Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee Meeting Adopted Minutes
Torrance Unified School District

Torrance Unified School District
Minutes of the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee Meeting

February 19, 2009

CALL TO ORDER

Superintendent Dr. George Mannon called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm in the District Office Conference Room.

PRESENT

Oversight Committee Members:
Stephen D'anjou
Toni Ann Fierro
Dr. George Harpole
Todd R. Hays
Dr. Sumie Imada
Gary S. Kuwahara
Carrie Lang
Denise Mandel
James H. Myers
David Ouwerkerk
Steve Polcari
Alex See
Michael Wermers

Barnhart, Inc.:
John Bernardy
Charles Brown
Gil Fullen
Jacob Schmautz

HMC Architects:
Gary Gidcumb
Rikki Perez

IBI Group:
Barbara Helton

Orrick, Harrington, and Sutcliffe:
Don Field, Esq.

Westberg and White, Inc.:
Paul Westberg
Butch Rowe

Torrance Unified School District Personnel:
Dr. George Mannon, Superintendent
Dr. Donald A. Stabler, Deputy Superintendent – Administrative Services
Tammy Khan, Public Information Officer
Phil Fielding, Director of Facilities and Operations
Sandy Terrano, Sr. Administrative Assistant – Administrative Services
Karen Gebhard, Executive Assistant – Superintendent

ABSENT

None

PLACE AND DATE OF MEETING

Torrance Unified School District, District Office Conference Room, 2335 Plaza del Amo, Torrance, California, on February 19, 2009.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

The pledge of allegiance was led by Dr. George Mannon, Superintendent.

WELCOME TO GUESTS

Dr. Mannon welcomed all guests in attendance.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS

Dr. Mannon asked if there were any public comments on agenda items. Hearing none, Dr. Mannon moved on to the next item on the agenda.

STAFF PRESENTATION AND INFORMATION – Orientation of Committee Members

Mr. Don Field, Bond Counsel, gave a brief overview of the responsibilities of the Oversight Committee. Mr. Field stated that the purpose of the Committee is to inform the public on the expenditures of the bond proceeds. In addition, the Committee should actively review and report on the expenditures in accordance with California Education Code 15278, referenced in the bylaws.

Mr. Field commented that the Committee is to review and match up expenditures that are on the bond project list to verify that the funds do not go to operating costs for the school district. The Committee is permitted to review the independent performance and financial audits, expenditure reports produced by the District, and status of the projects by going out on site inspections.

Mr. Field noted that the Education Code requires a minimum of seven members for the Oversight Committee, however, the Board of Education decided to increase the number to thirteen. According to the Oversight Committee bylaws, the Committee will elect a Chair and a Vice Chair. The Committee should meet at a minimum of once per quarter. An item on the agenda is to set a meeting schedule. Mr. Field then asked if there were any questions.

Michael Wermers, Committee member, asked if the Committee may review any documents other than the audit report. Mr. Field said the Committee can ask the District for any information relevant to their duties, which is matching up expenditures to the bond project list. Mr. Field also stated that there is a requisition procedure that all school districts must follow.

Dr. Donald Stabler addressed a question regarding audit reports. In addition to the audit for the District, there will be a specific audit for the bond program. The audit firm the District will be using for both audits is Moss, Levy & Hartzheim.

A Committee member expressed concern regarding reviewing the audit report after work has been done. Dr. Stabler responded that bid results must be approved by the Board of Education prior to any action taken. Dr. Stabler also stated that the District would provide to Committee members, at every meeting, expenditure reports for anything that has been spent.

Dr. George Harpole, Committee member, questioned what constitutes the official project list. Dr. Mannon stated that the official project list was provided to each Committee member at the beginning of the meeting. Mr. Field added that this is the list the committee will be matching up to expenditures. Mr. Wermers and Ms. Lang expressed concern regarding the Committee's position on questions from the public, and asked for direction on handling such inquiries.

Mr. Wermers expressed his opinion that it is not the responsibility of the Committee to respond to the public's questions. Dr. Mannon responded that the

role of the Committee is explained in the bylaws, which include providing information to the public, however, the District will provide a status of each project on the District website. There will also be community meetings to keep the public up to date on various aspects of the projects. Dr. Mannon also noted there will be a Barnhart project team member, at each site, for the duration of the construction for each project.

Dr. Mannon asked if there were any additional questions for Mr. Field. Hearing none, Dr. Mannon moved to the next item on the agenda.

DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS

Select Chair and Vice Chair for the Torrance Unified School District Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee

Motion was made by Todd Hays, seconded by Mr. Wermers that Gary Kuwahara be nominated for Chair of the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee.

Dr. Mannon closed nominations, after no additional nominations were made.

Motion unanimously carried

Mr. Kuwahara assumed position of Chair. Motion was made by Mr. Wermers, seconded by Alex See that Todd Hays be nominated for Vice Chair of the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee.

Mr. Kuwahara closed nominations, after no additional nominations were made.

Motion unanimously carried

Establish Meeting Schedule and Dates for Torrance Unified School District Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee

Mr. Kuwahara stated that according to the bylaws, the meetings would need to take place quarterly, at minimum. Based on the availability of the Committee members, it was decided to hold the meetings on Thursdays at 5:00 pm. At the end of this meeting the Committee will decide the date and location of their next meeting, where they will determine a future meeting schedule.

Review Status of First Issuance of Measure Y and Z Bonds

Dr. Mannon noted that there will be a kickoff meeting at each site, and that kickoff meetings have already been held at Walteria and Fern. A kickoff meeting includes members of the staff at each facility, which should have input into the process. There is a design team at every site, which includes the principal, teachers, parents, and custodians.

Dr. Mannon stated that Hull Middle School is a different situation. As it is a completely new construction project. Barbara Helton, IBI Group, is designing Hull's new facility, and will be working with the Hull staff, parents, and community. This project will require several more planning meetings than modernization.

Dr. Mannon questioned the architects as to when there will be something for the Committee to actually inspect. Paul Westberg replied that this summer they would be installing the artificial turf and synthetic track to all four sports fields at the high schools. In addition, they will be removing the old bleachers at Torrance High School and South High School and installing all new aluminum bleachers with new press boxes. They will be doing the same at North High School and West High School after the fall 2009 sports season.

Dr. Harpole expressed concern regarding running out of bond funds allocated for each project, and what the result would be should that happen. Dr. Mannon explained that Barnhart is aware that each project is on a fixed budget, and that

there is a contingency set aside for each project to be used for emergencies only.

Dr. Sumie Imada questioned the $300,000 in excess of the project budget spent for the four stadiums. Dr. Stabler explained that the estimates were put together prior to the issuance of the bond, which was necessary to come up with a dollar amount for the bond. While working with synthetic turf manufacturers and looking at what was available, it was decided that a good use of funds would be to add a tractor for cleaning and an eight-year warranty. Dr. Mannon clarified that the overage was for the turf only, which is a single piece of the entire project and it is unknown what the final cost will be when all portions of the project have been bid. Mr. Field added that the District can only go out to bid once the District has the funds to commit to those projects, and that bond proceeds may only go to the projects specified on the bond list, however, the Board has the final decision as to how the bond proceeds get allocated to each school.

Mr. Fullen explained that Barnhart, Inc. would oversee all aspects of the projects, problem-solve, and work with construction design teams to keep costs down.

Mr. Bernardy added that the project managers and architects previously met with the District and school staffs to assess necessities at each site to create a budget estimate, and will now ensure the architects comply with that budget.

Mr. Wermers expressed concern about the Board approving specific contract amounts then afterwards, the dollar amount increasing due to unforeseen issues.

Dr. Mannon explained that funds have been allocated to each school. Mr. Field added that the Board could only approve bond funds for items that are on the project list. Mr. Field also clarified that there are two project lists, one for Measure Y and one for Measure Z and the Board cannot spend Measure Y bond funds on Measure Z and vice versa.

Ms. Carrie Lang asked if there were any kickoff meetings for the stadiums, and how traffic would be affected during construction. Dr. Mannon answered that there were no kickoff meetings because there weren't design teams on these projects because the architects were working directly with the principals at each school site. After schedules are adopted, it has been suggested that the principals at the four high schools have an open meeting with the community to give out the schedule with specifics of project, including traffic and noise concerns.

Dr. Stabler discussed the status of the first issuance of Measure Y and Z bond funds. Measure Y is $265 million dollars and Measure Z is $90 million dollars. Dr. Stabler reported that the bond funds would be issued in three separate series. He states the first issuance is $90 million in 2009, the second issuance will be in 2012 for $90 million, and the final issuance in 2015 will be $175 million. He explained that this was done purposely to keep the tax for taxpayers low by doing it in these three issuances with these dollar amounts. Dr. Stabler also states that since the District received such a good rating, the District was able to get an average interest cost of 4.75%. He mentioned that some of the bonds were able to sell at a premium, which means that instead of getting $90 million for the first issuance, the District received $94 million in the first issuance.

Mr. Field clarified that the extra premium is not additional proceeds for the projects since the bonds are only authorized up to a specific amount and that per Ed Code, the extra premium is required to go into the county debt service fund to pay debt service on the bond. He advised this is used to offset tax obligations to taxpayers.

Mr. Jim Myers asked if the funds are in a segregated account. Dr. Stabler answered that the funds are in the county treasury, in a separate fund for TUSD bonds, and

that the funds were received the week of February 9, 2009.

Mr. Kuwahara requested a spreadsheet that reflects the original budget, actual costs, and variances to show how the projects are progressing. He also suggested that the committee would need to be informed of all Change Orders. Mr. Myers asked if the committee would be provided the spreadsheet prior to the meeting, so it may be reviewed to prepare questions for the next meeting. Dr. Stabler clarified that this is a Brown Act committee, and that the committee will be provided the agenda, as well as any back-up materials for items on the agenda.

Mr. Kuwahara requested contact information for all committee members, so they can remain in contact with each other. Dr. Mannon said it would be a violation of the Brown Act if members were to discuss any topics related to this committee outside of public meetings. If any committee member wants information or would like to put any items on future agendas, they should submit the request through the Superintendent's office or the Committee's Chair person. Revised 04-30-09. Mr. Kuwahara added that there is a time constraint for agenda items. The agenda must be made available to the public no later than 72 hours prior to the meeting. The committee should make the request at least one week prior to the meeting.

Mr. Hays and Mrs. Lang questioned how general questions would be handled if the specific topic is not on the agenda. Dr. Mannon replied that on future agendas there would be an item for the status of construction projects. Also, there will be an item on the agenda at the end stating Comments from Committee Members, but was very specific that they must be for discussion only, and that there should be no action taken. Dr. Mannon also clarified that because this is a Brown Act committee, members can only comment on agenda items and that the comments from this group may only be within the scope of the responsibility of the committee.

It was suggested by Mr. Kuwahara that Public Comment appear at the end of the agenda prior to adjournment. Dr. Mannon stated that it is at the discretion of the Chair where to place agenda items, just as long as the mandatory items appear on the agenda.

Mr. Kuwahara asked when there would be a location to inspect or some numbers for the committee to review, so they can set their next meeting. Mr. Westberg stated that the first real physical activity would be the demo of the bleachers at Torrance and South High in April. Dr. Mannon asked when the committee would be able to see something other than a pile of rubble?

Mr. Westberg discussed the lengthy process the architects, construction managers, and the District must go through to get each aspect of these projects started and throughout the duration of design and construction. Mr. Westberg explained that first there are kickoff meetings to discuss needs for the sites to prioritize each job, and after prioritization, preliminary drawings are put together, then costing will begin so they know they are staying within the limits and constraints of the projects and their budgets. He states that when the drawings are completed they are submitted to the Division of State Architects (DSA) office for approval. Mr. Westberg clarified that the District nor any of the architects or construction managers have any control of how long the approval process takes and that once the approval is received, the District goes to the Board to request permission to go out to bid. He added that after bids have been received, a notice-to-proceed is issued to the contractor(s) to begin construction. Mr. Westberg stated that the fields have already been submitted to the DSA several weeks ago and the plans for the bleachers for both South and Torrance High will be going in to DSA Tuesday, February 24th. He reported they are hopeful that by April there will be work completed on the sites, and that by the middle of summer to start seeing some Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee Meeting February 19, 2009
Torrance Unified School District
6 fields.

The Committee decided that the next meeting would be set for Thursday, April 30th at 5:00 pm at South High School.

Dr. Harpole asked about the discrepancies between the Bond list and sample ballot. Dr. Stabler replied that the August 4th resolutions were the official documents and that the information provided attached project lists are the official lists. He explained the project list included in the ballot was very general.

Motion was made by Mr. Hays, seconded by Mr. Wermers that the meeting be adjourned at 5:30 pm.

Motion unanimously carried.