Dan Hust | Democrat SULLIVAN COUNTY COMMUNITY College’s pool on the back side of the fieldhouse in Loch Sheldrake is looking closer to completion, but President Mamie Howard Golladay told her board Thursday that construction has been delayed by the rainy spring and summer. It’s now expected to open next month, in time for students arriving for the fall semester.

Legislature OKs millions for SCCC

By Dan Hust
LOCH SHELDRAKE — Legislators unanimously approved contributing $4 million to Sullivan County Community College’s nearly $16 million budget for 2009-2010.
Thursday’s vote was preceded by a public hearing where Grahamsville resident Ken Walter was the only speaker in opposition, and SCCC Board Chair Phyllis Coombe was the only speaker in favor.
Walter, who is battling the college over two windmills being built on its Loch Sheldrake campus (one of which is close to his mother’s property), claimed the college owes the county $750,000 in loans, which should first be taken out of the contribution.
“And there’s probably other areas where money could be cut,” he said of SCCC’s budget.
Coombe, on the other hand, noted that increasing enrollment has not resulted in increased funding from the state or the county. In fact, she lamented, this year’s county contribution “is slightly less than last year’s.”
At the college board meeting later that day, Coombe was unanimously re-elected chair of the board, while Vice Chair Bob Ernst also returned to his position.
College President Mamie Howard Golladay told board members that the new pool, which was supposed to become operational in June, has been delayed in its construction due to the wet spring and summer.
“It’s been a very difficult season for pool-building,” she noted.
The $370,000 heated pool is expected to open in August for students and private rentals. Officials hope to have it covered by next year, but that will require additional funding.
Thursday’s college board meeting was not videotaped for the web, despite a former plan by the college to do so.
Coombe and SCCC spokesperson Jenny Donohue said that’s because the college’s tech staff realized the website, which is being redesigned, could not handle the kinds of demands streaming and archived video would put on it.
“We found out that if we put video up, it’s going to crash the website,” said Coombe.
So the college is switching to audio-only recordings of board meetings, to be made available on the web.
“We should probably have that going in September,” said Coombe.
The college’s website can be located at www.sullivan.suny.edu.