Yavapai Community College’s District Governing Board was hastily called into a one-hour secret executive meeting on Thursday, December 14 to discuss and consult “with College Representatives Regarding Potential Lease and/or Purchase of Real Property, or Properties, in Prescott.” New officers will join law enforcement agencies across the state
Yavapai Community College, in a press release dated December 12, 2023, announced that 27 law enforcement recruits trained at the College’s Northern Arizona Regional Training Academy in Prescott participated in the traditional swearing-in and badge-pinning ceremony at the Prescott campus earlier this month.
At the ceremony, Community College President Dr. Lisa Rhine thanked the recruits for stepping into a difficult role during uncertain times. She said, “To say that it’s a very difficult time to be a police officer is truly an understatement. Thank you for your selfless decision to protect and serve and to take on the risks and demanding responsibility for all of us to live in a safe and secure community.”
Prescott Valley Police Chief Bob Ticer delivered the keynote address, congratulating them for the life of integrity it took to volunteer to join what he described as the “most noble profession on the face of the earth.”
The following are the NARTA Class 55 graduates and the police agencies they are joining:
Arturo Castillo, Jr., and Jason Tyler Ehlert, Chino Valley Police Department
Benjamin Samuel Bruner, Christian Brady Carter, Aaron Joseph Cote and Jennifer Jane Glover, Prescott Valley Police Department
Brandon Kalani Kawainui Callio, Page Police Department
Casey Sky Dragos, Camp Verde Marshal’s Office
Christopher Flowers, Nicholas William Hamilton, Douglas Allen Harwood, Nicholas David McKay, Brian Lee Sutton and Luis Alejandro Terrazas, Prescott Police Department
Michael Andrew Bentley, Oro Valley Police Department
Oscar Molina Teran, Payson Police Department
Richard James Avery, Bradley James Bartell, Jaden Elliot-Kai Berney and Tyler Jon Slim, Coconino County Sheriff’s Office
Travis Steven O’Donnal, Ryan Hunter Palmer and Corey James Tousley, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office
Ty Matthew Furr and Steele Domingo Salinas, Flagstaff Police Department
Victor Esteven Rodriguez, Maricopa Police Department
Zachary Joseph MacGregor, Jerome Police Department
Source: Yavapai Community College press release by JJ McCormack dated Dec. 12, 2023.
No business transacted
A holiday dinner party was held for the five members of the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board on Wednesday, December 6 at Murphy’s Restaurant in Prescott. No business was transacted during the dinner. The public was not invited.
Follows on the heels of a 5% tax rate increase approved by District Governing Board in May 2023
Yavapai Community College Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services announced at the November 26 District Governing Board meeting that the administration will ask for a two percent tax rate increase in 2024. The increase is needed, according to Dr. Ewell, to help provide funds for an estimated $3.36 million in additional revenue. If approved, the tax rate increase will add about one-third of the additional revenue the College says it needs.
If approved in May 2024, this will result in a total increase of seven percent in local property tax rates over two years that is associated directly with the College. This past May, the District Governing Board approved a 5% property tax rate increase. The administration also announced that it was seeking approval for a five percent tuition increase.
Program accredited in maintenance and light repair through 2028
The Yavapai Community College automotive program announced in a December 7 press release, authored by Tyler Rumsey, that it has received ASE Training Program reaccreditation from the ASE Education Foundation. The automotive program has been accredited in maintenance and light repair through 2028.
The College reported that to achieve the reaccreditation, its automotive program underwent a rigorous evaluation by the ASE Education Foundation. Nationally accepted standards of excellence in areas such as instruction, facilities, and equipment were used. The program was reaccredited in maintenance light
John Morgan, Associate Vice President for Career and Technical Education explained the reaccreditation process. He said: “During the past few months, we have worked closely with the ASE Education Foundation to make certain that our program would meet strict industry standards, and now we are delighted to join the ranks of the ASE accredited training programs. Students will be assured of a quality education, and shop owners will be assured of getting quality job applicants. The efforts of Jerrad Smith as the lead to get this accomplished are noticeable, and I want to commend the entire Automotive Department at Yavapai College for their continued excellence.”
YC offers two degrees and four certificates in automotive and diesel technology at its CTEC facility located at the Prescott airport.
Source: https://www.yc.edu/v6/news/2023/12/auto.html.
Insufficient interest shown in renting apartments by faculty, staff, or students
Yavapai Community College’s District Governing Board was informed at its November 26 meeting that the Administration anticipates closing down its Cottonwood Apartment experiment within the next 30 days, unless more interest is shown. According to Clint Ewell, Vice President of Finance and Administration, “we just have not had much interest in the rental plan.”
Ewell mentioned that eight units would be released, as only one student and one employee have rented apartments for the spring. He also assured the District Governing Board that the College incurred no capital or out-of-pocket expenses for the experiment.
The experiment was based on a handshake agreement, with no reduction in market prices for faculty, staff, or students renting space there. Additionally, the College did not provide any financial subsidies as incentives for faculty, staff, or students to rent at the Cottonwood complex.
To hear Dr. Ewell’s explanation to the District Governing Board, click on the video below:
Only community college admitted this year as well as being the first and only accredited NASM community college in the state of Arizona
Glendale Community College (GCC) was recently notified that they it has received accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). GCC is the only community college admitted this year as well as being the first and only accredited NASM community college in the state of Arizona. Only the three state universities in Arizona are also accredited by NASM.
To earn this recognition, the music program at GCC wrote a comprehensive self-study that addressed numerous standards established by NASM. This was followed by a campus visit by NASM in 2022 to verify the information in the self-study, listen to performances, observe classroom instruction, interview faculty, staff, students and administration, as well as verify academic transcripts of recent graduates. New members of NASM must repeat this process five years after initial accreditation, then again in five years, and every ten years after that.
Dr. Tiffany Hernandez, President of Glendale Community College, said that “our accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Music reflects GCC’s commitment to our students and our community to prepare musicians at the collegiate level. As the only NASM-accredited community college in the state of Arizona, GCC is proud to be a significant component of the performing arts and culture community in the West Valley and beyond.”
College offers no subsidy
Yavapai Community College has announced the rental fees for Sedona/Verde Valley faculty, staff, and students seeking temporary accommodation. Options include either a trailer park or rental apartments in Cottonwood. According to the College:
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A two-bedroom apartment is available at $1,900 per month for faculty, staff, or students.
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A “private bedroom” apartment can be rented for $1,100 per month.
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For those opting to share a bedroom in an apartment, the cost is $750 a month per person.
For those wishing to park their travel trailer of any vintage at the trailer park (six spaces potentially available), the fee is $500 a month. This fee may include water and electricity, but it’s advisable to confirm this before making a decision. The primary regulation for the trailer lot is a length limit of 50 feet for a trailer.
Additionally, the College has four of its own travel trailers for rent at the trailer park, which each renting for $1,000 per month, likely including electricity and water costs. However, potential renters should verify this information beforehand.
These facilities have been made available by the College to address the shortage of affordable workforce housing in the Verde Valley area for faculty, staff, and students.
At the November 26 meeting, local residents were sent from the large, comfortable meeting room to stand huddled in an adjacent hallway or to sit outside in the cold because four Board members would not move to smaller space to hold secret executive meeting of unknown length before starting posted workshop and business agenda
Robert E. Oliphant
EDITORIAL: The experience at the November 26 Yavapai Community College Governing Board meeting left many local residents attending it questioning the lack of a better plan for accommodating them when the Board meets in secret executive session.
The meeting had just begun when the Chair announced the executive session. Surprisingly, and to some attendees’ dismay, the four-member Board in the room (a fifth on zoom) chose to stay in the large meeting room, leaving dozens of residents to either wait for the regular meeting to resume by standing in the hallway or wander about the Verde Valley Campus with no idea of how long the secret executive session would last. Meanwhile, the four Governing Board members remained seated comfortably in the main meeting room, opting not to relocate to another space in the building or to an adjacent one for their secret executive meeting.
After about an hour or so with no indication of the secret meeting’s duration, many frustrated residents left.
This situation could have been easily avoided with proper planning and adequate consideration for those local residents who took time from their busy schedules to attend. For example, the secret meeting could have been moved on the agenda to the end of the workshop and business meeting. Or, it could have been held separately in the morning hours before the announced Workshop and Business meeting.
Alternatively, the four members of the Board could have demonstrated concern for the local Sedona/Verde Valley residents by moving to a space in Building “M” or ‘to an adjacent classroom building, if Building “M” had no available rooms. The residents would at least had chairs to sit on rather than stand in the hallway outside the meeting room or sit outside in the cold.
It is presumed they are being staged to prepare them for eventual placement at the ten space trailer lot still under partial construction where they will be used for faculty/staff/student temporary rental
Four Keystone Cougar trailers have been seen grouped in a Yavapai Community College Verde Valley Campus car parking lot. These are likely the same four trailers that were scheduled to be ready by fall 2023, and it appears they have finally arrived—at least to a parking lot. Once fully equipped and relocated to the partially still-under-construction trailer park, these trailers are expected to be available for short-term rental to faculty/staff and students.
Yavapai Community College has not disclosed the purchase price of the four travel trailers to the public.
