No new building for BBCC yet, officials say
BBCC Big Bend News
MOSES LAKE - Any rumors that Big Bend Community College might be starting construction on a new Professional/Technical Education Center soon are exaggerated, according to college officials.
"There have been conversations in the community that the college is on the verge of getting a new training center, and we wish that were true," BBCC President Terry Leas said. College officials are working on a design for a capital proposal for state funding, which must be submitted by Feb. 28.
But college officials won't know until the 2015 legislative session whether or not the project is funded, said Doug Sly, the college's public information officer.
College officials are working with architects to make "a compelling case," for the project, said Gail Hamburg, the college's vice-president for financial and administrative services. The project would cost an estimated $20 million to $30 million, Hamburg said, and the earliest it would be finished would be late 2018 or early 2019.
"The word at this time is seven projects could be funded statewide," Hamburg said. "If we are ranked in the top five we'll be in a good position. But there is no way of predicting this far in advance what the state's economy will be like one year from now."
State officials probably will release a ranking of capital projects in May, Sly said. The BBCC project will be on the table along with projects from the state's other 33 community and technical colleges, he said.
"It's good to know so many people understand the need for a training center to support the growing industrial base in Big Bend's service district. We especially need larger, well-designed and modern space in which to meet employers' increasing demand for skilled workers," Leas said.
Most of the technical/professional programs are located in the old Larson Air Force Base buildings, which are about 60 years old, Sly said. They weren't designed for education and the programs have outgrown them, he said.
Local communities and businesses are supporting the proposal, Leas said. The college received letters from the ports of Moses Lake and Ephrata, the city of Moses Lake, the Moses Lake School District, the Grant County Economic Development Council, Central Washington University and SGL/BMW, Sly said.
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