Lagunitas

Lagunitas compromises on bid; trustee won't quit

By Jennifer Henderson

Lagunitas School District trustees Tuesday night unanimously approved a proposal awarding James Abell and Associates a contract to design two and a half classrooms on the Lagunitas School campus.

Their decision, based on a proposal submitted earlier by Trustee Brian Dodd, represents a "sliver" of a previous contract awarded to Arizona-based Abell and Associates by a divided school board on Sept. 12.

During that meeting, Trustees Steve Charrier and Laurie Klein approved a proposal to grant James Abell the right to complete the entire first phase of a campus-improvement project.

However, that earlier decision angered some San Geronimo Valley residents, who argued that the board should have re-opened public bidding on the project once district voters approved a $2.6-million bond issue for the work.

Won't resign Among those upset was Trustee Dodd, who threatened to submit a letter of resignation. "What the board has done is wrong," Dodd declared.

At this week's meeting, trustees backed off awarding the full million-dollar first phase of the project to Abell.

"Based on the events of our last meeting, the board has been actively pursuing options for making a compromise on this issue, which accommodates the concerns of the community," said Trustee Charrier.

"We want to maintain the faith of the community, maintain faith in the process, and have those two buildings in place by next year."

Compromise solution Under the compromise, Abell will design only two classrooms on the lower campus, which are expected to cost about $250,000, and a smaller classroom for the growing number of special-education students.

The compromise allows a newly formed Citizens Bond Advisory Committee to reopen public bidding on design work for the rest of the project.

Pleased with the compromise, Trustee Dodd dropped his threat to resign, saying, "In light of what we have done tonight, I look forward to serving the community for years to come.

"There is no victor here tonight, and there are no vanquished. I'm grateful that we arrived at the decision we did, for I feel that it is in the best interests of the children and the community."

Delay possible The school board, however, does not know how much revising the architectural contract will delay construction of the classrooms. Trustee Bob Schiro said the delay could be up to two months.

However, Schiro added, "this is a consensus building effort, and I think that our proposal tonight will help create consensus."

The bond advisory committee will hold its first meeting Saturday, Sept. 30, at 9 a.m. The committee is comprised of Valley residents Mary Anne Kolanoski, Richard Sloan, Phil Davis, Art Andersen, Denis Poggio, and Linda Beck. Steve Kinsey, a Forest Knolls resident and licensed contractor, will serve as interim project manager.

The first priority of the committee will be to request bids for designing the rest of the project.

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