School board approves pool repairs
The Laguna Beach Unified School District board of education unanimously approved spending $85,000 from the district’s general fund for repairs and maintenance for the community pool during its regular meeting Tuesday night.
The pool sits on school district property, but is also used by the city, which would fund $200,000 for the repairs as part of a joint-use agreement between it and the school district.
The proposed project would include replacing the pool’s filtration system, installing energy-efficient pool lights, replacing tiles on a ramp to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards, cleaning algae from the pool’s plaster, and replacing a broken drain in the men’s locker room.
The project is scheduled to begin in May 2014 to ensure high school swim and water polo programs will not be impacted, according to a district staff report. Replacing pool filters will close the pool for about three weeks, the report said.
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Thurston to get cafe
School board members also voted 5-0 to award a contract for $113,130 to De La Riva Construction Inc. for construction of a cafe at Thurston Middle School. SchoolPower, a fundraising organization for the district’s four public schools, will donate $50,000 toward the project while the remaining $63,130 will be paid from the capital facilities fund.
De La Riva was one of four finalists for the project and provided the lowest, qualified bid, said the district’s Facilities Director Ted Doughty.
Right now, Thurston only has a kitchen and students wait in line outside and approach a counter to order, Doughty said. The project will convert an existing storage room with one door into a space with two doors, and allow kids to enter and exit efficiently, he said. Workers will also install counters and refrigerated cases in the room.
The improvements include: replacing the painted walls and floor with patterned tiles; installing three-dimensional ceiling tiles in place of flat panels; installing flat screen monitors as well as ceramic tiles on the cafe’s exterior wall. About 135 tiles will be set aside to be silk screened with donor names.
There will also be a “grab-and-go” food service area. District staff consulted with staff at Thurston, architects, nutrition services staff and community members to develop plans. The Division of State Architects and the Orange County Health Department both approved the project, a district staff report said.
Construction begins Monday with a targeted completion date of May 17, in time for Thurston’s open house May 30, Doughty said.
Students are on spring break next week.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce