An estimated $1.6 million plan to remediate contaminated land slated to be the site for a new Morgan Hill Unified School District elementary school will come before the board of education during a special meeting Tuesday.
The session is scheduled for 3 p.m. June 27 at the district office (15600 Concord Circle), according to the posted agenda on mhusd.org.
“Staff will present the board of education with a summary of the background of the S.G. Borello Elementary School, information related to the (Removal Action Workplan) activities necessary to remediate the current site conditions, status of master planning process, and address any questions,” the June 27 agenda item reads.
Materials for this agenda item may be found on the district’s website at mhusd.org/s-g-borello-elementary-school-documents, according to district staff.
District leaders are also requesting the board approve a “delegation of authority to award the remediation contract for the S.G. Borello Elementary School.” The estimated cost is $1,675,635, according to the agenda.
A RAW was necessary after a 2015 Preliminary Environmental Assessment report revealed high levels of dangerous pesticides, including dieldrin, in the soil at the school site. Those findings were published in Spring 2016. District staff then submitted a RAW for DTSC’s review and approval. That plan includes off-hauling the contaminated soil from the site.
How we got here
The Borello family and Lupine Investors donated the land for the purpose of building an elementary school in the middle of new developments in the affluent neighborhood on the corner of Peet Road and Mission Avenida in February 2003.
McKim Design Group was awarded the architectural design services and master planning for the school in Dec. 2015. A school cleanup agreement with the Department of Substances Control for the property was ratified by the school board in May 2016.
“The agreement includes DTSC’s review of the Removal Action Workplan (RAW), oversight of the implementation of the RAW, and/or review and comment on a Removal Action Completion Report, and other site investigation activities,” according to the June 27 agenda.
Director of Construction Casino Fajardo and Assistant Superintendent Kirsten Perez are the designated presenters for the meeting.
Closed session will begin at 2 p.m. Trustee Donna Ruebusch is scheduled to listen in via teleconference from Los Angeles, according to the agenda.
