December 2014 Board Report

Illinois Valley Community College trustees Thursday agreed to a five-year lease extension that will keep its satellite campus in Ottawa at least through 2019.

The board agreed to the same leasing costs it signed in 2009 for the 11,000-square-foot Ottawa Center at 321 W. Main St. IVCC will pay $12 per square foot the first two years, $13 the third year and $14 the final two. The City of Ottawa will also provide janitorial services and $10,000 in IT upgrades.

“The city has been an indispensable and thoughtful partner in this mutually beneficial arrangement,” said IVCC President Jerry Corcoran. “Thousands of students on the east side of our district have taken advantage of the convenience and quality the IVCC Ottawa Center offers them.”

Ottawa Mayor Robert Eschbach, in attendance at the meeting, said, “This partnership has had the wonderful result of providing the opportunity for a great many students from Ottawa and the district’s east side to benefit from IVCC’s many high-quality programs. 

“Prior to the opening of the Ottawa Center, many of these students could afford neither the cost nor the time to travel to the Oglesby campus,” Eschbach said. “We are proud of a productive partnership that has included a significant financial commitment by the city and hope to be working with IVCC for many years.”

The board also approved a tax levy of $11,516,762, a 4.41 percent increase from the 2013 extension. Due to tax rate limitations for the Education and Operations and Maintenance levies, the college rarely collects the entire levy request, said Vice President for Business Services and Finance Cheryl Roelfsema.

In other action, the board approved:

  • The appointment of Heather Seghi as dental assisting program instructor and coordinator. A graduate of IVCC and a student at Illinois State University, Seghi worked as a dental assistant at Alliance Dental Group in Oglesby.
  • Bids totaling over $1.7 million for Phase 3 work that includes construction of a student center, cyber café and emergency medical services lab and classroom. Apparent low bidders as general contractor and electrical contractor are Vissering Construction of Streator at $964,000 and JB Contracting of La Salle for $524,550. The Capital Development Board will issue the awards.
  • In a related move, the board approved a request to the Capital Development Board to lower the Phase 3 contingency from 10 percent to 5 percent, a difference of $88,556.
  • Health reimbursement accounts for employees enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). Reimbursements remain at $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for both ‘employee plus 1’ and family coverage. As of Jan. 1, 2016, HDHP will be the only coverage option for employees.
  • Contracting with Hurst Review Services to provide a three-day live review for nursing students preparing for the state board NCLEX examinations. Cost is $21,450 or $275 per student.
  • The purchase of $25,948 in network fiber optic equipment from Burwood Group.
  • Setting its 2015 meeting schedule for 6 p.m. the second Thursday of each month. Meetings will be Jan. 15 (an exception), Feb. 12, March 12, April 9, May 14, June 11, July 9, Aug. 13, Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 12 and Dec. 10.

The board also learned:

  • A total of 51 students were served and 356 credit hours generated for spring semester at the Dec. 4 “Express Registration” at Ottawa Center. A similar program is planned for main campus from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6.
  • The massage therapy program celebrated its graduation Wednesday with all graduates having passed their national board exams for state licensure. “Program coordinator Cherie Monterestelli and fellow faculty members can be proud of their 100 percent pass rate since implementing our new curriculum,” said Corcoran.
  • A committee has been formed to ensure compliance with the state law mandating IVCC be smoke-free by July 1.
  • A concrete pad will be poured this week for the Art in Architecture sculpture near the secondary entrance to the CTC and installation of the sundial could occur late next week.
  • A new surface on parking Lot No. 1 and the addition of an ADA parking lot in front of the CTC are virtually complete.