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FLC funding

Roberts, McLachlan pushed Legislature for college’s much-needed building money

When the Colorado Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee overrode the state’s Capital Development Committee recommendations to fund a range of construction projects that included the final stage of a long-stalled rebuild of Fort Lewis College’s Berndt Hall, many a lawmaker hit the roof. Rep. Mike McLachlan, D-Durango, and Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, were among those pounding tables, but the effort did not stop there, and after a spring negotiation followed by good economic news last week, funding for the project is flowing at last to FLC. Both lawmakers deserve credit for their work.

The FLC project to demolish and rebuild a portion of Berndt Hall to create the Geosciences, Physics and Engineering Building is a critical one. Demand for courses in these sciences exceeds the school’s capacity, and the existing science building – constructed in the 1950s and 60s, with its last update more than 20 years ago – is increasingly outdated. Further, physics, engineering and geosciences graduates are highly sought after and highly employable. Investing in the programs’ infrastructure is key to keeping FLC relevant, competitive and also in line with statewide efforts to grow our own well-educated workforce.

These arguments have been clear for many years. The complete Berndt Hall reconstruction project has been a priority since 1999, with a staged approach to completing the revamp. The building’s biology wing was updated in 2010, but the geosciences, physics and engineering work has been delayed because of funding shortages. This spring, the Legislature’s influential Capital Development Committee, which researches and ranks the state’s many construction requests, had the project on its short list – normally a sign that a legislative rubber stamp is forthcoming. However, the JBC had a list of its own that did not include the FLC project.

Not satisfied with this rather brusque dismissal of a demonstrated need that had gone unfunded for years, McLachlan and Roberts worked with other lawmakers who were snubbed by the JBC to craft a solution. At the time, in March, state budget forecasters had anticipated a surplus at the fiscal year’s end June 30. Lawmakers agreed that Berndt Hall funding could come from this projected overage. While the deal-making should not have been required, the JBC’s maneuvering demanded a solution, and McLachlan and Roberts saw to it that one was reached. Now, actual numbers are in, and the money is flowing, and with it, the building is on pace to open for classes in the fall 2016 semester.

It is somewhat a game of insider baseball, but the JBC’s stunt did cost FLC an entire construction season, unnecessarily setting the project further back on an already excruciatingly slow timeline. McLachlan and Roberts were right to insist that the Legislature right this wrong, but the JBC’s action was a tacky move that has real implications. Those who serve on the Capital Development Committee work hard to identify and prioritize what projects the state should fund. These are matters of great significance to communities as well as Colorado’s investment priorities. The JBC’s decision to replace that studied approach to spending with what appeared to be a political patronage priority list contributes to the growing cynicism about politics. McLachlan and Roberts helped counterweigh that unfortunate episode, and Fort Lewis College, is at long last, the deserving beneficiary.



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