Thursday, October 8, 2015

Minutes from 8/24/15 Meeting (approved 9/29/15)

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 24, 2015

President Jacobs called the meeting to order at 6:01 PM and Director Wilkey led the group in the flag salute. Directors Jacobs, Stapp, Wilkey, and Hayhurst were all present. Director Schendel was absent. There were no guests in attendance.

The Consent Items were reviewed. Director Hayhurst motioned to accept the Minutes of the July 27th, 2015 Meeting, along with the Financial Reports for July of 2015 as presented. Director Stapp seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

The Correspondence file was offered for review. Each Director received an invitation from the Helendale Community Services District, to attend the upcoming grand opening of Helendale Community Park on September 12th.

Barstow Heights Park was addressed. The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed. There were no deficiencies noted on the list. Another shipment of Gas Cartridges used to control the Ground Squirrels had been ordered and were expected to arrive soon. Director Hayhurst reported that she had talked with Perry (of Golden State Water Company) and he had confirmed that the small chicken wire fence that was just put in close to and around the water tank is electric. It may take a few weeks to determine how well it is working, since it was so newly installed. President Jacobs and Director Hayhurst agreed that they would work together to get permission/access from the water company to set off a few gas cartridges just inside the outer edges of their fenced-in compound during the first week of October.

The Board discussed choosing a date for the Plaque Dedication and Cake-cutting ceremony at Barstow Heights Park. Director Hayhurst will make a few phone calls to determine what day of the week and time would work best for the city employees to stop by during their work-day for a quick ceremony, so that a specific date in October or November can be decided on at the next meeting.

The updated list of Long Range Plans for Barstow Heights Park was reviewed. President Jacobs reported that he had already started to type up the list of desired specifications for another Bid Sheet (Bid 01-15). The work to be done would include the addition of two more covered picnic areas. The Directors agreed they wanted to get started on the project right away, even if the work wasn’t likely to be completed until next Spring. Director Stapp mentioned his concerns about putting up two more canopies that would take away so much of the open grass areas that guests want and need to put up their bounce houses. He suggested that just one more canopy be added (not two) and the Board worked out all of the specifications they wanted to include on the final Bid Sheet. The Secretary will mail out the Bid Sheets in early September, which will then be due by October 13th, so the Board can review them at the October 26th Board Meeting. Next, the Secretary reported that she had submitted the “project information sheet” to Southern California Edison to request that a service technician come to determine what options the District has for adding new street lamps/lighting on the East side of the Basketball Court, but no further progress had been made on that yet. President Jacobs also reminded everyone that the Shade Covers over the playground equipment (at both parks) are needed before it gets hot again next summer and that project should be pursued quickly also. He will call Angel (the one from Ft. Irwin that Director Schendel had recommended previously) to request a job walk-though and bid after he returns from his vacation next month.

Venner Park was addressed. The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed. There were no deficiencies noted on the list. The updated list of Long Range Plans for Venner Park was reviewed. Director Hayhurst reported that she had received a few ideas (including pull-up bars) from a friend that exercises with the group at Venner Park. They were so thrilled to have been asked for their input and she will follow up with them again to see if they have any more ideas/requests for the fitness area.

The Office Building and Compound were addressed. The Bulletin Board (ordered from Belson Outdoors) will be delivered in the coming week. The Contract from JDR Construction to fix up and paint the office interior was reviewed. Director Hayhurst suggested that kitchen be renovated also once the rest of the office has been improved. She also suggested that the Board of Directors plan a work day when they can come to the office and assist the Secretary with cleaning out the cupboards in the kitchen. The Board resumed discussing the Bid/Proposal from JDR Construction. Director Wilkey motioned to accept the bid as presented. Director Hayhurst seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. The Secretary will notify JDR Construction that they are hired to do the work.

The Secretary reported that once she receives the sample Purchasing Policy document from Helendale CSD, she will begin writing the new Purchasing Policy. She will also be revising the Outline and Review Schedule for the Policies and Procedures Manual as suggested by Director Hayhurst.

The General Manager reported that she had talked with the County Elections Office about what is needed to get Director Schendel “appointed in lieu of election” to fill his vacancy on the board next year. She also reported that she had attended the Neighborhood Watch meeting at Barstow Heights Park along with President Jacobs and Director Stapp on Thursday morning 8/20. Three officers presented and it was attended by approximately 25 people. She now has new and current resources she can share with anyone who wants to know more about the Neighborhood Watch program and she learned more about community safety in general. President Jacobs added that the meeting had reminded him about some Neighborhood Watch Signs that the District had purchased and put up many years ago. He found that there are now just two of those signs left (one on Rimrock road and one on L street) out of the many signs that had been put up. Lastly, the General Manager let the Board know that she had been making a mistake on the amount she was taking from her paychecks to pay social security. She hadn’t been aware that the law (and deduction amount) had changed in January 2013, so she kept deducting the same amount she had since she began working for the District. The accountant and auditor were told of the situation as soon as she realized it and it is now being calculated correctly. The good news was that the District has always paid the correct amount required to the government, so there are no late fees, penalties, or legal issues as a result. There are still a few questions for the Auditor that need resolving, but the Secretary will continue to work with him and the accountant to make sure the District receives from her any money that might be owed back to it.

President Jacobs asked if there were any Directors’ Reports to discuss. Due to vacations and a variety of personal scheduling conflicts, Director Stapp brought up the concern whether enough Directors would be available to meet on the 4th Monday in September. They agreed to move the next meeting to the 4th Tuesday night instead. Director Stapp also asked if anyone was aware of what had been going on with the Yermo CSD. He had read in the newspaper that they were in some trouble for not being in compliance on certain things. He wanted to be sure our District has always complied with those same requirements and the President and General Manager confirmed that the District has and does. Director Wilkey shared another idea to add to the list of park improvements:  Bicycle racks. Another idea that had been suggested to him is to add a “walking path” of some kind around the park(s). He suggested that this could most easily be added at Barstow Heights Park where there is an easement between the homes and fence on the West side where a sidewalk could be added that extends all around the entire property. Director Hayhurst suggested the pathway could be made of the recycled rubber material that is cushioned to walk on. A retaining wall and steps added to the front (North) side of BHP was then mentioned as a possibility (to create room for a level sidewalk/walking path). The Secretary was directed to add all of these ideas to the Long Range Plans list.

President Jacobs asked the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be presented. She indicated that there was one new bill from USDA APHIS Wildlife for $249.06 (to purchase rodent gas cartridges). Director Wilkey motioned to pay all of 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 Tuesday, September 29th at 6:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 7:06 PM.

Submitted by:
Jen Rubio - Secretary/General Manager

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