Release Date: 2008-05-14
Original Link: http://presszoom.com/story_145115.html
The board passed a resolution affirming its commitment, initially approved by Trustees in March 2007, to the project. Trustees directed NIC President Priscilla Bell and other college personnel to work with other individuals and organizations as needed to make the initiative, in discussion for years, a reality.
(PressZoom.com) - The North Idaho College Board of Trustees agreed Wednesday evening to explore options that could lead to college acquisition of the education corridor on the current site of the Stimson Lumber Company DeArmond Mill adjacent to the main NIC campus.
The board passed a resolution affirming its commitment, initially approved by Trustees in March 2007, to the project. Trustees directed NIC President Priscilla Bell and other college personnel to work with other individuals and organizations as needed to make the initiative, in discussion for years, a reality.
Trustees also gave preliminary approval to the concept of taking over $2.4 million in previously uncollected property taxes next year to pay for a portion of the expected $10 million cost for the 17-acre parcel along the Spokane River.
The board received public comment on the topic during its meeting, and will continue to take input during the month of May. Final action on the 2008-2009 budget, which could include the additional tax collection, is expected at the May 28 board meeting.
The education corridor has been a topic of discussion amongst NIC, the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College and local officials and organizations for many years. With the expected closure of Stimson�s DeArmond Mill sometime in May, the opportunity � and the need for a strategy to fund it � is necessitated by the NIC budget cycle.
NIC operates on a July 1 through June 30 fiscal year and college officials are in the latter stages of development of the 2008-2009 budget to be submitted for board approval on May 28. If NIC does not budget funding for corridor acquisition now, it would be another year before trustees could budget for the initiative � with no assurance the opportunity would still exist.
Trustees acknowledge that many questions remain, and many issues still must be resolved, before the education corridor site can be acquired for future higher education needs in North Idaho.
The project is all the more complex because of the number of entities and individuals involved, including colleges and universities, local agencies of government, the lumber company, and developer Marshall Chesrown, amongst others.
For More Information
NIC Vice President for Community Relations Kent Propst, (208) 769-3316
Media Contact
Stacy Hudson, Public Information Coordinator
(208) 769-7819 or stacy_hudson@nic.edu