PUSD board to debate design contract for Pleasanton Middle School field renovation

The Pleasanton school board is set to discuss and possibly approve a contract with a design firm to begin the process of designing the new Pleasanton Middle School field and track upgrades on Thursday night.

The PMS field renovation project is the first Measure I project that will be rolled out thanks to the funding coming from the $395 million bond measure, which Pleasanton voters passed last year in order to help fund facility improvements throughout the district.

According to the district staff report, the upgrades to the PMS field will “create a new synthetic field and track, revitalize the remainder of the natural grass, resurface the existing blacktop play area and re-stripe the existing blacktop play area.”

But because the project must go through California’s Division of State Architects (DSA), the district has to get a design professional to actually create the project’s plans.

That’s why after having received proposals from multiple firms, the Pleasanton Unified School District facilities and construction team settled on recommending Verde Design, a Folsom-based landscape architect firm, to come up with the plans for the field upgrades.

If the PUSD school board approves the contract with Verde Design, the design work will start immediately and the facilities and construction team will begin meeting with various stakeholders within and outside of the school in order to get input on the design.

The proposed contract with Verde Design’s services is worth $539,600. The overall construction project is estimated at $7.6 million.

“Once complete, the design will be submitted to DSA for final approval, then construction will begin,” according to the staff report. “Verde will lead the design effort from initial planning through DSA close-out of the project once construction has been completed.”

The board’s open-session meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 24).

Read the full agenda here.

In other business

* District staff will be asking the board to approve the design contracts for the final fire alarm replacement projects for Hart Middle School, Foothill High School and Amador Valley High School.

The fire alarm replacement projects, which have already been completed at all the other schools in PUSD, were funded by the 2016 Measure I1 bond measure, which brought in $270 million to go toward safety, infrastructure and other facility improvements.

“District fire alarms are suffering from obsolete parts, increased maintenance, and behind-code cycles,” the staff report states. “The proposed fire alarm upgrades will bring the systems up to code, correct deficiencies and provide a modern fire alarm system throughout the district. This is the final phase of fire alarm projects from Measure I1.”

The contract in consideration for Thursday’s meeting will be with Finney Architects, an architect firm based in Campbell.

According to the report, the firm had already successfully completed the work on the previous phases for the fire alarm replacements at the other schools, which is why district staff are bringing the firm back for the last phase of the project.

“The design will take place immediately and the construction will be completed in the summer of 2024,” according to the staff report.

* The school board will be looking at possibly approving the final contract amendment for additional services for the new district office on West Las Positas Boulevard.

Back in July 2022, the district had finalized the terms for the acquisition of its new district headquarters, located on 5758 and 5794 West Las Positas Blvd., for a total cost of $23,480,261.

Since then, the district has contracted out for tenant improvements, roof improvements and electrical and HVAC consultant services.

But according to the staff report, during the course of the project’s design and construction, ” the project scope and schedule have been affected.”

“During design, the district required DSK architects to keep the scheduled date of city plan submittal to maintain the planned construction schedule,” the staff report reads. “To keep that schedule, changes that were approved by the district after the space design plans, would need to be added as an addenda during bidding.”

Some of those changes include redesigns for the Board of Trustees meeting room; the Human Resources Department adding a storage room and breakroom; safety and evacuation plans; and removing adult education offices and three classrooms, among several other things.

* The school board will be receiving an annual report and plan for the upcoming year from the Maintenance, Operations and Transportation Department.

The presentation will include an overview of the department’s organizational structure; highlights of last year’s accomplishments; a review of the 2023-24 projects and future plans; and the department’s current challenges.

* As part of the board’s consent calendar, which are items that are routine in nature and typically approved by a single vote, district staff will be seeking approval for two memorandum of understanding — one with the city in regards to an after school programs in the library and the other with Axis Community Health for counseling services.

The MOU with the district and the city will help provide “after-school academic support at the Pleasanton Public Library for students that access the Afterschool Library Program,” according to the staff report.

And for the MOU with Axis, it will help provide counseling services at school sites or via telehealth virtual sessions for students who are referred through the district.

“The MOU shall become effective upon the date of execution by both parties (Axis Community Health and PUSD), and shall be provided through the end of the 2023-24 academic school year,” according to the staff report.