January 18, 2022 at 6:30 PM - Regular Meeting

1. Roll Call
 

2. Invocation
 

3. Approval of Minutes
 

4. Communications
 

5. Audience to Patrons and Petitions
 

6. Information Items
 

6.A. Enrollment Reports
 

6.A.1. Credit Students. The Registrar’s Office reports the attached headcount/contact hour enrollment for the Spring 2022 semester.
 

6.A.2. Dual Credit and Concurrent Enrollment Report. The Registrar’s Office reports the attached dual credit and concurrent enrollment for the Spring 2022 semester.
 

6.A.3. Community Education Courses. The Director, Community Education, reports the attached enrollment data for December 2017-2021.
 

6.A.4. Center for Business/Industry Training. The Director, Center for Business/Industry Training, reports the attached enrollment data for December 2017-2021.
 

6.B. Report of Taxes Collected. Attached is the report of taxes collected for the month of December 2021.
 

6.C. Report of Unfilled Positions. The Vice President, Human Resources, provides the attached report on vacant positions that are currently being advertised.
 

6.D. Resignations and Retirements. Pursuant to Board Policy DMD (LOCAL), the President has accepted the written notice of resignation from the following contract-level employee:  

Mr. Jarrod Creswell, Instruction and Program Coordinator of Industrial and Commercial Construction Management, submitted his resignation, effective December 17, 2021.
 

6.E. New Teachers for Community Education Program. Attached is a communication from the Director, Community Education, reporting on one new teacher for the Community Education Program for the month of December 2021.
 

6.F. Fund Development Report. The Vice President, College Advancement, provides the attached report on fund development activities of the Brazosport College Foundation for the months of January and February 2022.
 

6.G. Institutional Employment and Diversity Reports. Attached are the 2020-2021 Institutional Employment and Diversity Reports. The Vice President, Human Resources, will be present to answer questions regarding this report.
 

6.H. Small Business Development Center Report. The Director, Small Business Development Center, has attached a report providing an annual update on activities supporting area small businesses.
 

6.I. Financial Aid Annual Report 2020-2021. The Director, Financial Aid, provides the attached Financial Aid Annual Report for 2020-2021.
 

6.J. Affidavits for Disclosure of Conflict of Interest. Attached is the Affidavit Disclosing Substantial Interest in a Business Entity or Real Property, as defined in Local Government Code Sec. 171.002; the Affidavit for Disclosing Interest in Property under Government Code, Chapter 553, Subchapter A; the Affidavit for disclosing gifts exceeding $100 accepted from any vendor doing business with Brazosport College by Board members or any family member of a Board member, as defined in Local Government Code 176; and Board Policy BBFA (LEGAL) which provides additional information referenced in the disclosure affidavits.  

Affidavits for each Board member will be distributed at the meeting.  The affidavits will need to be completed and notarized following the meeting. 
 

6.K. Community Reception Welcoming Dr. Vincent Solis. Brazosport College, the Board of Regents, the Brazosport College Foundation, in partnership with the Brazosport Area Chamber of Commerce and The Economic Development Alliance of Brazoria County will host a community reception welcoming Dr. Vincent Solis as the new President on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, at the Dow Academic Center at Brazosport College. The reception is scheduled from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
 

6.L. 2022 Board Workshop. As part of the College’s evolving planning process, the Board meets in an annual workshop to study information, measure progress toward milestones, and discuss future directions. 

The 2022 Board Workshop is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, February 4-5, 2022. Professional Development workshop sessions will take place on Friday from 11:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. A Special Board Meeting will be held on Saturday morning, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The Board meeting will provide an opportunity to review the College’s ten-year financial outlook and consider updates to the Strategic Plan Vision 2025. These workshop sessions and Special Board Meeting will be held in person at the Corporate Learning Center at Brazosport College.
 

6.M. 2022 Board of Trustees Institute. The 2022 Board of Trustees Institute (BOTI), as part of the Texas Success Center, has been set for March 1-2, 2022 at the Hilton Hill Country San Antonio. The program will begin at 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, and conclude at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2, 2022.  Two members of the Board of Regents are invited to attend in addition to Dr. Vincent Solis, President. Reservations are to be made through Kasie Guthrie, Executive Assistant to the President.
 

6.N. Counselor/Administrator Dinner. The annual Counselor/Administrator Dinner is scheduled for Thursday, March 3, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., at the Dow Academic Center at Brazosport College. The dinner and program provide a forum for conveying appreciation for the work of ISD administrators and counselors who collaboratively work with Brazosport College in efforts to support college readiness and student success. College Board of Regents members are invited as guests of the College.
 

6.O. 2022 Career Fair. Brazosport College will host its annual Career Fair on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. The event serves approximately 1,700 juniors from the Angleton, Brazosport, Columbia-Brazoria, Danbury, and Sweeny Independent School Districts. Homeschool students, as well as students from Angleton Christian School, Brazosport Christian School, and Foundation Preparatory Academy will also participate. As in previous years, students will have the opportunity to participate in four educational sessions on specific career areas and general topics. A variety of activities that are designed to provide career and educational information will be provided through this cooperative effort between Brazosport College, the ISDs, business, industry, and civic organizations. We are excited to welcome and host this exciting event again this year.
 

6.P. Commencement 2022. Commencement exercises for the 2021-2022 academic year are scheduled for Saturday, May 14, 2022, at the Dow Academic Center at Brazosport College. The two ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The College will host a lunch at Gator Hall for faculty, staff, commencement guests, and Board members in between the two ceremonies.
 

6.Q. 2022 CCATT Annual Conference. The 2022 Community College Association of Texas Trustees (CCATT) Annual Conference has been set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 9-11, 2022. Location to be determined. Members of the Board of Regents are encouraged to attend with Dr. Vincent Solis, President. Registration for the conference is to be made through Kasie Guthrie, Executive Assistant to the President.
 

6.R. Board Policy Review. At the Board Workshop on February 13-14, 2009, Regents initiated a systematic review of Board policy.  It was suggested that a number of Board policies be included for review as part of each monthly agenda.  Questions regarding the referenced policy may be addressed to the President prior to the meeting for clarification and/or discussion.

The attached policies, DMB (LEGAL) and DMB (LOCAL), regarding Termination of Employment – Tenure can be found at: https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/215?filename=DMB(LEGAL).pdf and https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/215?filename=DMB(LOCAL).pdf.
 

6.S. Brazosport College Calendar. The Brazosport College Calendar for January 25, 2022 through April 29, 2022 is attached.
 

7. Reports/Presentations
 

7.A. Endowment Investment Update. Mr. Shannon Willems, AB Bernstein, will provide information on the performance and allocation of the College endowment funds.  Included is Mr. Willems’ presentation.
 

7.B. Report on Performance. The Director, Institutional Research, provides information on selected measures of College performance in the attached Performance Report.
 

7.C. President's Report.
-College Update
-Regents' Visibility
 

8. New Business
 

8.A. Freeport LNG Development, LP Tax Abatement Application.  Freeport LNG Development, LP and FLNG Liquefaction 4, LLC for property located in Brazoria County Reinvestment Zone No. 21-01 has applied for a 10-year tax abatement to construct a fourth train for liquefaction and export of liquid natural gas (“LNG”) in the amount of $2,403,472,500 for improvements at 100% abatement of eligible real and personal properties with an effective start date of January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2032. Brazoria County approved this abatement request on March 23, 2021, with the same terms and conditions as listed above.  The court order is attached for your review. 

History: In 2014, Freeport LNG received authorization by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) to construct additional facilities to liquify and export domestic natural gas.  From 2008 until 2014, Freeport LNG operated an LNG import regasification terminal on Quintana Island.  Once authorized, Freeport LNG began construction on their three-train liquefaction and export facility on Quintana Island.  The first train began commercial operation in December 2019, and achieved full, three-train production in May 2020.

Due to the continuing demand for LNG around the world and the abundance of natural gas in the United States, this project will add a fourth train to liquify and export LNG.  Like the other three trains, train 4 will utilize all electric motors, resulting in negligible incremental emissions.  The fourth train will be adjacent to the first three trains, adding an additional five (5) million tons of LNG for export, bringing the total production and export for all four trains to over 20 million tons of LNG per year.  

Currently, there are 230 jobs at the Freeport facility and the company estimates 45 new jobs will be created by this project, making the total number of employees 275.  Local contractors will be utilized for this project to the extent possible, and the company estimates 150 construction jobs at the onset of construction, 1,200 construction jobs at its peak, and 400 construction jobs at completion of the project.

The Board of Regents must approve a variance if Freeport LNG’s application for abatement is accepted:

Our guidelines, Section 2(g) state, “The term of Abatement may be up to 7 years or one-half (1/2) of the productive life of the improvement whichever is less…”

It is recommended that the Board grant a variance and approve a 10-year abatement.

It would be appropriate for the Board to approve this abatement with the variance of the term from 7 years to 10 years beginning January 1, 2023 and ending on December 31, 2032.
 

8.B. Phone System Upgrade. DataVox, a Department of Information Resources (DIR) vendor, has submitted a statement of work to the College for our phone system upgrade.  We are on a three-year cycle for software updates, and hardware is replaced if needed.  The last hardware update was in 2016, but the main reason that we must replace our servers, VoIP phones, and other supporting hardware is because Cisco will no longer support our current hardware. The existing hardware is starting to fail and there will be no more updates available. There are budgeted capital funds to cover this purchase.  Please see a breakout of the purchase below:

Software Upgrade                  47,402.14
Hardware Replacement       118,469.09
Professional Services            39,705.36
            Total                        $205,576.59

It would be appropriate for the Board to approve this purchase of a phone system upgrade.
 

8.C. Audit Engagement for 2021-2022 Fiscal Year. Attached is an engagement letter from the firm of KM&L, LLC describing the services to be performed for the College for the year ending August 31, 2022.  This will be the fifth year of a five-year award that the Board approved on January 22, 2018.  The fee estimate included in the engagement letter is $51,150 for services as described in the letter.  Also attached is a list of the actual fee billings for previous audits.

It would be appropriate for the Board to accept the engagement letter and approve the engagement of KM&L, LLC as auditor for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2022.
 

8.D. Board Policies.
 

8.D.1. Proposed Amended Board Policy – BBD (LOCAL) – Board Members – Orientation and Training.  The Vice President, Human Resources, recommends adoption of amended Policy BBD (LOCAL) regarding the orientation and training of Board members.  Board policy provides that new or amended policies are to be presented at one meeting and adopted at a subsequent meeting. Attached is a copy of the proposed amended policy with existing policy language appearing as regular text, new language in blue font, and deleted language in red font with a strike-through.

This proposed amended policy is presented for first reading.
 

8.D.2. Proposed Amended Board Policy – CF (LOCAL) – Purchasing and Acquisition.  The Vice President, Human Resources, recommends adoption of amended Policy CF (LOCAL) regarding purchasing and acquisition.  Board policy provides that new or amended policies are to be presented at one meeting and adopted at a subsequent meeting. Attached is a copy of the proposed amended policy with existing policy language appearing as regular text, new language in blue font, and deleted language in red font with a strike-through.

This proposed amended policy is presented for first reading.
 

8.D.3. Proposed Amended Board Policy – CHA (LOCAL) – Site Management – Security.  The Vice President, Human Resources, recommends adoption of amended Policy CHA (LOCAL) regarding security.  Board policy provides that new or amended policies are to be presented at one meeting and adopted at a subsequent meeting. Attached is a copy of the proposed amended policy with existing policy language appearing as regular text, new language in blue font, and deleted language in red font with a strike-through.

This proposed amended policy is presented for first reading.
 

8.D.4. Proposed Amended Board Policy – CHF (LOCAL) – Site Management – Weapons.  The Vice President, Human Resources, recommends adoption of amended Policy CHA (LOCAL) regarding weapons on campus.  Board policy provides that new or amended policies are to be presented at one meeting and adopted at a subsequent meeting. Attached is a copy of the proposed amended policy with existing policy language appearing as regular text, new language in blue font, and deleted language in red font with a strike-through.

This proposed amended policy is presented for first reading.
 

8.D.5. Proposed Amended Board Policy – CKD (LOCAL) – Insurance and Annuities Management – Health and Life Insurance.  The Vice President, Human Resources, recommends adoption of amended Policy CKD (LOCAL) regarding health and life insurance.  Board policy provides that new or amended policies are to be presented at one meeting and adopted at a subsequent meeting. Attached is a copy of the proposed amended policy with existing policy language appearing as regular text, new language in blue font, and deleted language in red font with a strike-through.

This proposed amended policy is presented for first reading.
 

8.D.6. Proposed Amended Board Policy – CM (LOCAL) – Facilities Construction.  The Vice President, Human Resources, recommends adoption of amended Policy CM (LOCAL) regarding facilities construction.  Board policy provides that new or amended policies are to be presented at one meeting and adopted at a subsequent meeting. Attached is a copy of the proposed amended policy with existing policy language appearing as regular text, new language in blue font, and deleted language in red font with a strike-through.

This proposed amended policy is presented for first reading.
 

8.E. Financial Report. The Vice President, Financial Services & CFO, provides the attached financial report for December 2021.  Previously, we communicated that the November and December 2021 financial reports would be presented, but because the financials are cumulative, November 2021 data is embedded in the December financials, creating a lack of relevance for the November 2021 financial report to be presented separately.
 
As a follow up, at the October 2021 Board meeting, the September 2021 financial statements were presented, and a question was asked about why contract services were so high compared to the prior year. The difference was $1,353,522.  There was an entry posted to drawdown federal HEERF funds for CBIT lost revenue in the amount of 1,400,000. The entry required posting revenue and expenses to the grant fund because the grant fund must have equal revenue and expenses and net to zero.

Contract services was selected because that is where the expense would have occurred if we didn’t have lost revenue.

It would be appropriate for the Board to accept the December 2021 financial report.