Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Minutes from 1/23/17 Meeting (approved 2/27/17)

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, January 23rd, 2017 

President Jacobs called the meeting to order at 6:03 PM and led the group in the flag salute. Directors Jacobs, Schendel, Stapp, and Hayhurst, were all present. Director Wilkey was also attending, but seated with the audience. A large number of guests were present. The sign-in sheet listed the names of 48 attendees who filled every chair available in the building and left standing room only. Late-comers squeezed into every corner and some had to remain standing in or just outside of the entrance-way to listen.

President Jacobs thanked everyone for coming and began by addressing Agenda item numbers 3 and 4. He led the roll call and then read aloud the resignation letter submitted by Director Paul Wilkey (dated and effective December 12th, 2016). Director Wilkely felt the need to resign due to his recent election to the Barstow Community College Board of Directors. President Jacobs motioned to accept “with regrets” the resignation of Director Wilkey, and emphasized that Paul had done a fantastic job as a board member and will be missed greatly. Director Stapp seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

The next item of business addressed was the informational part of the meeting concerning the possible annexation of Barstow Heights into the City of Barstow (and thus, the reason so many concerned residents attended). President Jacobs reminded everyone that the discussion is meant to be “informational only” and that no action by the Board would be taken that night. Director Hayhurst was introduced to present and clarify all of the information that was currently known. She began by stating that “We don’t yet have an opinion as a Board,” but rather, would like to get accurate information out to the residents and then hear their input also, so the Board can then determine what direction and/or position they might take. She explained that if pursued, the first step the City would take would likely be to hold a “protest hearing,” and IF it seemed to them that enough residents were in favor of the annexation, THEN the City would proceed with sending out a ballot to every property owner. Renters/tenants would not have a vote in the first election. If the results of that initial election are that 50% or more of the property owners are opposed to annexation, then it is instantly dead. However, every non-vote would count as a vote of “yes” in favor of the annexation. If the first election is favorable towards annexation, then the issue would go to another election in which the renters/tenants votes would be counted also. At best, the whole process could take upwards of a year or more, so she reassured everyone that there is no reason to be overly-concerned about it happening quickly at this point, unless or until the City and/or LAFCO takes action to pursue it further. Director Hayhurst then addressed the ten most common questions residents might have regarding what changes they could expect as a resident of the City, as opposed to the way things are with the County currently. The secretary will type up a separate detailed list of these questions and answers, as well as, a transcript of the more lengthy discussion that ensued, that can then be shared with residents upon request. The discussion continued, many questions were addressed, and a lot of guests expressed their opinions. The general consensus and agreement of the people was that the majority of the residents present were not interested in being annexed into the City, and some were very opposed to it.

President Jacobs thanked everyone for attending and for voicing their concerns and opinions. He invited them to feel welcome to attend any future meetings (usually held on the 4th Monday of each month) and to call or email the Secretary anytime, if they have further questions, ideas, or suggestions to offer the District (especially any ideas they might have to improve the parks and community). The annexation issue will only come up again at future meetings if or when the City and/or LAFCO determine to pursue it further, as there was just not enough interest in favor of the annexation to give reason for the District to pursue it. The crowd was told that they were welcome to stay or go if they needed to, and were dismissed at 6:54 PM. Nine guests opted to stay for the rest of the meeting. The meeting re-adjourned at 6:56 PM.

President Jacobs announced to the remainder of the guests that the Board now had a vacancy to be filled, and that anyone interested in the position should submit a letter of interest, that could also include their professional resume, to the Secretary as soon as possible. The only requirement is that a potential Board member must be a registered voter and be a resident of the Barstow Heights. The Secretary had not yet received the final Audit Report, so the Board skipped it and will plan to address that agenda item next month.

The Consent Items were reviewed. Director Schendel motioned to accept the Minutes of the December 12th, 2016 meeting, along with the Financial Reports for November and December of 2016, as presented. Director Stapp seconded the motion. President Jacobs asked the Secretary if she had closed the CD account and moved the funds into the savings account as directed to do during the December meeting, and her reply was, “Yes.” 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 new safety, or maintenance issues listed. President Jacobs reported that the ground squirrels were still hibernating, and he hadn’t seen any in weeks.

There was no new progress to report regarding the remedying of the privacy concerns of the neighbors next to the new shade canopy, but the Secretary will make it a top priority to get some estimates for the planting of two new trees between the neighbors’ fence and the park. The remaining issues of concern that the Board had about the previous tree-planting job that had not been done to their full satisfaction, had been fixed and resolved, just as the General Manager had requested. A guest offered the suggestion that the Board consider providing a pet waste disposal station with bags, to encourage park guests to clean up after their dogs. President Jacobs thanked him and added that it was an idea that the Directors had discussed and considered before, and that the Board would be glad to discuss it again further at the next meeting. Perhaps some new signage to remind guests of their responsibility to clean up after their pets would be helpful also.

Venner Park was addressed. The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed. There were no new safety or maintenance issues reported in the past month. The Secretary reported that when she asked John Rowe about whether or not there’s anything he can do to roughen up the surface of the basketball court at Venner Park to make it less slick (perhaps coat it with something or grind the top surface somehow), his response was that he had never done that, and preferred not to because he couldn’t guarantee that it would fix the issue for even a short length of time. His recommendation was to completely demolish the slab and replace it.

The Office Building and Compound were addressed next. The Secretary reported that she had received two proposals for the kitchen renovation job, but one bid included pricing based on prevailing wages, while the other did not. She had just recently learned that a non-prevailing wage bid was acceptable for jobs that are repairs, maintenance, or small improvements (and not new construction), so she had requested and was waiting on a revised bid from one of the applicants, so that both bids could be compared fairly by the Board.

The General Manager reported that she finally had a working internet connection again. After being promised that Spectrum could provide new and faster internet service, the service was then denied due to the location of the office building and it being too far outside of their established service area. This meant that Frontier continues to be the only option for internet service. Several Frontier technician’s came by and it took more than one appointment and several attempts before they were finally able to remedy the connection problems she had been having since December 12th, 2016. In addition to the internet service having been disconnected by mistake, the computer also required a brand-new modem replacement as well.

President Jacobs asked if there were any Directors’ reports. Director Hayhurst reported that she had recently completed her Ethics Training course and that the Secretary could expect to receive her certificate of completion in the mail very soon. There were no additional reports from any of the Directors.

President Jacobs asked the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be presented. She indicated that there were none. Director Stapp motioned to pay all of the bills, as listed on the agenda and presented. Director Schendel seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

The next Regular Meeting was scheduled for Monday, February 27th at 6:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 7:34 PM.
 
Submitted by:  Jen Rubio - Secretary/General Manager

Friday, February 24, 2017

Agenda for 2/27 Board Meeting

A G E N D A
BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, February 27, 2017 - 6:00 PM

1.   Call to Order and Flag Salute

2.   Roll Call and Recognition of Guests

3.   Public Comments/Questions

4.   The Audit Report (via telephone on speaker)

5.   Board Vacancy (and filling of the Safety Coordinator position)

6.   Consent Items:         Minutes – January 23, 2017
                                    Financial Reports – January of 2017

7.   Correspondence

8.   Parks:             Barstow Heights:           Safety Check List and Ground Squirrels
                                                                        Privacy concerns of neighbors next to shade canopy      

                               Venner Park:                 Safety Check List
                                             Wood chips (needed for both playground areas)

9.   Office Building & Compound:             Kitchen renovations (2 bids received)

10.  Long Range Plans (updated for 2017)

11.  Form 700

12.  Safety Review Report (for SDRMA)

13. General Manager’s Report

14.  Directors’ Reports

15.  Bills:       Edison - $110.14                                       Terminix - $42.00
                       Frontier Communications - $85.77       U.S. Postal Service - $49.00 (roll of 100 stamps)

16.  New Business

17.  Executive Session - Litigation GC54956.99 (A) and Personnel GC54957.1

18.  Adjournment