By Steve Berry
Students will not be displaced during the renovation in Fort Worden college classrooms. According to College President Luke Robins the historic Building 202 is in need of renovation and upgrading, it will accomplish this while increasing space. If all goes well, the facility will open its doors tentatively the fall of 2016, Robins said.
Consideration of any new programs or classes, Robins explained, will be determined by an environmental scan of east Jefferson County which will be conducted and the information gathered from that will be used to make any decisions. Another possible problem facing Robins is President Obama’s proposal for the first two years of college being offered to students for free.
“An interesting proposal and great talking point but we will have to wait for more information to come out because the devils are always in the details.” Robins said.
Robins signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) Jan. 16 with the Fort Worden Public Development Authority (PDA) Board Vice Chairman Scott Wilson, and Port Townsend Mayor David King. An agreement was made to split the remaining $500,000 in order to renovate Building 202 in Port Townsend. Now it can move to the next step in its development and secure a contractor bid. Peninsula College will provide $250,000 while the PDA and city of Port Townsend will provide the other $250,000.