COLLEGE CITIZENS’ OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
Monday, March 10, 2014
5:30 p.m. – Arroyo Room 1
MINUTES
MEMBERSHIP PRESENT: / MEMBERSHIP ABSENT:Eugene Hernandez / Donald Neal
Benjamin Williams
Irene Galvan
Irwin Silon
FACILITATOR PRESENT: / GUESTS/RESOURCE MEMBERS:
Dr. Monte E. Perez (LAMC) / Tara Ward (LAMC)
Walter Bortman (LAMC)
Daniel Villanueva (LAMC)
Note: Written notes of the meeting were misplaced. The meeting start and adjournment time have been lost.
WELCOME/APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Dr. Perez notified the committee that the College Citizen’s Oversight Committee chair Edward Woods passed away during the December holidays. The meeting came to order by Dr. Perez who asked VP Danny Villanueva to chair the meeting in place of Edward Woods. After a delay, quorum was reached and the November 2013 minutes were approved by the committee with no changes.
REPORT FROM PROJECT DIRECTOR:
The project director was unable to attend the meeting due to a meeting conflict.
REPORT FROM COLLEGE PRESIDENT:
§ President’s Update:
District office is preparing to close out the A/AA/J bond construction projects in a positive position and preparing for the possibility of the state offering another bond in 2016. In the meantime, construction projects that are on the deferred list will remain there if in case another bond is approved.
District office has approved the bid for a new construction project management company, AECOM, to manage the construction projects around the campuses. AECOM is centralizing construction decisions and has reduced construction management staff on every campus. The Gateway Science and Engineering staff has been reduced from 25 to about 5 staff members with Bill Osborne as the new campus CPM.
§ Media Arts Update:
Kemp Bros. is contracted through the surety to fix the structural issues of the Media Arts building and they have begun stage 2 of the project to begin building completion.
The Media Arts building is scheduled for completion Spring 2016.
Dr. Perez has requested a tour of the Media Arts building and informed the committee about Kemp Bros concerns for liability and scheduling.
o Regarding the flooding in campus center – the drains that lead from the Media Arts building to the campus center were not filled properly and the campus center basement level flooded about ¼ to ½ of an inch during the rains. The LAMC facilities team worked hard to remove the water and hired outside companies to help make the area safe for students and staff. The total estimated cost covered by insurance is around $20,000.
§ Central Plant:
The central plant is the highest priority for the campus. LAMC pays the highest utility bills throughout the nine campuses, but the district office nor has the project management team, AECOM moved on approving the construction of the central plant. Energy plans have been reviewed and District made a new plan, but they have yet to discuss it.
Question: What is being used as the plant now?
Answer: Each building has its own energy system now, mostly chillers on each building that cools the buildings in the summer.
Question: Are the funds available to construct the plant and how much has been funded?
Answer: Yes, the funds are available and $11 million has been allocated to the construction of the central plant
Question: What about solar technology?
Answer: Solar is only a part of the energy solution. Solar is very expensive and the rebates will not benefit the college. We need one place to chill the water to air condition the buildings.
Question: Is it possible to develop a letter to the District and AECOM from the CCOC membership to encourage the district to make a decision on the central energy plant?
Answer: Yes, the VP of Administrative Services can meet with the various members to work on sending a letter to the District.
o The restrooms in the IA building were scheduled for repair and once the construction team opened the walls they found many irregularities with the restroom structure and the drainage. All changes to the restroom will need to be approved at the state level which increases the timeline for completion.
§ College Report:
LAMC has grown by 4% between July 1 and June 30, 2014.
LAMC has the highest enrollment per class of the nine colleges. We estimate about 38 students per classroom.
LAMC currently has 10,400 students but is looking forward to growing another 2-3% in the fall.
LAMC will end the spring semester in the black
LAMC will be offering a summer session one early 8 week session and a late 5 week session.
Question: Can LAMC offer more courses on Friday?
Answer: The Board of Trustees is reviewing student scheduling and course completion timelines and faculty offering courses on Friday is back on the table for negotiations.
REPORT FROM ASO REPRESENTATIVE: NONE
PUBLIC SPEAKERS: NONE
OLD BUSINESS: NONE
NEW BUSINESS:
CCOC Nomination and Approval of New CCOC chair
The CCOC voted for Benjamin Williams as the new committee chair.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting adjourned with a moment of silence for Edward Woods.
PROPOSED MEETING CALENDAR FOR 2014:
a. July 21, 2014
b. September 15, 2014
c. November 17, 2014
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