In addition to a review of the Big Bear City Community Services District draft budget which, as presented, does not include any rate increases for water, sewer or solid waste services, the Board of Directors did address rate increases for connection fees at last night’s meeting. The increase in connection fee rates has been proposed at 4.9% for water and sewer connections so, if approved, to establish a new CSD water line in a new development, the new rate would be $5,927—or $279 more than the existing fee. The CSD Board also introduced the ordinance to increase commercial disposal fees by 3.4%, in order to bring the fee up to the level established by the County, per CSD’s General Manager Mike Mayer. The CSD Board did not yet vote on the ordinances and, per President John Day, “These three items will be brought before the Board for discussion on May 18.” CSD Directors did vote, unanimously, to adopt an updated Emergency Operation Plan for the district which, per Safety Compliance Coordinator Rachael Jahn, is now NIMS (or National Incident Management System) compliant. The updated Emergency Operation Plan takes into account all national and state changes, noted Jahn, and can be easily integrated with emergency plans of other agencies, including Mountain Mutual Aid. Jahn also presented CSD’s first quarter Safety Award, announcing that “the General Services Department reigns triumphant this quarter.” CSD employees Mary Reeves, Jennifer Hall, Donna Horn and Shari Strain accepted the award on behalf of the department that includes human resources, finance, technology and customer service. CSD’s General Manager Mayer also announced that they will meet with Third District County Supervisor Neil Derry on Thursday, to discuss Paradise Park and funding opportunities for their joint project with the Big Bear Valley Recreation and Park District.