BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 28th, 2017
President Jacobs called
the meeting to order at 6:00 PM and Director Schendel led the group in the flag
salute. All directors were present (Jacobs, Schendel, Stapp, Hayhurst, and Low).
There were no guests attending.
The consent items were
reviewed. Director Stapp motioned to accept the minutes of the July 24th, 2017
meeting, along with the financial reports for July of 2017, as presented.
Director Low seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0. Director
Schendel and Director Hayhurst abstained from the vote due to their absences
from the previous meeting.
The correspondence file was
offered for review. President Jacobs shared email correspondence from the week
prior between the secretary and Bill Little, the county roads supervisor, regarding
upcoming road work that had just begun. The improvements will be performed on
the county sections of Rimrock Road, H Street, and L Street from 8/28 to 9/26.
The Secretary had shared a blog post on Facebook informing the public and
reminding them to please slow down and expect delays.
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. President Jacobs reported that the
ground squirrels under control as there had been no new holes to deal with
since last month.
The two new pepper trees
recently planted by Unique Landscaping were discussed briefly. One of the trees
isn’t looking very healthy, but the secretary was reassured that Unique
Landscaping is keeping a close eye on it, has been giving it extra water, and
that they will replace it if it doesn’t recover soon.
The street lamp near the
basketball court was discussed again. President Jacobs will get more
information to the secretary regarding the exact solar street light he is
interested in (50 watt solar-powered LED), so she can request another installation
estimate from Zapp Electric.
Venner Park was addressed.
The safety check list from the City of Barstow was reviewed. There were no new
safety or maintenance issues reported. The board was aware that there are still
some trees and bushes that need replacing, but the City is working on that.
Director Stapp commented that the grass there continues to look “really good.”
The shade cover project (three
canopies to shade the playground equipment at both parks) was addressed again. President
Jacobs had a lot of questions and concerns and a lengthy discussion ensued. President
Jacobs motioned to approve the hiring of APC Play to purchase and install the shade
structures for the amount quoted ($89,011.76), but not to exceed $100,000, to
allow for the small possibility that the costs might increase a little if any
additional equipment/engineering/permit fees are required later. Director
Schendel seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
The new trash cans that
are needed at both parks were discussed again. The purchase of 22 new trash
cans (9 at BHP and 13 at Venner park), had been approved at the last meeting
and the secretary had made some progress, as she now had permission from Mark at
the City to have them shipped to and stored briefly at the City warehouse, like
had been done once before (because a forklift is required to unload them). She
will get the trash cans ordered and get an estimate from John Rowe to determine
the cost of installing them once they arrive (prevailing wages included).
The office building and compound
were addressed next. The secretary should finally have the re-bids for the
kitchen renovation job ready for the board to consider at the next meeting in
September. Director Hayhurst requested that the weeds that had grown back
quickly be removed again.
President Jacobs read a
short excerpt from the letter received from the San Manuel Band of Mission
Indians to clarify how it might impact the district. Because none of the
districts’ projects are expected to effect surrounding land/resources,
reporting them to the tribe will most likely never be necessary.
The best practices of
“capitalization thresholds for capital assets” document, as provided by the
Auditor, was reviewed and clarified. Director Hayhurst motioned to approve and
implement the best practices, as is the standard accepted practice, and as was recommended
by the auditor; motion to be adopted retroactively to July 1, 2016 and going
forward. Director Stapp seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
Discussion about water
conservation was skipped, but will be added to the agenda again in October.
Director Stapp presented
the safety review report. Director Schendel motioned to accept the report as
presented. Director Low seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
The secretary will mail the approved and signed report to SDRMA as usual.
The general manager reported
having another very busy month that required her to work additional hours to
finish just the most urgent things. The auditor’s assistant, Jesse, had been at
the office on Tuesday 8/8 to complete several hours of field work/sampling. She
also continued to meet with Deb, the accountant, several times to finish up
more accounting work that the auditor requested be done. She had purchased and
installed a new Microsoft Office program for the new computer. Using the
program now requires that it be renewed by paid subscription annually. She had
been to the bank, and provided them with a copy of the approved minutes necessary
to remove a former Director (Wilkey) from the signature card and add new Director,
Gene Low, to the account. He will stop by the bank to sign and finalize that
paperwork. Finally, she requested some direction on exactly how much money the
Board wanted her to move from Savings to Checking, so the large check she will be
writing to pay the deposit towards the new shade structures will be covered.
Director Hayhurst motioned that the secretary transfer $50,000. Director
Schendel seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. The Directors
will stay briefly to take their annual “group photo” after the meeting adjourns.
President Jacobs asked if
there were any directors’ reports. Director Stapp thanked the board for finally
approving the shade cover project and promised to keep everyone updated on its
progress. President Jacobs reported that he had a conversation with a golden
state water company employee working near his home recently. He was told that
they now have the permit required to put a new water tank in at the top of the
Heights (near the radio tower), so its construction and the removal of the old water
tower located in front of the district office building is that much closer to
happening.
President Jacobs asked the
secretary if there were any additional bills to be presented. She indicated
that there were none. Director Low motioned to pay all the bills, as presented.
Director Stapp 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, September 25th at 6:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 7:13 PM.
Submitted
by:
Jen Rubio
Secretary/General Manager
Jen Rubio
Secretary/General Manager
