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Montgomery College urges committee to protect Rockville theater arts project in CIP
Summary
Montgomery College told the Education and Culture Committee it is prioritizing the Rockville Theater Arts building while trimming other requests, citing use of $26 million in fund balance and a $30 million reduction scenario to keep the theater arts project in the CIP; the committee will take up a preliminary recommendation March 9.
Montgomery College officials told the Education and Culture Committee they are asking the panel to preserve the Rockville Theater Arts project in the 6-year Capital Improvement Program, while limiting new major construction this year.
"The college has submitted a fiscally responsible and sustainable budget," Dr. Williams said, noting the college would not seek major new construction in the current cycle and proposed using $26,000,000 in fund balance and dedicated student and employee fees to support the CIP. He said the college presented an alternate scenario that reduces the overall request by about $30,000,000 while protecting the theater arts project.
The emphasis on theater arts comes as part of the college's facilities planning: college staff said the facilities master plan, submitted to the state every 10 years, identifies near-term space needs, including an estimated demand of nearly 30,000 square feet at the Germantown campus by 2034 and increased demand for art spaces. "Those are the places where we're attending to those efforts," a college planner said in explaining why the theater arts and Germantown Student Services projects are prioritized.
Committee members pressed college staff on deferred maintenance and capacity. Chair Gewondo asked about a deferred-maintenance backlog cited in discussion as $345,000,000; college vice president Carla Pullen initially said "about $45,000,000" then the transcript records the larger $345,000,000 figure. Pullen described the deferred-maintenance work that would be paired with renovation work (roofs, elevator modernization and other systems) and said integrating deferred-maintenance work into upgrades helps stop further degradation.
On enrollment, staff said the college started 46,343 students (an annual total) and that fall credit enrollments are around 20,000. Those figures, staff said, drive the facilities priorities reflected in the CIP.
Council Member May highlighted workforce ties, noting the regional performing-arts market and the role of the college's theater training in regional employment; Council Member Evans and others praised alumni testimony presented during public hearings.
The committee did not act on final funding today. Chair Gewondo said the committee will consider the Montgomery College CIP at a March 9 work session and make a preliminary recommendation to the full council then.
Notes: The transcript contains a brief numeric inconsistency on deferred-maintenance (an initial "$45,000,000" statement that is later recorded as "$345,000,000"). The article reports both readings to reflect the meeting record rather than choosing one without further documentation.
