By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
Oregon Coast Community College hopes the second time is the charm.
The OCCC board voted unanimously Wednesday night to ask voters in May to approve a $33.16 million bond to build what is calling a “cutting-edge” trade and technical education center on its main Newport campus. The bond would be for 21 years.
The proposal replaces one the college planned to have on the ballot this spring, but pulled at the last minute when it discovered the state had rescinded an $8 million grant to help build the center. The 2023 Legislature later restored that grant along with money to 10 other community colleges.
But unlike the first proposal, the current bond would replace one approved in 2004 that established the college campuses in Newport, Lincoln City and Waldport. That bond expires in June 2025.
The expected tax rate for the new bond would be 21 cents per $1,000 assessed property value – the same rate as the expiring bond. That translates into $63 a year for the owner of property assessed at $300,000.
“The new bond will not charge more than your current tax statement,” said David Price, the college’s vice president of engagement. “There will not be any overlap in bond payments.”
Most of the money would be used to build the trades/technical center on land near the entrance to the main campus in South Beach. The building would house existing and new trade and technical programs and have flexible space to adjust to changes.
“Our primary goal is to build a state-of-the-art trades building …” Price told YachatsNews.
But plans also call for the money to be used to:
- Install safety measures in all college buildings and update classrooms, technology and other facilities;
- Expand, adapt and modernize existing career technical training facilities and acquire land to support programs including education, allied health, aquatic sciences, and welding;
- And, enhance or acquire equipment contributing to community emergency response;
A construction timeline is unclear at the moment, given that the college must wait to see if voters approve the bonds, then sell them, complete designs and solicit a contractor. But unlike 20 years ago when it built three campuses, the trades/technical center would be on ready-to-develop property on OCCC’s Newport campus.
Grant returns
The college board voted last February to put a $32 million bond on the May ballot believing it still had a longstanding commitment from the state for a $8 million grant.
But it learned in March that the 2022 Legislature had not renewed that commitment, decided to pull the local measure and to wait until this spring for the 2023 Legislature to meet. Lawmakers did pass legislation authorizing general obligation bonds for a variety of college and state agency infrastructure projects around Oregon.
“The lions share of the bond will be used for the trades center,” Price said. “But the state match makes more projects possible.”
For some of the spending, Price said, the college wants to be guided by its educational partners and the community.
“What do you want? Here are the choices. What do you think?” he said. “What are the other programs we can improve with capital construction from the bond? We haven’t done this in 20 years.”
A political action committee formed a year ago and headed by former college president Patrick O’Connor has remained active and will help organize support for the measure.
The college has a permanent tax base of 17.6 cents per $1,000 assessed value that provides yearly operating funds. That costs the owner of property assessed at $300,000 about $53 a year.
Oregon Coast Community College was formed in 1987, but operated under the charters of other Oregon colleges until 2020 when it became an independent institution with the ability to make its own financial and academic decisions.
- Quinton Smith is the editor of YachatsNews.com and can be reached at YachatsNews@gmail.com
I think the letters to the editor that I read when this bond was first proposed were right on target: there are existing ways for people to learn to become an electrician or plumber, both in short supply in Lincoln county at this time–and at least some of those programs provide a wage while the person learns. Seems like a good system to me, I’d rather see those programs supported then to build something new from scratch. Gven what I saw of the student lab faclities when I took an evening geology class, the college should spend what money they can get on (1) greatly improving their chem lab supplies & equipment and finding good instructors for the first year of chemisty, maybe even organic chemisty. Same for geology. There are jobs in both fields, but you need some equipment and resources for students to learn as well as qualified people to teach them. The instructor of the geology course I took was knowledgeable & ready to share his knowlege, but there was little around to help people learn, one tiny sample of basic rock types. Not good enough. Has the college worked with the HMSC /OSU to see if some doctoral or post doc students would teach a course/semester? Faculty? In basic mariine science. That would pair well perhaps w/aquatic sciences?
What I noticed in the courses I’ve taken is how under utilized the existing physical structures are: I took an evening class prior to the pandemic, occasionally one other classroom was occupied, other then that, the building seemed to be empty. LIbrary was closed. No one using any of the school computers. I’d walk around during breaks, no one around. In larger cities, people who work during the day, take classes at night.. I’d be asking: what courses could the college offer to the community that people already working want to take? What classes/skills do they need to acquire to get a promotion? Or to move to a different position? Then try to offer them–and use the spaces sitting empty in the current buildings.
It’s supposed to be a ccmmunity college, so why not spend some ttime/money doing outreach, in schools, library, etc., to find out what people living in the county would like to learn, improve their skills in what areas? Then see if it’s possible to find people with the desired knowledge & skills with the time to teach them,
Very informative article. Not sure my question applies to this article but wondering why the Oregon Coast CC building in Waldport sits vacant. Never any classes scheduled there. Could be utilized for residents living in South County.
Hi, Elizabeth. You raise an important point. We do have our GED Director, Rob Seal, in the building weekly, and delivered about 30 Community Education and Small Business Development workshops there in the fall. We also periodically host Waldport Chamber events, house the Economic Development Alliance (a decades-long partner with the SBDC and College), and also welcomed this year the Yachats Community Garden, which is rapidly developing an expanded permanent master garden space and programming. Offering credit classes in the South County Center, and having those classes fill with a minimum required number of students, are two different things — but we keep working on it. I am happy to discuss further with you, and walk you through the building at your convenience, if you wish! Text me at 541-921-2306. Dave P.