Measure E projects wind down after a decade of major building

The makeover of the old science building on the Modesto Junior College East Campus should finish construction in February and open in May, according to an annual report for the Yosemite Community College District’s Measure E bond.

The building will get a new name at an upcoming board meeting, but for now is called North Hall. “North Hall is the working title. It gave people a sense of where is was. But the facilities council and the programs that will be housed there will come up with a name,” said MJC President Jill Stearns on Thursday.

The building’s two large lecture halls remain, Stearns said. It will house the disciplines of anthropology, administration of justice, geography, computer graphics and computer science. The opening will herald the end of Pirates’ Village – a shrinking cluster of portable classrooms sitting in an east campus parking lot since fall of 2010.

The $326 million bond was passed in November 2004 to finance improvements at Columbia College and Modesto Junior College and to increase access to college classes in outlying areas.

In the decade since, bond funds shepherded by program manager Kitchell CEM have remade the MJC West Campus, adding the Allied Health and Science Community Center buildings, and on the east campus remade the auditorium, refurbished Founders Hall, updated the historic library and created a modern Student Services building. On the Columbia College campus, the bond built the Science Natural Resources center and spruced up the Manzanita Building.

“It has been dramatic,” said Stearns. “It’s not only dramatic visually and physically, but to have designed facilities not only for today’s needs and technology, but to be flexible for the next iteration so our professors can provide the best training for years to come.”

All have incorporated energy efficiencies, with several receiving national status for low energy use, and each was designed around the classes the building will hold.

“The buildings and facilities projects brought to us by Measure E Bond funds are an investment in the programs and services needed by our students, who, in large part, will determine the future economic success and vitality of the communities we serve,” YCCD Chancellor Joan Smith said in a statement.

Stearns said the addition of the Allied Health building on the west campus was key to MJC’s recently accepted proposal to offer a four-year degree in respiratory therapy. “There’s a very nice fit between having a state-of-the-art facility and being able to offer that program,” she said.

The 2014 annual report was released by the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee to the YCCD board of trustees at its Jan. 20 meeting.

“The legal charge of the CBOC is to ensure Measure E funding is spent in line with the provisos set by the original Bond Measure as approved by the voters within YCCD,” wrote Jeff Phillips, CBOC chairman, in the report. “The CBOC can instill public confidence in knowing that Measure E funds are being spent appropriately.”

Plans for satellite campuses are on hold, for now. “Land acquired in Turlock, Patterson and Calaveras will be held for future long-term expansion when the economy fully recovers, enrollments increase, and state budget dollars become available,” notes the report. In the meantime, classes are offered at high schools in Ceres, Oakdale, Turlock, Newman and Patterson.

The annual report shows $188.4 million has been spent at MJC, $39.5 million at Columbia and $52 million on district buildings for administrative work such as shipping, accounting and data services. The total of bids awarded to date adds up to $280 million.

Stearns said there will be more buildings proposed, as well as fixing “alligatoring” on MJC interior roads and parking lots to prolong their life. “We’ll submit a list of additional projects to use every remaining dollar in the bond,” she said.

Infrastructure will be the focus for the coming year with roadwork improvements at the Columbia and Modesto campuses, work on a traffic signal at Blue Gum and Prichard avenues adjacent to the MJC West Campus, and Central Service Center upgrades.

The sprawling community college district covers all of Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties, and portions of Calaveras, Merced, San Joaquin and Santa Clara counties. Taxpayers throughout the vast district pay roughly $25 a year per $100,000 in assessed value for the bond.

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Measure E projects wind down after a decade of major building."