The Morongo Valley Community Services District board of directors held their regular board meeting last night. Chief Yearsley reported that Morongo Valley firefighters sent to help battle the McFarland Fire in Northern California were on their way home after 15 days. Another crew from Morongo Valley will head out as the first returns home with the possibility of a third crew heading out if current fires persist. Yearsley also warned of Mountain Lion sightings in Covington Park in addition to recent bear sightings, urging residents to stay vigilant when entering the park. A full list of meeting topics is available in this story at Z1077fm.com.
The board also voted unanimously to issue $2,000 bonuses to three CSDS staff members (Administrative Assistant Brittany Chavez, Fire Chief Gary Yearsley, and Deputy Fire Chief Jim Brakebill) for their time in coordinating with fire crews during 2020 (Fire crews were issued bonuses during the previous board meeting in July), approved a letter outlining district auditing services with Smith Marion & Co. and approved adding CSD employee’s birthday as a CSD holiday. The board tabled discussions on employee vacation accrual pending research into current district policies. Yearsley also provided an update on the Covington Park kitchen. Yearsley clarified that the district may rent out the kitchen as-is to groups for private events, but that no food of any kind may be sold out of the kitchen unless the district converts the current kitchen into a full commercial kitchen at an estimated cost of $20,000 – $30,000.
