Fletcher looks to purchase 71-acre site for expansion

L.E. Fletcher Technical Community College is seeking $5.5 million in state surplus funds to help pursue acquisition of 70.8 acres of land to construct a new main campus.

The site is located on La. Highway 311, between the Weatherford Gemoco facility and the BP warehouse and training facility on U.S. Highway 90.

In 2007, the state Legislature authorized $21.3 million for Fletcher to acquire property and construct a new campus. However, L.E. Fletcher Chancellor Travis Lavigne Jr. said that would not be sufficient to buy the land to begin developing a new campus.

“If we have to buy the property with that money, we can only construct a new building of 40,000 square feet. We need very close to 250,000 square feet to do what we need to do,” he said. “We would like to get money from another source to acquire the land as soon as possible, but with the situation the state’s in right now it’s not necessarily likely. But it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

In December, the State Bond Commission approved the sale of $21.3 million in bonds for the project, but only a portion will go on sale in August. If enough funding to purchase the land has not been raised after the bond sale, the rest will be available in August 2010.

The property was vetted and unanimously approved by a site selection committee composed of, Lavigne and one representative each from the Board of Regents, Louisiana Community and Technical College System, and the Office of Facility Planning and Control.

The site is project-ready with utilities, sewage, natural gas and fiber optic lines previously laid. In addition, there is an industrial grade road on the north side of the property.

The proposed site was appraised in December 2006 at $5.5 million. An updated appraisal is in the works.

Lavigne hopes to have some money available subsequent to the bond sale in August to purchase at least a portion of the property.

The property owner, former John Deere Thibodaux Inc. owner Jake Giardina, has agreed to donate another 3.4 acres to Fletcher valued at $360,000.

“He has been very supportive of establishing a community college there,” Lavigne said. “He has been extremely patient over these last two to three years. He has been a delight to work with.”

The chancellor said it would take many years for the new site to replace the current main campus on St. Charles Street in Houma.

The first structure built will be a very large multipurpose building to house the core of the administrative and student services. Then a library, classrooms, and laboratories will be added.

“The library at the main campus is upstairs and is limited in the number of books we can put in there,” Lavigne explained. “We are in desperate need of classrooms. The initial classrooms and laboratories will be for courses like physics and other labs that we only offer on a virtual basis right now.”

Lavigne insisted that Fletcher would not abandon its other facilities. Building a new campus will allow the college to accommodate the ever-increasing enrollment it has experienced for the last several years.

Since 2003, enrollment at Fletcher has more than doubled. The college saw a 16 percent increase between fall 2007 and fall 2008. Fletcher had 1,508 students enrolled in the fall 2008 and 1,407 in the spring 2009 semesters.

“Because of the technical programs that we have here, I don’t foresee eliminating facilities even in the distant future,” Lavigne said. “They will be here for some period of time because of the fact that some of our programs take up so much space. Diesel marine for instance, one engine-training set can take up 500 square feet. So when you have 20 engines, that takes up a lot of space.”

The new campus is critical to the continued success of the local community, according to the chancellor.

Not only does Fletcher provide businesses with technically skilled employees – like machinists and welders – but the academic program the college offers is important as well.

“We have a number of students who take the academics courses that allow them to get an associate degree with a concentration in technical studies.” Lavigne said. “As the level of technology increases, the level of skill requirements continue to increase for the people we train, our product will continues to be in demand in areas critical to the economic development of the community.”

He added, “Having worked at Fletcher 30-something years, to see how the college has grown and provided the opportunities to students is a rewarding thing to be involved in.”