BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Under the Pavilion at Lanark in Millbrook Wednesday, area officials from Autauga and Elmore Counties came together to discuss their vision of what they would like to see when Central Alabama builds a permanent college facility that would benefit both areas.
Exactly where that location will be is still unknown, and is part of the process that faces newly announced CACC President Jeff Lynn.
“As you all know Central Alabama Community College has a temporary campus (In Prattville) and is working in our high schools and that sort of thing,” Senator Clyde Chambliss said. “But we feel, and they feel, that it is time to really get into a permanent, long term situation where it can really serve our communities. I know there are a lot of elected officials here, a lot of community leaders. We appreciate you taking time to be here today. I am not driving this process. (CACC) is. But I have been pushing the Chancellor. What a beautiful setting we have (for the meeting Wednesday at Lanark). Outdoors and socially distanced.”
Boone Kinard, director of External Affairs at the community college system office, spoke to the audience.
“I get the pleasure of working every day with Chancellor Baker. It is really a privilege to be here today on his behalf for this important planning meeting that hopefully as we move forward will expand the presence that we have in this community and this region as a whole,” he said.
“If you took a map of Alabama and you circled all of the high growth areas in the state and then on top of it you put a map of where community college campuses are, it becomes very obvious that there is a significant gap. And that is right here in Elmore and Autauga Counties. As you know…there has been an ongoing process. We addressed that just a little bit two years ago with the Pratt’s Mill Center location in Prattville. We are proud of that center and proud that enrollment is growing. But that was never intended to be the long-term option. We have always wanted to grow and have a facility here in this region of the state,” Kinard said.
He had asked Chancellor Baker earlier this week what message Baker wanted to share.
“He wanted me to be crystal clear with everyone here today that there is no predetermined site where this facility will be located. I want to be very clear with that. The Chancellor wants this process to be data driven. He wants that to guide, as well as the input from all of you here today and others in the community on what this needs to look like. That will drive what this becomes as we move down the road. We especially want to hear from business and industry in this area,” Kinard said.
Kinard added that planners are looking for what the needs
are, what programs are needed in this area, so CACC can be responsive and set
that up.
“I want to commend Sen. Chambliss. He has been a supporter of the community
college system ever since he has been in legislature and before then.
Especially I want to thank the legislature for what they did during this last
legislative session for the passage of a significant bond issue that is going
to be used for capital improvement projects for education entities. I will tell
you the Chancellor and the members of the Community College System Board of
Trustees are in the process right now of talking about what that process needs
to look like in terms of how those dollars need to be allocated.
“Whatever process ends up being chosen, there are 24 community colleges around the state and it is going to be a competition for those dollars. While there are no guarantees or commitments that have been made, I think having a process like this where it is community driven and hopefully will result in a unified plan when we get to the finish line that can be presented to the Chancellor, that will be very positive. It will work in the favor of CACC and what they are trying to do here.”
President Lynn then thanked everyone for coming out and participating.
“We are going to see an expansion of whatever we build, wherever we build it. And we are not going to take our time. We will expeditiously make this happen. It is going to take all of us in our input. This is just the very beginning kickoff,” Lynn said.
“Whenever we build this facility it is going to be gorgeous. It is going to be phenomenal. It will be in phases because it is going to grow rapidly with this population base here. I think a lot of people from Montgomery will travel to this area for their education workforce needs as well. We are very fortunate the legislature passed the bond where we can actually go out and seek funding for facilities like this. It will be a fierce competition with all the 24 colleges going after the $120 million plus. No dollars have been allocated.
“We are starting with a double goose egg on this project. It is going to take your work, our work together, all of our industry advisory committees from all different industry clusters meeting with economic developers, etcetera, to come up with a great plan that I can take and sell to our board of trustees and our chancellors to win this project. I think there are a lot of great opportunities in front of us. I think there is a lot of demand here,” he said.
Lynn asked for the crowd to pitch some ideas for what the leaders present would envision in any future development, and said all suggestions will be taken seriously
Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie said, “I appreciate everything you have done. We will be working all together. We will be working in groups and departments to make this happen. I am all in.”
Elmore County Commission Chairman Troy Stubbs said “Elmore County Commission and Elmore County Leadership are glad to be a part of this process. We look forward to working with everyone. We all believe our Workforce Development is contingent upon an affective, efficient higher education system here in both trade and education. With COVID-19 I believe there is going to be some transition for all of us. There are going to be families that choose to keep their children at home for the first couple of years at college. This is a great avenue for those families and those individuals making those decisions. In addition, we look forward to great economic growth in our area, we are primed for that. We have a great location and we look forward to a great partnership.”
Millbrook City Council President Michael Gay said, “The City of Millbrook is excited about this. I am a father with two children. One is in Auburn and one is in the 10th grade. We all know the value for that age group and also the adults in our area. We are ready to work and we have a great relationship with our partners in the community. We are excited and ready to go.”
The audience was invited to start sharing their visions and ideas for the college and campus as it relates to education workforce.
“I see that (Elmore County Superintendent) Richard Dennis is here. He is my new best friend so I have to go and visit him because our education really starts in the high school. Thanks to the legislature for the dual enrollment dollars that we get for the education program and other programs,” President Lynn said. “So if you think about that our pathway starts at high school, comes to two year and articulates to four year. Or they can come out of high school and go straight to two year or four year. But as Troy (Stubbs) mentioned, a lot of parents with the COVID (situation), our enrollment is up this summer over last summer. That is pretty standard with all of our campuses in Alabama. Moms and Dads are wanting to keep their students home or closer before they get them out to the major four year schools. We partner with a lot of four-year schools and we want to do that with this particular location as well.”
Lynn asked for visions of the CACC future related to workforce education.
Elmore County Supt. Richard Dennis said, “What I am seeing is increased enrollment in the last four years. We have gone from 350 to 400 students to over 800 students participating this past year in our Career Tech programs. That includes dual enrollment with CACC. We’ve added Aviation, HVAC, Plumbing, a second Medical, and looking at two or three additional programs to add as well. We are being inundated by businesses and industry in every area. We have a great relationship with our county commission right now and we will look to do some programs with them. Students in a program will be lined up with industry. You will see technology at all levels taking place and that is something we need to be prepared for. COVID-19 has really made that evident. You will see that integration really from kindergarten on. But something you may not be aware of is we are going to get Perkins funding as I understand it all the way down to utilize as low as fifth grade. Our middle schools will be in a position to step up and start offering programming that will build into high school and career tech programs that tie into the community colleges.”
The audience was then asked about the audience’s vision for a campus in their community.
Michael Gay – “About 90 to 95 percent of our citizens travel to work today. Area cities have a similar number I am sure. We have a very transient population coming and going back and forth. When I think about our older people coming after work to take classes…it needs to be near or off of a major transportation outlet so people can access it. Also, that the campus needs to have its own identity and be easy to access.”
Troy Stubbs said his children compete in robotics and other activities, and currently have to go to other cities with facilities that allow for those type of activities. He would like to see a state-of-the-art facility locally that would allow for local activities and extra-curricular activities on several levels.
President Lynn asked if they had an idea about what size of facility, to which Chambliss said, “Large!”
Reference was made to the theatre at Jeff State which offers a larger venue. Many area schools struggle to have a proper stage for theatre departments or performances.
Michael Gay suggested that whatever is created, it should be expandable as the need grows.
Connie Bainbridge, Manager of Community and Economic Development for Central Alabama Electric Cooperative, said she would like to see a large facility that could partner with local communities as a venue.
Flexibility to hold various things, with versatility was suggested.
Troy Stubbs said that in the area there are flat spaces, but nothing tiered to allow schools to put on productions, or use a stage. He said it is an expensive venture for schools to create these, and there are limits on where they can perform for a crowd.
Millbrook Economic Director Ann Harper spoke of the look of the campus, saying she sees green spaces, landscaping. Michael Gay echoed that, saying a great outdoor feel with a nod to nature and natural surroundings would be a positive.
As for the looks of buildings, Sen. Chambliss suggested a “Timeless” approach, in that by looking at a building it wouldn’t be obvious what time frame is represented.
Elmore County Economic Development Authority (ECEDA) Director Cary Cox said that a student’s perspective would probably include health centers and hangout areas.
Troy Stubbs said that thinking outside the box would be beneficial. For example, Wetumpka High School is currently building a large, modern football facility. But perhaps an interesting idea would be an area for students to play Frisbee Golf, or something out of the norm.
Art Faulker, with ECEDA, talked about how high schools often have fishing programs, and recently Millbrook hosted over 1100 bass fishing students for a tournament. With the abundance of natural fishing areas, that is low cost, but having a facility as a venue for them would be promising.
Security was a big concern as well.
As for educational opportunities that are not already out there locally, Richard Dennis said getting input rom the local businesses is key. Masonry experience he said that is something he has been approached about many times.
He said Internet Technology and construction trades are extremely popular.
Prattville Chamber of Commerce Director Patty Vanderwal said the Chamber works closely with their Industry Council to learn exactly in what areas businesses need trained employees, and their input is vital.
Millbrook Economic Director Ann Harper asked about something for the Hospitality/Tourism industry, as both Millbrook and Prattville have a growing number of hotels.
The audience agreed that the uniqueness and history of this area should be included in a campus vision.
President Lynn thanked everyone for their comments, and said it is hoped by the Fall officials will have a better idea of a plan and vision in place. He stressed again that all of this will be done in phases.
President Lynn said that the importance of this project for CACC cannot be overstated. “We are extremely serious on this,” he said. “It is my job to make it happen. He said that all suggestions will be considered, and it is hoped the project will move quickly.”
With the tremendous growth both Autauga and Elmore counties are seeing, it is imperative for more educational opportunities, Lynn said.
