Currently Seeking a New Board Member!

Only one candidate, Director Robert Stapp, filed a declaration of candidacy to fill one of the upcoming vacancies on the Board of Directors for the Barstow Heights Community Services District, so we are currently looking for one more person who may be interested in becoming a Director.  Because too few candidates filed a declaration of candidacy in May 2013 for the open position(s), an election will not take place, and we are now looking for someone to take the position voluntarily. The appointee would officially take office in December 2013 and serve for a period of 2 years (short-term) or 4 years (full-term). This appointee must be a registered voter and a current resident living within the boundaries of Barstow Heights. His or her responsibilities will include attending a monthly Board Meeting as well as seeking out and determining solutions that will continue to improve the quality of our community parks and neighborhoods. We suggest that anyone who is interested in the position should join us in person at one of our upcoming Board Meetings to see for themselves exactly what the job involves. If you or someone you know would like to apply, please contact Jen Rubio, Secretary/General Manager, for more information and she will also help to answer any questions/concerns you may have. Her office hours and contact information are listed in the column on the right side of this posting.

The Board of Directors on 6/24/13

Do you recognize any of these men? These are the members of our Board of Directors! (Back L to R) Daryl Schendel, Paul Wilkey, and Robert Stapp (Front Row) Stephen King and Dick Jacobs. They all do such a fine job working to make our community better!

 

Minutes from 5/20 Meeting (approved 6/24/13)

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT

REGULAR MEETING

May 20th, 2013

Vice President King opened the meeting at 6:02 PM and Director Stapp led the group in the flag salute.  Directors King, Schendel, Stapp, and Wilkey were all present.  President Jacobs was out of town to help care for a family member.  There were no guests in attendance.

Vice President King requested a motion on the Consent Items.  Director Schendel motioned to accept the Minutes of the April 22nd, 2013 Meeting, along with the Financial Report for April of 2013 as presented.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

The Correspondence was offered for review.

H Street Park was addressed.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  Director Stapp reported that he and President Jacobs had recently set off 15-16 extermination cartridges to deal with the Ground Squirrels that have returned and had left quite a few new holes.  Resident Mr. Gene Low also assisted, as they set off a few smoke bombs in his backyard that is adjacent to the park as well.  5-6 more cartridges were set off inside the fenced-in water tower compound, which is where the squirrels typically move in to escape.  Director Stapp observed that just 3 of the holes they had bombed have since been re-opened, and they would continue to work on getting rid of the Ground Squirrels in spite of all the progress that has been made.  The three new Rules & Regulations Signs were discussed briefly as the Secretary reported that the City has promised that they will be picking them up and installing them for us.  The City has also requested that we get the two Elm Trees at the front of the park (North side) as well as the large dead branch on one of the Cottonwood Trees trimmed as soon as possible.  The branches have been falling from the trees frequently and could pose a danger to park visitors, especially on windy days.  Vice President King motioned to give the General Manager permission to hire Town & Country Tree Service to trim the trees as soon as possible, as long as the new estimate given is no more than $600 per tree.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.  Jose Rubio Jr. was out of town for a school field trip and unable to attend the meeting to discuss his proposed Eagle Scout Project (improvement ideas for the basketball court and office areas), so the Secretary was directed to add that item to next month’s Agenda again.

Venner Park was addressed.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  The Secretary reported that the Landscaping Project and all parking lot Paving is complete and payments are being made for the work that has been done.  The Directors expressed their concern about whether or not the new Landscaping Project had been completed to their full satisfaction and directed the Secretary to contact Unique Landscaping with a few more small requests.  The secretary was also directed to remind Yeghoian Paving that we still have some of their cones that they need to pick up from us.  Director King suggested that the Board discuss the new estimate from Unique Landscaping for a new Irrigation System for the trees on the Northwest side of Venner Park at the next meeting when President Jacobs will be present.

The Policy and Procedure Manual Review was also tabled until the next meeting so President Jacobs can have more input.

The General Manager reported that she continues to keep the Blog (BarstowHeights.blogspot.com) and Facebook pages updated.  She also reported that she had hired her son, Jose Rubio Jr. to rake leaves and pull weeds around the outside of the office building.  He has hauled about 20 large trash-bags full of
leaves and debris to the dumpster so far and the job is about half-way complete.  She will be keeping track of his hours on a time card so he can be paid minimum wage once the job is done.  The Secretary also reported that she needed to contact A2Z Lock & Security during the past week to have them extract the key to the office that had broken off inside the lock and was difficult to remove.  President Jacobs (and his know-how and spare key) were out of town, so A2Z removed the broken key and let her inside to retrieve an additional key.  This experience made her aware that she needs to have more spare keys available, so she will be getting a few extras made so she can keep one at home as well as provide them to any Directors that might like to have one.  Finally, she reported that Thank You Letters had been sent to the Sheppeard’s for their generous donation of the three large rocks to beautify Venner Park as well as to Mr. Don Holub who gave his time and energy to move them to the park for us with his tractor.

Vice President King requested the Directors’ reports.  Director Stapp thanked the General Manager for the packet of Candidacy paperwork she issued and provided to him recently.  He reported that he does plan to get his paperwork submitted before the deadline this month.  Director Wilkey expressed his concern that the City of Barstow may be making plans to extend Veteran’s Parkway out to Lenwood Road, which could result in our eventual annexation into the City.  He expressed his feeling that it will be the Board’s responsibility to protect the interests of land-owners in the Heights as well as protect our Parks.  He has questions about what possible legal steps we can take to prevent this from happening (Can we file an injunction of some kind?).  He asked the Board to please keep these concerns in mind and to please let him know if anyone is able to find any answers about what can/should be done.  He suggested that we add this item to future Agendas and discuss it further at future meetings.

Vice President King asked the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be paid.  She indicated there were none.  Director Schendel motioned to pay the bills as presented.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

Vice President King asked if there was any New Business to attend to, and the secretary replied that there was one more thing.  Director Wilkey administered the “Oath of Affirmation of Candidate” to the Secretary by the raising of the right hand and repeating the Oath, so that she could in turn give the Oath to Director Stapp.  This step was necessary so the Secretary could complete the issuing of Candidate Filing Documents to Director Stapp, who will be filing again for Candidacy with the County Elections Office before May 31st.

The next General Meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 24th, 2013 at 6:00 PM.  The meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM.

Submitted by:

Jen Rubio – Secretary/General Manager

Agenda for 6/24 Board Meeting

 A G E N D A

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT

REGULAR MEETING

June 24, 2013 - 6:00 PM

1.   Call to Order and Flag Salute

2.   Roll Call and Recognition of Guests

3.   Public Comments/Questions

4.   Consent Items:     Minutes – May 20, 2013

                               Financial Report – May 2013

5.   Correspondence:   SDRMA Election and CSDA District 5 Election

6.   Parks:             H Street:        Safety Check List and Ground Squirrels

             Rules & Regulations Signs

Tree Trimming/Removal

New covered picnic areas, tables, and trees

Improvement Ideas for Basketball Court and Office Area

 

Venner:             Safety Check List and Gophers

              New Irrigation for trees on Northwest side

                                                        More Improvement Ideas?

7.   Auditor’s Agreement - sign engagement letter

8.   Safety Review Report (to SDRMA)

9.   Policy and Procedures Manual - Please bring your copy for me to add some updates to!

10.  Website (BarstowHeights.blogspot.com) and Facebook page activity

11.  General Manager’s Report

12.  Directors’ Reports

13.  Bills:     Edison - $109.20          Terminix - $36.00           Verizon - $87.40                             

                     City of Barstow - $219.45 (plumbing repairs)   US Postal Service - $130 (PO box rental)

 

14.  New Business

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

16.  Adjournment

Important warning in the Newspaper today!

In case you haven't read the Desert Dispatch today, they published important news that needs sharing!  Please warn your neighbors...and be on the look out for any unusual activity.  If you notice anything suspicious, please report it to the Sheriff at
(760) 256-4838 right away!

 

THANK YOU to our local law enforcement
for increasing your presence here in our neighborhoods!

 

Here is a link to click on and read the article online now:

http://www.desertdispatch.com/articles/barstow-14674-burglaries-heights.html
 

Shea Johnson, Desert Dispatch

The westbound entrance into the Barstow Heights community via Rimrock Road is where the road intersects with H Street. In the last two months, the Heights has seen an increase in burglaries, which has spurred Sheriff's officials to increase their presence in the area.

Area road work ahead...

Have you noticed the signs at the I-15 freeway entrances and exits (at L street) notifying us that the ramps will be "intermittently" closed for road construction during the next six months?

 

Caltrans strives to keep the public informed about upcoming road work throughout the Inland Empire on their website www.caltrans8.info. You can also check for traffic updates on Twitter at Caltrans8 and be sure to "like" their page on Facebook at Caltrans8 also for the latest construction project news.

Minutes from 4/22 Meeting (approved 5/20/13)

BARSTOW HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT

REGULAR MEETING

April 22nd, 2013

President Jacobs opened the meeting at 6:03 PM and Director Schendel led the group in the flag salute.  Directors Jacobs, King, Schendel, Stapp, and Wilkey were all present.  Guests in attendance included Barstow Heights Residents Norm and Tricia Sheppeard.  The Sheppeard’s were happy to report that the three large rocks they are donating for the new Landscaping project at Venner Park had been delivered to the park for Unique Landscaping to move into place.  President Jacobs thanked them for their generous donation and delivery.

President Jacobs requested a motion on the Consent Items.  Director King motioned to accept the Minutes of the March 25th, 2013 Meeting, along with the Financial Report for March of 2013 as presented.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

At 6:05 PM Barstow Heights Resident Gene Low entered the meeting.  President Jacobs welcomed him and offered him the opportunity to make any comments or ask questions.  Mr. Low responded that he was joining us to learn more about the Parks and what we do.  President Jacobs explained a little bit about what the role and responsibilities of the District are.

The Correspondence was offered for review.

H Street Park was addressed.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  Director Stapp reported that the Ground Squirrels are back and there are quite a few new holes.  President Jacobs and Director Stapp determined that they would set off the extermination cartridges again on Friday morning and the Secretary was directed to let the City know that we are dealing with them again.  The Secretary had the three Rules & Regulations Signs that are now done on display for the Directors to see and inspect.  The Directors approved of them and the Secretary was directed to ask Mark Gerardi with the City of Barstow if they would be able to put them up or suggest who to hire to bolt them into place.  One sign will be posted between the Restroom entrances at H Street Park, and Two signs should be placed at Venner Park (replacing the one currently between the Restroom entrances and the one above the North-most covered picnic area that is weathered and very hard to read).  The Secretary reported that the Tree Maintenance (stump grinding the protruding roots of three trees) done by Town & Country Tree Service was set to begin on Monday, May 6th.  The Secretary reported that her son, Jose Rubio Jr., was in the process of getting approval from his Scout Master to begin his Eagle Scout Project that could involve the planning of and making improvements to the Basketball Court, Horseshoe Pit area, and Office areas.  The Board looked briefly at the list of improvement ideas that the Secretary and her son had been brainstorming about.  The Secretary invited the Directors to study the list and decide on any of their favorite ideas that they would like to see pursued to discuss at the next meeting.  The Board was also urged to add more ideas to the list if they have anything more they would like to suggest.

Venner Park was addressed.  The Safety Check List from the City was reviewed.  The Secretary reported that she had talked with Mark Gerardi again about the plumbing repairs (restroom sinks leaking at both parks) and that we can expect to receive a bill from them for a portion of the cost since the expense was above the $200 limit of what the City is responsible for.  The Secretary was directed to talk to Mark again about the broken parking lot light to find out if we are responsible for fixing it or if the City plans to handle it, or if we need to call the Southern California Edison company about it.  If the City can fix it and send us a bill for the repair, that would be fine also.  The Directors discussed the progress of the new Landscaping that is presently in the works.  The Secretary was directed to follow up with Unique Landscaping to find out how close to completion they are.  The Secretary was also directed to ask if the watering system is operating yet since there was some concern about a few of the trees that appeared to need water.  She should also request that they do go ahead and order another Smoke Tree for us (the correct one – Dalea Spinosa).  The variety of Smoke Trees that were already planted are good and can stay, but we still want at least one of the correct kind of Smoke Tree that the Board was intending, even if there is an additional cost for it.  President Jacobs also requested the Secretary seek another estimate from Unique Landscaping to do another project – a new irrigation system for the trees on the Northwest side (similar to what was most recently added by them for the project on the South side).  This will likely involve needing to tunnel under the sidewalks to put the tubing in place.  The Board then discussed Bid 13-01 (Parking Lots).  The Secretary reported the answers to all of the questions the Board had asked about the Bid from Robert R Yeghoian Paving at the last meeting and confirmed that the estimate given was correct and still accurate.  Director Stapp motioned to hire Yeghoian Paving to do the project that includes cleaning out and filling all cracks at both parking lots, applying a slurry seal coating at both parking lots, and re-striping the lot at H Street Park as well as updating the handicap parking spots to be van accessible per ADA.  Director Schendel seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

The Budget Workshop was held.

The Board discussed the current Policy and Procedures Manual that needs to be updated and improved upon.  Some of the current Policies that have been approved in recent years are missing and need to be found in the files and added to the book to keep it current again.  Many policies (such as Director’s fees) are out-dated and long overdue for review.  Director Stapp suggested that the Secretary ask Michelle of Yermo CSD to see their P&P Manual for comparison and to get a clearer idea of all that should be included.  The Secretary added also that the binder full of handouts she received at the Secretary/Board Clerk Conference in late February of this year will be a very helpful resource as well.  The Secretary was directed to have a new outline for what the Manual should include ready for the Board to review at the next meeting.  We can expect this to be an ongoing long-term project that we will address one section and one policy at a time.

The Blog and Facebook pages were discussed briefly as the Secretary reported that she continues to keep them updated.

The General Manager reported that starting July 1st, her office hours would go back to what the previous Secretary had worked (Tuesdays-Thursdays from 8:30am to Noon) and that she was looking forward to working in the mornings again.  She also informed the Board that a pipe in the office bathroom has been leaking for some time and she will need to call a Plumber to fix it soon.

President Jacobs requested Directors’ reports.  Director Wilkey reported that he noticed that the sprinklers at Venner Park came on at mid-day on Saturday and Sunday of the past weekend.  People who were using the park at that time needed to move quickly and unexpectedly and it interrupted the volleyball game they had set up in the grass.  The Secretary was directed to ask the City if they could adjust the timers to not turn on when the park is full of visitors on the weekends.

President Jacobs asked the Secretary if there were any additional bills to be paid.  She indicated there were none.  Director King motioned to pay the bills as presented.  Director Wilkey seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

The next General Meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 20th, 2013 at 6:00 PM.  The meeting adjourned at 7:28 PM.

Submitted by,

Jen Rubio - Secretary