BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Tuesday, November 17th, 2015
President Jacobs called
the meeting to order at 6:01 PM and Director Schendel led the group in the flag
salute. Directors Jacobs, Schendel, Stapp, and Wilkey were all present. Director
Hayhurst was expected to arrive shortly. There was one guest in attendance, Mr.
Paul Kaymark, the hired Auditor of the District and Certified Public Accountant
with The Pun Group. There were no public comments/questions. Director Hayhurst
entered the meeting at 6:04 PM.
The Auditor presented and
briefly reviewed the Annual Financial Report with the Board of Directors for
the fiscal year that ended on June 30th, 2015. The Auditor concluded that all
of the information given to them in the report that evening was still in
“draft” form, and that the Board should review it again carefully on their own
and inform him of any edits/corrections that might be needed within one week.
Then the Auditor will complete the “final” copy of the report and send it to
the District by the end of the year. The Board thanked Mr. Kaymark for
presenting his work and he left the meeting at 6:16 PM.
The Consent Items were
reviewed. Director Stapp motioned to accept the Minutes of the October 26th,
2015 Meeting, along with the Financial Reports for October of 2015 as presented.
Director Schendel seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
The Correspondence file was
offered for review.
Barstow Heights Park was
addressed. The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed. There were no safety
or maintenance issues reported in the past month. President Jacobs reported
that he continues to set off gas cartridges outside of the Office Compound
several times a month. The Ground Squirrels continue to re-dig their holes
under and around the office building, but are not seen inside the fenced-in
water tower compound as much anymore. The Directors discussed looking into
“solar-powered stakes” that would add a vibration underground and could
possibly keep the Ground Squirrels from tunneling under the office building
more effectively.
The list of Long Range
Plans for Barstow Heights Park was addressed briefly. The Secretary will have a
revised and updated copy of the list ready for the Board to begin using again
in January of 2016. President Jacobs reported that the newest project (Bid 01-15),
one shade canopy and tables to be installed by Linebaugh Construction on the South
West side of the park, is progressing. The Secretary had given them a deposit
of $24,000 on 10/29 to pay for getting the shade structure and picnic tables
ordered, as well as to get the engineering and permits started. Another $10,000
will be due once the cement slab is completed (possibly by mid-late January),
and the final balance for the project will be due upon completion. President
Jacobs reported that he and the General Manager had also met with Brian
Donohue, Senior Regional Manager of the “Shade Structures” company, and had spent
more than an hour with him discussing and taking measurements for shade
canopies over the playground equipment at both parks. The proposals that had
come back were much higher than anticipated (in excess of $55,000 for one
structure at BHP and $80,000 for two structures at Venner Park, plus the added cost
of lowering some of the playground equipment to rise to the ideal/proper levels
beneath the canopies). The Board will need to continue discussing further
ideas/options for the shade structures, as they agreed that it may not be wise
to use up so much of the budget on just that one project. President Jacobs will
look further into the possibility of engineering and adding a retaining wall
and sidewalk to the front (North) side of the park.
Venner Park was
addressed. The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed. There were no
safety or maintenance issues reported in the past month.
The Office Building and
Compound were addressed. The Secretary was directed to get an estimate from
Unique Landscaping to remove the shrubs in front of the office building and
fill the entire office compound mostly with compacted hard dirt known as “DG”
(Decomposed Granite), as well as some decorative rock in front (preferably not
white rock), and desert landscaping/plants. President Jacobs and Director
Hayhurst determined that a “work date” to come assist the Secretary with
cleaning out the kitchen cupboards be postponed again until late January or
early February.
At 6:52 PM Director
Wilkey began reading the quarterly Safety Review Report aloud. President Jacobs
motioned to accept the report. Director Hayhurst seconded the motion. The
motion carried unanimously.
The Purchasing Policy was
addressed. The Board discussed the final draft of the Purchasing Policy.
Director Wilkey motioned to accept the policy as presented. Director Schendel
seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
The General Manager didn’t
have anything further to report. President Jacobs asked her about the computer.
She admitted that the computer had been acting slow and freezing up a lot
lately. It was determined that the computer was more than five years old and
that it may be time for a new one. Director Hayhurst motioned to give the
Secretary permission to spend up to $1,500 to purchase a new computer (and
accessories) as needed. Director Stapp seconded the motion. The motion carried
unanimously. Director Hayhurst then asked about whether or not the secretary
had been able to send a copy of the transcript of the November 4th Park
Dedication Ceremony to Jan Fowler yet. The Secretary had finished typing it up
and emailed it to all of the Directors the week prior, but still needed to
contact Jan Fowler again for an email address so she could send it to her
(along with digital copies of all of the photos she had taken that day also).
The Secretary will be sure to follow up and send those items to Jan Fowler.
President Jacobs asked if
any of the Directors had any Reports they wanted to discuss. There were none,
but President Jacobs had one item to share and discuss. He had just attended
the new director orientation meeting hosted by the Mojave Water Agency that
morning. He learned that there are grants available to pay for almost anything
and everything and wondered if any of the other Directors knew of anyone that
was good at writing/applying for grants. He hoped that perhaps a grant could
help pay for shade canopies over the playground equipment, but hiring a
professional grant-writer would be necessary. None of the Directors knew of
anyone that might be hirable, and the expense of hiring a professional
grant-writer would still not guarantee that the District would actually get any
of the grant money that it applied for.
President Jacobs asked
the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be presented. She indicated
that there were two new bills that had just arrived; one from Verizon for
$83.03 and one from The Pun Group (Auditor) for $350.00. Director Wilkey motioned
to pay all of the bills as presented. Director Schendel seconded the motion. The
motion carried unanimously. There was no New Business to address and no
Executive Session was requested.
President Jacobs motioned
to give the General Manager permission to pay all of the bills in December.
Director Hayhurst seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
The next Regular Meeting
was scheduled for Monday, January 25th at 6:00 PM.
The meeting adjourned at 7:22
PM.
Submitted by:
Jen Rubio - Secretary/General
Manager
