August 30, 2021 Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes


The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees convened a meeting on Monday, August 30, 2021, at 3:18 p.m., in person, and via Zoom in The Brumit Center for Culinary Arts and Hospitality. Dr. John Parham, Chair, presided.

The following members of the Board participated in person: Theresa Banks, Joe Brumit, Michael Garrison, Tommy Justus, Matt Kern, David King, Judy Lewis, Roger Metcalf, John Parham, Max Queen, and Frances Ramsey. Trustee Nian Avery participated via Zoom. Trustees Himanshu Karvir and Libby Kyles were absent.

Others present for the meeting included: Dr. John Gossett, President; Terry Brasier, Vice President Student Services; Shanna Chambers, Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development; Amanda Edwards, Executive Director College Advancement; Kerri Glover; Executive Director of Community Relations and Marketing; Anne Oxenreider, Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research; Beth Stewart, Vice President Instructional Services; Brian Willis, Vice President Information and Technology/CIO; Dirk Wilmoth, Vice President, Business and Finance/CFO; Deborah Wright, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development and Continuing Education; Darryl Rhymes, Director, Employment and Employee Relations; Chris Campbell, College Attorney; Ashley Leonard, College Attorney; and Carolyn Rice, Secretary to the Board.

 

Call to Order

Chair Parham read the ethics statement. No conflicts of interest were reported. Ms. Rice called the roll, a quorum was present.

 

Swearing-In

At 3:20 p.m. the Honorable Jacqueline D. Grant, Superior Court Judge, swore in new Trustees Michael Garrison and Tommy Justus and reappointed Trustee John Parham to the Board.

 

Presentation on the Roles and Responsibilities of a Board Member

Ms. Ashley Leonard and Mr. Chris Campbell discussed the roles and responsibilities of being a Trustee with the Board. The presentation included best practices for governance, the authority of a Board member as a part of a corporate entity, the definition of a public meeting, information on closed session meetings, hiring and firing decisions, the duty to maintain impartiality in the exercise of judicial functions, public records information, dealing with complaints and concerns, and a top ten list of things that every good Board Chair must know.

 

Consent Agenda

At 4:00 p.m. Chair Parham asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda.

Dr. Banks moved to approve Consent Agenda items: 1. A. June 7, 2021 Board Meeting Minutes, 1. B. Personnel Actions, and 1. C. Continuing Budget Resolution. The motion to approve the Consent Agenda was seconded by Mr. Kern and was approved unanimously by the Board.

 

Resolution/Action Items

2. A. Dr. Dirk Wilmoth discussed the obsolete and surplus property with the Board. General Statute 160A-270 allows the College to sell obsolete and surplus property at a public auction. Items will be sold “as is” and include office and classroom furniture, instructional equipment, computers, plant operations equipment, and surplus vehicles. Receipts from the sale of the obsolete and surplus property will be returned to the initial funding source, such as if a state-funded item sells, the funds from that sale will be returned to the state fund account.

On a motion by Mr. Queen, seconded by Mr. Brumit, the Use of Auctions for Surplus Items was approved by unanimous consent.

2. B. Dr. Wilmoth stated that the College is seeking approval to extend the service agreements for Design and Engineering Services during 2021-2022, for projects under $500,000.

On a motion by Mr. Brumit, seconded by Mr. Kern, the Extension of Annual Open-Ended Service Agreements for Design and Engineering Services during 2021-2022 was approved by unanimous consent.

2. C. Mr. Brian Willis informed the Board that the Acceptable Use Policy has been updated to ensure that our employees are properly using College-provided resources when accessing the internet, using proper online behavior, and being good stewards of College-provided assets.

2. D. Mr. Willis also discussed the new Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Policy and Procedure with the Board. This policy and procedure were created to protect employee and student privacy while using College provided computers.

Mr. Queen asked that the College include the draft copy of policies and procedures in the Board packet so that the Board can see the mark-ups and changes that were made to the policy prior to approval.

On a motion by Mr. Kern, seconded by Mr. King, the Acceptable Use Policy and the Personally Identifiable Information Policy and Procedure were approved by unanimous consent.

 

President's Report

Dr. Gossett shared the following information with the Board:

  • Dr. Gossett thanked the Board and stated that he is happy to be a part of A-B Tech.
  • Dr. Gossett also thanked the Board for moving the Board meeting date to August 30 so that he could attend the American Culinary Convention in Orlando where A-B Tech’s Culinary Team won “Best in Show” for their appetizer. Our students represented the College well.
  • Our enrollment this fall is good, and we continue to work through the drop/adds with our students.
  • The pandemic continues to be an issue. The College saw a slight uptick in cases when everyone returned to campus. Ms. Shanna Chambers and Mr. Darryl Rhymes are working tirelessly with our employees, and Dr. Brasier is doing the same with our students on keeping everyone safe and healthy.
  • The College has returned to mandating masks on campus. We have also purchased air purifiers that have been placed in class and conference rooms on the Asheville, Enka, and Madison campuses.
  • Ms. Amanda Edwards and the College Advancement Team did an excellent job with the annual K. Ray Bailey Golf Tournament and raised over $35,000 in scholarship funds.
  • We have held several graduations and pinning ceremonies this summer, mostly in Allied Health programs.
  • A-B Tech sent resources to help residents in Haywood County who were affected by the floods. We will continue to support those in need.
  • Finally, the Pratt & Whitney project is moving forward. The architect has been hired and we have been looking at potential sites for our building.

 

Trustee Business

4. A. Dr. Parham asked the Nominating Committee to present their nominations for Chair, Vice-Chair, and Board Secretary for 2021-2022. Mr. Kern shared that the Committee met several times electronically and make the following recommendations: Mr. Matt Kern as Chair, Dr. Roger Metcalf as Vice-Chair, and Ms. Carolyn Rice as Board Secretary.

4. B. Mr. Kern then stated that members of the Executive Committee would be Dr. Parham, Dr. Metcalf, Ms. Ramsey, Mr. Karvir, and himself.

Dr. Parham asked the Board for any nominations from the floor and there were none. Dr. Parham then asked for a motion to approve the slate of candidates as presented.

On a motion by Mr. Queen, seconded by Ms. Lewis, the slate of candidates was approved by unanimous consent.

Ms. Ramsey and the Board thanked Dr. Parham for his service as Chair, and Dr. Metcalf for his willingness to continue in the Vice-Chair role.

4. C. Dr. Parham asked the Board to let Ms. Rice know as soon as possible if they were able to attend the September 22-25, 2021 NCACCT Leadership Seminar in Wilmington.

 

Staff Report

With respect to the time, Dr. Gossett asked the Board to postpone the Staff Report to the October 4 meeting.

 

Closed Session

At 4:25 p.m., Mr. Queen moved that the Trustees enter into a closed session pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (1) and (3) in order to discuss confidential personnel matters pursuant to G.S. 115D-27-29 and to discuss matters protected by the attorney-client privilege.

Dr. Banks seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Return to Open Session

At 5:17 p.m. on a motion properly made, the Trustees returned to open session.

Trustee David King asked Dr. Parham if he could address the Board.; Mr. King shared that Ms. Oralene Simmons asked him to thank the Board for their generosity and for the generosity of our staff. Special thanks go to Dr. Gossett for attending the MLK Scholarship Ceremony and for taking the time to meet and speak with all of the scholarship recipients. Mr. Darryl Rhymes was also thanked and recognized. Mr. Rhymes loves the College and raised money to fund his own scholarship fund for our students.; Mr. Rhymes was able to award a student $1,500 to attend A-B Tech this fall.

Thank you also to Dr. Gossett’s wife Julie, who took the time to read all of the MLK Scholarship Application packages!

 

Handouts

Chair Parham mentioned that the State and County Budget Report as of June 30, 2021, and the August 2020-2021 Student Success Scorecard were in the Handouts.

The next Board meeting will be on October 4, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. in The Brumit Center for Culinary Arts and Hospitality.

 

Adjourn

On a motion properly made, the meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Carolyn H. Rice
Board Secretary