Legislators delay backing JCC's $62.7m master plan

Political uneasiness is the apparent reason behind Jefferson County legislators deferring a decision about its community college's $62.7 million facilities master plan.

Legislator Scott A. Gray, who chairs the Finance and Rules Committee, said some county lawmakers don't want to endorse the plan because they believe that action implies that they favor committing all the money needed.

"There still remains a question of whether there's enough support here for it," Mr. Gray said Tuesday after the item was not brought before the Legislature as once planned.

Since it appears a plan cannot be passed to the state without financial data attached, county leaders are looking for alternative solutions to the impasse.

Robert F. Hagemann III, county administrator, said his group has asked the college to detail what in the plan "would be logical for the county to pursue."

He said the county would look first at the $2.05 million in upgrades to existing facilities that the college identified as "critical" in the plan. Mr. Hagemann said there is still $4 million remaining on a $10 million bond approved in 2005 in conjunction with the college's last master plan.

"It's taking what's left of the current plan and folding it into the new plan," he said. "How do we best utilize what's already on the table?"

After that's exhausted, Mr. Gray said, legislators need to prioritize projects that "fit with our mission as community sponsor."

About $39.5 million of the total costs would be eligible for state and county funds, College President Carole A. McCoy has said. The blueprint includes a $12.3 million Higher Education Center, a $10.9 million Collaborative Learning Center and $14.54 million in upgrades to existing facilities.

Mr. Gray said he supports endorsing the plan because "we're approving a vision. It's not a commitment. We'll take the commitments on a case-by-case basis."

The legislator also said the county has a role in keeping the college "fresh in its appeal."

"If that campus stagnates, we can't expect the population of students to do anything more than stagnate," he said.

If Mr. Gray believes he has enough like-minded legislators, he can push for a vote at this month's Finance and Rules Committee meeting. An approval there could put the item on the full board's Oct. 7 agenda.

Once the Legislature approves it, the plan will be sent to the state, which then decides how much money it can commit to all university capital projects over the next five years. Then JCC leaders — and their state legislators — would lobby for its fair share during the 2009-10 state budget negotiations.

At the county level, the college is expected to ask legislators to approve bonding for specific initiatives over the life of the five-year plan, instead of asking for approval for one bond that encompasses all projects simultaneously.

While legislators didn't move on JCC's plan Tuesday, they unanimously approved moving $483,000 between accounts to pay for fuel cost overruns, mostly in the Highway Department. The transfers included taking $250,000 from the county's contingency fund.

Legislator Addie J. Russell was the lone opposition to a resolution that urged "federal action to reduce energy prices and encourage American energy independence."

Mrs. Russell said that while she agreed with the premise of the resolution, she was specifically opposed to a House resolution championed in its text. She said the federal resolution, dubbed the American Energy Act, was environmentally irresponsible in its aim to develop gas and oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The county resolution passed 14-1.