School Board Approves Contract for SAMOHI Improvements

By Ann K. Williams
Lookout Staff

July 5, 2011 – Hours before a new state budget kicked in, the Board of Education locked in an agreement with the city's Redevelopment Agency (RDA) for $57 million to pay for improvements to the athletic facilities at Santa Monica High School.

The Santa Monica Malibu School Board approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Thursday night authorizing the release of funds to build a new gym, renovate the Greek Amphitheatre and improve playing fields at SAMOHI in exchange for a joint-use agreement that will let residents use the school's facilities during off-hours.

“Everybody in this town loves to get out and play,” said Boardmember Ralph Mechur. “All of this works together to make us a stronger community as a whole.”

As is the case with the many local RDA capital improvement projects, the state budget passed this week casts a cloud over their future.

A bill appended to the state budget eliminates RDA's throughout the state.

But city officials say the RDA will be able to honor agreements and contracts that have been entered into before the bill passed.

So school boardmembers expressed gratitude to city and district staff for the opportunity to approve the MOU before the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12.

“I know that this last week a lot of late work [was done] to make sure that this agreement is done in this fiscal year,” Mechur said.

“It's taken years...of negotiations and working together among city and district staff to get to this moment,” added Boardmember Laurie Lieberman, who pointed out that the deal has been in the works since 2007. “Even if it seems like it's just a contract, it's a very meaningful contract.”

But Boardmember Nimish Patel wanted to know if there was anything the District's legal counsel thought the Board needed to know about before they approved the MOU.

“There are a number of opportunities for us to make sure we have a good deal and if things aren't going so well, we have a way out,” answered Stan Barankiewicz of Orbach, Huff and Suarez.

The District has the right to audit the RDA “to test its fiscal strength,” and the District's revenue stream is “superior to any future debt that the agency engages in,” said Barankiewicz.

If all else fails, the District has the right to back out of the deal, he said.

The RDA money will let the District replace the South Gym on SAMOHI's campus with a new gym and renovate the high school's Greek Amphitheatre. If all goes according to plan, the work will be finished sometime in 2016, the District's Chief Financial Officer Jan Maez told the Board.

New astroturf on the school's football field may be in place as soon as this fall, she said.

The deal with the city – known as the Civic Center Joint Use Project (CCJUP) – will open up SAMOHI's gyms and fields to the public when school is not in session.

The School Board approved the agreement with a unanimous voice vote.

Earlier last week, the City Council approved contracts for two other RDA projects – two new parks at the Civic Center and the renovation of the Civic Auditorium.

After reviewing bids, city staff recommended the Council approve a $39 million with W.E. O’Neil Construction Company for pre-construction and construction services for the Palisades Garden Walk and Town Square parks and a $35 million contract with Morley Builders for preconstruction and construction services for the Civic Auditorium Remodel & Seismic Upgrade Project.

The Council approved the contracts unanimously. Councilmembers Bobby Shriver and Kevin McKeown were absent.