No one knows what Dutchess Community College”™s proposal to construct dormitories on 25 acres of county-owned land adjoining the campus would look like, but it is already raising concerns among elected officials in the town and city of Poughkeepsie.
Last month, the Dutchess County Legislature tabled a resolution that would have permitted the county to enter into a long-term lease with the college for the property after residents and elected officials questioned the possible impact on traffic and increase in taxes.
Now, college officials “want the county to lease them land by March 12 so they can move forward and have the dorms constructed by 2009,” said Patricia Myers, supervisor of the town of Poughkeepsie. “But there”™s a lot of things that need to be worked out. We don”™t even know yet the real capacity of the dorms. Dutchess is an excellent educational facility and we”™d like it to expand, but not at the expense of the taxpayer.”
W. John Dunn, Dutchess”™ dean of administration and treasurer, said that the idea for the dorms arose out of a feasibility study that showed more than a tenth of the 8,000 students attending the college would live on campus if housing were available. He said the proposed housing, which would provide at least 450 beds in order to be profitable, would be built and managed by the Dutchess Community College Association, which runs the bookstore and food service. The association would float a bond for the project, which is valued at $30 million.
The potential tax burden is a particular sticking point due to the fact that 80 percent of the property in the Fairview Fire District, which also includes portions of Hyde Park, is off the tax rolls. That”™s due to the large number of nonprofits, including not just Dutchess but also Marist and Vassar colleges, Saint Francis Hospital and the Hudson River Psychiatric Center. Residents pay as much as $1,600 in annual tax just to the fire department, which has a force of 16 paid firemen.
The cost is so high that the nonprofits are bearing some of the burden. Last year, Marist College began paying more than $100,000 to the fire department, following construction of new dorms. Dutchess Community College currently pays $5,000 annually to the fire department.
Once the dorms are built, “we”™re prepared to pay a realistic payment,” said Dunn. However, he said a proposal discussed at a recent meeting of the Legislature to charge each on-campus student $87 a month for nine months for fire protection was exorbitant, doubling or tripling the amount paid by Marist.
The fire department has said it would need to hire 10 additional full-time firemen to be able to cover the new dorms ”“ a number Dunn characterized as opportunistic. “We”™re the straw that broke the camel”™s back,” he said. According to Dunn, the burden of paying for the fire department”™s $3 million budget is a problem that needs to be addressed “without us in the picture.”
Myers said it was only last year that Marist began paying the fire district and that the bulk of the responsibility has fallen on a relatively small number of residents.
Two other pressing issues concern the project”™s review. Myers said according to the town”™s zoning code, the dormitories would qualify as an accessory use, which means they”™d be subject to a site plan approval by the town Planning Board. She said the college had been pressing for a review by the county.
“There needs to be a level playing field,” said Myers, who noted that both Marist and Vassar have gone before the town Planning Board when they are proposing an expansion, not the county.
The proposed dorm site is also located outside the sewage district. That means Dutchess Community College would have to negotiate access with the Poughkeepsie Town Board.
Myers said she is concerned about the proposed project”™s traffic impact. She said there was a threat to students”™ safety at the proposed crosswalk that would provide access from the dorms to the campus. City of Poughkeepsie officials have objected to the new student housing on the grounds that existing housing in the city would better serve the students”™ needs.
Dunn said that of the 30 community colleges in the state, 16 of them offer student housing. “Community colleges have evolved,” he said. “They now offer more of a full college experience.” He said visits to those schools revealed “positive results on campus. It brings in a different student life. Classes scheduled in the afternoon fill up. Food service increased in quality.”
He said that the proposed housing would enable the college to retain possible students in the county who now attend community colleges in Herkimer and Troy because they have housing.
