Document text
60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, May 1, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 29, 2005 Legislators hear groundswell for SOU-RCC building By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — A delegation from Jackson County appeared Thursday before a Ways and Means subcommittee on education to support construction of a $23.3 million Southern Oregon University-Rogue Community College education center in downtown Medford. Wearing "We LOVE Our SOU-RCC Medford Education Building!!!" decals, members of the Medford/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the mayors of Medford and Ashland either gave brief testimony or submitted written statements supporting the project. The subcommittee also heard from witnesses supporting capital construction projects at other Oregon colleges, but it took no action after Thursday’s hearing. Funding for the center had a high priority in Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s 2005-07 budget. Half the total would be raised through the sale of bonds. Voters approved a local bond issue to finance RCC’s share, but SOU must still come up with $5.4 million. "Hopefully we can get some general fund dollars from the state, then look for other sources of cash," Elisabeth Zinser, president of SOU, said after the hearing. Advertisement Some $500,000 has been raised locally from private sources. The center will anchor an urban renewal effort for downtown Medford, Kurt Olson, executive director of the Medford Urban Renewal Agency, said in an interview. Along with the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater and construction of the new library, the center would make the area a "special place," Olson said. Olson said MURA will spend $25 million over the next eight years to redevelop the area. MURA has offered most of a downtown block, worth about $555,000, to the SOU/RCC project pending approval of state funding. The site is between Riverside Avenue and Bartlett Street and Eighth and Ninth Streets in Medford. The Jackson County delegation stressed the importance of the project in spurring economic development. "Lithia Motors wants this project to happen," said Jeff DeBoer, chief financial officer and a member of the chamber’s board of directors. He said the project will create a new anchor for cultural and education opportunities in downtown Medford. "It will be a boon to strategic growth in our economy and a growing work force," he said. Jim Wright, a prominent Medford businessman and emeritus trustee of the Southern Oregon University Foundation, did not testify, but praised the comments of Mayors Gary Wheeler of Medford and John Morrison of Ashland. "It is critical that we have this center for the future of our valley," Wright said. Sandra Slattery, executive director of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, told legislators a $5.4 million state appropriation "will provide an excellent return on your investment." Also testifying was Brad Hicks, chamber chief executive officer. "The SOU-RCC Medford facility is our top legislative priority," he said. "This partnership is not only pivotal for the development of our region’s economy, it offers a model for efficient resource allocation and effective delivery of post-secondary education in Oregon," he said. More RCC students attend classes in scattered buildings in Medford than at the institution’s main campus in Grants Pass, according to a fact sheet developed by SOU. About 20 percent of SOU students take at least one credit course in Medford, and the number of transfers from RCC to SOU has tripled since 1997. The proposed three-story building would replace seven locations in Medford for students. There would be ample parking and support businesses such as restaurants and copy centers that would serve attendees. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Advertisement s