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Littering, downtown safety issues and plans for the warm water pool dominated the meeting held between representatives of the city and the Berkeley Unified School District Friday. 

Nancy Holland, aide to District 4 Councilmember Dona Spring, informed school and city officials about complaints from constituents regarding excessive trash near Berkeley High School (BHS). 

“You can see broken glass, dead rats, food wrappings and toxic electronic waste, especially toward the rear end of Berkeley High,” she said.  

School Board Vice President John Selawsky told the board that the corner of Milvia and Channing was used as a dumping site. 

“People dump mattresses, desks and other junk there,” he said. “Also, there aren’t adequate trash receptacles around Berkeley High School. I find kids looking for them and then dropping their trash on the streets as there’s nowhere to put them.” 

District Superintendent Michele Lawrence acknowledged that littering around Berkeley High has been an ongoing problem. 

“There was a mess on one side but it’s going to be cleaned up,” she said. 

“The reality is, people are just slobs,” said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates. “And it’s not just the kids, it’s everyone. Today, I saw a young person spitting on the sidewalk and I said ‘you can’t do that.’” 

Holland stated that the city had reached its capacity with trash cans. “Why not do a joint effort [between the city and the school district] to teach people to respect our streets?” she asked. “What it needs is a structural change.” 

Warm water pool 

Deputy City Manager Lisa Caronna told committee members about the Disability Commission’s recent meeting to gather information from the community about the possible relocation of the warm water pool. 

The school district’s South of Bancroft Master Plan proposes to demolish the gymnasium that houses the warm water pool, which is used by disabled local residents. 

Friends Protecting Berkeley’s Resources sued the district in February for what it said was an inadequate environmental impact report on the demolition of the gymnasium and the pool. 

Possible relocation options for the pool include the Berkeley High tennis courts at Milvia, which is now a parking lot. Caronna added that a small task force of disability coordinators is working on a design for the parking lot, which would include costs. 

“A couple of people have approached me about turning Berkeley Iceland into a possible relocation for the warm water pool,” Bates said. “I am concerned that we would have the same problems there as we would have at Milvia.” 

Selawsky said that a possible relocation of the pool to the West Campus also merits discussion. 

Curvy Derby  

Committee members discussed the use of the school district’s East Campus Field, which is the proposed site for a regulation-size baseball diamond. 

“At what point will it be usable and will the community be able to get inside its gates?” Bates asked. 

Selawsky said the field would be ready for use in September. 

Lawrence remarked that the field was intended to be used by Berkeley High students. 

“We intend to make it available to the public through the use permit process,” she said. “Whether the community can use it for free is up for debate at the board level. There are maintenance and safety issues that need to be discussed. Broken glass and dog stuff is not a problem when you [only] have formal games going on. We need to remember that it is a teaching station, not a recreation station.” 

Selawsky said that the field would also be used by Berkeley Technology Academy (B-Tech) students. 

Downtown safety 

Deborah Badhia, director of the Downtown Berkeley Association, told committee members that an estimated 80 percent of BHS students frequent Shattuck Avenue during lunch break. 

“That’s a significant number of students,” she said, and asked if Berkeley High could send out its security officers to patrol downtown regularly. 

“The students respond a lot better to school administration,” she added. 

“Having the high school staff there makes a huge difference,” Selawsky said. “But we need to have a meeting of all the important associations, such as the Berkeley Police Department, UC Berkeley Police Department, BART Police and the school security staff to coordinate efforts. There have been more incidents going on downtown. More than I would like to see.” 

Lawrence remarked that it was not possible for any one agency to accommodate 3,000 kids at one time. 

“It has to be bigger than putting pressure on Berkeley High staff,” she said. “We try and do as many sweeps as possible. I do see our security people downtown, but I can’t see how frequently they do their job as I am not there all the time.”