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October 10th , 2006- Joe Mueller

Board of Trustees Meeting
June 13, 2006
Minutes
A. Closed Session
3) Bolinas Marine Lab Update
Vice President Martinez reviewed the preliminary report she prepared
(copy in Board packet) after she and Dr. White met with COM biology faculty
regarding the Bolinas Marine Lab and its suitability for usage, and then
reviewed the information acquired to date on this subject. She
recommended that we tentatively plan to open the Bolinas Lab for limited
COM use (one class – Biology 235) in Spring 2007, depending on the cost to
make it ready for instruction and on the ability of the District to fully address
safety concerns and contingent on the findings of the Bolinas Task Force.
She also recommended that the District not permit use of the site for "Kids
Summer Camp" this year based on the advice of Keenan & Associates, our
insurer.
V-Anne Chernock called attention to her technical recommendations
report regarding the Bolinas Lab (copy in Board packet). She noted that
any maintenance or capital construction work involving fire/life safety,
structure, or accessibility must be approved by the DSA before a contract
for construction can be awarded. Her report also included a recommendation
not to conduct further technical investigations of the lab using bond money
until an operational decision is finalized.
Trustees expressed their appreciation to Vice President Martinez and
Director of Modernization Chernock for these comprehensive reports.
Trustee Kranenburg asked for a legal reading on the geologic (fault)
investigation requirement. Trustee Dolan asked for further investigation of a
policy previously shown to the Board regarding closure of school properties
for safety reasons to see if it applies to schools with established programs
(like the Bolinas lab) or just to new schools.

May 8th, 2006- Joe Mueller
To All Those Concerned,
Good news concerning the Bolinas Marine Lab! At the last Board of Trustees meeting 2 weeks ago Jamie Denaris, Don Foss, Jim Locke, Patrick Kelly and myself gave a presentation refuting the recommendations presented by COM's $50,000 consultanting ferm. Our arguments must have been compelling because the consultants are not disputing our arguments. This has led the COM management to reconsider allowing our students and the Bolinas Summer program access to the laboratory building. Ed codes still restricts us from using the larger building. The news is not so good news concerning the task force that's responsible for assessing the future of the BML and reporting back to the Board. Dr. Allisa Arp has taken a post in Hawaii and so the College of Marin Foundation is scrambling to replace her. So far the Foundation has been acting unilaterally and extremely slowly. If anybody out there has any recommendations of someone who might be well qualified and interested to lead the Task Force please contact Joe Mueller at joen8ture(at)redjellyfish(dot)net
Thank you all, Joe Mueller

Thanks to all that came to the Board of trustees meetings Download board of trustees agenda (joe only gets 10 minutes!)

SAVE THE BOLINAS HISTORIC MARINE LAB INFORMATION

THE PROBLEM: The powers at College of Marin are closing the Bolinas Marine Lab (BML). The reasons they give are that “the building is hazardous and unsafe the Bolinas Marine Lab has undergone recent surveys, tests, and anlyses that provided results indicating serious health hazards and risks.  We are obligated by Education Code not to knowingly exposed our students and community to facilities that provide known health risks.”

“A Bolinas Community Task Group is being developed to address options and recommendations for the use of the lab facility.  This Task Group is being led by Dr. Alissa Arp,[of] Tiburon Romberg Center. For further information, contact Margaret Elliott, COM Foundation Board of Directors.”  President Frances White
(Note: Margaret Elliot has not been answering her emails for some time now. The president is referring those concerned to a dead end).

STUDENT AND FACULTY CONCERNS: There have been a significant number of contradictions and incorrect statements based on ignorance from administrators, board members and highly paid consultants.
Here are a few examples.
1) President Fran White has stated there is going to be a Task Group assembled to investigate future options. The Board of Trustees President Greg Brockbank has been quoted in the I.J. saying he thinks the building should be leased to the highest bidder. As a side note, the college has always had little interest in the BML. In fact, faculty asked for a gas heater in 1995. The lab still has no central heat. Money is not the excuse this time for the BML has $160,000 in endowment funds to be used only for the BML.
2) Bud Allen, highly paid College of Marin consultant ($160,000) has stated that there's little need for the BML anyway since “Bolinas Lagoon is filling in.” In fact this is a unique opportunity for students to learn estuary dynamics and many expert scientists have worked with BML students sharing five years of unique ecological studies.
4) President of the Board of Trustees Greg Brockbank has been quoted many times saying the BML is not worth the money it would take to repair and restore because there's only 20 marine biology students that use the lab. Incorrect again. Many College of Marin students use the BML throughout the year including but not limited to General Ecology, Ornithology, Geology, Zoology, Marine Mammalogy and many others in past years. Also the community Bolinas Nature Camp has been using the BML in the summers for the past 8 years and College of Marin students teach the kids marine biology. A unique student opportunity indeed!
5) Rick Sapanaro, Dean of Arts & Sciences, has stated that the reason current marine biology students are not allowed to use the lab building is because of toxic chemicals in the soil and asbestos hazards. According to another COM administrator the asbestos is only a concern if disturbed (similar to many schools in Calif.) and there is no soil at the BML only Blacktop. He has also not allowed concerned students to attend meetings regarding the BML the very class they're concerned about.

Would any reasonable person trust the powers with such a record of contradictions and ignorance?
Most importantly Administrators and Board members don't seem to realize how irreplaceable and important
the Bolinas Historic Marine Lab is-Faculty do! This place changes people's lives.

WHAT WE WANT: Transparency! We want evidence of the dangers and we would like the evidence to be compelling. We would like to know what the College plans on doing with the $160,000 BML endowment bequeathed by a student of Al Molina's. The faculty needs to be more involved.

THE ULTIMATE REASON WE WANT TO PRESERVE THE LAB: It seems to me a significant part of what we do, as teachers, is change lives. It may not be that common but when we do it it's the most valuable thing we do. One of the ways we do this is to facilitate a spiritual connection between ourselves and the students we serve. In my experience this is most easily done when there is community. Places like the Bolinas Marine lab provide a unique opportunity to build community. Not only by connecting with the people in the local community and academic community but by building it ourselves by being at a special place at a special time together. This way we, as teachers, get to know our students, and they get to know us. Places like the Bolinas Marine Lab provide a conduit for these exceptional interconnections to take place. I know first hand. It happened to me one summer learning marine biology from Al Molina. He changed my life in a profound way. I will always feel compelled to pass the torch. My mentors, Al Molina and Gordon Chan worked long and hard, (most of it fighting past administrations) to build this treasure we have. Please support me in keeping this unique and vital vestige of academic community alive. - Joe Mueller - Marine Biology Instructor

Bolinas Marine Lab Preservation Coalition

DRAFT Meeting Notes (S. Warnock)
Jan 22, 2006
Bolinas Marine Lab Docks

Present:

Overview of Geologist's Report

Basically, COM needs to prove there is no fault under the lab. It is not feasible to prove there's no fault. Therefore the facility can not be operated by the community college. It is likely that COM cannot sell the facility. It can lease it on a long-term basis to be operated by a state institution.

There is a strong argument for saving the building as a historic life-saving station. In addition there are many organizations and institutions willing to partner with efforts to raise funds in return for occasional use of the facility.

For more info see the geologic consultant's report and slide show:

http://www.marin.cc.ca.us/MeasureC/files/PubRes/PRBBP_PrelimBolinasRpts_101105.pps

http://www.marin.cc.ca.us/MeasureC/files/PubRes/PRBBP_BolinasSlideShow_083005.pps

Overview of Historical Importance of Facility

Also, building was used as bird rescue and volunteer deployment center during major oil spills and could perform similar role in future spills

Research and educational organizations, agencies, and institutions with interest in maintaining local research/education facility:

Possible fates of Facility if no longer operated by COM:

1) Lease to SFSU; they can seek funds for repair in collaboration with partners

2) Build non-profit to lease/run the building as an education and research center

3) Sell/lease to private citizen

4) If SFSU runs and holds classes at the lab, there could be a second facility elsewhere in Bolinas for College of Marin to hold classes but share lab facilities at BML

From Measure C report

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