Work on a future $3.7 million Agricultural Complex at Barton Community College may have to wait for a survey of the 11-acre site, Vice President of Administration Mark Dean told BCC trustees this past week.
Dean was asked to comment on progress toward the project last Tuesday during a Board of Trustees study session.
“We’re working on it,” Dean said, adding the architect’s drawings are done but they need to “nail down mechanical engineering details.” However, a new development has the project on hold, at least for now.
“The State of Kansas contacted us and they believe that whole section of ground has not been surveyed,” he said. “It needs to be surveyed in case there are Native American burial grounds.”
However, Dean believes that the college does not have to take this step because it is not a federal agency.
He has asked the Kansas Department of Commerce to review that.
This matters because the type of survey being proposed is costly. Dean estimates the college would have to spend $10,000. There are only three or four companies that do this type of survey, he said.
“The water district had to do it for the new well,” Dean said. “Every 50 feet they drill a 4-foot hole to see if they find anything of historical significance. They want us to do it for the entire 11-acre patch.
The state said this applies to anything that follows the Arkansas River if it hasn’t been surveyed in the past.
Board President Mike Johnson asked whether this could result in the college losing its grant funding, since the money has to be spent by last day of June 2023, “which is impossible,” he said.
Dean said that shouldn’t be a problem.
“As long as we get it bidded out and start getting material, it is possible we can do it,” he said. “I’d still like to see (the deadline) extended.”
Grant funding and tax credits
Earlier this year, Barton Community College was awarded a 1:1 matching grant totaling $1,843,594 to construct an Agriculture, Farm Machinery, and Transportation Technology Complex.
In addition to the grant, the State of Kansas approved $5 million in Community and Technical Colleges Capital improvement Tax Credits, to be split among community and technical colleges across the state, first come, first served, up to a maximum of $500,000 per school. Those credits are still available, Dean said.
Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman commented that so far donations committed to the complex are 30% of what is available. “The 30% match is quite promising,” he said.
When the tax credits were first announced last June, Barton Foundation Director Lindsey Bogner explained, “We are looking for donors that would like to purchase these 60% tax credits; the minimum donation is $1,000, and the max is $416,666. It’s a win-win for our donors and for the college because tax credits allow a donor to support a project like ours, while lowering their Kansas state tax burden—for example, if you give $1,000, you get a $600 credit on your state taxes.”
For more information on the Tax Credits, contact Bogner at bognerl@bartonccc.eduor 620-786-1141 or visit bartonccfoundation.org.
