WILLMAR -- The Willmar and Hutchinson campuses of Ridgewater College will ask the Legislature for $1 million next year to pay for several repair projects.
The Ridgewater work is one of dozens of repair, renovation and construction projects proposed by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, totaling $279.4 million in the Legislature's 2006 bonding bill.
"We hope the Legislature will bring it all home,'' said Allan Johnson, MnSCU associate vice chancellor for facilities.
Johnson joined Ridgewater officials and members of the House Capital Investment Committee who listened to a presentation on Ridgewater's needs during a tour Thursday afternoon of the Willmar and Hutchinson campuses.
"This is what these committees generally do in the fall prior to their legislative session,'' said Johnson. "They'll go out and look at all the state requirements. They can see what the needs are themselves.''
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This year, the Legislature approved $500,000 for remodeling the Willmar photo technician lab and approved $600,000 for nursing lab expansion and science lab remodeling at both campuses.
Those projects are in the design phase now, with construction expected next year, he said.
"We like those small lab projects a great deal because while a college may not be ready for a $10 million or $15 million major capital project, they all have needs to remodel and modernize labs and classrooms,'' said Johnson.
In 2002-2003, the Legislature approved $2.88 million for major science lab remodeling at the Willmar and Hutchinson campuses. Those projects have been pretty well completed, he said.
Ridgewater President Dr. Douglas Allen led the committee on a tour of programs housed in four buildings that remain from the days when the Willmar campus was an Air Force radar base, beginning in 1950. The base was closed in 1962 and the site was bought by the Willmar School District in 1962 for a community technical college.
Allen said space has been remodeled numerous times for various programs over the years. "We try to be as efficient as possible,'' he said.
For example, the cosmetology program is located in the former Air Force gymnasium and theater building. The emergency medical services and electrician programs are crammed into a former maintenance shop, which has also been used in the past for the auto body and other programs. The radar building houses the management center for adult farm business programs.
"We have a lot of needs here, and my colleagues say the same thing,'' said Allen.
