Other work at the school includes the overhaul of its septic system, and it’s back to the drawing board to find solutions to traffic problems at the school.
By Nora Fleming / Special to The Malibu Times
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education last week agreed to move ahead with a septic system overhaul, the creation of a working group on athletic field enhancements and for further exploration into traffic and parking additions as part of the Measure BB campus improvements project at Malibu High School.
The possible additions to the athletic field of permanent lights, bleachers and synthetic turf could total a little more than $2.5 million and are considered “add alternatives” to the current project additions, which are funded by the district’s $268 million Measure BB bond that passed in 2006 to renovate district schools.
After hearing from both residents and parents, the board agreed to hold off on deciding to fund the athletic add-ons, and instead took the district’s suggestion of developing a small working group of six members, comprised of two district officials, two Malibu Park residents and two school parents who will meet and continue to hash out possibilities for the athletic field.
The district’s current proposal of 50 to 84 nights a year of athletic field lighting, used for practices and games for football, lacrosse and soccer, is a reduction from the 203 nights proposed by the district at an earlier meeting in January. But many area residents still feel the district has proposed an excessive number of nights and has failed to offer a well defined enforcement plan for making sure the lights, if used/built, only stay on for the certain number of hours and nights. The lack of trust stems from an unpermitted use of lights at the high school during the past several years.
“I think that the self-imposed controls laid out in the presentation just don’t go far enough and I can see, as a person in the neighborhood, I would be very skeptical after all the things that have happened,” board member Ben Allen said, after suggesting the board also consider developing a watchdog oversight committee to regulate the use of the lights if that portion of the project goes through.
The proposed committee/working group will meet and return to the board at the April 2 meeting with new update suggestions. At the May 7 meeting, the board will decide whether to allocate the resources to move forward with the additions to the project, based on suggestions from the group, which would require the application for a coastal development permit to allow permanent lights on the field.
The school district is already moving ahead with an application for an amendment to the current permit to allow temporary field lights for the upcoming football season.
School traffic and septic system addressed
The Malibu High School site building committee and district-hired consultants will be going back to the drawing board to find additional alternatives and some cost saving ideas for the ongoing traffic situation at Malibu High School.
The current proposal for a new parking lot and the expansion of another, a right turn lane at Morning View Drive, an upper campus loop road and new bus staging areas, among other components, total $4,278, 246.
Board President Ralph Mechur and board member Allen met with Malibu Park residents, a Measure BB site committee member and Malibu High School parents on Saturday to discuss the possible solutions for the lack of sufficient parking, adequate safety access for emergency vehicles, and dangerous drop-off and pick-up zones.
Other board members are expected to visit the school and get a feel for the layout of the site before hearing new suggestions by the committee or making any decisions on allocating funds for upgrades.
The board also agreed to allocate an additional $1.6 million for an onsite wastewater treatment system at Malibu High School, bringing the current total of campus improvement costs at the school to nearly $32 million.
After initial investigations, contractors found a need to upgrade the aging campus septic system both with immediate measures for critical issues and repairs that will be needed in the future. The overall system, which includes 10 separate components, will also require permits from the State Regional Water Quality Control Board to keep it up to par.
The next Board of Education meeting will take place March 19 at Santa Monica City Hall.