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Media Credit: David A. Flores Jack Joyce, chief operating officer of Facility Programming and Consulting, speaks Tuesday about improvements at this college. [Click to enlarge]

Members of user groups who will help plan the new buildings, met Tuesday with project managers, architects and consultants.

This college will be allotted $79 million in capital improvement projects of the $450 million bond passed in November.

"I'm delighted to be at this point to expand capacity with nursing and allied health and gain a lot of parking spaces," President Robert Zeigler said.

The bond project passed in 1987 transformed this campus from asphalt to green, and Zeigler said he hopes to repeat that success. "The whole process is a great deal of give and take," he said.

This was the first meeting at this college between the user groups and the construction and design teams. "We're trying to get the vision right now," said David Mrizek, chief financial officer and liaison between the user groups and design teams. "We know the importance of making sure we have the space necessary to expand the programs later."

John Strybos, district director of facilities operations and construction management, told the group, "Everyone here is going back to school. This is CIP 101, and it's going to be a multiyear class."

All of the homework assigned will need to be turned in in a timely manner, Strybos said, adding construction inflation is increasing at a rate of 9 percent annually. "We have the same challenges as the other campuses - not enough money," he said.

Another challenge for this campus, Strybos said, is that it is landlocked, meaning there is not as much room for the campus to grow. One option is to build taller structures.

"There is a potential for other real estate that could have a direct impact on the entire project," Strybos said.

Now is the time for the interested parties to make as many suggestions as they can, said Doug Lowe, president of Facility Programming and Consulting, the firm assisting this college in planning how new buildings will be configured. "Today is the first day of the project," Lowe said. "It doesn't cost anything to change your mind now."

Lowe used the example of time and influence plotted on an X and Y axis, saying influence diminishes over time. "Our job is getting students in classes as quickly as we can," Lowe said.

The construction costs can be broken out with 70 percent of the bond funds allocated for actual construction costs and the remaining 30 percent allocated for soft costs, such as furniture, fixtures and equipment, geo-technical studies of a construction site and contingencies, he said.

"We can't treat this like traditional government projects - it will be on time and on budget," Lowe said.

Another concern is construction projects in progress while students are on campus. Zeigler said, "We have to think about the impact of construction on campus."

This campus is particularly crowded during the day, said Executive Vice President Thomas Hoy. "We have 13,000 students wandering around during the day," he said.

A new nursing and allied health complex has the highest price tag at $33.2 million. "The voter's expectations are to expand the nursing programs and enrollment," nursing department Chair Judy Staley said.

"We have a lot of work to do," she said. "I'm very excited and optimistic."

For one department chair, the meeting came as a surprise. "We weren't told about the meeting until last night by Dr. Hoy," biology Chair Teanna Staggs said.

Other than the short meeting notice, Staggs is confident about the process. "I envision a synergistic relationship," she said.

Cheryl Startzell, medical assisting program coordinator, was positive about the meeting. "There's a lot of work to do," she said. "Everyone seems to be cooperating."

She and her staff have been planning for two years hoping a new bond package would be passed by voters. "We have a general idea of the floor plans and equipment we need," Startzell said.

Thomas Anthony, dental laboratory technology program coordinator, is looking forward to the program moving to this college.

The program has conducted classes at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Anthony said. "It's definitely going to be a long process," Anthony said.

Dr. Lula Pelayo, dean of professional and technical education, said involving users of the building from the beginning is important. "It's vital for them to have their say," she said.

The district department of public safety representative also said short notice of the meeting surprised him, adding the campus coordinator for the department was out sick Tuesday. "I didn't know about this until about five minutes ago," Sgt. Robert Tomlinson, day shift supervisor, said.

The department's offices probably will be part of a new parking garage, the location of which has yet to be determined, but the building currently housing the department will be demolished and that property used for other purposes.

The age of the building indicates it may contain asbestos, and that will increase the demolition costs. Those costs will be determined after environmental studies are completed.

Tomlinson expressed a need for space for clerks to distribute temporary parking permits, help students with holds clear unpaid parking tickets and enough parking spaces for students visiting the department.

The peak times for students parking at the current campus police building on North Main Avenue are at the beginning of each semester. For the academic complex, with $18.9 million allocated for the building, the wish list includes a common area for students to sit=, eat or relax, a conference room available for all of the users, single faculty offices and state of the art technology in all classrooms.

Ideally, the building would be close to Nail Technical and Chance Academic centers.

"This is an expression of what we need in a new building," philosophy Chair Ron Cox said.

Jack Joyce, chief operating officer of Facility Programming and Consulting, helped facilitate the meeting and expressed confidence in the process.

"Everyone has come well-prepared," Joyce said. "It's apparent they've been thinking about this a long time."

With followup meetings the week of April 10, the user groups will have a chance to express their opinions and needs and bring wish lists.

"We're still in the preliminary stages," Mrizek, who oversees the college budget, said. "Some concerns will be resolved moving forward; some won't."

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