Helena College of Technology sees growth of school, community tied together – City might be asked to pitch in for College

A simple equation runs through Steve Hoyle’s mind: Growth for the Helena College of Technology equals growth for Helena’s economy.
The dean of the college thinks the math shows both are ripe for success.

By JASON MOHR, IR Staff Writer

“We’re only serving 2 percent of the population — and that is woefully low compared to the national standards,” Hoyle says. “All of our programs have room to expand.”

Workers looking to change jobs or acquire new skills need what the college has to offer, he says. Unlike research-oriented universities, two-year schools feed directly into the local economy, Hoyle says. Employers looking to start up or to expand dip into the pool of 850 students to fill job openings.
“We desperately need economic development, and it’s two-year institutions that do directly affect economic development at the local level,” he says. “Two-year colleges have their ears on the ground out on Main Street.”

But as it has grown, the college now needs to get most of its various programs under one roof, Hoyle says. To meet this end, plans have been drawn up for a $6.8 million expansion of the college’s main building. This will add space for labs and classrooms and help realign how the building is used now.

Main building needs fix-up

Offices, class rooms and auto shops fill the Donaldson Building, a two-story, concrete facade on North Roberts Street behind Helena High School.
As he walks down the hallways of the two-story building, Hoyle points out problems that need to be remedied: Students must cut through one classroom to access another. A small number of computers sit in large rooms — a waste of space. Noise from the wood shop spills over into the college’s library, interrupting students’ concentration.

The college now is scattered in five buildings across four different areas. Nursing students now share space with aviation technology students at the Poplar campus near the airport. Some computer classes are being offered in elementary school classrooms at Ray Bjork School — hardly a professional setting, Hoyle says. And older buildings often don’t meet today’s technological demands.

Hopes of receiving Legislative funding or approval to issue its own bonds might be slim. But issuing bonds through the city is an option (see sidebar). Another ways to raise money include raising student fees.

Businesses laud college

Summit Design & Manufacturing is a prime example of a company that likes having HCT around.
The company manufactures F-22 fighter jet parts for Lockheed Martin Corp. They also work with commercial airplane manufacturing giant Boeing Company and hope some day to be doing business with the French Airbus.
The college has been an outstanding resource, says company President Tom Hoffman.

Up to 18 HCT graduates are on the company payroll at any one time. Students often get what amounts to a try-out at the Helena facility, and some have gone on to work at the company’s Marietta, Ga., assembly line.
The relationship between the college and the company is a two-way street, he says.

“(The students) do need to meet a higher quality of work,” Hoffman says. “Hopefully we provide the students a great opportunity to expand.”
Hoffman agrees with Hoyle’s equation that growth of the college benefits the local economy.

“It’s very important that as a business grows that your workforce grows with it,” he says.

Faculty growth

The college’s institutional strategy calls for aggressive growth, hoping to enroll 10 percent more students next academic year and 50 percent more by the 2004-05 school year. Senior citizens will be the most obvious target for enrolling more students, Hoyle says. Faculty members, which now number 39, would also be expected to grow.

Hoyle says he hopes to expand the number of associate degrees offered. And using the college’s affiliation with the University of Montana system, four-year teaching or applied science degrees could become available.
Hoyle knows his school isn’t the only higher education offering in town, but while Carroll College attracts out-of-state students, he says HCT caters to in-state students.

HCT’s roots are in the nation’s great build-up during World War II. What was then called the Helena Vocational-Technical Center trained production workers for shipyards, war plane factories and Air Force bases. In 1994, the school was renamed the Helena College of Technology of the University of Montana.

http://www.helenair.com/helena/1a4.html

************

City might be asked to pitch in for HCT

By JASON MOHR, IR Staff Writer

The City Commission might be asked to pitch in and help Helena College of Technology grow. By using the city’s bonding authority, the college could scrape up the $6.8 million needed.

HCT might not receive permission from the Legislature to issue its own bonds, so it makes sense to help out HCT, said City Manager Tim Burton. The city would have no obligation to repay that debt, it wouldn’t count against the city’s debt load and it would help promote the area’s economic health.

The city commission recently agreed to issue $12 million in bonds for Carroll College, allowing them to finance construction of a new dormitory and bigger student center tax-free and with low-interest rates.

Meanwhile, the city has its own debt load to deal with.
While ordinary people borrow money to buy a new car or house, governments borrow money for things like $700,000 fire trucks and wastewater treatment plants. Municipal bonds offer great terms: They are tax-free and low-interest.

Like borrowing more than you can afford to make a big house payment, incurring too much debt isn’t sound fiscal policy, Burton said. But the city has struck a good balance between borrowing and building, he said. Payments for multi-million dollar projects stretched out over time lets the city make improvements that citizens need. “We find it’s a real valuable tool,” Burton said.

Burton said he doesn’t want to see bonds to cover operating expenses. And he wants to make sure that if the city is spending millions to build something big it will last longer than the payments.

The list of what the city has borrowed for is varied. Since 1997, voters have approved $5.3 million in bonds for open space acquisitions. City bonds also are issued to fix sidewalks, to spruce up the Bill Roberts Golf Course, to improve the downtown or to build a garbage-and-recycling center.

As anyone who has balanced a checkbook knows, the amount of debt repayment is best kept to a minimum. For large operations like the city of Helena, there are different ways of measuring how much the city has borrowed.

In 2003, loan repayments account for just over 10 percent of the city’s $44.7 million budget. Many big-ticket items are contained in the $2.7-million wastewater fund. Bonds for city sewer and water treatment projects eat up 23 percent of that department’s budget.

There are limits to what the city can borrow, according to City Administrative Services Director Tim Magee. State law allows it to issue $19.3 million in general obligation bonds. So far, the city has $4.5 million outstanding, most of which is owed for open space projects.

But perhaps a more accurate way of making sure the city is getting good value on what it is borrowing for, is to consider the value of what is being built, McGee says. The wastewater fund owes $10.8 million for rebuilding the city sewer plant off Custer Avenue.

But the value of treatment facilities, water mains, lift stations and manholes is worth over $92 million. And to continually enhance that system, the city is paying $839,000 annually — or less than 1 percent of the system’s value.
The project most likely to need future bond financing is the underpass at the railroad tracks just north of Malfunction Junction, Burton says. The underpass and improvements to that intersection — the corner of Montana, Lyndale and Helena avenues — could leverage federal and state transportation dollars to help complete the project. Also, with interest rates so low, now is a great time to refinance the city’s loans, Burton says. The city recently saved $1 million through refinancing.

http://www.helenair.com/helena/9a5.html