Allen County Community College will maintain its presence in Burlingame, thanks to a new 10-year lease approved Thursday by college trustees.
Trustees will continue rent of the main outreach campus building from USD 454. The college will pay the school district $500 a year.
There was little doubt the lease would be extended.
College President John Masterson previously told trustees the largest issues with the contract were with maintenance and upkeep of the building.
Under the lease, ACCC will perform major structural repairs and equipment repair or replacement subject to the school district’s approval, plus snow removal and general maintenance.
USD 454, meanwhile, will be responsible for mowing and maintaining the building’s climate control system.
Both the college and school district will share costs of maintaining a nearby lift station.
Trustees took the occasion to laud the school district for its ongoing willingness to help the college.
Those comments were echoed by Allen Konicek, USD 454’s superintendent of schools, who sat it on Thursday’s trustees meeting.
TRUSTEES also discussed a pair of potential construction projects.
Masterson said if the college were to build a new six-plex dormitory near existing ACCC duplexes on White Boulevard, the city would require ACCC to hire an architect to handle designs
Trustee Neal Barclay long has been concerned that ACCC’s cramped student housing situation — many students are forced to triple up in some rooms because the rooms are over-booked — could inhibit the college from bringing in more students.
Trustees directed Masterson to visit with architects to determine cost estimates before deciding whether to go ahead with construction. Masterson noted that the architect, if hired, would only be responsible for developing a site plan at first.
“After that, it starts getting pretty expensive,” Masterson said.
TRUSTEES also promised up to about $14,000 to assist with construction of a fence surrounding the soccer field on the Iola campus.
Soccer coach Doug Desmarteau told trustees the soccer team will soon have about $22,000, thanks to fundraising efforts, in its budget to put toward a fence around the playing surface, spectators’ area and a pair of covered dugouts.
The entire project, minus amenities such as a second, smaller fence separating players from spectators, was estimated at $36,540, Desmarteau said. He told trustees he would seek additional bids to determine if costs could be lowered.
