Board of Governors approves new meal plan; Vargas announces Houck stadium renovation delay

On Feb. 25, the Board of Governors met to approve the new fiscal year (FY) 2023 Residence Life room and board rates, to talk about concerns of the future of Cape College Center and provide an update on Houck’s South Grandstand renovation.

At the start, governor David Martin was sworn into the board by 35th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Robert Mayer. Martin was appointed by Gov. Mike Parson in January.

Update on Houck Stadium

University president Carlos Vargas updated governors on the renovation of Houck Stadium’s south grandstand. Destruction began in early December and was completed by the first week of January.

Vargas said since the destruction of the stadium, university officials have received two bids for the construction of the new stadium.

“In total, two bids were received, ranging from $15.5 to $16 million. They both exceeded the initial estimate of $7.4 million provided by Hollis and Miller's estimator in the fall,” Vargas said. “We knew at the beginning of this process that we may see cost fluctuations due to labor and materials, and we were prepared to absorb some increases, however, not at the scale of what was in these bids.”

Vargas said the original plan to have the replacement of the south grandstand by this fall “will not be fully realized.”

Brad Sheriff, vice president of Finance and Administration, said the company of Hollis and Miller knew of many problems, such as the pandemic and supply chain issues, when they offered their original estimate.

“Neither of those things were a surprise, all of those things were happening at the time they gave us the estimate,” Sheriff said. “The only thing, honestly, the only thing they told us that was new that changed from the time [of] the estimates to the time of [the] bids was the tornadoes in western Kentucky putting that much more demand on construction and materials.”

Sheriff said Hollis and Miller also cited the construction industry “has more work than it can handle” at this time. Sheriff assured the board they are “holding their [Hollis and Miller] feet to the fire” as they find a new way forward.

There is no date for the projected finish of the Houck Stadium project. Director of Athletics Brady Barke said once the plan becomes more clear students can possibly see an announcement of what happens next with the stadium.

“I think we've tried to be transparent up to this point, even creating a webpage to kind of show people what we were envisioning,” Barke said. “So I think as that picture becomes a little clearer for us, I anticipate that we'll do something very similar and try to provide updates to the community as a whole in terms of any design modifications we may have, and anticipated timelines and next steps.”

New student meal plan

The board approved unanimously the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2023 Residence Life room and board plan, which will go into effect Fall 2022. The proposed year included the new block plan rate structure for meal plans.

The meal plans involve weekly classic or premium plans and also semester-long plans.

Vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Success Debbie Below said she expects students to have more “ownership” with the new approved meal plan and also to consider where they're living on campus.

“Look at the plans and evaluate where you think you will likely be eating the most so you can determine the balance between meals and flex dollars for yourself, and we'd be happy to help you do that,” Below said.

Associate vice president of Student Life Bruce Skinner encouraged students to not judge the new meal plans based on current dining facilities, since the facilities will also be changing.

“What they're thinking in terms of what Towers used to be or what Houck’s Place used to be, it will be different. So to not judge that, you know, ‘Well I'll never go to towers,’” Skinner said. “We haven't seen what Towers is going to be like or Houck’s Place and that's by design to give you another way to use your meal plan that you currently don't have the ability to do right now.”

The future of Cape College Center (CCC) partnership

Vargas raised concern about SEMO’s future relationship with the Cape College Center (CCC); on Dec. 21, Vargas received a letter from Cape School’s Superintendent Neil Glass. The letter contained notice that the lease of CCC with Cape Girardeau Career and Technical Center (CTC) will terminate June 30.

The CCC is a partnership between SEMO, Three Rivers College, Mineral Area College and CTC. The partnership has existed for more than 10 years and provides community college services and post-secondary education for surrounding communities.

Vargas said the letter does not affect the partnership between SEMO and CCC, but it does leave the center looking for a new location. Board president Edward Gargas said he’s optimistic for the future of the institution.

“Southeast Missouri State wants to be a part of that solution. We believe in our relationship with Cape Central High School and the Cape Central School System. I believe that we can be and should be a viable partner in that,” Gargas said.

Vargas said the next step to figure out what to do for the future of the CCC is having conversations with other university presidents involved in the partnership.

“If it does remain a fact that that lease will not be renewed, then we need to figure out whether we relocate or whether we need to maybe even terminate the agreement on the CCC. So, these are some of the things that we're evaluating right now,” Vargas said.

For more information about the meeting and when the Board of Governors will meet next, visit their website.