ATEP bushwackery? A tiff over turf

Tustin plan for Navy property (once upon a time)

     RHUBARB? For quite some time now, I’ve been hearing about friction—even rhubarbarity!—between IVC’s Prez, Glenn Roquemore, and Saddleback’s Prez, Tod Burnett. The word is that the existing hubbub concerns ATEP, the district’s eternally fledglingesque patch o’ dirt over in Tustin—68 acres of the former Marine Corps Air Station.
     Essentially, it’s a tiff over turf.
     A few days ago, Roquemore showed up to the IVC Academic Senate (Rep Council meeting) with Stetson in hand. He was all hangdog. He wanted something.
     Glenn wants IVC oversight of ATEP and he thinks somebody's swipin' it from 'im. He asked the senate to help compose a white paper about that, something for the board to read.
     I missed the meeting, but friends tell me that Glenn presented the history of oversight and boundaries between the two colleges of the district. --Something about El Toro Road being the invisible barbed wire fence: the college sittin’ on that side of the fence has had "right of first refusal" with regard to oversight of whatever happens there.
     Nothing formal you understand.
     Glenn reminded everyone that, from the start, faculty have been frozen out of development of the Tustin property—contrary to Accreditation standards, among other standards! (That was rich coming from Glenn, who is well-known for foisting the always faculty-unpopular “Early College” program on the college.) So we'd better insist on our seat at the table, I guess.
     When Dixie Bullock came in as temp Chancellor, she tried to address these problems. Under her watch, an understanding developed that IVC would pretty much own ATEP, which made sense, since Tustin is, well, a spit away from IVC while it's about a zillion cow-pie-tosses from Saddleback.
     Now, the story we hear goes like this: Saddleback has never seemed to want anything to do with that godforsaken, north-County ATEP, and so the Bullockian nod to IVC seemed to go down real peaceful like. (See Brave New ATEP: Tiny Tin and Big WL (10/13/10))
     But now (we’re told), Saddleback has had a change of heart. Burnett and the senate down there are eyeing our back forty!
     Hence the Roquemore/Burnett brouhahahaha.
     This stand-off is coming to a head right quick, cuz, soon, the board will decide whether ATEP will be a two-college center!
     Oh, the humanity! Oh, the accredular nightmare! Oh, the abject bushwackery!

     Well, whatever. I mean, it sure does look like a money pit. We're fightin' over that?
     For those of you who need some background on this whole ATEP deal, I provide the following:

     THE NAVY HANDS OVER THE KEYS. The Marine Corps Air Station officially closed a dozen years ago—in 1999. According to Wikipedia,

Of the approximately 1,600 acres …, some 1,294 acres (now known collectively as "Tustin Legacy") have been conveyed to the City of Tustin, private developers and public institutions for a combination of residential, commercial, educational, and public recreational and open-space uses. The remaining 300-plus acres will be conveyed to other federal agencies, the City of Tustin and public institutions for the same uses once environmental clean-up operations have been concluded.

     THE PROPERTY'S WACKY HISTORY. Well, we really oughta back way up to 1942. Here’s a history of the Former Marine Corps Air Station provided by the OC Register:

March 1942: Navy selects unincorporated farmland near Santa Ana as the site for "Southern California Lighter-Than-Air Station.'' Owner James Irvine refuses to sell, so Navy condemns land under the Second War Powers Act.
1978: Tustin annexes the land.
1991: Marine Corps says it will close the Tustin base.
July 1994: The U.S. Department of Education approves Santa Ana Unified School District's application to receive 75 acres.
February 1995: Government approves an application from a coalition including Rancho Santiago Community College District, South Orange County Community College District, Orange County Department of Education and Santa Ana Unified School District for 116 acres.
July 1999: The last Marines depart.
Jan. 16, 2001: Tustin City Council unanimously approves a general-plan amendment clearing the way to develop homes, schools, a homeless shelter, a golf course and businesses. The plan does not identify land for Santa Ana Unified.
Feb. 22, 2001: Santa Ana Unified and Rancho Santiago Community College districts sue Tustin, alleging the environmental study for the base reuse plan does not address affordable housing and the crowding it would cause for Santa Ana.
April 12, 2001: Santa Ana Unified turns down Tustin's offer of a land and cash package valued at $72 million. The deal would have included 22 acres for Santa Ana Unified, 15 acres for Rancho Santiago Community College District and $35 million-plus in cash.
April 16, 2001: The Santa Ana school districts sue Tustin, alleging the base redevelopment plan is racially biased because it does not include their largely Hispanic districts.
June 12, 2001: Federal mediation fails.
June 27, 2001: Two busloads of Santa Ana parents ride to Sacramento to urge Gov. Gray Davis to support legislation to force Tustin to give the two districts 100 acres.
July 30, 2001: Davis supports the districts by signing Assembly Bill 212.
Feb. 12, 2002: The Navy gives Tustin until Feb. 28 to settle the dispute with Santa Ana Unified or it will sell the land. Feb. 20: Tustin files a federal lawsuit challenging AB212.
March 1, 2002: The Navy and Tustin reach an agreement allowing the city to develop at the base.
March 5, 2002: Rancho Santiago strikes a deal with Tustin, walks away with 15 acres.

Park Ranger Kopecky

May 9, 2002: Tustin and Santa Ana Unified reach a settlement and agree on a package that includes 22 acres of base land and $38 million to buy a high school site. The deal includes a letter of credit, or an insurance policy that guarantees Tustin will pay the school district $22 million if the land is found to be too contaminated to build a school
May 11, 2002: A groundbreaking ceremony is held at the Tustin base for Village of Hope, a homeless shelter and the first project to get off the ground at the base.
May 14, 2002: The Navy deeds the base to Tustin.
July 18, 2002: Online auction of three Navy-owned parcels begins.
Sept. 23, 2002: Tustin City Council votes to drop letter of credit.
Sept. 26, 2002: Online auction ends after three parcels totaling 235 acres sell for $208.5 million.
Dec. 2002: Tustin agrees to give Santa Ana Unified School District $60 million to buy land for new schools.
May 2003: Trucks begin moving earth for the first element of what is called Tustin Legacy, the re-use of the base.
October 2006: Demolition of the helicopter parking and old roads begins at the base.
July 2007: The District at Tustin Legacy, a million-square-foot shopping center, opens at Barranca Parkway and Jamboree Road….

     Sheesh.

     THEN, ATEP: According to the Tustin Legacy website,

     In 2007, the SOCCCD opened Phase I of its Advanced Technology Education Campus (ATEP) at the northeast corner of Red Hill and Valencia. This initial site is a portion of what will be a 68 acre site to be developed by the SOCCCD within a portion of the Education Village. Fee-based workforce development courses are offered in advanced technologies, organizational development, lean manufacturing, and environmental design and compliance.
     In Summer 2010, ATEP received approvals for a number of future activities: (1) demolition of former military buildings on their site that is well underway; and (2) approval of its Phase 3A Concept Plan for a 28-acre portion of the site which would permit development of up to 305,000 square feet of educational space.

     --Not sure how current that is.
     Well, let’s skip to modern times, shall we?

     MATHUR IS A VARMINT. Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur evidently always acted like, well, Raghu P. Mathur in his dealings with the City of Tustin. Just imagine. And so, when he was taken out last year (by Dandy Don Wagner), SOCCCD/Tustin relations seriously improved, but not before the economy tanked, screwing a world of pooches. Can't blame that on Mathur, I guess.
     SOCCCD trustees have clung to the hope that ATEP would somehow flower into something beyond a MONEY PIT (leaving aside that acre of shiny tin: nice but small). But one trustee has always hated ATEP—the libertarianesque Tom Fuentes. He's always grumbled about it. Meanwhile, we keep spending money out there.
     Evidently, Tom’s patience with ATEP reached its limit last year and he said some seriously negatory things about the dang thing during summer 2010 board meetings (including one doozy I missed). But it now appears that, Tom’s skepticism to the contrary notwithstanding, the board still wants to develop ATEP. This newfangled Dante Alighieri "new market tax credit" thingy—connected to redevelopment dollars, I think—has tipped the balance in favor of our Black Hole in Tustin. ($11 million in free money, we're told.) (I'm told that Mathur was always a big "Dante" booster. If a finance issue came up, Raghu'd exclaim, "Let's call Dante!")
     Tom’s last stand against the forces of ATEPery occurred at the March board meeting. He got bushwacked. Left for dead. Buzzards.
     SOCCCD’s development of the Tustin property has occurred during the Mathur/Neanderthalic years, which started (essentially) in 1997 and (arguably) ended toward the end of 2010. What with the exit of Don Wagner (who was replaced in November by TJ Prendergast) and John Williams (who was replaced by Frank Meldau), Tom “Black Bart” Fuentes lost his whole posse, ‘ceptin’ for Dave “Quisling” Lang, who's worthless anyway.
     From the faculty perspective, what characterized the Mathurian/Neanderthalian years (1997-2010) was faculty’s systematic disenfranchisement, and this certainly included the development of ATEP.
     We’re all hoping that those days are finally over. So far so good.

Babs Beno

     MEANWHILE, THE ACCREDS! The board insisted on controlling ATEP—and leaving everybody else out—and that got everybody in Dutch with the Accreds, who have this notion that something like ATEP--even if it is a "park"--is supposed to be developed by a college, not a district.
     Is the district fixin' to backslide on its determination to do right by ATEP, accred-wise? (Actually, my notes--see below--don't entirely harmonize with Roquemore's version of history. Could be I just got it wrong. I remember asking Glenn if IVC's ownership of ATEP included only the acre of tin--or the whole 68 acres? His answer lacked clarity. Maybe he couldn't be sure. That's the way I remember it, anyway. Feel free to weigh in.)

THE OCTOBER ALL-COLLEGE MEETING

From Brave New ATEP: Tiny Tin and Big WL (October 13, 2010)

     MORE INFORMATION has become available about recent changes with regard to ATEP—or, anyway, with regard to that 68 acres of former Navy/Marine property out there in Tustin, along Redhill.
     At a recent all-college meeting here at Irvine Valley College, Chancellor Dixie Bullock explained her role in these changes. As soon as she took over from Raghu Mathur in July, she learned of those nasty letters that the Accreditors (ACCJC/WASC) had sent to our colleges. Good Lord! And so she got on the horn with head Accred honcho "Babs" Beno and one other Accred official. The problem, it seemed, concerned ACCJC’s puzzlement over the spectacle of ATEP people reporting to the district and not to a college. As far as the Accreds were concerned, ATEP needed to be owned by a particular college. (Some faculty—e.g., IVC's recently retired Kate Clark—have long insisted that the Accreds would spit back anything not tied to a particular college. But this crew doesn't listen to faculty.)

     Dixie seemed uncomfortable, or unsure, about her account of these conversations, as though she has never been clear about the Accred’s beef. It’s as though those ACCJC people handed her tea leaves or goat entrails. Or maybe they’re just messin’ with the Dixter. Dunno.
     And so, motivated by the notion that the Accreds were organizing a war party to go after us, Dixie commenced a discussion with Glenn R of IVC and Todd B of SC and, after a couple of months, it was agreed that ATEP—not the whole 68 acres, but the one and a half acres of tin parked at the Redhill entrance—would be IVC’s facility. Eventually, this facility would be funded out of IVC’s budget (in a manner, I guess, that will not threaten existing funding). Thus requireth the Accreds.
     To avoid confusion, you’ve gotta distinguish tiny (1 and ½ acre) Tin ATEP from complementary (67 remaining acres) dirt/derelict ATEP. But since the name “ATEP” will likely change—it will become inappropriate—we really oughta start talking about the tiny IVC Tustin facility versus the big “what’s left” Tustin acreage: little IVCT and big WL.
     ATEP Provost Randy Peebles came to the all-college meeting to describe recent changes in management/administration. He called ‘em “positive and encouraging.” I do hope he’s not just blowin’ smoke. Seems like an honest guy.

     Peebles is now in charge of Big WL, not Little IVCT, and so he’ll be working with the city of Tustin and potential commercial/educational partners. Evidently, only 49% of the property can be commercial. These commercial entities would generate revenue to help pay for buildings and maintenance. The city was not happy allowing the commercial element on the property, but, it seems, they’ve recently become more accommodating.
     IVC President Glenn Roquemore was there, too. He explained that there is a real possibility of pursuing partnerships with local educational institutions—UCI and CSUF were mentioned. Was he talking about Little IVCT or Big WL? Not sure. Maybe both.
     It sounded like the next step for Little IVCT would be the construction of a structure about the size of IVC’s new BST (“Biztik”)—which is about five- or six thousand square feet. Naturally, that would reduce Big WL by a couple of acres.
     With some trepidation (I suppose), Roquemore emphasized that, in these developments, we will have “a two way conversation for the first time.” Undoubtedly, this was an allusion to the long-standing ATEP status quo: faculty (among others) have not been invited to the planning table, despite their authority re program development.
     Glenn explained that ATEP—er, Little IVCT—will now be developed as a “Center.” But much work must be done, he said, and it must be done quickly, if the facility is to attain center status. Upon achieving that status, the facility can be developed further. So we have a clear goal.

     Owing to existing restrictions, there’s no possibility of turning IVCT or WL into a college. The chief obstacle to that: the proximity of IVC, which is only five miles away. (For years, we’ve heard that Tustin dreamed of having it’s own community college; when IVC was built in the late 70s, the original site was in Tustin—where the Marketplace stands—but the Irvine Co. gave up some land, in Irvine, to solve a tax problem, and so everything changed. Tustinites have been steamed ever since.)

     In the course of the discussion (the meeting was well attended and many joined in the conversation), someone mentioned the notion of constructing a “conference center” for Saddleback College’s Culinary Arts Program. Glenn seemed to think that that would be an ideal project for the property (naturally, it would be something for Saddleback College, not IVC, to pursue).
     So it appears that the recent ACCJC letters—which have been described ominously as a “strong and helpful warning”—are the chief reason for recent changes in the ATEP project (if it can still be called that).
     But it might not be the only reason. Contemporaneous with Dixie’s Accredular adventures, the SOCCCD board of trustees had about reached their limit with regard to ATEP, a project that, despite many years of district effort and expense, never seemed to really get off the ground. After all of these years of struggle, the trustees just felt worn down.

     They were about to pull the plug.
     Meanwhile, trustee Fuentes, who has never liked the idea of ATEP (his libertarian ideals produce occasional spasms of bilious spewage; he projectile vomited last summer), had reached the conclusion that ATEP was a “black hole,” a money pit. He said so publicly, noisily. He demanded action.
     Just what was the problem, anyway? No doubt thanks to a certain person’s reports, the trustees were under the impression that the City of Tustin was the problem. They were being difficult, impossible.
     After Mathur’s exodus, Bullock sent Randy Peebles to try to work with the city. And guess what? All of a sudden, things turned around. Whatever the problem was, it went away.
     Insiders tell me that they have no doubt what needed to go away. ‘Twas Mathur. The bastard was doing what he does, using people, manipulating them, and all the while playing the Grand Poobah.
     The Tustin people hated him.
     And so the new ATEP status quo—in part propelled by the factoid that Mathur was screwing the pooch by being an asshole—represents, really, a Fuentean defeat.
     Tom must be hopping mad.
     But at least it can be said that things have changed with regard to the ATEP project. Whether these changes are enough to avoid further descent into that Fuentean BLACK HOLE remains to be seen.

Years ago, the "Camelot" group came up with this "studio" plan.

The existing facility is that small cluster of grey buildings at top right.