January + February Board Meeting Recaps
Pleasant View's future, new open positions, and more!
The Pleasant View Metro District held its regular monthly board meetings on January 20 and February 17. Keep scrolling to find out more about what happened!
The next board meeting is March 3 at 3 p.m.! Please join us at 955 Moss Street.
If you’re new here, I’m Laura! I’m the Vice President of the Pleasant View Metro District board of directors. This newsletter reflects my own opinions and experiences and is not an official district communication. You can find out more about me and this newsletter here.
The Short Version
In January, the board discussed how to move forward with long-term planning and financial forecasting for the district.
District staff agreed to have a form of a financial forecast by the February meeting. This would include a timeline for when expenses and revenue predictions would be done; whether current staffing could handle that work; and what additional costs would be necessary.
The board agreed to research alternate revenue sources; how the new development in the district would change property tax revenue; and the level surrounding districts levy taxes for which services.
The majority of the board felt that communicating at all between meetings was inappropriate, except for contacting the board president and district manager with requests for agenda topics.
In February, I was on vacation and missed the meeting. The district manager, board president, board treasurer, and the contracted secretary all resigned effective immediately. This was not on the agenda for the meeting and seemed to take everyone by surprise who was there.
The fire chief is currently making sure payroll and bills are all paid. The parks staff are maintaining the parks as normal. But expect delays in communication unfortunately.
The board is holding a special meeting on March 3 to discuss options for filling the district manager vacancy, the board director vacancies, and the vacancy for the secretary who took meeting minutes. Please join us March 3 at 3 p.m.
The Long Version
General District Updates
January Meeting
Thank you to the multiple members of the public who came to the January board meeting. It was a long meeting on a weeknight and I really appreciate Keith, Laura, and Sam for coming out after work to participate in local government! I personally think it helped improve board conduct significantly, even if it wasn’t perfect.
February Meeting and New Open Positions
I wasn’t at the February meeting and have not made time to listen to the recording yet, so I can’t speak to why those employees and board members resigned.
However, I do want to be transparent about my priorities for filling all of these vacancies and hear your thoughts.
For all of the positions, it’s most important to me to have a transparent process that prioritizes high-quality candidates who are passionate about serving the public.
It’s important to me that residents have someone to contact so your questions get answered and needs met. I also want to make sure our partners who rent ball fields and other facilities still have a good experience with Pleasant View and want to continue investing in our community.
I want the board vacancy process to be as transparent and well-publicized as possible. One of my biggest concerns when running for the board was the lack of information available to the public about how to nominate themselves for the board. I want to change that this time around.
Transparency and public engagement feel especially important to me now since board vacancies are filled by a majority vote of the board and not a vote of the people. People can vote on those positions at the next election, which will be May 2027. But until then, I want to make sure you all know what’s going on and feel like you have input. I want my vote to represent what you all want as best as possible.
If you’re able to attend the March 3 meeting, you’ll learn alongside myself and the rest of the board what the different options are for filling the employee vacancies and the board vacancies. SO many people that I meet door knocking would be great board members, so please reach out to me if you’re interested and/or attend the March 3 board meeting!
Fire Department Updates
The new breathing apparatuses are here and have been put into training! I stopped by the fire station recently and the new straps/harnesses fit everyone so much better and all the firefighters were really excited about the new equipment. They will take some getting used to like anything new, but you should see them out on the streets soon!
Retired Reserve Program
Dariusz, a volunteer firefighter (and Pleasant View neighbor!) shared a proposal at the January meeting to create a retired reserve volunteer program. This would allow volunteers who work full-time for other fire departments to volunteer in a smaller, but still critically important role.
Active volunteers must serve at least 36 hours per month at the fire station. This may not sound like a lot, but I quickly learned as a volunteer myself that it is a huge commitment.
The retired reserve program would allow volunteers to serve in a more limited role without being eligible for a pension. They could cover officer shifts they are qualified for and continue to participate in training and continuing education to share their expertise with other volunteers and paid firefighters at Pleasant View.
Many of these long-time volunteers who are eligible for the program are what makes Pleasant View Fire such a special department. I think this is also great to give them a way to continue to share their knowledge and wonderful presence at the station. The only additional cost is continuing to cover the retired reserve volunteers on the district’s worker’s compensation insurance.
Questions From You
Thank you to everyone who calls/texts/emails your questions about Pleasant View! I often don’t have an immediate fix for them, but I hope you at least feel heard. As always, let me know how I can do better!
Cameras at Orchard Park
Several neighbors have reached out to me with photos and questions about cameras installed at Orchard Park. One is on the pavilion and one is in a large tree by the playground. I don’t know what these cameras are for or where they go to, but I will ask about it at the March 17 board meeting.
Without the district manager, it may be hard to find out the thinking behind the cameras, but I should hopefully be able to figure out where the video feeds are going; if we still need them; and how to responsibly inform the public about their presence.
Community Clean-ups
Our neighbor Assaf is interested in organizing more community clean-ups. He is doing a great job of engaging with the county to figure out who is responsible for road side clean-ups. In the meantime, he is also looking for people who are interested in doing regular clean-ups along the roads and sidewalks of Pleasant View.
I’ve noticed the same garbage and trash issues along the busier roads in our community and am excited to help out as I can. I need to help sort out the board and staff vacancies first, though, so please tell me if you’re interested and I’ll connect you with Assaf. I’ve committed to donating one month of my board stipend ($100) to supplies like pickers and safety vests.
Pleasant View Community Church
Pleasant View historian Rick Gardner reached out to me about the historic Pleasant View Community church, most recently the former Rack Attack business building. The building will likely be demolished as part of QuikTrip’s development of the site. Rick shared a lot of interesting Pleasant View history and wanted to make sure the community knew about this opportunity. The church itself could be moved to a different site if another developer was interested. I’ve shared Rick’s historical information here if you want to find out more and connect with him!
Thank you and see you in March!
The last few months have frankly been a whirlwind for me personally, at work, and with the district board. Thanks for your patience for this update!!
Please let me know if I missed anything or if you have other questions. Email me at lauraforpleasantview@gmail.com or call or text me at 720-675-8093.