RED
BLUFF
CITY
COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING
MINUTES
DATE OF
MEETING:
November 9, 2004
TIME OF
MEETING:
5:30 P.M.
PLACE OF
MEETING: Red
Bluff Community/Senior Center
Councilmembers Present: Forrest
Flynn, Mayor
Larry Stevens Mayor Pro Tem
Russ Frey
Gregg Avilla
Councilmembers Absent:
Andy Houghton (absent-excused)
Staff
Present:
Susan Price, City Manager
Al Shamblin, Police Chief
Mike Damon, Fire Chief
Gary Antone, Director of Public Works/City Engineer
JD Ellison, Building Director/Official
Tessa Pritchard, Human Resources Director
Mayor Flynn called the Red Bluff City Council Meeting
to order at 5:30 p.m.
1.
Update on the I-5
Technology Center from official representatives of the Shasta-Tehama-Trinity
Joint Community College District
This was a special Joint Meeting of the Red Bluff and
Corning City Councils to hear the presentation on the I-5 Technology Center by
official representatives of the Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College
District, as any questions they may have and provide comments as
appropriate.
Susan Price, City Manager, read the full text of the
ballot measure that was presented to the voters on March 5, 2002. It stated “Shall Shasta College
construct a University Center to host university level programs, expand it’s
nursing, dental hygiene and health services programs; construct a health science
center; new science and technology facilities; install energy upgrades;
construct, renovate, equip science labs, classrooms and college facilities by
Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District issuing 34 million
dollars of bonds at legal rates, appointing a citizens oversight committee;
performing annual audits and insuring that no money is used for salaries and
other administrative expenses.”
Dr. Mary Retterer, District Superintendent/President
of Shasta College, read the following statement into the record. “In 2002 the voters of
Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District passed Measure A
providing for 34 million dollars to construct among other things a Technology
Center along Interstate 5 in Tehama County.” What she looked up from the full text
for the ballot proposition on this particular piece was “acquire land and
construct new Interstate 5 Technology Center to replace temporary leased
facilities in Tehama County and to provide classrooms and labs for new
curriculum in agriculture, telecommunications, transportation and other
technical fields. In the list of
bond projects approved by the board in July 2001 the Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint
Community College District, here forward called the “District” allocated a
budget of 12 million to this project.
Due to the nature of courses demanded in Tehama County by existing
students and to further identify this educational site with the County it
primarily serves the name change will be proposed to the Board of Trustees as
the Tehama College Center. The
master planning for this center includes projections of achieving full college
status as enrollment grows bring increased funding and the ability to offer a
greater array of courses and programs to the students of Tehama County. Upon completion of this new center the
existing Red Bluff Center will no longer be operated in accordance with the bond
measure. The District has examined
many properties in Tehama County, some along Interstate 5 and some located away
from the Interstate. Most were not
suitable for a center that would grow into a college. Time is money and with today’s
inflationary construction market the passage of time is costing the Tehama
College Center a great deal of money and could render the project no
feasible. Every step of the project
from finding and negotiating and the acquisition of land, land use permitting,
rezoning, general plan changes, environmental inspections, geological studies,
California Environmental Quality Act, required impact studies, mitigation of
shown environmental impacts, to possible litigation on environmental
issues. They all take time that is
measured in years. Only when the
previous matters have been completed and resolved in the Shasta-Tehama-Trinity
Joint Community College District’s favor is the District justified in expending
funds for design work on the buildings.
This design phase consumes additional large blocks of time, further more
the building design must be approved by the Department of State Architects, a
process that can take 6 to 9 months.
After all plans have been approved the District may then seek
construction bids. Only if the bids
come in within the budget available for the project may construction begin. The District recently received bids on
another project, these bids came in at a cost over 400 dollars per square foot,
forty-five percent above budget.
Due largely to increases in the cost of building materials and the high
demand locally and within the State for construction work. The District wants to spend the greatest
portion of its available fund budget of 12 million for the Tehama College Center
on the construction of educational facilities, not land or infrastructure. Raising costs may have already cut the
size of the proposed facility by one half, even if bids were solicited
today. Given the currently bidding
market and the cost of construction materials the District estimates the cost of
buildings for this project will be between $315 and $350 per square foot. Guidelines for criteria and selecting
the location for the Tehama College Center. The general rule of thumb for locating
new campus or center according to the office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges is 20 to 30 miles from an existing educational facility
especially in rural areas. Since
Butte College has an existing educational center in Orland, 12 miles south of
Corning and 28 miles south of Red Bluff, the District is encouraged to try to
find a location 20 to 30 miles north of Orland. All Community Colleges are part of the
State system and the office of the Chancellor discourages startups close enough
to other existing institutions to be duplicating programs or course offerings in
the same market. The final location
must be situated to serve the greatest number of Tehama County residents with
higher education opportunities, while following the Tehama County Board of
Supervisors directive attached as Appendix A, which adopted the Committee Report
dated March 9, also attached as Appendix B, to refrain from consisting
Williamson Act and to look north to Red Bluff. A quote from that attachment on page 2
stated that there is substantial information that suggests that the most
significant growth area in the County will be from Red Bluff northward. Of the 1,125 students now attending
Shasta College in Red Bluff, this was last spring, 919 live in Red Bluff or
Shasta County. Would a site north
of Red Bluff better fit these demographics and the criteria of the Site
Selection Committee.” She also
noted that percentage of population from the City of Red Bluff and Corning that
are enrolled in Shasta College. A
Center that will become a campus or college requires land to allow for future
parking, green spaces, separation from neighboring activities and a build out
that will accommodate a growing student population. The limited budget of the District of 12
million requires consideration of property that includes infrastructure,
especially sewage treatment capabilities and water sufficient to meet fire flow
requirements. It’s becoming
increasingly apparent that in order to have the resources to build the Tehama
College Center the District must have land it can afford and of sufficient size
and infrastructure to accommodate the future growth required for increased State
funding. California Community
Colleges are funded through enrollment; therefore growth is essential to
generate funding for staff, operations and maintenance of the center. The District will not be able to provide
those funds from current operating revenues and the center must grow to be
self-sufficient. This self-support
is accomplished through State apportionment in a formula in which enrollment is
the primary criteria. In short the
number of students attending the Tehama College Center and the number of units
taken when processed through a formula determine the level of State
funding. This need for the Tehama
College Center to obtain it’s own funding makes demographics a primary
consideration in selecting the location of the center. It must be placed in a location that
attracts the greatest number of possible students, as the enrollment grows the
official status of the location within the State’s system will change from
off-campus operation to educational center to college. This is important because the funding
increases or changes with each step.
The existing Red Bluff location has almost reached the Center mark, of
approximately 1,500 students.
Currently it services a student population of 1,195 this Fall
Semester. This location is ready to
begin the growth process to College, which serves about 3,000 students. There is an instructional site currently
in Corning located within the high school.
This location serves a total of 114 students at this time. Because of the success of the Red Bluff
location the District has searched very hard for affordable property in and
around Red Bluff, but with no success at this time. Once the new Tehama College Center is
built and growing and the existing red Bluff Center is closed the District would
be in the position to enhance the Corning site to serve a wider variety of
student learning needs. The new
campus needs to have acreage and location now to grow into College status. Acquiring that land in 10 tens will be
even more costly to the District and the taxpayers. Consultations between their staff and
the Tehama County Planning Officer and his staff and a review of the latest
population studies for Tehama County indicate that the greater portion of the
population of the County lives north of the southern edge of Red Bluff. Red Bluff and its immediate area have
the greatest population concentration in the County. These figures do not take into
consideration the anticipated increase that will result from the Del Webb
project or from the Sunset Hills Project.
There is a growth prediction in the Supervisors packet, which is
attached. The District has
investigated several properties and the District has researched the suitability
of over 30 properties in Tehama County.
Several were never brought forth to the Site Selection Committee because
they were deemed to be too small or other wise unsuitable for a College campus
or for any public education purpose by the District’s Real Estate Consultant or
by District administration. The
strongest possibility appeared to be at the location of Flores Road and
Interstate 5. The property was
later rejected by the Tehama County Board of Supervisors because of wetlands, an
underground gas line and it’s currently status as land protected by the
Williamson Act. At that time the
Board of Supervisor’s report referenced demographics and suggested the College
seek a location north of Red Bluff where the population growth for Tehama County
is planned. This directive
coincides with the Districts need to locate this campus as close as possible to
the demographic center of the County and serve the largest number of
students. In conclusion Del Webb
has offered the District the donation of a 200-acre site with water and
wastewater lines, electricity and roads to be brought to the edge of the offered
property. This eliminates the need
for major offsite infrastructure investment. This location would be 25 miles closer
to Corning and Red Bluff than the existing Redding campus of Shasta College,
saving 50 miles for each roundtrip.
The District’s engineers and architects have reviewed the property for
suitability and construction planning [A copy of a letter from 3DI, a national
term of planning and building consultants attesting to the suitability for a
community college was attached to the handouts provided to the City
Councils]. Mike Maningan of 3DI who
was in attendance to answer questions and give a breakdown his examination of
the site.
Mike Maningan, 3DI, gave a brief breakdown of his
examination of the site, the roadways of the development and stated that they
felt the site was quite suitable and could create a very exciting
environment.
Dr. Retterer stated that the District Board of
Trustee has authorized her to enter into discussions with Del Webb and obtain
additional information regarding their offer, but no decisions have been made as
to its acceptance. The locating of
the College Center for Tehama County must not be a battle over location or
turf. It must be based on which
location provides the best options for future options for
residents.
Gregg O’Sullivan spoke on behalf of his client, the
City of Corning and stated that they would like to know what the concept and the
vision of the campus is from the economic development and business development
standpoint. What measures have been
taken to meet with business leaders, to discuss the curriculum, the target
industries, the types of jobs that they are after for tomorrow; where that nexus
between the College and economic development meet; To what extend has the
College involved local, regional and state and federal economic development
people in the facility. The
question still remains “Is this Technology Center still the vision that passed
the ballot measure”? The people of Tehama County see this as the next step to
bringing real jobs, real wages to Tehama County.
Dr. Retterer stated that she was holding off have
meeting with the business and economic leaders in Tehama County until a site
selected. The vision now is that
these occupational programs will be what are needed here; the transfer courses
will be what are being requested by the student’s currently in this county and
that this will grow to be it’s own college with the county’s name on it that it
serves and with it’s own accreditation, still part of the district, but fully
accredited and the diploma’s will say Tehama College. Until a decision has been made the
College will continue to consider every piece of land.
Several people spoke regarding the location of the
college, what was presented to the voters when this ballot measure was placed on
the ballot, which was that the college would be centrally located and that it
would be a technical college that would train people for
jobs.
Ross Turner, Chairperson Tehama County Board of
Supervisors and also a member of the Ad Hoc Committee for the appeal board to
discuss the situation. The College
Site Solicitation Committee went and considered the Ohm property on Flores and
I-5 was and still is in the Williamson Act, which takes 10 years to get out
of. There was property directly
across the freeway on the north side of Flores, on the West side of I-5, that
was not in the Williamson Act and was already zoned Commercial that was not
considered. The selection
committee, with the insistence of Dr. Treadway zeroed in on the Ohm property
with blinders on. Why should the
children of Tehama County have to exit Tehama County to better their education
in Butte and stated that he was very offended by the commentary made about
rudeness on the part of the ad hoc committee who met numerous times with
representatives of the college and the development coordinator as the comment
was very inaccurate and very offensive to the ad hoc committee
members.
Councilmember Gregg Avilla stated that he was also on
the site selection committee and that the vision had changed. This doesn’t even sound like the vision
that the committee took to the voters of Tehama County and if this was how it
were presented to the voters of Tehama County, chances are that the ballot
measure would not have passed. The
vision that everyone thought they heard from Dr. Treadway was that this would be
a one of a kind technology center on I-5 between Canada and Mexico. If you’re changing the vision then let’s
get the college built. The vision
as presented now if not what it was presented to the voters to
be.
Mayor Pro Tem Larry Stevens stated that the decision
was not one that would be made by either of the City Councils, but his hope is
that this facility will be able to offer the type of education that is needed in
this community.
City of Corning Mayor Gary Strack stated that he
hoped the College would be willing to work with Gregg O’Sullivan and look at
other options available, one being grants that are available through Tri-County
Economic Development.
Dr. Retterer stated that the vision of strong
technical programs has not changed.
One of the most exciting programs that they have been approached to bring
to the Tehama College is Imaging (x-rays; radiology etc.) and others are
Veterinary Technician and computers.
Mayor Flynn thanked Dr. Retterer and her associates
for coming to this special meeting and listening to the concerns of those in
attendance.
There being no further questions Mayor Flynn
adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m. to November 16, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in the Red
Bluff City Council Chambers.
ATTEST:
Mayor
s/b Cheryl Smith
Deputy City Clerk