The Liberty Union High School District has made a proposal to the City of Brentwood concerning district land the city wants for its new Civic Center.

The land includes the current site of the district's Oak Street transportation facility (known as the bus barn) as well as the tennis courts and swimming pool at Liberty High School. The city would like to buy the land and help relocate the district facilities to make room for a new city hall and community building.

"We delivered to the city the district version of the agreement for the bus barn" last week, said Superintendent Dan Smith, adding that the deal includes the tennis courts and swimming pool.

Two weeks ago, city officials put the swimming pool on the negotiating table in the deal for the bus barn and tennis courts. The city also offered to finance the construction of an access road for La Paloma High School's new site on Guthrie Lane, but the road is not part of the district's current proposal.

"We wanted to give the bus barn priority, and also wanted to make sure La Paloma stays a completely separate issue," Smith said Wednesday. "The Board of Education spent a lot of time and gave great consideration to trying to present a fair agreement that will meet the interests of everyone."

City Councilman Chris Becnel said the city was considering the proposal, and would discuss it this week in closed session. "It's obvious that the school district put some time and effort into this, and we appreciate it," Becnel said.

Negotiations for the property hit a snag late last month when disagreements between the two agencies arose over a number of issues, including the zoning of the current La Paloma site, progress on the access road, and the land for the civic center.

There's urgency to move ahead on the Civic Center because it is an element that's key to the downtown's future. Pressure from a growing number of stores in other areas of the city is beginning to show in the form of empty storefronts downtown, and the revitalization of the area has been put on a fast track.

On May 8, the city hired an architect to draw up plans for the new Civic Center. City officials have said the hiring opened a window of about 30 days in which the bus barn deal must be completed, or they will turn to an alternative plan that does not require the purchase of district land.