NORTH COAST RAILROAD AUTHORITY (NCRA)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING
�
MINUTES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2002 AT
10:00 A.M.
B.�� �����ROLL CALL
Directors present:�
Vice Chair Allan Hemphill, Second Vice Chair Leo Sears, Robert Simonson,
Daniel Opalach, and Budge Campbell.�
Directors absent:�
Chair David Ripple and Jake Mackenzie.
Also present:�
Executive Director Max H Bridges, Assistant Executive Director Douglas
Christy, Administrator Pamela Fishtrom, General Counsel Christopher Neary, and
Property Manager Cyndee Logan.
C.������� AGENDA
APPROVAL
����������� Mr. Bridges asked to include
the Ukiah Depot Contract.�
�����������
Dir. Simonson moved to add to the Conduct of
Business Section Item F.3. Ukiah Depot Contract; seconded by Dir. Opalach.� Vote taken; motion carried unanimously.
Ms. Logan asked to include action on an agreement
with Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District.
Dir. Simonson moved to include the item requested;
seconded by Dir. Sears.� Vote taken;
motion carried unanimously.� It was included as Item F.4.
Also, Mr. Bridges requested the Property Management
Contract be discussed for action.
Dir. Sears moved to add the requested item; seconded
by Dir. Simonson.� Vote taken; motion
carried unanimously.
Dir. Campbell requested the Consent Agenda Items
E.3.a. and E.3.b. be moved to the Conduct of Business section of the Agenda.��
Dir. Campbell so moved; seconded by Dir.
Opalach.� Vote taken; motion carried
unanimously.� E.3.a. and E.3.b. of the Consent Agenda were
changed to Conduct of Business Item F.6.
Dir. Simonson moved to approve the Agenda with the
above changes; seconded by Dir. Sears.�
Vote taken; motion carried unanimously.
�
D.������� PUBLIC COMMENTS
Pete
Oringer, Northwestern Pacific Railroad Support Coalition, asked the Board to
move expeditiously in implementing the scope of work recommended by the Capital
Assessment Study.
Fred
Carmichael, interested citizen, read a letter he sent to the Times-Standard
asking to cancel the studies, sell or give the Railroad to a private operator,
such as Mr. Neiemeyer, and begin repair of the Line.
E.�������� CONSENT AGENDA
1.
Minutes
a.
Special Board of Directors Meeting held March 13, 2002
b.
Property Management Committee Meeting held April 3,
2002
c.
Regular Board Meeting of April 17, 2002
2.�������� Revised Designation of Applicant�s Agent Resolution
3.�������� Revised Contracts � Item moved to the Conduct of Business section.
a.
Mustola Management
b.�������� Moraine Associates��
4. Meals for Extended Board Meetings
5. Deny Claims
a.
State Farm Insurance Company
b.
City of Petaluma
6.
Cost of Living Adjustment for Executive Director
Dir. Sears
moved approval of the Consent Agenda less Item 3; seconded by Dir.
Simonson.� Vote taken; Dir. Campbell,
Dir. Hemphill, and Dir. Opalach abstained from voting on Item E.1.b. as they
were not at the Committee Meeting; motion carried unanimously with the one
exception noted.
F.�������� CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
����������� 1.�������� Capital
Projects Assessment Update
Mr. Christy provided
the status on this project and Dave Anderson of Willdan showed slides of some
of the repairs needed.
2.�������� Approve
Stephen Benson, Car Accountant, Contract Revision
Mr. Christy recommended increasing Mr. Benson's
contract $12,000 as his assistance with car hire is invaluable.
Dir. Simonson moved approval of the contract
revision; seconded by Dir. Campbell.�
Vote taken; motion carried unanimously.
3.�������� Ukiah
Depot Contract
Mr. Bridges recommended signing the Agreement with
the City of Ukiah approved at an earlier meeting where NCRA guarantees to
provide $18,000 matching funds and Ukiah agrees to manage the rehabilitation
project.
Dir. Campbell moved to approve signing the
Agreement; seconded by Dir. Sears.� Vote
taken; motion carried unanimously.
4.�������� Humboldt
Bay Municipal Water District License
Ms. Logan recommended approval of the License
subject to Counsel's review.
Dir. Campbell moved to approve the License subject
to Counsel�s review; seconded by Dir. Sears.�
Vote taken; motion carried unanimously.
5.�������� Property
Management Contract
Mr. Bridges presented the current agreement with two
changes suggested by the Committee: the
ending date of the contract is June 30, 2002, and in
Attachment C � eliminating the clause C-27.�
Dir. Simonson noted some additional changes
recommended by the Committee.� On the
second page: the Contractor�s signature should be on the right side, and the
License number be inserted.
Dir. Simonson moved the second page be modified as
discussed and the Contract approved; seconded by Dir. Campbell.� Dir. Sears disagreed.� Dir. Simonson withdrew his motion.
Dir. Sears moved the present contract will terminate
upon presentation of a new contract by the Property Management Committee and
adoption by the Board; seconded by Dir. Simonson.� Vote taken; motion passed unanimously.
6.�������� Contract
Revisions -
Moved from the Consent Agenda to the Conduct of Business section.
a.
Mustola Management
b.�������� Moraine
Associates
Dir. Campbell expressed concern over a provision in
Attachment C, page 6, of both contracts. �He recommended removal of the words in C-27, �Each party hereby
represents and warrants that it is not relying, and has not relied, upon any
representation or statement made by the other party with respect to the facts
involved or its rights of duties.�� Counsel
agreed.
Dir. Campbell moved the Chair take a vote on Item
F.6.a. and b. so that both contracts be approved with modifications of section
C-27; seconded by Dir. Sears.� Vote
taken; motion carried unanimously.
����������� 1.�������� Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority (NWPRA)
The Agenda packet contains the entire Agenda for the
NWPRA, therefore, nothing further was added.
2.
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit Commission (SMART)
The Directors agreed the entire SMART Agenda should
continue to be included in the Board packet.
H.������� COMMITTEE REPORTS
1.
Passenger - Dir. Hemphill and Dir. Opalach
Due to more pressing issues, the Notice to Potential
Bidders regarding selling the surplus passenger equipment was delayed, and
vandalism continues to occur.� Dir. Hemphill
suggested reconvening the Committee with the addition of a third Director.
2.
Property Management - Dir. Sears, Dir. Campbell, and Dir. Simonson
The standard NCRA lease contract is continuing to be
revised; the Property Management Contract was discussed at length; the trackage
rights for construction in Healdsburg are in negotiations; the Humboldt Bay
Municipal Water District License was also discussed; and, PacBell is resolving
the issue of past due leases.����
I.��������� CLOSED SESSION � Postponed to later in
the Agenda
1.
Executive Director Max H Bridges
NCRA's projects will not be delayed as a result of
the Governor's May budget revisions calling for a loan from the Traffic
Congestion Relief Fund to the General Fund.�
�
2.
Assistant Executive Director Douglas Christy
�
Clarified
the expenditure of the Capital Assessment as approximately $500,000 instead of
a public comment indicating NCRA spent $15,000,000.�
�
At
the June California Transportation Committee (CTC) Meeting, NCRA will ask for
money made available to this Agency for clean up and site characterizations to
assess future costs for hazardous material remediation.
�
The
Request for Proposals for a Rail Carrier has, so far, attracted three
interested parties, two of which, have submitted formal questions to be
addressed at the pre-award meeting.
������
3.
General Counsel Christopher J Neary
Nothing further.
4.�������� Property
Manager Cyndee Logan
PacBell wrote to inform NCRA a check should arrive
within 15 days for past due leases.
L.�������� MATTERS FROM BOARD MEMBERS
Mr. Bridges responded to Dir. Simonson that
publicly-made assurances by Harry Sherwood, Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), have not been received in writing as requested.� Also, Mr. Bridges responded there is no
guarantee NCRA will receive a time extension for completion of the project,
however, there is a continuing effort by NCRA and Caltrans to provide
information to FEMA relative to NCRA�s progress.
Dir. Opalach inquired of the meeting held with the
CTC last week.� Mr. Bridges reported
discussing the Capital and Environmental Assessments and NCRA's future
financial position.� He believes the CTC
was pleased with NCRA's budget reduction and provision to provide for eighteen
months of administration funding.
Dir. Sears reported the Legislative Agenda for
Humboldt County Association of Governments includes four provisions addressing
the Railroad: 1) Ask for money for infrastructure including railroad; 2) Ask
for money to provide administrative funding for the Railroad; 3) Encourage
Caltrans, CTC, and FEMA to work with the Railroad; and, 4) Push legislators to
understand the importance of the connection of the Port with the Railroad.
Kaye Strickland, Chair of Citizens for Port Development, when informed that AB 2224 will be discussed in Closed Session, asked if that issue can be discussed in Open Session.� Also, she requested the Minutes reflect more information for public viewing.
Dir. Hemphill left at 1:30 pm.� The Board took a five-minute break.
I.��������� CLOSED SESSION � Convened at 1:35
pm.�
J.�������� ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION �
Reconvened at 2:55 pm.
1.
Conference with Real Property Negotiators - Government Code � 54956.8
NCRA Negotiators:� Dir. Sears, Dir. Hemphill, and Chair Ripple
Property:� Cloverdale to Healdsburg segment of the
Northwestern Pacific Line
Negotiations between:� NCRA; Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, & Transportation District;
County of Marin; County of Sonoma; SMART; and NWPRA.
Negotiations concern: the scope and extent of the
NCRA Freight Easement over and across the Northwestern Pacific Line; the
interaction of the Freight Easement with the existing NWPRA Joint Powers
Agreement; the Operating Agreement with NWPRA; the exchange of underlying fee
title of the Healdsburg to Cloverdale segment to a newly created entity of the
State Legislature dedicated to transit service and harmonious NCRA freight
operations on the Northwestern Pacific Line; the nature and scope of the
respective passenger and intercity passenger easements.
����������������������� The Board designated Mr.
Bridges as the negotiator and gave him instructions.
2.
Conference with Legal Counsel � Anticipated Legislation
Government Code � 54956.9�
Initiation of Litigation, One Case
����������������������� The
Board met with Legal Counsel and gave him instructions.
3.
Liability Claims
Claimant:
Herzog Construction
Under
Discussion: Settlement Agreement
The Board authorized a
settlement with Herzog Construction for $110,000 subject to consultation with
Caltrans.
M. ����� ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEXT MEETING
�����������
Regular Board Meeting � June 19, 2002 10:00 am
����������� Healdsburg City Council Chambers,
401 Grove Street, Healdsburg, Sonoma County, CA, USA
N.������� ADJOURNMENT - At 3:00 pm.