Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Minutes from 4/28 Meeting (approved 5/19/14)

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Tuesday, April 28th, 2014
 
President Jacobs called the meeting to order at 6:01 PM and Director Stapp led the group in the flag salute.  Directors Jacobs, Stapp, Wilkey, and Hayhurst were all present.  Director Schendel had not arrived yet, but was expected to arrive shortly.  There were no additional guests in attendance.

President Jacobs requested a motion on the Consent Items.  Director Wilkey motioned to accept the Minutes of the March 25th, 2014 Meeting, along with the Financial Reports for March of 2014 as presented.  Director Stapp seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

The Correspondence file was offered for review.  President Jacobs highlighted an e-mail from Director Hayhurst to the Secretary concerning the assessed tax values of all properties in the Barstow Heights.  He reported that the current tax role value is $103,589,184.00.  (While typing these minutes the Secretary realized that the number that was read was actually the tax role value from 2009-10.  The current tax role value for 2013-14 is currently $95,600,908.00, which is an increase over the 2012-13 value of $92,968,005.00).

Director Schendel entered the meeting at 6:04pm.

The next item of Correspondence that President Jacobs shared was an estimate from the State Compensation Insurance Fund (Workman’s Compensation Insurance) that shows that the annual premium for the next year will be $1,055.00.

Barstow Heights Park was addressed.  President Jacobs reported that he has asked the Secretary to refer to the Park on H Street as the “Barstow Heights Park” from now on.  We had been in the habit of calling it “H Street Park” during our meetings for some time, but it is important for us to begin calling it by its proper name in order to preserve and maintain our identity with the public.  The Secretary will make sure that all future Agendas and Minutes and other documents reflect the proper name of the Park.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  The report was clean all the way down the list, meaning there were no current safety issues and/or repairs needed.  President Jacobs asked Director Stapp how he was doing with exterminating the Ground Squirrels.  Director Stapp reported that he hadn’t made any progress with them and would be going out of town soon, so they agreed that Director Stapp would get the remainder of the smoke cartridges to President Jacobs right away so he can continue trying to exterminate them.

The possible Re-naming/Dedication of Barstow Heights Park was addressed.  The Secretary updated the Board that she had been in contact recently with Janet (Jan) Fowler, daughter of former Board Member Barbara E. Kelley, and that Jan was very excited about the possible Re-naming of the Park to Kelley Park.  Even though the Board had discussed the possibility three years earlier, there was still some uncertainty as to whether or not the actual name of the Park should still be changed.  Director Hayhurst expressed her belief that, with all due respect to Mrs. Kelley, she was not really a fan of changing the already established name of the Park.  She did feel that Dedicating the Park in her memory would be a wonderful way to recognize her contributions to the community.  Director Stapp clarified that the situation with Venner Park had been that the Park didn’t yet have a name before the Board decided to name it after Mr. Venner a few years ago.  Some were calling it K Street Park, others were calling it Panamint or Travertine Park, and the Board wanted to remedy the confusion by giving it one simple name.  President Jacobs shared that during the course of the three years that have passed since the idea of Re-naming the Park was first brought up, that he had begun to change his mind.  He expressed his concern that with the repeated talk/rumors that the City of Barstow still wants to pursue annexing the Barstow Heights, and his belief that so many residents are opposed to that happening, he now felt it to be increasingly more important to keep and maintain our identity as the “Barstow Heights” as much as possible.  He reminded the Board that the wood sign that clearly identifies it as “Barstow Heights Park” was an Eagle Scout Project many years ago and that the name of the Park had been established even before the sign was in place.  He did agree that the Board should still honor Mrs. Kelley in some way (with a Plaque/Dedication of the Park) for her service of 36 years as a past President and member of the Board of Directors.  Director Schendel didn’t agree and stated, with respect, that he would still like the Board to consider naming the park after Mrs. Kelley.  The Board agreed that they would revisit the idea and discuss it again next month.  They didn’t want to make a rushed decision and may not come to a final decision until after the new canopies/renovations are completed, but for the time being would like to at the very least, plan on Dedicating the Park to Mrs. Kelley and installing a Plaque there to honor her in the near future.

The new Covered Picnic Areas (Bid 13-03) were addressed next.  The Board discussed the Color options for the pre-manufactured shelters first.  Director Wilkey stated his opinion that the Canopies should utilize as close to the same color as possible that the City currently uses to paint/clean-up graffiti on the restrooms and structures already in place at both Parks.  The Board agreed that “Sandstone” would be the closest fit to the color already being used.  President Jacobs asked if the Board would like a different color used on the roof than on the posts (since two different color choices were an option), but they all agreed that they would prefer to keep it simple with just the one color for both parts of each Canopy.  The next item that the Board discussed was the wording they want to use for the dedicatory Plaque to express appreciation to former resident Dorothy Davis for her generous donations that are being used to fund the new canopies and picnic tables at Barstow Heights Park.  Director Hayhurst and the Secretary wrote down the suggested wording as they discussed it and the Secretary was directed to type up another draft for the Board to review again at the next Board Meeting.  The Secretary didn’t have any new information for the Board of Directors about the progress of the Engineering, only that she had been trying to find out how it is going and expected to hear back from them again very soon.

Venner Park was addressed.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  There were no safety issues and/or necessary repairs listed on the report.  The Board then addressed the need to order more Wood Chips to fill in the fitness area at Venner Park as well as the Playground area at Barstow Heights Park.  The Secretary had provided them with a receipt to show the cost and minimum required amount that were ordered for the playground area only at Venner Park last year.  The cost was $2,700 for 60 cubic yards.  The Secretary was directed to contact the Wood Chip provider (Turboscape, Inc.) to find out if they can deliver a larger quantity in one trip so there would be enough to split the load and cover both areas at both parks that were currently in need of them.  Director Stapp motioned to give the Secretary authority to get the necessary amount of Wood Chips ordered and delivered (sprayed in place).  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously. 

The Board addressed the Engagement Letter from the Auditor next.  The Secretary was directed to go ahead and sign the engagement letter and return it to the Auditor (Paul Kaymark, CPA at Charles Z. Fedak & Company) since the Board already approved the hiring of them at last month’s meeting.

The 2014/15 Budget Workshop was held.

The General Manager reported that after the recent earthquake she noticed a large crack spanning the length of the framed entrance to the kitchen area of the office building.  It appeared that there may also be some water damage coming through the roof that caused the crack to widen.  The Directors advised her to ask Wade Harris if he thinks it looks serious enough to be concerned about and if so, who we should contact to inspect it and repair it.  She also reported that the new Certificates of Completion for the Directors who recently finished their required Ethics Training had arrived and were now framed on the wall.  She had also inquired of Mark Gerardi about the status of the bill we were anticipating for the concrete repairs (cracked by tree roots) at Venner Park and he confirmed that we should still expect to receive a bill for it in the amount of $1714.00 from the City of Barstow soon.  She also reported that she would be turning in the letter/request for new Signature Cards at Desert Community Bank during the upcoming week and that the Directors should expect to get an e-mail from her as soon as the bank is ready for them to stop by and sign the new Signature Cards.  She continues to keep the website (blog) and Facebook page updated, including the posting of current Agendas/Minutes and upcoming Board Meeting dates on the blog.  She also recently posted on Facebook a lot of photos she took (from a distance) to show the large crowds of people that were there using the Parks during the afternoon on Easter Sunday.

President Jacobs requested the Directors’ reports.  Director Wilkey reported that he had recently spoken with Janelle Schneider, who with her husband, Matt Schneider, had been using Venner Park to host a fitness boot camp.  She asked if she might need any kind of special permission/permit or business liability policy to protect them and/or the District.  Director Wilkey told her that the Parks are free and open to the public and that if the City has any kind of requirements currently, that their requirements would likely be different from what the County requires (which is nothing that we are aware of).  He did share his concern that they should probably have a business/liability policy for their own protection and invited them to come to a Board Meeting to discuss it further with us.  The Board agreed that they would like to at least be aware of when the group meets and how many people usually attend.  As long as there continues to be no complaints, the Board agreed that they will continue to welcome them to utilize the Park.  Director Stapp asked about the condition of the new landscaping (almost a year-old) at Venner Park and how it is holding up.  He wondered if all of the trees had survived the winter.  Director Wilkey said he believed that they all looked okay, but that he would inspect them again a little closer to be sure.  President Jacobs reported that Mark Gerardi had called him to ask if water hook-ups were available for guests to use at either one of our Parks for a water slide.  President Jacobs answered that, “No, we do not supply water or electricity” for the public.  The only exception to that rule that has ever been made was for the military, because the Board considered it a way to show respect and appreciation for their service.  The Secretary confirmed that she also gets frequent phone calls from the public asking if there is access to water and/or electricity at either of the Parks.  It has been the most frequent question she continues to receive.

President Jacobs asked the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be paid.  She indicated that there was one additional bill coming soon from the City of Barstow for $1714.00 to cover the concrete repairs at Venner Park.  Director Stapp motioned to pay the bills as presented including the one additional bill mentioned.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

There was no New Business to address and no Executive Session was requested.  The next Regular Meeting was scheduled for Monday, May 19th, 2014 at 6:00 PM.  The meeting adjourned at 7:07 PM.

Submitted by:

Jen Rubio
Secretary/General Manager
 

Friday, May 16, 2014

Agenda for 5/19 Board Meeting

A G E N D A
BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, May 19, 2014 - 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 – April 28, 2014
                                     Financial Reports – April of 2014

5.   Correspondence

6.   Parks:        Barstow Heights:              Safety Check List and Ground Squirrels
                                                                      Dedication/Plaque to honor Barbara Kelley
                                                                      Bid 13-03:    Covered picnic areas
                                                                                             Balance of deposit due (see invoice #1236)
                                                                                             Engineering update
                                                                                             Plaque to thank Dorothy Davis

Venner:                              Safety Check List
                                            Wood Chips

7.  2014/15 Budget Resolution 2014-1

8.  Safety Review Report

9.  Roads

10. General Manager’s Report
                Policy and Procedures Manual
                Facebook page activity
                Website - BarstowHeights.blogspot.com

11. Directors’ Reports

12. Bills:               Edison - $104.22                Terminix - $38.00              Verizon - $90.52

13. New Business

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

15. Adjournment