The Morongo Valley Community Services District Board of Directors held their regular 6pm meeting last night in Covington Park’s multi-purpose room.
With three new business items to tackle, the board started with accepting a grant from CalFire, awarding the Morongo Valley Fire Department $9315 for wildland Personal Protection Equipment, with a match of an additional $4657.
Next, the Board discussed the Resolution 22-05 Schedule of Fees with attendees, who provided feedback to the Board assuming community members could potentially be charged for services already paid for from property taxes, fire assessment, and the like. While the Board and Fire Department explained that EMT calls are typically billed to the patient’s insurance, Vice President Lynn Watts commented that many community members, especially the elderly susceptible to falling, are likely to “fall through the cracks” of regular insurance billing due to fixed incomes. Due to the feedback from attendees, President Gorke made a motion to table the item until the next meeting when they can gather more information. In the meantime, the motion was passed to “match county.”
For the item of tree maintenance at Covington Park’s softball field, two bids were discussed; one from West Coast Arborists for $18,000, and the other from C&M Trimming for $17,000. While the Board discussed myriad ways to cut costs and gather further details, including acquiring a third bid, a public comment was made by community member Meg Foley, who reminded the Board that the Morongo Preserve supports the second highest level of breeding birds in the U.S., at approximately1400 nests per square mile. Since the softball field is part of this sensitive ecological habitat, Foley suggested Robin Kobay, a lifelong Morongo resident and respected scientist who has performed tree assessment with habitat potential and public safety. In the spirit of gathering more information, the item was tabled until the next meeting.
Morongo Preserve supports the second highest level of breeding birds in the U.S., at approximately 1400 nests per square mile. Since the softball field is part of this sensitive ecological habitat, Foley suggested Robin Kobay, a lifelong Morongo resident and respected scientist who has performed tree assessment with habitat potential and public safety. In the spirit of gathering more information, the item was tabled until the next meeting.
