(Photo by: Garrett Lovell)

How many times have you circled the parking lots looking for a spot close to your classes for the day? Ever had to walk forever just to get to one class? Things might start to change according to the college’s new Facilities Master Plan, which could call for more parking.

“Some of the buildings that we’re gonna build are gonna need some because we anticipate there will be some growth in enrollment, and there may be some areas of parking that get taken up by some of the remodeling that we do,” said Associate Vice President for Campus Services & Facilities Planning Tom Hall. “We anticipate that we’ll probably have to put in some parking to go on with that.”

The Board of Trustees just approved the new Master Plan in June 2025, and it is projected to be in the works for the next 10 years. Due to the plan being so new, there are no exact dates for when construction will begin, but planning is projected to begin in December, and design work will start shortly after in January. This could take roughly five years to complete.

“When we get into the design work and then after we figure out what it is, how much space we’re gonna need, then we have to figure out, okay, how are we gonna support that space?” Hall said. “So, it would be shortly thereafter [that] we start the design work, ’cause we want to make sure that we have ample parking on campus.”

The location for the new parking structure will be determined once the other buildings projected in the Master Plan have locations planned.

“If you look at our campus, we have areas for growth on the north and west side of campus. And so, it would make sense to put some kind of a parking place on that side of campus,” Hall said.

One of the projected areas for the structure will be next to the Fieldhouse, providing more than just more parking spaces for the college.

“We might be able to kind of insulate the side of the Fieldhouse and reduce some of our energy costs, too. By building close to there, that would allow us to give us more of an energy barrier so that we aren’t losing as much heating and cooling out of the building,” Hall said.

Some of the plans, including adding a new healthcare building, expanding the science program and EMS program, would bring a need for more spaces, according to Executive Vice President of Finance & Administrative Services Rachel Lierz.

“If we expand our career in technical education programming, which is also in here, that might take away some of our current parking spots. So adding a new structure for 200-ish plus vehicles that–who knows how many it will be, what the exact number will be–is also gonna address some spaces that we might lose as a result of other construction,” Lierz said.

Although the sound of a new parking space sounds exciting, there is more to the Master Plan than just that. It is aimed to help in gaining more students on the campus.

“I would really focus on, you know, the entire plan. It’s a really comprehensive plan. 
Again, like Tom said, it’s intended to really guide the college for the next decade,” Lierz said. “Look at adding some new programs, creating space for some of our programs that don’t have dedicated space right now–like our fire science program, for example–really expanding in some areas where we can help to meet the local workforce needs in the county and in the region.”

As mentioned before, the Master Plan covers the next 10 years, and there is a detailed schedule in it.

“There’s a really high-level draft implementation schedule in there. It takes us out to 2030, as far as just the planning piece, and I think not necessarily just the construction,” Lierz said.

With big projects such as these costs and where that money is going to come from are always going to be a factor.

“So we have to make sure that we have identified how we’re going to pay for everything, and we have to have the approval of the college Board of Trustees before we move forward on any of the individual projects,” Lierz said.

Hall mentioned there is a possibility they will address things that are not included in the plan. For example, the last plan never mentioned the science labs, but they addressed them anyway.

“As the community needs something, we’ll be responsive to whatever we need to do to, you know, interact with the community and provide the services that are needed,” Hall said.

Lierz expressed that a good way to continue monitoring what’s going on is to read what the Master Plan says, watch the livestreamed board meetings, or access the minutes on the college website and be mindful that each step has to be approved and funded.

“Things change. And 10 years, especially in higher education, is a long time from now. Unexpected things come along, priorities shift, leadership changes,” Lierz said.