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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08161994 - S.1 j S. 1 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: Gayle Bishop, Supervisor District III Contra Costa DATE: August 16, 1994 County SUBJECL Reconsideration of Elimination of the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMN ENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION Reconsider the action taken to eliminate the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee. BACKGROUND / JUSTIFICATION This committee.was established on May 4, 1982 to advise the Board of Supervisors Water Committee on water policy issues relating to the Bay - Delta system. The Board of Supervisors recently abolished the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee effective July 31, 1994. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) : ACTION OF BOARD ON A f fl i c t Fi 1 g A L► APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER The Board considered the above recommendation and REFERRED to the Internal Operations Committee the request for reconsideration of the Board' s action to eliminate the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee, with notification to all parties when this matter will be heard by the Committee . VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED AuQUS t 16, 1994 PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF CC: County Administrator - Van SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BYrl ,DEPUTY August 16, 1994 Peter Margiotta Past Contra Costa County Fish & Wildlife Committee Member 10 Yr. _ 122 Castle Crest Rd. RECEIVED Walnut Creek , CA 94595 t Mr. Powers, Board Chairmen AUG f Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor 651' Pine St. CLERK BOARD Martinez, CA 94553 Re: Status of Fish & Wildlife Committee Dear Supervisor: I have a great concern that Contra Costa County's Fish & Wildlife has not had effective representation or leadership via a Fish & Wildlife Committee for to long. The committee was operating as a single issue committee as per water committee recomendation and approved by the Board on February 2, 1993, (See attached letter from Roberta Goulart) . This resulted' in rendering the Fish & Wildlife committee ineffective and a disservice to the resource, the committee members ,and the people of Contra Costa County. We strongly recommend that the committee be reestablished as a Fish & Wildlife County Advisory Commission reporting directly to the County -Board of Supervisors in an agendized manner . This recommendation is modeled after almost all other county Fish & Wildlife Commissions operating in our state. ( 36 + Commissions ) Why not in Contra Costa? The past practice of a Fish & Wildlife Committee reporting to a board subcommittee such as the Water Committee is time consuming, redundant, and only services as a method of "censoring" valuable fish and wildlife environmental information from the rest of the Board members . This reduces the effectiveness of the County Board of Surpervisors in their decisions regarding our environment and the needs of the fish & wildlife of Contra Costa County. We understand that the county's budget has been sorely deficient. State Fish and Game Code Sec. 13103. PERMISSIBLE EXPENDITURES (j) clearly allows "Reasonable administrative costs, for secretarial service, travel, and postage by the county fish and wildlife commission when authorized by the county board of supervisors ." . our county as of Feb. 15,1994, had some forty thousand dollars, of which we could use up to "3 percent of the average amount received by the fund during the previous three-year period, or three thousand dollars annually, whichever is greater , . ..." . It is our belief this amount of money should be sufficient to meet the normal needs of an effective Fish & Wildlife "Commission" . Page 1 of 2 August 16, 1994 Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor I and a majority of the past County Fish & Wildlife committee members strongly urge the Board to reconstitute the past committee into a commission with full membership of up to nine members. The commission's first order of business should be to elect officers, revisit its mission statement and update its bylaws . We feel that the current active members of the past Adhoc Fish and Wildlife committee should be nominated as members to the new commission in order to maintain the collective historic knowledge of fish & wildlife issues within our county. In closing it is our sincere feeling that Your past decision of ABOLISHING THE WILDLIFE STUDY COMMITTEE was in error and will result in a disservice to the dicated members of the past committee, a disservice to the citizens quality of life in this county and most certainly a disservice to the wildlife resource of this county. We feel the Board of Supervisor 's should reverse its past decision to abolish the committee and instead reconstitute the Fish and Wildlife Committee as a Commission described and funded via State Fish & Game Code. Sincerely Peter Margiotta Past Fish & Wildlife Committee Member & Past Chairmen of the Wetlands Sub. Committee Page 2 of 2 RECEIVED AUG 16 Ia'?Q To: Contra Costa County Water Committee From: Tom Studley, Fish and Wildlife Committee ° "? 7 CLERK BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Date: March 11, 1994 CONTRA COSTA co. I have several concerns that I would like to express regarding the status, function, and future of the County's Fish and Wildlife Committee. The committee is currently very ineffective and it is my interest to restore the committee to full status, establish our own meeting times, identify county staff who wants to work with the committee, and elect new officers., In reading my concerns,please take into account that, according to county staff, the Fish and Wildlife Committee was eliminated by the Water Committee over a year ago but has been "maintained" as an ad hoc committee with limited responsibility on issues related to wetlands only. Our meeting dates were also changed to immediately follow the Water Committee meetings so that we could make due with limited county staff time. Our ability to act as a committee that is supposed to be protecting the fish and wildlife . resources of Contra Costa County has been severely hampered by having ad hoc committee status, by not being able to set our own meeting times, by being limited to wetland issues only, and by significant disagreements between committee members and county staff. By having ad hoc status, it is difficult to maintain the interest of committee members and the public, our recommendations are taken less seriously, and we have little interaction with outside groups which are affecting fish and wildlife resources in the county. By having our meeting dates immediately after Water Committee meetings, we are relatively restricted to your dates (and cancellations) and it makes it more difficult to get outside groups and people to come to the meetings because our meetings start around dinner time and do not always start at predictable times. By being restricted to wetland issues only, our ability to protect fish and wildlife resources in the county is so restricted that we are not doing a very good job protecting the resources and I'm not sure my time is worth what little we do. In addition, my employer has supported me by allowing me to conduct some committee business on company time; however, that privilege will likely be eliminated if the responsibility of the committee continues to be so restricted. Finally, I believe that county staff has been exercising too much authority in conducting the Fish and Wildlife meetings and has been working against the committee instead of with the committee. I think county staff should serve the committee by providing assistance, information as requested by the committee, and advise, while maintaining a common goal of working together to protect the fish and wildlife resources of the county. I request that you restore our status as a full Fish and Wildlife Committee, allow us to use county staff to conduct meetings at times suitable to the public and the committee members, and outline the role and responsibility of county staff in regard to the Fish and Wildlife Committee. If county staff does not want to work with us, or if county staff time is unavailable, I would like to know if we can use the fish and game fine money fund to hire someone to fill in for county staff. (county AdministratorContra Board of Supervisors cta Tom Powers Cos County Administration Building 1 st District 651 Pine Street, 11th Floor Jeff Smith Martinez,California 94553-1229 2nd District (510)646-4080 County Gayle Bishop FAX: (510)646-4098 se 3rd District Phil Batchelor - `- Mark DeSaulnier County Administrator 4th District Tom Torlakson xa, a 5th District August 12, 1994 srd coiiri`� Peter Margiotta 122 Castle Crest Road Walnut Creek, CA 94595 Dear Mr. Margiotta: This letter will respond to the request you made of me by telephone on August 11, 1994 regarding how the Board of Supervisors came to abolish the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee. You noted that Supervisor Bishop has placed an item on the Board' s agenda for Tuesday, August 16, 1994 to request reconsideration of the decision to abolish the Committee. Your request to me, as I understand it, was how it happened that the Committee which was reviewing each of the advisory boards, committees and commissions created by the Board of Supervisors came to recommend that the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee be abolished. I indicated to you on the telephone that I would have to review my notes to refresh my memory regarding the sequence of events which occurred. Enclosed for your information are two documents : 1) The "Maddy Book" entry for the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee, from which staff conducted the initial review of each of the advisory boards, committees, and commissions . The "Maddy Book" is a comprehensive listing of all of the advisory boards, committees and commissions created by the Board of Supervisors which, among other things, identifies the individuals who have been appointed to each committee and the date the individual ' s term of office expires . 2 ) A summary of the entries regarding the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee from the review .documents which were shared with the Committee which was reviewing these committees . These entries list each of the advisory committees, the status of the Committee's review and the nature of the decisions which had been made. When staff initially reviewed the "Maddy Book" entry for the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee it seemed clear that the Committee had not had much activity recently. The terms of office of all members of the Committee had expired and no new appointments had been made since March of 1992 . On the basis of this review and preliminary research which indicated that the Committee was not required by -2- either State or Federal law, staff recommended to the review Committee prior to the April 7, 1994 meeting that we determine whether the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee was still viable. The staff recommendation is reflected in the redllnpd initial entry ....................:::...:::: on the attachment. At the April 7 , 1994 meeting of the review Committee a member of the Committee recommended that the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee be abolished and there was no dissent from any member of the Committee. This is reflected in the re011ne entries following the initial staff recommendation. As I indicated to you on the telephone, I frankly do not recall at this point who made that recommendation. The fact remains that that recommendation was reflected in the notes from the April 7 , 1994 meeting and was continued throughout the review of all the other advisory boards, committees and commissions without further question until the June 15, 1994 meeting when the review Committee completed its review of all of the advisory boards, committees and commissions and formulated its recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, which are reflected in the attachment as the Committee' s recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on June 28, 1994 . As is noted in the attachment, on June 28, 1994 , Supervisor Bishop asked that a decision on the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee be deferred until July 12, 1994 . On July 12, 1994 , Supervisor Bishop indicated that she had heard no objections to abolishing the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee from any source and therefore agreed to its being abolished, a decision which was agreed to unanimously by the entire membership of the Board of Supervisors . This in reflected in the re,I1;3 z e l final retry reflecting the Board's .::::.:..:...:...:...:.:...:.. decision on July 12, 1994 . I have no additional information to offer regarding this decision or the process by which it was made since the attached entries reflect what is available in my notes and files on this subject. Very truly yours, Claude L. Van Marter Assistant County Administrator CLVM:amb vane-17-94 Attachment cc: Supervisor Tom Powers Supervisor Jeff Smith Supervisor Gayle Bishop Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier Supervisor Tom Torlakson Val Alexeeff, Director Growth Management and Economic Development Agency Harvey Bragdon, Community Development Director FISH AND WILDLIFE STUDY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP: Nine - The Committee will include representation from the Supervisorial Districts; membership may also be representative of marina owners, the fishing/water sport industry, water recreation business, environmental groups, and the public at large. ESTABLISHED: May 4, 1982, by Board Order APPOINTED BY: Board of Supervisors TERM: Two years ending December 31 FUNCTIONS: To advise the Board of Supervisors Water Committee on water policy issues relating to the Bay-Delta System including the maintenance of historical fish levels; review and evaluate the activities of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project as to their effects on the Day-Delta fisheries and recreation; act as a liaison body between those associated with the fishing industry and the Water Committee; provide a forum where the public and fishing sport industry could be heard; and provide assistance to the County's Community Development Department and other organizations such as- the Delta Advisory Planning Council in preparation of the County's General Pian. REPORTS TO: Board of Supervisors Water Committee MEETING TIME: Once a month t COMPENSATION: None except reimbursement for certain expenses FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT: Roberta Goulart Community Development Department 646-2071 ref: FISH.I rev: 12/18/91 / DATE: REQIMST TO SPEAK FORM _ (THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressi'n` the Board. l NAME: , L , IN PHONE: ADDRESS: ' l r e n d CITY: r I am speaking formyself OR organization: Ca (NAME OF ORGANIZ-VION) Check one: I wish to speak on Agenda Item # My comments will be: general for against I wish to speak on the subj ect of Co CA rl,s I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider. DATE: REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. //JJ NAME: PHONE: ADDRESS: 74� CITY: I am speaking formyself OR organization: (NAME6F O (NIZATION) Check one: I wish to speak on Agenda Item # ,S / My comments will be: general for against I wish to speak on the subject of I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider. FISH AND WILDLIFE STUDY COMMITTEE Page 2 Rearesentatives Date Appointed Term Expires Peter Margiotta - November 6, 1990 December 31, 1992 122 Castle Crest Road Walnut Creek 94595 Thomas Studley March 3, 1992 December 31, 1993 3254 Montevideo Drive San Ramon 94583 Patrick J. Young November 6, 1990 December 31, 1992 4409 Blanc Court Oakley 94561 Larry Skeim March 3, 1992 December 31, 1993 328 Wintergreen Drive Brentwood 94513 Robert Gromm * April 2, 1991 December 31, 1991 P.O. Box 447 Bethel Island 94511 Daniel L. Pellegrini November 6, 1990 December 31, 1992 2207 Boulder Creek Court Martinez 94553 Andrew Surges March 3, 1992 December 31, 1992 1955 Lakeview Place Martinez 94553 Leroy Bateman November 6, 1990 December 31, 1992 1431 Ridgewood Drive Martinez 94553 James Marieiro March 3, 1992 December 31, 1993 138 Clipper Lane Martinez 94553 * Representing Delta Advisory Planning Council rev: 4-6-92 ref: FISH.2 SEQUENCE OF DECISIONS REGARDING ABOLISHING THE FISH AND WILDLIFE STUDY COMMITTEE Staff recommendation to the Committee* for April 7, 1994 meeting: ->37 . Fish & Wildlife Study Committee There is no mandate for the existence of this advisory committee. The terms of all members have expired and no new appointments have been made in the past two years . Recommend tat: f <::d to > e<:>;: >: t t: . ::>::> s:::»>s :�> .. ab....... : ::: ::: ::: ::: :::::?r . :.:: t ::: he.r:: h: m ..:: ::,e:: Results of April 7, 1994 meeting: 37 . Fish & Wildlife Study Committee There is no mandate for the existence of this advisory committee. The terms of all members have expired and no new appointments have been made in the past two years . re'1m n a r ::> cies s' an .4./. Status in preparation for April 20, 1994 meeting: 37 . Fish & Wildlife Study Committee There is no mandate for the existence of this advisory committee. The terms of all members have expired and no new appointments have been made in the past two years . P. m rtar r de � an f'�f 9'4 tp mbd ash th s c�mrn tte Results of April 20, 1994 meeting: 37 . Fish & Wildlife Study Committee There is no mandate for the existence of this advisory committee. The terms of all members have expired and no new appointments have been made in the past two years . Preliam nary deciSi:V:o 7194 :' boli.sh this Committed: Status in preparation for June 15, 1994 meeting: 37 . Fish & Wildlife Study Committee There is no mandate for the existence of this advisory committee. The terms of all members have expired and no new appointments have been made in the past two years . Pry] imp nar:'' �3e �s pert C©mm .ttee;.: Committee' s recommendation to the Board of Supervisors June 28, 1994 : I . ABOLISH - General Agreement that it is appropriate to do so. 6 . Fish & Wildlife Study Committee There is no mandate for the existence of this advisory committee. The terms of all members have expired and no new appointments have been made in the past two years . On June 28, 1994, the Board of Supervisors deferred a decision on this Committee until July 12, 1994 at the request of Supervisor Bishop. Board of Supervisors ' decision on July 12, 1994 : B. Other Advisory Boards, Committees and Commissions : 2 . Fish & Wildlife Study Committee There is no mandate for the existence of this advisory committee. The terms of all members have expired and no new appointments have been made in the past two years. AB Wildlife Study Committee eff; ct V. Jud ].........X99:. artd DIRECT :the 1erk of the 3Qard a: upeyis©rs to remove the listing for this Board from the ..Al August 16, 1994 - Supervisor Bishop requests reconsideration of July 12, 1994 decision. * "Committee" refers to the National Performance Review Report Committee created by the Board of Supervisors . -2- DATE: REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM (THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. NAME: / I -7 -PHONE: a C� F-- 0 9() o ADDRESS: eCriy: 191 1 am speaking for self U OR organization: Che k one: (NAME OF ORGAN[Z-\110N) 1 wish to speak on Agenda Item # 5'/ My comments will be: general for against I wish to speak on the subject of I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider. DATE: REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM (THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before address' a Board It NAME: f PHONE' ADDRESS: CITY: VP� I am speaking formyself OR organizes 'on: NOW Check one: (NAME OF ORGANIZNTION) I wish to speak on Agenda Item # My comments will be: generaliio' for O against I wish to speak on the subject of I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider.