Chemeketa Community College’s leaders want room to double the number of paramedics the college trains, add construction training and make it easier for Woodburn students to transfer to a four-year university. Those goals are behind the $140 million construction package paid for with property taxes that the college’s board is asking voters to sign off on Nov. 5. The measure wouldn’t change property taxes but instead would extend collections set to expire in 2026 to provide the construction money. Currently, voters are paying off loans from Chemeketa’s last round of construction, approved in 2008. The college sold bonds to get the money upfront and then used property taxes to pay off that debt. If they back this measure, property owners will keep paying the same rate: 27 cents per $100,000 of assessed property value for the next 15 to 20 years to fund the projects. That means an annual payment of about $61 for an average Salem home assessed at $224,430. Voters who live within the college’s service district – about 350,000 people – will get a say on the measure. The district includes all of Marion and Polk counties, most of Yamhill County and a small portion of Linn County.  The college had about 7,00 full-time students enrolled last spring. College leaders have generally predicted that number to remain flat or increase slightly in the coming years after a significant drop during the pandemic. The package was designed with “a real sensitivity to what people can afford,” President Jessica Howard said. “Our Board of Education didn’t want to ask the voters for more than what they had already committed to in the past.” Deciding on projects has taken college leaders the past few years and involved many conversations with Chemeketa employees, students and industry and business leaders. “We’ve got great educators, but you have to have the facilities that are designed to ensure student success,” said Ken Hector, board chair. The package includes upgrades to every Chemeketa campus and facility over the coming years, starting with a project to renovate Building 7 on the Salem campus into a community health and wellness center that can serve as a gathering and command post during natural disasters. “It will mean more capacity for growing programs. It will mean environments that are more reflective of the digital age,” Howard said. Most of the money will renovate the college’s largest campus in Salem. But the bond includes classroom and technology upgrades to all six of Chemeketa’s campuses, including expanded facilities in Brooks and Woodburn. That includes seismic upgrades and installing an HVAC system in Building 7, the college’s aging gym, which served as a command post for fire and law enforcement agencies during the 2020 wildfires in the Santiam Canyon. The project will turn the facility into a community and student wellness center, and also includes renovating athletic fields and expanding capacity for physical fitness and health programs at a total cost of about $40 million. Chemeketa has $8 million from the state to spend on the project. The college is required to match those funds and will use bond money to do so. Hector said the college wants to ensure that the building can meet future college and community needs. Other renovations on the Salem campus include renovations for offices handling student services like financial aid and advising. Career and technical education programs would get more space. Salem’s Building 33, now used for employee training, would be transformed into a new trades center to expand career programs. That alongside a renovation of the Brooks center for career programs would cost $8.25 million. Howard said the college doesn’t have a set plan for programs or certificates it might add, and future expansions will be driven by industry needs. But the expansions will mean more space for apprenticeships, construction and health careers including paramedics. Woodburn students would no longer have to commute to Salem to complete a lab science class – a requirement to earn a Chemeketa degree that lets students transfer to a four-year university. Right now, Hector said many Woodburn students struggle with bus transportation to make it class. “The schedule isn’t the best and if you’re a student with multiple classes and you need to squeeze a lab on the Salem campus around your classes at Woodburn, that’s problematic,” Hector said. The package includes a science lab on the Woodburn campus at a cost of $250,000. Campus safety and maintenance projects, like parking lots, security cameras and HVAC, would get about $15 million. The package includes $16.5 million for unexpected expenses, including rising construction costs. The measure has drawn support from across the political spectrum, and major donations from several of the region’s largest businesses and business owners. There is no organized opposition. “A lot of work and a lot of forethought has gone into this,” Hector said. Campaign finance Campaign contributions raised: $76,519 Expenses: $68,198 Cash on hand: $16,102 Top contributors: Chemeketa Community College, $40,000; Freres Timber, $10,000; New Media Northwest, $6,900 in-kind; Jessica Howard, $5,000; Richard Withnell, $5,000; Willamette Valley Bank, $5,000. Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. 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