BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, June 20th, 2016
Vice President Stapp called
the meeting to order at 6:08 PM and Director Hayhurst led the group in the flag
salute. Directors Schendel, Stapp, Wilkey, and Hayhurst were present. President
Jacobs was not able to attend, so Director Stapp presided over and conducted
the meeting. There were no guests in attendance.
The Consent Items were
reviewed. The Secretary reported that the Minutes were not yet complete and
ready to review. After taking four weeks off to recover from surgery, she
discovered that she had confused and mixed up some details from the previous
two meetings, and needed a little more time to correct them. The Financial Reports
for March and April of 2016 were reviewed. Director Wilkey motioned to accept the
Financial Reports as presented. Director Hayhurst 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. The report did specify
that the City had “raised the low sprinkler next to the concrete pad” and the
Board was very happy to know that. The exact status of the ground squirrel
situation was unknown since President Jacobs was not in attendance. The
Secretary reported that while she was at the office one morning, President
Jacobs did come and set off gas cartridges in two holes just outside the office
building, approximately one month ago.
The update on Bid 01-15
(one shade canopy and tables) was addressed next. When asked, the Secretary
confirmed that the job was completely finished. She checked it out and felt
that it was done well and she’d like to pay the Contractor for the work done as
soon as possible. In addition to the final balance due, there were two
“change-up” service orders for additional work requested by President Jacobs or
added as per new County requirements, while they were doing the job. The Board
discussed the additional work and materials used, but wanted clarification from
President Jacobs about exactly why and what each of the additional charges were
for. Even though the Board agreed that they can completely trust the
Contractor, they didn’t feel comfortable paying for the additional work above
the original bid total, until they get clarification about all of the
additional fees charged. Director Wilkey motioned to pay the balance of the
contract, as per the original bid, and wait to pay the two most recent invoices
until the Board can get further information from President Jacobs. Director
Schendel seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
The new tree removal bid
from Town & Country Tree Service (invoice #5712) for removal of the last
two aging trees was discussed. Four trees had already been removed recently due
to hazardous breaking limbs and falling branches. The Board was glad to know the
approximate cost to remove the last two trees, but agreed that they would like
to leave them just a little longer (at least until Fall) and as long as they do
not become as dangerous to the public as the other trees were. The Board agreed
they would like to address the issue again in October to determine whether or
not the trees are dangerous enough at that time to make removing them
necessary. In the meantime, the Secretary will keep a closer eye on them and
inform the Board immediately if either tree appears to become a serious safety
issue.
The new bid from Unique
Landscaping to plant three new trees was addressed. The bid was for trees in
either 24” boxes or 36” boxes. Director Wilkey reported that he had talked with
Terri Peralta (with the City of Barstow) and she recommended, the same as John
Heald had, that fruitless Mulberries really do tend to be the best trees to go
with as they provide the most shade and have the easiest upkeep for their
lifespan. One of the questions the Board had about the bid was approximately
how tall each tree (in each of the various box sizes) would be to start out
with. The Board agreed that they want to go with the largest trees possible
that are still economically reasonable. Director Wilkey called John Heald
during the meeting to get some answers. He learned that trees in a 24” box
would be approximately 5-8 feet tall, trees in a 36” box would be approximately
15 feet tall, and the next largest size (in a 48” box) would cost significantly
higher because they are more difficult to move and plant, but they could be
anywhere from 20-28 feet tall. Mr. Heald would need to contact his supplier
first before being able to give an exact cost for trees that large. The Board
agreed that they would like another bid from Unique Landscaping for the much larger,
and more mature trees (in 48” boxes) that would be more shade-bearing right
away. Director Wilkey will request two new separate bids, one for trees in 36”
boxes and one for trees in the 48” boxes. The Board will address the updated
bids again next month.
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 next. The Secretary had not yet requested an estimate
for the kitchen renovations, or scheduled a date for the new security camera
system to be installed, because of her recent surgery. She needed time to be
sure she was healed enough to be back at work again during her regular office
hours before getting started on those new projects.
The 2016/17 Budget
Workshop was held. Director Hayhurst had a recommendation for the way the
Budget is laid out for the next time. She suggested that the “Park Expenses”
category be broken up into a separate line item that includes “Capital
Improvements.” To her, the park expenses should be the operating expenses and
things like upkeep and maintenance, and should not include all of the large
improvement project expenses like it currently does. There should be a separate
line item for each large capital improvement item that is/was approved. For
example, “Park Canopy #3,” would have its own proposed expense total and actual
expense numbers. The Board and the Secretary agreed that it would be a good
adjustment to be made next time and in future years.
The 2016/17 Budget
Resolution 2016-1 was reviewed, approved, and adopted by the following roll
call vote:
Richard P. Jacobs,
President Absent
Daryl R. Schendel Aye
Robert M. Stapp Aye
Paul V. Wilkey Aye
Jeanette L. Hayhurst Aye
Vice President Stapp and
the Secretary/Board Clerk then signed the Resolution. The Secretary will submit
copies of the Resolution to the County of San Bernardino Auditor/Controller,
the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, and the Auditor, as is the standard
procedure.
The General Manager reported
that it had been exactly 5 weeks since her surgery and that she’s healing well,
getting a lot of sleep, and starting to feel much better. She’d been working in
the office again during the past week to prepare for the current Board Meeting,
and is now ready to get back to working her regular office hours. She also
reported that she’d been working as the General Manager/Secretary of the
District for four years now (since June 12th, 2012), and that she figured that
the Board would want to wait until next month to do her annual employee
evaluation, when President Jacobs could be present to participate in that.
Vice President Stapp asked
for the Directors’ Reports. Director Wilkey reported that when he had been
talking with Terri Peralta regarding the trees, she also mentioned that the
water bill for Barstow Heights Park had doubled, and she wondered if we had
allowed anyone the use of any water hook-ups in the park. He reassured her that
the Board hadn’t ever approved anything like that and that perhaps a
broken/leaking waterline might be the explanation (Mark Gerardi would be the
one to ask about that possibility). The Secretary wondered if the new “deep
watering system” for the three newest trees planted could have made an impact.
She will mention that question/possibility to Mark Gerardi.
Vice President Stapp
asked the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be presented. She
indicated that there were none. Director Hayhurst 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.
The next Regular Meeting
was scheduled for Monday, July 25th at 6:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 7:17 PM.
Submitted by: Jen Rubio - Secretary/General Manager
