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College district plans move ahead |
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Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator /
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Wednesday, 12 September 2007 |
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“It looks as if we have a direction established with the board, and we're on target with that direction.”
— Roe Darnell
Yosemite Community College District chancellor
 Pi Photo File
Modesto Junior College’s auditorium is more than halfway complete, and plans are about to be drafted for a new parking garage, according to a quarterly report released by the Yosemite Community College District’s consultant Kitchell Corp.
Meanwhile, off-site construction has begun on modular housing for the ag department, and the college district board could move forward on plans for a Patterson campus as soon as next month.
“It looks as if we have a direction established with the board, and we’re on target with that direction,” YCCD Chancellor Roe Darnell said last week.
Measure E, approved by voters within the college district in November 2004, allocated money for projects at Modesto Junior College and at Columbia College in Sonora. Those include a West Side campus for MJC in Patterson.
In August 2006, the college district board voted to decrease allocations for most Measure E projects after MJC’s auditorium came in over budget. However, everything appears to be on schedule since the board approved a revised schedule of projects last month, district officials said.
About $220 million of the local bond money remains unspent. Design on a child development center, science buildings, a public safety classroom building, and another classroom building are being completed at Columbia.
Meanwhile, the board asked consultants to rework a potential Campus Master Plan for MJC, and it could be ready for them to review in three months or earlier, Darnell said.
“It’s hard to tell (when it will be ready), because we want to do it right,” he said.
That master plan has details on longer-term projects, so there will be no delays in the meantime on completing shorter-term Measure E projects, Darnell said.
Designs were completed at the end of July for MJC’s parking structure. Design continues on “Allied Health” classes and an agricultural complex, which includes living units, a pavilion and animal units.
Meanwhile, college district officials hope to move forward on a West Side campus in Patterson. Developer Mike Miroyan has promised the district he will donate land he controls off Baldwin Road, and consultants from Kitchell Corp. have investigated the site. The district wrapped up its “due diligence” work last month and expects to receive title to the property by the end of September.
The college district’s board will receive more information on the due diligence process during its meeting today.
Miroyan said he plans to get the title to the property by the Sept. 31 deadline. However, he said he would hope to receive a 10- to 15-day extension from the district if slightly more time were needed to complete a real estate deal with the Bizzanelli family, which owns the property.
“The various pieces are coming together,” he said.
Miroyan also hopes to get city approvals to develop a retail center next to the campus. However, he said the upcoming title transfer should prove to area residents that the college land donation comes with no strings attached to that project.
A representative from Kitchell appeared pleased with the overall progress of the bond measure programs.
“Things are proceeding,” Kitchell program manager Matt Kennedy said.
To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
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