Currently Seeking a New Board Member!

Only one candidate, Director Robert Stapp, filed a declaration of candidacy to fill one of the upcoming vacancies on the Board of Directors for the Barstow Heights Community Services District, so we are currently looking for one more person who may be interested in becoming a Director.  Because too few candidates filed a declaration of candidacy in May 2013 for the open position(s), an election will not take place, and we are now looking for someone to take the position voluntarily. The appointee would officially take office in December 2013 and serve for a period of 2 years (short-term) or 4 years (full-term). This appointee must be a registered voter and a current resident living within the boundaries of Barstow Heights. His or her responsibilities will include attending a monthly Board Meeting as well as seeking out and determining solutions that will continue to improve the quality of our community parks and neighborhoods. We suggest that anyone who is interested in the position should join us in person at one of our upcoming Board Meetings to see for themselves exactly what the job involves. If you or someone you know would like to apply, please contact Jen Rubio, Secretary/General Manager, for more information and she will also help to answer any questions/concerns you may have. Her office hours and contact information are listed in the column on the right side of this posting.

The Board of Directors on 6/24/13

Do you recognize any of these men? These are the members of our Board of Directors! (Back L to R) Daryl Schendel, Paul Wilkey, and Robert Stapp (Front Row) Stephen King and Dick Jacobs. They all do such a fine job working to make our community better!

 

Minutes from 5/20 Meeting (approved 6/24/13)

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT

REGULAR MEETING

May 20th, 2013

Vice President King opened the meeting at 6:02 PM and Director Stapp led the group in the flag salute.  Directors King, Schendel, Stapp, and Wilkey were all present.  President Jacobs was out of town to help care for a family member.  There were no guests in attendance.

Vice President King requested a motion on the Consent Items.  Director Schendel motioned to accept the Minutes of the April 22nd, 2013 Meeting, along with the Financial Report for April of 2013 as presented.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

The Correspondence was offered for review.

H Street Park was addressed.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  Director Stapp reported that he and President Jacobs had recently set off 15-16 extermination cartridges to deal with the Ground Squirrels that have returned and had left quite a few new holes.  Resident Mr. Gene Low also assisted, as they set off a few smoke bombs in his backyard that is adjacent to the park as well.  5-6 more cartridges were set off inside the fenced-in water tower compound, which is where the squirrels typically move in to escape.  Director Stapp observed that just 3 of the holes they had bombed have since been re-opened, and they would continue to work on getting rid of the Ground Squirrels in spite of all the progress that has been made.  The three new Rules & Regulations Signs were discussed briefly as the Secretary reported that the City has promised that they will be picking them up and installing them for us.  The City has also requested that we get the two Elm Trees at the front of the park (North side) as well as the large dead branch on one of the Cottonwood Trees trimmed as soon as possible.  The branches have been falling from the trees frequently and could pose a danger to park visitors, especially on windy days.  Vice President King motioned to give the General Manager permission to hire Town & Country Tree Service to trim the trees as soon as possible, as long as the new estimate given is no more than $600 per tree.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.  Jose Rubio Jr. was out of town for a school field trip and unable to attend the meeting to discuss his proposed Eagle Scout Project (improvement ideas for the basketball court and office areas), so the Secretary was directed to add that item to next month’s Agenda again.

Venner Park was addressed.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  The Secretary reported that the Landscaping Project and all parking lot Paving is complete and payments are being made for the work that has been done.  The Directors expressed their concern about whether or not the new Landscaping Project had been completed to their full satisfaction and directed the Secretary to contact Unique Landscaping with a few more small requests.  The secretary was also directed to remind Yeghoian Paving that we still have some of their cones that they need to pick up from us.  Director King suggested that the Board discuss the new estimate from Unique Landscaping for a new Irrigation System for the trees on the Northwest side of Venner Park at the next meeting when President Jacobs will be present.

The Policy and Procedure Manual Review was also tabled until the next meeting so President Jacobs can have more input.

The General Manager reported that she continues to keep the Blog (BarstowHeights.blogspot.com) and Facebook pages updated.  She also reported that she had hired her son, Jose Rubio Jr. to rake leaves and pull weeds around the outside of the office building.  He has hauled about 20 large trash-bags full of
leaves and debris to the dumpster so far and the job is about half-way complete.  She will be keeping track of his hours on a time card so he can be paid minimum wage once the job is done.  The Secretary also reported that she needed to contact A2Z Lock & Security during the past week to have them extract the key to the office that had broken off inside the lock and was difficult to remove.  President Jacobs (and his know-how and spare key) were out of town, so A2Z removed the broken key and let her inside to retrieve an additional key.  This experience made her aware that she needs to have more spare keys available, so she will be getting a few extras made so she can keep one at home as well as provide them to any Directors that might like to have one.  Finally, she reported that Thank You Letters had been sent to the Sheppeard’s for their generous donation of the three large rocks to beautify Venner Park as well as to Mr. Don Holub who gave his time and energy to move them to the park for us with his tractor.

Vice President King requested the Directors’ reports.  Director Stapp thanked the General Manager for the packet of Candidacy paperwork she issued and provided to him recently.  He reported that he does plan to get his paperwork submitted before the deadline this month.  Director Wilkey expressed his concern that the City of Barstow may be making plans to extend Veteran’s Parkway out to Lenwood Road, which could result in our eventual annexation into the City.  He expressed his feeling that it will be the Board’s responsibility to protect the interests of land-owners in the Heights as well as protect our Parks.  He has questions about what possible legal steps we can take to prevent this from happening (Can we file an injunction of some kind?).  He asked the Board to please keep these concerns in mind and to please let him know if anyone is able to find any answers about what can/should be done.  He suggested that we add this item to future Agendas and discuss it further at future meetings.

Vice President King asked the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be paid.  She indicated there were none.  Director Schendel motioned to pay the bills as presented.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

Vice President King asked if there was any New Business to attend to, and the secretary replied that there was one more thing.  Director Wilkey administered the “Oath of Affirmation of Candidate” to the Secretary by the raising of the right hand and repeating the Oath, so that she could in turn give the Oath to Director Stapp.  This step was necessary so the Secretary could complete the issuing of Candidate Filing Documents to Director Stapp, who will be filing again for Candidacy with the County Elections Office before May 31st.

The next General Meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 24th, 2013 at 6:00 PM.  The meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM.

Submitted by:

Jen Rubio – Secretary/General Manager

Agenda for 6/24 Board Meeting

 A G E N D A

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT

REGULAR MEETING

June 24, 2013 - 6:00 PM

1.   Call to Order and Flag Salute

2.   Roll Call and Recognition of Guests

3.   Public Comments/Questions

4.   Consent Items:     Minutes – May 20, 2013

                               Financial Report – May 2013

5.   Correspondence:   SDRMA Election and CSDA District 5 Election

6.   Parks:             H Street:        Safety Check List and Ground Squirrels

             Rules & Regulations Signs

Tree Trimming/Removal

New covered picnic areas, tables, and trees

Improvement Ideas for Basketball Court and Office Area

 

Venner:             Safety Check List and Gophers

              New Irrigation for trees on Northwest side

                                                        More Improvement Ideas?

7.   Auditor’s Agreement - sign engagement letter

8.   Safety Review Report (to SDRMA)

9.   Policy and Procedures Manual - Please bring your copy for me to add some updates to!

10.  Website (BarstowHeights.blogspot.com) and Facebook page activity

11.  General Manager’s Report

12.  Directors’ Reports

13.  Bills:     Edison - $109.20          Terminix - $36.00           Verizon - $87.40                             

                     City of Barstow - $219.45 (plumbing repairs)   US Postal Service - $130 (PO box rental)

 

14.  New Business

15.  Executive Session – Litigation GC54956.99 (A) and Personnel GC54957.1

16.  Adjournment

Important warning in the Newspaper today!

In case you haven't read the Desert Dispatch today, they published important news that needs sharing!  Please warn your neighbors...and be on the look out for any unusual activity.  If you notice anything suspicious, please report it to the Sheriff at
(760) 256-4838 right away!

 

THANK YOU to our local law enforcement
for increasing your presence here in our neighborhoods!

 

Here is a link to click on and read the article online now:

http://www.desertdispatch.com/articles/barstow-14674-burglaries-heights.html
 

Shea Johnson, Desert Dispatch

The westbound entrance into the Barstow Heights community via Rimrock Road is where the road intersects with H Street. In the last two months, the Heights has seen an increase in burglaries, which has spurred Sheriff's officials to increase their presence in the area.

Area road work ahead...

Have you noticed the signs at the I-15 freeway entrances and exits (at L street) notifying us that the ramps will be "intermittently" closed for road construction during the next six months?

 

Caltrans strives to keep the public informed about upcoming road work throughout the Inland Empire on their website www.caltrans8.info. You can also check for traffic updates on Twitter at Caltrans8 and be sure to "like" their page on Facebook at Caltrans8 also for the latest construction project news.