BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 24, 2015
President Jacobs called
the meeting to order at 6:01 PM and Director Wilkey led the group in the flag
salute. Directors Jacobs, Stapp, Wilkey, and Hayhurst were all present. Director
Schendel was absent. There were no guests in attendance.
The Consent Items were
reviewed. Director Hayhurst motioned to accept the Minutes of the July 27th,
2015 Meeting, along with the Financial Reports for July of 2015 as presented. Director
Stapp seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
The Correspondence file was
offered for review. Each Director received an invitation from the Helendale
Community Services District, to attend the upcoming grand opening of Helendale
Community Park on September 12th.
Barstow Heights Park was
addressed. The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed. There were no deficiencies
noted on the list. Another shipment of Gas Cartridges used to control the Ground
Squirrels had been ordered and were expected to arrive soon. Director Hayhurst
reported that she had talked with Perry (of Golden State Water Company) and he
had confirmed that the small chicken wire fence that was just put in close to
and around the water tank is electric. It may take a few weeks to determine how
well it is working, since it was so newly installed. President Jacobs and
Director Hayhurst agreed that they would work together to get permission/access
from the water company to set off a few gas cartridges just inside the outer
edges of their fenced-in compound during the first week of October.
The Board discussed
choosing a date for the Plaque Dedication and Cake-cutting ceremony at Barstow
Heights Park. Director Hayhurst will make a few phone calls to determine what
day of the week and time would work best for the city employees to stop by
during their work-day for a quick ceremony, so that a specific date in October or
November can be decided on at the next meeting.
The updated list of Long
Range Plans for Barstow Heights Park was reviewed. President Jacobs reported
that he had already started to type up the list of desired specifications for
another Bid Sheet (Bid 01-15). The work to be done would include the addition
of two more covered picnic areas. The Directors agreed they wanted to get
started on the project right away, even if the work wasn’t likely to be completed
until next Spring. Director Stapp mentioned his concerns about putting up two
more canopies that would take away so much of the open grass areas that guests
want and need to put up their bounce houses. He suggested that just one more
canopy be added (not two) and the Board worked out all of the specifications
they wanted to include on the final Bid Sheet. The Secretary will mail out the
Bid Sheets in early September, which will then be due by October 13th, so the
Board can review them at the October 26th Board Meeting. Next, the Secretary
reported that she had submitted the “project information sheet” to Southern California
Edison to request that a service technician come to determine what options the
District has for adding new street lamps/lighting on the East side of the
Basketball Court, but no further progress had been made on that yet. President
Jacobs also reminded everyone that the Shade Covers over the playground
equipment (at both parks) are needed before it gets hot again next summer and
that project should be pursued quickly also. He will call Angel (the one from
Ft. Irwin that Director Schendel had recommended previously) to request a job
walk-though and bid after he returns from his vacation next month.
Venner Park was addressed.
The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed. There were no deficiencies
noted on the list. The updated list of Long Range Plans for Venner Park was
reviewed. Director Hayhurst reported that she had received a few ideas (including
pull-up bars) from a friend that exercises with the group at Venner Park. They
were so thrilled to have been asked for their input and she will follow up with
them again to see if they have any more ideas/requests for the fitness area.
The Office Building and
Compound were addressed. The Bulletin Board (ordered from Belson Outdoors) will
be delivered in the coming week. The Contract from JDR Construction to fix up
and paint the office interior was reviewed. Director Hayhurst suggested that kitchen
be renovated also once the rest of the office has been improved. She
also suggested that the Board of Directors plan a work day when they can come
to the office and assist the Secretary with cleaning out the cupboards in the
kitchen. The Board resumed discussing the Bid/Proposal from JDR Construction.
Director Wilkey motioned to accept the bid as presented. Director Hayhurst
seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. The Secretary will notify
JDR Construction that they are hired to do the work.
The Secretary reported
that once she receives the sample Purchasing Policy document from Helendale
CSD, she will begin writing the new Purchasing Policy. She will also be
revising the Outline and Review Schedule for the Policies and Procedures Manual
as suggested by Director Hayhurst.
The General Manager
reported that she had talked with the County Elections Office about what is
needed to get Director Schendel “appointed in lieu of election” to fill his vacancy
on the board next year. She also reported that she had attended the
Neighborhood Watch meeting at Barstow Heights Park along with President Jacobs
and Director Stapp on Thursday morning 8/20. Three officers presented and it
was attended by approximately 25 people. She now has new and current resources
she can share with anyone who wants to know more about the Neighborhood Watch
program and she learned more about community safety in general. President
Jacobs added that the meeting had reminded him about some Neighborhood Watch Signs
that the District had purchased and put up many years ago. He found that there
are now just two of those signs left (one on Rimrock road and one on L street) out
of the many signs that had been put up. Lastly, the General Manager let the
Board know that she had been making a mistake on the amount she was taking from
her paychecks to pay social security. She hadn’t been aware that the law (and
deduction amount) had changed in January 2013, so she kept deducting the same
amount she had since she began working for the District. The accountant and
auditor were told of the situation as soon as she realized it and it is now
being calculated correctly. The good news was that the District has always paid
the correct amount required to the government, so there are no late fees,
penalties, or legal issues as a result. There are still a few questions for the
Auditor that need resolving, but the Secretary will continue to work with him
and the accountant to make sure the District receives from her any money that
might be owed back to it.
President Jacobs asked if
there were any Directors’ Reports to discuss. Due to vacations and a variety of
personal scheduling conflicts, Director Stapp brought up the concern whether enough
Directors would be available to meet on the 4th Monday in September. They agreed
to move the next meeting to the 4th Tuesday night instead. Director Stapp also
asked if anyone was aware of what had been going on with the Yermo CSD. He had
read in the newspaper that they were in some trouble for not being in
compliance on certain things. He wanted to be sure our District has always complied
with those same requirements and the President and General Manager confirmed
that the District has and does. Director Wilkey shared another idea to add to
the list of park improvements: Bicycle
racks. Another idea that had been suggested to him is to add a “walking path”
of some kind around the park(s). He suggested that this could most easily be
added at Barstow Heights Park where there is an easement between the homes and
fence on the West side where a sidewalk could be added that extends all around
the entire property. Director Hayhurst suggested the pathway could be made of the
recycled rubber material that is cushioned to walk on. A retaining wall and
steps added to the front (North) side of BHP was then mentioned as a
possibility (to create room for a level sidewalk/walking path). The Secretary
was directed to add all of these ideas to the Long Range Plans list.
President Jacobs asked
the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be presented. She indicated
that there was one new bill from USDA APHIS Wildlife for $249.06 (to
purchase rodent gas cartridges). Director Wilkey motioned
to pay all of the bills as presented. Director Stapp seconded the motion. The motion
carried unanimously. There was no New Business to address and no Executive
Session requested.
The next Regular Meeting
was scheduled for Tuesday, September 29th at 6:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 7:06
PM.
Submitted by:
Jen Rubio - Secretary/General
Manager
