PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Officials from Northern Maine Community College encourage local voters to help pass a $15 million bond package for the Maine Community College System that would give NMCC a little over $1 million to complete infrastructural renovations and expand academic programs and on-campus housing services.
If passed on Nov. 6, the bond package would allocate $1,165,119 for NMCC to add close to 8,000 square feet to the currently 15,000-square-foot diesel hydraulics laboratory, make structural and technological upgrades to business classrooms in the Christie Complex, and convert certain dorm rooms in residence halls for single-student occupancy and family apartment units.
NMCC President Tim Crowley noted that although the college has consistently been making upgrades to certain classrooms and lab spaces for many years and is not overly concerned about the structural soundness of the buildings, the bond package would help the institution continue to improve those spaces based on student needs.
“I could walk around any part of campus and be proud to showcase what we have,” Crowley said. “This is not about the campus being in desperate need for renovations but rather about improving the quality of the educational experiences for our students.”
With the diesel hydraulics technology program at full capacity and the need for medium and heavy machinery technicians increasing, Crowley said that renovations would give students access to more equipment for hands-on learning and make much-needed improvements to the heating and ventilation systems in that space possible.
On the second floor of the Christie Complex, NMCC’s business administration and accounting classrooms would receive new light fixtures and floor tiles — the current tiles have not been upgraded in 30 years. Funding also would pay to refurbish a part of the hallway where student lockers used to be located and update video conferencing software that instructors use to broadcast classes to NMCC’s outreach campus in Houlton and to Washington County Community College in Calais.
“Husson University also has an office on the second floor of the Christie Complex and instructors who teach courses there. They’ve been a great partner to us over the years and would benefit from the classroom upgrades as well,” Crowley said.
Over the past 10 years NMCC has seen the average age of students increase from 24 years to around 27 or 28 years and many of those students are parents. The campus currently has two family unit apartments, both of which are not occupied by families at this time.
Crowley noted that many nontraditional students live in housing complexes or apartments close to campus and in downtown Presque Isle. He sees the expansion of NMCC’s family housing as an opportunity to make sure older students and family members have greater access to services on campus.
The campus also has seen an increase in students who prefer to live in single-person dorm rooms in the residence halls as opposed to with roommates. Crowley anticipates that both Snow Hall and Andrews Hall would receive renovations to accommodate single-person rooms. Currently Andrews Hall is the only residence hall on campus with those types of rooms, around 30 total, and the college has the ability to house around 160 students.
“People tend to want more privacy to do coursework and communicate with family online,” Crowley said. “Our single-student rooms fill up more quickly and people tend to prefer those rooms even if they have to pay more.”
If the bond initiative passes, Crowley expects that NMCC would go out to bid on contractors in the spring and hopefully begin all construction projects by fall 2019. He said that NMCC has continually made structural improvements to campus buildings in order to increase access to jobs that help Aroostook County’s workforce and he hopes that voters see the value of investing in students.
“We want to send a message to the new governor and the new Legislature in Augusta that the people of Aroostook County take workforce development in this region seriously and that Maine politicians should invest in those type of initiatives,” Crowley said.
The Maine Community College System bond package, also known as Question 5 on the ballot, is not the only initiative aimed at higher education institutions in Maine. Question 4 asks voters to approve a $49 million bond that would give $4.5 million to the University of Maine at Presque Isle and $2.9 million to the University of Maine at Fort Kent to renovate classroom space in Presque Isle for their nursing collaboration and to make infrastructural improvements on both campuses.
