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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2001-01-16 Joint of LAKE oskfCo JOINT MEETING MINUTES Lake Oswego City Council wow Lake Oswego School Board January 16, 2001 OR[WN Mayor Judie Hammerstad called the joint meeting of the City Council and the School Board to order at 6:55 p.m. on January 16, 2001, in the City Council Chambers. Present: Mayor Hammerstad, Councilors Rohde, Schoen, Turchi, Graham, McPeak and Hoffman School Board Present: Marcia Donnelly, Chair; Leila Elliott, Jim Zupancic, Chris Schetky and Marianne Carter Staff Present: Doug Schmitz, City Manager; David Powell, City Attorney; Robyn Christie, Deputy City Recorder; Bill Korach, School Superintendent Youth Council Present: Kristin Johnson, Sinan Ozgur 3. INTRODUCTION/COMMENTS Mayor Hammerstad welcomed the School Board and the audience. She said that the goal for the meeting was for the City and the School Board to explore what common interests they had in the District's new facilities bond measure, and to reach a common understanding with respect to their direction and possibilities. Councilor Turchi declared a potential conflict of interest, as both he and his wife worked for the School District. He stated that he asked the City Attorney to inform him of any time the discussion crossed over into an actual conflict of interest for him. Bill Korach, School Superintendent, characterized this time as a tremendous opportunity to revitalize the District, given the passage of the District's local option levy. He thanked the City for its support during the tough times. He spoke to continue their partnership in a more positive arena. Dr. Korach introduced several District staff members, including Steve Sherrell, Bond Project Manager, Nancy Duin, Communications, Stuart Ketzler, Business Office Manager, Rob Dreier, Technology, Gene Schmidt, Youth Sports Programs, Mary Puskas, Community School Director, Ted Evans, Director of Maintenance and Operations, Ron Smith, Finance, Dr. Ellis, Director of Educational Programs, and Kristen Winn, Human Resources Director. Ms. Donnelly thanked the Council, on behalf of the School Board, for its willingness to continue their partnership. She recalled that the first joint meeting occurred in 1996 when they began the partnership discussions, which expanded the already existing joint use agreements. She observed that the future looked rosier for the District now than it did five years ago. Ms. Donnelly stated her belief that the community demonstrated in the last elections its overwhelming response to the concept of the City and the District working together for the community. She commented that they now had a chance to create additional opportunities for the children and the community as a whole to use the district facilities. She invited the Council's participation in a dialog about how they could work together to create multi-use facilities. Ms. Donnelly observed that within a month, the District would start its design symposiums, and therefore it was important to begin these discussions now. She said that the District would have City Council Minutes Page 1 of 11 January 16, 2001 one new high school, major renovations at the two existing high schools and significant projects at all of the other 11 schools. Ms. Donnelly commented that the governing bodies of the City and the District were composed of people who worked well together while understanding that they had different responsibilities. She held that communities benefited greatly from School Boards and City Councils that had mutual respect for each other and a willingness to discuss and disagree while maintaining a passion for the job at hand. Doug Schmitz, City Manager, observed that each person here, both individually and collectively, said a lot about community. He held that they stood on the cusp of an opportunity to do something for the community at large, of which tonight was the first step. He introduced Rachel Smith-Fisher, Building Department Liaison to the School District. 4. COMMON INTERESTS • Research Library Mayor Hammerstad asked what the District's expectations were with respect to the research library. Dr. Korach said that they wanted to concentrate a resource with technology in a library facility that allowed their students to do research using that technology. He indicated that they would keep the present Lakeridge High School library. He noted the question discussed during the campaign as to whether this was an opportunity for the City and the District to partner in providing a facility that would accommodate both student needs and citizen needs. Dr. Korach indicated that building this facility cooperatively with the City meant that the District would likely increase the size of the facility and locate it on the edge of the school for convenient public access. He emphasized that they were at the exploratory stage, not knowing yet whether a joint facility was a realistic possibility. Dr. Korach indicated to Councilor Hoffman that they had not discussed facility size yet. He confirmed that they wanted a state-of-the-art research library with Internet access, library networking, and teleconferencing capabilities. Councilor Hoffman mentioned that Dr. Korach had indicated to the School Board at a previous meeting the possibility of opening the facility up in the evenings and on weekends for community use. He asked for discussion of the pros and cons of opening the research library from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for access by both students and citizens. Dr. Korach said that they have not discussed that. Mr. Zupancic indicated that the District had not ruled anything out yet because they were at the pre-conceptual stage of the research library. He said that soon they would move into the conceptual stage during which they determined the function of the library and asked the architects to design something appropriate. He pointed out that then they would know the facility size. He mentioned seeing high schools throughout the country create life-long learning centers that allowed access by citizens throughout the day without disturbing the educational environment during the day. He spoke to incorporating the functions that made sense into the District's planning process. Mayor Hammerstad observed that if the community had access to the research library, then the City did not have to site another building, buying it time to determine what it needed for a full service library to accommodate its growing population. She spoke to the Library Advisory Board and interested library patrons working with the high school library staff to identify their mutual interests. She commented that the research library would not replace the City library. Mayor Hammerstad held that if the City and the District worked together to identify those things that they had in common, then they started to get to a place where the District could tell its architects what it wanted in the research library to accommodate both students and adults. She City Council Minutes Page 2 of 11 January 16, 2001 said that the Council was looking at the things that the community could use that were compatible with the District uses. Councilor Rohde mentioned the discussion during the Council goal setting session that they were not simply a city of residents; they were a community. He said that the Council was looking for ways to provide more volunteer opportunities to engage citizens as part of the community. He held that the interaction possible at a joint facility like a research library helped to accomplish the goal of getting the community into the schools. He observed that Lake Oswego was a community in which 75% of the residents did not have kids in the schools. Councilor Rohde spoke to this interaction providing an opportunity for the adults to recognize the quality of the kids living in Lake Oswego and for the kids to behave more maturely (as they often did in the presence of adults). He reiterated that this could be a significant part of reaching the District's goal to integrate the community with the kids, and of addressing the fear many adults had towards teenagers. Councilor Rohde observed that the Council recognized that it was not riding the District's bond measure horse. He spoke to the Council's willingness to explore how to contribute funding in a joint funding situation. He mentioned the need to discuss governance issues and to find a way to meet both the City's and the District's needs. Ms. Elliott concurred that a joint facility could be mutually beneficial, commenting that the Board needed to know if the City would provide financial help in terms of staffing in the evenings and on weekends. Mayor Hammerstad pointed out that if the City had another city library, they would have to staff it. She commented that they did need to discuss whether having the research library meant that they would need an additional city library. She concurred with Councilor Rohde that the Council was not trying to ride the District's bond horse free of charge; they had mutual benefits and mutual responsibilities. Ms. Schetky spoke to the issue of funding also, commenting that it was comforting to hear that they were looking at a joint funding venture. She observed that the Council's comments indicated that the research library might be larger than she had thought. She asked if the Council was considering postponing discussions of a branch library or of redoing the current library, and looking at the research library as a possible interim solution. Mayor Hammerstad said yes. She held that the City could not pass a bond for another library at this time. She spoke to buying time to see what libraries evolved into in the future. Ms. Schetky asked if the City was looking at a `media center' concept, small libraries with few books and mostly Internet access technology. Councilor McPeak spoke to paying close attention to what the City could afford in staffing costs during their discussions on library function and design. She commented that, while she did not know the District's staffing approach for the high school use of a research library, the City did have constraints on what it could carry in terms of personnel. Mayor Hammerstad observed that if the City did not build another building, it had a better chance of passing a local option levy for operations. Councilor Rohde mentioned increasing the research library size from the typical high school library size of 2,500 to 3,000 square feet to the 8,000 or 10,000 square feet needed to accommodate the community needs. He asked what this factor did to the District's plans. He commented that the Council recognized that, since this library was solving some of its problems, it had to be responsible financially. Councilor Hoffman said that he liked Mr. Zupancic's comment about life-long learning as well as the concept of involving the people at the Adult Community Center, given their interest in computers. He concurred that the Council needed to consider both capital and operations and maintenance funding, if enlarging the research library solved some community needs. City Council Minutes Page 3 of 11 January 16, 2001 Councilor Hoffman spoke to the importance of involving the Library Advisory Board and City library staff with their counterparts at the District to discuss mutually beneficial areas for exploration. Mr. Schmitz asked if a joint facility impacted the location of the library at the high school, such as siting it on the fringe of the building or in a separate building. Ms. Elliott commented that it did not need to be a separate building as long as the District could close it off completely from the school. Dr. Korach explained that its location depended a great deal on which phase it was built in. He said that they had more options during the second phase than in the first phase. He commented that they had not yet addressed these questions. Mr. Zupancic mentioned seeing design strategies that segmented buildings off so that portions could be used and accessed from the public area, without requiring staffing in the non-used portions. Ms. Elliott mentioned the design strategy of sharing the public lobby area between the library, the gym and the theater. Mayor Hammerstad commented that she perceived an understanding that both agencies wanted to move forward with this concept and to see if they could achieve a cooperative effort. Councilor Rohde mentioned the Council's desire to implement aggressive procedures towards e-government (integration of the electronic and Internet environment into City operations). He asked if the bond measure contained an element that might provide an opportunity for the City and the District to jointly fund a server to satisfy the community's needs for an interactive online environment. Councilor Schoen discussed his concern with the amplified size of the project, as mentioned by Councilor Rohde. He spoke to an outcome identifying the District's needs first and then the City looking at how to add on to that to its advantage, rather than simply increasing the square footage. He argued that doing so would be prudent at this point, as both agencies had budget limitations. Councilor Turchi referenced the trek of students to college libraries in the area on the evenings and weekends. He spoke to the library as a means of keeping the students within the safer environment of their own community. He asked for discussion on how the District intended to define the library in terms of a community library located on the high school campus or as a high school library open to the community. Ms. Schetky said that the Board's priority was to meet the needs of the District's students. She indicated that if they could incorporate something beneficial to the entire community while meeting student needs, then they were interested in doing so. She mentioned the larger issue of joint governance. Mayor Hammerstad observed that this was not cutting edge policy. She recalled a conversation with a previous school superintendent at Chandler, Arizona, who said that initially the community did not accept very well the building design of a lifetime use school but it turned out fabulously. She cautioned that they needed to take into account the different governance structures and environments that the staffs were used to working under. Ms. Donnelly commented that she did not envision a duplicate of the City library. Mr. Zupancic spoke to not prematurely defining how big the library should be. He held that architects would tell them how big it needed to be to accommodate the projected capacity. He characterized this as an opportunity to take the community to the next level. He asked why not have a joint research library facility. He argued that the community contained the people who could work out the issues of governance, technology and other issues. He emphasized that if the Board and the Council wanted to move forward with this project, then they should move forward. Mayor Hammerstad concurred that she heard a desire to move forward. She asked the Board to consider a joint facility as a high priority during the design phase. She reiterated that the City City Council Minutes Page 4 of 11 January 16, 2001 was willing to look at ways to fund part of the operation in an equitable fashion. She spoke to continuing to meet on the project. Councilor Hoffman suggested getting the Library Advisory Board and library staff involved in the process earlier rather than later, and start discussing these issues with their District counterparts. Ms. Schetky asked if the Council was thinking of a possible serial levy. Mayor Hammerstad said yes. She reiterated that she saw consensus to move forward with this issue. • Gymnasiums Dr. Korach confirmed that the District intended to have large gyms at each of the high schools and to install two new gyms at the junior highs. He said that they would be able to hold graduations at Lakeridge on site. He spoke to the opportunity provided to the community as well as to their own athletic programs. He mentioned the existing supervision and custodial issues with the intense use of the gyms by the City, the community schools and the District. He held that this was a good discussion to have, as the District would be able to deliver a facility to the community for weekend and evening use that it did not have right now. Ms. Donnelly spoke to finding some way to cover the costs of maintenance and clean up. Ms. Schetky observed that finding a way to cover the costs of providing facilities to the community was an issue with virtually everything they had discussed. Mayor Hammerstad spoke to forming a partnership with joint responsibility for these issues as they grew with increased capacity and usage. Councilor Rohde spoke of a possible joint contract for custodial services for City and District facilities. Councilor McPeak mentioned the equitable sharing of costs. Councilor Hoffman suggested resolving these questions by gathering all the stakeholders around the table for a discussion about the joint use agreement, the joint use of facilities, the requirements for maintenance and upkeep, and a way to fund it. Mayor Hammerstad asked if it was desirable to have one scheduling and fee collecting entity outside the schools. Mr. Zupancic spoke to each agency doing what it did best. He concurred that possibly a central scheduling repository made sense, given the Internet resources now available. He discussed the importance of establishing clear lines of responsibility and accountability. He noted that they needed to reconfigure the joint use agreement in accordance with the direction in which they were headed. Dr. Korach discussed the issues associated with joint governance and contractual arrangements. He mentioned labor contracts, which clearly defined some of the labor relationships discussed. He indicated that they could not mix and match however they wanted to; that did not mean that it was not doable, only that it was not as easy as it might appear. Dr. Korach said that he thought that there was a great deal to be gained with joint governance structures. He pointed out that the current structure for the joint use of facilities was not a shared governance strategy; the District had first choice and the City had second choice. He characterized the discussion as going the next mile in their partnership, if they came up with shared governance and interconnected library staffs. He referenced Mr. Schmitz' comment that it was unlikely that a high school librarian would do his/her job during the day and then simply leave as the City librarian came in during the evening, without some interconnection and intergovernance. • Athletic Fields Mayor Hammerstad presented the Council's proposal to install artificial turf on the Lake Oswego Junior High School (LOJ) fields, scheduled for renovation next year. She observed that installing artificial turf on the field doubled the playing time on the field, in addition to increasing the cost. She commented that it also reduced the need to buy additional land for field space. She discussed the need to postpone the field renovations if they installed artificial fields in order to plan the fields properly. She asked if the District would be willing to wait a year on the field renovations. City Council Minutes Page 5 of 11 January 16, 2001 The Board indicated that they wanted their staff to advise them with respect to the impact on the students. Dr. Korach explained that the biggest issue for the District was timing. He indicated that having those fields out of commission for installation of artificial turf at the same time that the District shut down half of Lake Oswego High School for renovations and needed the LOJ campus to house high school students was a significant consideration. He commented that delaying a year and getting a better product was also a consideration. He asked how serious the Council was about this proposal. Mayor Hammerstad said that she would like to have artificial turf on all the fields that had not yet been done in order to increase their playability. She held that, although the cost was high, the benefit was even higher in the long term. She observed that this was a brainstorming session. Mr. Zupancic said that he liked the concept of utilizing the ground they already had with greater efficiency, given the high cost of land in Lake Oswego. He cited the high rate of field usage currently, and spoke to looking at this possibility as another partnership option to maximize efficiency. The Board agreed that the main issue was the timing in working something out. Mr. Schmitz said that the Council and Board had consensus on exploring this option, staff would work with a landscape architect to explore the feasibility, given the timing and cost factors. He commented that they might find that they did not need to delay the project an entire year, as they had already done significant work on the geology of the site and the field locations. Mayor Hammerstad mentioned another issue related to the artificial turf: building a reserve to replace the fields without having to issue bonds and pay interest. She spoke to holding a serious discussion on that issue. Ms. Schetky said that she wanted to know what it would cost to do a bond, and then not charge fees. Councilor Hoffman suggested consulting with the high school athletic department before they got too far along in a discussion of artificial fields at the junior high, and with the youth sports groups. He pointed out that there was value in having grass fields for people to walk on. He spoke to not having too many artificial fields. He suggested consulting with the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board who had a better handle on the balance between natural grass and artificial turf fields. Councilor Hoffman observed that the issue of fees was a touchy subject in this community, and they needed to include all the interest groups in a discussion of user fees. Councilor Rohde and Mayor Hammerstad concurred. Councilor Rohde commented that he saw some urgency to this issue, although it was politically safer to delay a difficult decision. He spoke to the importance of having money prepared in order to avoid a crunch or they could end up looking foolish if a bond proved to be more expensive yet their only option. • Pool Mayor Hammerstad said that the Council knew that the Board included money in its bond to invest in the pool. She mentioned that the City's Parks & Recreation Advisory Board would finish their master plan in the next four months. She asked if the District needed to act on the pool at the same time that it did the other renovations. Dr. Korach indicated that the proposed renovations to the pool were necessary and in that sense time sensitive. He spoke to discussing with their user groups the possibility of delaying that work in the hopes of getting something better. Councilor Rohde mentioned that there had been some interest in possible private funding for construction of an aquatics center. He held that if the District continued its mission of providing for water sports activities, then they had an opportunity to partner on a facility that met both the community and the school needs. He said that was why the Council needed to know if the pool City Council Minutes Page 6 of 11 January 16, 2001 was failing to such a degree that the District needed to fix it next month or if the District could wait a year while the Council explored this option. Dr. Korach commented that, given that the pool had been in a state of decline for some time, waiting another month or two would not dramatically affect it. Councilor McPeak pointed out that the Council's timeline on `something better' was not necessarily next year. Councilor Rohde argued that they might have a decision by then, which left only the task of finding the private funding. Councilor McPeak asked, given Councilor Rohde's best-case scenario, if the District still needed to spend money in the interim on the pool. Dr. Korach explained that they did need to make some expenditures to make the pool safe. He compared it to the first step in fixing up the inadequacies of an old home through remodeling. Dr. Korach said that the District was committed to its water sports programs as well as to keeping the pool open for community adult swims. He said that if the Council had a vision for a different pool, they could see partnering with the City and discussing it with them and with the pool users. Ms. Donnelly reiterated their obligation to fix some of the problems in the short term. Ms. Elliott suggested finding out first if the pool users were willing to postpone the repairs in the hopes of getting a nice facility as opposed to a fixed up but not very nice facility. Ms. Schetky spoke of doing only the absolutely necessary things. She mentioned a pool design advisory committee already established by the swimming community. Mr. Zupancic concurred that they had not discussed this issue as a board, indicating that the safety issues were their largest and most urgent concern. He described a vision he had for a world-class outdoor recreational facility at Lake Oswego High School following these renovations. He spoke to building a similar indoor facility on the south side closer to Lakeridge High School through a combination of public and private partnership funding. He characterized the current pool as beyond repair in some cases. Mr. Zupancic spoke to thinking of a facility for the community that met the standards that it had in other parts of the community. He spoke of establishing a leadership vision for the community that people could support as the right thing to do for the community. He commented that an indoor facility might include tennis along with the pool. He held that they should not constrain themselves or their imaginations. Mr. Schmitz asked if the District needed such a facility located on school property. Dr. Korach said that there was no legal requirement that a swimming pool be located on school property. He noted that currently the District bussed students to the Lake Oswego pool. He confirmed that the siting was unrestricted as long as it was in the general area of the school. Mayor Hammerstad indicated that she heard interest in looking at options. She commented that if the District could put off its expenditures on the pool for six months, that gave the City some time to get the master plan back and to look at private funding. She said that she was not personally interested in bonding for the facility but she was interested in looking at what other possibilities might exist. She observed that there was interest in the community for an indoor facility. She held that the discussion was worth continuing, even if the District had to invest money in the existing pool. Mr. Zupancic concurred. Councilor Hoffman observed that the Council knew of a need for an indoor tennis court and an indoor pool because those groups had come before the Council. He held that this fit within the vision of a recreation center. He supported exploring the matter. Councilor Rohde commented that siting a district pool facility near Lakeridge would begin to restore the balance between the two high schools, upset by these renovations and the siting of the district outdoor field and the research library at Lake Oswego High School. • Meeting Rooms and Auditoriums Mayor Hammerstad asked the Board what impressions it received from its tour of other high schools. Ms. Schetky recalled that they saw auditoriums from 1,200 seats to 100 seats. She City Council Minutes Page 7 of 11 January 16, 2001 mentioned the Board's previous discussion of an auditorium sufficiently large enough to seat the entire student body. She questioned whether they needed an auditorium of that size, now that they were building gyms sufficient to accommodate that need. Ms. Schetky mentioned the issue of two comprehensive auditoriums versus one focusing on music and one focusing on theatre. She recounted Dr. Korach's conversation with the music director at Lakeridge who preferred a smaller auditorium to a larger one because 1,200 people did not attend their concerts on the same night. She indicated that the Board would start these discussions immediately. Ms. Elliott said that the Board wanted to bring all the music and drama staff together with some acoustical experts before holding its design symposium in order to get some idea of what to tell the groups to think about. Councilor Rohde commented that, during his days at Lakeridge, there had not been sufficient seating for the musicals. He held that the discussion of the auditorium and the meeting rooms was part of the same discussion of the libraries because including meeting rooms would increase the size of a library. He said that the research library facility might be smaller than he had been thinking of if they reached cooperative agreements on meeting facilities and the auditorium, as doing so could satisfy 75% of the need they were looking to satisfy with an entirely new building. Ms. Donnelly mentioned other spaces needed, such as music and drama classrooms adjacent to the theatre. She noted that such spaces could serve as additional meeting space, including the new Boardroom at the District central office. Mr. Zupancic concurred with Ms. Schetky that they discussed a possible community room at Lake Oswego High School. He likened a theater to a kitchen in the home: it was probably the most expensive square footage space because of the equipment but it was also one of the most pleasant places in the home. He spoke to bringing in theater consultants when determining the function of the theaters for both the school and the community. He wondered if the Lakewood Center would have any interest in these facilities. He held that it was important to know the answers to these questions before the architects started even a conceptual design. Councilor Schoen mentioned that Tigard got a lot of mileage out of its old auditorium with many outside people using it. He said that it was designed as a separate unit but with access from the school. He spoke to including outside access as part of an auditorium design. Councilor Turchi mentioned the need for dressing rooms and performance prep rooms close to the theatre, noting the difficulty of including these spaces without taking away classroom space. He cited the numerous inquiries they have had from businesses looking for somewhere to hold sales meetings as evidence that there was a demand for an auditorium. He recalled that the Lakeridge auditorium worked fine at its original design size of 500 seats but the expansion to 750 seats destroyed the acoustics. He commented that if a school did not need to get its whole student body in an auditorium, a smaller facility might be a better facility. Mr. Zupancic invited discussions among the art groups as to how they might use this facility, characterizing such discussions as a help to the Board. Ms. Elliott spoke to including the Lakewood Center in the Board's pre-symposium discussions. Mayor Hammerstad suggested including the Arts Commission also. Councilor McPeak strongly urged that each high school have at least one public meeting room, as there was a great need for meeting spaces in the community. Councilor Rohde spoke to including meeting rooms with outside access at all the elementary schools. He described the schools as the focal point for the neighborhoods. • Sprinkler Retrofit City Council Minutes Page 8 of 11 January 16, 2001 Mayor Hammerstad commented that the Council was not looking at expanding the District's plans. She said that they were aiming for a practical cooperative use of the buildings, which the District was building and renovating, and an examination of the possibilities. She reiterated that the idea behind this meeting was to let the District know what the Council's interests were and where it thought it could help. She emphasized that the Council knew that it was not possible to do everything mentioned this evening but held that if they did not pursue opportunities, they would be gone. Councilor McPeak spoke to making sure that they reached a truly equitable joint use agreement, once they decided which facilities to share. She clarified for Dr. Korach that she was not referring to the current agreement but rather to including a true sharing of the costs of upkeep, maintenance and cleanup. Mr. Schmitz explained that the City provided water reservoirs for domestic use and for fire flow suppression. He said that they stored sufficient water to fight a major conflagration. He mentioned that the City water master plan called for three new reservoirs during the next 10 years for both domestic and fire flow purposes. He pointed out that three-quarters of the 20 largest unsprinkled sites in the community belonged to the school district. Mr. Schmitz said that City staff calculated that if the District retrofitted for sprinklers during its renovations of the schools, the City would not have to build one of the three reservoirs, thus eliminating forever those operating and maintenance costs. He observed that the District would have safer schools. He mentioned the Council's consensus that it would be willing to consider financially participating with the District to retrofit the schools with sprinkler systems as part of the District renovation project. Mr. Schmitz asked if the Board was willing to have City and District staff explore further this possibility. Ms. Donnelly indicated that the Board needed to talk about it but she thought that they would be open-minded about it. Ms. Schetky concurred that anything that would improve the safety of their buildings was worth discussing. Mr. Zupancic concurred, noting that both the City and the District benefited. Mayor Hammerstad pointed out that this was a time sensitive issue, given the District's schedule for its renovation project. Mr. Zupancic indicated that the Board would investigate the suggestion thoroughly. Dr. Korach mentioned that the District did not anticipate the sprinkler retrofit in its bond, as Mr. Schmitz was aware of. • Miscellaneous Councilor Rohde asked what the phase timing was on the Lake Oswego High School project. Dr. Korach explained that the District hoped to begin construction of Phase 1 in Summer 2002 (knocking down the cafeteria, the A wing and the music facility; resiting the main building at that location). The students would attend classes in the resited main building in Fall 2003 while Phase 2 was under construction (the new classrooms), scheduled for completion in 2004. • Lake Grove Swim Park Councilor Rohde asked to discuss the Lake Grove Swim Park. Mayor Hammerstad recounted her meeting with David Powell, City Attorney, today regarding the problems with transferring the swim park to the City for maintenance and operations. She mentioned that the City running a facility that was only open to a portion of the city was inconsistent with the Council's responsibility. She held that it should be on the table for discussion anyway, as it was not part of the District's mission. She noted that the swim park probably reverted to the Lake Corporation in terms of ownership. Mr. Powell explained that the City would be bound by the current deed restriction limiting the use of the swim park only to the members of the old Lake Grove School District (including an unincorporated area). He mentioned the City's funding issues with tax dollars supporting the facility. He said that if the District was interested in transferring it to the City, they might be able City Council Minutes Page 9 of 11 January 16, 2001 to deed it back to the Lake Corporation (the successor to the Oregon Iron & Steel Company), which would then deed it to the City and remove the restrictions. He pointed out that this was conceptual but if both parties were interested, it might be worth discussing. Councilor Rohde argued that it made no sense today that the District controlled the swim park. He held that the District was probably interested in unloading it on the City. He observed that both swim parks in Lake Oswego were actually dedicated to the children. He asked if the District wanted the City to begin negotiations with the Lake Corporation about modifying the original arrangement. Mr. Zupancic pointed out that this involved a trilateral discussion, as the grantor had to decide to eliminate the deed restrictions. Mr. Powell concurred, reiterating that the current deed restrictions posed complications for the City with respect to the use of public funds. He noted that the Lake Grove School District and the Lake Oswego School District had used the procedure he described to transfer the swim park to the new merged school district in the 1950s. Mr. Zupancic said that the Board had not discussed the matter. He observed that, although it was something that it could discuss, the Board had so much on its plate right now that he was concerned that spending time and resources on something that might not come to fruition if the grantor did not want to change the covenant. He suggested checking with the Lake Corporation first to see if it was interested before discussing this with the Board. Mayor Hammerstad concurred that this was not a time-sensitive issue. 5. CLOSING COMMENTS Ms. Johnson commented that this was the first time she regretted graduating next year, as she was very excited about the cooperation between the City and the District and the possibilities of the bond measure. She spoke to involving the students more. She spoke in support of a research library geared to student research at either high school, including different technology and materials. Mr. Ozgur mentioned his understanding that the bond measure was for the schools. He argued that the first priority was the students and meeting their needs. He held that the voters did not expect community interaction; that was an added bonus. He reiterated the importance of fulfilling the student needs first with community involvement second. He spoke in support of the research library. He concurred with Councilor Rohde that they needed to balance the facilities available at Lake Oswego and Lakeridge High Schools. Councilor Rohde mentioned the City's 1.5% for the arts program. He asked if the Board had discussed including art in the renovations. Ms. Donnelly mentioned a mosaic at one high school but indicated that they have had no ongoing discussion of art in the projects. Councilor McPeak suggested consulting with the Arts Commission at the planning stage to see about reserving a place for art both inside and outside the facilities. Mr. Zupancic described an art project at West Linn High School, which integrated history: class photographs going back decades. He noted that it gave the new building a sense of belonging and tradition. Dr. Korach distributed copies of the District's five-year strategic plan. He invited the Council to a District meeting at Lakeridge High School tomorrow night at which the Board would discuss the bond. He distributed agenda packets for that meeting. 6. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hammerstad adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. City Council Minutes Page 10 of 11 January 16, 2001 Respectfully submitted, . --"W (11 -i.-iA—,'>' Rob n� Y e Deputy City Recorder APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: February 6. 2001 . ,,,,,,,,,(..ettr,./e iJu e Hammerstad, Mayor City Council Minutes Page 11 of 11 January 16, 2001