The Navajo County Community College District Governing Board addressed an item Tuesday placed on the agenda by board member Frank Lucero.
The item in question was the current agreement that Northland Pioneer College has with the Jake Flake Emergency Services Institute of Northeast Arizona Training Center (NATC) located in Taylor. NATC is not owned by the college, but is operated by an executive board made up entirely of Northland Pioneer College staff, and serves as a site where NPC instructs fire science and law enforcement training.
NPC pays an annual lease amount of $24,000 to use the facility. Lucero questioned why the college pays a lease amount for use of the facility when other colleges in similar circumstances provide instructional services in lieu of paying a monetary lease amount.
“I just think that this is an expense that we should reconsider,” stated Lucero.
He moved that a letter be submitted to NATC stating that the board would like to contribute services equal to the amount of the lease. The motion died without a second.
“It is an awkward relationship that we have with NATC,” stated board member Prescott Winslow. “The college attorney says that we shouldn’t own the facility due to the liabilities involved. But it is a unique property as there aren’t others available with a burn tower that’s convenient or cost effective. I do think it would be useful in long term planning to determine if there is a goal to own it.” He added that he felt that it was still a good deal as it stood.
Board President Ginny Handorff commented that she felt $24,000 was a “drop in the bucket,” comparatively.
It was also noted that the facility does have some deterioration concerns and the buildings need to be monitored.
“The soil does shift and since there are modular buildings at the site, we have to re-level the building when needed, but NATC pays for that,” stated Vice President of Administrative Services Blaine Hatch, who is also on the NATC Executive Board. He also commented that the $24,000 is the fair market value for leasing just the buildings located at the facility.
Winslow mentioned that it was also awkward that as “tenants,” NPC was allocating funds so that the “landlord” could improve the facility. “What if we improve the facility and the NATC raises the rent?” he asked.
“It is a bit awkward that NPC is a tenant and the landlord is NATC, which is also NPC,” agreed Hatch, indicating that it would be unlikely that the rent would increase without the support of the college as a whole.
The lease for the facility was approved prior to the fiscal year and is not up for renewal until June 2015.
