BTC wants parking lot expansion
ROCK TOWNSHIP — Enrollment is expected to keep surging at Blackhawk Technical College, so the college is rushing to expand its main-campus parking lot.
BTC’s board is scheduled to select a contractor for the project when it meets tonight. The cost for 98 new parking spaces is estimated at $213,000.
Fall enrollment of students in credit courses is up nearly 22 percent over last fall.
Another increase of 20 percent or more is expected in the spring semester, according to a memo included in the board’s agenda packet for tonight’s meeting.
The accelerated layoffs at the General Motors plant are likely to spur even more adults to enroll, said Mike Gagner, BTC’s institutional advancement coordinator.
So urgent is the need for parking lot space that the administration is recommending the board go ahead with the project without the usual approval from the Wisconsin Technical College System.
The WTCS Board doesn’t meet until January, but BTC officials want the new parking spaces in place before the construction season ends.
“While administration has attempted to disclose all information we have to Wisconsin Technical College System staff, the district board should be aware that the WTCS Board may be concerned that BTC moved forward without WTCS approval,” the memo states.
Students have parked on the grass this fall, but when the snowbanks pile up, they’ll no longer be able to do that, the memo says.
The alternative to an expanded parking lot is parking along highways or the college’s service road, the memo warns. The main campus touches both Highway 51 and County G between Janesville and Beloit.
To pay for the work, the administration is asking that the board postpone for a year a heating/air conditioning/ventilation project and to shift that money to the parking-lot project.
The proposal calls for new parking spaces near the southeast corner of the existing lot. Bidders have been asked to guarantee a completion date of Nov. 15.
The board meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Administrative Center on the main campus, 6004 S. County G.
Also on the agenda is the setting of the 2008-09 tax levy.
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Blackhawk Technical College for-credit enrollment:
Year Students
2007-08 2,793
2008-09 3,400
Oct 16, 2008 at 12:04 p.m.
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It's interesting to see a complaint of costs here when the story actually included details of how the project was going to be paid for that didn't require additional tax dollars.
Some people just type to hear the keyboard click.
Oct 15, 2008 at 11:18 p.m.
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polert...
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I live in the grown up world, I have a grown up job that I am always early for. I just think it is ridiculous that I have to get to school an hour early in order to get a parking spot! And now with the inflation of students, BTC needs more parking.
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Imagine next semester when all those people from GM who lost their jobs go in to start school.... There will be a real need for more parking.
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So, polert... Please keep your comments about not knowing the "grown up world" to yourself.
Oct 15, 2008 at 10:56 p.m.
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polert...I must admit, I do agree with you on this one.
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And, my name isn't Joe... and I'm not even a plumber.
Oct 15, 2008 at 10:21 p.m.
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Lulberry guess what happens in the working world when you are late because you can not find a parking spot. Your boss tells you to find a parking spot it is not their problem, and if you are late to often you will no longer need to worry about finding a parking spot. That is how the grown up world works. You do what it takes even if you need to be there 1 hour early. I attended BTC in the electro mechanical program, and know what the rules were the door locked at 8:00am if you were there at 8:01am you were out of class till first break. When you are paying your own way you are never late.
Oct 15, 2008 at 7:05 p.m.
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Im also sick of the "get there and hour early or be late because you cant find a parking space." BTC needs more parking! I cannot tell you how many times I have been late for class because I could not find a parking space!
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BTC needs more parking, if you went to school there you would understand.
Oct 15, 2008 at 6:20 p.m.
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thank god im tired of being late for class because i have to drive around for 15 minutes trying to find a spot to park.
Oct 15, 2008 at 11:46 a.m.
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Maybe all foreign cars like BTC president Eric Larson's Volvo sould park on Prarie Ave.
Oct 15, 2008 at 11:04 a.m.
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I believe in these poor economic times we my consider increasing the bus lines out to BTC. But with the tax payer already gives BTC upwards of $400 a year from their property taxes we have bleed them enough.
As a Graduate of BTC I can tell BTC needs to reign in spending. Here are a few well know examples that show this. At the end of the spring semester travel out to BTC so you can walk by the various occupation offices that have signs in their windows offering to share the over budget.Then go to various mechanical rooms, closets, and even the classrooms where you will see supplies that are in excess.
Oct 15, 2008 at 10:19 a.m.
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I have NEVER seen that parking lot full, I drive by there almost daily.
Oct 15, 2008 at 9:04 a.m.
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Another alternative might be to encourage students to carpool and use the bus.
Oct 15, 2008 at 8:51 a.m.
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their parking lot is the size on an airport already.
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