June 15, 2009 Minutes of Facilities Committee Meeting
The Facilities Committee of the Board of Trustees of Illinois Valley Community College District No. 513 met at 1:30 p.m. on Monday June 15, 2009 in the Board Room (C307) at Illinois Valley Community College.
Committee Members Physically Present:
Dennis Thompson, Chair
David Mallery
Leslie-Anne Englehaupt
Others Physically Present:
Thomas C. Setchell, Board Member
Jerry Corcoran, President
Rick Pearce, Vice President for Learning and Student Development
Cheryl Roelfsema, Vice President for Business Services and Finance
Bob Marshall, Vice President for Student Services
Lori Scroggs, Vice President for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness
Gary Johnson, Director of Facilities
Paul Basalay, Architect
Reed Wilson, Economic Development/City of Ottawa
Bob Eschbach, Mayor of Ottawa
Steve Alvin, Faculty Union President
Sue Isermann, Associate VP for Career and Technical Education
Emily Vescogni, Director of Learning Technologies
Fran Brolley, Community Relations and Marketing
Kevin Caufield, News Tribune
Melissa Garzanelli, The Times
Rich Koshko, WCMY News Director
The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Mr. Thompson, committee chair.
OTTAWA SATELLITE CENTER
Dr. Jerry Corcoran invited Bob Eschbach, Mayor of Ottawa, and Reed Wilson, Director of Economic Development for Ottawa, to the meeting to discuss the possibility of establishing a satellite center in Ottawa. IVCC serves a significant number of students from the east side of the district and Dr. Corcoran believes IVCC can do a better job by locating a satellite center in Ottawa. Multiple sites are available. The City of Ottawa is committed to partner with the College in achieving three of its strategic goals: 1) helping more students achieve their academic and career goals; 2) promoting the value of higher education; and 3) growing and nurturing our resources. Classes will be offered morning, noon, and night. A survey of students from the eastern portion of the district was conducted to gather data to help with the decision of a satellite center. Of the 571 responses, 534 indicated an interest in IVCC course offerings in Ottawa. The survey offered three potential locations and the responses were: 305 – North Ottawa; 334 – South Ottawa; 255 – Downtown Ottawa with some responding with an interest in more than one location. Mayor Eschbach indicated that the City of Ottawa will buy a building, renovate it, and lease it to the College. He understands the challenges the College is facing with the possibility of a new building on the main campus and the City of Ottawa is willing to waive the first year of rent. This would give IVCC time to market the classes and programs and also be closer to receiving state reimbursement for the credit hours generated from the Ottawa site. Dr. Corcoran believes this plan has great merit and would like to present a business plan at the July Board meeting. The hope is to have the classes start in the fall of 2010. Mr. Mallery was concerned if the satellite center would attract new students or just take the students that would be driving to IVCC. The administration does know there is an unserved population but does not know the specific number that could be attracted. The administration does not know if students who are enrolled would take another course if the class were offered in Ottawa. But there is a possibility that residents in Ottawa interested in continuing education classes would sign up if the classes were offered in Ottawa. Mr. Mallery wanted to know if there was an exit clause in the business plan if enrollments did not increase. Dr. Corcoran stated the business plan would not exceed four years. Ottawa has a lot at stake and will also be marketing the classes. Dr. Corcoran believes with both parties together, the center has a good possibility of succeeding. Serena, Marquette, and Ottawa high schools will begin reaching out to the high school population so that when the students graduate, they will go to IVCC in Ottawa. Mr. Mallery was concerned on how the College would measure the success. Dr. Corcoran stated the administration knows now how many students from Marquette and Ottawa high schools attend IVCC now so if there is an increase, there is data to measure the effectiveness. Mayor Eschbach stated the City of Ottawa is very excited and willing to make an investment in purchasing the building. Negotiations have begun and the City has 90-120 days to decide whether to go ahead with the purchase. Once the College makes the commitment, the City of Ottawa will make the purchase. Mr. Thompson stated the College is in a position to offer services and increase enrollment. He understands there is a risk involved. Mayor Eschbach stated he is a graduate of IVCC and appreciates the importance of a community college education and the accessibility and affordability it offers. He noted that the City of Ottawa has philanthropic opportunities available to offer more programs. The east side of the IVCC district is growing and more people can be reached by IVCC such as GED students and the older population who do not want to drive to Oglesby. There is also the possibility of Northern Illinois University offering courses in Ottawa which is an untapped area. The recommendation from the committee was to proceed with the Ottawa Satellite Center through Dr. Corcoran’s office in establishing a four-year agreement that will benefit both parties. Mr. Mallery stressed the fact that he wanted to be assured that the measurement of enrollment be included in the business plan. It was suggested a special meeting be scheduled for the whole board to discuss the Ottawa center.
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Paul Basalay, IVCC’s architect, has been meeting with faculty and staff on the programs and services to be included in the new building. The input presented by Mr. Basalay was for authorization to move forward to the next step. Mr. Basalay stressed the fact that nothing is final at the moment. The current square footage of the building is about 78,000 square feet. At the last meeting some space was eliminated. Mr. Basalay tried to double up on space as much as possible. The plan is to wrap the new building around Building F – Cultural Centre. The parking lot was made larger and will be very close to the new building. There will be no basement in the new building because there is no basement in Building F and it would be too hard and costly to tie them together. There was discussion about relocating the shipping and receiving department to the middle level in Building E (in back of the new building). This would alleviate semis traveling through the main campus. Mr. Basalay suggested a need for evaluating the master plan and identifying everything that needs to be implemented at some time in the future. Shipping and receiving would not have to be moved at this time. Dr. Corcoran suggested maybe shipping and receiving would not have to be moved at all because the student traffic will have changed due to the new parking lot and new building. The diagrammatic layout of the new building included two entrances on the south. Mr. Setchell was concerned that most traffic would come from the new parking lot and enter the building on the east. Mr. Basalay stated this concern was also raised by college staff and will be considered. The original Technology and Workforce Development (TWD) building was 52,000 square feet. By combining programs and services from the TWD and the Community Instructional Center, it is now approximately 78,000 square feet. The Board will need to decide if this is in the best interest of the College. Mr. Basalay stated if the Board decides they want the space, then they need to decide what the College can afford and the architects will make it happen. Mr. Thompson suggested another item to consider – a green building. Geothermal, solar panels, etc. all have a high price tag. The College may receive reimbursement from grants and over the years reduce utility costs. It was decided funding options should be included in the next Audit/Finance Committee meeting. The TWD building cost was $13 million with a $5 million match and 2.75 million for technology and equipment. IVCC’s share was a total of $7.75 million. With additional money from the state, IVCC will receive $23 million and IVCC’s share of the building and equipment will be $7 million. The plan for the 78,000 square foot building is a decision tool and not a schematic design. If the Board wants to reduce the square footage, then this needs to be discussed. Mr. Thompson proposed the whole board see the plan and the audit/finance committee report on the funding options. Mr. Setchell also suggested the possibility of donors and naming parts of the building after the donor and to also consider metal detectors for the entrances to the building. Mr. Thompson had three issues: 1) meet program needs; 2) make the building all that it can be and attractive; and 3) find the needed resources. If a capital campaign is needed, could this be directed through the foundation to certain target areas? Mr. Setchell suggested prioritization must come from the administration. No action will be taken at the June Board meeting.
RAMP (RESOURCE ALLOCATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM)
The RAMP reports are updated each year to secure a place on the RAMP list of projects to be funded by the State of Illinois. The cost of the RAMP projects were increased by 4.3 percent, the allowable inflationary rate. The RAMP reports will be presented at the June Board meeting for approval and submitted to ICCB by June 30th.
BOARD POLICY – PARKING
The new parking lot (#7) needs to be identified in Board policy #4018. The operations committee’s recommendation was to open all parking lots to everyone. However, Mr. Steve Alvin, faculty union president, would like to see designated areas for faculty and Mr. Mallery would like to see Lot 7 be open to students only. It was the consensus of the committee to designate Lot 7 for students and visitors only and Lots 1 & 6 for faculty and staff.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.