Construction of College of Lake County campus master plan to begin in May
With a groundbreaking scheduled in May for a new science building on the Grayslake campus, the College of Lake County's Sustainable Campus Master Plan will soon begin to move from the “plan” phase to construction.
David Agazzi, vice president of administrative affairs, provided an update on work on the $148 million Master Plan during Wednesday night's January board meeting.
The Master Plan includes enhancements on all three campuses. In addition to the new science building, components on the Grayslake campus include repairs to the aging heating and air conditioning system, renovation of the B and C Wings to create a student services center, a new cafeteria, classroom technology upgrades and a geothermal plant and loop to save on energy costs. Work at the Lakeshore Campus in Waukegan will include a major new building and renovations of existing space. At the Southlake Campus in Vernon Hills, a new chemistry classroom will be added.
The funding plan for the project was completed in September 2013 when the sale of $60 million was completed and Gov. Pat Quinn announced the release of $35.9 million in state funding for the Master Plan's Lakeshore campus expansion.
Agazzi said that committees also began meeting in September to develop specific programming such as selection of specific academic programs and offices to be included in each master plan component. A committee to develop standards for classroom and office space, interior finishes, furniture, lighting, etc., also began meeting.
In addition to the Science Building, other construction scheduled to begin in 2014 on the Grayslake campus includes renovations of the A and B wings, which will include the main lobby, restrooms, enclosure of the “checkerboard court,” and creation of a new cafeteria, bookstore and student activities space. Renovation of Building 12 will also be done to create a new auto body repair shop.
At the Southlake Campus, construction of a new chemistry lab is scheduled to begin in October of this year.
In addition to enhancing the educational experience at CLC, the new master plan should also lead to more opportunities for local vendors to do work for the college, according to Board Chairman Amanda Howland.
“Our new procurement policy is aimed at encouraging local vendors to do business with the college, and we held vendor fairs in December and January to encourage local companies to submit proposals for master plan work,” Howland said after the board meeting.
CLC Foundation strategic plan
At a committee of the whole meeting held prior to the regular board meeting, CLC Foundation Board President Joanna Rolek and Board Vice President and President-elect Christopher Piazzi presented details on the Foundation's new strategic plan, approved in January.
Rolek said the Foundation had conducted a 10-month process to create the strategic plan, benchmarking its fundraising practices against the foundations of peer community colleges. As a result of this work, the Foundation has embraced a strategic challenge of increasing its fundraising for CLC student scholarships and grants to support student success initiatives from its current level of about $500,000 to $1 million annually by 2020.
Policy matters
The student rights and responsibilities policy was revised to address several issues, including sexual harassment, disruptive behavior, and unattended minor children of students. Student disciplinary procedures were revised to substitute suspension for probation.
Travel guidelines
The board approved revisions to guidelines on trustee travel, which are used in conjunction with Board Policy 106. The policy remains unchanged, but the revisions to the guidelines were made to ensure greater clarity and transparency in processing reimbursement for expenses, according to Board Chairman Amanda Howland.
Financial Report
At the midway point in CLC's fiscal year, operating fund revenues of $57.5 million had been received, $2 million short of the amount projected, according to David Agazzi, who presented a fiscal report during the regular meeting. He said expenditures were on target to the $40.5 million projected.
Agazzi said that revenues were down because of lower than projected enrollment and a delay in receiving two state credit hour grant payments totaling $1.3 million. The two state payments were received in January and were not included in the mid-year figures.
Purchasing
Purchases approved by the board included:
A proposal for $360,005 from Affiliated Engineers, Inc. of Chicago, to design a geothermal system as part of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning improvements included in the Sustainable Campus Master Plan.
A bid for $231,813.91 from Pace Systems, of Naperville, for the purchase and installation of 52 replacement multi-media projectors for smart classrooms and computer laboratories.
A proposal for $124,232.10 from Logicalis, Inc. of Lisle, for the purchase and programming of three IBM servers for the Grayslake campus.
A one-year contract for $84,535.17 with Office Pal of Lakewood, N.J., to provide office printer cartridges.
A contract for $32,000 with Rethink Robotics, of Boston, Mass., for robotic equipment for the college's Mechatronics and Robotics programs.
Two contacts with McClure Engineering Associates Inc., of Waukegan, one for $33,845 for engineering services in the design of a parking lot expansion and extension of a service road on the Grayslake campus; and another, for $42,027 for engineering services relating two other parking lots.
A contract for $46,714 with Wright Automotive Inc., of Hillsboro, Ill., for the purchase of two 12-passenger vans for the college's fleet.