Chemeketa Community College

Referred to the People by the District Board

Chemeketa Community College District General Obligation Bond Authorization

Question: Is Chemeketa Community College District authorized to issue general obligation bonds not exceeding $89,000,000 to expand and improve its facilities? If the bonds are approved, they will be payable from taxes on property or property ownership that are not subject to the limits of sections 11 and 11b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution.

Summary: If approved, this measure would finance capital construction and improvements. Specifically, it would provide funds for:

• Health Sciences Facilities.

• Classroom buildings to replace portable, temporary classrooms.

• Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technologies Facilities.

• Business and Industry Facilities to relocate the Training and Economic Development Center from its current leased facility.

• A new McMinnville Campus facility to be constructed near Willamette Valley Medical Center.

• An Interagency Center for Emergency Services Training in Brooks.

• Remodeling existing facilities, making additions, and building new facilities to meet standards for safety, energy consumption, and technology and to provide space for current and future programs.

• Acquiring land, equipment, furnishings and making site improvements in connection with the projects listed above.

• Replacing roofs, upgrading roadways and making other infrastructure improvements to protect public investment in the college’s assets.

• Bond issuance costs.

Bonds would mature in twenty-one (21) years or less from issuance date and may be issued in one or more series.

Explanatory Statement

Chemeketa Community College’s bond measure would:

Renovate College Facilities to Preserve and Extend their Useful Life

The bond measure would:

• Fund renovation projects that extend the life and usefulness of existing college buildings by restoring roofs, renovating deteriorated electrical and wiring systems, improving energy efficiency and enhancing campus safety.

• Replace deteriorating portable buildings on the campus that are more than 35 years old.

Expand Educational Opportunities for the Community

Chemeketa Community College is the primary avenue for local high school students to get a head start on their college careers, for local people to obtain college degrees and for students to train for careers in their communities. College enrollment has increased by 31 percent over the last ten years.* If this trend continues, it is projected that enrollment could increase by more than 25,000 students in the next ten years. The measure would enable the college to meet the growing demand for education and job training for the next ten years.

• A new Health Science Center would train students for the jobs in nursing, dental science, pharmacy and other health-care fields.

• A Manufacturing and Information Technology building would include labs and classrooms for students in electronics, engineering, computer science, manufacturing, drafting and welding. The building would enable the college to offer more vocational training to students.

• New classrooms and labs to replace the old portable buildings would provide students with up-to-date facilities that could be operated in a more cost-efficient manner.

• An Emergency Service Training Center would prepare students for careers as emergency responders and provide on-the-job training for the region’s firefighters, law enforcement and emergency services personnel.

• The college’s expanded Center For Business and Industry would provide services to local business and industry, assist in attracting new jobs to the community and help small businesses.

• A new college center in McMinnville would enable more students to take health science programs and enroll in college credit courses in this fast-growing part of the district.

*Based on Chemeketa’s enrollment from 1996 to 2006

Conserve Public Resources

The college kept its promise ten years ago that funds from the 1996 bond measure would last for a decade. This goal of conserving public resources is embodied in this measure as follows:

• Building new college classroom buildings to replace deteriorating portable structures would save money by improving energy efficiency and lowering the square-foot cost of operation.

• Bond payments would be structured so that new residents moving into the district would help pay for the bond.

• Even if this measure is approved, property taxes levied by the College are expected to be reduced by approximately 7 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value starting in 2008.

Submitted by:

Craig A. Smith, Vice President/CFO

Chemeketa Community College