Delta team aims high

Belarmino and his team are in charge of $250 million in Measure L funds

Lee Belarmino is a man of many facets. Most people know him as San Joaquin Delta College's vice president of information technology, a title which he translates to "head nerd."

Lee Belarmino

He also leads Delta's new bond team. The team is charged with helping the college's board of trustees triage a list of projects expected to be carried out with Measure L bond funds.

He's a father and a grandfather, a former Silicon Valley Executive and has been a Delta employee for more than 20 years.

But upon entering Belarmino's office, it's also clear that he's a voter, too.

Adhered to the corkboard that decorates his office door are a little more than a handful of those oval-shaped, "I voted" stickers, the kind you get as you're exiting the polls on election day.

The fact that he's now in charge of $250 million of taxpayer money in the form of Measure L bond funds isn't lost on him.

"As a taxpayer, by God, I'm going to get my money's worth," he said, talking about the bond in his office on a recent afternoon. Looking to the future

College officials, including President and Superintendent Raul Rodriguez, appointed Belarmino as head of the bond team in April. Belarmino routinely refuses to talk about the decisions of the former bond team, which consisted of a mixture of current and former Delta employees and consultants.

"Ultimately, I'm responsible for the success or failure of this bond," he said.

Other members of Delta College's bond team

Maria Baker

Maria Baker

Title: Director of facilities management

Job responsibilities: In charge of all campus facilities, including maintenance, operations, grounds, transportation and energy conservation. Acts as the bond project manager for the Stockton campus. Responsible for most aspects of the work done on the Stockton campus from start to finish.

Salary: $98,956 to $113,579* per year

Background: Former director of facilities management at Yosemite Community College. Has been employed at Delta for approximately two years.

Bond team nickname: Mighty Mouse

* Delta College could only provide a pay range.

Kathy Roach

Kathy Roach

Title: Bond program manager

Job responsibilities: Advises the bond program executive on bond direction and coordination, keeps bond program executive apprised of construction program management standards.

Compensation: $150 an hour

Background: Currently a construction management consultant for Murphy Tate LLC. Formerly worked for Sandia National Laboratories.

Bond team nickname: Xena

Kathleen Hart, assistant superintendent and vice president of instruction

Vince Brown, vice president of human resources

Raquel Puentes-Griffith, budget manager

Greg Greenwood, director of public information and marketing

Stacy Pinola, facility planner and environmental safety coordinator

Judy O'Rourke, administrative secretary to vice president of information services

Yvonne Sheffield, business services coordinator

Sabrina Rodriguez, accountant

Staci Swift, employee services manager

Jessie Garza-Roderick, associate dean and director of the Tracy Center

Source: San Joaquin Delta College

For his efforts as vice president, he receives $143,887. His work on the bond team garners him another $1,268 per month.

A conversation with Belarmino at times can seem like you are talking to two entirely different people.

One Belarmino describes himself as "the data guy." The guy who doesn't see $250 million dollars of bond money, but 250 million units that must be allocated to different projects. The guy who sometimes jokingly refers to people as "carbon units."

Belarmino does nothing without first becoming an expert on the subject, and makes up for his small stature with an almost unnerving sense of directness.

"I'm not politically correct. Everything to me is data," Belarmino said.

The other Belarmino is a soft-spoken, gentle fatherly figure who will tell you that he feels indebted to the college for the quality of life he enjoys.

When he smiles, his entire round face folds into wrinkles. Then, just as quickly, he's back to being as stoic as the computers he works on.

"He's well thought of," said Greg Greenwood, spokesman for the college. "Our (information services) department is pretty much the envy of the community college system."

Delta Trustee Ted Simas, who has known Belarmino for nearly 14 years, said Delta's tech guy could easily have a job in the private industry making a lot more money, but he chooses to work at Delta.

"He's at Delta college because he really loves the college," Simas said. "It's not just a job (to him); it's a hobby and a love."

Belarmino sought three things when assembling the new bond team in April.

First, he picked people who cared about Delta. He then selected people who could perform a specific function on the team. Finally, he sought out people who were known to produce measurable results in their regular rolls.

All but one of the 13-member team works for the college. The other member is Bond Program Manager Kathy Roach, with whom Belarmino worked while building a system that keeps track of inventory for every community college in the state.

"She's been just a tremendous asset," Belarmino said of Roach.

Belarmino is the first to admit that he doesn't have a background in construction management. His goal, though, is to become an expert on the subject as he continues his work.

He says working on the bond isn't much different than working on any other problem: You just need to apply the correct methodology. To date, Belarmino has read five books on construction management, which he has earmarked and highlighted for easy reference.

If he can't verify what somebody's talking about in one of his books, then he doesn't trust it.

The bond team detective

The team gave every member a nickname. The names are written on a white construction hats, which, eventually, they'll wear while inspecting sites.

Belarmino's nickname is Lt. Colombo, the bumbling yet affable 1970s detective whom arrogant criminals underestimate until they've been caught.

Like Colombo's penchant for asking just one more question, Belarmino's thirst for knowledge is equally insatiable.

"We're not the first ones to ever do something like this," he said, talking about the bond.

As a result, the private Web page that Belarmino built using WebEx software has all the information one could ever hope to know about the bond. Each contract, each dollar, each decision is mapped out on the page.

The page is only open to bond team members, so they can discuss honestly in a forum the pros and cons of every move the team makes, a practice Belarmino encourages.

Rather than a hindrance, Belarmino considers conflict a key to success.

"It's all about honesty," he said talking about the members' relationships. "If you don't agree, then you speak up."

So far, his plan seems to be working. Since Belarmino took over in April, the bond team has pinned down how much money the college actually has to work with, and has helped the board come to terms with what it can accomplish with that money.

He's adopted a sort of "all for one, one for all" motto for his team, and has told each member not to expect the recognition one might expect for a job well done, but to be satisfied in the job itself.

The question Belarmino most often gets is whether or not he's going to stay until the job is finished. He feels it's his ethical and moral duty to do so.

"Nothing is going to stop us. We're going to get this thing done," he said. "Our community has given us an evaluation, and they think we can do better."

Contact reporter Amanda Dyer at amandad@lodinews.com.