The Barton Community College Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved entering into a contract to spend up to $3 million to renovate the Physical Education Building. All of the renovation will be paid for with private donor funds.

The contract approved is with Mammoth Sports Construction.

“It’s been a really long journey,” Athletic Director Trevor Rolfs said. He presented the following details:

In 2022, the Board of Trustees reviewed the College needs for renovations and enhancements to the Physical Education Building. 

Since that time, the College has worked with Mammoth Sports Construction on renovation designs. Fundraising efforts have also been going on since that time, and staff are close to securing the needed funds through committed pledges.

These renovations are needed to enhance the experience of Barton’s student-athletes, create additional staff offices, which are lacking, improve the experience for spectators, and fix some of the outdated areas of this facility.

The College and Mammoth will partner to utilize local contractors, when possible, for this project.

This project will include the following, depending on the design specs:

• New Cougar Den located on the south end of the gymnasium

• West Hallway renovation

• Men’s Basketball Locker Room Renovation

• Women’s Basketball Locker Room Renovation

• Office renovation of existing Cougar Den

• Guard Rail replacement around the arena

• New stairs on west grandstand (2)

• Existing concessions renovation

• Cougar Den Video Boards (2)

Barton President Dr. Marcus Garstecki said some things on the list are badly needed. He described Tuesday’s action as the first of three phases.

“This is going to be the start to some special things,” Rolfs said.

Trustee Gary Burke said he appreciates Rolfs’ passion and Board President Mike Johnson said, “Trevor, get your hammer out; you’re ready to go.”

Clean audit report approved

The trustees typically meet twice a month, with one study session and one official board meeting where action is taken. In December, the study session and business meeting are held on the same day.

The board study session started with a report on the Fiscal Year 24 College Audit, presented by Danielle Hollingshead from Adams Brown Strategic Allies. During the business meeting that followed, the trustees approved the audit report, which Hollingshead described as a “clean audit” with “no budget violations in any of the funds.”

This year, the Barton Community College Foundation was included in the college audit. In the past, the Foundation has paid for a separate audit.

There were no budget violations. The college’s total assets increased more than $3 million between 2023 and 2024, from $68.87 million to $72.00 million, and its total net position by $4 million.

If an institution receives more than $750,000 in federal awards, single audits of select programs are also required.

“You have almost $108 million in federal awards,” Hollinsghead said. There were two findings in the two programs tested. One was a “material weakness” and one was a “significant deficiency.” The auditors were still able to submit a clean, unmodified opinion on both programs.

Both findings were reporting issues, where the college didn’t meet deadlines or there was a technical error in how they filled out a form, she said.

Hollingshead and Barton Vice President of Management Mark Dean agreed that this not a cause for concern and steps were taken to correct the items.

“It’s a clean audit,” Dean said. “With as much testing as they are doing, if there are no findings, they’re not doing their job.”

The audit notes that federal award findings from 2023 were corrected and that the college did not violate any statutes.

Donuts with Legislators

Dr. Garsteck encouraged trustees to attend the Kansas Association of Community Colleges “Donuts with Legislators” on Jan. 16 at the Topeka Capitol.

The money coming out of Topeka in the future will depend on the upcoming legislative session.

Trustee Burke agreed. “We need to be in front of our legislators this year, more than in the past,” he said. “We need to toot our own horn.”

Personnel

The trustees approved the following news personnel at the Barton Campus:

• Brandee Harrison – Student Engagement Specialist (Center for Learning Excellence)

• Lyndsay Burnett – Administrative Assistant (President’s Office/Institutional Advancement)

• Jessica Snow – Campus Safety Officer 

Also approved was Olivia Roberson – Student Services Specialist (part-time) at the Fort Riley Campus.