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The Egalitarian
Wednesday March 30, 2016
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Missouri City campus is a good deal Alyssa Foley
The Egalitarian “It became clear that the enrollment at that campus was lower than what was expected,” explained Trustee Neeta Sane, “you can’t even see it where it is. It’s in a closed-knit corner of Sienna.” A new Missouri City campus is being built off Texas Parkway, it’s will be the third site in the campus’ history. While classes continue at the Sienna Plantation neighborhood location for now, the campus was sold to Fort Bend County and the land back to the real estate firm the college originally purchased it from. While the exact amount the campus has lost in the move is debated, the college administration places the net book loss for the transaction at $4 million. Sane represents District VII, which the Missouri City campus falls under. She said that as campus enrollment faltered, the focused turned to, “how can this campus now become more accessible, more visible for our students?” “HCC eventually came up with a design to offer special programs for that campus with the goal to enroll more students and prepare more students for the jobs that are growing here in the local region,” explained Sane. With Fort Bend County and the non-profit George Foundation coming through with finan-
Thomas Hopkins / The Egalitarian Trustee Neeta Sane explaining while the Missouri City deal was a good move for the school. cial support for the move, “it was an absolute moment of pride to see that the community is also behind us, supporting us, as we move,” recalled Sane, “because of the community’s support and backing, HCC was able to move forward with a more suitable location for this particular Missouri City campus.” “It’s a win-win because we are increasing the accessibility for students, it’s visible to the community,” said Sane about the new location, “it will offer better educational opportunities for our students.”
The new campus will host programs for entrepreneurship, technology and health sciences. Many new hospitals and medical facilities are opening in Sugar Land, and the area is booming with small businesses. Sane says that for a complete analysis of the move, three major factors need to be considered. First is that when Missouri City was annexed, HCC made a commitment to the community that they would have a campus, “and not just have a campus but a well-performing campus,” Sane noted.
“We’re not just here to build buildings, but we want to make sure that we have high-performing and better operating campuses,” stated Sane, “our commitments are steadfast and we stick by them.” The second thing to consider are legal aspects and financial means. Trustee Sane explained that when HCC purchased the land from the Johnson Corporation back in 2002 and 2004, there were two conditions in the contract. The first was the right of first opportunity, which gave the real
estate firm the first right to purchase the land back from HCC at a locked-in price. Also, a deed restriction prevented anyone but HCC from developing on the land. “That’s what we have today to deal with,” explained Sane regrettably, “we have no choice but to follow that agreement.” Sane was elected in 2007 after the Sienna location was purchased. “They [the Johnson Corporation] were ready to buy it back, and there was no other bid that came in to buy it back,” noted Sane. HCC sold the undeveloped 33 acre tract of land back to the the Johnson Corporation for $2.5 million, while the other approximately 12 acres and campus building was sold to Fort Bend County for $8 million. The third aspect which Sane believes gives a comprehensive view of the move is “What is the value added economic benefit to HCC?” What HCC is leaving behind is being “matched and exceeded by the value-added developments.” “HCC is able to offer a campus on Texas Parkway that will showcase what the campus is meant to be....it is high time that we have a campus in Missouri City that performs well, that is located at the right site and it solves the community’s needs,” Sane concluded that, “it’s benefiting the community more than I could have imagined.”
Chancellor Cesar Maldonado clear of all charges Alyssa Foley
The Egalitarian No evidence was found of Houston Community College’s Chancellor Cesar Maldonado committing any criminal activity in the purchase of the former Conn’s Appliance store property in front of the West Loop campus. The Harris County District Attorney Office’s Public Integrity Division concluded their investigation on March 4. Last August, HCC Trustee Dave Wilson filed a complaint against Chancellor Cesar Maldonado and Chief Facilities Officer Chuck Smith for what he called “Fraud/Misappropriation of Bond Funds” due to “misstatements [that] resulted in excess money being paid for the property.” The college hired appraisers who placed the value of the 5505 West Loop South property at $5.3 million in November 2014, but pumped the figure to $8.5 million in January 2015 which is what the college ultimately paid for it. The adjustments were based on a prospective lease with Tesla Motors and the rental income such a lease would generate, but no lease ever materialized and the building still sits vacant. The statement from the District Attorney’s office said that documents provided by Trustee Wilson were reviewed, as well as documents obtained from Tesla Motors and from the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board. The state licensing board stated that
they “found that the report contained minor deficiencies” in the appraiser’s work, and issued a non-disciplinary warning letter advising that “documentation and analyses to support adjustments” be provided and any prior work on a property be acknowledged. On March 11, HCC Board of Trustees Chair Adriana Tamez reassured faculty that, “There was never any wrongdoing….we knew he was going to be cleared.” “I get tired of hearing the excuse that they just made a stupid move, rather than it being a criminal move,” said Trustee Dave Wilson in a interview, “which isn’t much consolation to me, because the fact remains we paid three or four million too much for that building.” Wilson added that he’s “still not convinced that there wasn’t something criminal involved in that.” Before filing the complaint, Wilson filed an open records request to the college administration for a copy of any leasing documents with Tesla Motors. He said that the response he received from the college was there were no lease documents. The January appraisal states that they asked for actual letters of intent, but were not provided any. Wilson received what he calls a “bogus” letter of intent from the college, which was not signed. The first page is dated January 9, 2015, but the last paragraph states that it must be signed and accepted by November 31, 2014. While the college administration told
“It was a great purchase. And it was one that we [the board of trustees] made with the chancellor collectively—for the most part.” Adriana Tamez HCC Trustee the trustee it was all the documents they had, Wilson said the District Attorney’s office told him that from Tesla Motors, they subpoenaed 500 pages of correspondence with HCC and drafts of the lease. “That’s funny how this all appeared after I filed a criminal complaint,” said Wilson. The nine elected Board of Trustees hire the chancellor. Wilson believes the chancellor or any other member of the college administration keeping information away from any trustees is grounds for dismissal. “I believe that was a good purchase,” Trustee Tamez stated at the March Faculty Senate meeting about the Conn’s building, “we’re going to end up—because of where [the West Loop campus is] at—needing additional classrooms. That we know, but it’s not going to happen tomorrow. This is in a few years, but we looked ahead. It was a good pur-
chase. It was a great purchase. And it was one that we [the board of trustees] made with the chancellor collectively— for the most part.” “Do we have too much property? Ya, we know we do,” Tamez admitted, “We are currently looking at our land assets... How much land do we own? Where is this land located?” “We are planning ahead and looking into the future, and looking to see exactly what we’re planning to do with every piece of property that we own. That is underway. That is part of our long-range plan.” Dr. Tamez added that going forward they plan on making decisions that “make sense.” Last month, the trustees authorized the chancellor to execute another lease agreement for the Conn’s property. Details on what tenant may take up residence at 5505 West Loop South will not see
Conn’s, Page 5