The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees convened a special called meeting on Monday, July 8, 2013, at 3:30 p.m. in Magnolia Dining Room. Richard Hurley, Chair, presided.
The following members of the Board were present: Tom Alexander, Wayne Brigman, Joe Brumit, Bill Hart, Chair Richard Hurley, Don Locke, John Parham, Carol Peterson, Vice-Chair Ray Spells, Mandy Stone, and David Wyatt.
Others present for the meeting included: Hank Dunn, President; Brian Willis, Vice President for Information Technology/CIO; Scott McKinney, Vice President Business & Finance/CFO; Dennis King, Special Assistant to the President for Accreditation; Shelley White, Senior Executive Director for Economic and Workforce Development/Continuing Education; Melissa Quinley, Vice President for Instructional Services; Terry Brasier, Vice President for Student Services; Dolly Horton, Dean of Allied Health, and Martha Shanks, Secretary to the Board.
Call To Order
Mr. Hurley read the ethics statement; no conflicts of interest were reported.
Ms. Shanks called roll. A quorum was present.
Discussion Of A-B Tech Building Program – New County Proposal
This meeting was called to relay to the full Board the results of a meeting held by a committee of Board members with Dr. Wanda Greene and other County officials on June 26 to discuss the County’s revised building program on the Victoria Road A-B Tech Asheville Campus. Mr. Alexander presented the County’s proposal, which consists of the following elements:
- Build a new five-story Health and Workforce Building on the site of the current Pines Madonna building, with the same square footage as in the initial proposal at a cost of approximately $45 million. The tower on the building would be eliminated, saving approximately $5 million; the auditorium would be taken out of the building; the 4th floor would be shell space for future build-out; conventional heating would be used rather than geothermal for savings of approximately $550,000. Money spent on design to date would not be lost as the main elements of the design will be utilized in the new plans, which also will help expedite construction. This design also addresses the concerns expressed by adjoining neighbors to the previous plans for a five-story building on the former location.
- Build a three-story parking deck that will hold 650 vehicles in the location of the current tennis courts. The parking deck will be built using the identical design used by the County for the downtown deck, thus saving design costs. The only additional cost would be soil testing prior to building. Projected costs for the parking deck are $11 million.
- Build a free-standing auditorium next to the parking garage using the same design as planned previously, which will serve as a multi-purpose facility with a kitchen, at an estimated cost of $2-3 million. The auditorium would be built using available cash flow rather than being included in the tax-exempt bonds, thus relieving concerns about jeopardizing the status of the bonds.
- Build a new child care center for $1 million.
Traffic studies and civil design of the new building will still have to be done; the City of Asheville will review and approve the projects.
This plan supports the main priorities of the College’s Master Plans, with full support from the County.
Changes to the Ferguson Auditorium and the addition of an elevator to the Simpson building will be addressed in later projects. Structural problems with Elm and Rhododendron buildings will also be dealt with at a later time.
On a motion by Ms. Peterson, seconded by Dr. Locke, the Board unanimously approved accepting the plans as presented by the County to the Board Committee for Construction and shared at this meeting.
Adjournment
On a motion by Ms. Peterson, seconded by Ms. Stone, the meeting was adjourned at 4:08 p.m. by unanimous consent.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha L. Shanks
Board Secretary