Schools trustee joins canyon traffic task force

Laguna Beach Unified School District board trustee Theresa O’Hare will represent the school district on a City Council-appointed task force looking at ways to ease congestion and improve safety along Laguna Canyon Road.

Board colleagues recommended O’Hare to the post at Tuesday’s meeting after fellow trustees said they might have a difficult time withholding personal opinions on improvements to the state highway from Canyon Acres Drive north to El Toro Road.

“Your position will be whatever affects the district,” Board President Jan Vickers said, alluding to student and bus driver safety, as the district’s bus yard is in Laguna Canyon.

“This will be a contentious issue,” trustee William Landsiedel said. “Whomever serves must be 100% neutral.”

Trustee Betsy Jenkins initially volunteered.

“I do have a position; I guess I could just not say it,” Jenkins said.

O’Hare recommended Jenkins saying, “Betsy is in touch with most people in the city.”

Jenkins, though, agreed O’Hare would be a good fit.

O’Hare joins residents Louis Longi, an artist who is trying to get a 30-unit artist live-work unit built; Lorene Auger, a canyon homeowner representing commuters; John Hamil, a retired veterinarian; and Ruth Stafford, treasurer for the Canyon Club, an alcoholic rehabilitation facility. Councilwoman Toni Iseman and Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whalen also serve on the task force, according to an earlier Coastline Pilot story.

The group will meet monthly starting Oct. 15 at City Hall, and consider five alternatives posed by planning firm RBF Consulting, which include adding lanes and creating roundabouts. The group is also encouraged to develop additional ideas.

The goal is to bring two or three recommendations to the City Council next spring.

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Retaining wall

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the school board gave district staff the go-ahead to solicit bids to remove and replace a concrete retaining wall next to one of the tennis courts at Laguna Beach High School.

A 10-foot high wall alongside Court No. 6, one of two courts farthest away from Park Avenue, is under duress from a slope, Assistant Supt. of Business Services Dean West said.

The hillside, which descends from Manzanita Drive, has pushed the wall 3 inches closer to the court, according to a report from Anaheim-based Willdan Geotechnical.

West said high school matches and recreational play on the court have continued.

In their Sept. 11 report, Willdan engineers suggested removing the existing wall and replacing it with new walls at about 5 1/2- and 7 1/2-feet high, respectively.

The retaining wall project is separate from the tennis court renovation/resurfacing proposal, which faces an uncertain future.

West said the district is preparing bid specifics for the renovation, which includes installing steel cables in concrete slabs at five of the six courts, a technique called post-tension. Court No. 6 is the only court at the site with post-tension cables and, according to residents, the only playing surface without cracks.

Since the public and high school use the courts, the city and school district share costs through a joint-use agreement — 70% and 30% respectively.

Preliminary cost estimates for the court renovation have steadily increased in the last three years, from $300,000 three years ago to $620,000 negotiated in 2013 when the district and city renewed their joint use agreement, according to an earlier Coastline Pilot story.

Earlier this year project architect LPA Inc. estimated the project could exceed $1 million. In April Deputy City Manager Ben Siegel said the city does not have additional money available in its budget to cover the estimated cost increase.

Siegel said the city is willing to work with the district on cost sharing for the retaining wall project, but added that it’s premature to discuss percentage contributions without an official bid.