Voters in parts of north-central Iowa will go to the polls next week to decide on a $25.5 million bond issue for improvements at Iowa Central Community College.
The school has campuses in Fort Dodge, Webster City and Storm Lake. A larger bond issue was rejected by voters in 2016. Iowa Central president Dan Kinney says multiple buildings are in dire need of updates.
“We’re excited to rerun this bond,” Kinney says. “Unfortunately, the first time around, it didn’t pass but I just don’t think we got the information out on what we’re doing and different things like that throughout our facilities.” The electrical systems are at capacity and can barely support all of the demands, he says. New lighting and security cameras for better safety are also on the wish list.
The community college celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and Kinney notes, many of the existing buildings were built five decades ago. “These structures are older and we’ve got to continue to sew them up and make them more ADA accessible,” he says. “Replace windows and rooftops because unfortunately, we don’t get state funding for infrastructure. We’ve been deferring our maintenance and we’ve got to keep up with that better.”
The vote is scheduled for February 6th. Voters in December of 2016 narrowly defeated a $29.5 million bond issue for Iowa Central. Enrollment for the three campuses is over 5,000 students.
(Thanks to Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)