CVUSD Considers Property Purchase, Moving Public Comment as New Board Meets

Education
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This is a busy week for the Castro Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) Board of Education. The newly elected members of the Board will be sworn in, and the issues facing the board range from property purchases to meeting bylaws.
CVUSD

Proposed Property Purchase
The 12/11/2014 CVUSD board meeting closed session agenda includes:

Conference with Real Property Negotiators per Education Code § 54956.8 Property: Parcel Number 84C-625-1-3; Parcel Number 84C-625-2-5 Agency Negotiators:
Jim Negri, Superintendent

Dr. Candi Clark, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services

The parcels under consideration are bounded by the library to the west, Norbridge to the south, and Castro Valley Boulevard to the north, and are currently occupied by a mobile home community.

CVUSD in talks to buy property
The property CVUSD is discussing seen here outlined in yellow

CVUSD has not confirmed the purpose of the proposed property purchase. In recent years, however, District leadership has expressed an interest in new administrative offices to replace the offices currently housed on Alma Avenue.

Proposed Revision on Bylaws on Public Comment
The board will hear the first reading of a revision of the bylaws that will change when public comment is held during meetings:

“At the board meeting of November 13, 2014, a majority of the board members requested staff to develop procedures to schedule Public Comment earlier in the meeting so that the individuals would not have to wait until 9:30 p.m.”

The effect of the bylaw revision would be that public comment would take place at the beginning of public sessions of school board meetings. According to the back-up information in the agenda, CVUSD staff proposes:

  • Public comment on both agenda and non­agenda items be limited to 20 minutes.
  • That the Board President has the authority to extend the time for public comment to accommodate speakers.
  • That the Public Comment section of the agenda occur prior to the Consent Agenda section of the agenda.
  • That if the number of speakers under Public Comment exceeds the allotted time, Public Comment will be continued at the conclusion of the Reports, Discussion and Action Items section of the agenda.
  • Under the Public Comment section of the agenda, an individual would be only be allowed to comment once on an issue.

Installation of Elected Board Members
Thursday’s board meeting is the first for Dot Theodore as a school trustee.  Theodore and Howard were elected to the board on November 4. Howard had previously been appointed to his seat.

Update: In an email to CVM, Superintendent Jim Negri stated: “In previous board meetings and workshops, including the presentation on the Facilities Report, the potential needs that have been identified have included the following:  Adult Education, Alma Preschool, District Office, Roy Johnson High School.”

Negri also clarified that if the agenda item is approved, it would permit him and  Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Candi Clark to initiate discussions.

If this purchase goes through, it will cause many elderly, and disabled people to loose their independence as the have to resort to public assistance for housing.

Here’s what the Castro Valley Downtown Specific plan has to say:

“There are certain procedures set by State law which must be followed to close a mobile home park.
While it is possible to close a park, the law currently requires that a report on the impact of the
closure on the tenants, including availability of alternate housing and relocation costs, be prepared.
Also, if a resident so requests, the County must hold a hearing on the closure. The County may
require mitigation of the impacts up to the reasonable cost of relocation, but does not have to do so.
Where no local governmental permits are involved, twelve months notice of closure must be given;
where permits are involved, six months notice must be given after the permits are approved.”

Most projects considering redevelopment of parks have been abandoned due to the difficulty in relocating/mitigating for park residents. It’s more than most developers want to deal with.

Governance
Supervisors to hear proposal for incorporation fiscal analysis

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors Unincorporated Services Committee meets on Wednesday, April 27 at 6:00 pm to hear from the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) about a proposed fiscal analysis of the feasibility of incorporating Castro Valley and the other Alameda County unincorporated communities.

Community
The Right to a Smoke-Free Environment

In Castro Valley, 27% of homes are considered multi-unit housing and are part of the 15,367 multi-unit housing homes in Unincorporated Alameda County that are at risk of being exposed to secondhand smoke. Castro Valley is part of Unincorporated Alameda County, where a resident’s best bet for living in a …

Headline Story
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My name is Rosabel. My husband and I have lived here nine years with our two vivacious, intellectually curious, and fun-loving children. When my children were preschoolers, you might have seen them riding their balance bikes at Parsons Park or Greenridge Park. When I was a volunteer music instructor for …