Delta College April 15 2.JPG

The Delta College Board of Trustees voted 8-1 to select downtown Saginaw for its new satellite campus in the county on Tuesday, April 15.

(Lindsay Knake | MLive.com)

SAGINAW, MI — Delta College is coming to downtown Saginaw.

The Delta College Board of Trustees

on Tuesday, April 15, to choose downtown Saginaw as the zone for its Saginaw satellite campus.

Trustee Earl Selby voted against the measure.

About 40 people attended the board meeting at the Delta College campus, 1961 Delta in Frankenlust Township. The Bay County-based college has off-campus sites in Buena Vista Township, Bay City and Midland.

"We need to get back to the core," said Trustee Karen Lawrence-Webster. "Saginaw has a plethora of opportunities to attract businesses to support Delta College."

Saginaw Mayor Dennis Browning said he's excited for the Saginaw center, afdding the city is confident it can provide the service, support and location for Delta College.

"We're ready to go tomorrow," he said. "We've got a lot of people involved."

Delta College President Jean Goodnow recommended the zone in March after an eight-month process to determine the best fit for a site. The board chose between four zones:

Buena Vista Township, downtown Saginaw, Michigan Avenue or Old Town Saginaw.

Delta College's current Saginaw campus is at the Ricker Center in Buena Vista Township. About 80 percent of the 650 students who take classes there live in the city of Saginaw. The college leases the facility from Saginaw School District.

Goodnow said the administration will start exploring possible sites within a 2-mile radius of downtown Saginaw and bring back a recommendation for a specific site to the board. The college could build or could renovate an existing building.

Delta College is looking at serving more students than it does now with revamped programs in Saginaw, she said.

Support for Saginaw

Saginaw City Manager Tim Morales shakes hands with Delta College Board of Trustees President Bob Stafford after the board voted 8-1 to choose downtown Saginaw for a new satellite campus on Tuesday, April 15.

Trustee Kimberly R. Houston-Philpot said the decision is fashioning a new vision for Delta College and the Saginaw center.

"A lot of people are working to fashion a new vision in Saginaw, and I think that's important," she said. "I don't think the state of Michigan can be successful in attracting young people without strong urban cores."

Nearly 30 business, government and education leaders wrote letters of support for downtown Saginaw, Goodnow said.

They included:

Trustees

Jack MacKenzie and Michael Nash expressed some concern with the downtown site but ultimately voted in favor of it.

MacKenzie said his heart is in Buena Vista, but being a businessman, knows it's all about the location.

"Downtown is the best place for Delta College," he said.

Goodnow said the college also will seek state funding for the project, and she anticipates receiving funding within two years.

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, sent a letter to Goodnow stating his support for Delta receiving state funding through Michigan's Capital Outlay Budget.

"As you continue to make strides as one of America's premier community colleges, my hope is that the Michigan Legislature will look favorably upon your request," he wrote.

Buena Vista Township

Selby made a substitute motion to keep the Saginaw campus in Buena Vista Township. It failed 7-2. Trustee Bob Emrich voted with Selby on the motion.

Selby said it was with great trepidation that he took a position against Goodnow and the administration, adding “moral imperative overwhelms protocol.”

He said 20 years ago, he heard the exact same arguments for a downtown Saginaw center.

“We put a center in downtown Saginaw, and it failed,” he said. “It cost us a lot of money. I cannot in good conscience repeat that mistake.”

Emrich said he supported Buena Vista for several reasons, in part because Delta College is already there, and it offers accessibility to areas in southern Saginaw County such as Birch Run and to students in Tuscola County.

"I believe too much emphasis was put on the urban core," he said. "As a city and a region, we will continue to struggle because a lack of employment."

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Lindsay Knake covers education for MLive/The Saginaw News. Follow her on twitter or contact her at 989-372-2498 or lknake@mlive.com.