Regular Meeting Board of Directors
April 5, 2023
4:00 pm
This will be an in-person meeting located at 2150 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833, 1st-floor conference room.
- Executive Session (closed) 4:00 p.m.
- Public Session (open) 5:00 p.m.
Meeting facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. If you require special assistance to participate in the meeting, notify the Conservancy’s office at (916) 649-3331 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.
Executive Session (Closed)
1. Executive Session
Executive Session is scheduled for real estate matters pursuant to Government Code 54956.8.
Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors (Open)
2. Call to Order of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors
The Board Chair will call the meeting to order if a quorum is present. Announcements by the Board Chair or Executive Director may be made at this time. Board members may make announcements at this time as well.
3. Public Comments
Opportunity for members of the public to address the Conservancy’s Board of Directors.
4. Approval of the minutes
*All items listed under the Consent Calendar, including minutes, are considered and acted upon by one Motion. Any Board member may request an item be removed for separate consideration.*
The Board Chair will request approval of the minutes and consent items of the Board of Directors meetings for December 7, 2022, and February 1, 2023.
Download the Conservancy’s December 7, 2022 Board meeting minutes (PDF, 209 KB)
Download the Conservancy’s February 1, 2023 Board meeting minutes (PDF, 141 KB)
5. Managed Marsh Construction Planning
This item proposes to enter into a Service Agreement with Westervelt Ecological Services for the concept and design element of the Bennett North/Nestor, Frazer South, and Elverta marsh development projects. The Board-approved 2023 budget includes $200,000 for restoration and enhancement expenditures related to permitting and planning activities for projects scheduled in 2024. This item requests Board authorization of $100,000 of the budgeted $200,000 to engage landscape architects, surveyors, and engineers to prepare documentation for these 2024 construction projects.
6. Conservancy Documentation required for Simplified Employee Pension-Individual Retirement Account (SEP-IRA)
The Conservancy maintains a Simplified Employee Pension-Individual Retirement Account (SEP-IRA) arrangement for eligible employees. Following a review of the design and operation of the SEP-IRA, the Conservancy was advised by legal counsel (Counsel) that the SEP-IRA required additional and amended documentation to be in full compliance with applicable IRS rules.
As a result of this analysis and determination, Counsel has worked with the Conservancy’s management to develop a strategy to address the matter so that neither the Conservancy nor its employees will suffer adverse tax consequences.
This item requests that the Board approve and adopt the following plan of action (Plan of Action):
1.) In accordance with applicable IRS rules, IRS correction programs, and advice of Counsel, the SEP-IRA will be submitted under the IRS’s Voluntary Correction Program in order to gain IRS approval that the SEP-IRA remains tax-qualified; and
2.) because certain employees of the Conservancy were added to the SEP-IRA later than they should have been, it will be necessary to contribute additional amounts to their individual IRAs under the SEP-IRA, along with amounts to make up for lost earnings as is required by IRS rules; and current and former employees of the Conservancy (and their beneficiaries) who are affected by these corrections will be located and notified, also as required by applicable IRS rules; and
3.) restating the original SEP-IRA document onto a newer IRS Form 530-SEP.
The Conservancy staff has estimated the additional contributions expenditure going back over 20 years will be approximately $30,000, but would not exceed $40,000. This item requests the Board approve the above Plan of Action and authorize and direct the Conservancy’s Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer to work with Counsel to take all actions deemed necessary or appropriate to implement the Plan of Action.
Download the Conservancy’s Resolution to Correct SEP-IRA (PDF, 65 KB)
7. Conservancy mitigation land tract name designation; The Anne Rudin Preserve
This item proposes to assign a new name to a property being tendered by the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) to the Conservancy in consideration for multiple other tracts it has or will acquire pursuant to the Natomas Levee Improvement Project (NLIP). The 53.33-acre tract at issue lies in the Conservancy’s Fisherman’s Lake Reserve Area (FLRA) and is contiguous to the Conservancy’s Cummings tract. Both are rich in managed marsh complexes, and add beautifully to the historic characterization of the area. (At present, SAFCA refers to the subject property as the AKT tract.) SAFCA estimates that title to the property will be conveyed to the Conservancy by this summer.
On this item, the Board of Directors is asked to officially designate this 53.33-acre managed marsh and Swainson’s hawk upland property to be named as follows: the Anne Rudin Preserve.
This is in recognition of the Conservancy’s founding Board Chair, Anne Rudin. Anne was elected Mayor of the City of Sacramento in 1983 and served until 1992. Prior to that, she served as a member of the City Council of the City of Sacramento for 12 years. Anne’s distinguished career put her in a perfect position to serve as the Conservancy’s first Board Chair. In that capacity, Anne was a staunch advocate for the Conservancy and worked tirelessly on its behalf.
Action: Conservancy staff recommendation: upon receipt of title from SAFCA to the Conservancy of the 53.33-acre tract along Fisherman’s Lake and the Garden Highway (Sacramento County Assessor APNs 225-0110-050 and 225-0090-014), Conservancy staff is to designate the property as the Anne Rudin Preserve, and so reflect that name on official documents of the Conservancy, including its maps, site-specific management plans, biological effectiveness monitoring efforts and reports and engineering plans and documents.
Download the Conservancy’s Anne Rudin Preserve Map (PDF, 306 KB)
8. Conservancy payment on City of Sacramento Line of Credit
In 2020, the Board authorized a $2,000,000 Line of Credit (LOC) loan facility with the City of Sacramento in order to purchase the Lauppe South tract. The 2023 budget approved by the Board of Directors included a line item for a voluntary payment of $250,000 to the LOC. The Conservancy had sufficient mitigation revenue year in 2022 to make this payment. If the Board authorizes this payment, the remaining balance on the LOC would be $1,561,894.47. This agenda item requests Board authorization for the $250,000 payment to be made from the Conservancy’s Pool A account at the City of Sacramento.
Download the Conservancy’s Line of Credit Payment Ledger (PDF, 89 KB)
9. Accept the Conservancy’s December 31, 2022 audited financial statements
The Audit Committee met and reviewed the Conservancy’s December 31, 2022 audited financial statements with the Conservancy’s auditor, Gilbert CPAs (Gilbert). Gilbert issued a clean opinion on the Conservancy’s December 31, 2022 audited financial statements. The Audit Committee will present its report to the Board of Directors. The Audit Committee recommends the Board accept the Conservancy’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Download the December 31, 2022 Audited Financial Statements (PDF, 5 MB)
10. City of Sacramento Report
Report from the City of Sacramento regarding HCP-related activity and other topics.
11. Sutter County Report
Report from the County of Sutter regarding HCP-related activity and other topics.
12. Financial Statement Review
A financial statement will be provided for the period ending February 28, 2023 (unaudited). Additional financial information will be provided.
Download the Conservancy’s unaudited February 28, 2023 financial statements (PDF, 2 MB)
13. Biological Effectiveness Monitoring Report for 2022
The Conservancy’s annual biological monitoring report will be presented by the Conservancy’s biological monitoring contractor, ICF International. Doug Leslie and the biological monitoring team will deliver the 2022 Biological Effectiveness Monitoring report and entertain questions Board members and Parties to the HCPs may have.
14. Website Update
The Conservancy’s website has undergone an extensive redesign to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1). These changes provide a viewing experience that is positive for all visitors. The website underwent a soft launch at the beginning of 2023 as it finalized testing. In February of 2023, Access Ingenuity, a firm that assists with website access optimization, performed its final audit determining the Conservancy website complies with WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
15. Review 2022 IRS Form 990
This item presents the Conservancy’s 2022 IRS Form 990 for Board review. At its recent meeting, the Audit Committee reviewed the 2022 Form 990 as presented. This item acknowledges the Board has had an opportunity to review the Conservancy’s 2022 Form 990.
16. Executive Director’s Report
Various matters for Board members’ general information will be presented by the Conservancy’s Executive Director.
17. Adjournment of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors
Official adjournment of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors.
Upcoming Regular Meetings
- June 7, 2023
- August 2, 2023
- October 4, 2023