El Cerrito High School Community Meeting Minutes El Cerrito High School Cafeteria, May 26 th, 2015 1) WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Luis Freese, WCCUSD: District Engineering Officer. Head of the Facilities Planning and Construction Department 2) SITE DESIGN Marcia Vallier, Vallier Design Associates: Fencing and Landscaping Topics Reviewed Slide presentation A. Summary of design aspects and field components B. Review of landscaping details around site perimeter C. Summary of bio swale and planting area along Ashbury Avenue D. Discussion of perimeter views E. Fencing 1 no climb fencing to be installed on slopes. Chain link with PVC slats to be installed on horizontal slopes. F. 12 between new and existing fence along south side and home bleachers G. New single basketball court location on Eureka just above Community Garden. H. Coordination with the City of El Cerrito on street tree replacement on Colusa to take place. 3) PROJECT DESIGN Ike Ofodu, WLC Architects: Overall Project Design Topics Reviewed Slide presentation A. Building plans review B. Building elevation and exterior materials review C. Visitor bleachers review 4) PROJECT STATUS Hector De Leon, SGI Construction Management: Project Status Topics Reviewed Construction Status A. Buildings: i. Current Status: Building exteriors, interior framing and drywall ii. Upcoming: Additional roofing system, HVAC roof units, drywall taping, utilities and interior paint B. Home Bleachers: I. Current Status: Removal of wood seats and concrete substrate prep II. Upcoming: Painting, installation of new aluminum seats and fencing C. Visitor Bleachers: i. Current Status: Installation of seats, press box, stairs and ramp. ii. Upcoming: Fence mesh, siding and storage area structure
D. Track: i. Current Status: Base rock added, graded and compacted ii. Upcoming: Final grading of track is ongoing, to be followed by asphalt and then track surfacing E. Field: i. Current Status: Rough grading of field, installation of drainage system, finish grading of base rock layer ii. Upcoming: Addition of layer of rock as substrate to field turf F. Lighting: i. Current Status: Light poles and fixture installation ii. Upcoming: Power to be run and testing to be completed G. Site Items i. Current: Portion of site concrete, scoreboard, goalposts, flagpoles ii. Upcoming: Completion of site concrete and removal of site access ramp, fencing and landscaping H. Estimated Project Completion 4 th Quarter 2015 5) STADIUM USE David Luongo ECHS Principal: Use of the Stadium Topics Reviewed A. Stadium activities including football practice and games, track and field, soccer and physical education (PE) B. Field usage until 8:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m. M F, with exceptions being football games which generally are on Friday nights and go until approximately 9:30 p.m. or 10:00 p.m., with one additional hour for custodial to clean the stadium. C. Occasionally football games may take place on another night of the week for special events, such as homecoming on a Saturday night. D. Only ECHS football games will take place on field, with exception of potential pop warner or weekend league usage E. Football games August through December, including any playoff games F. Minimum 6 games a year, maximum number of games is 12 depending, on team success G. Priority of usage is first for school and District activities, second for city usage. Others may apply for use of the field through the permit office at the District. There is an application process, first come first serve. H. Field will not be used for the 2015 football season, but will be available for the soccer season. I. Soccer practices have been starting at 6:00 a.m. on the multipurpose field. This practice will stop upon the completion of the Stadium project J. The stadium will be used for PE during school hours. K. Access to the Track and Field to be provided by someone in the District. Details to be worked out.
6) QUESTIONS and ANSWERS Topics of Discussion Sound System A. Sound system and speakers are fully controllable and are designed to direct sound on to the field so broadcasts and announcements can be heard during games and other District activities. B. Community members requested to be notified of the sound system test. CM for the project to notify the neighbors in advance of the testing. C. Neighbors indicated speakers are pointed at homes. Construction Manager (CM) team to review, speakers can still be adjusted and aimed. D. Sound volume will be within allowable ranges, typical for high school sporting events Lights A. Stadium lighting is a state the art Musco system which is designed to focus light on the field with a minimum of light spillage beyond it. It will be much superior to the previous stadium lighting system. B. Perimeter lights at the previously constructed multipurpose field are to be on a timer, although a neighbor indicated that the lights currently they stay on throughout the night. District and Luongo to review and correct timing. C. Portable generator lights will no longer be used per Luongo after the stadium is opened. This is a temporary use to accommodate all the school team practice times. Stadium Usage and Schedule A. Community members wanted to know who controls use of the stadium. B. District representatives at the meeting work in the District Facilities Department which is responsible for the design and construction of the stadium only. The Facilities Department does not determine scheduling nor use of the Stadium. That function is determined in collaboration by the School Principal, Facilities Use Office (General Services Department) and the City of El Cerrito. The City of El Cerrito and the District have Facilities Use Agreement which addresses use of commonly shared facilities. Communication A. Who is the contact person for facility rental and use? Facilities Office Rina Prasad, Facility Use Technician (510) 231 1113. B. Contact City of El Cerrito Recreation Department for information about their use policies and procedures. C. Who is the contact when things don t go as expected with the stadium usage/hours? The School Principal would be the first person to contact. D. Who is the contact if the gates are locked during the public use times The School Principal E. Who are the contacts for student conduct issues? On site: The School Principal. Off site: The City of El Cerrito Police Department F. The community requested a written policy document moving forward to ensure that future District personnel are aware of the agreed upon guidelines. G. It was suggested by community attendees that a Community Committee/Panel could provide more efficient feedback and communication between the District and the community so that meaningful communication occur and mutual understanding be achieved.
Tennis Court Access A. Tennis courts should be open for community use. The City of El Cerrito schedules much of the non school use per the Facility Use Agreement with the District. B. Details for public use to be further clarified. Trees/Height A. Naturalistic arrangement of native oak trees down the slope at Colusa. Trees planted in the rocky slope will likely get around 25 35 tall within 15 years. B. Ashbury Avenue will be planted with a row of Columnar European Hornbeam variety Frans Fontaine in a row with the curved planter 5 0 below the top of the slope. The trees reach 35 at maturity and have moderate growth rate. The trees are placed to help screen the sun for afternoon games. C. Plants were selected for their low maintenance. Some tree maintenance such as pruning is required for the first 5 years, until trees are naturalized and established. D. Planting within the planting strip along the sidewalks is by the City of El Cerrito. The trees that were removed for construction will be replaced by the District with species selection by the City. Contact the City Manager s Office for more information. If trees are not desired within the street at Colusa Avenue, the City should be contacted prior to their replacement. The trees and the planting strip are not the District s responsibility to maintain. General Items A. Security during football game events Per Luongo, school has four (4) campus security officers who work football games in coordination with El Cerrito Police Department. Increased number of Police on duty for football games. B. Basketball courts Only one full size basketball court could be incorporated into the scope due to the slope of the grade at the determined location. BB Court to be built as part of the current Stadium project. C. Budget numbers reviewed. The original construction contract of $13,438,000 with $250,617 in approved change orders is the current total. This number does not include design and development fees. D. Parking during games is primarily street parking E. No cell towers on school facilities are included in the current project. F. Building heights are complete with exception of rooftop HVAC units that are still to be installed G. Roofing is complete, and community mentioned glare reflecting off those roofs. Architect to review however, the colors and roofing material has not changed since the fall 2011 meetings. H. Surveillance cameras are not part of the stadium project.
Concerns Expressed by the Community Attendees A. Trucks are arriving before 7:00 a.m. CM to follow up with General Contractor to ensure they are following the time guidelines and not disturbing the neighbors. B. Bright lights shining up a street east of the stadium. Per CM, the lighting could not have been the new field lights as electrical power to them has not been connected to them. The CM will look into the issue. C. Construction worker foul language and noise are a concern for neighbors adjacent to the field who have kids that go to bed early and are disturbed by the noise and language. D. Doesn t synthetic turf lead to more concussions than grass fields? Turf fields are actually safer than grass fields. Studies available upon request. The new field will be tested to ensure that it meets GMAX rating requirements for turf fields. E. Structural assessments were made of various homes along Rockway Ave. Assessments were conducted by a District consultant prior to the start of construction. The assessment included the taking of photos of those homes included in the assessment. Jan Ducart again requested copies of those photos from Hector DeLeon. F. Concern about delinquent after school student behavior along Central Ave. (Jane V. Jolly 506 Clayton/Central, 510 368 6431 would like to help with the project and the kids.) G. Concern about views and view blockage on Colusa Avenue expressed. (Steve Ma, 202 361 3946) H. Concern about soccer use at the site and size of the pitch expressed. (Bill McDermott 510 528 4260). I. The District filed a CEQA Negative Declaration for the entire rebuilding of the campus including the new campus buildings, multiuse field, tennis courts, stadium, etc. The CEQA exemption requires the District to not only rebuild facilities essentially as they were previously but also to continue use of the facilities as previously used. (Judd Goodman) J. Community concerned that there is no policy for usage and would like there to be implementation of a policy for use of the stadium, tennis courts and multiuse field. K. Concern of cumulative noise, light and glare mentioned many times. L. Make sure that public sidewalks that are closed are adequately signed so that the accessible path of travel is not interrupted and the public is not put at risk.
Follow up A. Meeting minutes for this meeting will be emailed to members who were in attendance. B. Presentation and meeting minutes will be posted online on the District s website underneath El Cerrito High School. C. Another community meeting to be scheduled. i. Note: Next Community Meeting. 6:00pm Tuesday 21, July 2015 Cafeteria ECHS Subject: Progress update of Stadium Construction