By Kathryn Kelman/editor-in-chief

TCC’s board of trustees approved at its meeting Sept. 20 more than $931,000 to repair Code Blue phones on TR Campus as well as install new ones. 

This is part of the college’s ongoing “Code Blue phone initiative,” said real estate and facilities vice chancellor Nina Petty during the meeting. 

“It sort of seems like this never stops, and it never does because it’s important to keep us safe and secure in this day and time,” she said.

Code Blue phones are in place on all campuses for students, faculty, staff or anyone else needing quick access to campus police. The phones can also be found in campus common areas, the TR Campus trails that connect TR to TR East and parking lots, according to the college’s website. 

But the phones around the exterior of TR are not functioning and their locations haven’t been evaluated since the college started occupying the building in 2013, according to the summary information given to the board.

“Pedestrian/student traffic on the exterior of the campus, walking to the overflow parking lots, traveling between buildings, and utilizing the jogging paths, requires support in the form of emergency devices and added surveillance,” Petty wrote in the memo. 

Nouveau Construction and Technology Services have been contracted to carry out the work, which is estimated to be completed in six to seven months depending on the academic calendar.

“This is for a total of 31 locations at the TR exterior, so it includes some of the telephones but mostly exterior infrastructure work to make the phones functional,” Petty said, who added that it’s important work. 

Trustee Conrad Heede asked how the college was doing regarding the installation of the phones, to which Petty said they are keeping up with it, despite not being sure exactly where the college was with the initiative. 

“This is just an area that we hadn’t really addressed yet that needs to be covered because it’s outside and it’s along the trail at TR,” she said. “We’re going to continue to refresh it, make sure it’s up to date at all the campuses.”