Blue Mountain Community College will host a series of community meetings this month to inform the public of the projects included in bond measure 30-106, which will appear on the May 19 election ballot.
The approximately $23 million bond would cost taxpayers around 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The meetings are open to the public and will last approximately one hour.
The first public meeting will be in Milton-Freewater at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7 at the Milton-Freewater Downtown Alliance, 500 E. Broadway. BMCC will meet with community members in Pendleton at noon on Monday, April 13 in Pioneer Hall on the BMCC campus in Pendleton. The third community meeting will be at the BMCC Boardman Center at noon on Friday, April 24. The final meeting will be at noon on April 27 in Hermiston at the Eastern Oregon Higher Education Center, room 134.
Each meeting will include the viewing of an informational video, followed by a short presentation. The public will also have an opportunity to ask questions.
Since BMCC failed to pass a bond in November 2013, officials have gathered community feedback, reevaluated projects, and decreased costs in an effort to put together a bond package based on community, and regional industry and economic needs. Since early March, BMCC administrators have presented bond information to numerous city councils, school boards, civic clubs and service organizations throughout Umatilla and Morrow counties in an effort to inform the community about the bond.
If approved by voters, the bond would fund the renovation of the agriculture facility in Pendleton, construct a precision irrigated agriculture program in Hermiston in partnership with the OSU Experiment Station, and build a workforce training and early learning center in Boardman in partnership with the Port of Morrow. In addition, the bond would address heating, cooling and electrical inefficiencies in BMCC facilities, make safety and security upgrades, and fund the purchase of instructional equipment for programs including nursing, dental assisting, diesel technologies and EMS.
For anyone who cannot attend one of the meetings, information regarding the bond – including the video – is available on the BMCC website and questions can be sent to bondinfo@bluecc.edu.
