HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-07-22 City Council (15)City of Palo Alto
Manager’s Repor
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER. DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY SERVICES
DATE:
SUBJECT:
JULY 22, 2002 CMR: 339:02
APPROVAL OF RENEWAL OF AN AGREEMENT WITH
ACTERRA FOR STEWARDSHIP OF THE ARASTRADERO
PRESERVE
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that Council approve the renewal of a five-year agreement with Acterra
for the stewardship of the Arastradero Preserve.
BACKGROUND
On March-11, 1996, Council adopted a five-point plan for the management ’of the
Arastradero Preserve, and gave direction to staff to explore opportunities for leveraging City
resources to ensure .future maintenance and oversight of the Preserve. This direction
included:
1.Explore the possibility of a public/private stewardship;
2.The removal of all existing building structures;
3.Restoration of habitat in the areas where the structures were located;
4.Explore the potential for a new modest facility as a gateway to the Preserve;
5.Create a mechanism to allow funding for some or all elements of the Preserve
Management Plan.
On May 13, 1996, Council approved the Arastradero Preserve project work plan
(CMR:253:96). One element of the work plan addressed the development of the concept of
a public/private partnership for stewardship of the Preserve. On November 12, 1996,
Council approved the Arastradero Preserve Management Plan and the concept of a
stewardship agreement (CMR:423:96). On April 28, 1997 Council approved a five-year
contract with Bay Area Action to act as the steward of the Preserve and to implement action
steps of the Arastradero Management Plan (CMR: 199:97). The approved agreement included
a clause providing for the renewal of the agreement for an additional five-year period if the
performance of the steward was satisfactory. In 2000 Bay Area Action merged with the
Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation to become a new organization named Acterra.
CMR :339:02 Page 1 of 3
DISCUSSION
In the past five years, Acterra has faithfully pursued all of the goals ofthe Preserve
Management Plan. It has consistently exceeded its objectives in terms of volunteer hours
donated, number of acres of weeds controlled and number of miles of trail kept clear and
accessible by the public.
Using the donated labor of 350 volunteers, Acterra coordinated the demolition of the house,
barn and other structures on the Preserve during July and August 1997. The materials from
those structures were salvaged for reuseon other buildings, including the Preserve gateway
facility.
After building structures were removed from the former house site, Acterraimmediately set
about restoring the site to native oak grassland habitat. Soil under the buildings was
extensively Conditioned with mulch and natural nutrients. Volunteers spread and worked into
the soil more that 1,400 cubic yards of mulch and planted over 1,000 valley oak and coast
live oak acorns. Although many of the acorns were eaten by wildlife, by March 1999
hundreds of oak seedlings sprouted and were protected with wire cages or tree tubes.
Since the site restoration projectbegan, student volunteers from Gunn and Palo Alto High.
Schools, coordinated by Acterra, have donated more than 4,000 hours of labor in collecting
and sowing native grasS seeds. This directed-study program has given students the
opportunity to learn about wildlife habitat, preserving local bio-diversity and methods for
propagating native grasses and oaks.
Acterra has also annually mapped both native California grasses and invasive weeds
throughout the 609-acre Preserve in order to evaluate the effectiveness of various control
methods and to monitor the spread of both weeds and nurtured native plant stands.
¯ Restoration efforts have been so successful at.the former house site and in other areas of the
Preserve, the PeninsulaConservation Center Foundation awarded Acterra a Business
EnvironmentalAward at the Foundation’s annual ceremony November 12, 1999.
Acterra, together with park rangers, continues to investigate effective methods of eradication
and control of vast stands of invasive weeds in meadow areas of the Preserve. The effects
of different methods of grazing, systematic mowing and black-tarp solar soil sterilizing
continue to be monitored for long-term control of non-native, invasive plants.
RESOURCE IMPACT
$35,000 for the first year of the new five-year Stewardship agreement with Acterra, including
basic restoration activities, has been funded by the Arastra Fund of the Peninsula Community
Foundation. An additional $10,000 for trail work will be funded by the operational budget
of the Open Space Division of the CommunitY Services Department. This amount includes
CMR :339:02 Page 2 of 3
$5,000 in contingency funds for unforeseen habitat restoration or trail maintenance projects
that may or may not be spent. Subsequent years of the agreement will be funded entirely by
the Community Services, Open Space operations budget. Acterra proposes to continue
utilizing donations, grant funding and money obtained through fundraisers to augment funds
from the City for stewardship expenses.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS:
The proposal to have a nonprofit organization continue to serve as the Preserve steward to
assist the City in the accomplishment of the goals.of the Management Plan is consistent with
Council direction and represents an extension to the City’ s previous use of volunteers.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT:
The Stewi~rdship Agreement represents a continuation of the same use of existing facilities;
therefore, it carries a Class [ facility ~xemption under Section 15301 of CEQA.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A Stewardship Agreement
~/GI~G BETTS
Superintendent, Open Space and Sciences
DEPARTMENT HEAD APPROVAL:
PAUL THILTGEN
Director, Community Services
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
HARRISON
Assistant City Manager
CMR :339:02 Page 3 of’3
AMENDMENT NO. ONE TO AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND ACTERRA
FOR STEWARDSHIP OF THE ARASTRADERO PRESERVE
This Amendment No. One to Agreement~dated April 28, 1997,
("Agreement") is entered into , by and between the
CITY OF PALO ALTO ("CITY"), and ACTERRA, a California nonprofit
corporation, resulting from a merger of Bay Area Action, a
California Public Benefit Corporation and Peninsula Conservation
Center Foundation, located at 3921 EastBayshore Road, Palo Alto,
California.94303.
R E C I TAL S:
WHEREAS, an Agreement was entered into between the
parties for the provision of stewardship of the Arastradero
Preserve; and
WHEREAS, the parties entered into amendments on April i,
2002 and on April 24, 2002 for additional services; and
WHEREAS, the Agreement provides for an option to renew
the term of the Agreement for an additional five (5) years; and
WHEREAS, the parties wish to exercise the option to renew
the agreement for an additional five years and to specify a not to
exceed budget amount for each of those five years;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants, terms,
conditions, and provisions of this Amendment, the parties agree:
SECTION i. Section III. entitled "TERMS" is hereby
amended to read as follows:
The term of this Agreement shall commence on
July I, 1997 and shall end on June 30, 2007,
unless terminated sooner as herein provided.
SECTION 2. Paragraph G of Section II entitled "Scope of
Services" shall be amended to’ read as follows:
Within fourteen (14) days after the execution
of this agreement, and thereafter on or before
December 1 of each year during the term of the
agreement, STEWARD shall submit to the City
Manager, or his designee, a proposed annual
work plan of activities to be carried out on
the Preserve for the fiscal year. On or
before December 1 of each year, STEWARD shall
020715 sdl 0053073
submit a proposed budget and any request for
CITY funding for the following fiscal year.
STEWARD and the City Manager, Or his designee,
shall jointly review the work plan, the budget
and any request for CITY funding, and shall
jointly develop performance objectives and
standards for STEWARD’s activities. Upon
approval, the City Manager, or his designee,
shall forward any budget request in accordance
with the CITY’s annual budget process. In no
event shall the budget for each of the
following fiscal years exceed the amount set
forth next to the year:
Fiscal Year
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
~2005-06
2006-07
Not to Exceed Amount
$4o,ooo.oo
$42,000.00
$43,680.00
$45,427.00
$47,244.00
This~ Agreement is subject to the fiscal
provisions of the Charter of the City of Palo
Alto and the Palo Alto Municipal Code. This
Agreement will terminate without any penalty
(a) at the end of any fiscal year in the event
that funds are not appropriated for the
following fiscal year, or (b) at any time
within a fiscal year in the event, that funds
¯ are only appropriated for a portion of the
fiscal year and funds for this Contract are no
longer available. This paragraph shall take
precedence in the event of a conflict with any
other covenant, term, condition, or provision
of this Agreement.
SECTION 3 Paragraph H under Section II entitled "Scope
of Services" is amended to read:
STEWARD may perform other services related to
the preservation, protection and enhancement
of the Preserve, as approved in writing by
CITY, including, but not limited to the
services described on Exhibits "D-I" and "D-2"
attached hereto and incorporated herein by
reference.
SECTION 4. Except as herein modified, all other
provisions of the Agreement, including any exhibits and subsequent
amendments thereto, shall remain in full force and effect.
020715 sdl 0053073
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have by their~ duly
authorized representatives executed this Amendment on the date
first above written.
ATTEST:CITY OF PALO ALTO
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
City Attorney
APPROVED:
Assistant City Manager
Director of Administrative
Services
Director of Community
services
Risk Manager
Mayor
ACTERRA, a California
Nonprofit Corporation
By:
Name:
Title:
By:
Name:
Title:
Taxpayer Identification No.
Attachments:
EXHIBIT "D-I" and ’~D-2".
(Compliance with Corp. Code 9 313 is
required if zhe entity on whose behalf
this contract is signed is a corporation.
In the alternative, a certified corporate
resolution attesting to the signatory
authority of the individuals signing in
their respective capacities is acceptable)
Scope of Work for Additional Services
Dated April i, 2002 and April 24,
2002
020715 sd! 0053073
3
CERTIFICATE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT
(Civil Code § 1189)
STATE OF
COUNTY OF
)
)
)
On
notary public in and
before me, the undersigned, a
for said County, personally appeared
personally known to me (or proved to me on the basis of
satisfactory evidence) to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are
subscribed to the within instrument, and acknowledged to me that
he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized
capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the
instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the
person(s) acted, executed the instrument.
WITNESS my hand and official seal.
Signature of Notary Public
020715 sd10053073
4
CERTIFICATE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT
(Civil Code ~ 1189)
STATE OF
COUNTY OF
)
)
)
On
notary public in and
, before me, the undersigned, a
for said County, personally appeared
persoially known to me (or proved to me on the. basis of
satisfactory evidence) to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are
subscribed to the within instrument, and acknowledged to me that
he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized
capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s)~ on the
instrument the person(s), or. the entity upon behalf of which the
person(s) acted, executed the instrument.
WITNESS my hand and Official seal.
Signature of NotarY Public
020715 sdl 0053073
5
.Ac e,r a
392! East Baysnore Road
PaloAIto cA 94303-4303
tei 650.962.9876 www.Acterra.or8
fax 650.962.8234 . info@Acterra.org
AGREEMENT
This agreement is entered into on tiffs I day of ~
City of Palo Alto, Open Spaces and Sciences
1451 Middlefield
Palo Alto, California 94301 ~
hereinafter called Palo Alto; and
Acterra
3921 East Bayshore Road
Palo Alto, California 94303
,20 0 ~2. between the owner:
a California nonprofit corporation, hereinafter called Acterra, for the purpose of trail maintenance and
repair in Arastradero Preserve, Palo Alto.
Services -- Description.of work m be performed by the Acterra and volunteer workers:
Realign Woodland Star (Acorn) Trail between Bay Laurel and Meadowlark Trails (Gate C).
Work will include, but is not limited to: construction of new trail to replace existing segment and
removal of native plants on trail route for replanting elsewhere. May include blocking existing
segment upon completion of new segment.
Trail Standards:
a) Trail to be a standard width of 4 fl,
b)
c)
d)
Existing grade shall be maintained unless
determined to be too steep, in which case, trail may be rerouted with a maximum grade
shall be 10%
Trail to incorpOrate features for natural drainage, such as tread cross slope, drain dips,
etc., to minimize maintenance and erosion. -
Tread surface to be tamped existing earth, with upper and lower banks blended into
existing slopes.
Design and construction practices shall conform to guidelines specified by the
Arastradero Preserve Trails Management Plan.
Items furnished by the Acterra:
a)Supervision by trained crew leaders and workday supervisors.
b)Trail building tools and gloves,
c)Publicity to solicit volunteer trail workers
d)Lunch on Apr. 21, 2002; beverages and snacks at end of March 9 and May 11 workdays.
Items furnished by Palo Alto:
a)Access to the worksite during daylight hours for the duration of the project.
b)Construction materials as may be needed (includes culvert and associated materials,
fencing and signage as needed.
EXHIBIT "D-I"
Action lgr a Sz~stai,~able
Acter a
Palo Alto CA 94303-4303 fax 650.962.823~_ . info@Acterra.org
F o ~ME ~r Bay Are~ Acxion - 2eninsula Conservario~ Cet~ ~et Foundatio~,~
AGREEMENT
This agreement is entered into on this 24th day of April 2002 between the owner:
City of Palo Alto, Open Spaces and Sciences
145 ! .Middlefield . ,- "
Palo Alto, California. 94301
hereinafter called Palo Alto; and
Acterra
392~ East Baysh0re Road
Palo Alto, California 94303
a California nonprofit corporation, hereinafter called Acterra, for the purpose of mapping native grasses
and non-native invasive species in Arastradero Preserve, Palo Alto.
Services - GPS technology willbe used to map grassland habitat within Arastradero Preserve,
specifically, areas larger than 10 feet in diameter, comaining the following species: native
grasses including blue wild rye, purple needle grass, Squirreltail, foothill needle grass, meadow’
barley, and California brome; and the following non-native invasive species: Italian thistle,
yellow starthistle, bull thistle, milk thistle, Harding grass, poison hemlock, teasel, and areas
containing these species ~n mixed stands.
Data will be converted into a series of colored 8.5 x 14 maps with either aerial photos or topo
lines of the Preserve as a background layer. Native grass locations and invasive species locations
will be on separate series.
Items furnished bythe.Acterra:
a)Trimble GPS unit
b)ArcView 3.2 mapping software.
c)HP Color Printer
Items furnished by Palo Alto:
a) Access.to the worksite during daylight hours for the duration of the project.
Liability:
Acterra agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the City of Palo Alto, its officials, and employees;
from any and all acts of negligence caused by Palo Alto and from bodily injury or property
damage occurring to Acterra while traveling to and from the worksite and while upon City
property. Acterra agrees to provide proof of insurance.
Additional work:
Acterra agrees to perform additional work related to this agreement, as may be requestedby a
representative of Palo Alto, with items of work and compensation to be agreed upon by the two
parties of this agreement.
EXHIBIT "D-2"
]Cora Sustai~ab~e Eart]~