Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee issues annual report

Posted on: Apr 29, 2021 12:00:00 AM
In: District
Buildings and Facilities
Contact: Della Elliott della.elliott@gcccd.edu

The bond-funded construction projects modernizing the Grossmont and Cuyamaca College campuses are highlighted in a citizens’ oversight committee annual report released this week.

 The 2020 Annual Report by the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee highlights progress in the past year on the construction work funded by Prop. V, the $398 million bond measure approved by East County voters in 2012.

             The annual report included the following 2020 construction highlights:

• The January 2020 completion of the Performing and Visual Arts Center at Grossmont College, which includes a 390-seat state-of-the art theater with a professional performance stage, orchestra pit and balcony for student performances that will be open to the community.

•  The March 2020 completion of the Phase 1 renovation of the Science, Math, and Career Technology Complex at Grossmont College, which houses the Administration of Justice and Earth Science programs, a fingerprinting lab for the Forensic Technology program, computer labs and classrooms.

• The start of the second phase of the Science, Math and Career Tech complex with the demolition of Building 36 to make room for a new two-story facility. The first floor will include a new veterans’ space, open deck/balcony, a math computer lab, conference rooms and spaces for geography, oceanography, geology and social sciences. The second floor will include a tutoring center, math offices and classrooms.

• The September 2020 completion of Cuyamaca College’s chiller expansion, essential to providing a reliable source of cooling and heating to support new buildings, including the Student Services Building, which broke ground in February and is expected to be completed by summer 2022.

• Ongoing construction of a renovated Ornamental Horticulture facility at Cuyamaca College, which will provide classrooms, new greenhouses, a retail area and outdoor instructional spaces.

“Although 2020 has been challenging, there have been some great accomplishments this year,” CBOC Chair Dave Gauthier said. “The bond program is providing for the dramatic transformations of the Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges into state-of-the-art sites of higher learning.”

The report also notes that the projects benefited East County workers in the construction trades to the tune of nearly $5.7 million in wages and benefits. When workers throughout San Diego County are added to the mix, that number is nearly $15 million, with close to 82 percent of wages and benefits derived from the bond-funded projects going to local workers.

“These construction projects at our colleges will continue to provide jobs to scores of workers in East County and beyond, many of whom have attended or who have family that will attend our colleges in the future,” said Lynn Neault, chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.

 The 11-member Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee is charged with ensuring that revenues from Prop. V are spent on campus construction as promised to East County voters. The committee includes community members with expertise in construction and finance, as well as representatives from business and taxpayer organizations, the colleges’ student body, a senior citizens’ organization, the district’s foundation, and the colleges’ advisory committees.

Gauthier noted that the San Diego County Taxpayers Educational Foundation gave the oversight committee one of the highest scores possible – 25 out of 27 points -- for its transparency and accessibility of information on its website at http://propsrv.gcccd.edu/Pages/Home.aspx.

Reports by independent auditors presented in March gave the district high marks for its Proposition V management. A performance audit of Proposition V confirmed building funds are being spent as promised to taxpayers and that the district has properly accounted for expenditures.

 The district’s two colleges, Grossmont College in El Cajon and Cuyamaca College in Rancho San Diego, together serve more than 26,000 students.

For information about the college district, go to www.gcccd.edu

Cuyamaca College Ornamental Horticulture Building construction

Cuyamaca College Student Services Building construction

Grossmont College Performing Arts theater