BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, July 24th, 2017
President Jacobs called
the meeting to order at 6:00 PM and Director Low led the group in the flag
salute. Three directors were present (Jacobs, Low, and Stapp) and two directors
were absent (Hayhurst and Schendel). There were no guests attending.
The consent items were
reviewed. Presidents Jacobs motioned to accept the minutes of the June 19th, 2017
meeting, along with the financial reports for June of 2017, as presented.
Director Low seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
The correspondence file was
offered for review. President Jacobs shared a letter from LAFCO informing the district
that their office is moving to a new location in San Bernardino. He also
presented a five-page letter just received from the San Manuel Band of Mission
Indians. He volunteered to read and study it further, then bring it back to the
next board meeting for further discussion and consideration.
Barstow Heights Park was
addressed. The safety check list from the City of Barstow was reviewed. There were
no new safety or maintenance issues listed. The report did specify that the park
had recently been fertilized with nitra king fertilizer. President Jacobs
reported that he continues to keep the ground squirrels under control and that there
haven’t been very many new holes to deal with.
The secretary had no new
information from Unique Landscaping regarding the pepper tree planting job. The
two new trees were still “on order” but expected to arrive for planting very
soon.
The bid received for the installation
of a new street lamp near the basketball court (Bid 02-17) was discussed. The
price of the project was much higher than anticipated, and the board agreed
that they’d like to look in to other possibilities (like solar lighting
perhaps), before hiring anyone for the job. President Jacobs motioned to
decline the only bid received. Director Stapp seconded the motion. The motion
carried unanimously. President Jacobs reported that the secretary had received
another bid that morning for installing outdoor lighting, but because that bid
hadn’t arrived by the required deadline, it could not be considered. There was
also uncertainty as to whether or not the estimate included “prevailing wages”
in their pricing, as is required by law. The Secretary will follow up with the
bidder for more information and will ask both bidders if they would be
interested in submitting new proposals that can include more affordable solar
lighting options, instead of electric.
Director Stapp updated the
board that the worn-out net on the basketball court at Barstow Heights Park
that he had reported on last month had been replaced. He had intended to purchase
and replace the net himself, but discovered that it had already been done. The
person who replaced the net was unknown, so the secretary will ask Mark Gerardi
with the City of Barstow if he knows who might have replaced it (a City
employee or a good Samaritan perhaps?) to try to solve the mystery.
Venner Park was addressed.
The safety check list from the City of Barstow was reviewed. There were no new
safety or maintenance issues reported.
Director Stapp updated the
board regarding progress on the shade cover project (three canopies to shade
the playground equipment at both parks). Since the plot plan of Venner Park was
recently completed, the secretary now needs to know what size and format (hard
copy or digital) is needed to send the plot plan on to the shade cover company
so the project can move forward.
The new trash cans that
are needed at both parks were addressed next. The board discussed the current
cost of ordering 22 new trash cans (9 at BHP and 13 at Venner), which would
total $8,360 plus the cost of freight and
tax (which was estimated to be approximately $800-1000). The secretary will first
need to get permission from the City of Barstow to ship to, unload, and store
them at the City warehouse like had been done before (and since a forklift is
required to unload them). Director Stapp motioned to approve the purchase of
the 22 trash cans for $8,360 plus the cost of freight and taxes. Director Low
seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. The board will discuss who
they might hire to install the trash cans at the next regular meeting when more
directors are present.
The office building and compound
were addressed next. There was no new progress on the kitchen renovation job to
report. The secretary did report that Unique Landscape had been at the office
on Monday afternoon 7/17 and had worked for 2.5 hours to remove all the weeds,
replace 12 plants that were dead, re-set the sprinkler timer, and instructed
her how to gradually reduce the water settings as the weather begins to cool, to
prevent the new plants from freezing or being overwatered.
The board briefly discussed
the letter received from the San Bernardino County CSDA regarding a legal issue
involving LAFCO. The director’s agreed that the item was of importance simply
to help them stay educated and informed, then determined that no response or
action was necessary.
Further review of the list
of long range plans was postponed until when more directors are present.
The general manager reported
that in addition to being excited about the new landscaping outside the office
building that looks great again, she was also very happy to get the new computer
system up and running finally. Her husband Jose, who knows a lot about
computers, assisted her in making that happen. They purchased an external hard
drive from Walmart and saved all the old files to it, so she still has access
to any of the old documents she might need to utilize on the new computer. She
will also continue to use the external hard drive to back-up her current files
monthly. She will keep the external hard drive stored with her off-site, so
that the district will always have access to most of its critical documents in
case a fire or other emergency makes access to the office computer impossible.
The secretary was directed to take herself and her husband out to dinner at the
district’s expense, to thank them for the extra hours they both spent working
to get the new computer set up.
President Jacobs asked for
any directors’ reports. Director Stapp shared his concerns that the roads are getting
bad again (large cracks and potholes) and would like more information about
if/when there are any plans being made by the county to do some repairs. The
Secretary will send an email to Bill Little to ask about it and will begin
drafting a letter to the County Board of Supervisors Representative to request
that more attention be paid to improving the condition of the roads in Barstow
Heights.
President Jacobs asked the
secretary if there were any additional bills to be presented. She indicated
that there was one that had just arrived; a bill from Unique Landscaping for
$400 (invoice #8906). Director Stapp motioned to pay all the bills, as presented.
Director Low 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, August 28th at 6:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 7:02
PM.
Submitted
by:
Jen Rubio
Secretary/General Manager
