Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Higher Education Workforce topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City leaders describe progress, hurdles on Olympic College Allied Health Center; public-private partnership explored
Summary
City leaders on April 2 reported progress on the Olympic College Allied Health Center: a state review dismissed a challenge to the project, phase 1 curriculum work is starting, and the city is exploring private financing options for a second building to expand programs.
City leaders and council members described April 2 both progress and remaining work on the planned Allied Health Center at the Olympic College Poulsbo campus, including curriculum development for an initial cohort, a state agency decision that removed a challenge to the project and exploratory discussions about a possible public–private partnership to finance a second building for expanded programs.
Councilmember Ed Stern and others outlined the background: Olympic College will begin phase 1 work (remodel and first cohort of allied-health programs) now that a challenge from Tacoma Community College has been dismissed by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. Stern said the challenge centered on course overlap and enrollment issues; the board ruled the challenge had no validity, removing a key procedural barrier.
Stern and other council members described phase 1 as the remodeling of an existing campus building to begin delivering several allied-health certificate and degree programs. Longer-term goals—covering an expanded menu of allied health fields up to bachelor’s or master’s level offerings—would require a second, dedicated building (phase 2). Council discussion noted that without a second building the program’s growth will be curtailed.
Council members and staff said they have been in exploratory conversations with potential private-sector developers and institutional partners that operate similar turnkey university-district models elsewhere. A private developer model being discussed would finance and build a facility the colleges would lease; the council heard this would trade capital expense for long-term lease payments by the colleges. No contracts or binding commitments were reported.
Officials emphasized the work is early-stage. Stern and Mayor Becky Erickson recounted outreach to legislative and institutional partners to secure funding and to protect the program’s place at the Poulsbo campus. Council members asked staff to continue coordinating with Olympic College, Kitsap County, Western Washington University and local health partners on financing, curriculum and timelines.
Council members said the full suite of allied health programs could be phased in over several years; staff estimated a multi-year timeline before the center reaches the scale described in the long-term concept. City leaders asked staff to pursue the public–private financing option as one path among others and report back to council with any firm proposals.
