Vallecitos School District approves three facilities contracts

The May 11 meeting of the Vallecitos School District board included the approval of three contracts addressing Vallecitos Elementary School facilities.

The contract with Nexon Corporation will give the San Diego company $9,245 for abatement services which will be part of the renovation of Classroom 7. The oversight of the abatement process will be performed by Vista Environmental Consulting, which has an office in San Marcos and will be paid $4,555 for that work.

Barkshire Laser Leveling, which is based in San Juan Capistrano, received two related contracts totaling $48,700 for laser leveling of the athletic field. All of the contract awards were on 3-0 board votes with Sally Forester unable to participate due to a family issue and one vacant seat.

Nexon will remove and dispose of vinyl composition floor tile which contains asbestos, although the floor mastic will remain. Nexon will also remove and dispose of approximately 30 linear feet of built-in casework and will sanitize that area where mold remediation is needed. Exposed surfaces will be sanitized to allow for post-clearance testing by a third party.

Vista Environmental Consulting will provide daily abatement oversight, air monitoring, and clearance. The company will also monitor for asbestos, lead, and suspected mold.

The Barkshire contract for the field leveling is $29,000 while a $19,700 contract covers the running track. The leveling will provide a safe area for sports, exercise, and other activities and will also prevent ongoing flooding from rain which causes damage and creates expenses to repair various outdoor areas.

The laser leveling of the field will be complemented by a sweeper which will remove organic material. After the field is swept, Barkshire will add 150 cubic yards of soil and sand organic topdressing material and the laser topdressing will encompass the entire field from the goalposts to each side of the running track.

An additional 200 cubic yards of material will elevate the area by the basketball courts to provide for proper drainage. After the area is topdressed the field and the area by the basketball courts will be seeded.

The leveling will impact irrigation heads. "We're going to have to do some irrigation adjustment," said Vallecitos Board President Michael Darnley.

Improvements to the irrigation pump will also be needed. "The existing pump doesn't have enough pressure to feed those sprinklers in that whole area," said San Diego County Office of Education Project Specialist Eric Berg, whose SDCOE function is to assist 15 small school districts with facilities.

The existing running track will be ripped prior to the laser leveling. Barkshire will provide stabilized decomposed granite to raise the track on the northwest side and will add material around the entire track to eliminate low areas. A double drum roller will compact the surface after the track area has been leveled and the decomposed granite has been added. Additional decomposed granite will fill in the shot put area. A water truck will provide moisture for the compacting activity.

Berg's activity included assisting the school district with finding contractors who are willing to undertake smaller-scale jobs. "We were kind of frustrated being on the radar with bigger contractors," Darnley said.

The Vallecitos School District received three bids for the Classroom 7 abatement services.

Replacement of the flooring and casework is not part of the abatement contract. "Casework takes weeks to build, especially one of that size," Berg said.

Other work on Classroom 7 may also occur. "We can actually build the room just like the one next door," Darnley said. "It's something to think about."