Loading...
CC - 06-03-86 - Adjourned Meeting• • APPROVED CITY OF ROSENJEAD DATE MINUTES OF THE ADJOURNED MEETING ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL JUNE 3, 1986 AT 7:00 P. M. . The Adjourned Meeting of the Rosemead City Council with the Alhambra School District Boardmembers was called to order by Board President Charles Scanlon at 7:02 p. m., in the Admini- stration Building Board Room at 15 West Alhambra Road, Alhambra. The meeting began with the pledge to the Flag. Members of the Board were introduced by President Scanlon and Members of the City Council were introduced by Mayor Imperial. PRESENT: Councilmembers Bruesch, Cleveland, Tury and Mayor Imperial. Councilman Taylor arrived a few minutes later. PRESENT: Boardmembers Richard Amador, Dora Padilla, Phyllis Rutherford, Ron Apperson, and Dr. Bruce Peppin, Superintendent of Schools, and Dr. John Perko, As- sociate Superintendent of Schools, and President Charles Scanlon. President Scanlon stated that the meeting was called to discuss the new high' school in the Alhambra High School Dis- trict. Dr. Bruce Peppin stated that this meeting was at the request of the Rosemead City Council and with the concurrence of the Board of Education, and stated that the Agenda posted by the City Council was to have a discussion regarding the site selection for the fourth high school. He stated that information has been exchanged with the City of Rosemead and felt that the Council had whatever information that the Board had. Mrs. Dora Padilla stated that when the Alhambra High School District is being discussed, the Board thinks in terms of school districts,which are the Alhambra Elementary, San Gabriel Elementary and the Garvey Elementary. She added that the Board has to think of those students as school district members. She objected to the inference that they favor any City in any shape or form. Councilman Tury stated that they are not concerned with the City only, but also think about the students, and the Council is certainly not anti-education nor anti-youth. He stated that what the City Council wants to hear from the Board is why the selection of the school sites are all in the City of. Rosemead. He questioned also why the site in the east part of t6wn automatically thrown out. He also wanted to know if there were any sites outside of Rosemead ever considered, and if not, why? He stated that the Council under- stands the Board's responsibilities and they share the Board's con- cerns; however, he felt that answers to these questions should be given. Mr. Richard Amador stated that the final decision has not been made regarding the selection of the high school site; how- ever, some preliminary action has to be taken to get the process going. Mayor Imperial questioned the statement that a site had not been selected, and he stated that he had understood that three sites had been selected and that an EIR had been requested on all three of them. He inquired if that was not true, then where else are sites being considered. Mr. Amador stated that a Request for Proposal has not yet been issued, a Contract has not been issued for studies on any sites. He commented that the staff will be presenting material and recommendations to select the Contractor who will do the impact reports and after the EIR's are prepared on the three sites, and the final site is selected, it is at least a year away. Councilman Bruesch stated that if the EIR has not been given to a Contractor, then he wanted to know what the time schedule was, and he also inquired why the southern part of Rosemead was the only area chosen. Adj.CM 6-3-86 Page N1 Dr. Bruce Peppin, Superintent, stated that the specifica- tions for the RFP are being prepared, but the specifications must be approved by the State Allocation Board first. He added that a draft had not as yet been presented to the Board of Edu- cation because it has not cleared the State. Dr. Perko is in the process of preparing the draft at this time, and after it is approved by the State it will be submitted to the Board of Education for it's approval, after which time a bid will be awarded. He commented that they are hoping to have the Board look at it by the first meeting in July. Councilman Bruesch again inquired why less than a two square mile section of the Alhambra School District was being considered for a site. Dr. Peppin stated that the selection of that portion'.of the school district was made because that is where the need for another school is. He stated that also in the past the Garvey School District has requested that a school be built in that school district. He stated that there were 1800-1900 students living in the southeast portion of the District, and the majority of them in Rosemead. A school would best serve that area of that community as well as the school district, and that is why that area of the school district was selected. Councilman Bruesch inquired if it wasn't true that in 1974 both Monterey Park and San Gabriel had made the same kind of re- quest of the Alhambra School District. Dr. Peppin stated that their requests were honored by the unification elections; however, those elections failed. Mr. Ron Apperson stated that.other sites had been looked at Garvey-Ranch, and that they have not simply ignored other areas. The three sites. being considered were suggested by consultants, and these three areas are being considered because of the population, and because of the location of Mark Keppel, Alhambra and San Gabriel. He inquired of the City Council if any of the three sites were at all acceptable? Councilman Bruesch commented that there is no one present that would say that a high school is not needed; however, the question is what the consultants were told and if they were told to look only in Rosemead for a site, then of course, they would come up with a site in southern Rosemead. He inquired if the instructions given the consultants were district wide.for the selection of the site? Dr. Peppin stated that the consultants were instructed to look in the southeast portion of their school district because looking at the demographics of enrollment, that is where a school was needed, and also looking at where the other schools were lo- cated. Dr. Peppin stated that a couple of years ago boundaries have been changed which affected a lot of Garvey School District students. Councilman Bruesch stated the Alhambra School District, who live in Rosemead grew abou and Monterey Park has a growth that showed that the southeast of a school? that from the figures received from the students in the Garvey Schools t 9% and the students from Alhambra of 14% to 16%. He questioned how section of Rosemead was in most need Dr. Peppin stated that the entire school district has to be looked at as a whole. The district has grown with the increased housing in Monterey Park and Alhambra. Students have to be moved so that there is adequate facilities for all of them, and the southeastern section of the district is not served by a high school with adequate capacity. He added that many Rosemead stu- dents are being moved to San Gabriel and to Mark Keppel High School. He felt that a school in the southeast portion of their district would best serve the students. Adj.CM 6-3-86 Page H2 • • Mr. Apperson inquired again if the Council had any resistance to any of the three sites being considered. Mayor Imperial stated that he had problems with all three of the sites being considered. He commented that he could understand that the Districts responsibilities go beyond city limits; however, Mayor Imperial stated that his reponsibilities are to every single person living in Rosemead. He added that what the district is con- sidering would remove from 250 to 500 houses depending on which site is selected, and with a vacancy rate of 1%, there would be people who have lived in Rosemead for many, many years and they would have no place within the City to relocate to. Mr. Apperson stated that they do not want to condemn a single house, let alone multiple houses. He added that some sincere people had requested that the District look into the Garvey Ranch site and they named two or three other sites. The Garvey Ranch is not in Rosemead, and those sites were looked at, and others also, and he stated that they would continue to look for other sites; however, the sites most suitable are the sites that most annoy the Council. Mrs. Dora Padilla commented on a letter from the Garvey School District dated April 4, 1984 in which they had commented on the need of a high school in the Garvey portion of the Alhambra School District. She read that 700 students were being transferred from the Garvey School District into the Alhambra School District annually, and that 2500 residents would benefit from an educational program being located within walking distance from their homes, and they requested a meeting to discuss the feasibility of such a proposal. Mrs. Padilla continued by saying that on April 19, 1984 a meeting was held with the Alhambra, San Gabriel and Garvey School Boards, and at that time members of the Garvey Board indicated their support of the building of a.high school within their boundaries. Mayor Imperial inquired if the same people who wrote that letter were the same people who sent a Resolution requesting that a high school not be built there? Mrs. Padilla stated that they were a different combination of the board who made the requests. The Garvey School Board at a recent study session stated that they respected the Alhambra School Districts jurisdiction, and not that they agreed with their sites in Rosemead, but respected their responsibility for making the de- cisions. She stated that Garvey School Board had recommended a site "B", but had a change of heart and withdrew their support of site "B", and now do not support any site. Councilman Bruesch stated as an employee of the Garvey School District, in 1966 he sat through some meetings at Garvey School and Fern School working out the plans for a high school. He added that the high school that had been promised to be built was to be built on then, vacant land. Now, a.high school is being promised again, but in order to get it, the very students that it will serve will have to be moved out. He commented on the fact that the pro- posed sites for the high school will be in an area which may put from,7,000 to 10,000 students in an eight square block area. Councilman Taylor stated that he felt that the preliminary meetings between the Garvey School Board and the Alhambra School Board in 1984 was probably a good faith relationship between the two school boards. He stated that the City Council did not have the preliminary information that was being used at that time be- cause it was a situation relating to the school district. He felt disturbed with the fact that the Alhambra School Board con- tinued to pursue a site in the Garvey School District although the Boardmembers had changed. He.felt that it was wrong because he did not know of any serious investigation for sites within the City of Monterey Park. He stated that the three sites in the City of Rosemead are totally unacceptable. He inquired when the EIRs would be available. Dr. Peppin stated that the specifications which are being prepared, must be approved by the State before final approval by the Board of Education, and it,is hoped that it would be available by July. Adj.CM 6-3-86 Page N3 Councilman Taylor inquired if after these specifications go to the State and it is approved by the State, what happens regarding the local community imput. Dr. Peppin stated that after the RFP is submitted and filed and there is a successful bidder and the Board approves, and the EIR is conducted, and when the report is made for one or more sites, the report is then submitted to the Board of Education. When the Board accepts the report, there must be a six month window period to allow community imput before it makes a final decision based on the EIR. At the end of that period of time, if the Board does make a decision as to a site then the next step will be processed again. Councilman Taylor stated that the reason he had inquired about the time frame of the EIR, he wanted to make sure that there was adequate time for the residents of Rosemead to respond to the EIR. He wanted to keep an open mind and he wanted to see all of the documentation and all of the studies made for Monterey Park and the City of Rosemead. He commented on the fact that the Garvey School Board has threatened to file a law- suit and the City of Rosemead is also considering it; however, he is not party to that specific decision until he gets, all the information that he had requested, and then he will make up his mind. He stated that many residents have stated that if they can be shown that there is a high school needed in Rosemead, they will accept that. Mr. Apperson stated that the report will be made public and there will be discussion on it. He stated that he is con- sidering the three sites in Rosemead because if the Auto Auction or some other area that the City had planned for commercial development was selected for a school, the City would sue the School District. This would cost another couple of million dollars and would save a couple of hundred houses. If that is not a problem and the City will not sue the Board over that, then maybe a couple of hundred houses can be saved, and just throw money at the problem. Councilman Taylor stated that he did not believe that the City Council would file a lawsuit when it can be shown that there has been a fair decision made and all the facts were available. He just did not want to see that the State agreed with the Board's decision of site "C" and then the City gets notified of it a year after it is done. Mr. Apperson stated that they could hide behind Sacramento, and he stated that it was not a very pleasant duty to address a 3000 student over-population, and condemn homes of wonderful people who built those homes and are looking forward to retirement. Councilman Taylor stated that he did understand the Board's position, but the only thing he expected was that things be fair. Councilman Tury commented that the EIR will not say anything about whether the school is needed or not. He added that the EIR will address the environmental issues, and cannot tell us whether these are the best sites. Dr. Perko stated that it would take about three or four months to enter into a contract with a firm that would do the EIR, and the EIR process will take another six months, and that is making certain assumptions in how fast it can get through the Office of Local Assistance and the other agencies involved. Councilman Taylor referred back to a meeting which was held a couple of months ago, the action that was voted on was to pro- ceed with the RFP.immediately. He was glad that to hear that it really has not been done-as yet, and this will give the Board a chance to get everything into this proposal. Adj. CM 6-3-86 Page #4 . . Mr. Amador stated that there has been no change from the action taken that night. He stated that the action was to in- struct the staff to beginthe work so that an RFP could be issued, and it was stated at that time that it would take about a year. Councilman Taylor inquired if there are any sites being in- vestigated that are not in the City of Rosemead. Mr. Amador stated that he has prepared a list of sites that he had been looking at throughout the district. Councilman Bruesch stated that in response to Mr. Apperson's question regarding the three sites in the southeast portion of the district, the Council cannot make any type of rational decision about sites any where-when they honestly believe that all the in- formation has not been given. lie stated that since they do not have anything district-wide to compare these sites in Rosemead to, they cannot make a rational decision. No data has been gathered on any other sites any where else. He stated that once he gets that kind of information he will study them thoroughly, but until he gets that kind of information, he cannot be in favor of any site in Rosemead. Mayor Imperial commented the word "fair" being used this evening, and he stated that he did not feel that the Board had been fair.because they picked south Rosemead and selected three sites and made no effort to contact the City or the Council to notify them of their considerations. He added even when the City Manager tried to find out what was happening in the south end of town, still no information was given. Mayor Imperial stated that he would not consider it fair unless information on not only the three sites in Rosemead, but in sites in every other part of the Alhambra School District-are made available. He mentioned the 1800 people from the City of Rosemead that will occupy that school that is being proposed, and inquired how many people from outside Rosemead will occupy that school? He was more in favor of requesting Rosemead High School to expand and to bus the students there before 250 homes are taken. Councilman Taylor mentioned that he had been asked to attend a meeting with the Alhambra School Board a•couple of months ago, but it was two weeks before the Municipal Election at which time both Councilman Tury and he had been candidates. At that time, they had told the City Manager that the timing was not appropriate for a joint meeting with the Board; however, that does not justify that the Council had not been invited to meet during the past two years before that. Mr. Amador questioned the Master Plan which had been amended as recently as 1982 which shows condemnation of property. Councilman Taylor demanded that he be shown even one home that the Council planned to condemn. Mr. Amador stated that generally when a Master Plan is developed, it is for the purpose of planners to look ahead to see how the City will look. This property which is being planned for development is either acquired through the community redevelopment agency or private businesses buying the property. Councilman Taylor stated that there is not one member that is on the Councilnow_:that was on that Council which adopted the General Plan, and as a matter of fact, three of them lost the election be- cause of that Master Plan. President Scanlon inquired if there was a new.Master Plan for the City of Rosemead. Councilman Bruesch stated that it is being worked on and a meeting will be held this month regarding it and it will go to the Planning Commission in the month of July. Councilman Taylor stated that the Master Plan which Mr. Amador is referring to is an obsolete plan which was adopted 14 years ago. Adj.CM 6-3-86 Page #5 Councilman Tury stated that he felt that what was most irritating was that the City of Rosemead has made major efforts in controlling the population. It just did not happen. It was a planned thing because the City knew the problems on not only City services, but also on the schools. He said Rosemead was the only City around that does not have a City property tax, and no building fees, and absolutely no incentive to go for high density building. He felt that because the Cities around Rosemead are over-crowded, Rosemead is being penalized because it would be cheaper to buy out a lower-density area than it would be to buy out a high-density area. He stated that he would like to be convinced that the Board is selecting Rosemead not only because it can be bought cheaper, but because that is where the genuine need is. He had suggested a site on the extreme east end of Rosemead, but was told it was too far. There were only 8 homes involved there. He acknowledged that there was a problem, and a way has to be found to resolve it. Mr. Amador stated that he felt that the Rosemead City Council has done a fantastic job in controlling the growth in the City. He stated that no matter what site is selected,there is going to be opposition. He added that there is no property available in the district of that size that is vacant, and another criteria was to have the site close enough so that bussing would not be needed. Mr. Apperson stated that he realized that Rosemead has made a concerted effort to keep the population down, and they certainly knew that Alhambra and Monterey Park have not. He apologized for not sharing the data that was available, but he added.that is not their custom. He stated that the data will be made available to the Council and they will run down any other areas that are pointed out to the Board. He apologized again for the lack of information and he added that the project has to move.because there are 3000 young people that the Board represents that are.telling them to get going on the project. Mrs. Padilla commented on the 3000 students that are in the trailers, in the temporary buildings and in the classrooms, and she added that the Garvey School District has a sizeable amount of students on double sessions. She stated that indicates the large population that will be moving up and will eventually be- come high school students. She stated that it was the duty of the Board to house them whether they come from Rosemead, San Gabriel, South San Gabriel, Monterey Park or Alhambra. She ap- plauded the Council's efforts on holding the line on building, and understood that the Council is looking after their residents and are taking care of their responsibilities to the citizens of Rosemead. The students are the responsibility of the Board. Councilman Taylor did not dispute the fact that the Garvey School District had double sessions; however, he did inquire if Monterey Park had the number of small children increased also. Mrs. Padilla stated that the Monterey Park students in Monterey Park schools have double session only in Kindergarten. Councilman Taylor commented that there is no Councilmember that is opposed to a high school, and he realized that.was the Board's job to end up making the final decision. He stated that he wanted to support the Board in that decision, but he wanted to make that decision on the facts so that no one can dispute the Board's credibility or the Council's. Councilman Bruesch stated as an employee of the Garvey School District he knew that the parents and teachers of Duff School wanted to remain on all year round sessions. They wanted to remain another year on year round sessions to see the growth or lack of.growth in the student's test scores. In the double session schools the extreme westside of the Garvey District, approximately 85% of the students are from Monterey Park. He re- quested that a comparison in growth in the last five years of the schools from Rosemead, from Monterey Park, and Alhambra. He felt the need of those numbers prior to further discussion. Adj.CM 6-3-86 Page #6 Mr. Apperson stated that those figures would be given to the Council. Councilman Tury stated that the only City in the District that does not have a high school is Monterey Park. . Mr. Amador stated that all of the schools have had tremendous growth, and presently there is not a high school to service the Garvey School District students. Councilman Tury commented on the fact that Rosemead has two different school districts within the City and one is totally within the City and the other is partially in the City. He stated that the Council is probably much more hesitant with this project because the students are not only from Rosemead but from other areas. He requested that the Board look at the City's position when considering this issue. Councilman Bruesch inquired if statistics show a great difference in growth patterns in the communities of Monterey Park and Rosemead, would the Board then be willing to recon- sider the EIR and look elsewhere. Mr. Apperson stated that when a map is looked at and it shows Alhambra High School, Keppel , and San Gabriel high school, it does show the need of a high school in the southern end of the district. Mrs. Padilla commented on the fact that much of the infor- mation was not made available because their legal counsel had directed them to hold tight on the information until the o.k. was received. Mayor Imperial stated that he could understand why the infor- mation was not announced to everyone; however, he could not justify the fact that the City Council was not kept informed. Mr. Amador requested that over the next two weeks, ideas.be shared regarding land sites that would be suitable so that inves- tigation may be made in Monterey Park, San Gabriel, Rosemead and Alhambra. He requested that of each of the Councilmembers. Councilman Bruesch commented that if the school district shows him that they have made a sincere effort to find the very best site throughout the District, they can sit down and discuss it. He felt that up to now they do not have that data. Councilman Taylor stated that he felt that the site would be narrowed down to either the southeast or the southwest por- tion of the Alhambra High School District. He commented that everyone wants to have as much information as possible, so that it can,be.shown that there was a fair evaluation. When that data is available, he felt that the Council would support a high school. He added that it may not be a total committment, but he felt that they would back the Board and would not be obstructionists. Councilman Tury wanted the Board to understand why the Council has to sincerely believe that Rosemead has the greatest need for a high school in their City. Councilman Cleveland felt that now that we are approaching the main event, the Board should concentrate on being a little more liberal with the information available to the City Council. Mayor Imperial stated that he did not want to see 200 or more houses eliminated in the City of Rosemead. These people would not have any place to go. He stated that before he would go for a high school.on any site in the City of Rosemead, he would rather start a movement to de-annex Rosemead from the Alhambra School District, the E1 Monte Unified School District and form our own school district. He felt that this could be done by re- moving the students from.El Monte and by expanding Rosemead High School. There should be enough room to take care of our own pro- blems by doing that. Adj.CM 6-3-86 Page H7 Dr. Peppin stated that the City Council was more than wel- come to any.information that has been requested and felt that much of the information has been given already. He stated that they would continue to work closely with Mr. Tripepi and would provide answers to the questions that have been raised. He added that he could not guarantee that the answers would be satisfactory to the Council. He knows no one wants to displace any one, and certainly the School District does not; however, there are not 42 acres any where in the west San Gabriel Valley, that does not have something of value on it. He commented that the site at Luminarias Restaurant had been considered and Fern School had also been suggested. He said that they would provide all the information that is needed. Councilman Taylor commented on an interesting booklet that Huntington Beach had which listed all of the vacant land that is in their City. He inquired if possibly Monterey Park or Alhambra had such a booklet available. Dr. Peppin stated that he did not know if they had that type of information, but that he would find out. Mayor Imperial stated that the Board should contact the County to see if they would release half of the land at the Golf Course and a school could be built there. Mr. Amador hoped that the Council would appreciate and understand the process that the Board is going through. He stated that information will be provided to the Council so that they can reach their own conclusions. He felt that this was a tough decision and commented on the fact that not too long ago the school boundaries were changed and that was a traumatic experience. He added that when the high school is built, then boundaries will have to be changed again, and that will be another traumatic experience. He stated that he sincerely requested of the Council that if they know of some sites that the Board can look at.to-please let them know. Another consideration of the suitable site would be that transportation not be necessary for the students. He expressed his appreciation for the questions from the Council, and he stated that no matter how this matter ends up, it is important that communications between the two en-.. tities remain open. President Scanlon stated that he felt that a little progress had been made between the Boardmembers and the City Council with an exchange of ideas and comments. He stated that he hoped that they would be able to move on with the process. He then adjourned the Study Session at 8:45 p. m. Respectfully submitted City C rk APPROVED: --MAYOR Adj.CM 6-3-86 Page H8