Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Minutes from 3/27/17 Meeting (approved 4/24/17)

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

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