NCCC: We contribute $62.5 million to the local economy

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

July 20, 2008

By DENISE A. RAYMO The Press Republican Sun Jul 20, 2008, 05:30 AM EDT

MALONE -- North Country Community College estimates its annual financial impact on the region surpasses $62.5 million.

During a public hearing this week on the college's annual request for funding from its sponsoring entities, Interim College President Fred Smith told Franklin County legislators that NCCC spends $25 million on employee salaries and benefits, purchases of goods and services and its students.

Estimating that every dollar spent is reused and reinvested back into the local economy 2.5 times, the college said its economic impact is $62,727,148 while its total budget for 2008-09 is $12,795,000.

The college is asking both Essex and Franklin counties for $1,140,000 each, which represents 9 percent of its total revenue.

Legislators took no action following the public hearing, but could be asked to pass a resolution at its next meeting Aug. 7.

Smith said North Country is one of the largest employers in the two counties with 111 full-time and 70 part-time staff, adding that it "is making a difference" in the community as well as lives of college students.

Smith said the master plan the administration has been working on to repair, renovate and update the main campus in Saranac Lake has not been finalized and that the public meeting last month at which some details were revealed does not mean the ideas are set in concrete.

"The final plan is yet to come, and it must be approved by the Board of Trustees" before it is submitted for approval to Essex and Franklin county officials as sponsors of the college.

"The important thing is this is a tentative plan," Smith said and added that discussions of a field house and theater and an estimated $61 million cost refers to possible phases of construction over four years.

The state would pay about half the cost, and the counties would pay about $15 million each.

But he tried to assure legislators that they would not be asked to come up with it all at once and that it would be paid in stages as each phase is started.

Smith said the master plan might be ready for review in another month.

darymo@pressrepublican.com