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The Gate

Our gate is the first line of defense as you enter Bear Valley Springs. It is also the first thing that we and our guests see when returning home or visiting. It should be something that we can feel secure with, be proud of, and that reflects the spirit and strength of our community.

Unfortunately, it, like many other areas of BVS, has been severely neglected. It is no longer a monument to success but more a demonstration of failure and a perfect example of what happens when something is poorly managed, maintained, and neglected.

As one example, in case you have missed it, we have RFID readers that have been out of service and are held together with tape. Instead of prioritizing the clearly neglected and far more important items, the management decided to put in a new sign, without even vetting it to the public. We have had blue tape holding an RFID reader together for months, yet we spend thousands on a sign. The priorities are a bit confusing. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have a sign but we should fix the broken stuff first before we add more.

A new sign can be a great addition, providing information to the public on a regular basis. It can be used to greet you, your friends, and family. It can provide announcements for meetings and events as well as alert you to dangers that might exist. Done right, it can also be a great addition, both for safety, and aesthetically. Done wrong, it will join the RFID readers as a total embarrassment. Without public involvement and buy-in, it will only be another controversy instead of an asset.

The problem is that the GM and board of directors failed to include you in the decision-making process. Let’s start with the lack of planning. Why was the sign placed where it is? How will it integrate with any future modifications? Was it a good decision to place it without considering other higher priority repairs? How could we have offset the cost? What about donations? Does the public even want it? Is the placement safe, or could there have been a better placement? Does it add to the allure of our gate or distract from it?

Public buy in is very important to any project. Anything less will just create more chaos, division, and pushback from the public. Having public (and expert) input ensures the best possible outcome.

As for the actual safety of the gate, it does bring some sense of security but is far from failproof. It is only as good as the people operating it. Besides being poorly designed to keep intruders out, there are flaws in the system. Gate Personal have the ability to bypass any lack of information from the person entering and inadvertently can allow the bad guy to enter. This risk is even further increased when the RFID readers are not working. The gate also does not keep criminals from entering in other areas away from the gate. There is always the element that the bad guy might already live in BVS.

Another inherent problem is that anyone who is not permitted to enter… still has to enter… to turn around. The ability for emergency vehicles to enter and residents to exit during an emergency can be a problem as well.

The gate draws from the Gen. Fund and from an assessment on your tax bill. It should be researched for efficiencies and modernizations that might increase both it’s security strength and aesthetics. Our gate should not only reflect a sense of security, but also a sense of pride.

With all that being said, the gate is a very welcome and necessary asset to BVS. Many people moved here just because of it and it should be protected. While it will always be a somewhat false sense of security, it does still provide some amount of security. It also motivates the residents to take pride in their community and tells our guests we care about where we live.

The gate should be included in the comprehensive plan and brought before the public.

The BVPD

Bear Valley Springs is unique by having it’s own police department. Many of the residents that live here desire the feeling of safety and community that the BVPD provides to them. I would like to see BVS keep it’s PD. It is a part of Bear Valley Springs.

The BVPD has become a noticeable draw on our already struggling General Fund bringing it to the forefront of conversations. To make it even tougher, the infrastructure is now making big demands on our budget as well, as the failures of long term neglect begin to show. It all boils down to money, and a limited amount of it. .

If we want to keep the PD, and I do, then we need to get more creative, more efficient, and even more responsible with our money. With two failed attempts at a PD tax it’s obvious we need to find a way to convince the public to buy-in. This means putting all the facts on the table and sorting our way through it. We need to rebuild trust and a small community environment of unity.

We have a money problems threatening our way of life and not a whole lot of options. It’s important we get it right.

The BVPD should be a part of the comprehensive plan.

The Ranger

I cannot really comment on the Ranger. i know that he seems to be a nice guy. Like everything else, the position needs to be audited.

Emergency Plan

Fire Protection

Some of you may not know that we had a problem with the CSD keeping up with the maintenance of our fire hydrants. It was discovered that some hydrants were left in disrepair, and we don’t know for how long because of poor record keeping. (to be continued)