San Benito High School trustees unanimously approved the San Jose-based Aedis Architects to complete existing and future district projects – including revising the school’s master plan – at a special meeting this week.
Aedis and BCA Architecture firms made presentations about their companies and visions for San Benito High School more than a month ago during a special board meeting Aug. 6.
Since that meeting, Trustee Steve Delay called references for the two companies. One of many tasks the firm will take on is revising the school’s master plan of site projects. It is the first step in putting the district’s Measure G funds – a $42.5 million general obligation facilities bond approved in June – to use.
“I am very concerned,” said Board President Evelyn Muro. “Again, whoever gets the project – the master plan is a very grandiose plan and we don’t have the money for that and I think it’s going to be very difficult to whittle that down.”
Trustee Bill Tiffany originally gave the nod to BCA Architecture, applauding the company for having a person on its staff who “apparently returned from the school community,” he said. The company also showed that energy efficiency was heavily imbedded into its policies and work, he said.
Trustee Mary Encinias expressed concern that the hired architects take special attention to protect the character of the campus buildings, which have become well known to the Hollister community and the school’s growing number of alums.
“I don’t want a lot of the faces of our traditional buildings to change,” Encinias said. “What I see here is a lot of group teaching and in some of the classrooms, you can’t have that.”
The trustees turned to Delay for a final interpretation of the two firms’ references. Aedis presented 10 references in the San Jose area. BCA Architecture presented three in the Los Angeles area, five in the valley and two in San Jose. Delay heard a lot of positive feedback from references for both firms but gave the edge to Aedis because he had worked with them once before – the company made a mistake on the project but paid for the work when it was determined they were at fault, which showed they backed their own work, he said.
Delay did make the suggestion that several schools had issues with the project “close-out” process.
“I think in our contract we need to ensure there is a final payment after the project is closed out with the state so we always have that final hook,” he said.
Delay made the motion to approve Aedis as the architect, and Encinias seconded that vote. The firm was approved unanimously.
In other matters from the meeting:
Clause in renewal security contract
Trustees pulled a contract for Condor Security of America, Inc. from the consent action items after Trustee Ray Rodriguez noticed that the language in the contract contained a concerning clause.
“Client further agrees that Condor Security of America, Inc. shall not be responsible to the client for any intentional or tortuous acts by the employees including, but not limited to, any criminal acts committed on or about the premises,” read Rodriguez as he looked down at the proposed contract.
“That’s a pretty drastic statement,” he told the board. “I’m not very comfortable with that.”
Tiffany, who is an attorney with the Law Offices of Balbas and Tiffany in San Benito County, asked if the security company might have meant “employees” to mean district employees instead of its own workers, then recanted.
“That shouldn’t be there,” he said. “That’s their employees. Outrageous!”
Trustees ask for insight into funding sources of district contracts
Tiffany made a motion to approve all the district contracts on the agenda’s consent action items list, but Delay said he would not vote in favor of it until he could see the sources of funding for the proposed projects.
“This just shows how much it is, not where it comes out of,” Delay said, as he looked at the meeting’s agenda. “Until I see the budget classification, I’m going to vote no on every item.”
After listening to Delay’s comments, Tiffany recanted his motion to approve the contracts on the agenda and said if trustees took a vote on his motion he would go against his own motion, as he would also like to see sources of funding for the proposed contracts.
“I don’t know when this fell off (the agenda) but I do remember it was a past practice,” Rodriguez said.
Agenda items not always getting second reading
Trustees, Superintendent John Perales and the Administrative Assistant for the Superintendent Tricia Cooper also discussed that the school is looking into changing the way agendas and minutes are posted online so that they are more easily searchable for the public and for school staff.
There have been a few instances where things were brought to the board for a first reading and never came back for a second reading and consequently were never approved, Perales said.
Perales suggested the board move the matter to closed session. The next meeting will be 7 p.m. Sept. 24 at the school’s Davis Library at 1220 Monterey St. in Hollister.
