This One WILL Get Interesting

The time is very quickly approaching for asbestos to be dealt with, grounds of a former military installation to be moved, historical buildings to be demolished or relocated, and work to go ahead on finally building an 810-seat campus for about 500 students in a school district that may still have to lay off teachers and other employees.

"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" continues to be what seems to be the intentions of L.A.U.S.D.'s highly budgeted Facilities Services Division.

Now it is time for OUR community to make absolutely sure whatever is done on the Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur, it is done with safety being the very most important issue.

The next steps in building a new campus will provide the most environmentally challenging aspects to the project, to the local residents, the workers on the site, the kids attending the Point Fermin Outdoor Education Center, people enjoying activities and Angels Gate Cultural Center and all the folks who use the buildings on the Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur, AND the people who work at and visit the Fort MacArthur Military Museum, the Marine Mammal Rescue Center, the Oiled Bird Recovery Center and any remaining students and staff of Angels Gate High School.

March 2009 could see the most hazardous work beginning on the site and it is probably up to all of us to make sure we and the members of OUR community are not harmed in the forthcoming processes.

We will need folks to watch that all truck trailers containing all types of material from the site have been covered and the covers remain in place while the material departs OUR community.

We will need to watch and make sure that workers on the site adhere to only the safest practices and that whatever goes on at the site goes on with the safety of everyone as the most important issue, no matter what goes on.

We need to continue to make sure representatives of L.A.U.S.D. and its contracted companies continue to provide honest, reliable, and continued communication with anyone who asks any question about anything about the project.

We have seen what L.A.U.S.D. and its contractors can do to a school site and we must make sure nothing even remotely bad happens in OUR community.

On another matter, the very hotly contested new elementary school in Echo Park is now being held up because the City Councilman in that area has not signed a document necessary for the project to go forward.

Since at least one roadway near the site will have to be altered, the Councilman's signature is required and he is not willing to provide it without further studies dealing with roadways and transportation being done.

This just might portend something similar with SRHS 15 because Alma Street is slated for a great deal of work being done on it for the SRHS 15 project and we still have issues dealing with the Barlow-Saxton intersection with Gaffey Street.

If a signature is required from Janice Hahn in the future, I hope she thinks long and hard about providing that signature when there will be so many changes along Gaffey and Alma necessary.

If Ms. Hahn only supports a campus having no more than 500 seats, perhaps L.A.U.S.D. should consider altering its plans and reduce its costs by building a campus that would never have more than 500-seats.