MINUTES OF MEETING
July 8, 2002
The meeting was called to order by Co-Chairman Kenn Phillips at 5:32 PM.
Committee members present were, Asta Criss, Marshall Long, Co-Chair William Mosley, Sally James, Diann Corral, Co-Chair Kenn Phillips, Scott Svonkin and Edwin Young. Those absent were Gabriel Avila, Jennifer Brogin, Lori Dinkin, and Mannon Kaplan.
Others present were Valley College President Tyree Wieder and Jeanne Rubin, Executive Assistant to President Wieder, acting as recording secretary, taking the minutes of the meeting. One member of the public was in attendance, Joanne Waddell (LAVC AFT Chapter President).
Co-Chairman Phillips asked that each person present introduce himself or herself in view of the new committee member, Ms. Criss, attending her first meeting.
Co-Chair Phillips asked that Agenda Item 3 be moved to the beginning of the agenda so that Dr. Wieder could formally introduce Ms. Criss. Upon unanimous agreement of the members, Co-Chair Phillips called upon Dr. Wieder to proceed with Agenda Item 3, Announcement Regarding Appointment of New Committee Members. Dr. Wieder announced that, due to changes in the Valley Glen Neighborhood Association, Ms. Criss is the new president of that group, and has been appointed pursuant to Article I. A. of the Committee's Bylaws to replace Mr. Carlos Ferreyra on the LAVC Proposition "A" Citizens' Committee.
Co-Chair Phillips called for public comments, and there being none, proceeded to Agenda Item 2. The draft of the minutes of the Committee's meeting on May 13, 2002 was submitted to the members for their review. Upon a motion by Ms. James, seconded by Dr. Long, the minutes were unanimously approved and accepted as submitted. A true and exact copy of the minutes as approved is attached hereto.
Co-Chair Phillips then recognized Dr. Wieder and called for Agenda Item 4, Report by LAVC President Wieder on the Status of Proposition "A" Bond Projects. Dr. Wieder stated that the first bungalow demolition will take place on July 16 at 8:30 a.m. A new, modern restroom facility will be installed and after it is no longer needed at the site, it will be moved to the athletic field area for use there.
She reported that Myra Franks & Associates has been retained to do LAVC's Environmental Impact Report. Part of their responsibilities will be to hold public meetings about LAVC's projects. Dr. Wieder told the members that she will be glad to attend any of their Homeowner/Neighborhood Association meetings and will bring representatives from URS with her. She requested that dates be given to her office staff so they can be coordinated and calendared.
Dr. Wieder informed the members that there will be a meeting on Thursday, July 11th at 2:00 p.m. in the Cafeteria Conference Room at which the college community will be conducting what they hope will be their final review of the campus master plan. She invited all Committee members to attend. She described that the biggest issue has been the siting of the library and the Health/Sciences building. Phasing, she said, is an issue that affects this as well.
She went on to state that a utility infrastructure consultant has been hired who will "turn the campus up-side down" and locate where all utility lines, etc. are located because accurate records over the years have not been kept when some necessary repairs or alterations were made. Therefore, the college needs to have an accurate, reliable diagram of exactly where these lines are located.
She explained that the North Gym Programmer's contract will be extended so that this firm can go forward with programming of the South Gym as well. It was concluded that these two buildings should be treated as a unified complex and handled by the same programmer as so many of the same issues arise in the usage of both buildings.
The Media Arts Programmer, she said, will finish interviews with building user groups this month and will submit their design in August.
The Health/Sciences Programmer will be Anshen + Allen - Los Angeles, the firm that designed the Santa Monica College Science Building. With regard to this building, Dr. Wieder explained, there are State of California dollars being utilized as well as Proposition "A:" Bond monies, so it is important to move forward so the project will stay within the state's fiscal cycle and the college will be able to get the available state funds.
Dr. Wieder described to the members that the top priority for the campus community has been to move all programs out of the bungalows into different quarters. The task of emptying the bungalows and moving all classes and special programs into other areas has just been completed on paper, and the bungalows are now theoretically empty. Dr. Wieder passed out to all present the college's "Current Building Occupancy and Future Move Occupancy", the document reflecting this project. She explained that the existing Physics and Chemistry buildings will be demolished and the new CSIT building is proposed to be sited in their place.
Dr. Long inquired if the college has a record of the square footage of buildings that will be demolished. Dr. Wieder responded that it does, but that some of the records are not completely accurate because changes and remodeling have taken place over the years and some of the alterations were not recorded.
The arborist, Dr. Wieder reported, is now on board and is working with LAVC's Biology Department, which has a list and history of the trees that have been planted over the years on campus. Additionally, Oaks have been inventoried, as they must be protected.
Dr. Wieder described that for the immediate future, CSIT, Financial Aid and the college's Project Management team will be housed in trailers that will be located on the North Tennis Courts.
Ms. James said that she felt August would not be a good time to start holding the college's community meetings because so many people are on vacation during that month. Dr. Wieder agreed, but explained that it may be necessary to do so because of the statutory time constraints imposed by the EIR process. Mr. Svonkin suggested that the college can solicit public comments in forums other than the required public meetings as well. Dr. Wieder responded that she will investigate having the Web site utilized for community members to e-mail comments or questions. Ms. James said that she appreciates receiving the college e-mail notices about the Proposition "A" projects.
Dr. Wieder then circulated the list of the campus projects, explained certain project name changes, and also explained the coding used to distinguish new construction from remodeling. She then yielded the floor to Mr. Svonkin and asked that he give a report as LAVC's liaison with the LACCD's Oversight Committee.
Mr. Svonkin described that it is difficult for the District's Oversight Committee to get a handle on the projects because so much of the activity takes place at the campus level. He described the process of taking reports from each campus and distilling the information. He also described how different members of this committee have different areas of interest, ranging from financial matters to ADA compliance and environmental issues. He explained that the District's Project Manager, DMJM, is required to submit an annual audit. Dr. Wieder pointed out that there is a second level of oversight in that DMJM is audited by Peat Marwick & Mitchell. The District's Oversight Committee meets quarterly, and Mr. Svonkin stated that he would like it to meet more often than that. They are, he said, trying to do as much oversight as possible, and would like to see such things as reports on hiring of minority contractors, labor agreements, etc.
Dr. Wieder said that she will have a financial report for the committee at their next meeting. By then, she said, she hopes that all the consultants will have their final contracts in place. It has, she described, been a very slow process for all campuses negotiating the contracts with their consultants. DMJM has been very stringent, she reported, in enforcing the policy that consultants not be over-staffed. Dr. Wieder told the members that this is an important function because she personally does not know what staff level is required, and she must rely upon DMJM to be the ones to say, "You do not need that number of people". The Chancellor's rule of thumb is that "soft costs" must not exceed 20% of the projects' total costs.
Mr. Svonkin identified himself as Assemblyman Koretz' Chief of Staff and described himself as being diligent and exacting. He said he wants in-put from the Citizens' Committee members.
Dr. Wieder then continued her report, describing the goal set by the District Board of Trustees that each new building shall have at least 26 LEEDS points. She described that one of LAVC's sister campuses is ordering artificial turf for its athletic fields, and stated that she feels this is the kind of thing that should be handled in a District-wide manner, with all nine campuses considering such a move and then making the material and installation purchases in bulk, thus achieving cost savings. She described that, for purchase of furniture and fixtures, a District catalog will be published from which all nine campuses will order, thus allowing for savings ranging from 20% to 70%.
Ms. Corral expressed concern about such a thing as artificial turf, observing that if it lasts for 10 years, and after 10 years it has to be replaced, then where does the money come from? Yes, she said, over the ten years you have saved on water and groundskeepers, but now the money to pay for those things is no longer allocated and is utilized elsewhere, and where will you get the money for new artificial turf?
Dr. Long added that there may be public "fallout" with regard to artificial turf, and you may lose LEEDS points. There are, he said, other considerations. Grass, he pointed out, does beneficial things, as do all plants. Mr. Svonkin stated that you have to look carefully at the company supplying such a product and query how it is capitalized, insured, and whether it will be around in ten years. Dr. Long observed that artificial turf is acceptable for certain athletic uses where the surface is constantly torn up by the usage, but that it is not good for other uses.
Mr. Svonkin then stated his opinion that the committee members should lobby for the ability to allocate energy savings. He said that some buildings might have energy savings of more than 20% and that there may be some buildings where it would not be cost effective to have more than 10% energy savings and that, therefore, the energy savings should be evaluated in the aggregate. He also said that he believes the goal should be to have more than 26 LEEDS points where it is possible to do so.
Dr. Long said that he is an engineer and he does not know what is meant by "20% energy savings". He said this must be defined to be meaningful. Dr. Wieder said that she will provide a copy of the District's draft policy to him and Mr. Svonkin. Dr. Young concurred with Dr. Long's statement, saying that it is essential to know what is actually involved in achieving a percentage of energy savings.
Co-Chair Phillips then called for Agenda Item No. V, the rescheduling of the Committee's November 11, 2002 meeting, in view of the fact that that day is Veterans' Day. Upon unanimous consent, the meeting was rescheduled for November 18, 2002 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Cafeteria Conference Room at Los Angeles Valley College.
Co-Chair Phillips called for Items from the Floor. Dr. Wieder told the members that if any questions occur to them, they should fee free to contact her. Ms. Corral informed the members that she will be out of town when the committee meets again on September 9th.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:37 PM.
By: _______________________________________
Jeanne C. Rubin
Acting as Recording Secretary
