One week ago, on a Facebook thread regarding my May 9th blog on blowing sand and dust, I posted the comments below regarding the Newberry CSD's unprofessionalism.

    After reviewing the CSD's upcoming meeting agenda, I find the agenda as another excellent illustration for my earlier blogged comments (snippet below).

    The CSD's agenda for the next general board meeting on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, displays items illustrating the board's daffiness.

    The board president, Robert Springer, is an intelligent individual.  One would think that as Chairman of the meetings, he would recognize a properly prepared agenda.  But, yet again, the CSD is serving a nitwit stew.

    Director Jack Unger, a radio enthusiast, has been trying to impress everyone with his 1940s ham radio savviness.  He is now crying wolf that the CSD needs more radio equipment for an emergency (Agenda item: A).  This then craftily centers him in a lengthy narcissistic public discussion floating the idea.

    But, Unger has failed to provide the board with adequate data or anything concrete to justify a vote.  This is a long discussion item that has been carried over from last month.

    In Agenda item: C, Jack Unger comes back again with the idea of 'Building a Newberry Animal Shelter.'  Unger's agenda item acknowledges, "I know that we cannot spend money on this however we can certainly discuss it and raise the level of community awareness." 

    No! Jack, No!  Board meetings are not an appropriate venue to throw out gimmicky soapbox ideas to be talked about endlessly when they are clearly outside of the CSD's purview.  You have 1-minute at the end of the meeting for Directors' Comments.

    BTW, Jack, if you haven't noticed, you don't "raise the level of community awareness" by blabbering at a CSD meeting.  There is almost no one attending the meeting due to the painful experience.

    Meanwhile, at the time of this posting, the CSD's critical Purple Air monitor (NCSD-002) just east of the current Clearway solar installation, remains faulty in its function.  Jack Unger, who prides and labels himself as a self-appointed Purple Air Specialist, has not been able to properly maintain the air monitoring device.

    Note, the 105 reading in the above link (screenshot taken on the late morning of May 22) was during a time of a slight breeze as indicated by the other valley monitors.  According to the graph, both recording elements of the device appear to be reading high.

    Director Margie Roberts, who has brought us such memorable laughs as the proposed installation of traffic signals for Newberry Springs, has Agenda item: D.  This is to upgrade the CSD's kitchen to enable it to be rented out as a commercial kitchen.

    The idea isn't as lame as some of her other suggestions but like many agenda items, it is not properly vetted.  A board meeting is not supposed to function as a workshop for raw ideas.  It is supposed to work as a normal board, voting on actionable prepared items.  Few of the new proposals that come before the Newberry CSD board are properly prepared and substantiated beforehand.

    Before Margie Roberts presented the kitchen upgrade as an agenda item, Roberts should have investigated the costs of bringing the CSD kitchen up to the County's health code standards as a commercial kitchen.

    Margie Roberts should have researched what the kitchen could be rented for.  Who would rent the kitchen?  Is there a community need?  Have there been any rental inquiries?  Where is the Profit and Loss proforma?  Is the high capital outlay for a potential private enterprise worth the risk of taxpayer dollars?  Is this yet another potential money loser ?

    All of this (and more) should have been included in Margie Roberts's original agenda item as an attachment.  It is not the board's job during a public meeting to spend considerable time doing preliminary research.  Com'on, Margie, do your homework !

    The General Manager should not be placing such unsupported matters on the agenda and the Chairman shouldn't be entertaining them.