JANESVILLE — According to an independent study released recently, the Public Safety and Transportation Center proposed by Blackhawk Technical College will have an economic impact throughout the region of more than $83 million in added income between 2021-2030.
A referendum question included on the Nov. 3 ballot seeks voter permission for Blackhawk Technical College to borrow up to $32 million to construct a comprehensive, multi-purpose training facility for public safety and transportation programs. The proposed PSTC will serve nine college programs and be a safe, accessible and responsive local resource for fire safety, EMT, law enforcement, busing and truck driving, as well as business and community partners throughout Rock and Green counties.
“As part of our due diligence, we thought it important to look at how the proposed PSTC would impact our local economy in both the short and long-term,” said Blackhawk Technical College President, Tracy Pierner. “To do so, we contracted with Emsi, an independent, national company that specializes in economic impact studies to provide us with objective data.”
Emsi’s report states that, if approved by voters, the initial $32 million capital investment spent to construct the PSTC in the next several years will create a significant amount of new economic activity that will ripple through the entire Blackhawk Technical College District. In addition to a short-term economic impact of $83.3 million, the study found that beginning in 2030 the long-term operations, student and alumni spending would add approximately $15.4 million per year to the district economy, which is the economic equivalent of supporting 234 jobs each year.
“Developing and supporting the workforce that drives the economy of Green and Rock counties is at the heart of everything we do at Blackhawk Technical College. The proposed Public Safety and Transportation Center will further our ability to provide dynamic training to our community’s essential workers, transportation professionals, and community business partners,” Pierner said.
More information is available online at www.blackhawk.edu/PSTC.