Government Report: Humane Society funding goes before the City Council

The Barstow City Council will consider giving the Barstow Humane Society an additional $5,000 per month to help the shelter stay open.
The added $5,000 per month for operating costs would be coupled with up to $30,000 available during the fiscal year of 2008 and 2009 for capital expenses, according the city’s staff report. The shelter currently receives $10,000 per month.

In March, Bill Cook, volunteer spokesman for the Barstow Humane Society, read a letter to the City Council seeking to double the $10,000 monthly funding the shelter receives for animal control services it provides to the city. Cook said that if the city doesn’t renegotiate its contract soon, the Humane Society will have to discontinue services to the city and Barstow residents beginning on June 2. At the time, the shelter was losing several thousand dollars each month.

County to stop mobile home park inspections; city considers giving authority to state

As of July 31, San Bernardino County will no longer inspect mobile home parks in the city limits of Barstow, a service it has performed since 1983.

According to the city’s staff report, the county could not recover the cost of performing the inspections and therefore decided to cancel the losing venture. The move could throw responsibility for mobile home park inspection to the city.

However, the city is recommending that council vote to decline responsibility for the inspections and defer them to the state. To do so, the city will have to change an ordinance giving the state back the responsibility for the inspections.

Portion of Stiern Park parceled for sheriff’s station expansion

A portion of Stiern Park, a spot of green on the corner of Mountain View Street and Second Street, could become part of an expanded Barstow sheriff’s station.

The Council will consider allowing San Bernardino County to lease about 22,000 square feet of the park of the park to accommodate a parking lot and other expansions. The lease will be for 20 years with two 10 year renewal options.

As part of the agreement, the county agreed to relocate the flagpole and memorial honoring Walter Stiern. Stiern was a former state senator who represented the Barstow area. The county will also landscape the areas of the park not used as a parking lot and pay all utilities associated with the park.

In 2007, a San Bernardino County Grand Jury found that the current Barstow sheriff’s station was too small. First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt recently helped allocate county funds for a renovation and expansion.

The Redevelopment Agency will also meet on Monday. Both the RDA and the City Council meet in the council chambers at City Hall, 220 E. Mountain View. The RDA meets at 7 p.m. with the council meeting to follow at 7:30. Regularly scheduled meetings are televised live on Time Warner Cable channel 6 and recordings are placed on the city’s Web site, www.barstowca.org.

Deadline to register for June primary on Monday.

The deadline to register to vote is May 19. Voters must register in the county that they live in at least 15 days before the election, according to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters office. If a voter has moved counties, the voter may request an address change. Voters who have changed their names must re-register.

Voter registration are available at DMV offices, Social Security offices, post offices, libraries, city halls, political party headquarters, and from the Registrar of Voters office.

If a voter would like to vote by mail, mail ballot applications must be at the Registrar of Voters office by available at 5:00 p.m. on May 27, 2008. Applications are available on the sample ballot, the Internet at http://www.sbcrov.com, or from the Registrar of Voters office.