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6. APPROVAL OF REDWOOD SHORES SCHOOL/COMMUNITY CENTER IN SANDPIPER PARK Vice President MacDuckston welcomed everyone to the first joint meeting of the Belmont Elementary School District Board of Trustees with the City Council of the City of Redwood City and provided background on the proposed Redwood Shores School/Community Center in Sandpiper Park. In 1990 it became evident that growth and development and school enrollment was on the rise in Belmont and the Redwood Shores area of Redwood City which was in the Belmont School District. The Board recognized that in order to maintain the quality of education in Belmont it would be necessary to expand its physical resources. In 1991 the School Board met with Redwood City City Manager Smith to explore a joint venture for a new school on land owned by Redwood City. Soon after those discussions began, Redwood City City Manager Jim Smith retired, and Belmont City Manager Ed Everett became the new Redwood City Manager, and the talks continued. The Board and the City established a process to include the community. In 1992 the Citizens Advisory Committee was established to explore expansion of facilities, there were many public hearings and tremendous interest. Everyone had an opportunity to have their say. In January of 1993 the Committee voted unanimously to reopen Cipriani School and build a new school in the Redwood Shores area. In February of 1993, the Board and the City of Redwood City established a committee to explore a joint school/community center in a park in the Redwood Shores area. From the very beginning this committee was very focused and knew where everyone wanted to go. In June of 1994 the committee announced that the Board and the City had reached an agreement in concept, and since that time the committee and the separate counsels had been working on the final details of the agreement to make sure that everyone understood very well all the rights and obligations of all parties. Board Vice President MacDuckston thanked his colleagues, the Board's staff, Margaret Cross, Michael Garb, John Violet and financial consultant Mark Epstein. Mr. MacDuckston assured everyone that the new school would be a great community school and would uphold the standards of Belmont's education system. Redwood City Councilwoman Georgi La Berge said it was a real pleasure to celebrate this historic joining of two jurisdictions for the good of the children in the community. Councilwoman La Berge reminded everyone that this was the "Year of the Child" and it was one of the best ways we could recognize that commitment. It has long been a dream of Redwood City to have a community center and extensive playing fields in Redwood Shores, but staffing those facilities was a big stumbling block for the City. The opportunity to join with another jurisdiction to build and staff facilities as a joint venture was an ideal solution. The idea was wonderful, but going from an idea to reality was very difficult. This was the very first step towards the collective goals of the City Council, the School Board and the parents in Redwood Shores. Councilwoman La Berge stated that the City believed a collaborative model had been created that other communities would look at and use to reach their goals, too. Councilwoman La Berge gave very special thanks to Redwood City Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director Griffiths who had worked on this project from the very beginning and persevered through this difficult process; Councilwoman La Berge also thanked City Attorney Schricker for his fine counsel and the fine agreement he crafted along Minutes of the Joint Meeting with the Redwood City Council MINUTE BOOK NO. 53 and the Belmont Elementary School District Board of Trustees Page No. 123 March 28,1995 Page 2