VOLUME 6 ISSUE 4 APRIL 30, 2015 We Keep the College Going EPCC Physical Plant Director s Corner This has been a very difficult year for EPCC and the Physical Plant. While still mourning the loss of Dr. Ernst Roberts, we just recently lost Jay Bryant, Campus Technician, who passed away earlier this month. We will be commemorating both of them by planting trees in their honor. Jay Bryant s tree will be planted at the Transmountain Campus, where he spent much of his career, on May 1 st. We will plant a second tree in memory of Dr. Roberts at the ASC A building on May 7 th. This issue also celebrates the anniversary of several of our personnel, but I want to make special mention of Maria Gomez, who received the Diamond Award, and Norma Dragon, who was selected Classified Staff 2015 Employee of the Year. Congratulations to both of you! Inside This Issue 1 Director s Corner 2 Employee of the Year 3 Diamond Award 3 Jay Honored at TM 4 5, 10, 15 Years 5 Retreat 6 Campus Happenings 7 TM in the Dark 8 TM in the Dark 9 Grounds News 10 Traffic Lights 10 Custodial News 11 Safety Tips 12 Recharge 12 Staff Birthdays 12 RG Flooding 13 Gasoline Use 13 Work Orders 14 Utilities Rick Lobato, Physical Plant Executive Director Turn to pages 7 and 8 for photos and information about the power outage that occurred at the Transmountain Campus on April 14 th and 15 th. Classes were suspended that day and throughout the night and began late the following day.
PAGE 2 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT APRIL 30, 2015 Norma Dragon CSA 2015 Employee of the Year Norma Dragon, Administrative Assistant at the Physical Plant, was named CSA 2015 Employee of the Year. Norma s 22 year career at EPCC began as a work-study for Auxiliary Services, which was followed by a part-time position at the MdP ISC. Eventually, Norma arrived at the Physical Plant where she has held the positions of Clerk II, Administrative Office Assistant, and her current position of Administrative Assistant. Norma and her husband Edward Dragon. During this time, Norma has helped initiate the Work Order System, and learned the HVAC building automated control system to respond to temperature requests and assist the Campus Technicians while they work on other projects. The honor was bestowed at a recognition dinner held on Friday, April 24 th at the El Paso Club La Vista in the Chase Bank building in downtown El Paso. The event also recognized staff and faculty achievement and included the Employee of the Year for the Professional Staff, the part-time CSA Employee of the Year, and the NISOD Award. We congratulate Norma on her accomplishments and we want her to know that we are very proud that she is the voice of Physical Plant to the rest of EPCC. Pictured at right are Jesus Ortiz, MdP Campus Technician, Norma Dragon, Administrative Assistant, and Pascual Martinez, Construction Supervisor. They are enjoying a few moments before the start of the ceremony held at the ASC boardroom in order to commemorate 10, 15, and 5 years of service at EPCC, respectively.
APRIL 30, 2015 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT Physical Plant Employees Honored PAGE 3 Maria Gomez, Sr. Administrative Associate at the Physical Plant, was one of the recipients of the Diamond Awards at the 7 th Annual Women s History Month Celebration. The awards luncheon, held on March 20 th, was hosted by the EPCC Diversity Programs. Maria s career at EPCC began as a workstudy in the Veteran s Affairs Office for two years while she acquired an Associate s Degree in Education. The following 35 years included work as a Clerk in the Veteran s Affairs Office, Certification Specialist at Financial Aid (TM), Division Secretary for Arts & Sciences Division, Executive Secretary at the Dean s Office (NW), Secretary for the Associate VP of Auxiliary Services (CSC & ASC), and Sr. Administrative Associate at Physical Plant. Maria Gomez receiving the Diamond Award from Joyce Wilson, CEO, Workforce Solutions Borderplex. (Photo courtesy of Diversity Programs) We congratulate Maria and we are glad she is with us here at the Physical Plant. Maria has completed over 35 years of service at EPCC, during which she has worked at all five campuses. Jay Bryant Honored at TM Posthumously Jay Bryant, who passed away on April 3 rd, has been elected by the staff at the Transmountain Campus as the April 2015 Employee of the Month. Jay had worked as Campus Technician at Transmountain Campus before his move to the Valle Verde Campus. This tribute comes 13 days after the celebration of Jay s life at the Destiny Family Christian Center, which was attended by so many people that the seats were full and some people had to stand. The event, scheduled for Friday, May 1 st, will also honor Employees of the Month for January, February, and March.
PAGE 4 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT APRIL 30, 2015 Employees Honored for 5, 10, and15 Years of Service at EPCC The EPCC Employee Recognition Luncheon, to recognize 5, 10, and 15 years of service at EPCC, was held on Friday, April 24 th at the ASC Boardroom. The honorees included seven Physical Plant employees. The honorees also were permitted to take the remainder of the day off as a token of appreciation. Certificates were presented by EPCC President Dr. William Serrata. Norma Dragon Administrative Assistant (15 yr.) Caesar Lopez Irrigation Specialist (15 yr.) Those who completed 15 years were Norma Dragon and Caesar Lopez. The Physical Plant employees who were recognized for completing 10 years of service at EPCC were Charles Dean and Jesus Ortiz. There was a similar event to honor those who have completed 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of service on April 2 nd, but none of the Physical Plant employees had reached that number in this year. Charles Dean Head Maintenance Worker (10 yr.) Jesus Ortiz Campus Technician (10 yr.) The Physical Plant employees who have completed 5 years of service are Michael Alcantar, Pascual Martinez, and Juan Ruiz. Michael Alcantar Mechanic (5 yr.) Pascual Martinez Construction Supervisor (5 yr.) Juan Ruiz Maintenance Worker II (5 yr.) We congratulate all the honorees on reaching this milestone, and we hope they continue their EPCC career at the Physical Plant.
APRIL 30, 2015 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT PAGE 5 Physical Plant Employees Attend Staff Development Retreat Physical Plant participants included (l. to r.) Albert Herr, Roberto Samaniego, Juan Ruiz, Ricardo Torres, Mayra Cordero-Villalobos, Raul Lucero, and Angel Ramirez. The clothes are for a role-playing exercise, and have been recommended as Physical Plant uniforms. The 22 nd Annual Staff Development Retreat was held between April 9 th and 11 th in Galveston, Texas. Seven Physical Plant employees participated in the retreat. After a flight to the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, the retreaters were bussed to the Hilton Galveston Resort in Galveston Island. The theme of the retreat was Believing Is Achieving. A video by Sam Glenn entitled Who Put a Lizard in My Lasagna? showed participants how to 1) Be Creative, 2) Remember What s Important, 3) Go Above and Beyond, and 4) Have Fun! Alex Hernandez, the Director of Human Resources Development, said that over sixty people participated, including members of the facilitation team. The Hilton Galveston Island Resort acknowledged EPCC s presence in Galveston through The Daily News newspaper of Galveston County.
Photo compliments of Fernie Garcia PAGE 6 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT APRIL 30, 2015 Shattered Dreams Exercise The Grounds Crew blocked the entrance to Valle Verde Campus at the corner of Hunter Dr. and Hermosillo Dr. and placed barricades in the area for the crash simulation presented on February 24 th. The event, Shattered Dreams, sponsored by Student Life, involved the EP Police Department, EP Fire Department, EP County Sheriff s office, EMS, and the EPCC Police Department. Remodeling of the Valle Verde Campus Student Services Center continues and should be complete by this summer. The picture at left shows a view looking west on the first floor. Rick Torres, Physical Plant Managing Director, told us that the contractor is on schedule. He also said that we will not recognize the new Center when the work is completed.
APRIL 30, 2015 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT Transmountain Campus in the Dark PAGE 7 The Transmountain Campus experienced an electrical outage on April 14 th, which led to cancelled classes that evening and the following morning. Night classes resumed on Wednesday evening after 5:00 pm. The outage was caused by a fault which occurred on the El Paso Electric Company side. This fault caused an aged underground power line (belonging to EPCC) to fail, which, in turn, caused the aged switch gear, feeding the entire campus, to fail. El Paso Electric crews were instrumental in assisting with the replacement of the failed switch gear. EPCC and Great Southwestern Construction changed and repaired the faulty line. All crews worked throughout the night and most of the following day to restore power. One of the transformer boxes that was reviewed in the search for answers about the black-out. The equipment truck of Great Southwestern Construction holds what is needed to pull and repair the underground cables if necessary.
PAGE 8 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT APRIL 30, 2015 Transmountain Campus in the Dark Work began on the evening of Tuesday, April 14 th, in search of the cause of the power outage that affected most of the Transmountain Campus. The El Paso Electric Company took advantage of the power outage to replace a pole and a switch gear (large green metal box) along Kenworthy Street, which would have required them to turn off the electricity during class time.
APRIL 30, 2015 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT Grounds News by Raul Lucero PAGE 9 Now that spring is under way, so is the vegetation throughout our beautiful district campuses. Transmountain Campus and its unique desert landscapes show the beautiful blooming yellow flower Palo Verde tree and the fluorescent orange Ocotillo cacti welcome atmosphere throughout the campus. More and more vegetation surrounds the desert campus as the beautification continues to grow each year. Three more Mesquite trees were planted west of the campus and a new flower bed will be added east of the campus as well. A Palo Verde tree is scheduled to be planted near the flag pole island and main entrance to the campus in memory of our Physical Plant co-worker and friend Jay Bryant who worked for a few years at the Transmountain Campus. Other campuses that are also getting vegetation at this time include the Administrative Service Center, Mission del Paso Campus, Northwest Campus, Rio Grande Campus, and Valle Verde Campus. Four planter beds at the VV Americana Village will be filled with 12 Yaupon Holly Sage to add color to the area. At Mission del Paso Campus, a pathway with desert plant material will be finished by early next month. Meanwhile, at the Northwest Campus Early College High School, a Memorial Garden alongside the back road and next to the portables is under way. Rio Grande Campus will get new sod to dress the front entrance to the main building. The first phase of the pathway being installed at the Mission del Paso Campus. Last, but certainly not least, a thornless Palo Verde Museum tree will be planted in memory of Dr. Ernest Roberts in an island outside of the ASC A building. The Grounds maintenance continues regardless of how many projects we have to complete. Aerating and fertilizing are two of the important work tasks that we are doing at this time. Another work task that needs to be completed by the middle of next month is the caulking of all ceramic tiles at the water fountains. The fountains should be working by the end of May. In addition, the crew is also patching away those pesky pot holes that come out every time it rains. All that and more are wonderful work tasks that are done throughout these early months of the year. Recent additions to the Transmountain Campus landscape on the east side of the campus.
Map provided by Rick Torres PAGE 10 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT APRIL 30, 2015 Safety Crossing Lights to be Installed Plans are underway to install School Safety Flasher lights on Phoenix Drive between The Phoenix of El Paso Apartments and the Valle Verde Campus. There is a lot of foot traffic at the north entrance to the campus and there are no crosswalk markings or other traffic control on the street between Hawkins Boulevard and Hunter Drive. Physical Plant Managing Director Rick Torres says that the work is in the scheduling phase. He added, Hopefully the lights will make it a little safer to cross the street onto our campus. Custodial News by Ruben Chavez GCA Services has changed its training program from its semi-monthly sessions on various topics to weekly safety slogans. Managers will review the materials with the custodians and have them sign-off on the training. This process will verify that every employee has received the safety material, which is provided in English and in Spanish, and document the training. Peggy Williams, Sr. Regional Manager, told us that we can never impress enough the importance of working safely. All managers have been asked to make sure the training is done weekly and consistently. Ruben Chavez Account Manager
APRIL 30, 2015 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT PAGE 11 Safety Tip from the Office of Risk Management & Safety The El Paso County Community College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
PAGE 12 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT APRIL 30, 2015 El Paso Electric Loans EPCC a Charging Station A recharging station was installed in the Valle Verde Campus Cafeteria to allow recharging of cell phones, i- pads, lap-tops, and anything alse that needs electricity. The station was placed compliments of El Paso Electric Company. There are plans to place more stations at other EPCC locations. The station has twelve outlets and shelf space to hold twelve phones. Larger equipment will require a longer cord. Apr 22 Apr 25 May 02 May 05 May 09 May 12 May 26 May 26 Physical Plant Staff Birthdays Roberto Mendoza Carlos Delgado Mario Valadez Carol Trejo Maria Gomez Rick Lobato Danny Martinez William Potter Around 4:00 pm on the evening of the first day of this year, a pipe burst and started a flood from the 6 th floor of the Rio Grande Campus Stanton Building all the way to the subbasement. Employees of SERVPRO of West El Paso and GCA Services worked until 5:00 am of the next morning removing the water from the floors. Cause of Rio Grande Campus Flooding Found Pictured above is the pipe that burst as a result of corrosion, water pressure and below freezing temperatures. After the water was extracted, 159 floor fans were used to dry the carpets and 12 dehumidifiers were used on all the floors that were affected. The recovery was successful and it was business as usual on Monday morning.
APRIL 30, 2015 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT PAGE 13 Physical Plant Gasoline Usage for Month of March 2015 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 Physical Plant Gasoline Use 2011-2015 Gallons 0 Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 The Physical Plant purchased 1,386 gallons ($2,889.12) of gasoline during the month of March 2015. This amount is 22% less than in the month of February 2015. Comparatively, the amount used in March 2015 represents 12% more gasoline than that used in March 2014, but it cost 25% less than last year. The price of gasoline seems to have leveled off, so we may not see such a gap in the future. EPCC has recently acquired new vehicles, some of which will replace 17 old Physical Plant vehicles, some as old as 30 years and with mileage exceeding the replacement point. The new vehicles will help reduce the gasoline use for the entire district. Physical Plant Work Orders for Month of March 2015 The Physical Plant received 329 Work Order Requests, along with 181 Design Work Requests, Set-up Requests, and Property Control Records, for a total of 510. This number is 32% morethan the total of 351 for the month of January 2015. GCA Services received 45 calls in March 2015, compared to 67 calls during the month of February 2015. Location: Work Orders Completed Percent Completed Admin. Service Center 53 45 85 Career Training Center 02 02 100 District-wide 02 02 100 Fort Bliss 00 00 00 Mission del Paso Campus 24 18 75 Northwest Campus 30 28 93 Rio Grande Campus 54 45 83 Transmountain Campus 27 23 85 Valle Verde Campus 137 112 81 TOTALS: 329 275 83%
PAGE 14 EPCC PHYSICAL PLANT APRIL 30, 2015 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 EPCC Utilities from 2013-14 to 2014-15 Electricity - kwh 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 2013-14 2014-15 0 Water - Gallons 9,000,000 8,000,000 7,000,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 2013-14 2014-15 Gas - Ccf 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 2013-14 2014-15