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Minutes
Merced
Community College District
Prop 39 Citizens Oversight Committee Minutes
Saturday,
October
4, 2003 - 9:00 a.m.
Merced College Tri-College Center Board Room
Members Present:
Bob Edminster, Michelle Allison, Chris Tafoya,
Keith Groniga, Maggie Randolph, Mary Villalta Brooks,
Gerald Hoyt
Members Absent:
Barbara Ward
Others Present:
Larry Johnson, Marvin Smith, Joe Allison, Terry Ruscoe, Terry Eyrich,
Dave Younger, Sheila Flores (recording)
The meeting was called
to order at 9:05 a.m. by Larry Johnson. Michelle Allison led the Pledge
of Allegiance.
- Hearing of the
Public
(An opportunity will be given to citizens to address the committee on
matters of the bond process B a five minute time limit will be allotted
to each speaker, with a maximum of twenty minutes to each subject, unless
extended by the Chairperson.)
There was
nothing from the public.
- Appointment of
Chairperson and Co-Chairperson
Larry Johnson
informed members that the Oversight Committee Bylaws state that Dr.
Duran is responsible for selecting the first Chairperson. Therefore,
Dr. Duran appointed Chris Tafoya as committee Chairperson. Chris Tafoya
asked for a volunteer to serve as co-chairperson. Since there were no
volunteers the selection of the co-chairperson was tabled and moved
to the next meeting.
- Approval of Minutes
from the June 11, 2003 Meeting
It was MSCU
(Randolph/Groniga) to approve the minutes with the following correction:
change spelling of “Villalto” to “Villalta”.
- Presentations
- Merced Campus
and Los Banos Campus Projects
Dave Younger,
District Architect with Lionakis Beaumont Design Group Inc, gave
the committee a presentation of the Bond Projects for both campuses.
(A copy of the presentation is available by contacting Sheila Flores
at MCCD.)
Dave explained
each of the guiding principals that led to the sequence of bond
projects.
Dave then
described each of the Los Banos Projects. The new campus will be
housed on a donated site of land on West Highway 152. The land around
the site will be developed by the donor.
The first
phase of construction of the Los Banos Campus will include Site
Development and a Classroom/Library Building. These projects are
totally state funded. In an effort to maintain state funding for
these projects, the District will not be able to start the Academic
Technology Building and Vocational Educational Building until after
the first phase is completed.
The first
Los Banos Campus Bond Sale net $5.14 million. A subsequent bond
sale will net approximately $6.93 million and is planned to occur
in August 2005.
The Merced
College Campus Projects include the Fire and Safety Improvement
Road (North and South), Science Building Remodel, Business Resource
Center, Learning Resource Center, Allied Health Building, Technology
Training Building, Agriculture Science and Technology Building,
Access Improvement, and miscellaneous renovation projects.
The first
Merced Campus Bond Sale net $20 million. Subsequent bond sales scheduled
for 2006 and 2010 will net approximately $33.5 million.
Dave explained
that some of the bond dollars will be utilized for District Contribution
towards projects forwarded to the state for requests for funding.
This will allow the District to obtain state funding, which will
allow bond dollars to go further. However, in order for the District
to remain competitive, it is very important that the District does
not overbuild, thereby affecting the capacity-to-load ratios. The
state uses the District’s capacity-to-load ratios, along with
other variables, to determine eligibility for state funding.
Dave concluded
with an explanation of potential impacts to the Bond Sequence.
Mary Villalta
Brooks asked if the District was competing with other Community
Colleges for state funding. Dave said that the District is always
in competition with other colleges for funding and that is why maintaining
competitive capacity-to-load ratios throughout the entire process
is extremely important.
Dave added
that funding from the state relies on the passage of state bond
elections. For example, the Science Building Remodel funding is
contingent on the March 2004 bond passing. If the bond does not
pass, or if the bond is moved to the November election, the schedule
for the project is moved further back.
Mary Villalta
Brooks asked if the teachers were asked for input to the selection
of the bond projects. Terry Eyrich explained that through the District’s
shared governance process, several meetings and workshops were held
to receive input. From these meetings and input from our educational
consultant the District established a list of bond projects. This
list represents a very well thought out plan, according to Dr. Eyrich.
Dave Younger
added that a 3% inflation rate has been built into the plan over
the life of the bond.
Chris
Tafoya asked if the District is responsible for Environmental Studies
on the Los Banos Campus. Terry Ruscoe said that the District is
responsible for the donated land and we are in the process of completing
all EIR documents for the Merced Campus and Los Banos Campus. The
documents should be completed by next year.
Bob Edminster
asked if the dairy located near the Los Banos Campus property is
part of the developer’s plan. Dave Younger said the donor
plans on developing the entire area around the Los Banos Campus
site.
- Discussion and/or
Action
- Reporting Process
Marvin
Smith referred to the financial portion of the Draft Annual Committee
Report and introduced Joe Allison, District Director of Fiscal Services.
Joe explained
that they took the information from the last committee meeting and
compiled the financial documents for the period ending June 30,
2003.
For clarification
purposes, Larry Johnson explained that this annual report will be
presented for approval at the next Bond Oversight Committee meeting.
Next year’s annual report (period ending June 30, 2004) will
be available at the fall meeting for approval.
After
review of the financial documents the committee was pleased with
the format and asked for the following additions/changes:
- More detailed
description of work performed by consultants.
- Project
order changed to “actual sequence”.
Marvin added that next year the financials will include figures
for 2002-03, 2003-04 and the totals to-date.
- Annual Bond
Oversight Committee Report
Larry
Johnson referred to the draft Annual Report. He explained that this
document represents the committee’s actions through June 30,
2003. The committee is required by law to compile an annual report.
After
a review of the document the committee agreed to accept the draft
document.
Sheila
will prepare the document for approval at the next Bond Oversight
Committee Meeting.
Chris
Tafoya asked if representatives from the local newspapers were invited
to attend the meetings. He felt that since the main part of the
committee’s duties is to inform the public it would be advisable
that the newspaper representatives attend the meetings. Chris added
that news releases would be a good avenue for distribution of the
information.
Mary Villalta
Brooks said that she would like to see a representative from the
Los Banos Enterprise at the next meeting.
Sheila
informed Chris that all newspaper representatives are notified and
invited to each of the committee meetings.
Larry
Johnson said that the District public information officer will be
invited to the next Bond Oversight Committee meeting and a news
release announcing approval of the annual report will be done.
- Bond Oversight
Committee Bylaws
Larry Johnson referred to the Prop 39 Bond Oversight Committee Bylaws
that were reviewed by the committee at the last meeting and approved
by the MCCD Board of Trustees at the June 17, 2003 meeting.
There
was no discussion of this item.
- Date and Time
of the Next Meeting
The next
meeting will be held on Saturday, March 13, 2003 at 9 a.m. at the
Los Banos Campus.
- Campus Tour
At this time
of the meeting, the committee was given a tour of the Merced College
Campus.
- Meeting Adjournment
The meeting adjourned
at 11:45 a.m.
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