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| MJC explores options for campus |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 31 October 2007 | |
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Landowners offer half a dozen sites for West Side center
Five Patterson-area landowners have submitted proposals to house a future Modesto Junior College campus, and college district officials say they expect a sixth proposal soon. The Yosemite Community College District, which oversees MJC and Columbia College in Sonora, has actively sought a 20- to 40-acre site for a West Side campus since a deal with developer Michael Miroyan fell through Oct. 1. College district Chancellor Roe Darnell said Monday he hopes to have “deed in fist” for a college site by February, in time for an outreach site plan to come out in March. Meanwhile, several landowners interested in expanding Patterson’s general plan to include their property have made offers to the district. “We just want to keep it in Patterson,” local landowner Fritz Schali said, reflecting other statements by would-be donors. Schali, along with Larry and Kenny Buehner, belongs to a group that has proposed a 20-acre site at the southern end of Baldwin Road. Farmer and developer Jeff Arambel has proposed a 25-acre site west of Interstate 5 for the campus, which would need to be included in the city’s 20-year general plan to be used. Arambel described his site as a “hill of inspiration for higher education” during a City Council and planning commission meeeting Monday. Farmer and landowner Jon Maring represents another site off Ward Avenue south of the T.W. Patterson Sports Park. His agreement would entail gifting 10 acres, with the possiblity of the college using adjacent land if the district covered related costs. Other projects include a proposal for land at the Keystone Pacific Business Park and property owned by the Ielmini family close to a site Patterson Unified School District bought for a future high school at Baldwin and Zacharias roads. Patrick Sweeney, superintendent of the Patterson Unified School District, said he would love for the new college to be next to the future high school, but anywhere within the Patterson area would be fine. College district trustee Anne DeMartini, who represents an area that includes the West Side, noted pros and cons to each of the sites she was aware of. For instance, she said, Arambel’s property would provide a beautiful view, but it might cost a lot to build a road there and provide utilities. The Baldwin Road property is in a great location, she said, but it would include parcels of land owned by a few different people, which could create some complications. Some of the land deals include gifting of land, while others would entail a sale of some kind. Some also would require creating all new buildings, while others would entail using existing structures. Despite all the offers, college district officials said the district will still accept the land Miroyan offered if he can obtain it. Miroyan had planned to provide 28 acres for a Modesto Junior College campus off Baldwin road, but he missed a Sept. 30 contractual deadline for donating the land. The Saratoga resident had met all the other requirements of a March 2006 agreement with the district. Miroyan and his business partners had disagreements about another land deal in Hawaii, and he blames them in part for the deal falling through. He said he still hopes to sell land he has under contract near Baldwin Road and Sperry Avenue and possibly use those proceeds to buy another parcel of land that could be donated for a college. The district plans to pay for the MJC West Side outreach site with $5 million obtained through Measure E, a $326.1 million general-obligation bond passed by district voters in November 2004. Darnell said he hopes the college district board will narrow down a site for the campus when it meets in closed session next month. He said he had asked for detailed proposals to be submitted to the district last week. District external affairs director Nick Stavrianoudakis said the district still expects one more proposal to be submitted.
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