Laguna Beach school board switches architecture firms for project at Top of the World school
Two students and their dad head for the classroom on the first day of school at Top of the World Elementary in 2014. A project at the school will replace three portable buildings with permanent structures and add a music facility.
It’s time to change architects on a construction project at Top of the World Elementary, the Laguna Beach school board decided Monday.
Trustees unanimously awarded a contract to Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke, a firm with offices in Carlsbad and Riverside, for an amount not to exceed $60,500.
The agreement will save the Laguna Beach Unified School District about $30,000, Facilities Director Jeff Dixon said in a follow-up interview.
Laguna Beach Unified paid the prior firm, Santa Ana-based SVA Architects, about $90,000 of the $194,860 stipulated in an agreement the board approved in January, Assistant Supt. of Business Services Dean West told the school board.
The estimated $2.1 million project, which the board approved last year, calls for crews to replace three existing portables with permanent buildings and adding a music facility at the northeast corner of the property at 21601 Treetop Lane.
In a letter sent last week to SVA, the district said it was ending the contract without cause, an option contained in the original agreement, Dixon said.
District staff requested the change for “Ruhnau’s superior ability to work with [the Division of the State Architect],” according to a staff report.
SVA had not returned a call seeking comment Tuesday afternoon.
The project has lagged because of missing paperwork linked to restroom renovations and other campus improvements within the last 20 years, Dixon said.
Inspectors failed to file paperwork with the state architect for the work, thus the agency did not technically “close out” or certify those projects, even though they were approved and completed, Dixon said.
To prevent such an occurrence from repeating, an inspector will analyze current and past project plans for the site to ensure the work complies with existing fire safety and access requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, he added.
The state architect provides design and construction oversight for K-12 schools, community colleges and various other state-owned and leased facilities, according to the state’s website.
Dixon characterized the new buildings as an upgrade from the current portables, which he said have reached the end of their lifespans. The new buildings will have more-efficient heating and air conditioning units and LED lights. They will be stationed on concrete foundations.
The portables house students enrolled in the Community Learning Center, a specialized program for first-through fourth-grade students, which integrates academics with community service, character development and social awareness, according to the school’s website.
Top of the World’s music students in instrumental, strings and choir classes currently practice in three locations.
The new music building will offer enough space for strings and the choir to practice while instrumentals will continue using the multi-purpose room, Principal Mike Conlon wrote in an email.
Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke oversaw design and renovation of the new synthetic field and track at Laguna Beach High.
The district will eventually solicit bids from construction contractors for the physical work, which Dixon hopes will start next summer.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
