EL DORADO — South Arkansas Community College’s Board of Trustees were updated on the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center, approved a pay raise for the college’s president and new construction project at its meeting Tuesday.
The personnel and planning subcommittee met earlier this month to review Dr. Barbara Jones’ contract based on discussions during the board’s retreat with her, committee chair Gary Griffis said.
“As a subcommittee we reviewed notes and details from the board retreat. Six of the nine areas we talked to Dr. Jones about, she wholeheartedly met our expectations and three of those exceeded our expectations,” Griffis said. “So as it pertains to an annual report, the personnel and planning subcommittee is recommending a $6,000 pay increase on Dr. Jones’ salary. That would bring the total to $192,292.”
The three percent pay increase is within state guidelines and below the state maximum. Jones’ new pay raise would be retroactive to July 1, Griffis said.
Board chair Steve Cousins said, “I’m not a member of that committee, but I did attend the meeting. I was impressed by the deliberation and careful thought of the recommendations.”
Griffis’ recommendation to increase Jones’ salary was unanimously approved by the SouthArk Board of Trustees.
The budget and finance subcommitee met jointly with the real estate and facilities subcommitee to discuss a retrofit of the college’s lighting on both campuses, replacing a boiler, getting one system for controls and replacing its chiller in the computer technolgy building, committee chair Steve Cameron said.
“It’s going to be a pretty good sized project, $2.5 million that’ll be paid for through the energy savings that’ll be well documented in the process. Any savings would be guaranteed by Johnson Controls, a company that has been vetted by the college,” Cameron said.
SouthArk would request a loan to complete this project and the energy costs that would save after Johnson Controls’ work would pay the loan off. Additional savings would be available for the college to use.
SouthArk Vice President for Finance and Administration Carey Tucker said, “This contract would be approved pending the approval of the ADHE coordinating board.”
The Heritage Plaza fountain has been out of commission for almost a month. Tucker and staff in the college’s Physical Plant department have worked to make the fountain operation again.
“We had to get another part manufactured and Glenn Mechanical is helping us. We went local this time and they’re waiting to get the part in,” Tucker said. “They also created a relief valve to release some of the pressure which we think may be causing the problem. Hopefully we’ll get that up and running again shortly and make our foundation happy.”
They are also finalizing plans for the college’s Advanced Manufacturing Training Center on the SouthArk East Campus, Tucker said.
“CADM (Architecture) came in and our faculty on East Campus made some modifications that Mr. Dunn applied increasing our welding positions so we can utilize that with our new training facility. Hopefully pending approval will become permanent approval,” Tucker said.
The SouthArk board of trustees meets at 3:45 p.m. every other third Tuesday in the admistration building board room on West Campus.
Brittany Williams may be contacted at 870-862-6611, extension 131 or by email [email protected]
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