To the editor:
This May, Lincoln County residents have the opportunity to vote yes on a trades training bond at Oregon Coast Community College.
Now is the time to add training facilities in Lincoln County that will support career training in skilled trades needed locally and statewide, such as welding/fabrication, construction, maritime engineering, mechatronics and other vocational trades. Providing these new services will help train local residents in professions that our community sorely needs and provide flexible space that can accommodate additional programs based upon community demand.
With the support of our local board, faculty, staff, students and community over the past 36 years, OCCC has progressed from an entity funded in part by temporary local support and housed in marginal rental facilities, to an important permanent and accredited community resource situated in functional and attractive campuses.
The bond will construct a new Trades Education Center and expand existing programs in Welding, Education, Allied Health, and Applied Aquatic Sciences. In addition, it will improve classrooms, safety and technology. The bond will raise $32 million with a levy of 26 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value –replacing the current levy, not stacking atop it.
The bond will provide needed safety and technological enhancements, and expand allied health programs. At the Lincoln City campus, a new kitchen, generator and FM radio station are slated based upon input from the community. Emergency preparedness improvements are also planned for all three campuses.
The current bond expires on June 30, 2025. The state has an $8 million match that is available now upon the bond’s passage, but is not guaranteed in the future. There are no major educational bond measures on the ballot in May. Finally, the need for trades education in our county is clear.
The voter-approved bond measure in 2004 for current facilities was 34 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Since that time, the amount levied has gone down to 21 cents. The new levy would be 26 cents per thousand. The two bonds overlap by two years, but do not combine. The new bond would replace the existing 21 cent levy with a 26 cent levy — an increase of 5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
Local funding for OCCC’s permanent operations, established in 1992, is the lowest in Oregon. With the help of a supportive board, faculty, staff, students, business and community members, the college built facilities and created programs supporting college-transfer, GED, ESOL, community education, and small business; established a nursing program, an Aquarium Science program and other initiatives. More recently, OCCC has continued to thrive by achieving full, independent accreditation, allowing it to pursue private and public grants for program enhancements and develop programs specifically tailored for the coastal economy.
Our community has the opportunity to have Oregon Coast Community College take the next step in maximizing its usefulness toward the economic development of our coastal region by providing training in these essential vocational skills.
Questions? Please contact me at paddyoc33@gmail.com When your ballot arrives in late April, please vote yes for trades in Lincoln County — Measure 21-216.
- Pat O’Connor, Lincoln City, former OCCC president