NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Monday, January 28, 2008, oleson center

CALL TO ORDER – Chair Walter J. Hooper called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA - Douglas Bishop moved to approve the agenda. Seconded by William Myers, the motion carried.

READING NOTICE AND PROOF OF MAILING - The notice of annual meeting was read and proof of delivery verified, in accordance with the Board of Trustees bylaws.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS - Cheryl Follette made a motion, seconded by Elaine Wood, that the following slate of Board officers be approved for 2008. Walter J. Hooper, Chair; K. Ross Childs, Vice Chair; Robert Brick, Secretary; William Myers, Treasurer. Motion carried.

REGULAR MEETING DATES - On a motion by Ross Childs, seconded by Douglas Bishop, the January 2008-June 2009 regular board meeting calendar was approved as shown below. All meetings are scheduled in the Oleson Center.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS – Jay Hooper announced committee assignments as follows:

FALL EMPLOYEE OF THE SEMESTER – Bill Hendry announced that custodian Fred Cook has been selected NMC Employee of the Semester for Fall 2007.  Bill said that Fred always goes the “extra mile” with the many special events and needs at Great Lakes Campus. He takes pride and ownership in all he does.

TART TRAIL PROPOSAL – Ed Bailey introduced Bob Otwell, Executive Director of TART Trails, Inc. The TART trails group is proposing to expand the existing trail system along the western shore of Boardman Lake.  Bob presented the site plan and explained the proposed work.  Ed Bailey stated that legal counsel recommended that a license agreement be developed, giving TART permission to enter the land for a specific purpose. There are no costs to NMC associated with the development of the TART trail, with the possible exception of legal fees associated with the site license agreement.

KAL-TEC UPDATE – Marguerite Cotto explained that this project began in 2006.  NMC’s Construction Technology program, Extended Educational Services Business Development, Training Research Assessment & Coaching (TRAC), and the Bridge Program address concerns of economic development in Kalkaska County.  NMC provides a set of educational opportunities at simplest levels.  575 individuals have taken advantage of noncredit, GED completion and computer classes to date, and TRAC has trained a number of employees, thanks to joint grants.

BUDGET PROCESS UPDATE – President Nelson stated that revisions to the resource guidelines were discussed by trustees at their December meeting and are proposed for action this evening. Planning and Budget Council is meeting regularly to develop the budget, and Tim has given them parameters to guide their work, including no increase and no decrease in NMC’s State of Michigan appropriation and a potential increase in property tax revenue using a 3-year average.  PBC is just beginning their discussion on issues of tuition. The goal is for the budget to be wrapped up in May. There has been a substantial increase in capital requests which will be addressed by Craig Mulder and the Capital Outlay Assessment Team (COAT) process.  Stephen Siciliano serves as chair of PBC and Cathy Jones supports him with development of the budget model.

MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT – Cathy Jones asked if there were any questions regarding the monthly report.   There were none.

FOUNDATION FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT – Representative Ross Childs reported that the NMC Foundation Finance & Audit Committee has nothing new to report at this time. The next NMC Foundation Finance & Audit Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 20.

FOUNDATION REPORT – Cheryl Follette reported that:

• The 2007-2008 Annual Campaign has reached 88% of goal, with $290,000 raised so far.  There are 577 donors to date and 52 of them first-time donors.  The goal of the campaign is not only to raise dollars for operations and scholarships, but also to develop and strengthen donor relationships. Given our current numbers; we will likely exceed our goal for 600 total donors to the campaign and our goal of attracting 55 new first-time donors.  Bruce Byl and Susan Sheldon, our co-chairs, are leading the campaign wrap-up, under the guidance of Sonia Clem from the staff side.  We hope to meet or exceed our goal by February 27.
• The Foundation’s comprehensive fundraising program includes two special events each year—the BBQ and the golf outing.  Both committees are now meeting and planning this year’s events.  New for the BBQ this year will be an advance ticket sales kick off at the Grand Traverse Mall on February 16.  There will be lots of “hoopla” including a center court presence, a climbing wall and area elementary school PTOs and kids as ticket sellers.  Stop by and buy your tickets early.
• The Foundation is now under the leadership of Jim MacInnes.  As Chair, he’ll convene a Foundation orientation meeting on February 19 with our newest members Tom Jones, Terry Malone and Kerm Campbell.
• The first Foundation Board meeting of 2008 will be held on February 27.

BOARD POLICY COMMITTEE REPORT – Committee Chair Jay Hooper reported that the Policy Committee did not meet last month.

BOARD CHAIR REPORT – Board Chair Jay Hooper thanked the Board for participating in their winter retreat held January 24-25 and noted the importance of spending time on issues of significance to NMC.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT – President Tim Nelson added his thanks to the Board for time spent at the retreat; reported that spring semester enrollment is up by 30 students and 360 contact hours; that discussions continue between NMC and the Brookings Institution regarding a bi-national focus on fresh water and economic development in the Great Lakes Basin and that the Traverse Bay Economic Development Corporation has identified fresh water and energy as two of four primary clusters for economic development activity in northwest Michigan.

PUBLIC INPUT – Trustees heard public input from Daniel Henke, Kelly Louchart, Will Burgess, Jennifer Henke, Beth Knol, Rosanna Bissonette, and Elliott Morrison regarding their desire to have dedicated office space for campus ministry.

CONSENT ITEMS – On a motion by Cheryl Follette, seconded by Doug Bishop, the following items were approved:

• Minutes of the December 17, 2007 meeting
• Contributions for December 2007 totaling $346,893.70
• Summary Report for General Fund Accounts as of December 31, 2007 (attached).

RESOURCE GUIDELINES FOR FY09 – Doug Bishop moved to approve the NMC Resource Guidelines for fiscal year 2008-09 as presented.  Bob Brick seconded the motion.
Following discussion, the motion carried.

TART TRAIL ACCESS ENDORSEMENT – Elaine Wood made a motion, seconded by Cheryl Follette, that permission be granted as proposed for the TART trails group to use a portion of the Northwestern Michigan College property at Boardman Lake Campus for the development, maintenance, and future improvements of the TART trail system on the western side of Boardman Lake, pending development of acceptable terms of a licensing agreement.  Motion carried.

Tunnel infrastructure improvements – On a motion by Ross Childs, seconded by Elaine Wood, trustees authorized the administration to enter into a contract for the tunnel structural improvements with Hallmark Construction Company in the amount of $52,950.00, plus a 10% contingency, for a total project cost of $58,245.00 to be funded from the FY08 plant fund. 

DISCUSSION ITEMS
The board discussed the college’s strategic position as it relates to delivery of services off-campus at area high schools.  Stephen Siciliano explained that the college has been approached by area educators to extend credit instruction to two different high school campuses.  Issues related to credit transfer, cost to the institution at current tuition rates, ensuring quality of instruction, etc. were discussed.

The board discussed comments made regarding Campus Ministry office space during public input and asked for clarification about dedicated office space on campus.  President Nelson explained that the Student Government Association has a process for approving student organizations.  Student organizations are provided with meeting space at no charge, but they do not have dedicated office spaces.  Legality issues were raised, and trustees asked President Nelson to get a legal opinion on the matter.  He agreed to do that and report back at the February meeting.

Recorded by Karen Sabin