MECC President Dr. Terrance Suarez spoke to the Lee Board of Supervisors on Tuesday about the current status of the local community college.
He began his presentation by correcting some inaccurate information that was recently published in a Tennessee newspaper.
“In that report, it indicated that the dual enrollment agreement that we have with all of our institutions — all of our high schools in Lee County, Scott, Wise, Norton and Dickenson — was being reimbursed... by the Tobacco Commission. That is not true. The Tobacco Commission does not, in fact, reimburse us for that,” Suarez explained. He said that any money disbursed for the use of facilities, or for faculty-related costs, comes out of their own budget, and he did not want to offend the Tobacco Commission with the misinformation.
Suarez then shifted his sights to the importance of accreditation. He explained that accreditation is a process that is used to ensure that each local educational institution maintains a certain level of quality, and meets certain levels of compliance.
“That is an important process for us because it allows us to improve the processes that we have, and improve our educational program,” Suarez asserted. “But it has a very practical aspect of it, as well. Without that accreditation from the U.S. Department of Education, we would not be able to provide Pell Grants and other federal grants to our students. In our part of Virginia, that is an incredibly important aspect of getting our kids into school.”
He said that MECC — of all the 23 community colleges within the surrounding areas — has the highest percentage of students on Financial Aid.
District 3 Supervisor Larry Mosley then asked Suarez about the current National Pell Grant Deficit.
“I suspect they’ll fix that,” Suarez explained. “I don’t think it’s going to have an effect on our students this year, but it may mean something next fall... we may not have as much Pell Grant money available to us.”
Mosley responded by saying, “I certainly hope they fix it.”
Suarez then told the board that MECC had a record number of students enrolled for the 2009 Fall Semester. He said that over 2,000 full-time students were enrolled this fall, which was a 13 percent increase from the previous year.
The board also considered a Zoning Text Amendment request from James Middleton, which would allow him to own and operate a used automobile sales lot in an A-1 (Agricultural District) located in the Woodway community by a Special Use Permit.
Community Development Director Tim Long came before the board to address the issue.
Long said that the Lee County Planning Commission received several requests to place an automobile sales lot in that designated area, and he felt as if the citizens of Lee County would benefit from the proposed business. Long stated that Middleton’s request passed “favorably and unanimously,” and no one questioned the proposal.
Chairman Carl Bailey then opened the floor for public comment, and received no response. The board promptly approved the decision on the Zoning Text Amendment request. Middleton will have to go before the Lee County Planning Commission and the Lee Board of Supervisors again before the decision is finalized.
In official county business, the board approved and/or discussed the following items:
• Lee County Treasurer Rita McCann was in attendance and gave the Treasurer’s Report.
• Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Engineer James Parsons followed up on a few items from the previous meeting including county roadway conditions, falling tree concerns, road abandonment updates, and VDOT layoffs.
• The minutes of November 12, 2009 recessed meeting, and the minutes of November 17, 2009 regular-called meeting
• Approval of disbursements, payroll, school board supplemental appropriations, monthly and quarterly appropriations
• Chris Barney and Ron Bailey were reappointed to the Dryden Water Authority; Claude Ray and Mark Carter were appointed to the Lee County Public Service Authority; Reba Nelson was appointed to the Lee County Redevelopment and Housing Authority; Freda Ayers was reappointed to the Southwest Virginia Emergency Medical Services Council.
• The board approved the decision to hire a part-time pound laborer. Interviews will begin within the coming weeks.
• Approved the Landfill Annual Gas Monitoring Report Agreement, and the Landfill Annual Groundwater Monitoring Report Agreement.
Adam Young is a Staff Writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. He can be contacted by e-mail at ayoung@middlesborodailynews.com.
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