Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Minutes from 11/17/15 Meeting (approved 1/25/16)

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

Friday, January 22, 2016

Agenda for 1/25 Board Meeting

A G E N D A
BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, January 25th, 2016 - 6:00 PM

1.   Call to Order and Flag Salute

2.   Roll Call and Recognition of Guests

3.   Oath of Office and Election of Officers

4.   Public Comments/Questions

5.   Consent Items:   Minutes – November 17th, 2015
                              Financial Reports – November and December of 2015

6.   Correspondence

7.   Parks:        Barstow Heights:    Safety Check List and Ground Squirrels
                                                            Long Range Plans List
                                                                 Update on Bid 01-15 (one shade canopy and tables)            
                                                                 Engineering for retaining wall & sidewalks (in front)                       

                         Venner Park:            Safety Check List
                                  Long Range Plans List

8.   Office Building & Compound:       Long Range Plans List

9.   Final Review of the Audit Report

10.  Policies and Procedures Manual – Banking Policy

11.  General Manager’s Report

12.  Directors’ Reports

13.  Bills:         Edison - $107.52         Terminix - $40.00       Verizon - $83.03
                         U.S. Treasury - $20.11 (late fee, 3rd Qtr. 941)

14.  New Business

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

16.  Adjournment
 

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

San Bernardino County: 2015 Year in Review

Happy New Year!
We just wanted to share the link to this article/report from High Desert Daily news online. We hope that it is helpful and informative to those who like to stay up to date
on what is happening in our County: