Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Minutes from 5/19 Meeting (approved 6/16/14)

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, May 19th, 2014

President Jacobs called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM and Director Wilkey led the group in the flag salute.  Directors Jacobs, Stapp, Wilkey, and Hayhurst were present.  Director Schendel was absent.  There were no additional guests in attendance.

President Jacobs requested a motion on the Consent Items.  Director Stapp motioned to accept the Minutes of the April 28th, 2014 Meeting, along with the Financial Reports for April of 2014 as presented.  Director Hayhurst seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

The Correspondence file was offered for review and the Directors passed it around to look through.

Barstow Heights Park was addressed.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  President Jacobs reported that he had spoken with Lawrence Moore about the parks recently, and that Lawrence updated him that he is no longer the park inspector, but that Mark Gerardi is doing all of the inspections now.  President Jacobs also reported that the Ground Squirrel problem continues.  He has used up the remainder of the bombs (extermination cartridges).  The last 18 had been used recently and the Secretary will need to order more since the supply is now depleted.  President Jacobs also noted that he’s seen a few squirrels run across the street, so it appears that some may be residing elsewhere, but coming back into the park to feed.  He reported further that one squirrel had set up his home underneath the office building and that he waited until Saturday morning when the Secretary wasn’t there so he could set off a few smoke bombs under the building safely.  He also worked with a water company employee to get inside the fenced/locked area that the Water Company owns, to set off a few extermination cartridges there also.

The Plaque to honor and dedicate Barstow Heights Park to Barbara Kelley was addressed.  President Jacobs read aloud the typed wording for the Plaque that the Secretary had provided as a starting point, then suggested a few revisions.  The Board agreed upon and determined the exact wording for the Plaque.  The Secretary updated the Board that she had found receipts that indicated that the 12” x 12” Dedicatory Plaque ordered and installed at Venner Park a few years prior had cost approximately $400, plus another $100 for labor and materials to build the cement pedestal that it was mounted on.  The Directors discussed ideas pertaining to what the Plaque could be mounted on (benches were mentioned as one option), as well as the locations where they should be placed.  Director Hayhurst shared her opinion that the Plaque be located near one of the park entrances and away from sprinklers/water that could damage it over time.  She also encouraged the Board to consider locating it in a spot that won’t add more time/labor required of the maintenance workers who might otherwise need to weed-wack/trim the grass around it.  President Jacobs suggested that perhaps both Plaques (including the one for Dorothy Davis) be mounted on the same pedestal.  Director Stapp preferred the idea of having two separate pedestals in separate locations if they are designed similar to the one already in place at Venner Park; perhaps the one for Dorothy Davis could located up by the restrooms and near the new handicap accessible sidewalk that will be added.  He felt that the pedestals would be large enough and thus, clearly visible so as not to be a tripping hazard.  President Jacobs asked the Secretary to make a list of all of the suggested location ideas mentioned as a reference for the Directors to consider and discuss further at the next meeting.

The new Covered Picnic Areas (Bid 13-03) were addressed next.  President Jacobs reported that he rode along with Mr. Wade Harris to the San Bernardino County Building Department in Hesperia, during the week prior, to seek their opinion on the Site Plan that had been completed and received from the Engineer a few weeks earlier.  During that meeting, President Jacobs learned for certain that the County would not be willing to issue a building permit for the project unless the plan includes the completion of all of the ADA requirements first.  Because the Board had not authorized the ADA requirements be addressed first as part of phase one of the original project (and the contract signed with Harris Construction), the Board would now need to either amend the contract with Harris Construction or put the new additional ADA compliance jobs out for re-bid in order to comply with the law.  President Jacobs felt that it wouldn’t be fair to Mr. Harris at all to re-bid the entire project (and the Contract already signed with him prevents the Board from doing so) and considering how much time Mr. Harris has already invested into the project, wants to make sure that the Board does the most honorable and ethical thing within the constraints of the law.  Both the Board and Mr. Harris are understandably uncomfortable with the idea of hiring another Contractor to oversee the additional jobs under the same building permit issued to Harris Construction.  Mr. Harris had given a rough estimate that the cost to add the handicap accessible sidewalks and meet all other ADA requirements could increase the cost of the project by as much as $20,000 and that he would be willing and able to do the additional work, but understands that the Board may be required by law to put the new jobs up for bid.  Director Hayhurst reminded the Board that IF the increase of the project is less than 25% of the initial contract ($17,500), they could still give the go ahead to Harris Construction to include the additional sidewalks to meet ADA standards without having to re-bid the whole project.  The Board agreed to ask Mr. Harris if he might be able to use the Site Plan to draw up a formal proposal that includes the additional work for less than the $17,500 in added costs.  President Jacobs expressed his hope that Harris Construction could do so, but he still had concerns and doubts about that possibility because the parking lot also needs some overlay work done to ensure that the slope will be less than 2% to meet ADA requirements.  President Jacobs believed that the building inspectors would be very critical on that item and that if the slope is anywhere near the 2%, then inspectors could require it be re-done, adding to costs substantially.  All in all, the Board still opted to request a formal proposal from Mr. Harris to help them determine for certain if hiring Harris Construction to do the additional work might be possible.

The Plaque to thank Dorothy Davis was addressed next.  President Jacobs read the rough draft of the wording and the Board revised/shortened it a little bit.  The Board agreed to continue discussing the location where the Plaque should be located at a future meeting.  The Board then addressed the Balance of the deposit due to Harris Construction (invoice #1236) for the initial set up of the Covered Picnic Areas project.  Director Hayhurst motioned that the Board pay the remainder of the deposit ($4,349.50) to W.P. Harris Construction.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

Venner Park was addressed.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  There was one item listed on the report; graffiti/vandalism in the restroom.  The deficiency was noted on 5/15/14 and covered over with paint the same day.  The Board was pleased with how quickly it was dealt with.  President Jacobs asked if the Wood Chips had been ordered yet and the Secretary responded that she would get them ordered during the upcoming week.  Director Wilkey reported to the Board that after the concern was mentioned at the last Board Meeting about the condition of the newest Trees at Venner Park, he took some time to inspect them closer and was happy to report that they were all still alive and well.

Director Hayhurst asked the Secretary about the large crack spanning the length of the framed entrance to the kitchen area of the office building that she had brought to the Board’s attention last month.  The Secretary reported that she asked Wade Harris to take a look at it briefly when he was at the office recently and that he did believe its cause to be water leaking in through the roof.  He advised her to have a roofer (Ralph Sanchez was recommended) inspect the roof to get an estimate for repairs needed.  Then once the roof is fixed, the cosmetic repairs on the inside of the building could be addressed.

President Jacobs directed the meeting back to the next item on the Agenda, the Budget Resolution 2014-1 for FY 2013-2014.  President Jacobs motioned to accept the Budget Resolution 2014-1 as presented, with one modification to the document (Director Schendel’s vote to be changed from an “Aye” to “Absent”).  Director Hayhurst seconded the motion.  The Resolution was adopted by the following roll call vote:

            President Jacobs          Aye
            Director Schendel        Absent
            Director Stapp              Aye
            Director Wilkey           Aye
            Director Hayhurst        Aye

The Safety Review Report was read by Director Wilkey.  Director Stapp motioned to accept the report as presented.  Director Hayhurst seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

The Board addressed the Roads next.  It was an item that President Jacobs had requested be added to the Agenda because he had noticed that numerous cracks (many 3 inches or more wide with weeds growing out of them) were becoming a problem on all of the Roads in the community.  The Secretary was directed to send a letter to the County to ask if and when anything would be done to address the problem.  President Jacobs suggested that a copy of the letter be sent to the offices of County Supervisors, James Ramos and Robert A. Lovingood, as well.  She should note that it has been a few years since many of the Roads have had any maintenance work done on them and that they are now in great need of repairs.  Director Stapp brought up another related concern he had about the Roads in the community.  He has noticed that there are several intersections in the Heights where the view is obscured partially or fully, making it difficult and dangerous for drivers to pull out into or across on-coming traffic.  He noted that he personally had almost been hit twice and that the problem is either the result of property owners having trees/shrubbery that is overgrown, or is caused by native creosote bushes that are growing wild on the corners.  Director Stapp asked who should be responsible for making sure that these things are taken care of to prevent potential collisions.  Director Hayhurst suggested that County Code Enforcement should be notified of these dangers so they can write orders and/or citations to residents who need to keep the corners of their property clear for the safety of the public.  The Sheriff could also be notified, but she suggested we start with contacting County Code Enforcement first to find out what they can do.  Director Hayhurst volunteered to make some phone calls and ask about possible solutions and steps the Board can take to help to resolve the problem.

The General Manager reported that she had worked an additional 15 hours over the past two weeks to help her be ready for the Board Meeting.  She also reported that she recently completed a two-hour online webinar class (Records Retention and Management) on May 6th.  She took four pages of notes and has new material to reference as she works on getting the files de-cluttered and re-organized during the upcoming months.  She continues to keep the website (blog) and Facebook page (105 followers) updated.

President Jacobs requested the Directors’ reports.  None of the Directors had anything further to report, but President Jacobs wanted to let the Board know that when he was exterminating Ground Squirrels he noticed a lot of weeds around the office building, as well as a leaking under-ground sprinkler pipe again.  He shut the water off and contacted John Heald of Unique Landscaping to ask him to come back and fix it, but has received no response thus far.

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

There was one item of New Business to address.  The Board had hired a new Auditor recently, and he insisted that the District needs to hire a separate Accountant.  By law, the Secretary cannot continue to act as the Bookkeeper and the Accountant.  New laws require that this safeguard be put into place as soon as possible.  Director Hayhurst motioned that the Board hire Stewart’s Business & Tax Service to serve as our new Accountant.  President Jacobs seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously with Director Wilkey abstaining from the vote.  No Executive Session was requested.  The next Regular Meeting was scheduled for Monday, June 16th, 2014 at 6:00 PM.  The meeting adjourned at 7:21 PM.

Submitted by:
Jen Rubio - Secretary/General Manager
 

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