College of the Desert Board discusses West Valley Campus planning and feasibility
College of the Desert board members are responding to growing calls from the public to build a west valley campus in Palm Springs at its full, originally planned size.
You can watch the meeting in the player below.
A new report published this week shows the latest iteration of plans for a Palm Springs COD campus at only a fraction of the originally proposed size.
Board members said they're worried about finding the money to cover operating costs if they scale up too big too fast.
At Thursday's board meeting, dozens of Coachella Valley community members spoke out pushing college leaders to follow through on its previous promises.
"I respectfully request you unanimously vote to build out the full Palm Springs campus as originally promised to the voters in 2016," said Dr. Stone James, Cathedral City director of economic development.
"Our residents should have the opportunity to gain the skills needed to thrive in this economy," said Davis Meyer with Visit Greater Palm Springs.
In a feasibility study published earlier this week and reviewed Thursday by the board, plans show a 142,000 square foot project for phase one at the former Palm Springs mall site. That's much smaller, Palm Springs officials said, than what was originally promised.
"The city of Palm Springs finds this drastically reduced plan to be shockingly unfair and unjust," said Mayor Lisa Middleton. "We will come continue fighting to ensure the college campus promised to our students."
Related Story: Palm Springs sues College of the Desert for West Valley Campus planning records
The reduced size campus, which would be paid for with hundreds of millions in voter-approved bond measure funds, is projected in the feasibility study to cost $1.5 million per year in operating expenses.
"You've got the bond money to build it, but then do you have the operating capitol to really sustain it – keep the lights on keep the maintenance going of the building, as well as have the student enrollment there to support that," said Nicholas Robles, COD public information officer.
The report said the college would need to increase enrollment as a top priority to cover operating costs of a new Palm Springs campus.
"I want to reiterate my support for the Palm Springs campus,: said Rubén Pérez, board of trustees chair. "We are going to build it, but what I cannot support is bankrupting our district 5 years down the road."
"That is first and foremost – I cannot put the college in a position where we have all these campuses and then we can’t sustain them," said board member Bea Gonzalez.
Check Out Some of Our Coverage on the Controversy Surrounding the West Valley Campus:
- Palm Springs sues College of the Desert for West Valley Campus planning records
- Northern Palm Springs residents, local leaders discuss COD’s West Valley campus
- COD employee reacts to rising tensions between the college and Palm Springs
- Palm Springs offers to buy land originally planned for COD West Valley Campus as long as project is finished on new property
- COD estimates Palm Springs campus could be built by at least 2026-27
- I-Team: Palm Springs levels new transparency concerns at College of the Desert
- Palm Springs residents, mayor express concern over College of the Desert campus expansion delay
- I-Team exclusive: New COD president defends efforts to build west valley campuses
