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Trustees were given encouraging news this week as SUNY Jamestown Community College eyes a move to downtown Dunkirk to bolster its north county presence.
A local planning committee was meeting this week to recommend a final slate of projects to receive funding through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. The city of Dunkirk was awarded $10 million through DRI, with a host of proposed projects totaling $30 million.
Lou DiPalma, a member of the JCC board of trustees and on the North County Ad Hoc Revitalization Committee, provided a brief update on the college's application for a share of the development funds. JCC is looking to establish a new presence at the Graf Building, located at 319 Central Ave. in Dunkirk.
"Happy to report that we have ranked extremely high -- maybe, in fact, ranked No. 1, depending upon what happens here tonight," DiPalma said during Tuesday's meeting, adding, "certainly, it's one of the more positive projects that the planning committee has identified. So that's obviously good news."
As previously touted by New York state, the Downtown Revitalization Initiative "is a comprehensive approach to boosting local economies by transforming communities into vibrant neighborhoods where the next generation of New Yorkers will want to live, work, and raise a family."
DiPalma noted that DRI funds are highly sought after, and said JCC's apparent high ranking in the review stages is encouraging for the project to move forward.
"A lot of competition. A lot of project activity," he said, "and for us to come out of this process ranking extremely high is a really great reflection of the team. … They did an extremely great job."
A final public workshop meeting is scheduled for Nov. 2 in which the recommended projects will be discussed.
JCC is seeking $2.2 million in DRI funds for its $3.3 million relocation project.
DiPalma said there's still plenty of work to be done in terms of funding and budgeting the move from the North County Center on Bennett Road to downtown Dunkirk.
"Sustainability is going to be critical," he said Tuesday. "So you got to make sure that we got the required number of (full-time equivalent students) to sustain this move to downtown."
He added, "We're going to need solid commitment for our workforce development training. That means a strong commitment with the business community. So that has got to go beyond, 'Yes, we're interested.' There's going to have to be solid commitments there to make sure that we can justify the investment in equipment that's going to be necessary in order to justify the workforce development training."
JCC President Daniel DeMarte previously said the college's success in moving to the Graf Building will be dependent on three objectives: achieving a target enrollment of more than 60 (full-time equivalent) students in the academic programs; that businesses will be sending their employees for workforce training that the college is looking to offer; and that Dunkirk will help address "other issues" that will make the location a success, such as transportation and child care.
Trustee Wally Huckno Sr. inquired about the curriculum JCC is looking to offer at the new location. "Are we talking about a mini JCC with a full curriculum or a few basic courses that they will come back to JCC?" he asked. "What does somebody have in mind?"
DeMarte said the college would likely "continue, initially, what we've been doing up to this point, which is serving as a gateway."
He continued, "It's historically served as a site where a student can finish the first year of their associate's degree. … We're beginning to explore new options."
DeMarte said the college, for the first time, is offering an industrial maintenance technician course in Dunkirk. He said the course is one participant away from being full.
"We need to offer more of that and determine whether or not that's programming that's needed there and then what's it going to take in the space we have," the college president said.
In focus group meetings, DeMarte said local employers want to see more "fast-track programming," such as 10- to 12-week, 40-hour-week programs that have 85% completion rates.
"They'd like to see more of that in Dunkirk," he said. "It would not be a stretch for us to offer that in Dunkirk, but we've got to have that commitment. So we'll start with what's easy initially and we'll work through what's needed."
Regarding a timeline for a potential move, DeMarte ideally said the fall of 2025. He said the college needs to use the next two years "very wisely the best we can."