GILROY
– Plans to move forward with building a new elementary school
are moving a little too quickly for some school board members. At
least three trustees are uncomfortable going forward with design
plans while the district’s plan to purchase the land is still in
its early stages.
By Lori Stuenkel

GILROY – Plans to move forward with building a new elementary school are moving a little too quickly for some school board members. At least three trustees are uncomfortable going forward with design plans while the district’s plan to purchase the land is still in its early stages.

Three of six trustees failed to approve a proposal Thursday night to contract with an architect to develop plans and specifications for the Las Animas Elementary replacement school.

“I just think that it’s premature to commit a million dollars when you haven’t bought the land,” Trustee David McRae said.

Also, committing the money at this stage in the game could negatively affect negotiations to buy the land if the seller knows about it, he said.

In its 25-year Facilities Master Plan, Gilroy Unified School District lays out its plans to purchase the 10-acre Greenfield site located in the Glen Loma Ranch in southwest Gilroy. That land purchase assumes the sale of the current Las Animas site at 8450 Wren Ave. to at least partially offset the cost.

Board members, with the exception of Bob Kraemer, who was absent for medical reasons, approved a resolution authorizing district staff to negotiate a Greenfield site purchase. Until those negotiations are complete, or at least in progress, McRae – along with Trustees John Gurich and Tom Bundros – did not want to commit to paying costly architect’s fees for designing the school.

The proposal was to pay Aedis Architects $1 million for Las Animas plans and specifications. Approximately 25 percent of that would be paid for work completed before the Greenfield site is purchased. The remaining 75 percent would be paid for work that the state Department of Education says cannot be legally completed until GUSD owns the school site.

“The whole project is in serious doubt as to whether it can be done the way it’s specified,” McRae said. “I’m a little hesitant to spend (money) on something that might fall through.”

What remains unanswered is whether the district will be able to acquire residential housing permits from the city that would increase the value of the Las Animas site. If City Council does grant housing permits for the site, GUSD could then sell it to a developer for a price comparable to what the Greenfield site will cost.

“We need to work with the city to find a solution,” Kraemer said in an interview Wednesday. “And I don’t know what that solution is, but I have no reason to believe … that they won’t work with us.”

To control growth, City Council grants a limited number of housing permits every 10 years. The majority of those already have been used and more will become available in 2009, said Bill Faus, the city’s planning manager.

The next regular period for granting housing permits will likely take place in 2006 or 2007, Faus said. Low-income or senior housing permits, which are both available, would be another option.

Still, GUSD officials are hoping for a favor from Council. While official talks with the city have not begun, GUSD has hired architecture and planning firm KTGY Group, based in Irvine, to create a development plan that would get the most value out of the current Las Animas site, said Charlie Van Meter, GUSD director of facilities and maintenance operations.

KTGY Group will help the district maximize the land’s value by determining how many and what types of housing permits the district might request, Van Meter said.

Once approved by the school board, the plan would be brought to the city when making a request for the permits.

John Filice, of the Glen Loma Group that owns the Greenfield property, said he is open to considering a land swap with the district if it obtains housing permits from the city.

“The two sites are almost identical in size, they’re both almost 10 acres, they’re both in an urban area,” he said. “We’d both have to get appraisals.”

In the meantime, GUSD will move forward with negotiations to purchase the Greenfield site. The district could procure the property even before the Wren site is sold by borrowing from its Measure I funds, Van Meter said. The money would be reimbursed when the old site is sold. Measure I will pay for the $16.5-million Las Animas project.

“It isn’t from Measure I funds, we have planned that it will be a wash – hopefully,” Board President Jim Rogers said.

McRae said that, while he’s not predicting doom, gambling with Measure I funds could put the future of the facilities master plan at risk.

“If we get further in the negotiations and it looks good, and the numbers work out correctly, then I’ll support that,” he said. “I’m basically being careful with the money.”

All seven members of the school board are expected to consider the matter during its next meeting on Nov. 20.

The district’s goal is to open the new Las Animas in August of 2006.

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