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The Collegian
FEATURE PAGE 5
Issue 7 • Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 •
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NEW PATHS FORWARD
Shima parking lot, sidewalk construction, started last semester, continues into spring BY VIVIENNE AGUILAR Editor in Chief
Starting in September of last year, Kitchell Construction and Delta College began construction in the Shima parking lot as part of the Path of Travel project. That work has moved out of the Shima lot itself and onto West Burke Bradley Drive, near the Athletics complex. “This whole project was prompted by [Americans With Disabilities Act] compliance… This is the third phase, it’s part of just getting the whole Path of Travel, all the pathways throughout the campus, to ADA compliance. So, that’s what pretty much drove the project,” said Kitchell Project Manager II Marina Nunez. Upon completion, the Stockton campus will have accessible sidewalks and extra parking on the north side of the campus, reaching from the Budd parking lot to the stop light for Burke Bradley Drive and Pershing Ave. Currently, the sidewalk along North Burke Bradley Drive, as well as an entrance and exit to the Shima lot, are
being worked on, according to Kitchell Project Manager II Jaime Elias. The sidewalk will extend into the Budd area. “The concrete pathway that will take you from North Burke Bradley, it will take you into almost the Ferguson pool area,” said Elias. He said the curbs of the new Shima lot entrance and exit are in progress, and the road itself should be paved by this week. The new entrance and exit for the Shima lot will have one entrance lane and two exit lanes. The flow of traffic should remain the same. Kitchell will inform the district, so they can inform the campus about anything the students should know about the project, Elias said. The overall Path of Travel project is expected to be completed this summer, according Chris Nguyen, Delta’s Vice President of Administrative Services. The project began as an expansion of the parking lot, initially removing green
See SHIMA, page 8
(Top) A walking path behind the Shima bus stop is torn up from construction on Jan 14. PHOTO BY VIVIENNE AGUILAR (Bottom) The Path of Travel project is seen from above on Feb. 4 AERIAL PHOTO BY MARIA ABUGARADE RAYO AND VIVIENNE AGUILAR
Delta explores potential for new bond measure on November ballot BY MARIA ABUGARADE RAYO Feature Editor
Delta College is preparing a new bond request to present to voters, the first since the $250 million Measure L bond was approved in 2004. While renovated, upgraded and expanded facilities leave the district in better shape than before, questions about the scope of work remain. Now, Delta is preparing to launch a campaign for another bond measure on the November 2020 ballot. Measure L has brought big changes to modernize the main Stockton campus — notably the completion of the Science and Math Building — portable buildings were placed instead of permanent infrastructure at the Mountain House and a satellite location in the Lodi/Galt area never materialized. “The money got spent on projects. Those projects are done, but we still haven’t built these remote sites,” said Dr. Omid Pourzanjani, who assumed the role of President of San Joaquin Delta College in August 2019. Comparing now to 2004, the population in these remote sites have increased and the demand for services from Delta have since become greater. A new plan is to bring forth a bond that will focus mostly on the remote sites. “My hope is that we would get at least two buildings in Mountain House. My hope is that the Manteca farm becomes the Manteca center so we actually have full programs there. My hope is that we get at least one if not two buildings in
the Lodi/Galt area and my hope is that we get a couple of buildings here on this campus,” said Pourzanjani. The process to get a new bond on the ballot is time consuming. “Committees on campus have to discuss, go for board approval, survey for the bond with the community to see what they want and will they support the bond to get what they want, and then the board has to approve all that,” he said. If the community has desires and needs, and indicates it is willing to fund a bond project, it will go on the election ballot in November. This means Delta has to get any bond proposal to the election officials by August. The process includes surveys, proposals, building plans and community input surveys. Pourzanjani stresses the importance of community involvement. “[The] only way for colleges to have the funds to redo buildings, create new buildings, create new spaces for students is to get involved,” said Pourzanjani. With August coming quickly, Pourzanjani is optimistic the new bond will pass through the campus committee and be placed on the November 2020 ballot. Measure L funds are responsible for the build-outs the Stockton campus has seen over the past 16 years, including the addition of the DeRicco Student Services Building, the Goleman Library renovation, the placement of the Phelps Police Building and expansion of the Shima Center.
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