LCUSD amends contract for use of field
The La Cañada Unified School District entered into an amended contract with the Los Angeles Fútbol Club Foundation for use of the La Cañada High football/soccer field at Tuesday night’s board meeting.
The agreement was approved on a vote of 3-0. School board member Cindy Wilcox abstained from voting and Joel Peterson wasn’t in attendance.
The Los Angeles Fútbol Club will pay $121,500 by Dec. 31, 2017 into a district account and reduce its usage of the field, according to the new agreement. The La Cañada High School Boosters Club will be released from the contract after paying $25,000 to the district toward replacing the field.
The Fútbol Club had previously not been making its scheduled payments into a Boosters account, but the new agreement gives the district authority to ensure payments are made on time. If they aren’t, the district has the right to terminate the contract, a new stipulation in the amended agreement.
The board was unable to entertain other offers for use of the field because of the existing contract with LAFC. The original agreement, set to expire in 2018, didn’t have “appropriate checks and balances” if terms of the agreement weren’t being met, school board member Scott Tracy said.
“Our hands were tied,” said Governing Board President Susan Boyd, referring to the district’s inability to pursue an offer from the F.C. Golden State soccer club in Pasadena for more money ($216,000) and less time on the field than proposed by the Los Angeles Fútbol Club.
District awaits DSA inspections
Mike Leininger, La Cañada Unified’s assistant superintendent of facilities and operations, discussed why district buildings appeared on the Division of the State Architect’s AB 300 list and a recent California Watch investigative report on seismic safety at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.
Leininger said all school buildings constructed with a non-wood frame and before 1978 were put on the AB 300 list. Seven district buildings (four at Palm Crest, two at LCHS and one at Paradise Canyon) made the list because they were built before 1978 and because they use concrete, pre-cast concrete or reinforced masonry bearing walls, which doesn’t necessarily mean they’re unsafe, he said.
Each building on the list has undergone modernizations since being added to the list. Leininger said he believes that has brought them up to the most recent code. The next step is for the Division of the State Architect to do visual inspections of the buildings and determine whether they meet state standards.
“I’ve already made those phone calls to get a more accurate portrayal of what buildings are actually on the list, what aren’t on the list and what we can do to get them off,” Leininger said.
Educational Foundation searches for board members
The La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation Nominating Committee is currently recruiting new directors for next year’s Foundation Board. Community members who consider the quality of La Cañada Unified’s schools a top priority are asked to consider nominating themselves as a Foundation director. Nominations must be received by May 13. For further information or to submit a nomination, contact nominations@lcfef.org.
City to replace fallen oak
City officials, members of La Cañada Valley Beautiful and others will gather today at Lanterman House for the ceremonial planting of an oak tree.
Hopes are that the 10- to 12-foot tree will grow to replace a 60-foot heritage oak that came crashing down onto the property’s parking lot during a rain and wind storm on March 19, city Facilities and Maintenance Superintendent Gonzalo Venegas said.
The fallen oak predated the Lanterman House, built in 1915, by decades, according to Executive Director Melissa Patton.
The tree-planting ceremony starts at 10 a.m. and marks the city’s celebration of Arbor Day.
National Arbor Day takes place the last Friday in April, but on Monday Mayor Dave Spence declared local observance of the occasion this week to coincide with the Lanterman House tree planting.
La Cañada Flintridge has been a member of the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA program for 22 years in recognition of the city’s tree protection and management programs.
Lanterman House is at 4420 Encinas Drive.