Taking a step back: Gateway looking at alternative options

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

For Gateway Technical College Vice President Bill Whyte, the Nov. 14 listening session on the proposed emergency vehicle training course and public safety building in Burlington provided more than just feedback.

It gave a clear message as well.

“We’ve slowed down, intentionally,” Whyte said Tuesday.

In addition to a coordinated effort by citizens in the neighborhood adjacent to the proposed EVOC track to voice their displeasure at that idea, Whyte and the other representatives from Gateway who were at the meeting found out a few other things as well.

“The meeting, I think, was productive,” Whyte said. “It gave us a couple of things to think about that we weren’t necessarily aware of.”

One of those was the flooding that tends to occur in the area adjacent to the ChocolateFest grounds – a residential neighborhood.

“We didn’t realize those issues exist,” Whyte said.

Whyte said that other suggestions – such as where else to possibly place an EVOC track – are being or have been considered.

“We need to rethink some of these issues,” he said. “We need to think through: Are there any other options out there?”

Alternative options not withstanding, Whyte said he’s received positive feedback from people outside of that meeting.

“I’ve talked to people that I’ve run into, that have said – these aren’t residents, of course – I think the sentiment is more positive than negative,” Whyte said. “Now, that’s not a scientific study. I wasn’t even asking for the feedback.”

Whyte stressed that the project is still very much in its initial phases, no matter what residents believe may or may not be on the table.

In fact, short-term borrowing that is on the agenda for today’s Gateway board meeting for is for renovations and expansions on the Kenosha and Elkhorn campuses.

While concerns have been raised about placing the EVOC track in Burlington, Whyte stressed a few factors that will be critical in reaching a decision.

One is that, since the referendum failed last year to authorize special funding for renovations and the purchase of property, Gateway cannot just go out and buy land to place the EVOC track.

Tied to that, Gateway is limited to $1.5 million every two years for capital expenditures. Whyte said Tuesday that no money has been budgeted for this fiscal year – which runs through June – for the project.

Also, the EVOC track and public safety building are tried together. In order for the programs to be effective and keep those coming in to train on a timeline, the track and the proposed public safety training center have to be close to one another.

Gateway’s initial proposal included leasing the former Kmart building in the Fox River Plaza as a training facility.

Whyte did say alternatives are being researched.

“If we can find one, that would certainly be one we’d consider,” Whyte said of an alternate track site.