SMC, from page 1 Bond needs 55 percent approval
Santa Monica College has the backing of local businesses for the school’s $160 million bond measure this spring.
The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce board voted unanimously Tuesday to support “Measure U,” said the chamber’s executive director Kathryn Dodson.
“We feel it’s going to be good for the future of Santa Monica,” she said. “We think it will enhance business here.”
“We feel it’s going to be good for the future of Santa Monica. We think it will enhance business here.” — — KATHRYN DODSON Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce
Santa Monica and Malibu residents will be asked in March to approve the bond so SMC can use the money to renovate buildings at the aging campus on Pico Boulevard. It also would partially fund the purchase of the 10-acre BAE Systems property that the college recently bought for $30 million near the airport for a satellite campus and more parking.
The bond’s average cost to taxpayers would be $1.12 per month for renters and $77 per year for the average homeowner in Santa Monica and Malibu, according to Graham Pope, the co-chair for the committee supporting the measure.
The bond issue in the first year is estimated at $16.21 per $100,000 in assessed valuation and the average cost over the bond’s life will be $19.21 per $100,000.
A facilities assessment completed earlier this year outlined 21 projects at the college. Priorities are to replace the earthquake-damaged liberal arts building and temporary buildings with modern labs and classrooms. Facilities for the nursing, environmental studies, earth sciences and math programs also need upgrades and improvements are needed to meet standards for campus lighting, security and the American Disabilities Act.
Other pressing needs are to find space for student parking and the emeritus college program, which is geared to students ages 55 years or older.
The emeritus program is housed on the ground floor of a city parking structure on Second Street. But the city has plans to turn the property into a park at Santa Monica Airport, where students park and ride shuttles to the main campus a mile away.
Pope said having the support of businesses is important to SMC because the commercial area is a large tax base for the city and business owners are assessed on the value of their properties.
“This measure is probably one of the most important measure to SMC in a long, long time,” he said. “It will provide a mecca of modernization for the campus.”
SMC’s campuses are bursting at the seams with more than 32,000 students enrolled.
Renovations are expected to be completed over the next 10 to 12 years. The college’s last bond issue was for $22 million in 1992 to build an addition to the science building and library. Most of the buildings on campus are more than 50 years old.
The measure will need a 55 percent approval from residents in Santa Monica and Malibu to pass. Proposition 39, approved by California voters in November 2000, decreased the percentage needed to pass a bond measure from 66 and two-thirds percent to 55 percent. It also limits the maximum annual cost to $25 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 30, 2002. Read the original PDF.