BARSTOW
HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR
MEETING
Monday,
March 27th, 2017
President Jacobs called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM
and the Secretary led the group in the flag salute. Directors Jacobs, Schendel,
Stapp, and Hayhurst, were all present. There were 4 guests attending, including
the three applicants that had applied for the Director’s position that had been
vacated by Paul Wilkey in December of 2016. The Board had met (Closed Executive
Session) starting at 5:00 PM just prior to the meeting, to conduct private
interviews with each of the three board member candidates. Each applicant was
given a 15 minute interview with the board, to answer the same short list of questions.
Then at 5:45 PM, during the continued Closed Executive Session, the Director’s
discussed and decided who they’d most like to recommend for the position. Then
the first item of business after the roll call and recognition of guests at
6:00 PM, was the announcement that after a difficult discussion and careful
consideration, the Board had chosen Mr. Gene Low to fill the board vacancy. The
Board and guests in attendance offered him their congratulations. President
Jacobs reminded everyone that the recommendation would still need to be
submitted to the County Board of Supervisors, who would then need to approve
the appointment during one of their Board meetings, before the appointment would
become official.
The Consent Items were reviewed. Director Schendel
motioned to accept the Minutes of the February 27th, 2017 meeting and the
Minutes of the March 6th, 2017 special meeting, along with the Financial Reports
for February of 2017, as presented. Director Stapp seconded the motion. The
motion carried unanimously.
The Correspondence file was offered for review. One email
from Mark Rowan of Merrell Johnson Engineering was summarized. The email
updated the Board that an estimate for engineering potential sidewalks and
curbs on the South and Southeast sides of each park is still in the works, as
additional research has been necessary to determine the location of County
right-of-ways and help the engineers know what can and might need to be done to
capture or divert any rain/flood waters. He expected to have an estimate ready
by the next board meeting.
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 expressed his concern that the playground wood chips have
never been noted as deficient, even though both parks have been in need of them
for some time and will be having them replenished very soon. President Jacobs also
reported that he has seen a few ground squirrels (they are back) and he has used
a few gas cartridges to keep them under control in recent weeks.
The Secretary is still working on getting a few
tree-planting bids to help remedy the privacy concerns of the neighbors next door
to the new shade canopy. She also reported that she had just met with Adam from
Zapp Electric last Friday. He had stopped by to see the location where better
lighting is hoped for, and he suggested that he could put up a 6x6 wood pole to
mount a 500-watt LED light, located just inside the fenced-in office compound area
where it would be the most secure. She was expecting to receive an emailed estimate
from him very soon. President Jacobs was concerned that the street lamp shining
from above and just behind the location of the additional light fixture might cause
shadows on the court that would not be ideal. He was also interested in a
“solar” lighting option that could be installed on the Southeast side, so no
additional electrical conduit/wiring would be necessary. The Secretary will
speak with the electrician again to see if he can offer another estimate in
light of that new information.
President Jacobs reported that the new playground wood
chips would be delivered to both parks on Tuesday, April 4th. The Secretary
reported that she would meet to direct the Turboscape, Inc. employees, who
would be driving the two truckloads full for delivery (60 cubic yards each), and
arriving very early that morning (6:30 AM). She also reported that she had
notified Mark Gerardi, so the City of Barstow was already aware of the delivery
as well. The Shade Covers (metal frames constructed and covered with canvas) to
cover the playground areas at both parks were addressed next. Director Stapp
presented the paperwork he had regarding additional research he had done (found
another company, APC Play). He had put many hours in corresponding with their representative, Nick Sanchez, by
phone and email to come up with a new estimate/bid, since the last bid received
from another company was so high. The packet included drawings and specs for
three separate shade canopies using the same dimensions used by the previous
bidder. The Board discussed all of the specifics of the new bid in detail. In
comparison, the previous bid from another company was approximately $130,000
($80,000 at Venner park and $50,000 at BHP) for all three shade canopies and
thus, the reason Director Stapp wanted to see if he could find a better price.
The newer bid Director Stapp procured was close to $40,000 less ($95,000). The
Director’s agreed that they would like to get some references from other
customers to determine if these canopies would be as durable and long-lasting
in quality as the more expensive option. They were also interested in taking a
field trip to see some of the shade canopies in person first (if there are any
located nearby), so they can be more certain of the quality before making any
decisions on the project. Director Stapp will contact them again to ask for
customer references, more details about the durability of the fabric, and a
site inspection so they can confirm that the dimensions as per the estimate are
accurate.
Venner Park was addressed. There were no new safety or
maintenance issues reported in the past month. President Jacobs expressed his
concern about the large raised crack in the sidewalk (near one of the
front-most picnic-areas going towards the restrooms). The Secretary will notify
Mark Gerardi about the potential tripping hazard.
The Office Building and Compound were addressed next. The
Secretary had nothing new to report about the progress on the kitchen
renovations. She had not yet received any updated bids.
The Long Range Plans list was addressed next. The Board
opted to discuss and revise it further next month.
The CD maturity was discussed. Director Stapp motioned
that upon maturity, the Secretary will close and cash in the CD account (ending
in 6325), and deposit those funds into the Savings account. Director Hayhurst
seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
The General Manager reported that she had been in contact
with Nick Benson Jr. again and that she was hopeful that he would be available
to come to the office again very soon to get the new computer system set up and
running finally (all files backed up and transferred).
President Jacobs asked if there were any Directors’
reports. There were none.
President Jacobs 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 listed on the agenda. Director Schendel 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 Monday, April 24th
at 6:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 6:55 PM.
Submitted by: Jen
Rubio - Secretary/General Manager
