the park district means to enforce them. In the second half of July, 327 citations were given to those descending the peak after 10pm, and another 200 warnings for people arriving at the park after 10pm.

Young and old hikers ascend to the peak. Photo: Mallory Pickett

Local media may blame the “Selfie Generation” for the Peak’s rise in popularity, but more than photography brings people to Mission Peak. Paragliding, training for more strenuous journeys, family outings and a view from the top are just a few of the reasons Bay Area residents frequent the park. Still, Ragatz believes social media has driven some change in the demographics, with a

108 3 trend toward a younger population. There are more than 88,155 tags using the hashtag “Mission Peak” on Instagram.

“[An] awful lot of people are tweeting and using Instagram,” Ragatz said. He describes the photos as “Hey, I’m on top of the world” kind of pictures.

Brian Johnson, who came from San Jose to hike for his fourth time, said he found out about the park through videos and social media, but he didn’t come for the sole purpose of picture taking. “It’s in a convenient location” and it’s “a challenging workout,” he said. Hiking with him was Bianca Brown of Fairfax.

“I just think hiking, in particular, has become more popular,” she said.

The park’s location has attracted people from several cities in the Bay Area, with users coming from Mountain View and San Jose to Oakland and Pleasanton. Increased popularity has meant that the 47 parking spots near the Stanford Avenue entrance sometimes fill up before 6 am as hikers park in the neighborhood. The local residents, Ragatz said, “can’t have a birthday party or relatives come and stay because there’s never any place to park.”

“Ten years ago the cars were just in the parking lot. Now the whole neighborhood is full of cars,” said Stella Wu, who has lived close to the park for the last five years.

Parking is not the only problem; unprepared hikers without enough water or adequate shoes have also been a burden on local emergency services.

With no water fountains at the top of the peak, rangers recommend bringing enough water to avoid heat exhaustion. Photo: Mallory Pickett

For some, Mission Peak has something other places do not. Greg Grothaus lives in San Jose and works in Mountain View, but began going to Mission Peak on a regular basis in January to train for Mount Rainer. It came down to “either a nice park or a stair master,” Grothaus said. He said

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Mission Peak is particularly appealing to him because of the steep grade, and the parks closer to his house all close at sunset. For him, “the new hours make it relatively impossible” to hike from the Stanford Avenue entrance, a sign that the park district’s new regulations may, indeed, be effective in curtailing the stampede.

After we climbed roughly 2,000 feet in less than 3 miles, we reached the summit. Looking below towards San Jose, hikers can see all the way to San Francisco. The Dumbarton Bridge looks like a small toy and the South Bay Salt Restoration Project is visible as tiny piles of salt in the distance. There is a sense of physical accomplishment at the Peak, and a “spiritual feeling up there,” Francis Mendoza said. Mendoza is a naturalist with the EBRPD. Prior to working with the park service, Mendoza was teaching high school science, but he “just couldn’t stay in doors,” he said. The park is part of the oak woodland ecosystem and though it is dry, Mendoza describes it as a “vibrant place for grassland.”

With the goal of lessening the impact on the natural environment and the neighboring community, the park district is considering additional options as well. One possibility is to create a 300-car parking lot within the park. Other options are a per-person hiker fee, or a permit program similar to Yosemite’s Half Dome.

In the meantime, hours will further decrease in the winter, from November 1 until February 1, the Stanford Avenue entrance will be open from 6:30am until 6pm. Hours will increase again in the summer, but the second entrance (at Ohlone College) will remain open from 6am to 10pm.

“This is the first step to trying to solve a problem,” Ragatz said. In the meantime, hiking will continue and so will social media. Though I did not take a “selfie” at the summit, I did post a view from the top on Instagram.

On some days hikers wait up to 30 minutes to take a picture balancing on the pole. Photo: Mallory Pickett

Lakshmi Sarah is an educator and reporter. She is a student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism focusing on environmental issues.

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Two on Ballot for EBRPD Board

Friday, October 10, 2014 The Independent

Incumbent Ayn Wieskamp faces challenger Dev Gandhi for the right to represent Ward 5 on the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) Board of Directors.

The ward includes Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, Sunol and part of Fremont. Parks in the ward include Ardenwood, Brushy Peak, Dublin Hills, Coyote Hills, Del Valle, Mission Peak, Monument Peak, Ohlone, a portion of Pleasanton Ridge, Shadow Cliffs, Sunol, and Tassajara Creek.

The candidates were asked what they saw as issues facing the district ranging from park access to acquisition and preservation of open space. Also addressed were their views on Tesla Park and Doolan Canyon.

The interviews are in alphabetical order.

Dev Gandhi lives in Fremont next to Mission Peak. He describes himself as a tech entrepreneur. He started two companies in the past 8 years, creating 120 high pay jobs. He earned a masters in computer science and MBA in management. He said that he would bring a different perspective to the board.

He pointed out that board members tend to spend a long time representing their wards, running unopposed. “I felt it was my duty to at least stand up and work for a seat.”

Gandhi said that at first his motivation in running for the EBRPD board was the situation at Mission Peak, where a steady stream of people climb to the top to take a photo, arriving at all hours of the day and night. “Once I started dipping into the district, I was blown away. I looked at its responsibilities and found they were not doing everything they could. There is no accountability.”

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He points out that the district receives $156 million each year. He wonders what has been accomplished with that money. Gandhi said that most people are not aware of the size of the budget. "The first thing I would do would be to provide the public with better access and more understanding of what they are paying for," he stated.

The budget includes money to buy land. No improvements are included that would allow access to the properties. The Bay Area has grown tremendously over the 80 year history of the district, as has park usage. That growth brings a need to secure more open space and recreational opportunities. As a board member he would advocate for more open space to provide recreational opportunities. His goal would be to balance and manage park usage to sustain park trails/habitats.

He believes that it takes too long to provide access to new properties. Only a few people have input. There are multiple years of environmental review, followed by comment periods, debates and forums. Too few people are able to attend because of the timing of the hearings. He admits that it does take time to open up an area. “It’s not an issue of doing wrong. It is that the public is not receiving enough value from taxes they are paying,” he said.

To provide an opportunity for more interaction with the board, he suggests adding online forums to the district’s websites where the public could comment on and post their views on various issues.

Among the 115,000 acres of parkland there are plenty of places that need to be preserved for the natural habitat. There are other areas that could be opened up for recreational use. He is not referring to playground areas and picnic tables, rather trails that promote access to and enjoyment of open space.

He uses Mission Peak as an example of what can go wrong. He says that when his family first moved to the area, they could hear coyotes howling, owls hooting at night time and see different animals like deer, foxes, bobcats etc. But over the

112 3 years all these animals have kind of disappeared. Visitor usage at the Stanford Ave. entrance is excessive to the point that the Park District is unable to keep up with the on-going damage to the trail/habitats. Problems like these and others need to be addressed with urgency, according to Gandhi.

Gandhi is aware that Tesla Park is the center of controversy over the proposed use of off-road vehicles in the area. “You can’t have off-road vehicles there. It needs to be preserved, developed as a low impact recreation area. Off-road vehicles would have a devastating effect on the terrain, natural habitat, biological resources and the wildlife.

He said of Doolan Canyon, he would need to understand more about it before commenting.

Grazing and vegetation management should be determined on a case-by-case basis. A grazing program has its benefits as an effective vegetation management tool. Moderately grazed areas generally display a greater diversity and density of plant and animal life. If grazing goes beyond moderate, it could have a negative impact on an area.

One thing that he would like to see is more programs where lower income and disadvantaged residents are provided with greater access to parks. Because many parks can only be reached through high income areas, lower income people don’t feel welcome, according to Gandhi. He would like to create a shuttle service that would pick up kids in lower income neighborhoods, take them to a park where they could spend the whole day, then take them home.

Ayn Wieskamp has served on the EBRPD board since June 1999.

In the long term, she considers park acquisition to be the main issue. “With cities planning for high density housing, when you get in established areas such as Oakland, there is a need to plan to add additional parks. People need breathing spaces.”

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She noted that Dublin’s adding high density was one of the reasons she started working to preserve Doolan Canyon as an open area. The land the park district purchased in Doolan Canyon provides a connection to a potential Tassajara Park, as well as a buffer between Livermore and Dublin.

Wieskamp has no problem with agriculture uses in Doolan Canyon, but would like to see some water provided for agriculture to make it viable.

She said of future acquisitions, there she has no specific number of acres as a goal. The district owns 115,000 acres, with 25,000 of those acres added during her time on the board. “We know we want to connect wildlife corridors all the way to the Altamont. The overall goal would be to build trails to connect the park areas.” She noted that the district has worked with the East Contra Costa Habitat Conservancy to purchase properties. The conservancy helps to maintain the parks, while we maintain the trails. “That partnership has provided a lot of good open space for critters and trails.”

Opening the newly acquired areas has been difficult during the economic downturn. The district did not furlough people nor lay off any employees. However, money was not available to provide the infrastructure to open the parks. She anticipates that Vargas Plateau will open this winter.

Mission Peak has become controversial, Wieskamp states, “It is too well loved. Use has built up over the last two or three years. It is difficult for the neighbors; people are trashing the trails. They climb to the top just to take a selfie.” She said that the park district is working with Fremont to add additional parking. The park will be open fewer hours. Consideration is being giving to implementing a hiking fee or possibly issuing permits on weekends and holidays.

Tesla Park is included in the district’s master plan. “What is sad is that when the land was purchased, there was no effort to check what was there. There should have been an EIR conducted prior to the purchase. Anyone who has toured the area understands what is there and why it is important. There are species, Native

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American sites and historical areas.” She says that dust, oil and noise from driving in the area will have a negative impact on the critters. “I have no objection to off- road recreation in the appropriate place. Tesla Park is too special,” she stated.

The district could not manage its property without grazing. There are cattle, sheep and goats used in areas that are appropriate. “If you keep the little mowers moving, it is fine. Grazing helps to re-establish native plants.”

She noted that one tenant who grazed an area has decided not to return because of problems with off-leash dogs. “Not all areas should be open to off-leash dogs.”

Public participation at park board hearings depends on the issue. If people are interested, they come to meetings. For example, Wieskamp said that the new master plan, as well as discussions regarding Mission Peak draw large turn-outs. She points out that budget meetings were moved to the evening so more people would be able to attend. No one came. The district has had good success with on-line and phone surveys, she added.

Wellness and fitness are at the core of the Trails Challenge offered in partnership with Kaiser Permanente. Wieskamp would like to focus more on underserved kids. Last year, patients at the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital were brought to a park along with their families. “If You want kids to get out and continue to use parks, the families have to be involved. There are doctors who prescribe walking and hiking. There are a lot of loop trials that are almost flat and not too long that encourage people to get out and walk.”

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Guest commentary: Donation of 300 acres is testament to family's love of open space

By Dan Ondrasek, Oakland Tribune My word © 2014 Bay Area News Group October 9, 2014 POSTED: 10/08/2014 11:36:3: 16 DAYS AGO On behalf of The Friends of Coyote Hills, I want to thank the Patterson family for donating more than 300 acres to East Bay Regional Park District. It is a permanent testimony of this generation of the family's love of this land and open space. George Patterson would have been proud.

The lands of the Patterson Ranch have a unique role in the Tri-City community and the Bay Area. They are a natural buffer separating intensively developed lands from the open space, ecologically diverse habitats and scenic views of Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont. To quote Terrain magazine, the Patterson Ranch Property "supports the largest remaining willow groves in the baylands ecosystem." These lands provide restoration opportunities to expand this Willow Grove and wildlife that exist nowhere else in the Bay Area. It was a moment many of us have worked for more than 14 years to see. I have four albums of newspapers clippings with hundreds of articles and editorials. Ironically, the last article was one of the smallest. But it did not matter. It was the most wonderful of all. Many groups concerned with the quality of the space around them spoke up and, because of this, these lands have been spared and are safe from development forever. It is fitting to thank the hundreds of you who helped make this possible: the groups and their volunteers who left work early, gave of their weekends, stood in the rain with petitions and spent thousands of hours away from their families. You were told many times that all of these lands were destined to be developed, but you never gave up. More than 90 percent of the San Francisco Baylands already have been compromised. Thank you to those of you who fought to reduce the development footprint: the members of The Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge; Ohlone Audubon Society; The Sierra Club; The Alameda Creek Alliance; The

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Friends of Coyote Hills and so many more. If you joined this effort in any way, you made the difference. But there is much yet to do: The San Francisco Baylands are under increasing attack. Developers who own property on the bay edge see the writing on the wall: Sea level indeed is rising. They know that resistance is growing as evidenced by the Patterson fight. Bayside developments currently threaten sensitive lands in Newark, Alviso and Redwood City. There are still more than 30 acres that could be developed along Ardenwood Boulevard in front of Coyote Hills Regional Park. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that in 100 years, a young child will look around at the Patterson open space and say: "I am so glad this was saved." It is a time to savor this win, but there are many more of these very important places in the East Bay under the attack of development. We are committed to fight for them as well. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead Dan Ondrasek, of San Jose, is a member of The Friends of Coyote Hills.

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Oct. 7 letters to the editor

The Mason's property east of Mission Boulevard in Union City is unique and very precious. When the city is fully built out, it will regret not having done everything in its power to protect this well-located, flat, 63-acre site, perfect for sports fields and other public facilities.

As a member of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District board, I regret that we are not able to provide enough facilities to adequately serve our growing population. Union City has the same dilemma: already a number of Union City residents and businesses rent HARD's Alden E. Oliver Sports Park fields located on Hesperian Boulevard in Hayward, including Tri Ced Recycling, for their annual "Science in the Park" event.

While HARD appreciates collecting the higher nonresident fees that Union City pays, eventually the availability of these sports fields will be greatly reduced as the populations grow.

Large open spaces ideal for sports fields and recreation centers continue to disappear under concrete, and Union City should not let this happen to them.

Please vote no on Measure KK and urge your city leaders and the Masons to come up with a good compromise that benefits everyone.

Minane Jameson Hayward No on Measure KK to help save watershed

The recent article regarding Union City's Measure KK does not mention that the 63 acres of protected open space along Mission Boulevard serve as precious watershed for all Alameda County Water District customers.

Annually, this land has the capacity to return more than 25 million gallons of rainwater to the aquifer, based on Union City's average rainfall of 15 inches a year. Union City

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residents receive their water from Alameda County Water District. Groundwater makes up 30-60 percent of ACWD's total water supply.

The average household uses more than 100,000 gallons of water per year. We must consider the total impact on our resources before adding more users. Proposed development will cover the bulk of this site with concrete and asphalt, channeling rain water into storm drains that empty directly to Alameda Creek. Unfiltered runoff will increase pollutants in the creek and potential for flooding.

Union City homeowners, not developers, will pay the price to restore and maintain our infrastructure and ecosystem. Vote no on Measure KK and keep the open space watershed.

Pam Burnor

Union City

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Guest commentary: Must not allow electronic skytrash to proliferate

By John Sutter, Kent Lewandowski, Naomi Schiff and Karen Hester Bay Area News Group October 7, 2014 OCTOBER 7, OCPOSTED: 10/06/2014 12:51:56 PM PDT | UPDATED: 17 DAYS AGO Mayoral and city council candidates should pledge to stop the plan for three additional flashing electronic billboards near the Bay Bridge Maze. Caltrans stopped two of five planned installations because they are not legal along a designated landscaped freeway. However, a 70-foot-tall, two-sided billboard is planned to rise above our new bike/pedestrian trail accessing a planned new park and the Bay Bridge pathway, and two more nearby. After spending those billions to build a handsome bridge, and securing millions to construct a big park, why would we clutter the area with new blinking advertising signs? To its great credit, on July 29, the Oakland City Council took a nonaction with great effect: It declined to proceed with eight or 10 more LED billboards along Oakland freeways, backing away from a request for proposals it issued three years ago. We are enormously grateful that the council spared us from this additional skytrash. But will this proposal resurface after the election? The only substantial constituency that favors billboards is that which owns or works for billboard companies. While the moguls may have money and influence, citizens are far more numerous. Oaklanders have made it clear: We do not want the blight of bright ads along freeways; billboards that would shine into residential windows with images changing every few seconds cause traffic accidents, harm migratory birds, spoil views near and far, waste energy and last through a 66-year- long contract. Oakland passed a billboard ordinance in 1997 and defended it all the way up through the state courts, for 10 years, at substantial cost. Oakland won the case. Now our candidates should restate their support for those rules. Oakland's rationale for allowing more billboards near the bridge is the possibility of revenue. But such revenue would be a miniscule percentage of the budget. Billboard companies get the lion's share of profits in these deals. Oakland is not that desperate.

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Demand that our mayoral and council candidates take a stand against billboard blight.

John Sutter is a director of the East Bay Regional Park District. Kent Lewandowski represents the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay chapter. Naomi Schiff is a member of Oakland Heritage Alliance. Karen Hester is with ScenicEastBay.org.

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