Committee defeats county funding request for JCC asbestos abatement; reallocations among projects pass

Jamestown Community College officials told the Audit & Control Committee that asbestos discovered beneath removed carpet in the Learning Commons (Holtquist Library) requires abatement, increasing the project cost. The college requested the county add 25% of the additional abatement cost (about $68,750) to the countycapital project budget; the committee defeated that request but approved a separate measure to reallocate existing county capital funds among college projects.

Kathleen Dennison, interim vice president for finance and operations at JCC, said the Learning Commons renovation had a project budget of $543,000 financed by a 50% state share, 25% county and 25% college. When carpeting was removed the college found asbestos, and La Bella & Associates estimated abatement at roughly $275,000; JCC asked the county to increase its share by 25% of the abatement cost (approximately $68,750). Dennison said the state generally funds such increases when a county agrees to the augmentation but acknowledged the county is not required to fund the additional amount.

Committee members raised procedural and policy concerns. Several legislators said the college should pursue alternative funding sources, including the collegefoundation, internal capital reserves, or redirecting other college capital projects. Some members warned against setting a precedent of approving unplanned overruns on a project-by-project basis. The committee discussed options including a possible emergency legislative resolution or pre-filing by a legislator to move the request directly to the full legislature if the college could produce additional information quickly.

After debate the committee voted to defeat the county funding request for the asbestos abatement. Committee members then approved a separate, self-balancing resolution that reallocated funds among existing college capital projects (moving small amounts from completed or underspent projects to items that were modestly over budget), which passed.

Clarifying details provided by JCC: the abatement estimate was prepared by La Bella & Associates, which provided low/mid/high scope options and advised a mid-range abatement strategy; the college said the abatement work had already been performed in December and demolition plans were later canceled. Dennison outlined fallback options if the county did not add funds: JCC could (1) fund the additional cost from college reserves or the chargeback fund, (2) approach the JCC foundation, or (3) delay other capital work such as a $300,000 generator replacement.

Committee outcome: The county funding augmentation request (approx. $68,750 county share) was defeated in committee; a related reallocation of existing county capital budgets among JCC projects was approved.