Suffolk’s Eastern Campus may get new health and fitness center

BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO
Suffolk Community College’s Eastern Campus may soon receive
several uogrades, including a new health and fitness center.

The Eastern Campus at Suffolk Community College will receive a new
health and fitness center as part of a capital budget proposal county
legislators are saying will improve the community college experience
while creating local jobs.
The three-year, $16 million capital plan will be voted on at Tuesday’s legislature meeting in Hauppauge.
Renovations
would be completed at each of the college’s three campuses as part of
the plan. The Grant Campus in Brentwood would receive a new library.
Legislators
said the renovations have become necessary due to a 20 percent spike in
enrollment over the past several years. There are currently more than
24,000 students enrolled at the college.
The county would also receive about $20 million from the state to complete the projects.
“People
want to send their kids to Community College because it’s the best deal
in town,” said Bill Lindsay, Presiding Officer of the Legislature, in a
prepared statement. “With the state match on these projects, we double
every dollar we spend. We’re putting people to work and we’re educating
our children and making it more likely that they stay here. Sounds like
a super bang for the buck to me.”
The plan also includes capital improvements not related to the college.
A
sewer expansion item is included in the bill. Under the proposal, the
county would provide $900,000 for a sewer expansion project in
Mastic-Shirley that legislators say would go a long way in protecting
the Forge River.
About $1.3 million from the package would be used for sidewalk upgrades throughout Suffolk County.
Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m.