Padilla suggests extremely long term plans not may not be sufficiently flexible; greatest challenge for College in next few years may be how to use changing technology
Governing Board member Mitch Padilla led the discussion at the March District Governing Board meeting on the topic of the decision by the Administration to create a new Master Plan. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Board voted unanimously to allocate the $200,000 in the 2021-22 budget, suggested by the Administration, to hire experts to create a new Master Plan.
Mr. Padilla expressed concern about a future long-term Campus Master plan that might reduce the College’s flexibility to meet new and emerging needs. He said that to “set a plan out for ten years and try to adhere to that year after year until you get to the eighth or ninth year, when you begin the planning of the next ten, doesn’t allow for advances in technology.” He also said that changing technology is the single greatest factor the College is facing in terms of “changes in the next few years.” From his perspective, the Community College needs maximum flexibility in a Master Plan.
Representative Ray Sigafoos commented that the present ten-year plan was “just a plan” and not a collection of hard decisions that were “locked in cement.” He noted, for example, that plans to spend millions of dollars on the Prescott Valley Campus to move allied heath from the Verde Campus there and develop a major allied health training facility never fully materialized.
Representative Chris Kuknyo agreed with Vice President Clint Ewell that the College did not need more space. He urged the College to continuing caring for the space that it has and if deciding to build, do so in a way that “will last.” He also urged the College to be cautious and not begin a Master Plan “too early,” referring to lessons that might be learned from how it has operated during the Pandemic.
Representative Paul Chevalier commented that more space may be needed in Prescott Valley as it continues to grow. He also said that more space for Career and Technical Education will most likely be needed on the Verde Campus. Further, “Camp Verde,” he said, may “be the future of the Verde Valley” with its land and location. “Don’t forget about Camp Verde” in the new Master Plan.
President Dr. Lisa Rhine noted that the College needed “to be cautious “ in developing a new Master Plan. She thought that the Pandemic may have caused the College to change how instruction is delivered in the future. She said that at this point “we have adequate buildings; we may need to look at space and modify how it is used. We need to continue with our planned maintenance.”
You may view most of the discussion in the video clip below or you may go to the District Governing Board web site where the entire meeting is reproduced on video.