The Madras Pioneer

County pledges funds to COCC

For community meeting room, trails

Holly M. Gill

September 08, 2010

Central Oregon Community College's Madras campus got a boost last week, when the Jefferson County Commission dedicated $230,000 to the project.

The money is part of the $415,000 the Oregon Legislature set aside last year for the county's economic development, when officials complained after the state imposed the area of critical state concern on a large chunk of the county surrounding the Metolius River Basin, and shortchanged the county when distributing stimulus funds.

Last fall, the voters in the college district, which includes Jefferson County, approved a $41.6 million levy for improvements to the Bend campus, as well as construction of satellite campuses in Madras and Prineville.

The Madras campus will be built on 15 acres located on B Street, northwest of Jefferson County Middle School. The property is part of 45 acres offered by the Bean Foundation, which will donate the property 15 acres at a time, when COCC completes construction of an 8,500-square-foot facility on the site.

Matt McCoy, vice president of administration for COCC, asked the county for $100,000 to build a larger meeting space in the facility to accommodate at least 100 people.

"That gives us the ability to expand the community meeting space," said McCoy. "This is real exciting for the community."

The facility, which will be accessed by an extension of City View, will have a 24-seat computer lab, at least five classrooms, including one which could be a community meeting room, testing and tutoring facilities, a student study area, a reception area, and storage room.

"Classrooms would be available to (Oregon State University) Extension," said McCoy, who hopes to have the Extension Service as an occupant of the building.

The other $130,000 from the county will be dedicated to improving the footpaths and bicycle trails that connect the new campus to downtown Madras, Madras High School, and Juniper Hills Park.

Steele and Associates Architects of Bend have drawn up preliminary plans for the facility, he said. "We're in design development now. Once we get a concept back, we'll come back to the community."

McCoy expects to be able to bid the project by late fall, and break ground early next year.