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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc min 1990/01/29 MINUTES OF A JOINT MEETING OF THE CHULA VISTA ~;I'IY COUNCIL AND SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DlSrKICT BOARD OF TRU~-I-I~.F_.S Monday, January 29, 1990 City Council Conference Room 6:00 p.m. 276 Fourth Avenue 1. C.AI J. TO ORDER Mayor Cox and Board President Hogan called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CAIJ. PRESENT: Councilmembers: McCandliss, Moore, and Mayor Cox Councilman Nader arrived at 6:20 p.m. Boardmembers: Bauer, Chapman, David, and President Hogan Boardmember Aguilar arrived at 6:25 p.m. ABSENT: Councilman Malcolm ALSO PRESENT: School Superintendent, Anthony J. Trujillo; Deputy City Manager, Sid Morris; and City Clerk, Beverly Authelet. 3. DISCUSSION OF GROWTH MANAGEMENT ISSUES tYSl{~ Mayor Cox gave a brief overview of the Growth Management Oversight Committee and stated the Committee had recommended areas of concern to the City Council. The committee contains ten members and is an environmentally oriented organization. They have worked with the City staff and use the thresholds as adopted by the Council as criteria to evaluate eleven areas within the City and report back to the Council if there are areas of concern. The Council had received the first report in August and four statements of concern were issued. One each for the high school and elementary school and one each for the Otay Water District and the Sweetwater Water District. Mr. Bob Leiter, Director of Planning, informed the Board that the statement of concern was the mildest of concerns issued by the GMOC. The growth management program will be ongoing with a third element of the General Plan which will include public facilities for the eastern territories. This will include project needs at full build out and facilities provided by the City and outside agencies. The system will be designed to predict where development will occur and coordinate the timing of the facilities with that development. A consultant has been hired to prepare a data base and propose policies. The report is expected within six months. Mr. Leiter stated the following concerns were expressed: 1. To join with the City to support new legislation at the State level to achieve more adequate funding for permanent facilities. MINUTES January 29, 1990 Page 2 2. To accelerate the planning and construction of the Rancho Del Rey Junior High School, a High School and other needed facilities in the southern part of the District. 3. Continue to work closely with the City on insuring that smaller sized development projects participate in the annexable Community Facilities District. Also, that appropriate mitigation measures be placed on fezones and other discretionary actions requested by developers which are not constrained by the payment of school fees only. 4. To establish a more formal long-range planning program for projecting school needs in the next 5-7 years. 5. To continue to provide responsive and precise school data and comments to the City on environmental documents and discretionary land use applications. 6. To look at alternate solutions to relieve overcrowding including modifying attendance boundaries, making program changes, and looking at different options for school tracking. Boardmember Chapman questioned whether the schools work with the realtors regarding school district. Mr. Andy Campbell, Director of Planning, stated he was in communication with the realtors. They do have the maps identifying the boundaries. AB 181 requires that home buyers are to be notified and establishes penalties. He further stated he has been working with the City and the EastLake High School plans had been submitted 8/1/89 to the State. Due to the earthquake in San Francisco, approval has been delayed to 3/1/90. The District is starting to consider the phasing process for the school and feel they have $20 million in bonding capacity. State funding has been approved for $220,000. EastLake and Western Salt are in the process of transferring the title to the District. Phase III will be applied for under the State 50/50 provision. The discussion of a site in the Rancho Del Rey area for a middle school will be before the Board in approximately one month. He stated the site on Otay Mesa had been selected over two years ago and was within two miles of the airport. This site was originally approved by Aeronautics, and due to politics involved, approval was withdrawn. This site is on hold until the airport issue is resolved. The Rancho Del Rey site is also within two miles of a heliport and has been approved by Aeronautics. Boardmember Chapman questioned whether the issues of traffic lights and parks were dealt with at the beginning of the projects. Mr. Campbell stated they are addressing those issues, EastLake High was designed with a four-way traffic actuated control and left turn lanes. It is hoped that construction will begin 9/90. The construction is expected to take eighteen months or longer. Mayor Cox stated City departments and the Safety Commission have addressed these issues. Councilwoman McCandliss questioned how the District will do the sizing of the bonds. Mr. Campbell stated there were four Mello Roos districts and one generic Mello Roos district. The District took the number of residents, anticipated buildout, and what could be built without strapping the district. A high school would need to have 1,200 students to be functional. Boundaries have not been address at this point. The proposed high school project will attempt to build the library in entirety (which includes classroom space), science wing, generic classrooms, administration building, and the gym. The ASB (transformer) room is required. There will be no cafeteria and 44 classrooms. The District can serve out of trailers, the MINUTES January 2~ 1990 Page 3 cafeteria would be built in the second phase. Mr. Campbell stated it was the Board's goal from the beginning to obtain State funding in order to reduce all Mello Roos assessments. Mayor Cox questioned whether the payments were predicated on 100% Mello Roos financing. Mr. Campbell stated it was and if State funding was obtained the District would have two options: 1. to shorten the time period, or 2. reduce the payment. The Board has latitude and would have to look at the tax issue before making a decision. He stated the Board would be discussing the possibility of a district wide Mello Roos which would charge existing home owners $50.00 per year, regardless of the value of the home, which would help to reconstruct existing schools. It would require a 2/3's vote and existing Mello Roos Districts would be exempt. Councilman Moore felt that there was a difference between new facilities and expansion of existing facilities and felt the revenues from the districts should not be utilized for operation and maintenance of existing schools. Boardmember Bauer stated that these funds were utilized to replace fifty year old furnaces, etc. Councilman Nader stated he wanted to clarify that all Councilmembers did not share Councilman Moore's opinion. Councilwoman McCandliss questioned if there was a facilities plan for the southern area. Mr. Campbell stated there was a need for a high school in the San Ysidro area but the delay was due to the airport issue. The District feels the site originally selected two years ago is still the best site. He noted the District has the support of the San Diego Planning Department on the Otay Mesa site. Councilwoman McCandliss stated the key issue to the site and the formation of a district was the airport. Mr. Campbell agreed and stated raw land was a critical issue. President Hogan inquired as to whether the City's model for seven years was similar to the SANDAG Series 7 model. Mr. Leiter stated it was different in that the City is looking closely at pending and developed projects and the phasing schedules. The City model is more site specific, the SANDAG model covers the City as a whole. President Hogan questioned public transportation in the eastern areas. Mr. Leiter stated the City is looking outside the Growth Management program and working with NTDB. The City periodically evaluates the transit system. Councilman Moore stated there is a SANDAG study, just beginning, which will be studying light rail. The policy and technical committees have been appointed and he will be attending the first meeting next week. Mayor Cox stated he and Councilwoman McCandliss both serve on an inter-jurisdictional task force for Otay Ranch. They have been discussing the concept of a monorail to the university campus site, the Olympic Training Center, etc. MINUTES January 2~, 1990 Page 4 Boardmember Davis questioned the issue of busing within the District. Mr. Campbell stated most of the busing was done for interracial purposes and the magnet programs. Very few students were bused due to overcrowding. Councilman Moore questioned the State requirement for funding, and if it included that existing schools be overcrowded. Boardmember Bauer stated he was correct and that it took an additional 3-4 years to jump through the State hoops for funding once the school is certified as overcrowded. Mr. Campbell stated once there are enough students for a new structure the project is then added to the State priority system. If the school is year-round or multi track or if the District is going to finance 50/50, the project is moved to the top of the priority list. Superintendent Trujillo stated there was a mistaken notion that new students were all new students. Due to the drop out retention program initiated by the District, there is an increasing enrollment due to students staying in school. Councilwoman McCandliss inquired as to what unification would mean regarding the shift in facility needs and change in administration of the district. President Hogan stated the question was slightly premature. There were a number of issues that had to be dealt with which included: sighting of employees, cost factors, and the unique cities involved. The Superintendent is currently serving on a Unification Committee. Superintendent Trujillo stated the major issue was segregation. If unified, it would appear there would be two segregated districts with one integrated district in the middle. He felt this issue would have to be dealt with through the court system. Boardmember Aguilar also stated the issue of who would vote for unification was also unclear. Superintendent Trujillo stated it was a long process which would have to be reviewed by the County and the State. Mayor Cox stated that the issues of Item 4 on the Agenda under Status Reports had been covered within this discussion and moved on to Item 5. 4. STATUS REPORTS a. EastLake High School b. Mello Roos Districts 5. 1990 CENSUS 'COMPLIz-IE COUNT' PROGRAM Jeri Gulbransen, Public Information Officer, stated she had been working with the District and was pleased to see the District doing many of the proposed projects regarding the census. She stressed the importance of an accurate count, not only to the City but also the District. April 1st has been designated as Census Day in hopes people will fill out the forms and mail them in on that day. The Census Bureau has estimated MINUTES January 2~, 1990 Page 5 it will cost approximately $30-$40 per person to follow-up on forms not returned. She stressed the fact that all forms are confidential. The City will be distributing information regarding the census in the Chula Vista Quarterly, inside bus advertising, and posters which will be printed in english and spanish. Two assistance centers will be established, one at the main library and one in the Montgomery area. These will be set up for one to two weeks in order to assist the public in completing their forms. Public service announcements will also be broadcast during the presentation of the Council Meetings on Cox Cable. 6. RI~IX)C, ATION OF DISTRICt OPI~'iCE /~8r,8 Mayor Cox stated the Redevelopment Agency had taken action on Tuesday for a Request for Proposals (RFP) concerning this particular parcel. Boardmember Bauer stated she had requested this item be placed on the agenda and if there was no ambiguity it no longer needed to be addressed. 7. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Tom Pockington, Bonita, CA, questioned why the District did not utilize joint facilities in order to save costs up front to the owners. President Hogan stated the Board had discussed joint usage and never came to any conclusion. Superintendent Trnjillo stated students can not be housed in non-Field Act approved facilities. There is a different design criteria for schools than other public facilities. Mr. Pockington requested the District "brainstorm" in order to find a better way to save money and provide better facilities for the students. He also asked the Board if they are for or against unification. President Hogan stated it was a legal question. The Board had not taken a position and would not do so until it was settled by legal means. Boardmember Aguilar stated the District did not initiate the question of unification and they were responding to initiatives outside of the district. It would be inappropriate to take a position until all information was received. Boardmember Bauer stated the District needed more information as to whether the unification would create racial isolation and if they would have to proceed with preemptlye court action. The District did not have the ability to structure the election, the State Board would call the election and decide who would be entitled to vote. The District is waiting for information from the Committee and legal counsel. 8. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT(S) - None 9. SUPERIN'IENDEN'I~ REPORT(S) - None 10. MAYOR'S REPORT(S) - None MINUTES January 2,~, 1990 Page 6 11. TRU$1'EE'S REPORT(S) Boardmember Chapman questioned the status of the Youth Community Center. 13870 Mayor Cox stated the City would retain the title and the school would utilize it during the day. There is a strong interest by the Parks and Recreation Commission as well as outside organizations. Councilman Moore expressed his concern over the new construction design of schools regarding parking, bus drop off areas, and drainage. Mr. Campbell stated the District has met with City Traffic Engineer regarding the development of EastLake High School. These issues were all addressed and he noted the site will have a self contained drainage system. Councilman Moore informed the District that the growth data from 1940 to 1980 was approximately 2 1/2% by decade with the actual figures at 22,000 to 24,000 per decade. Mayor Cox noted he had a speaking engagement at 7:30 and turned the meeting over to Vice Mayor McCandliss. Councilman Nader stated the figures were deceptive and the growth rates for the 50's, 60', and 80's were comparable, but if the 80's were compared to the 70's, there was a significant difference. Councilman Nader also expressed his frustration over the southern airport site and SANDAG in keeping the project alive. He was unaware until this meeting the impact upon the School District and felt it was a waste of tax revenues. He questioned whether it was time for the Council to put in writing their concerns and strongly encourage SANDAG to put an end to this project. Councilman Moore noted that the City of San Diego was going to do this report and that SANDAG assumed the project with the funding through the Federal Aviation Administration. He noted the Port Authority had also done a report on Lindburg Field that had bean kept very quiet. 12. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m. to the next Joint City Council meeting with Southwestern College on Monday, February 5, 1990 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room. Respectfully submitted, BEVERLY A. AUTHELET, CMC, City Clerk by: Vicki Soderquist, Deputy ~l~lerk