On April 15, 2020, the Marin Independent Journal authored a well written opinion piece on the dispute and recently announced settlement related to the College of Marin M&O Facility project.
Some key points from the Marin IJ:
Dear Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks:
The COVID-19 situation has all of our attention right now, as it should. However, we wanted to update you on the status of the College of Marin’s Maintenance and Operations Facility being constructed adjacent to Kent Middle School and the Corte Madera Creek. The Kentfield School District (KSD) and College of Marin (COM) reached a settlement regarding the October 2019 lawsuit that KSD filed to address the many potential impacts of the COM facility on the Kent Middle School and the KSD offices. The full settlement agreement signed in early March 2020 can be found on the Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks website. The resolution of this lawsuit between the COM and KSD is not unexpected, but it is highly disappointing with no agreement regarding an Environmental Impact Report and no assurances regarding the potential negative impacts of the facility. This settlement shows that the COM’s strategy of biding their time until KSD ran out of legal funds worked in their favor. They were able to continue constructing their facility while forcing KSD to settle for a pretty weak response. KSD’s settlement was a decision driven by their need to stop spending limited funds on legal fees and the fact that they were not able to file a stronger case because of the expiration of the statutes of limitations that would have applied to COMs decisions to not conduct a full Environmental Impact Report. The terms that KSD were able to get action on from COM were very basic things that COM should have included in their original design had it gone through any kind of public review. This dispute should have never required a lawsuit to secure these actions. While the KSD lawsuit was very narrow and only applied to the project’s potential impacts on Kent Middle School and the KSD Office buildings directly adjacent to the property, the settlement does not go far enough to protect the children and staff at the school from potential future impacts of the facility. There is nothing in the settlement to address how COM will respond to potential future problems that may arise from the operations of the facility that haven’t yet been identified because there has been no Environmental Impact Report done for the project. Furthermore, the terms of the settlement state that issues brought up by KSD would only be resolved at “COM’s discretion” giving them all the power to choose to do nothing if they want. COM did not agree to pay for the KSD’s legal fees, which is a huge slap in the face of the school community. KSD, a public school district that recently had to go through a painful budget process that resulted in the need to lay off teachers and reduce school programs, was forced to use its funds to hire attorneys in order to get COM to address some of the most basic health and safety issues created by their $15 million bond project. This should be something all our taxpayers should be angry about. Although COM appears to have improved their community relations in recent weeks with their new Learning Center construction project, this is something that should have been done long ago. While they seem to be providing opportunities for public input into the new Learning Center project under the Measure B funds, this effort stands in stark contrast to the lack of ANY public input on the M&O Facility and the lack of disclosure and environmental review that project was provided. Many community members have also been disappointed by the lack of interest from Supervisor Katie Rice on this issue. Since she is the only elected official to represent the Greenbrae/Kentfield community, she should have taken a greater role in this situation. Instead, she repeatedly refused community members’ pleas to address this situation and instead chose to focus her attention on promoting COM’s current PR efforts around their new Learning Center project. She has let down her constituents by not wanting to get involved and so has the Marin County Office of Education (MCOE), which also didn't take any position on this situation. Instead, MCOE let the two public school districts spend taxpayer money on attorneys instead of helping to mediate the issue. At the end of the day, there was no win for the community or the environment. Only uncertainties and risks remain. No Environmental Impact Report was done, so many of the risks to the students and staff at Kent as well as the risks to the Corte Madera Creek and its habitats, will remain in question. COM still has not responded to repeated requests from Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks to provide a comprehensive list of mitigation measures it plans to have for this facility. Moreover, they have refused to answer the central point of the demands of our petition – which over 800 Marin residents have signed – to conduct an Environmental Impact Report for the facility. COM clearly does not intend to conduct an EIR, but they realize that it would be bad PR to come out and say it outright. The Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks are deeply thankful for everyone's support advocating for the kids, schools, and creeks, and for loudly expressing our common concerns about the potential negative impacts of the COM M&O Facility. COM’s handling of this issue will not be forgotten as it is a major disappointment and a long-term liability for the community and the environment. COM President David Coon, VP Operations Greg Nelson, and the entire COM Board should be held accountable. We encourage anyone interested to run for the COM Board in November 2020 so that we can bring COM’s attention back to educating and serving the Marin community rather than just building and development. -- Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks (Click here to read the Settlement) The Kentfield Schools PTA has called upon the College of Marin to address community concerns by stopping work on the COM Maintenance & Operations Facility that is currently in construction until a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been conducted and the College has enacted any appropriate mitigations to protect the safety, well-being, and optimal learning/working environment of the Kent students and staff called for in that report. The January 27, 2020 KSPTA Resolution also calls for COM to work with the Kentfield School District Board and Superintendent to put in place appropriate mitigations.
Read the KSPTA Resolution here. Braving the heavy rains, Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks held a protest on College Avenue on Tuesday morning, January 21 demanding an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) from the College of Marin. Thanks to everyone passing by honking and showing your support!
See the photo collage below from the event. On Tuesday, January 21, 2020, there are two opportunities to help show our concerns about the COM M&O Facility.
PEACEFUL PROTEST -- 7:45am to 8:20am @ 750 College Avenue RSVP -- (link) Gather with other residents, neighbors, parents and students in front of the driveway to the new M&O Facility at 750 College Ave. (between the KSD office and the COM pool building – across from Woodlands Market). Bring signs. The event will go on rain or shine! COM BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING -– 6:00pm @ COM Academic Center Room #255 The COM Board will be hearing this issue at 6:00pm. Let’s pack the meeting to ask questions and voice our concerns with the project. COM will publish the full agenda for the meeting here -- https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/marin/Board.nsf/Public The KSPTA held an informational meeting about the COM M&O facility on January 13, 2019. Questions and issues remained open after the meeting. The meeting format included a 5-member panel with statements, and questions and answers. Panel members included:
Watch some of the video and read the Marin IJ article covering the KSPTA meeting. The Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks recently obtained COM M&O Facility Plans, Files, and Specs through a Public Records Request with the California Department of General Services Division of the State Architect.
The documents received have been posted under Documents for public review. If you have other specific documents you'd like to suggest that we request for public review please Contact Us. Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks Deliver Letter and Petition to College of Marin Officials1/5/2020 Today the Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks delivered a letter and petition to the College of Marin President and Board of Trustees. The 700+ supporters requested immediate action regarding the new COM Maintenance and Operation facility in construction.
Read the January 5, 2020 letter to COM officials. The Marin Independent Journal published an article on January 5, 2020 entitled “COM Defends Construction Project Near Kentfield School” by Keri Brenner that is based on a letter authored by Mr. David Wain Coon, the President of the College of Marin. His letter rebuts the public comments from many in the local community who are reacting to the College of Marin’s construction of a new Maintenance and Operations facility directly adjacent to Kent Middle School and the Corte Madera Creek.
Ina Gotlieb, a leader of Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks, published her response to the Marin IJ article today. Read the Marin IJ article and Ina Gotlieb's response. SAVE THE DATE: The Kentfield Schools PTA will be hosting a public information meeting about the project at 7:00pm on Monday, January 13th in the Kent Middle School Library. They have asked a variety of stakeholders, including the COM administration, to participate. This meeting will be open to the public and moderated by a member of the Kentfield Planning Advisory Board.
Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks is getting organized. Please JOIN US and share this information with other local community members.
Here are some actions you can take now: Contact COM President and Board of Trustees
Attend College of Marin Public Meetings
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AuthorsFriends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks are concerned residents advocating for the kids, schools, creeks, and local community being negatively impacted by the new College of Marin Maintenance and Operations Facility in Kentfield. Archives
April 2020
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