The Northwest College Board of Trustees has authorized the use of up to $1 million to draft construction plans for a new student center. 

The college’s funding would come from reserve funds and be used to match state funding for the creation of Level III plans.

Last spring, the legislature approved $12 million for projects at the state’s community colleges — including the new student center at NWC. The goal was to spend the money quickly on “shovel ready” projects, a term that refers to projects that are past the planning phase and ready to begin construction. 

None of the projects the Legislature approved for funding were at that phase, but a project to renovate Laramie County Community College’s (LCCC) Recreation and Athletics Complex was further along than the others on the list. The majority of the funds went to LCCC, and $2 million was allocated for Level III construction planning on the other projects.

Since there is a lot of uncertainty over how much money each college will receive — and since Wyoming statute requires colleges to match Level III funding — NWC Interim President Lisa Watson asked the board for up to estimated $1 million in reserve funds. Watson said she would ask the board for an adjustment should a different amount be required. 

Watson added that, should the student center be eligible for infrastructure funding from the federal government, NWC would also be better positioned for that opportunity with the Level III plans completed.

The cost of the construction of the student center was originally estimated to be $18.5 million, but Watson said inflation had increased the estimation to over $23 million. 

Watson said the college would be “very frugal” in getting those costs down below $20 million, but will have to work with the state, since it would be funding around half the cost of the project. 

“We’ll work with them in a collaborative process, but they are the final decision makers,” Watson said. 

Trustee John Housel expressed concerns that the original conceptual drawings showed too much “dead space,” and said the final plans should be more “environmentally sound.” 

Trustee Carolyn Danko questioned how energy efficient the glass exterior would be. Watson said that the college would need to do utility cost estimations in developing the final designs. 

“We’ll need to take all that into consideration,” Watson said. 

The reserve funds come from money NWC slowly accumulated over multiple years in which revenue exceeded expenditures. Basically, they’re the equivalent of the college’s savings and aren’t typically used for ongoing operations. 

The reserve funds the board approved will come from either the one mill levy reserves or the Wyoming restricted plant funds, which can’t be used for operations.