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College seeks $30 million bond to grow downtown RCC wants a real campus in Medford By DAMIAN MANN Rogue Community College plans to seek a $30 million bond in November that would transform its hodgepodge of Medford buildings into a unified campus and downtown cultural mecca. After four years of explosive growth in Jackson County, the college wants to build a 40,000-square-foot building connected by skybridge to an existing structure at Central and Eighth. The bond also would create a 100,000-square-foot Table Rock Training Center on 20 to 30 acres in Central Point or White City. The center would offer technical courses to prepare employees for industrial jobs in those areas. RCC President Rick Levine said the 18,000-student school system would offer most of its academic programs at the downtown campus. The original Redwood Campus in Grants Pass would not be affected by the expansion. The bond, which could be offered to Jackson County voters this November or next year, would result in an increase in property taxes of 25 to 30 cents for each $1,000 of assessed valuation � about $40 to $50 a year on a typical $160,000 house, Levine said. If approved by voters, construction would be completed by 2004. The most striking aspect of the project would be the unification of RCC�s main 34,000-square-foot building with a new three-story structure sandwiched between the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater, the Rogue Gallery and Art Center, and a planned $40 million library at South Central and Ninth. "This whole area � that�s about three to four square blocks � can become a wonderful focal point for downtown Medford," said Levine. Mayor Lindsay Berryman agreed, offering the city�s support in transforming this area and giving Medford a morale boost. "I think Medford has had a bad self-image, but that has been turning around." The city will try to help the college with landscaping, parking, street configurations and other issues that confront the project, said Berryman. RCC now has a collection of buildings downtown that is scattered over an eight-block area, as well as other locations on Crater Lake Highway. Levine said the planned campus consolidation would ultimately save $1 million a year in lease payments for facilities, partially mitigating some of the school�s funding cutbacks of $3.4 million. "Part of our budget issue is that we lease all the buildings here (in downtown Medford) other than this one (at Eighth and Central)," said Levine. Even with a downturn in the economy, Levine believes voters will approve the bond. "In a downturn in the economy, we have more people who want to get retrained into technical programs," he said. "When the timber industry was down, we trained a lot of those folks to be truck drivers." Levine thinks that it will be better for taxpayers in the long run if the school is plowing its money back into programs rather than leases. It would also resolve students� complaints of walking from building to building to attend different classrooms. Levine hopes the city will consider closing off a street or two to better unify the area and create more of a campus feel. A victim of its own success, the college recently announced it would cut $3.4 million out of next year�s budget, which could force the loss of 31 positions and increase class sizes. It also must cut $1.5 million this year to avoid running out of money. Because of rapid growth � from 5,000 to 18,000 students in the past four years � the school expended its cash reserves. And because of the peculiar method of state funding, which takes a three-year average of enrollment, the college receives less money than it needs to operate. RCC�s proposed project has several hurdles to clear, including parking problems and potential competition from a proposed $70 million bond issue in 2002 from the Medford School District. The money, derived from almost $1 for each $1,000 in assessed valuation, would be used to build a skill center, a new middle school and make improvements to the high schools. Voters also approved last year an almost $40 million bond to complete a new library, which will share space with RCC. A supporter of RCC�s proposal, Medford Superintendent Steve Wisely, believes voters would approve the two separate bond measures, particularly if they were offered during different elections. "I think it would be less confusing for people to have them go at separate times," he said. Wisely said he didn�t see any conflict between the skill center proposal, which would train 15- to 18-year olds, and RCC�s training program for students whose average age is 34. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.