SR 04-10-2018 8A
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: April 10, 2018
Agenda Item: 8.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Karen Ginsberg, Director, Community & Cultural Services
Gigi Decavalles-Hughes, Director, Finance Department
Subject: Master Facility Use Agreements with the Santa Monica -Malibu Unified School
District
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a Master Facilities Use Agreement combining the two tax measures (YY and
GS) into a single agreement (Measure YY/GS Facilities Agreement) including related
supplemental terms and conditions with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
with an initial term ending June 30, 2028.
Executive Summary
Over the years, the City of Santa Monica has built a positive and collaborative
partnership with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. The City has
supported exceptional educational, cultural and recreational achievements at our
schools. At the same time, the School District has supported the City’s residents by
maintaining high caliber classroom education as well as facilities used by students and
residents alike. This relationship is codified in a Master Facilities Use Agreement, which
terminates on June 30, 2022, and related supplemental agreements, which terminate on
June 30, 2018. The agreements allow community members to use District facilities at
the elementary, middle, and high schools in Santa Monica during non -school hours for
recreation and sports purposes. At this time, the City and the District desire to amend
the supplemental agreements for the middle schools, CREST and playground
partnership to reflect current practices, to allow for unsupervised general use of the
middle school fields by the community and to extend the term of the supplemental
agreements to coincide with the term of the Master Facilities Use Agreement.
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In 2010 and 2016, the voters passed local tax increases with accompanying advisory
measures recommending that portions of the revenues be dedicated to improving and
maintaining school facilities and support school programs. In keeping with the intent
expressed by the voters, staff is recommending that Council authorize the City Manager
to enter into a new agreement to combine terms and conditions for the allocation of the
revenues from the two recent tax measures (YY and GS) into a single agreement with
supplemental agreements covering with the recreational use of Santa Monica High
School and memorializing the City’s and the District’s mutual understanding pertaining
to community use of Los Amigos Park (Measure YY/GS Facilities Use Agreement). The
new agreement would supersede the existing Samohi Master Facilities Use Agreement
and the Samohi Supplemental Use Agreement in their entirety.
Pursuant to the agreements, the City anticipates that it will pay the School District a total
of $25,127,020 in FY 2017-18.
Background
In 2005, the Council approved an initial Master Facilities Use Agreement and related
supplemental agreements with the SMMUSD. The Agreement provides unrestricted
revenue from the General Fund to the District in return for community use of District
facilities, including elementary and middle school playfields, recreational facilities and
buildings under-utilized during non-school hours. In April 2009, Council approved
exercise of the first renewal option by amending and extending the Agreement by three
years, through April 2012. In May 2012, Council approved entering into a new Master
Facilities Use Agreement and related supplemental agreements for an initial term of 10
years (through June 30, 2022) with an option to extend for an additional five years to
June 30, 2027.
Measure Y and Measure YY were approved by Santa Monica voters in November 2010.
Measure Y established a half percent transaction and use tax and advisory Measure YY
recommended that half of the transaction and use tax revenue be used to support
school, educational and after-school programs. Following voter approval of these
measures, in May 2011, Council approved entering into a Samohi Master Facilities Use
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Agreement and supplemental program agreement with SMMUSD to allow the City and
community to utilize facilities at Santa Monica High School (Samohi) when school is not
in session and in return receive an annual amount from the City’s General Fund
equivalent to one half of the revenue received by the City from the transaction and use
tax, thereby effectuating the will of the voters. The 10-year initial term expires on June
30, 2021 and may be extended for additional 10-year terms by mutual agreement and
consistent with the Master Facilities Use Agreement.
Measures GSH and GS were approved by the Santa Monica voters in November 2016.
Measure GSH established another half percent transaction and use tax; advisory
Measure GS recommended that half of the transaction and use tax revenue be used to
improve and maintain Santa Monica’s public schools and support educational and
afterschool programs at the District’s facilities in Santa Monica.
Discussion
District and City staff recently met to discuss the longstanding practice of community
use of the District-owned Los Amigos Park site during non-school hours and determined
that it would be prudent to document this mutually agreed upon practice within the
Measure YY/GS Facilities Use Agreement intended to effectuate the will of the voters as
expressed in advisory Measure GS to devote half of the additional sales tax collected to
public school education. Additionally, with the incorporation of sports lights and
synthetic turf at Lincoln Middle School under construction, District and City staff
identified opportunities to modify the existing supplemental agreements to the Master
Facilities Use Agreement relating to the Lincoln and John Adams Middle Schools in
order to carve out time at these schools for general unsupervised recreational
opportunities, similar to the model used for Samohi. Staff also determined that it would
be prudent to make minor modifications to the supplemental agreements for CREST
and Playground Partnership to reflect current practices. The resulting Measure YY/GS
Facilities Use Agreement would retain the majority of the provisions in the existing
Samohi Master Facilities Agreement with the following modifications and additions :
Term of Agreement: As noted above, the current term for the Samohi Master Facilities
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Agreement expires on June 30, 2021 with an option to extend for additional 10 year
terms. It is recommended that this term be amended in the Measure YY/GS Facilities
Use Agreement to expire on June 30, 2028 with an option to extend for additional 10
year terms by mutual agreement between the City and District. It is also recommended
that the term for the supplemental agreements for Lincoln and John Adams Middle
Schools, CREST and Playground Partnership be amended to mirror the term of the
Master Facilities Use Agreement (through June 30, 2022 with an option to extend for an
additional five years to June 30, 2027).
SMMUSD Unification: The SMMUSD Board of Education is currently reviewing the
request of the Malibu community to separate from the district and create a Mali bu
Unified School District (also officially referred to as “unification”). While it is unknown at
this time whether unification will occur, it is recommended that a provision be included in
the Measure YY/GS Facilities Use Agreement to clarify that if SMMUSD were to split
into two districts, the funding provided through Measures YY and GS would reside with
the entity with jurisdiction over Santa Monica High School and Los Amigos Park as the
sole successor in interest to the rights and obligations of the District under the
Agreement.
Force Majeure: Both District and City staff recommend that a “Force Majeure” provision
be added to the Agreement to address obligations of each party should there ever be a
major, unanticipated natural or human-caused disaster.
Supplemental Agreements: The following elements would be addressed in the revised
supplemental agreements for Lincoln and John Adams Middles Schools, CREST ,
Playground Partnership and Samohi as well as in the Supplemental Agreement for Los
Amigos Park:
facility use plans to address permit group and general community use of the sites
during non-school hours;
staffing at the sites by District or City staff as determined by the particular site
needs;
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permit fee collection;
documentation of permits issued; and
details regarding custodial services and maintenance needs.
In keeping with established practice, Supplemental Agreements would be reviewed
periodically by operational staff from each entity and may be revised without governing
board approvals so long as they are only related to e practical and operational changes.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The City’s projection for half of the combined (Measure YY and GS) one percent
transaction and use tax is $16,100,000 (Account 01274.566810), although the final
amount is based on actual transaction and use tax revenue received over the year.
While the City has not yet paid the District the amount equal to one half the revenue
received for Measure GS to date, that amount, totaling $5,650,681 as of 2/28/18 has
been set aside in the General Fund reserve in anticipation of the executed agreement
between the City and the District. Disbursements will be made once the City Council
and Board of Education have approved and executed the Measure YY/GS Facilities
Use Agreement.
Prepared By: Karen Ginsberg, Director
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A - Existing Executed Agreements
B. Written Comments
1
Vernice Hankins
From:Council Mailbox
Sent:Monday, March 26, 2018 2:25 PM
To:Ted Winterer; Gleam Davis; Pam OConnor; Sue Himmelrich; Terry O’Day;
Councilmember Kevin McKeown; Tony Vazquez
Cc:councilmtgitems; Rick Cole; Katie E. Lichtig; Anuj Gupta; Karen Ginsberg
Subject:FW: Support for 8-A
Council‐
Please see the below email re: SMMUSD Master Facilities Use agreement.
Thanks,
Stephanie
From: laurie lieberman [mailto:laurie.lieberman1@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2018 10:08 AM
To: Council Mailbox <Council.Mailbox@SMGOV.NET>
Subject: Support for 8‐A
Dear Mayor Winterer, Mayor pro tem Davis and City Council members,
I am writing to express my support for the staff recommendation contained in Item 8‐A. The relationship between the
School District and the City continues to flourish and the partnership has been, and continues to play an important role
in our collective ability to serve the youth in our community. The School District is closed for Spring Break this week and
most SMMUSD staff and Board members are taking a well‐deserved vacation. Since I was one of the Board members
involved in negotiating the agreement that is now being presented, I wanted to explain the absence of School Board
officials from your meeting on Tuesday, March 27 and assure you that the proposed agreement reflects an approach
that I believe fulfills the needs and concerns of both the City and the School District.
As always, thank you for your dedication to, respect for, and support of education in our community, through the
partnership that you have helped nurture between SMMUSD and the City of Santa Monica.
Respectfully,
Laurie Lieberman
Santa Monica‐Unified School District
Member, Board of Education
Item 8-A
03/27/18
1 of 8 Item 8-A
03/27/18
1
Vernice Hankins
From:Ann Hoover <annkbowman@yahoo.com>
Sent:Monday, March 26, 2018 5:30 PM
To:Council Mailbox; councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Ted Winterer; Pam OConnor; Terry
O’Day; Gleam Davis; Councilmember Kevin McKeown; Tony Vazquez; Sue Himmelrich
Cc:Rick Cole; Katie E. Lichtig; Karen Ginsberg; Gigi Decavalles; Gigi Decavalles; Joan Krenik;
Ruth Fragoso; Yolanda Lewis; Jaleh MIRHASHEMI; Zina Josephs; Nikki Kolhoff; Ann
Maggio; Maryanne LaGuardia; Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein; Laurie Lieberman; Jon
Kean; Craig Foster; Oscar de La Torre; Maria Leon-Vasquez; Ralph Mechur; Jennifer
Smith; Ben Drati; Melody Canady; rochellefanali@gmail.com; Shari Davis; Mary Marlow;
Elizabeth Van Denburgh; Tricia Crane; Amy Aukstikalnis; Liz Grossman; Nicole Faries;
Lane Dilg; Katy Henrikson; Debbie Mulvaney; amadaras@yahoo.com; Danica Jamieson;
katherinecnewall@gmail.com; Claudia Seizer; Gabrielle Cohen
Subject:03/27/18 Council Meeting Item 8.A. - Master Facility Use Agreements with SMMUSD -
Transparency Issue
Dear Mayor Winterer and Esteemed City Council Members --
Reference is made to the agenda for the 03/27/18 City Council Meeting Item 8.A. (Master Facility Use
Agreements with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District).
This item pertains to school district business and finances and has the potential to impact thousands of families
within SMMUSD. The City appears to be holding the school district's half of the Y/YY and GS/GSH sales tax
revenues hostage. Accordingly, this Item should not have been scheduled at a time -- during the SMMUSD
Spring Break -- when it is less likely that impacted parties will be aware such a matter is before Council and
also may be less likely to be able to attend and participate at Council on this item.
Therefore, in the interest of transparency, and in order to maximize any desired participation by impacted
parties, please pull this item from the agenda and notice and schedule it for a Council meeting AFTER
SMMUSD's Spring Break is over -- i.e., it should be put on the agenda for a meeting for which the NOTICE
occurs after 4/9/18 when SMMUSD's Spring Break wraps up. And NOT during the summer recess either.
With respect to Council business that impacts SMMUDS, district families grow weary of Council business
getting done "in the shade" when SMMUSD is on break or just back from things like Winter Break.
Additionally - the district and it's lower bond passage threshhold have been used not once but twice now to
fatten the City's coffers, helping to pay bloated staff salaries and fill the General Fund to help pay down
looming unfunded pension obligations. Despite this, as a district family, I was willing to be "used" in this way
in order to also help increase available resources for the district, but now find myself enraged that the City -
which would never have had this stream of revenue to begin with were it not for the school district! - has the
utter gall to try and extort concessions from the district with regard to use of athletic facilities and playing fields
and other district facilities, while holding up transfer of the district's share of these sales tax revenues.
It's unbelievable! So please pull this agenda item and reagendize for a later date per the foregoing. And it goes
without saying - clearly we need more field space in Santa Monica.
Thank you -
Item 8-A
03/27/18
2 of 8 Item 8-A
03/27/18
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Ann Hoover
SMMUSD parent
Santa Monica Resident, 21 years
310-560-9902
Item 8-A
03/27/18
3 of 8 Item 8-A
03/27/18
1
Vernice Hankins
From:Nikki Kolhoff <nhkolhoff@yahoo.com>
Sent:Monday, March 26, 2018 8:52 PM
To:Council Mailbox; councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Ted Winterer; Pam OConnor; Terry
O’Day; Gleam Davis; Councilmember Kevin McKeown; Tony Vazquez; Sue Himmelrich
Cc:Rick Cole; Katie E. Lichtig; Karen Ginsberg; Gigi Decavalles; Gigi Decavalles; Joan Krenik;
Ruth Fragoso; Yolanda Lewis; Jaleh MIRHASHEMI; Zina Josephs; Ann Maggio;
Maryanne LaGuardia; Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein; Laurie Lieberman; Jon Kean; Craig
Foster; Oscar de La Torre; Maria Leon-Vasquez; Ralph Mechur; Jennifer Smith; Ben
Drati; Melody Canady; rochellefanali@gmail.com; Shari Davis; Mary Marlow; Elizabeth
Van Denburgh; Tricia Crane; Amy Aukstikalnis; Liz Grossman; Nicole Faries; Lane Dilg;
Katy Henrikson; Debbie Mulvaney; amadaras@yahoo.com; Danica Jamieson;
katherinecnewall@gmail.com; Claudia Seizer; Gabrielle Cohen; Ann Hoover
Subject:03/27/18 Council Meeting Item 8.A. - Master Facility Use Agreements with SMMUSD -
Pull Item
Dear City Council -
I am writing to request that Meeting Item 8.A. (Master Facility Use Agreements with the Santa
Monica-Malibu Unified School District) be pulled from the agenda tomorrow night.
First, YY and GSH are tax streams that were passed by voters with the understanding that there
would be no strings attached. They should not be combined with each other or the original Joint
Use Agreement. There needs to be full accountability for the Joint Use Agreement and, separately,
full accountability for payment over of each tax revenue stream. They should not be dependent on
each other and the City should not hold the tax revenue hostage. If that was the intent or
requirement, then I am wondering where the campaign disclosures were.
Second, the City has again failed to attach any relevant documents to the agenda item. Staff reports
are often incomplete and misleading and City Staff has stated on the record that they do not include
information in Staff Reports that does not support their recommendation. In the spirit of
transparency and full public participation in the public hearing, and to enable City Council to make
informed decisions, all relevant documents must be attached. In this case, that means the proposed
new Joint Use Agreement. If that is not available, then a term sheet, letter of intent or next closest
document reflecting the expected terms between the parties should be attached. City Staff should
also attach the existing Joint Use Agreement that is being replaced, and a redline of the new
agreement to the old agreement, so the public can ascertain what is changing. And for a subject of
this magnitude, the final agreement should be brought back to City Council for approval and public
scrutiny so the terms are not left up to Staff discretion.
Finally, this item is completely inappropriate to schedule during SMMUSD spring break when the
City knows that families will be out of town, School District staff is not available to answer
questions, and the entire school community will generally not be able to participate in the public
process. It's hard to believe this wasn't purposeful. Once this item is reworked, it must be noticed
and agendized after SMMUSD returns and before summer vacation begins.
Item 8-A
03/27/18
4 of 8 Item 8-A
03/27/18
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And, of course, I would suggest spending your time instead submitting the Sports Field application
to the Coastal Commission NOW. There is nothing stopping you since the Coastal Commission
said you don't need that Downtown Parking study, you must have plenty of parking data from the
ticket machines, and the field design is ready to go. Build the Sports Field ASAP and then we
wouldn't have such a shortage of field space to contend with.
Regards,
Nikki Kolhoff
Santa Monica Resident
SMMUSD Parent
Item 8-A
03/27/18
5 of 8 Item 8-A
03/27/18
1
Vernice Hankins
From:Ann Maggio <annmaggio@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, March 27, 2018 10:13 AM
To:councilmtgitems
Cc:Sam Thanawalla; Rick Cole; Lane Dilg; Clerk Mailbox; Gigi Decavalles
Subject:Agenda Item 8A - Master Facility Use Agreements with the Santa Monica-Malibu
Unified School District
ear City Council,
Please pull this item from tonight's agenda. The public deserves full transparency with regards to
agreements between the school district and the city when it comes to tax measures WE voted on!
We oppose staff's recommendation to co-mingle the tax measure money from Measure GS and YY
that Santa Monica Voters agreed to for different purposes recommended for SMMUSD. We wish to
see more transparency in receipts, not less, so this is simply a bad idea.
Additionally, the staff report fails to provide the public with the documents referred to in the
report. Where are the "Facilities Use Agreement" and "the existing "Samohi Master Facilities
Agreement" and why can't the public see these? Has the City Council been able to see documents
that are hidden from our view? And where is the proposed new agreement?
Finally, is the Civic Center Field included in the agreement staff wants you to approve this
evening? The current agreement runs through 2021 fiscal year and the new one they are asking you
to approve runs through the 2028 fiscal year. This looks like a way for the city to NOT give the public
more green and open space in the neighborhoods that need it most, Wilmont and Mid City, by telling
the public, "Look, you can use the school space!" Not good enough!
And ask the City Manager to submit the Civic Field application to the Coastal Commission NOW. It
would not be true to tell you they do not have EVERYTHING they need to send it in, meaning
favorable parking data and a completed design. Stop the nonsense and give the public what it wants!
Thank you,
Ann
and Sam
Thanawalla
"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." - Albert Einstein
Item 8-A
03/27/18
6 of 8 Item 8-A
03/27/18
1
Vernice Hankins
From:Clerk Mailbox
Sent:Tuesday, March 27, 2018 11:07 AM
To:councilmtgitems
Subject:FW: Agenda Item 8A - Master Facility Use Agreements with the Santa Monica-Malibu
Unified School District
From: Ann Maggio [mailto:annmaggio@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2018 10:13 AM
To: councilmtgitems <councilmtgitems@SMGOV.NET>
Cc: Sam Thanawalla <samthanawalla@gmail.com>; Rick Cole <Rick.Cole@SMGOV.NET>; Lane Dilg
<Lane.Dilg@SMGOV.NET>; Clerk Mailbox <Clerk.Mailbox@SMGOV.NET>; Gigi Decavalles
<Gigi.Decavalles@SMGOV.NET>
Subject: Agenda Item 8A ‐ Master Facility Use Agreements with the Santa Monica‐Malibu Unified School District
ear City Council,
Please pull this item from tonight's agenda. The public deserves full transparency with regards to
agreements between the school district and the city when it comes to tax measures WE voted on!
We oppose staff's recommendation to co-mingle the tax measure money from Measure GS and YY
that Santa Monica Voters agreed to for different purposes recommended for SMMUSD. We wish to
see more transparency in receipts, not less, so this is simply a bad idea.
Additionally, the staff report fails to provide the public with the documents referred to in the
report. Where are the "Facilities Use Agreement" and "the existing "Samohi Master Facilities
Agreement" and why can't the public see these? Has the City Council been able to see documents
that are hidden from our view? And where is the proposed new agreement?
Finally, is the Civic Center Field included in the agreement staff wants you to approve this
evening? The current agreement runs through 2021 fiscal year and the new one they are asking you
to approve runs through the 2028 fiscal year. This looks like a way for the city to NOT give the public
more green and open space in the neighborhoods that need it most, Wilmont and Mid City, by telling
the public, "Look, you can use the school space!" Not good enough!
And ask the City Manager to submit the Civic Field application to the Coastal Commission NOW. It
would not be true to tell you they do not have EVERYTHING they need to send it in, meaning
favorable parking data and a completed design. Stop the nonsense and give the public what it wants!
Thank you,
Ann
and Sam
Thanawalla
Item 8-A
03/27/18
7 of 8 Item 8-A
03/27/18
2
"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." - Albert Einstein
Item 8-A
03/27/18
8 of 8 Item 8-A
03/27/18
REFERENCE:
Agreement No. 10658
(CCS)