CITRUS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT REGULAR MEETING (NO. 30) OF THE CITIZENS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CITRUS COLLEGE

Transcription

1 APPROVED CITRUS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT REGULAR MEETING (NO. 30) OF THE CITIZENS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CITRUS COLLEGE Educational Development Building Conference Room ED West Foothill Boulevard Glendora, CA Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. Regular Meeting No. 30 The Citizens Oversight Committee met for Regular Meeting No. 30 on Tuesday,, in the Educational Development Building, Conference Room ED135, at Citrus College, 1000 West Foothill Boulevard, Glendora, California Members Present Bernard Bollinger Helen Storland John Lundstrom Edmund Richardson William Cook Members Absent Arthur Corral Sharon Lewis Support Staff Carol Horton Judy Rojas Bob Bradshaw Guests Ariane Lehew I. CALL TO ORDER Bernard Bollinger called the meeting to order at 3:30pm. II. III. IV. INTRODUCTIONS No introductions necessary for this meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 MEETING Mr. Bollinger asked if everyone was able to review the minutes from the September 20, 2012 meeting. Mr. Cook moved that the minutes be approved as presented. The motion was seconded and the minutes were unanimously approved. 5 Yes PUBLIC COMMENT None.

2 Approved Minutes of Regular Meeting No. 30.Page 2 V. BOND REPORT- REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES Carol Horton distributed and reviewed the bond construction fund report for the period 7/1/12 through 11/30/12. Mrs. Horton reminded the committee that the Across Projects line item includes salaries for the Bond Program Manager, Administrative Assistant, Inspector of Record and the Purchasing Agent. Each project is listed with the funds we have spent within the period. The Fine Arts Building expenditures are for DSA fees for an additional year extension on the project. The Vocational Technology Building expenditures were for architectural fees for the Dynamometer room. The Gym Remodel expenditures are for close out fees to DSA (Division of the State Architect). The Administration Building remodel is currently the largest project and the expenditures are for our monthly progressive payments to the contractor. Tech C fees are for architectural services. This project has been reviewed and approved by DSA (Division of the State Architect). DSA is where our plans go for constructability review, access and life/safety review and approval. Total expenditures for the year are $890, We have received $13, in interest for the period. Mr. Cook asked if the fund balance was real dollars as opposed to unissued bonds. Mrs. Horton responded that this is cash from issued bonds which is held at the LA County Treasury and held in a separate fund from all other district funds. Mr. Bollinger asked what the projected balance will be at the end of all of these projects. Mrs. Horton stated that we do not currently have enough in cash to complete all of the projects on this list. We will be able to pay for the completion of the Administration Building as well as Tech C and planning and working drawings for the Campus Center and ED Remodel. We also have a couple of projects that need to be added to this list which is the IS Building and the Dental Assisting area remodel. We still have $29 million to issue. We have received a financial report from our investment advisor RBC Capital Markets. Based on that information our assessed value has increased about 2.4% (higher than the county average) but the County Controller increased the default rate from 4% to 8%. This means that tax collector is assuming that the tax payers will not have enough money to pay their property taxes and they will default our bond money to cover this amount. We have an obligation to the voters to not exceed $25 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. In 2010 we were at $ Last year we were at $ This year we will be at $25.90 and our investment advisor has calculated that in the next 4 years it could increase to $ He is recommending refinancing or refunding on the bonds already issued to lower the rate, getting us back to the $25.00 per $100,000 of assessed value. Carol Horton will recommend to the Board of Trustees that we issue $9 million in late winter or early spring to fund all projects on the list plus the 2 additional projects (Dental Assisting and IS Building) and hold off on the Fine Arts Building. If we issued for the Fine Arts Building we would have to issue (CABS) Cash Advance Bonds which would be too much debt for our district taxpayers and Mrs. Horton will not recommend this to our Board of Trustees. When the assessed valuation goes up we can reconsider issuing the remaining bonds. Currently we would love to have the new Fine Arts Building, but we do not need it due to our lowered enrollment.

3 Approved Minutes of Regular Meeting No. 30.Page 3 The Fine Arts Building has already been approved by DSA and has had two extensions from DSA, but will probably have to have another review to ensure that it is in code compliance. The two projects that will be added are the IS Building which is in need of a roof and mechanical systems and the Dental Assisting area. Dental Assisting is outdated and needs to be brought up to current standards; cabinets for drills, water etc. need plumbing and electrical improvements. The Bond language allows us to maintain or improve instructional spaces, so we are allowed to handle these projects with bond funds. We have extra funds to take care of some of these projects because the Tech C project was estimated at $2.5 million and it came in at $750,000. The Dental Assisting remodel will run about $500,000 and we will add a line item to the report for this. Mr. Cook asked what is Hayden Hall. Mrs. Horton responded that this is the oldest building on campus built in It is about 10,000 square feet and was used as our Health Center for many years. We have applied for state funding for 50% of the funding for this project and 50% will come out of bond funds. It will be restored and made into faculty offices, library and conference rooms. Mr. Cook also asked if the Vocational Technology Building was where the Dental Assisting area was located. Mrs. Horton stated that it was not. This building is the home of our automotive department. This project was listed in our bond project but we received 100% state funding. We continue to report the project on this because some extra items are paid from the bond. One of the items paid for out of the bond funds is the Dynamometer room for this building which was not done with the original project. This is a very specialized project and we have spent a lot of time and effort on this. Mrs. Storland stated that she appreciates the vocational programs at Citrus and feels that they are very important. Mrs. Horton noted that we have many Career Technical Programs including the RN and LVN programs, Dental Assisting, Recording Technology and Cosmetology. Career Technical Education is one of the top priorities from the state. VI. CONSTRUCTION UPDATE Bob Bradshaw distributed and reviewed the Bond Program Status Report. The Administration Building remodel is under construction. The windows are in the first and second floors. 95% of drywall is up. Framing is mostly done. We have some steel being installed between the old and new sections of the building. Electricians and plumbers are currently working. The underground fire line work out to Foothill is in process. The project should be done about June of 2013 and we hope to be in the building by the start of the fall 2013 semester. The Campus Center is on hold pending bond funding. The Fine Arts Building is on hold. Tech C will be bid at the beginning of the year. DSA has approved the plans.

4 Approved Minutes of Regular Meeting No. 30.Page 4 Carol Horton announced that Bob Bradshaw has worked with Citrus College for over 20 years. He first worked with tbp Architecture, who designed most of the buildings on this campus, and then came to work for us 8 years ago with the start of our bond program. Citrus handles the bond program management differently than other colleges. We have not had a construction management firm at all because of the expertise of our staff; facilities directors, supervisors and Bob Bradshaw. We have run the management of bond program for less than other districts. A good part of that is due to the work of Bob Bradshaw. Bob turned in his resignation today and will be working at El Camino College doing the same thing that he is doing here. El Camino just passed a $350 million bond and is just getting started on some major projects where our bond program is winding down. It is a good point in time for both Bob and Citrus. We have prepared for this and Fred Diamond, our Director of Facilities will oversee the remainder of the Administration Building remodel and the remaining projects. He has worked closely with Bob Bradshaw and will be able to transition easily. Congratulations to Bob and we will miss him. VII. ANNUAL REPORT Ariane Lehew stated that she has worked with many California K-12 Districts and community colleges over the last 20 years regarding their bond measures. She wanted to let the committee know that over the last couple of years it has been very difficult for the districts on issuing bonds, because of the decrease in assessed value, how they can continue and manage their bond programs. Carol Horton spoke to the committee about their decision to not use a construction management firm. Since the day Mrs. Lehew began working with Citrus she wanted to express to the committee the stewardship and care with which this bond program has been managed. Carol Horton and her staff have taken the fact that these are tax payer dollars being spent very seriously and she is very honored to have been involved with the Citrus program. It is a requirement of Prop 39 that bond funds are not spent on requirements imposed by Prop 39 and the staff has been very diligent to ensure that funds are not spent, including the website maintenance and printing of the annual report which are done in-house with district funds. Carol Horton also noted that Ariane Lehew keeps us on track in this area. Based on the bylaws, the annual report must contain some specific information. Mr. John Lundstrom informed us about information that was missing after reviewing the bylaws. We will make an amendment to the 2011 annual report and will add the information to the 2012 report and subsequent reports. We do not want to get the report to be too long, but let the report steer people to the website for the more detailed information. The printing of the annual report is done on site at the Citrus Reprographics Department. We will stay with the 3 panel tri-fold format. Mrs. Lehew distributed and reviewed a very rough 1 st draft of the report. Our problem is the amount of space on the report that we have to work with and the information that we want to provide and that we are required to provide. In the past years we have only reported on the past years projects.

5 Approved Minutes of Regular Meeting No. 30.Page 5 Since the program is slowing down, we thought that we would do a recap of the projects completed. The image on the front cover will be changed and are used essentially as place holders on this version. Mrs. Lehew will work with Mr. Bollinger on the Chair Message to the Community. The paper used will be a much nicer quality paper and will also be an 11 document. We will have a photo chronology if the projects completed. Mrs. Lehew stated that we need to make it clear in the report that the website information is detailed and has minutes, agendas, reports etc.. Also as stated previously we will add the section noted by Mr. Lundstrom. Mr. Richardson asked if the font could be made a little larger for easier reading. Mrs. Lehew agreed. Mr. Bollinger added that the website noted is the Citrus College website and should be the exact link to the COC website. It would be easier than having to click through several steps. Mrs. Lehew suggested that we give simple directions to get to COC section. The committee agreed that it would be ok. Carol Horton added that the Chancellor s Office did an audit of COC websites of all of the colleges to see who was in compliance. Less than 20% were in compliance. Citrus was in compliance 100%. Many colleges did not even have a website. The committee can add projects that they would like to see on the report. Mr. Lundstrom suggested that in the Chairman section we mention how the students and school have benefited from these projects. Mrs. Horton information on savings, square footage, instructional improvements can be used for next year s report, because we may not have time to do the research for this year s report. This year could be more of a pictorial. Mr. Cook asked if we will add anything regarding our sustainability awards received due to these projects? All of these are good ideas and will be taken into consideration in the design. Please send any additional thoughts or ideas to Judy Rojas. A draft will be sent to the committee members for review. The date of the Board of Trustees meeting is February 5 th. Mr. Bollinger will be presenting the report and we would like all of you to attend the meeting if possible. Judy Rojas will send out a reminder of the date, time and location of the meeting. VIII. AUDIT REPORT Proposition 39 requires the district to have an independent audit firm perform a financial and performance audit. The financial audit verifies expenditures and that the expenditures match the bond language. The performance audit looks at the progress of our bond program and to make sure projects are moving along as they should. These are taken to the Board of Trustees for review and approval with our district audit in December of each year. The financial audit has an unqualified report which is the highest you can get. There were no findings or corrections to the financial statements. The most important thing is that in order to plan projects the financial information must be right. Rosalinda Buchwald and her staff have done a great job on that. The committee can review the report and ask any questions at the next meeting. Mr. Bollinger asked if the auditors would be able to come and speak to us regarding their procedures. Mrs. Horton does not feel that this committee needs to meet with the auditors. The Citizens Oversight Committee only reviews and comments, but the Board of Trustees approves and accepts the audit reports and the auditors speak directly with the Board Members. For the bond audit almost 100% of the financial documents and

6 Approved Minutes of Regular Meeting No. 30.Page 6 invoices are audited. If the COC reviews an audit report that is qualified and had findings the COC members should report that in their annual report to the community. The Audit Reports are posted to the website. IX. WEBSITE UPDATE Judy Rojas reported that the new member bios have been posted to the website. Mr. Bollinger noted that there is typo on Mr. Richardson s bios. It will be corrected. X. WEBSITE REVIEW Mr. Bollinger asked if anyone had comments after review of the website. Mr. Bollinger noted that the Educational and Facilities Master Plan does not take you to the most recent Master Plan rather than the page of all of the major planning documents for the college. He would rather that it went to the specific document. Judy Rojas will check with Jolie Elman to correct. Mr. Bollinger noted that the News and Special Messages page is out of date. Ariane Lehew stated that she is scheduled to meet with Sue Keith to update this message. Maybe just a change in the title of the page to Special Messages would clear this up. Carol Horton added that the Bond Oversight Committee is not responsible for the website; the college is. It is the COC that can bring these items that need correction to our attention and we will correct them. XI. XII. XIII. DISTRIBUTION OF ANNUAL REPORT Mr. Bollinger asked if we have ever mailed the annual report. Mrs. Horton stated that it was mailed one year along with the Foundation Report. The Board of Trustees prefers to get their copies and take them to their community groups and functions for distribution. As Mr. Bollinger read the bios he noted that the committee members are involved in many groups where the reports could be distributed. Mrs. Storland added that the reports have been very well received by her community groups. Mrs. Horton noted that we can print as many as you will need. Our first press is 250 and we can print more as needed. There are many community events that they could be distributed at including city council meetings or chamber of commerce meetings. It is up to the members to decide where they would like to take them. They document is to pitch Citrus College and to keep them informed of what we are doing. REQUEST OF STAFF/ITEMS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS None TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING MEETINGS: February 5, 2013 Board of Trustees Meeting Annual Report Presentation Louis Zellers Center for Innovation Room 159 March 28, 2013 ED135 June 20, 2013 Campus Tour September 26, 2013 ED135 December 9, 2013 ED135 Please review the dates and let Judy Rojas know if you have any conflicts.

7 Approved Minutes of Regular Meeting No. 30.Page 7 XIV. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 5:15pm. XV. NEXT MEETING DATE: March 28, 2013 Respectfully submitted, Judy Rojas Administrative Assistant Office of the Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services