Planning & Design Meetings Meeting #9 3/4/2009 - Minutes (2)Palo Alto HS MP MEETING No. 9
Palo Alto Unified School District 04 March 2009
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PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL MASTER PLAN
Palo Alto Unified School District
MASTER PLAN MEETING NO. 9
DATE: 04 March 2009, 3:15pm-5:00pm
SUBJECT: Master Plan Meeting with Gunn HS Facilities Steering Committee
ATTENDEES: See attached sign-in sheet
The following are the highlights of the meeting:
1. Principal Jacqueline McEvoy summarized the outcome of the student survey that
was done after the previous master planning meeting. Freshman in Spanish
classes, and seniors in social studies classes were shown the currently proposed
site plan and asked what they liked, disliked and what they would like to see added
to the plan. Generally, the surveyed students were very supportive of the proposed
master plan, but not very excited about the length of time that the construction of
the various projects will take. Highlights from their responses were:
• The idea of the new, two-story classroom building, new media arts building, new
gym and gym connector building was very popular.
• There was concern about making the campus ADA-compliant, primarily for the
convenience of visiting parents.
• Enhanced site drainage, and additional covered areas for eating lunch in the
rain were desired items.
2. Tom Hodges showed drawings of the current playfields project that outlined the
trees that will need to be removed. He summarized the highlights of the project:
• The El Camino field will be striped for various sports in three different colors
• There will be an 8-foot high chain-link fence with a 30-foot high, non-retractable
netting system for the purpose of protecting El Camino Real and the north
parking lot that is adjacent to the Tower Building.
• A new scoreboard will be installed
• Trees will be planted behind the bleachers to replace the trees that need to
come out
• The baseball/softball field will have bleachers on either side, dugouts with
bullpens, and synthetic infield turf
• New batting cages will be constructed
• Lighting will be an add-alternate item
3. Architect Erwin Lee welcomed the Committee and explained that the project
“phases” that were presented in the previous, February 18th presentation have been
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fine tuned. Going forward, for the purpose of a more appropriate description, the
term group is to be used in lieu of phase.
4. Lee presented the original list of goals that were developed by the Committee, and
showed the current proposed site plan. He explained how it addresses each of the
original master-planning goals.
5. Items that need to be taken into consideration for the upcoming master planning
phases were reiterated. These items were:
• Projects currently under construction, such as the aquatic center
• Projects that will happen regardless of priority list, such as interim housing and
upgrades to infrastructure
• Projects that are a high priority to the school, such as classroom space
• Projects grouped together for ease of construction and phasing sequences,
such as those in the same area
6. The previous master plan project list was shown with assigned, preliminary
construction and project costs. Lee presented graphics and two options (A and B)
that outlined the recommended order for the master plan groups. He explained that
the footprints of buildings and the project lists shown are a reflection of the level of
conversation that the Committee is having at the current time.
7. Lee discussed the next steps in the master planning process:
• Prioritization and phasing
• Implementation and scheduling
• Finalize documentation
• Approval by Board of Education
• Authorization to commence projects
8. Tom Hodges addressed the Committee about the recommended grouping order list.
He explained that approximate escalation percentages are reflected in the dollar
amounts shown.
9. The Committee was asked to comment on the proposed, project-grouping
recommendations. The highlights of the comments and questions were:
• The career tech department is in transition, so a discussion about the 900
building needs to take place in the programming phase
• The category for infrastructure enhancement should be bulked up, so that
people can be happy with the facilities that aren’t new for the next 6-8 years
• Option B is a good fit, but perhaps the Tower building project should move up
the priority list, because of safety concerns.
o Hodges proposed that the planning and design of enhancement to the
Tower building should start at day one so that smaller projects such as
repairing windows, adding an elevator, and bringing the bathrooms up to
code can happen at intervals throughout the time frame of construction.
• No grouping priority will ever be perfect, so option B is a good compromise
• Improving outdoor areas, such as the quad, so that students can be protected
from the rain at lunchtime is very important.
• The current weight room is limiting for the students, given their diverse
conditioning abilities. During a rainy day, there may be as many as 5 sections
that need to use the gym at one time, but there are currently only three spaces
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to locate these sections. The weight room/fitness center project should be a
higher priority item.
• Moving the performing arts theater up the list is important because it adds much
needed teaching space for the department.
10. The meeting was opened up for public comment. Three members from the public
audience addressed the Committee. Highlights from their comments were:
• The decision of moving the theater project up to group 3 was applauded
• DLM was thanked for the work that has been done so far.
• The location of the new performing arts theater should be further studied
• To preserve open space, perhaps a 3-story classroom building could be
considered in the planning efforts.
• The Tower building needs immediate attention
• Career Tech building should move up the priority list, because it offers the
students the opportunity of future career placement
• The student center should be a high priority, and a café should be added
• Carmakers BMW and GM have their research centers in Palo Alto; perhaps the
career tech department should partner with them for further opportunity
• Reconsider the long-term impact of expenditure for the students so that they can
get the most benefits in the shortest amount of time
11. The next scheduled Master Planning Meeting is the Palo Alto HS Neighborhood
Master Plan Meeting #2 on 12 March 2009 from 6:30pm-8:00pm in the Library
END
Prepared by Dean Schmitz of Deems Lewis McKinley. Please advise if you feel that any of the above items
are inaccurate or need further clarification or detail.
cc: Attendees
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