The GRCC Board of Trustees met on May 16 to discuss various topics including GRCC’s new interim college president, the 2022-2023 budget proposal as well as new agreements and contracts with campus police and outside firms.
RELATED: Grand Rapids Community College announces new interim president.
First, GRCC’s Vice President for Finance and Administration, Lisa Freiburger, discussed a Michigan New Jobs Training Program agreement with Dover Pumps and Process Solutions Segment Inc.
The company is a Grand Rapids-based general purpose machinery manufacturer and the agreement with GRCC for job training was approved for $400,000.
Freiburger noted the company’s current situation and what they hope to accomplish with this new agreement.
“There are currently 236 full-time employees with Dover, and they are adding at least 49 new employees,” Freiburger said.
Next, Freiburger went over April’s financial statements while also noting that no real changes had been made to the 2022-2023 budget proposal from May 2, 2022.
Koetje then provided an update on the presidential search as well as the board’s decision to appoint GRCC President Emeritus Juan Olivarez as interim president for the time between Pink’s departure and the hiring of a new president.
Next, Koetje turned it over to Pink, who spoke about the upcoming Public Safety Training Center project. “We told you several weeks ago that the property at Three Mile and Bristol in Walker was the primary location that we were looking at,” Pink said. “That work continues in getting closer to having that fully identified as far as agreement with the owner.”
Pink also mentioned the upcoming trip to Lansing that board members will take to speak to legislators about both the Public Safety Training Center as well as the capital outlay project that has been proposed to the state. “Those are two very important projects to our campus right now,” Pink said.
Next, Freiburger spoke about a new contract for the Police Officers Labor Council bargaining group.
“This is a three year contract beginning July 1, 2022 going through June 30, 2025,” Freiburger said. “I would like to thank the bargaining team… We had a team of both our officers as well as several from our team along with a representative of POLC that negotiated through this contract. It has been ratified by our campus police team.”
According to Freiburger, 12 sworn officers and three dispatchers will be covered by this new agreement.
The package includes a fitness incentive in the form of a stipend, and a salary increase by 3% in year one, 3% in year two and a $500 stipend for all those covered in year three as well. In addition, the shift differential was increased for officers working on the second shift from $0.25 to $0.50. This will “bring them in line with other groups on campus similarly situated in a second shift schedule,” Freiburger said.
That contract was accepted by the board as well. To watch the complete meeting, click here.
The next board meeting is scheduled for June 13 when members are expected to vote on the 2022-2023 budget proposal.
