Community Advisory Committee Presents Bond Recommendations

The Austin Community College District Bond Program Advisory Committee presented its recommendations for a possible general obligation (GO) bond package during the Board of Trustees work session June 17. The ACC board is considering a November 2013 election and will take into account the committee’s list of priorities as it determines what to include.

“I can’t think of any issue that’s more important to our region than ensuring that ACC is prepared to grow and meet the needs of the workforce into the future,” says Wilhelmina Delco, a co-chair of the committee. “Community is this college’s middle name, and it’s important for a bond package to address the varied needs of our many communities.”

Andy Martinez, a co-chair of the committee, presents the recommendations to the ACC Board of Trustees.

The committee – composed of 25 members representing the community, faculty, staff, and students – met from April to June. Members were tasked with reviewing the extensive planning work, including demographic studies and campus master plans, completed by the college over the past several years. They also studied the college’s priorities of increasing access to higher education, increasing student success, meeting the needs of the workforce, achieving institutional excellence, and increasing community outreach and collaboration.

The committee developed the following recommendations for a bond package:

1. Phase II of renovations at ACC Highland – proposals include regional workforce center, health sciences/STEM simulator lab, incubator space, and program clustering (formerly Highland Mall; phase I funded by the college and under way)

2. Renovation of main building at Rio Grande Campus

3. Renovations and updates to existing campuses as programs relocate to ACC Highland

4. Districtwide campus projects, most urgent needs (classroom and building upgrades, student services expansions, accessibility, sustainability, and more)

5. Replacement of Riverside Campus Buildings B and C

6. Districtwide campus projects, secondary needs

7. Expansion of Round Rock Campus to provide additional instruction space

8. Expansion of Elgin Campus (facility for veterinary technician, sustainable agriculture programs)

9. Expansion of Hays Campus (first responder center)

10. New campus in Leander

11. Land banking for future expansion (potential workforce training center)

The total cost of those projects is approximately $499 million.

The ACC Board of Trustees will review the committee’s work and make the final determination on what to include in a possible bond package. In order to hold a November 2013 election, the board must call the vote no later than August 26.

“We are grateful for the hard work of the District Bond Program Advisory Committee – a tremendous cross-section of our region,” says Jeffrey Richard, ACC board chair. “They have spent months studying the needs of the college and community, and these recommendations reflect their commitment to making sure we have a first-class community college. The board will carefully consider their proposals as it makes its decisions.”

ACC held its first and only other GO bond election in 2003. That election, for $99 million, passed with 57 percent of the vote. The college completed all planned projects on time and under budget, and strategic fiscal planning allowed the college to do more than promised.

For more information on the work of the Bond Program Advisory Committee, visit austincc.edu/bond.

Back to Top