If approved by the Governing Board, the result is a total investment of a million dollars or more in a program that has provided training for only a handful of students; Governing Board appears ill equipped to protect County taxpayers against what appears to be an unwise use of funds
The Yavapai Community College Administration has informed the District Governing Board that it is considering purchasing an additional 3D concrete housing printer, estimated to cost $550,000. (Refer to the video clip below for more details.) If approved, this acquisition would increase the total expenditure on 3D concrete printers by the Community College to approximately one million dollars since 2020.
Recall that on January 27, 2020, the District Governing Board did not oppose a proposal from the College executives to spend nearly half a million dollars on two 3D concrete printers. The information provided to the Board at that time indicated that these printers could construct the foundation, interior, and exterior walls of a medium-sized home within 3-5 days.
However, these two printers proved unsuitable for the intended purpose, as acknowledged by the College executives. Consequently, they were discarded, and the College staff initiated a challenging, time-consuming program to develop and construct the College’s own 3D printers. To the astonishment of careful observers of the College budget, the College Administrators are contemplating asking the Board to approve the purchase of a new 3D printer, despite the substantial previous investment and obvious failures.
It should also be a concern of County taxpayers that so far only a few students have enrolled in courses related to the 3D printing project. Moreover, the initial plan to recoup some of the considerable expenditure by developing and patenting a special cement mixture failed to materialize.
The District Governing Board, responsible for ensuring the prudent use of taxpayer money, seems unable to grasp the problematic history of this project or justify the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars to train so few students. One wonders what it will take to wake this sleepy board up to its statutory responsibility in matters like this.