Monday, Feb 20 2012 07:01 AM
By Tehachapi News
The Kern Country Grand Jury recently released a copy of a report by its Special Districts Committee concerning the Golden Hills Community Services District.
The report is published here in its entirety:
GOLDEN HILLS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
PURPOSE OF INQUIRY:
On January 9, 2012, the Special Districts Committee (Committee) of the 2011-2012 Kern County Grand Jury, pursuant to California Penal Code §925 and §933.5, investigated the operations and management of the Golden Hills Community Services District (District). The District had not been reviewed since 2003.
PROCESS:
The Committee reviewed the District's "Consolidated Financial Statements, June 30, 2011 and 2010", including an "Independent Auditors' Report", and the 2005-2010 Budget. The Committee also reviewed the Board of Directors' Meeting Minutes for the last fiscal year (March 2011 to present), and viewed the District's website. The Committee then conducted a telephone interview with the General Manager for additional information.
BACKGROUND/FACTS:
A. The District was formed by Kern County Resolution 66-206 on May 3, 1966, and established on May 5, 1966. The original purpose of the District was to provide water, sewage disposal, garbage service, public recreation by means of parks, including (but not limited to) aquatic parks and recreational harbors, playgrounds, golf courses, swimming pools or recreation buildings, street lighting, mosquito abatement, street surfacing and maintenance, and construction of bridges, culverts, curbs, gutters, and drains.
B. The Mission of the District is: To provide the Golden Hills Community with a healthful, reliable water system; to support the inviting characteristics of our neighborhoods and natural beauty of our surroundings; and to strengthen our collaborative relationships with local and state governmental agencies.
C. The District:
* Provides potable water to its customers utilizing a water system approved by the Department of Health.
* Reviews and approves septic and building plans.
* Provides services for 21 housing tracts located within its boundaries of approximately 5,600 acres.
NOTE: Each housing tract has separate Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R's). However, the District is no longer enforcing CC&R's, which has become a civil matter between property owners since 2010.
D. The development consists of approximately 4,200 lots, zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial uses. Water (supplied by 14 District owned wells) is furnished by the District's water system to each parcel, excluding some of the 2.5 acre lots in the northern section of the District. All water is tested regularly to insure that customers receive the safest drinking water possible.
FINDINGS:
The District provides a $2,500 scholarship for local students with money derived from the rental of cell tower space. The remainder of the rental money is used for beautification projects on public lands.
The District received a grant for $1.4 million to drill a well on the east side of the City of Tehachapi and construct a pipeline 3.5 miles long, back to Golden Hills, tying into the water system for emergency connection between Tehachapi and Golden Hills. In an emergency, water can be diverted in either direction.
The District maintains some private/semi-public roads, funded and sustained by the property owners within the District, for Tract #3366.
The Regional Urban Water Management Plan (Plan) was prepared to ensure water service reliability during normal, dry, or multiple dry years, and is in compliance with the requirements of Water Code Section #10620. The five agencies included in this Plan are:
* Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District
* Bear Valley Community Services District
* Golden Hills Community Services District
* Stallion Springs Community Services District
* City of Tehachapi
These agencies cooperate on various regional issues and have formed a Water Availability Preservation Committee comprised of representatives from each agency. A regional plan is being submitted (as opposed to separate individual plans) to share information, avoid duplication of efforts, reduce costs, and implement a coordinated regional approach to water management. All five of the participating agencies have agreed to set the baseline and conservation targets as a regional alliance.
The five agencies followed normal procedures for reviewing and adopting the Plan. Each agency:
* Reviewed a preliminary draft Plan.
* Made the draft Plan available to the public before holding a public hearing. (Copies of the Plan were on file at each of the agency offices.)
* Published legal notice in the Tehachapi News and mailed notices to stakeholders in the area.
* Held public workshops to ensure public comments were incorporated in the final Plan.
* Adopted the Plan by resolution at Board and Council Meetings.
OMMENTS:
The five agencies coordinated their efforts with relevant agencies while preparing the 2010 Plan to ensure that the data and issues were presented accurately. Water use statistics and projections presented in the 2010 Plan have been discussed and mutually agreed upon by the five agencies. A Letter of Agreement between the five agencies was signed in June 2011.
The Special Districts Committee of the 2011-2012 Kern County Grand Jury thanks the Golden Hills Community Services District's General Manager for excellent explanation and informative answers to the Committee's questions.
RECOMMENDATIONS: NONE
NOTES:
* The Golden Hills Community Services District should post a copy of this report where it will be available for public review.
* Persons wishing to receive an email notification of newly released reports may sign up at , and click on: Sign up for early releases.
* Present and past Kern County Grand Jury Final Reports and Responses can be accessed on the Kern County Grand Jury website: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury.
NO RESPONSE REQUIRED
No comments:
Post a Comment