Minutes from 3/6/17 Special Meeting (approved 3/27/17)

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT

SPECIAL MEETING

Monday, March 6th, 2017

President Jacobs called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM and Director Hayhurst led the group in the flag salute. Directors Jacobs, Schendel, Stapp, and Hayhurst, were all present. There were five guests present and President Jacobs thanked them all for attending. He explained to the guests the reason an additional Special Meeting was necessary (proposed Resolution 2017-1). There were no public comments or questions.

President Jacobs read aloud Resolution 2017-1, recommending a consolidated election for governing board members with statewide general elections, and approving the rescheduling of such elections from odd-years to even-years, commencing with the 2017 election. Director Hayhurst motioned to pass and adopt Resolution 2017-1 as written. Director Stapp seconded the motion. A guest asked a question about what the anticipated cost increase would be if the Board didn’t pass the Resolution. The Secretary answered that she was told that election costs could increase by as much as 300-400% for any districts that opted to not recommend and participate in the consolidated election. The Resolution was then approved and adopted by the following roll call vote:

               

            Richard P. Jacobs, President             Aye

            Daryl R. Schendel                                Aye

            Robert M. Stapp, Vice President      Aye

            Jeanette L. Hayhurst                           Aye

President Jacobs updated the Board about the recent meeting with Merrell Engineering regarding the engineering necessary to possibly construct sidewalks and curbs along the South side of Barstow Heights Park. Presidents Jacobs, the Secretary, and resident, Gene Low, met with engineer Mark Rowan on Thursday 3/2 at 4pm. There were a few options that Mr. Rowan wanted to investigate further before coming up with an official written estimate. While measuring and taking into account the county right-of-ways, it was determined that a portion of chain-link fencing would either need to be moved inward on the property near the corner of H Street and Beryl Road, or an encroachment permit from the county might be necessary. He also looked at Venner Park to determine some possibilities there as well. Mr. Rowan suggested that Venner Park be surveyed and a plot plan be drawn up, so he could determine exactly where fence lines are located in relation to the county right-of-ways. Flood control plans would also need to be looked at more closely there before the possibility of sidewalks and curbs could be determined there as well. Mr. Rowan hoped to have an official bid/estimate prepared and ready for the Board to consider by the next Regular Meeting.

The General Manager reported that she had provided on the table for the Director’s reference, a copy of the latest newspaper article regarding the annexation issue that was printed in the Desert Dispatch on 2/28/17 (just in case they hadn’t all already seen it). The article was titled, “Barstow City Council approves formation of annexations committee.” She also reported that, as directed, she had delivered in-person a certified copy of an excerpt from the (approved on 2/27) minutes of the January 23rd Board Meeting, to the City Clerk’s office on Thursday 3/2 around 2:30pm. The documentation she gave to the City included a copy of the January 23rd agenda, the certified excerpt of the 1/23 meeting minutes (that stated that the general consensus and agreement of the majority of attending residents was that they were opposed to the annexation), as well as, a copy of the Frequently Asked Questions document that is also referenced in the January 23rd minutes.

President Jacobs asked if the Directors had any reports to share. Director Hayhurst reported that she would be attending the Barstow City Council meeting starting at 7pm that evening. She was listed on the agenda to address another item (regarding water), but will also be there as a representative of the BHCSD and to offer her support to Presidents Jacobs, who planned to speak regarding the possible annexation during the public comments portion of the meeting. Lastly, President Jacobs reported that he had revised the Long Range Plans List to reflect three new categories including: major projects, minor projects, and present/ongoing projects, and provided a copy for all of the Directors that evening. He encouraged them to look it over and be prepared to offer additional suggestions and modifications to the list at the next meeting.

There was no New Business to address and no Executive Session requested. The next Regular Meeting was scheduled for Monday, March 27th at 6:00 PM. Private job interviews with each of the three board member candidates will start at 5:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 6:19 PM.

Submitted by:  Jen Rubio - Secretary/General Manager

Minutes from 2/27/17 Meeting (approved 3/27/17)

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, February 27th, 2017

President Jacobs called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM and the Director Stapp led the group in the flag salute. Directors Jacobs, Schendel, Stapp, and Hayhurst, were all present. There were 7 guests attending, some of whom were residents who still had concerns about the possibility of annexation into the City of Barstow. Questions came up again and the Director’s shared the same information that was shared at the previous meeting, that annexation is very unlikely to happen anytime soon, that it’s a process that could take years for the City to pursue and make progress on, and that the community would have to take a vote and thus, has a voice as to whether or not the City could even go forward with it. The Secretary also shared the list that answers the Frequently Asked Questions they might have about it, with any guests that wanted to take a copy.

The next item of business addressed was the Audit Report. The Auditor was unable to attend the meeting, but was available by phone, so the Secretary called him and put him on speaker phone, so all of the Directors could talk with him briefly starting at 6:07 PM. The Auditor walked the Director’s through the report and reviewed it with them page by page. Director Hayhurst motioned that the Board accept the Audit Report as presented. Director Stapp seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. The Directors thanked Paul (the Auditor) for a job well done, said good-bye, and the Secretary ended the call.

President Jacobs next addressed the Board Vacancy. He reported that three resumes and letters of interest had been received, and that there are three applicants for the position. The Board discussed how to handle that decision. They agreed that they would meet early before the next Regular Meeting in March to interview personally and separately each of the three candidates during a closed executive session; one at 5:00 PM, another at 5:15, and the last at 5:30. Then they would have fifteen minutes before the public meeting starts at 6:00 PM to discuss it privately and make their decision. They will then make their motion and announce their decision at the very beginning of the Regular Meeting.

The filling of the position of the Safety Coordinator (recently vacated by Director Paul Wilkey) was addressed next. Director Stapp volunteered to take on the job and the Board all agreed that would be fantastic, since he had previously done such a great job in the position once before.

The Consent Items were reviewed. Director Schendel motioned to accept the Minutes of the January 23rd, 2017 meeting, along with the Financial Reports for January of 2017, as presented. Director Stapp seconded the motion. Director Hayhurst mentioned that she would work with the Secretary to put together just an excerpt from the minutes regarding the Annexation that was addressed at the January meeting, to submit to the City of Barstow (a certified copy) the following week. The motion carried unanimously.

The Correspondence file was offered for review.

Barstow Heights Park was addressed. The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed. There were no new safety, or maintenance issues listed. The report did say that the grounds-keepers are back to their weekly mowing schedule and that they did recently spray for weeds. President Jacobs reported that he did use a gas cartridge to get the one ground squirrel that he had found since the last meeting.

The Secretary is still working to get some tree-planting bids to help remedy the privacy concerns of the neighbors next to the new shade canopy. New signage, that asks park guests to please clean up after their pets will be looked into further as well.

Venner Park was addressed. The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed. There were no new safety or maintenance issues reported in the past month. This report also said that the grounds-keepers are back to their weekly mowing schedule and that they did recently spray for weeds. The Board reviewed the new estimate received for wood chips to refill the playground areas at both parks (Venner and BHP) and discussed the need briefly. Director Stapp motioned to approve the purchase of and hiring of Turboscape, Inc. to install new wood chips (120 cubic yards; 60 cubic yards at each park) for $5,880. Director Schendel seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

The Office Building and Compound were addressed next. President Jacobs reported that he did spray for weeds around the office building a few weeks prior (between the two rain-storms that occurred). The two bids received for kitchen renovations were not even close in price range and did not appear to include the same kinds of materials, so the Board determined that a more specific list of exactly what the Board wants in the kitchen would be necessary to ensure that the contractors will be doing the same jobs (using similar quality materials). The Board discussed and wrote down in detail exactly what specific things they wanted done and included in the job. The Secretary will ask the bidders to re-bid again based on the new more detailed list.

The Long Range Plans list was addressed next. The Board opted to revise it in more detail next month. Director Hayhurst suggested that perhaps some of the smaller projects could be bundled up into a larger project, and a “project manager” could be hired to take on more of the major things that need doing at one time. President Jacobs suggested that perhaps the ideas listed on the Long Range Plans list would need to be grouped according to the priority/urgency the Board wants to put on them and/or how large the scope of each smaller project might be. The Secretary reported that she had new information regarding the possible addition of sidewalks and curbs at Barstow Heights Park after speaking with Mark Rowan, of Merrell Johnson Engineering in the past week. He was researching the project further and felt that it might be possible to add sidewalks and curbs along the outside edge of the chain-link fencing, as long as a brick-wall a few feet high were to be added to prevent water/debris from flowing through the chain-link fencing. She reported that he would be meeting with her the next Thursday afternoon to measure and discuss the possibilities further and all Directors were also invited and welcome to join the meeting, especially if they have any questions/concerns to address with him.

Form 700 was addressed next. Directors were given their copies to review and sign or notify the Secretary if any corrections needed to be made. The Secretary will submit them to the County Board of Supervisors.

The Safety Review Report was read aloud by the new Safety Coordinator, Director Stapp. Director Hayhurst motioned to accept the Safety Review Report as presented. President Jacobs seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. The Secretary will submit the report to SDRMA.

The General Manager reported that Director Hayhursts’ Ethics Training certificate had arrived and was now posted in the frame on the wall. She also reported that she had recently worked with the Auditor to complete the State Controller’s Report that was now due earlier than it used to be (by the end of January) and that they were able to meet that deadline.

President Jacobs asked if there were any Directors’ reports. There were no additional reports to be shared, but President Jacobs did encourage the Directors to consider attending the City Council Meeting coming up next week (Monday at 7pm) to voice their opinions.

President Jacobs asked the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be presented. She indicated that there were none. Director Schendel motioned to pay all of the bills, as listed on the agenda. Director Stapp seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

There was no New Business and no Executive Session requested. The next Regular Meeting was scheduled for Monday, March 27th at 6:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 7:24 PM.

                                                                       

Submitted by:  Jen Rubio - Secretary/General Manager

Agenda for 3/27 Board Meeting

A G E N D A

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT

Monday, March 27, 2017

EXECUTIVE SESSION – 5:00 PM

REGULAR MEETING – 6:00 PM

1.   Closed Executive Session (starting at 5pm) -

                                          to interview each of the three board member candidates

2.   Call to Order and Flag Salute

3.   Roll Call and Recognition of Guests

4.   Public Comments/Questions

5.   Consent Items:         Minutes – February 27, 2017 and March 6, 2017

                                    Financial Reports – February of 2017

6.   Correspondence

7.   Parks:             Barstow Heights:              Safety Check List and Ground Squirrels

                                                                           Privacy Concerns of neighbors next to shade canopy

                                                                           Lighting - for the basketball court (new bid)

                                 Venner Park:                   Safety Check List

                                               Wood Chips - delivery scheduled for 4/4 (both parks)

                                               Shade Covers - for the playground areas (both parks)

8.   Office Building & Compound:                Kitchen Renovations

9.   Long Range Plans - updated list for 2017

10. CD Maturity

11. General Manager’s Report

12.  Directors’ Reports

13.  Bills:       Edison - $112.69                                         Terminix - $44.00

                       Frontier Communications - $85.77         The Pun Group, LLP - $350.00 (inv. #1600374)

                                                                                                           (financial audit, final prep/presentation)

14.  New Business

15.  Executive Session - Litigation GC54956.99 (A) and Personnel GC54957.1

16.  Adjournment
 

Agenda for 3/6 Special Meeting

A G E N D A

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT

SPECIAL MEETING

Monday, March 6, 2017 - 6:00 PM

  

1.   Call to Order and Flag Salute

2.   Roll Call and Recognition of Guests

3.   Public Comments/Questions

4.   Resolution No. 2017-1 (consolidated election from odd-years to even-years)

5.   Update on recent meeting with Merrell Engineering (sidewalks and curbs)

6.   General Manager’s Report

7.   Directors’ Reports

8.   New Business

9.   Executive Session - Litigation GC54956.99 (A) and Personnel GC54957.1

10.  Adjournment