October 2006 Board Meeting Minutes

The Board of Trustees of Illinois Valley Community College District No. 513 convened a regular session at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 25, 2006 in the Board Room (C307) at Illinois Valley Community College.

Members Present

David L. Wilcoxson, Board Chair
Dennis N. Thompson, Vice Chair
Paula J. Endress, Secretary
David O. Mallery
Lori E. Scroggs
Thomas C. Setchell
Megan Guilfoyle, Student Trustee

Members Absent

Deborah L. Sweeden

Others Present

Larry D. Huffman, President
Jerry Corcoran, Vice President for Business Services and Finance
Walt Zukowski, Attorney

CONSENT AGENDA

Mr. Mallery requested item 4.1 (Approval of minutes – September 16 and 27, 2006 be extracted.) It was moved by Mr. Setchell and seconded by Ms. Guilfoyle to approve the consent agenda as amended. The motion passed by voice vote.

The following items were approved in the consent agenda:

Approval of the Bills - $1,555,526.64

Education Fund - $921,346.16; Operation and Maintenance Fund - $107,783.44; Operation & and Maintenance Fund (Restricted Fund) - $82,987.04; Auxiliary Fund - $356,373.50; Restricted Fund - $62,772.34; Audit Fund - $14,000.00; Liability, Protection and Settlement Fund - $10,264.16.

Treasurer’s Report

Personnel

Accepted with regret the resignation of Nevada Nevin, Horticulture Instructor at the Sheridan Correctional Center, effective September 28, 2006.

Stipends

Approved the stipends for the payrolls ending September 23, 2006 and October 7, 2006 as presented.

Cooperative Agreement Extension – Lake Land College

Approved an extension of the Cooperative Agreement with Lake Land College through July 1, 2007 by adding the John Deere Ag Technology (AAS) program as an additional program that IVCC students can pursue at in-district rates.

Cash Farm #8842 Lease Renewal – Year 2007

Approved the change to the Cash Farm #8842 Lease Renewal agreement as presented and approved the lease renewal with Keith Gehm at $155.25 per acre (131.6 acres) for year 2007.

Quote Results - Replacement of A-Chiller Piping

Accepted the quote from Metcalf Martin, Streator, Illinois in the amount of $10,762 for the replacement of A-Chiller Piping.

Bid Approval – Electronics and Electricity Instructional Supplies

Accepted the bid of $5,857.30 from Pantrol, Inc., Ottawa, Illinois and the bid of $345.08 from Complete Industrial, Peru, Illinois for Electronics and Electricity Instructional Supplies. Total cost of instructional supplies is $6,202.38.

Bid Request – Forklift

Authorized the Business Office to seek bids for a pre-owned, re-conditioned forklift at an estimated cost of $15,000.

Technology Plan Purchase: Student Lab Computer Upgrades

Approved the purchase of 20 desktop computers and 5 wireless laptop computers from Dell Computers in the amount of $28,795.

Purchase Request – One-Ton Truck

Authorized the purchase of a one-ton truck from the Illinois Joint Purchasing Program when one becomes available not to exceed $34,000.

Conferring of Certificate (October 2006 Graduate)

Authorized the conferring of the certificate for the October 2006 graduate as presented.

Bid Request – College Catalog

Authorized the Business Office to seek bids for the 2007/2009 catalog at an estimated cost of $25,000.

September 16, 2006 and September 27, 2006 Board Meeting Minutes

It was moved by Mr. Setchell and seconded by Mrs. Scroggs to approve the minutes of the September 27, 2006 meeting as presented. The motion passed by voice vote.

It was moved by Mr. Mallery and seconded by Mrs. Scroggs to defer the approval of the minutes of the September 16, 2006 Board Retreat meeting to a later date in order to have the minutes more fully report the deliberations and decisions made during the meeting. The motion passed by voice vote.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Board members received a list of IVCC Environmental Scanning categories. If the Board members are reading material that fits into one of these categories, Dr. Huffman invited them to forward the material to either him or Cathy Bangert. Environmental scanning is an on-going process and the administration is interested in all articles that will help keep them informed and up-to-date.

Dr. Huffman reported a letter was sent to all IVCC employees on the United Way Campaign. United Way funds are disseminated on a county basis and the county of choice may be designated on the contributor’s check. A United Way container was set up in the board room if anyone was interested in making a contribution.

Dr. Huffman reported the IVCC Foundation Board approved a new scholarship program – 21^st Century Scholars Society - at its October meeting. By contributing $500 annually a person or couple may become a charter member of this influential group providing scholarship opportunities for outstanding IVCC students. The first annual award will be given to an outstanding first-time, full-time freshman with financial need. Award pays all tuition and fees for the student’s sophomore year. The 21^st Century Scholar will be chosen from among five nominees, one each from the academic divisions. Dr. Huffman encouraged the Board members to become one of the first members of this prestigious group.

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

Four members of the Board attended the ACCT Leadership Congress in Orlando, Florida (October 11 – 14) – D. Wilcoxson, P. Endress, L. Scroggs, and M. Guilfoyle. Each reported on the sessions they attended and handouts were available for additional information.

Mr. Wilcoxson received an email on the view of the Executive Ethics Commission that according to the plain language of the Ethics Act, community college trustees, being neither officers, nor members, nor employees, are not among those who are required to participate in annual ethics training as described in the Ethics Act - 5 ILCS 430/5-10. Regardless of whether community college trustees are required by statute to participate in annual ethics training, the Commission strongly encouraged them to participate in the training because of the important information contained in the training and because of the good example they should be setting as community college leaders. The Board was in agreement to participate in annual ethics training. Dr. Huffman will check with IVCC’s Ethics Officer, Mr. George Needs, for additional information.

Mr. Wilcoxson reminded Board members of the Northwest Region Trustees Meeting being held at Highland Community College on November 1. Board members attending are Mr. Wilcoxson, Mr. Mallery, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Setchell and President Huffman.

Mr. Wilcoxson noted the 2007 Community College National Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C. will be held February 12 through the 14^th. Ms. Guilfoyle and Mr. Wilcoxson indicated an interest in attending.

D. Mallery, chair of the Board Retreat Committee gave a report. The Board Retreat Committee met prior to the Board meeting and approved the minutes from the August 9^th and September 14^th Board Retreat Committee meetings. Mr. Mallery received comments from Board members regarding the president’s evaluation form from a number of colleges. He compiled the comments and distributed a summary. Mr. Mallery suggested another Board Retreat be scheduled to reach consensus on each evaluation question and address other "parking lot" items.

D. Thompson reported on the Trustees meeting held on September 29 in Springfield, IL. He attended the ethics session presented by Dr. Bruce Conners, President of Kaskaskia College. In the presentation Dr. Conners spoke of ethics coming from a certain set of values. When asked what were held as the highest qualities of human nature across the globe and from different societies, six or seven values came to the top of the list and were very similar to IVCC’s core values. Core values set the tone for all discussions on ethic issues. Core values need to be nurtured, discussed, and stressed in the classroom. If core values are present in all dealings, everything will go quite well for the College, the student, and the employees. The latter part of the session dealt with the lawsuit and working towards a legislative solution of the Ethics Act. In the meantime community colleges are complying with the ethics training. Mr. Thompson will attend Part II of "Why Ethics Matter" at the ICCTA meeting in Chicago on November 10.

TRANSFER OF FUNDS

It was moved by Mr. Setchell and seconded by Mrs. Scroggs to transfer $100,000 from Fund 07 (Working Cash Fund) to Fund 01 (Education Fund). Motion passed by voice vote.

It was moved by Mrs. Scroggs and seconded by Mrs. Endress to transfer $75,000 from Fund 01 (Education Fund) to Fund 05 (Auxiliary Enterprise Fund) to support athletics ($70,000), daycare ($3,500) and cultural events ($1,500).

In previous years the transfers were made at the end of the fiscal year; however, the administration recommended quarterly transfers occur in FY07 as an alternative to past practice. The question was asked if the expenses had been incurred. The expenses had been incurred. There was concern that these funds should not overdraft at any time. It was suggested to transfer the money at the beginning of the year so that the funds are never in a deficit. Dr. Corcoran stated there are many variables throughout the year that change the fund balances significantly. Mr. Setchell was opposed to these transfers if these programs are in a deficit. Mrs. Scroggs stated that these programs are not self sufficient but are important to the mission of the College. Before having the accounting discussion, the mission discussion must take place. The programs cannot be immediately eliminated; they affect jobs and students who are enrolling. Mr. Wilcoxson stated that the Board is not adjusting the programs at this time. The Board is still waiting for a report from athletics. Discussion on athletics will be a separate agenda item. The discussion is on the transfer of funds which needs to be done to pay for the expenses. The issue is whether the transfer should take place before or after the money is spent. There was no further discussion.

Motion passed by voice vote with Mr. Mallery voting "nay."

INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENTS WITH THE CITY OF OTTAWA AND THE CITY OF SPRING VALLEY

It was moved by Mr. Setchell and seconded by Mr. Thompson to approve the intergovernmental agreement with the City of Ottawa (Ottawa Canal TIF District.) as presented. The motion passed by voice vote.

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Mr. Setchell to approve the intergovernmental agreement with the City of Ottawa (Ottawa Dayton Industrial TIF District) as presented. The motion passed by voice vote.

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Ms. Guilfoyle to approve the intergovernmental agreement with the City of Spring Valley as presented. Motion passed by voice vote.

PROTECTION, HEALTH, AND SAFETY PROJECTS FOR TAX YEAR 2006

It was moved by Mr. Setchell and seconded by Mrs. Scroggs to approve the Protection, Health, and Safety projects (Replace Display Cases, Replace Emergency Generator, Computer Server Room Improvements, Thermographic and Energy Study Phase I, and the Addition of Handrails and Retaining Walls) as presented and authorize submission of the appropriate resolutions for each to the Illinois Community College Board.

Discussion followed on the Computer Server Room Improvements. The total estimated cost of this project is $1,185,350 with $836,900 from PHS funds and $348,450 from other College funds. Mr. Mallery stated that the last time the computer server room was moved it was a mistake and could have been prevented if the staff had more input. Suggested options - do not do the project and take the chance that the water mains will not break and wait to upgrade the phone system until the technology center is built. Mr. Paul Basalay, IVCC’s architect, stated the College has had some close calls with water breaks. Mr. Barnes stated the UPS system is undersized and to move the present phone system would not be worth it. Mr. Barnes also noted if the server room is not moved and improvements are made to the current room, this would be a short-term solution. Mr. Basalay realizes the large expenditure of this one project and the complexity of it. He stated the engineers looked at many choices but they did not want to compromise. It is the recommendation of the engineers that the best solution is to move the server room as presented. It was the consensus of the Board to do the project right and as economical as possible. Motion passed by voice vote.

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PREPARATION OF THE 2006 TAX LEVY

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Ms. Guilfoyle to adopt the resolution to authorize and direct preparation of the tentative calendar year 2006 Tax Levy as presented. Motion passed by voice vote.

FY2006 COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT

Mr. Wilcoxson commented on the report by complimenting Dr. Jerry Corcoran and Ms. Cheryl Roelfsema in obtaining the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting presented by the Government Finance Officers Association. Overall the financial position of the College has improved from 2004 to 2005 and from 2005 to 2006. Mr. Wilcoxson stated that the administrative staff has done an excellent job in keeping the College in a good financial position.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved by Mrs. Endress, seconded by Mrs. Scroggs and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 p.m.