Board Business Meeting Minutes, October 17, 2012…page 1

REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF LARAMIE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT, STATE OF WYOMING, HELD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012, ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, PETERSEN BOARD ROOM, LARAMIE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Board Present:Chairman Greg Thomas, Vice Chairwoman Carol Merrell, Secretary Kevin Kilty, TreasurerEdMosher, and Trustees BillDubois, John Kaiser, and Brenda Lyttle

Staff Present:President Joe Schaffer; Vice Presidents Judy Hay, Pat Schwerdtfeger and Stan Torvik; Associate Vice Presidents Lisa Murphy and Lynn Stalnaker; Administrator, Faculty and Staff Members KimAdams,Herry Andrews, Jeri Griego,Jeff Shmidl,and Sher Warren; and Legal Counsel GayWoodhouse and Tara Nethercott

Visitors:Dan Baxter (Kaiser and Company), Aerin Curtis (Wyoming Tribune-Eagle), Christie DePoorter (Downtown Development AuthorityExecutive Director), Don Erickson, Misty Heil, Christine Lummis, and David Shaul (Trustee Candidates), Glen Garrett, Alan O’Hashi, and Jim Weaver (Hynds Capitol Core Project), Shawn Havel and Jennifer Stogsdill (Wingspan Co-editors) and Susann Robbins (Wingspan Online Editor),Rick Thompson (Hathaway and Kunz), andMichael Wondrash (Student Government Association President)

  1. CALL TO ORDER of the October 17, 2012, Regular Business Meeting of the Laramie County Community College District Board of Trustees – Board Chairman Greg Thomas

Board Chairman Greg Thomas convened the October 17, 2012, Regular Business Meeting of the Laramie County Community College District Board of Trustees at 7:02 p.m. and welcomed guests and trusteecandidates.

  1. MINUTES – Approval of theSeptember 19, 2012, Regular Business Meeting Minutes– Board Chairman GregThomas

Dr. Kilty moved and Mr. Dubois seconded,

MOTION: That the Board of Trustees approves the September 19, 2012, Regular Business Meeting Minutes as written.

MOTION CARRIEDunanimously.

  1. REPORTS TO THE BOARD
  1. LCCC Reports

1)SGA (Student Government Association) – Michael Wondrash, President

Mr. Wondrash reminded the Board of the upcoming October 30thHalloween Celebration and Costume Contest jointly sponsored by the Student Government Association and the Staff Senate. He also shared other upcoming SGA activities includingan iPad raffle to encourage participation in campus activities; an October 25thvoter registration drive; an online Sodexo comment survey; and adepartment-by-department food drive service learning project. He noted further the department that donates the most food will be awarded a travelling trophy to display until next year’s food drive.

2)Staff Senate– Kevin Yarbrough, President; Kim Adams,Vice President-Classified; Jodi Weppner, Vice President-Professional; Christine Sowards, Secretary; Tiffany Gutierrez, Treasurer

Staff Senate Vice President-Classified Kim Adams reported on behalf of Mr. Yarbrough. She also reminded the Board of the October 30thjoint SGA and Staff Senate Halloween Celebration and Costume Contest as well as the November 16thChili/Soup Cook-off. Monies raised from the Chili/Soup Cook-off will benefit the Randy Miller Memorial/Staff SenateScholarship.

3)Faculty Senate–Jeff Shmidl, President;RobVanCleave,Vice President; Meredith Roehrs, Secretary

Mr. Shmidl shared the Faculty Senate is collecting input on the proposed campus reorganization, assessment concerns (e.g., how assessment ties into program review and strategic planning), and the 2014-2015 academic calendar. Speaking to the academic calendar, Mr. Shmidl pointed out the University of Wyoming’s, school district’s, and LCCC’s calendars are all different, which makes creating one LCCC calendar that coordinates with both the school district’s and the University’s difficult. The Faculty Senate will be working with LLT and Dr. Schwerdtfeger to gather additional input on the calendar’s length and starting and ending dates. Mr. Shmidl also emphasized the Faculty Senate appreciates Dr. Schwerdtfeger’s regular attendance at their meetings as well as President Schaffer’s when his schedule allows.

4)LCCCEA (LCCC Education Association) – Les Balsiger,President; Anne Wolff,Vice President; Trina Kilty,Secretary; Jeff Shmidl,Treasurer– No Report

  1. Public Comment – None
  1. PRESIDENT’S REPORTS – President Joe Schaffer
  1. Vice President of Academic Affairs Search Update

President Schaffer prefaced his update by acknowledging the work Dr. Schwerdtfeger has begun to accomplish some of the campus’s academic needs during his interim appointment. Addressing the Vice President of Academic Affairs search, President Schaffer stated the search committee has held its first meeting and charted a timeline for the search process. The Search Committee has confidence that the timing of this search will produce a qualified candidate pool. As of today,applications from six qualified candidates have been received.

  1. Campus Reorganization Update, Key Indicators of Institutional Effectiveness, and Organizational Chart

The campus is entering into the second phase of a three-phase proposed reorganization. College Council representatives have solicited input from their constituents and will be discussing that input with regard to the advancement of some of the elements of Phase II during their October 25th meeting.

The Key Indicators serve as a reminder that the College will soon be pulling the first round of data for the performance (outcomes) and efficiency indicators (means), hopefully before the holidays. The data will be used to measure the health of the institution; i.e., is the College (employees and students) performing in the manner expected. Accompanying the performance and efficiency indicators will be a full comprehensive handbook explaining the specific “statistic of interest” for each; i.e., what and when data is being calculated; how data is being calculated; what the data is being benchmarked against; and a rationale for why the data is being calculated.President Schaffer said the indicators and handbook will be posted to the College’s website.

The organizational chart gives a snapshot of where the College was in January 2012, where the College is now, and where the College may be as a result of the Phase II proposed recommendations.

President Schaffer responded to trustee questions as follows:

-The College participates in concurrent enrollment so that students can pursue college credit and engage in the community college culture while they are still in high school. Doing so has led to faster accumulation of college credits and greater persistence to degree.

-The College is evaluating its core abilities and will do so more comprehensively during the assessment process. The assessment project will involve an examination of the current assessment framework including the vernacular and the tools used to assess student success followed by a determination of a systemic way to collect the data. Essentially, assessment is faculty driven through the Student Learning Assessment Committee (SLAC), chaired by faculty member Laura Grow. The SLAC’s facultymembersdetermine what is assessed and work in tandem withkey administrative support staff (e.g., Ann Murray) who establish how the data is assessed.

-President Schaffer stated he is comfortable with the number of his direct reports being reduced by two since January, adding the depth in which he needs to be involved in his direct reports’ respective operations has also been reduced.

-President Schaffer acknowledged the Phase II reorganization proposal has generated significant comment and that the input shared with College Council representatives will be brought forward to the October 25thCollege Council meeting. He stated the reorganization’s proposals involve three essential discussion components: 1) how the reorganization elements would be implemented; 2) when would the reorganization elements be implemented; and 3) will the reorganization elements be implemented?College Council will be asked to make a recommendation on items 13, 14, and 15 (listed below) on which little comment has been received.

13. Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness

14. Athletics & Activities Division and Athletic Director

15. School of Health Sciences & Wellness and Dean of the School

Constituent feedback will continue to be gathered on the other items proposed in the Phase II reorganization. President Schaffer emphasized the reorganization’s proposals are being brought forward in response to the Board’s charge to create an organizational structure that will accomplish the Board’s goals to improve the campus environment; e.g., are there fewer internal issues and are students succeeding at a higher rate?

  1. Date of Special Election for Facilities Projects

President Schaffer asked the Board to consider holding a conversation to prepare for approaching the community/voters aboutsupporting the College’s University/Student Center and Flex-Tech Building projects. A special election could be held in May, August, or November of 2013, and each of these times hasunique strengths and weaknesses. The Board agreed the pros and cons about each of the proposed dates and the cost of a special election should be brought forward during their November 7thstudy session so a discussion can be held on election strategies.

  1. Next Policies and Procedures – A list of the policies and procedures to be next addressed will be provided to the Board during their November 7th study session.
  1. Phased Retirement Program

At Trustee Mosher’s request President Schaffer briefed the Board on the College’s phased retirement program included in Procedure 4140 Retirement. He stated that to date no one has opted for the phased retirement program, which allows an employee to reduce their workload (and pay) by 50%. He also pointed out that an employee may not draw retirement benefits from the State of Wyoming while participating in the phased retirement program. The College, however, does have to bear the health benefits cost of an employee who chooses this program. Employees hired prior to April 11, 1991, of which 42 are still employed by the College have another retirement option—the Transitional Opportunity Plan. Trustee Mosher requested the phased retirement program be examined as to how it might benefit the institution with the transition of new employees replacing long-term employees. President Schaffer will follow up on Trustee Mosher’s request.

  1. Public Comment– Trustee candidate David Shaul stated a special election would cost the same regardless of when it is held.
  1. BOARD REPORTS
  1. Board Committee Reports – Board ChairmanGreg Thomas serves on all committees.

1)Finance and Facilities – Dr. Kevin Kilty, Ed Mosher

-Current and Auxiliary Fund Budget Reports

-Current and Auxiliary Fund Balance Sheet Reports

Dr. Kilty reported the bulk of the very brief meeting held on October 9th was spent discussing the phased retirement program and clarifying the budget process. He also noted that when fund balances are adjusted for monies to be carried forward for FY 2013, the College’s reserve budget will be within the eight percent statutory requirement.

2)College Communications and Relations – Bill Dubois and Carol Merrell

Mrs. Merrell asked that the College Communications and Relations Committee be given a charge to which Chairman Thomas respondeda committee’s members are to review the focus of their committee at the beginning of each year at which time a decision is made whether a committee should continue or be dissolved. Trustee Kaiser noted that once a committee has completed its charge, the committee is then dissolved and Trustee Lyttle pointed out that recently approved Board Policy 1.2.6 Board Committees states: “Unless otherwise stated, a Board committee will cease to exist when its task is complete.”

3)Governance – John Kaiser and Brenda Lyttle

Trustee Lyttle offered the Governance Committee’s assistance with writing the next policies that will be brought to the Board.

4)2012 ACCT Congress – October 10-13 – Boston, Massachusetts – Bill Dubois and John Kaiser

Trustee Dubois submitted a written report that was distributed to the trustees. He noted for business meeting attendees that tremendous emphasis was placed on building curriculum between K-12 and the community colleges and that considerable discussion was held on the completion agenda and potential for graduate employment. He observed that hearing perspectives from larger community colleges was beneficial. Mr. Kaiser shared the Kresge, K-mart, Gates, and Lumina foundations are big proponents of the College Completion Agenda.

B.Public Comment – None

  1. APPROVAL ITEMS
  1. Hynds Capital Core Project – President Joe Schaffer

-Downtown Development Authority Letter of Support

President Schaffer stated the request for approval of a Letter of Intent to Mr. O’Hashi follows a lengthy presentation given to the Board during their October 3rd study session by the Hynds Capital Core Project group. The Letter of Intent outlines the Board’s interest and directs President Schaffer to work with the Hynds Capital Core group to accomplish the following within a 90-day period after which a report will be made to the Board.

1)“Complete a student housing preference survey to determine the likelihood that LCCC students would want to live off campus;

2)Evaluate and determine student housing management approaches that are best suited to the needs ofLCCC.”

Clarifications from additional discussion included the following:

-During the project’s one-year timeframe as designated in the Letter of Intent, the Hynds Group will not pursue other opportunities that would displace the College’s student housing option.

-The term “final use agreement” is a placeholder for what the final agreement will be called when it becomes legally binding.

-The Letter of Intent documents the interests and assurances by both the Board and the Hynds Group over the next year but does not obligate either the Board or the Hynds Group to pursue the project after the designated one-year timeframe.

-Exploratory costs, such as those associated with the printing and mailing of the student survey and staff research time, should be fairly nominal.

Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Christie DePoorter stated her board of directors would positively look at becoming a working partner for the project (absence of funding), adding the project would provide rare entrepreneur opportunities to combine education with work, ownership, and management experience afforded by the businesses who may also locate in the Hynds Building.

Trustees Merrell and Lyttle both voiced their enthusiasm for the project.

Ms. Lyttle moved and Mr. Dubois seconded,

MOTION: That the Board of Trustees expresses its formal intent to explore the options for student housing as part of the Hynds Capital Core Project, and directs the President to realize this intent by submitting the accompany letter and actively engaging in this exploration on behalf of theBoard.

MOTION CARRIEDunanimously.

  1. Albany County Campus Lease Agreement and Bonds Transfer to the Laramie County Community College Building Authority – President Joe Schaffer

President Schaffer stated conversations have been held with the Board during which Mr. Baxter, who serves as the College’s bond counsel, advised the Board on the refinancing of the Albany County Campus bonds and the lease arrangements with the Foundation. He pointed out the Board will be asked to take action on two resolutions this evening. The first resolution exercises the Board’s right to purchase the Albany County Campus property. The second resolution then resolves the Board to lease the College-owned ground to the LCCC Building Authority and the LCCC Building Authority to lease the ACC facility back to the College. The funds generated by the lease agreement will go toward servicing the debt assumed by the LCCC Building Authority.

Additional information from trustee questions was provided as follows:

-The option to purchase the property was solely that of the Laramie County Community College and not the Laramie County Community College Foundation.

-The debt’s refinancing is scheduled to be paid off in 2024, which is the same term as when the debt was held by the LCCC Foundation.

-The refinance will have no impact on the general obligation bond capacity of the College because the Laramie County Community College Building Authority,as the College’s financing conduit, will assume the debt.

-The Board will be signing only the resolutions tonight.

Mr. Dubois moved and Mr. Mosher seconded,

MOTION: That the Laramie County Community College Board of Trustees approves the adoption of a resolution to exercise the District’s option to purchase the Albany County Campus property and terminate that certain lease agreement dated as of November 15, 2004, between the District and the Laramie County Community College Foundation.

MOTION CARRIEDunanimously.

Mr. Dubois moved and Ms. Lyttle seconded,

MOTION: That the Laramie County Community College Board of Trustees approves the adoption of a resolution approving the ground lease and the facilities lease agreement each dated as of November 6, 2012, between the District and the Laramie County Community College Building Authority; approving the execution and delivery of an indenture of trust dated as of November 6, 2012, between the Building Authority and Wyoming Bank & Trust; approving the issuance and sale of refunding lease revenue bonds by the Building Authority; approving the sale of the bonds; and other details relatedthereto.