Glen Oaks plans reopening steps

The Glen Oaks Community College Board of Trustees discussed reopening procedures with staff Thursday as the state has begun lifting COVID-19 restrictions. 

Human Resources Director Jamie Bennett-Yesh provided details on reopening. “[Members of our reopening committee have] worked for several weeks on a reopening plan per the Executive Order.” 

As with many public facilities, reopening will be phased. In a Facebook post, Glen Oaks announced its campus will reopen by appointment only starting June 15. Faculty and staff who can work from home will continue to do so. Personnel must submit health screenings and certify they don’t have symptoms when reporting to work, and protective equipment and social distancing measures will be implemented. 

The committee considered temperature testing for people arriving at the campus but declined the measure due to the risk of exposure for testing personnel and privacy concerns for those being tested. Later phases will be revised as orders from the state and the pandemic itself develop. Current details have been shared through the college’s internal network.

College President Dr. David Devier asked Bennett-Yesh how Glen Oaks’ plans compared with other schools. 

“It’s very similar. The thing that I’ve noticed on the calls with the other presidents is that there is such a wide span,” Bennett-Yesh said. 

She noted that Jackson Community College determined it would stay online until there is a COVID-19 vaccine, whereas some institutions have already had some people working in person. 

“For most of the colleges, it was striking how similar our plans were. For the most part, most of us landed in the middle, and doing very much what Glen Oaks is doing.”

LEVY RESOLUTION FORWARDED; NEW BUDGET REDUCED

The trustees voted to submit a Tax Levy Resolution to St. Joseph County, which authorizes collection of taxes on the college’s behalf for the next fiscal year. 

The board also approved a 2020-2021 fiscal year budget, which includes a seven percent reduction in income from tuition and fees, and a 10 percent across-the-board reduction for all non-salaried and benefited employee costs, with the exception of utilities, insurance, legal services, and auditing. 

“We had an extensive conversation last week,” Devier said, “and in my time here this is the first time that we have not come out of the gate projecting increases, but there are so many facets to this in the future that we just don’t know, enrollment being the biggest, but also the state support, you know, what’s going to happen with that? What’s going to happen with K-12’s ability to continue with the dual enrollment initiative? We just don’t know.” 

Devier noted, “This is actually the least conservative of many of the community colleges that I know of, at seven and ten [percent reductions], most of them are at ten and twenty and even more. So, everybody’s planning for the worst and hoping for the best, I guess. That’s where we are, and of course the board knows we can always make adjustments.”

Earlier in the meeting, Vice President of Finance Bruce Zakriewski reported on the 2019-2020 budget. In most categories, spending ranged between 75 and 90 percent of allocated amounts, with some as low as half or less. “This year we’re in good shape,” Zakriewski said. The 2019-2020 budget will be filed pending completion of an audit. 

TRUSTEES PLAN JULY RETREAT

The Board of Trustees has scheduled its annual planning retreat for July 9 at 8 am. A regular business meeting will be followed by retreat discussions. The Dresser Business Development Auditorium will serve as the retreat venue. COVID-19 social distancing measures will limit the number of people allowed in the auditorium to 24, with six-foot spacing. The date and venue will be subject to change as pandemic restrictions play out. Devier suggested the conversation center around recent lessons from the pandemic and other current issues.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS CONTINUE SLOWLY

Devier also updated trustees on ongoing construction. 

“We continue to, at this point, I would say, go at a very, very subdued pace with the planning for the overall renovation of the northside of the campus,” Devier said, “right now we’re focusing on the Welding Lab reconstruction.” 

Devier described some earthwork that is taking place. 

“The one thing that is going on while we speak is that the mound with the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ that’s over on the northeast corner by the machining area, in behind the original welding area, is being removed. The plan is to make that into parking, which will be right in beside that particular handicapped entrance. We do have a good number of faculty and staff that historically park around the back side of the complex. This would concentrate that parking in a much better way.” 

Devier noted he was able to get a good price on the excavation from a contractor who needed the dirt for another project.

“This will be the first opportunity for folks to reimagine how this eventually might look when all four of the mounds are gone,” Devier said, “We’re still inching along, not spending a lot of money at this point. I think we will wait this out, you know, and just see where the world may be going in another month, two, three, four months, to see what the opportunity may be for us to go ahead.” 

Work on the original parking lot is finished except for some motorcycle safety work and finishing at the circle near the entrance. Devier said he continues to speak with state officials to find ways to fund ongoing projects.

OTHER BUSINESS

•At its May meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a one-time Separation Incentive Offer for any employee that has been at the college for over five years. Devier said information about the offer went out to employees last week. To date, no one has accepted the terms of the program, and some have declined it; employees have until Thursday, June 18 to respond.

•Zakriewski reported contract negotiations between the trustees and the Glen Oaks Support Staff Employees (GOSSE), an affiliate of the Southwestern Michigan Education Association, are ongoing. The existing employee contract expires on June 30.

•Trustee Alice Gieber asked to step down as the Alternate Delegate to the Michigan Community College Association. Delegates represent Glen Oaks at the association’s periodic meetings. Fellow Trustee Carol Higgins volunteered to replace her, and the trustees passed a motion to approve the change. Trustees Chair Bruce Gosling remains as the primary delegate. 

•Gieber and Trustee Nancy Percival will be up for re-election to new six-year terms on this November’s election ballot.

•The trustees approved a 2020-2021 meeting schedule, convening on the second Thursday of each month at 8 am. The July meeting will precede the retreat scheduled on the 9th.

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.