MONROE — The Blackhawk Technical College District board unanimously approved placing a referendum question on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election at its Aug. 19 meeting.
The college is looking to borrow funding to build a comprehensive Public Safety and Transportation Training Center adjacent to the college’s Central Camps in Janesville.
BTC President Tracy Pierner said the $32 million project will allow the college to move forward with a plan that will benefit not only students, but surrounding counties. The multi-purpose facility is based on factors that include safety, local resources and a comprehensive offering to serve a wide range of programs.
Land was purchased for the project two years ago, 32 acres from a farmer at about $620,000. The land connects to the central campus and is located on the corner of Sunny Land and County G.
The mil rate is currently at $59 per $100,000 equalized value for a home, and if the referendum is approved, that number would jump to $62 per $100,000 home. That increase will last for two years, when it will then reduce to $61. In the fifth year, the mil rate will revert back to its current number at $59/$100,000. The changes in numbers as years progress is due to staggering in borrowing, Pierner said.
If the referendum passes, Pierner said the college is prepared to sell its northside facility, which will save the college a significant amount of operating dollars.
When Pierner began at BTC there were six campuses, but today have been reduced to four. The proposed project will continue the effort of BTC to streamline its operations.
“We want to be responsive to the growing needs of those sectors in terms of training,” Pierner said. “It allows the college to streamline its operations.”
A Research and Planning Committee made up of BTC staff, stakeholders and community partners was formed in 2019 to evaluate campus needs and to make recommendations on facility improvements. The committee deemed the college’s current public safety and transportation facilities inadequate, with limited opportunities that often created unsafe conditions. From there, the college began to explore solutions.
Several local entities, including law enforcement, have a need for ongoing training with no local facility. Pierner said they often rent and travel to train, but will now be able to train locally. To finish required training for its students, Pierner said BTC often rents other facilities. The development would avoid that as well.
“This proposal serves a lot of community needs outside of Blackhawk,” he said.
Safety is also a large factor in the proposed plans, Pierner said. Currently the truck driving and law enforcement motorcycle training is being performed in the college’s parking lot, which hasn’t been ideal.
“We have had a couple of close calls and we need to remove (the training) from our parking lot,” Pierner said.
He said with BTC’s enrollment increasing, the parking lot is needed for parking.
Pierner said problems in the parking lot are what initially prompted the formation of the committee, which looked at the immediate needs of the college and community. College leaders worked with Angus Young Architects to develop plans and, if approved, the proposed project will be completed in phases.
He said the facility will likely draw from outside communities looking to train law enforcement, and have a residual impact in the community. More importantly, Pierner said, the facility will provide better trained public safety professionals that, in the end, hopefully translates to saved lives.
“This will bring a state of the art training complex and make it readily available for the community,” Pierner said. “It will have an immediate impact.”
Included in the complex will be a deep water rescue training pond, which was previously done in the Rock River, which was unsafe and uncontrolled. The facility will also allow for lecture space and an indoor firing range that can handle rifles.
If voters approve the referendum, the new facility would serve students in Fire, EMS/EMT, auto and diesel technician, law enforcement, truck driver training, motorcycle safety and other programs. The facility would also offer regional fire, EMT and police agencies local and accessible facilities for ongoing training and skills development.
Design work will begin immediately and construction work will start as soon as the spring if the referendum passes, Pierner said. The first phase of the project will be the Center for Transportation Studies. The high speed track will look to start in the spring and then finish by mid-summer and then in the winter the design for the education building and the rest of the complex will begin.
The entire project is slated to be finished in 2023, when a grand opening will be planned. More information about the proposed project, including a complete site plan, is available at Blackhawk.edu/PSTC or by calling 608-757-7772.