Board borrows $25 million for expansion, maintenance

It's no secret that Parkland College is a crowded space. Parkland is 111% deficient in lounge space according to a 1996 independent consultation. The college's ambitious Master Plan building project took a big step forward Wednesday March 18, when the board of trustees selected an architectural firm to contract the expansions and renovations of Phase I.
Champaign-based BLDD architects got the contract over 2 Chicago-based international firms. BLDD contributed the images Parkland has been using to promote the project on its website.
February 18, the board approved a resolution to issue $25 million in bonds to fund phase I of the three-phase Master Plan. Because the measure circumvents the vote a referendum would have required, the Board was mandated to notify the public in print and take petitions for a 30-day period before moving forward. Jody Littleton, Executive Director of Community Relations at Parkland, and Linda Moore, Vice President for Student Services each say the school received only a handful of letters in favor of putting the measure to a vote and a handful expressing desire to see the college expand.
The debt will ultimately be paid off by regional home owners. Literature on Parkland's website claims that paying back the debt from Phase I will cost owners of a $150,000 home $15 per year over 20 years for a total of $300. While this sounds minimal, the Master Plan has two more stages yet to be funded and some worry about it adding up quickly. A similar proposed bond sale for regional, public grade and high schools was approved by voters last Wednesday, and the state legislature is largely expected to pass a 50% state income tax increase.
Proponents of the Master Plan point out that the 40-year-old institution was designed to accommodate fewer than 10,000 students and that additions such as the D-wing are not enough to accommodate more than 20,000 students now taking classes at Parkland.
Parkland CFO Chris Randels says the bond sale is a common way for colleges, universities and even municipalities to fund building projects.
Littleton says parts of the building plan have been on a stalled list of state projects for years and went on to say former Governor Rod Blagojevich often flouted the list in favor of projects he preferred. Parkland officials don't know what to expect from the new administration in Springfield, and the college was not be included among the thousands of earmarks in recent federal stimulus legislation. Littleton says the college hopes to save money building during a down economy, when builders are more competitive for contracts.
The first phase of the plan will include a new Engineering and Science Technology building to bring automotive, manufacturing, and welding courses close together to share resources. Part of the gymnasium renovation such as new bleachers, sound system, and flooring will be included in Phase I along with upgrades to several of the college's elevators and roofing at several buildings.
Phase II is also ambitious and includes the construction of a new Student Services facility. Linda Moore, Vice President of Student Services says the modern student services department-financial aid, counseling and advising, the career center-has coalesced over recent decades and has had to adapt to a college structure built to accommodate a more modest service department. Presently, financial aid applicants enter sensitive, personal information on computers in a public hallway while other students stand in line beside them. Another hallway has become the waiting room for academic advising. Moore also says the practice of hosting speakers and other guests in the Flag and Gallery Lounges is unprofessional and disruptive to nearby classrooms.
President Ramage says the new Student Services facility, planned for the north side of campus between the gymnasium and the L-wing, will give the college a "front door" where beginning students can walk in and apply, register, buy books, meet an academic advisor, and apply for financial aid without having to ask directions and traverse half the campus. The facility is expected to house a new fitness center and dining center. Tentative plans include turning the old dining facility into a café or turning over some of the space to the hospitality students who currently use it as a lab area. Several faculty members have mentioned the idea of moving the broadcast booth of the WPCD radio station to a glass enclosure near heavy student foot traffic.
The final phase of the Master Plan as it is laid out now, will include major maintenance projects as well as the construction of a "black box" theater near the current theater. A black box is a simple room often accompanying another traditional theater. It can be used for experimental projects and stage readings. Moving regular theatrical rehearsals to a black box at Parkland would free the theater for use by the several student organizations and community groups who often use it for meetings or events.
Incurring the debt for Phase I was relatively uneventful and Ramage says the Board of Trustees' vote on the issue was unanimous. The last two phases, each of which contains major construction, have yet to be funded.