SM takes heaviest hit in slashed bond proposal
SMC — An emergency meeting has been called to reconsider a controversial $175 million bond scrapped earlier this week after it fell one vote shy of support.
The Santa Monica College Board of Trustees will meet Friday at 8:30 a.m. to discuss a reduced version of the contentious bond, which has been criticized by some community leaders for being too large — and for being brought up too late in the election cycle.
The city of Santa Monica takes the heaviest hit under the revised, $135 million proposal. Whereas the previous plan proposed $75 million in projects at SMC, $75 million in joint efforts with Santa Monica City Hall and $25 million in joint projects with Malibu City Hall, the new proposal has just $45 million for joint projects with Santa Monica City Hall and a slightly reduced amount for SMC.
Bond proposals require two-thirds approval from the board. That’s why the $175 million bond failed at a Monday meeting, despite garnering votes from four of the seven trustees.
If one board member switches his or her vote to support the bond measure, voters will decide on it in November. If passed, the bond money would be spent to build and upgrade several buildings at SMC, buy more open space in Santa Monica and Malibu, and fund the development of other properties throughout the city.
Taken off the project list Wednesday were upgrades to the pier aquarium, and construction of both an arboretum at the planned Civic Center downtown and a children’s fitness park adjacent to the SMC track and stadium, among other projects.
Repairs and new construction at the old Marion Davies estate at 415 Pacific Coast Highway were included in an earlier proposal, but had been pulled by Wednesday.
It’s unclear who called the emergency meeting.
College officials said the emergency meeting was called as a “revision item” by Margaret Quinones, chairwoman of the board. Quinones couldn’t be reached for comment.
SMC Trustee Carole Currey, who abstained from voting on the bond Monday, said only somebody who voted against the bond could call an emergency meeting to reconsider. As vice chair, Currey sat in on a meeting with Quinones and SMC president Dr. Piedad F. Robertson on Wednesday to discuss the Friday meeting. Currey indicated she may decide to support the new bond after all.
“I had emphasized from the very beginning I thought it was an enormous amount and very ambitious, and I thought at this time it was too much to add to the many things the college had on its plate,” she said. “I still believe that, but if it can be altered so it’s not so enormous — it was a very visionary and very remarkable plan, and we would like to support that for the future.”
Currey and SMC Trustee Nancy Greenstein will both be out of town but will call in to participate in the special meeting. Greenstein will call in from Boston, Currey from Utah.
SMC Trustee Graham Pope, who voted against the bond, could not be reached for comment.
SMC Trustee Annette Shamey, the only other trustee to vote against the bond, declined to say if she called for the emergency meeting or if she would reconsider her “no” vote.
“This has all happened very quickly,” she said. “I don’t know what to expect.”
“This has all happened very quickly... I don’t know what to expect.” — – ANNETTE SHAMEY SMC trustee
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 5, 2004. Read the original PDF.