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Story Archives: Bond Commission approves $45 million for Delta college


Bond Commission approves $45 million for Delta college
by Scott Rogers - posted Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 @ 11:03 pmE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
The State Bond Commission on Tuesday approved $45 million in revenue bonds for the construction of the new Louisiana Delta Community College campus in Monroe.

The campus will be housed on 68 acres off Millhaven Road on the north side of Interstate 20. The state has already bought the land. Construction of the new campus could begin in the spring.

Dr. Luke Robins‚ chancellor of Louisiana Delta Community College, said, "We've cleared a big hurdle today with it getting it through the bond commission. So we're very excited and pleased with this news."

The bond issue must now be approved by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget as well as the state Division of Administration.

Robins expects the Division of Administration will review the bond issue within the next several weeks. He also believes the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget could look at the matter sometime in February.

Besides the approval process for the bond issue, Delta officials are involved in closing the sale on the property with the state and preparing to have design and construction plans drafted. Those design plans could be ready within two weeks to submit them to potential bidders. Once construction begins, Delta officials believe they could occupy the school buildings within 18-24 months.

"Our best case scenario is having the groundbreaking in the spring, with construction beginning immediately," Robins said. "That's if we don't run into any glitches, but we've had enough glitches in this process. So I'm almost expecting some."

"Regardless, this is a big step forward for us, so we're excited," Robins continued. "We've got a couple of more jumps to make before we reach the finish line, but we can actually see the finish line now."

Gov. Bobby Jindal says he supports the approval of the $45 million in bonds for the Delta Campus Facilities Corporation Project.

"Delta Community College's new campus is a vital step in training a skilled and qualified workforce in northeast Louisiana and our entire state," said Jindal, who took office earlier this month.

"The reality is that not every high school graduate is going to go to a four-year college," Jindal said. "Our community and technical college system provides accessible, affordable, high-quality programs for thousands of students."

"This approval of $45 million in bonds for Delta Community College's new campus will work to cultivate even greater successes in student achievement so that graduates are trained and ready to enter rewarding, high-paying careers," he added.

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who on Tuesday urged the state Bond Commission to approve the issuance of revenue bonds for the Delta project, said, "By investing in the Louisiana Delta Community College, we are investing in a skilled workforce that will meet the needs of Louisiana's business and industry. The idea is for our young people to have access to quality education here in Louisiana."

The first proposed site for the new campus was the old State Farm facility on U.S. 165, which now is home to Accent Marketing's call center.

Early last year, Louisiana Community and Technical College System officials said the State Farm property was not large enough to accommodate future growth of Delta.

Some Ouachita officials, as well as other people in the community, opposed razing the State Farm facility, which they said could be marketed to potential businesses.

State Farm donated the facility to the Ouachita Economic Development Corporation when it closed its offices in 2005. In 2006, the state bought the property for $3 million with intentions to demolish the facility and build the new facilities for Delta. The state originally said it would build a $30-million, 130,000-square-foot community college on the 25 acres of the former State Farm property.

Delta was first established in 2001 where it was located at the Louisiana Technical College campus at the West Ouachita Industrial Park. It later moved to ULM's campus, where it operates today. Delta claims 1,200 students, however, the college has not revealed how many of those students are full-time or part-time. Some officials who are familiar with Delta's operations have said the full-time enrollment at the community college is around 500 students.
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