Aims Community College
On Monday, July 16, 2007, Aims Community College completed the purchase of a 30-acre parcel of land for a planned new campus in Berthoud. The site is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Interstate 25 and Colorado State Highway 56.
The land was purchased from McWhinney Enterprises in Loveland and is adjacent to the 1,600-acre Wilson Ranch, McWhinney's master planned community, which will accommodate 5 million square feet of commercial space and 4,000 homes over the next four decades.
Aims is developing the framework for the campus. The focus is on the stages for development and growth on the site. This campus will look quite different from a normal campus. It will be designed on a sustainable basis. The campus will function as an outdoor laboratory, with areas designated for wind and solar energy, landscape and hardscape material testing, recycling and sustainable fuels use. Since the whole campus will act as a laboratory, there will be outdoor class spaces.
The master plan will be completed in 2009. At the same time building programming will continue. The design process should begin late spring or early summer, with the grand opening set for fall 2011 or winter 2012 depending on budget restraints.
On March 25, 2009 Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed into law House Bill 09-1079: Concerning Annexing Adjacent Municipalities to Existing Junior College Districts.
The amended language in CRS 23-71-128 will allow the residents of the Aims Junior College District and the Town of Berthoud to vote to include Berthoud in the Aims Junior College Tax District. If such a vote is successful the following outcomes would ensue:
- Reduced Tuition for Berthoud Residents: After annexation into the Aims District, Berthoud residents would enjoy the benefits of in-district tuition rates.
|
In-District Tuition |
Out-of-District Tuition |
| Academic Year 08-09 |
$55.00/credit hour |
$82.00/credit hour |
| Academic Year 09-10 (projected 5% increase) |
$58.00/credit hour |
$86.00/credit hour |
- Berthoud residents would be assessed for the Aims Junior College District at a rate of 6.299 mils. For the owner of a $200,000 house, this would be equivalent to $100.28 per year or about $8.36 per month.
- Berthoud residents were surveyed in December 2008 to gauge their interest in and willingness to vote for this issue. The survey consisted of two questions, which produced in the following results:
|
Number of Respondents |
Average Response |
| How appealing is this idea to you? (Very Appealing=5, Very Unappealing-1) |
320 |
3.78 |
| What is the likelihood that you would vote to suppport this idea (Very Likely=5, Very unlikely=1) |
320 |
3.68 |
- The amended language in CRS 23-71-128 requires that both residents of the Aims Junior College District and residents of the Town of Berthoud vote in favor of annexation at a regular election. Aims Community College is scheduled for an election in November 2009. On the ballot will be two Board of Trustees positions. A question regarding approval of proposed annexation of the Town of Berthoud can be included on November's ballot. If approved, this would allow the Town of Berthoud to include the question on their next regular election either in 2009 or April 2010.
