The regular meeting of the Board of Regents of the Del Mar College District opened in Room 102 of the Barth Learning Resources Center, Del Mar College West Campus, Old Brownsville Road, Corpus Christi, Texas, at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 8, 2000, with the following present:
From the College:
From the Attorney's Office:
Others:
Mr. Ralph Diaz, president of the Board, presided and with a quorum present, called the meeting to order and requested a moment of silence.
The meeting began with Dr. Dicianna's announcement of the full accreditation of the College's Associate Degree Nursing program by the State Board of Nurse Examiners. Dr. Lee Sloan, dean of the occupational education/technology division, introduced Dr. Rosie Garcia, chairperson of the nursing program, and commended her for maintaining an excellent program. Dr. Garcia commented on the accreditation process and praised Dr. Erma Wilson and Delia Linthacum, along with the nursing faculty, for their hard work.
Ms. Claudia Jackson recognized several successful former students of the College who have been used recently in promotional ads for the College. She displayed a thank-you card she had received from Nanny Elementary School in Riviera, Texas, for the book covers that her department prints and distributes each year in their public relations efforts.
Under Public Comments, Mr. Rufus Avery, Jr., addressed the Board concerning the naming of the new classroom building after Solomon Coles. Mr. Avery expressed his anger that a decision had not been made and stated that he would continue to address the Board until the issue was settled.
Mrs. Dorothy Spann addressed the Board as a taxpayer and not as a Regent. She expressed her disapproval of the removal of Regents' Comments on the agenda and read a statement used by the city that could be used as an alternate.
Mr. Mike Anzaldua, president of the Del Mar College Chapter of Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE), thanked the Board and administration for their support. He invited the Board to attend the TACHE "Mardi Gras" dance on March 3, and commented that proceeds would be used for student scholarships.
Mrs. Sandra Capelo introduced herself as the wife of Jaime Capelo. Mrs. Capelo informed the Board that she was in attendance to denounce the derogatory comments made about her husband by some individuals at a previous Board meeting. The comments were made in reference to his submitting Senator Carlos Truan's name for the new classroom building.
Rev. Harry Williams commented on the published criteria for the submission of names for the new classroom building, and what he perceived as the Board's failure to adhere to the criteria in accepting the packets submitted.
Mr. Buck Sosa, president of Tejano Democrats and a member of the G. I. Forum, applauded the staff for their efforts with the voter registration process. He acknowledged Mrs. Spann and Professor Gerald Sansing for their assistance with the Student Government Association.
Rev. Harold Branch spoke in support of naming the new classroom building after Solomon Coles. He provided a brief history of related events and again appealed to the Board for their consideration in naming the building after Mr. Coles.
Mr. Marlon Griffin, president of NAACP, asked the Board to review the process taken in requesting and accepting names for the new classroom building. He stressed accountability by the Board for their actions.
Mr. Roland Garza, chairman of civil rights with the G. I. Forum, also requested the Board be accountable for their actions concerning the naming of the new classroom building.
Dr. Dicianna gave a brief report on enrollment and provided an update of the dual credit program. He reminded the Board that they would be meeting with SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) representatives on Monday evening. He then commended faculty and staff for their participation in a partnership with seven other colleges in a Developmental Education Pilot Program, which will be funded by the state.
Mr. Raul M. "Mike" Saenz was sworn in as the newly appointed Board member to fill the District 4 vacancy. Mr. Diaz welcomed him to the Board.
The next item of business on the agenda was the approval of minutes for the Regular Meeting, January 11, 2000; Buildings and Grounds Committee, January 18, 2000; and Called Meetings, January 18, 2000, and January 25, 2000.
Mrs. Winters made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Adler, to approve agenda item no. 2, Approval of Minutes, in its entirety, and the motion carried.
Rev. Davila, as chairperson of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, explained to the Board that they would be considering the Facilities Master Plan and the Cotten/Landreth contract at today's meeting instead of having a separate meeting to address these items.
Mr. Solka provided a presentation of the Facilities Master Plan. He commended Mrs. Mary Thorpe, chairperson of the committee, for her assistance and recognized others who worked with him on the plan. In his presentation, Mr. Solka reviewed the existing facilities, assessment of building conditions, and the walking distance around campus. He provided details of the improvement goals and pointed out that not all goals would be addressed in the master plan. Mr. Solka reviewed outstanding issues, such as the location of health science programs, a bookstore, and priorities for implementing the master plan. There was a brief discussion on the planned Early Childhood Center. Mr. Solka advised that the master plan would be provided on disk or CD-rom to the College.
Rev. Davila then asked Mr. James Ealy, director of physical facilities, to address the Cotten/Landreth contract, item no. 8 on the agenda. Mr. Ealy reminded the Board that the firm of Cotten/Landreth had been selected project architect for the Baldwin Street Entrance/Demolition of Skills Enrichment Center Project. Mr. Ealy informed the Board that after negotiations, a contract was prepared which included a fee of 7.5% (about $75,000) of an estimated construction cost of $1,579,000.
Mr. Muñoz made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Adler, to approve the contract with Cotten/Landreth as presented as project architect for the Baldwin Street Entrance/Demolition of Skills Enrichment Center Project. After a brief discussion, the motion carried.
Mr. George Moff lead the discussion related to Equistar's application for Foreign Trade Zone status. He reviewed the situation and requested the Board's consideration of approving a resolution and submitting a letter of non-opposition for their application. The Board continued with a lengthy discussion on the tax impact on the College and the necessity of the requested items.
Rev. Davila made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Spann, to table agenda item No. 4 related to Equistar's application for foreign trade zone status. The motion carried with Davila, Diaz, Saenz, Gonzales, and Spann voting in favor of the motion; Muñoz, Adler, Whittle, and Winters opposing the motion.
Mr. Diaz read a letter he received from Mr. Durrill thanking the College for their support of the grant for the Old Nueces County Courthouse. Although the grant was denied, Mr. Durrill will reapply in July 2000.
Mrs. Adler commented on the next item on the agenda. She expressed strong resentment for a letter Mrs. Spann had sent Senator Carlos Truan in which Mrs. Spann had mentioned Mrs. Adler's name. After a brief exchange of comments, Mrs. Spann apologized.
Rev. Davila reviewed recent events which led to his suggesting that a spokesperson for the Board be chosen.
Rev. Davila made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Winters, that the Board specifically authorize the President of the Board to act as the official spokesman for the Board of Regents. After a brief discussion, the motion carried.
The Board continued with a discussion of the Bylaws in Section I(3) , I(5), and I(7) at length, and came to an understanding of the intended purpose of each. The main items of concern were that the Board not delve into administrative detail and personnel issues, and requests for complex reports should be requested by the Board and not by individual Board members. Mr. Diaz asked that Board members bring their concerns to him and/or the Board to be addressed.
Dr. Dicianna explained that several policies were being revised for clarity in order to comply with SACS requirements. The Board was previously provided the information on the changes being requested.
Mr. Muñoz made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Spann, to accept the revisions to Board policies B2.3 Administrative Structure and Organization, B2.3.1.6 Student Services Programs, B6.1.1 Academic Freedom, B6.3 Evaluation of Faculty, B4.32.1 Control of Grants, B6.16 Recruitment of New Faculty, and B6.26.1 Qualifications of Faculty, as presented to comply with SACS requirements, and the motion carried by majority vote. (Adler and Winters were not present during the vote.) (These policy revisions will be recorded as Document #00-03 in the document section of the Official Minutes Book of the Board.)
Mr. Alaniz reviewed a request from the United States Postal Service to approve a Resolution authorizing the President of the College to designate specific employees to process registered mail.
Mr. Muñoz made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Spann, to approve the Resolution authorizing the College President to execute an agreement covering the reception and delivery of registered mail addressed to College employees, and the motion carried. (This Resolution will be recorded as Document #00-04 in the document section of the Official Minutes Book of the Board.)
Mr. Alaniz presented the financial statement for December 1999.
After a few brief comments, Mr. Muñoz made a motion to accept the financial statement for December 1999, the Investment Report for January 2000, and the Investment Quarterly Report ending November 30, 1999. Mrs. Gonzales seconded, and the motion carried.
Mr. Diaz called for a ten minute recess at 3:52 p.m.
The Board returned at 4:00 p.m., and Mr. Diaz announced that the Board would go into closed session in accordance with Section 551.074 of the Government Code, beginning at 4:00 p.m.
The Board ended its closed session at 5:05 p.m.
Mr. Muñoz made a motion to give the College President a pay raise of 2.5%, the same given to faculty and administration, effective as of September 1, 1999.
Mr. Hilmy pointed out that because Dr. Dicianna had a rolling contract, the raise could not be retroactive.
Mr. Muñoz changed the wording of his motion to read that the raise be effective as of February 8, 2000, and specified a provision to keep the President's two-year rolling contract the same. Rev. Davila seconded the motion, and it carried with Gonzales, Diaz, Davila, Saenz, Whittle, Adler, Winters, and Muñoz voting in favor; Spann opposing.
Mr. Muñoz then made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Adler, to authorize the Board President to execute an amendment to the College President's contract reflecting the new salary, and the motion carried with Gonzales, Diaz, Davila, Saenz, Whittle, Adler, Winters, and Muñoz voting in favor; Spann opposing. (This Amendment will be recorded as Document #00-05 in the document section of the Official Minutes Book of the Board.)
Under Calendaring, Buildings and Grounds Committee, Investment Committee, and Finance Committee were scheduled to meet on March 7, 2000. The regular Board meeting for March was rescheduled to meet on March 7, 2000, also. The Audit Committee was scheduled to meet on Monday, February 21, 2000, at 1:00 p.m.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
bk/regfeb8.00