Minutes
Bond Oversight Committee
June 14, 2006
Present:
Committee Members: Marta Bookbinder, Coleman Campbell, Patrick Cheng, Chris
Eden, Stanley Gross, Rose Jacobs Gibson, Marion McDowell, Ruth Nagler
District: Kathy Blackwood, Barbara Christensen, Linda Da Silva, Jeff Gee (Swinerton),
Elisabeth Nielsen (Swinerton), José Nuñez, Leigh Sata (Swinerton)
Guests: Linda Asbury, San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce (attended in place of
Gene Klein), Mr. McDowell
1. Call to order
The meeting was called to order at 11:50 a.m. by Marion McDowell, Committee
Vice Chair. Chairman Jim Wyatt is out of the country this week.
2. Approval of minutes from meeting of February 1, 2006
Marta Bookbinder asked to change the word “funs” to “funds” on page 2, section
B, line 2. Ruth Nagler moved to approve the minutes as amended and Marta
Bookbinder seconded. The minutes were approved unanimously, as amended.
3. Review of cumulative report on expenditures through March 30, 2006
Kathy Blackwood distributed a report. At the end of March, 65% of Measure C
bond dollars were spent; 18% were committed; and approximately 18% are still
available. In the first year that bond money was available, $56 million was
spent. In the second year, $39 million was spent. This year, $38 million has
been spent to date.
The next report will include the accounting for Measure A funds as well as
Measure C funds. The Bond Oversight Committee will be given two separate
financial reports. Barbara Christensen asked if having the accounting displayed
with the bond projects list worked well for the committee. The consensus was yes.
4. Discussion of 2006 GO Bond Issue - Measure C and Measure A bonds
Barbara Christensen explained that there were approximately six months of planning
before the bond sale which took place in April. The sale included issuance of
Measure C ($40 million) and the first issuance of Measure A ($135 million) funds.
Moody’s and Standard & Poors rating agencies sent a team to the District to
evaluate the District’s creditworthiness and to assign a rating for the bonds that
were to be issued in April. They were given a comprehensive presentation on the
fiscal responsibility and financial health of the District by District staff. The rating
companies also examined the overall health of the County, including assessed
valuation increases, employment trends and the variety of industries represented in
the County. Moody’s upgraded the District’s rating to Aa1, making SMCCCD the
highest rated community college district in the state. Because of the high rating, not
all of the bonds had to be insured, thus saving taxpayers approximately $213,000.
In April, Ron Galatolo and Barbara Christensen went to New York where the pricing
of the bonds was to take place. They were given a presentation by Morgan Stanley
(bond underwriter) traders regarding the current market for bonds similarly rated as
those of the District, and were given recommendations on pricing for each of the
issues. Following the pricing, on the morning of April 11, Ron and Barbara were at
Morgan Stanley headquarters to watch orders for the District’s bonds coming in.
Mid-range bonds were not selling well and some adjustments were made to the
midterm bond pricing. At the end of the day, Morgan Stanley underwrote the
remaining unsold bonds, assuring the District that it would have all of the funds from
the bond sale available immediately. Barbara Christensen said that the District was
fortunate to hit the market on a good day, when interest rates were relatively low.
The all in true interest cost of this issue over the 25 year term of the bond repayment
is 4.85%, which is an excellent rate.
5. Discussion of Facilities Master Plan Update
José Nuñez presented an overview of projects, and provided a “Major Project
Summary” handout.
a.
b.
Cañada College
 Building 9 - $31.7 million, 40% complete.

Building 13 – under design, approximately $8 million.
The design was funded by the first bond measure and the
construction will be funded by the second bond measure.

Building 16/17/18 – submitted to Division of State Architects for
review; came back with “redlines” (questions/concerns). Resubmitted
with minor modifications. Hope to send it out to bid in August or
September.

There are also some small projects at Cañada.
College of San Mateo
 Building 35 – ribbon cutting today. It will be another year before
close out.
2

Building 36:
Main Building – substantially complete. Furniture will be
delivered throughout the summer. There will be phased move-ins;
will be ready for instruction in August 2006.
Star projector – will be ready for instruction in January 2007.
Marta Bookbinder asked why the projector was coming from
Japan rather than a United States company. Jeff Gee
explained that there are very few manufacturers of this type of
projector and the best lens manufacturers are in Japan. The
cost for the projector is $1.5 million. Shirley Kelly is still
seeking funding for this.
Linda Da Silva spoke about the leadership of Mohsen Janatpour
and Darryl Stanford of CSM’s Astronomy Department. Chris
Eden commented that astronomy was one of his favorite classes at
CSM.
Planetarium – The dome will be delivered in July. José pointed
out that not only students use the planetarium, but also busloads of
K-12 students come to the site, and hundreds of people come when
there is an eclipse, comet, or other astronomical event.

c.

Fire Pump - $1.7 million, 95% complete. 33 new fire hydrants also
have been installed.
Skyline College
Building 3 – 72% complete. This is one to two months behind
schedule; hope to deliver in August.

Building 6 & 7A - $27.2 million, 65% complete. The roof is not
completed on the science annex because of the weather. Linda
Da Silva spoke about roof composition. Typical flat roofs are
built up in layers. We are doing single ply with a 20 year life
cycle. Because it is light in color, it reflects rather than absorbs
heat, and is better for the environment.

Building 7 – design is underway. (Marta Bookbinder asked what “Pphase” and “SPWB” mean; José answered that they are the
preliminary phase and State Public Works Board, respectively.)

Building 7 Swing – underway. “Swing” is the movement of
classrooms to and from temporary facilities.
3

Building 8 – under construction; 73% complete.
José said that much work will be done during winter break on Buildings 6, 7A
and 8 (also on Swing) and they will be ready for instruction in January 2007.
d.
Districtwide
 Athletics Phase 1 – basically complete.

Fire Alarms – joint bond and state funded. Substantially complete.
Barbara asked when the new building at Cañada will open. José and
Jeff replied that construction will be completed in March or April of 2007.
It will be opened in phases. It will be operational for summer and fully
ready for classes in the fall.
Barbara reminded the committee that not all projects are fully funded by
bond funds.
Chris suggested that in the future, the facilities staff should use the names of
buildings in identifying projects rather than only building numbers.
José proceeded with a discussion of the 2006 Master Plan. In 2001, the District
completed a Master Plan prior to passage of Measure C. With the passage of
Measure A in November 2005, and with additional state funding of $45 million over
three years, he said that the District needed to revisit and update the 2001 Master
Plan. Steinberg Architects has been charged with studying the Plan and working with
faculty, staff and students to see if it was still viable. At tonight’s meeting of the
Board of Trustees, a proposed new Master Plan will be presented for discussion.
Some of the proposals in the new Master Plan include:
CSM:
- New student services building, to include administration, bookstore and
student union
- New wellness center in conjunction with Athletics Department, to
include Cosmetology
Cañada:
- Plan calls for a majority of remodeling rather than new construction
- New facilities maintenance center
Skyline:
- Remodel main building and buildings 2 and 7
- Extensive work on parking, roadways and gateways
- New wellness/indoor soccer facility, to include Cosmetology
4
-
New building to accommodate some programs that are currently housed
off campus and for administration
New facility for automotive technology
It is anticipated that the new Master Plan will be approved by the Board of
Trustees in August and it will be brought to the next meeting of the Bond
Oversight Committee for information.
Linda added that when considering whether to remodel or construct new facilities, it
is important to conduct a cost/benefit analysis. In some cases, modernization is cost
effective. In other cases, such as with seismically unsafe structures, it may be more
cost effective to construct new buildings.
José mentioned that the possibility of leasing space to offer classes in Half Moon
Bay is under review.
6.
Committee members’ comments/requests for future agenda items
Patrick Cheng brought up the issue of improving public transportation. Barbara
said that approximately seven years ago, SamTrans did a study to track student use
and found that it was not economically feasible to add routes among our colleges or
increase the frequency of bus runs to the colleges.
Coleman Campbell asked if there was a handout for tonight’s Board of Trustees
meeting. Barbara promised to send a Power Point presentation to committee
members.
Marta Bookbinder would like to know the date when the crane will move the
dome for the planetarium. Emails will be sent to committee members when
the date is confirmed.
7.
Schedule for next meeting
Next meeting will be on September 8, 2006. This is the day of the ribbon cutting
ceremony for the Science Building at CSM, which will take place at 2:15. Barbara
will send emails to find out if committee members prefer a meeting before (around
noon) or after (around 3:00) the ceremony.
The committee will meet at Skyline in January 2007 and at Cañada in the spring.
8.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 12:54 p.m.
5