Given your interest in the negotiations with the City of Huntington Beach and the Huntington Beach City School District (HBCSD), I wanted to reach out to you today with an update on the current status of our discussions regarding the LeBard school site and related youth sports fields.
We have been in dialogue with the HBCSD for quite some time now. As you will recall, the City Council unanimously approved an offer that was ultimately declined by the HBCSD. Since the rejection of our initial proposal, we have continued to pursue negotiations with no major breakthroughs at this point.
The City still has options under the Naylor Act, which gives us the ability to purchase the parcel at a discounted price. However, our goal is to deliver a balanced and fair resolution that not only benefits the community but the HBCSD.
Rest assured that a successful outcome to these negotiations is one my top priorities. I am looking forward to reporting to you a positive
Also, please visit my website at http://www.donhansen4hb.com to learn more about current events in Huntington Beach.
Don Hansen
Councilmember
City of Huntington Beach
On Tuesday night, the HBCSD board of trustees gave out their email addresses if concered residents would like to contact them. Click here to see that paqe
Thank you everyone for showing up at the July 15th meeting! The overwhelming support showed as the numbers of people turned out!
News FLASH!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 7, 2008
FROM: HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES
RE: LEBARD SITE PROPERTY NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CITY OF HB
A proposed purchase deal for the LeBard school site by the City of Huntington Beach was not approved by the Huntington Beach City School District because the piece of property offered as partial payment was determined to be unsuitable for district use, though the school district affirms its intention of continuing negotiations with the City. Concerns about the location and suitability of a tank farm property neighboring the AES Power Plant, the site of the proposed desalination plant, and the Nesi/Ascon toxic waste site led the HBCSD Board of Trustees to decline to pass a Memorandum of Understanding which the Huntington Beach City Council adopted on June 16.
As much as we hope that a purchase of the LeBard property by the City will be achieved and the Little League playing fields and open space preserved, potential clean up costs for the property offered by the City and concerns for the wellbeing of our employees who would have worked there make us unwilling to accept this particular offer explained Board President Celia Jaffe.
In a June 27th letter to the City of Huntington Beach, the Huntington Beach City School District, after declining the terms of the proposed MOU, confirmed its desire to go back to the negotiating table, stating we feel confident that a mutually beneficial solution can be reached and look forward to continued constructive negotiations.
Contact:
HBCSD Superintendent Dr. Roberta DeLuca
Huntington Beach City School District
20451 Craimer Lane
Huntington Beach, CA 92646
714-964-8888
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HUNTINGTON BEACH City Council unanimously voted Monday night to buy Huntington Beach City School District’s Le Bard Elementary School, a closed campus currently used for district offices.
“I suggest we do take action tonight for the benefit of the community … and to let the board know where we stand,” Councilman Keith Bohr said before the vote.
The city agreed to pay the district $7 million and deed to the district a 3.5-acre property near the proposed Poseidon desalination project.
District officials said they are considering moving the district offices or the maintenance, operations and transportation headquarters to new site. The city will also pay the district $400,000 to clean up the property.
This deal, which still needs approval from the district, will allow the city to resell the school buildings for about $3 million, which makes the agreement financally viable, Bohr said.
A private school has already contacted the city about buying the buildings, he said.
Members of Huntington Beach Tomorrow and savehbcommunity.com, which lobbied to preserve open space at the site for sports fields, were not at the meeting.
The city is also working on adding two acres to Le Bard Park adjacent to the school, Community Services Director Jim Engle said Monday. The three-acre park would be expanded using a space owned by Southern California Edison.
The negotiations for the Le Bard site come after almost two years of talks at the district about the future of its four surplus campuses.
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I wanted to let everyone know that the donated Angels basket was a GRAND SLAM!!! We raised $945.00!! Michael had a little girl from the stands draw the winner and she has been contacted (sorry I forgot her name) and she was very excited!
Thanks again to Dana and Chuck for a wonderful donation.
FLASH! FLASH! I wanted to update everyone on the current status of our little league fields. Currently the School Board and the City Administration have begun to talks about the prospects of the City purchasing our site, this could be a quick process or take a long period of time. It looks like the city will be drafting a letter of intent for the purchase of the LeBard property, but will then it go into price negotiations after that. In order to have any impact on the decision making process we must take the following actions immediately and your help is needed:
Welcome!
The Huntington Beach City School District unanimously voted on February 19th to sell the LeBard school site.
The 10 acre LeBard school site is currently the home of Seaview Little League. The City of Huntington Beach now has the opportunity to purchase up to 30% of the property for 1/4th of it’s market value. The remainder would have to be purchased at full market value.
We are a group of Seaview Little League board members and parents that all have one thing in common! That commonality is to “SAVE SEAVIEW LITTLE LEAGUE” fields, SAVE OUR DIAMONDS and to get the city of Huntington Beach to purchase it.
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Please visit our “VOLUNTEERING” page here
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Make sure you visit our “Commenting Pages” and leave a comment on your feelings