News

State money hung up in dispute over LLCC location in Taylorville.

Posted November 15, 2007 10:00 pm

Bruce Rushton

In a 2005 ceremony, state officials handed over a giant check for nearly $780,000 to Lincoln Land Community College to pay for new classrooms in Taylorville.

Nearly two years later, the check still hasn't cleared the bank.

The state is withholding the money while Taylorville civic leaders debate whether to build at the current location near the local airport or develop an entirely new campus. Meanwhile, college officials say, donors who've committed $273,000 in matching funds for the project are getting impatient.

"It's a complicated problem," said state Rep. Gary Hannig, D-Litchfield. "I wish I had a simple answer."

Efforts to get state money to replace temporary LLCC buildings erected during the 1990s date back to the days of Gov. George Ryan, Hannig said. College officials thought the issue was settled in late 2005, when they held a celebration and predicted construction would begin in the spring.

"We'd appreciate it if they'd release the money," said Andy Ramage, vice chairman of the college board of trustees. "The buildings are literally falling apart on the Taylorville campus. People who have influence at the governor's office, we're told, have lobbied the governor to hold up the money."

The prime suspect is Jack Mazzotti, chairman of the Christian County Democratic Party and a member of the state Board of Investment.

"I've been at meetings where Jack Mazzotti has said, 'This building will never be built at the current Lincoln Land campus,'" said Kent Gray, a member of the LLCC board who is active in Republican politics.

Mazzotti doesn't deny he's against building at the existing site.

"All due respect to Mr. Gray, I can't tell you if those exact words came out of my mouth," Mazzotti said. "I may have come close to saying that."

Mazzotti also didn't deny that he's spoken to the governor's office, which did not return a phone call Thursday.

"I have relationships with the governor's office, as I do with the secretary of state's office," Mazzotti said. "Have I expressed my views on this issue? I probably have."

Mazzotti and other opponents say that mine subsidence in the area of the current campus makes replacement buildings a poor investment. He said he would rather see a new campus built near Taylorville High School, where the local school district has purchased land.

College officials say a new campus would cost about $8 million, and no one has said where the money would come from. As for shifting earth, Gray said engineers have told the college that buildings can be constructed to resist subsidence, and there is always insurance.

"I understand that there are honest differences about where the campus will be located in Taylorville," said Gray, who accepted a giant cardboard check from the state in 2005 while flashbulbs popped. "I think it would be wonderful, in a perfect world, to have a new campus in a high-visibility location in Taylorville. I would rather have a building with four classrooms there (at the current campus) than sit around and fight about having a new campus somewhere else."

Mazzotti said he hasn't seen any data showing a new campus would cost $8 million, but he acknowledged it would cost a lot more than building classrooms at the current location.

"Sure," he said. "You'd be starting from scratch."

Just because the college can insure against subsidence doesn't mean construction should proceed, Mazzotti added.

"That's a heck of a way to go about doing something," he said. "That's why our insurance rates are so high. I'm not trying to be obstructionist. I'm trying to get people to think things through."

Board members and college president Charlotte Warren said that a donor who wishes to remain anonymous has raised the possibility of withdrawing his commitment if construction doesn't start soon. Ramage and Gray said the donor has pledged about $150,000 of the $273,000 in matching funds.

"We're at a stalemate," Warren said. "Our major donor is concerned about the project and has talked about time limitations. We're in the process of talking with our other donors."

Mayor Frank Mathon says he is squarely in neutral territory, but he would like to see a decision made soon so the college can build somewhere.

"I'm not in one camp or another," Mathon said. "We know what happens with money: It disappears. The longer this is delayed, the more detrimental this could be."

Hannig said it's up to the locals to decide.

"Neither the governor nor myself or any elected official wants to go over and cut a ribbon on a new building and make a whole bunch of people mad in Taylorville," Hannig said.

Bruce Rushton can be reached at (217) 788-1542 or bruce.rushton@sj-r.com.

Article Categories
News