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Keep politics out of SCCC music decision
EVELYN M. CURRIE
Burnt Hills
The writer is a retired music teacher.

    Kudos to Carl Strock for his Dec. 6 column about the political tug-of-war between the Schenectady County Legislature and the Schenectady County Community College — it was right on!
    It surprises me that county Chairwoman Susan Savage and her team do not value the advice of the music professional, Dr. William Meckley, chairman of the SCCC Music Department. She may not realize that Dr. Meckley was re-elected this month to the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) Community and Junior College Accrediting Commission during the association’s annual conference in Salt Lake City. This commission makes decisions regarding NASM institutional memberships and renewals, curricula, as well as music buildings and facility needs. The Legislature should be using his expertise — rather than ignoring it — in order to save Center City.
    Now is the time to put politics and the need for power aside for the good of the students and faculty in the SCCC Music Department — who prefer to remain on the campus with its available support system.

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SCCC an excellent community resource

    I have lived in the Stockade section for around five years. My apartment is just across the way from Schenectady County Community College.
    I used the library once during my first four years in the Stockade. However, since last spring I have visited the school library many times over. The public is allowed to use the library’s computers — as long as no students have need of them. The library itself is well stocked and a pleasant place to read or do some work (I write a little). In addition, there are free music programs — all open to the public. This community resource is a well-run place, and a benefit to the whole Schenectady community!
    By the way, I have never worked for this school. I do not even know any of the hard-working people employed there.
    ALAN KAREY
    Schenectady

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$21 million best estimate for moving SCCC music

    In response to your Nov. 29 editorial and a Dec. 6 column by Carl Strock, we want to clarify some apparent confusion over the $21 million budget recommendation we prepared for the proposed relocation of the Schenectady County Community College music program — a figure that was supported and explained by a six-page report prepared for SCCC.
    As Strock indicated in his Dec. 11 clarification, the budget is not the result of a detailed study of the Center City facility and what it would take to modify it for the music program. To prepare such an assessment would require much more information about the existing facility than we had available in preparing our report.
    The budget is, however, a very realistic and informed assessment of the needs of the music department and the costs related to constructing such a facility in another location. Having completed the design for the expansion of the department on campus, we are very familiar with the specialized space and acoustical requirements of the program. Our report outlines many of these requirements.
    While the $21 million budget is not a site-specific budget, it is a carefully considered figure and was provided to SCCC President [Gabriel] Basil specifi - cally for the purpose of assisting the college in evaluating relocation costs — his use of the figure should not be considered in anyway misleading. We stand by this figure as the best available figure for relocation of the program.
    Another thing this budget is not, is final. If there is to be continued consideration of moving the program to the Center City site, a detailed and thorough feasibility study should be conducted to evaluate the existing structure, the work required to reconstruct the facility to meet the needs of the music program, and to prepare a conceptual design to illustrate how those needs can be met. With this information, an appropriate and fully substantiated budget can be established for the proposed project.
    The music program at the SCCC is a valuable asset to this community — one of the many positive features of Schenectady that reach far beyond the borders of our county. The music department is nationally accredited, one of only 22 in the United States among two-year schools, and is considered a national leader and model among community colleges. SCCC music alumni can be found as faculty, performers or students at places such as the New England Conservatory of Music, Indiana University, the Metropolitan Opera, the U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note, the Eastman School, Juilliard, the Hartt School, Manhattan School of Music, SUNY Conservatory at Purchase, Crane School of Music and many others. This success is a tremendous credit to the leadership of both the college and the county. Whether the program is expanded on the existing campus or downtown, such a proposal deserves careful consideration and open discussion. We hope our clarification contributes to both.
    KARL GRIFFITH
    Schenectady
The writer is a partner with Griffi th, Dardanelli Architects, PC.

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SCHENECTADY
SCCC music project deal sought
County favors downtown site
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    The sounds coming from Schenectady County Community College’s nationally accredited music program these days are tinged with sadness as well as promise.
    College and county officials said they are moving closer to a solution on how to expand the music program in the most cost-effective manner. The county wants to move the entire program downtown; students and faculty remain convinced the program should expand on the college’s campus instead.
    County Legislator Vincent DiCerbo, D-Schenectady, who also is a college trustee, said, “We all want to be on the same page. It does not benefit anyone to be at odds with one another.”
    College President Gabe Basil agreed: “We are trying to come up with the best approach and a good solution for everyone here. There are a lot of things on the table. There are things we can do downtown to help the college. Our space problem is still on campus, but there are other aspects that can be served downtown.”
    Basil said the two sides are about a month away from reaching a compromise. “Our concerns are to get the space we need and the county’s concerns are about finances,” he said.
    Options under discussion include building a smaller addition than initially proposed onto Begley Hall and moving a newly proposed music recording program downtown.
    William Meckley, chair of the music department, and Tom Nelson, SCCC dean of academic affairs, said their first preference is to build the addition onto Begley Hall. “The best thing for my department is expansion on the campus,” Meckley said.
    Both said they would move the program downtown only if the county built a state-of-the-art facility and committed to paying for its annual operations.
    “If the county can work its magic and have a program at least equal to what is here, we would fi nd ourselves moving downtown,” Nelson said.
VEW OF A STUDENT
    Both stressed that any new facility must meet all students’ needs. “That is the most important thing for us,” Meckley said. “Our students aren’t typical in the sense they give up their lives when they come to college. This is just one more thing on top of that.”
    SCCC music program faculty member Brett Wery, who teaches saxophone and clarinet, said a free-standing music center would require a full array of support services. “We have a lot of at-risk students who need remediation and counseling. These services are available at the college,” he said. “If we are to move downtown, we need to get more than we get here.”
    Music program student Michael Leczinsky, also majoring in business, said “the people proposing the move are not considering the needs of the students.”
    A move downtown would be a “dramatic change for students. All nonmusic classes are in this building, including financial aid, tutoring, registration, cafeteria.”
    He said going back and forth between the two campuses “would be a concern. If someone misses a shuttle, they miss a class.”
    Leczinsky said other students in the program feel as he does. “I can’t see an advantage to the move. No one has an idea about why they would want to do it.”
CAPITAL PROJECTS
    The music program is currently housed in Begley Hall, a building more than 30 years old and which is attached to Elston Hall, which is even older.
    The college requires additional practice rooms for 150 music students to maintain the program’s national accreditation. It also needs space to develop a new program in music recording, which would allow for the recruitment of an additional 20-30 students, and for the drama program.
    SCCC’s solution is to build a $5.4 million, 15,000-square-foot addition to Begley Hall. It approached the county Legislature with the proposal two years ago, and the Legislature committed $2.7 million, half the amount, toward the project in its 2006 capital budget. The state would match the other half.
    County Legislature Chairwoman Susan Savage said she asked the college in 2005 to consider moving part or all of the music program to a downtown location near Proctors. The request was repeated in 2006.
    Savage said the county made the request because the college’s master plan calls for $78 million in capital projects over the next six years. The county’s share would be $39 million. The plan presents the college with challenges, she said. The college is landlocked and built on a flood plain. Moving the music program off site, she said, would give it more exposure, free up space for future expansion and help save county taxpayer dollars in the long run.
    When the college returned earlier this year with a completed design of the proposed addition, the county was flustered: The design did not include a downtown option.
    When the college this spring asked the county to release the $2.7 million, which would allow the construction project to proceed to the state level for funding, the county demurred and repeated its request that the college consider downtown. DiCerbo said the county’s position is based on its “clearly vested interest in having the college academically sound and being an integral part of the community.” The county provides the college with an annual subsidy of $1.9 million, among the lowest sponsor contributions in the state.
    The college replied to the county’s latest request with a report by the architectural firm Griffith, Dardanelli Architects. The report put a $21 million cost to construct a music facility from scratch and a $600,000 cost to operate it annually.
    With this information, SCCC Board President Robert Ruggeri wrote Savage in November to say “that the college does not see how such a relocation would be in its best interests.”
    Further, he added, the county’s proposal does not address the space needs of the drama program, nor does it address the cost to renovate Begley for other uses.
CENTER CITY SITE
    College officials said an off-site facility would require its own maintenance and cleaning staffs, an assistant dean, student counselor or adviser, security guards and technicians.
    County officials countered they could move the entire program for much less. They would not build a new facility but would place the program within Center City on State Street. The project could be eligible for up to $8 million in state and federal funds and subject to further matching funds from the state.
    DiCerbo said the $21 million and $600,000 cost estimates each were too high. “The county is not looking to build from scratch. We already have a structure and have the architects looking at that cost,” he said.
    As such, Basil said, college and county officials do not have an exact estimate of the cost to relocate the entire program there. “It is very difficult to say what needs to be done until you go in and do a feasibility study, which looks at estimates in terms of comparable costs,” he said.
    Meckley said “music space is very expensive. It has to be acoustically designed and isolated.” The architects said massive walls are required to isolate sound, requiring the creation of “a room within a room.”
    In preparing their report, the architects did not evaluate Center City, said Karl Griffith, a partner in the architectural firm. He said such a study would take three to six months.

ANA N. ZANGRONIZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER
Bill Meckley conducts the Empire Jazz Orchestra during rehearsal at Schenectady County Community College on Sept. 11, 2006. Meckley, who is chairman of the music department at SCCC, favors expanding the department on campus.

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SCCC music program faculty member Brett Wery, who teaches saxophone and clarinet, said a free-standing music center would require a full array of support services. “We have a lot of at-risk students who need remediation and counseling. These services are available at the college,” he said. “If we are to move downtown, we need to get more than we get here.”
    Music program student Michael Leczinsky, also majoring in business, said “the people proposing the move are not considering the needs of the students.”
    A move downtown would be a “dramatic change for students. All nonmusic classes are in this building, including financial aid, tutoring, registration, cafeteria.”
    He said going back and forth between the two campuses “would be a concern. If someone misses a shuttle, they miss a class.”
    Leczinsky said other students in the program feel as he does. “I can’t see an advantage to the move. No one has an idea about why they would want to do it.”

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Politicians alone in wanting to move SCCC music downtown

    Re Dec. 23 article, “SCCC music project deal sought”: What are Schenectady County legislators thinking in proposing to move the SCCC music department downtown? It’s hard to imagine a worse politically motivated action to derail an outstanding college program at the expense of the academic experience of its students, who will derive little or no benefi t.
    Part of the student experience is the cohesion and interaction with a peer group and faculty on a common campus; diffi cult enough to achieve when students commute, have evening and staggered classes and/or are in programs with off-campus practical training. Apparently, legislators have forgotten the frustrations and disruptions of making class, finding facilities (library, etc.), attending events and getting transportation on split campus sites.
    The SCCC music department has all its facilities on campus, and its national reputation under the direction of Professor William Meckley certainly merits the auditorium expansion now hung up by politics — what else?
How many of the legislators have even attended a concert in Begley Hall? How many SCCC students and faculty have they queried and listened to?
For the SCCC music program, this move promises only to compromise department and student morale by introducing still more external non-academic meddling, all without any redeeming compensation. When something in college works this well — leave it alone!
GEORGE W. PUTMAN
Saratoga Springs
The writer is a faculty member emeritus at UAlbany.

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Apparently, legislators have forgotten the frustrations and disruptions of making class, finding facilities (library, etc.), attending events and getting transportation on split campus sites.

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SCHENECTADY COUNTY
SCCC music classes likely to stay
Campus project will add space
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    The Schenectady County Community College music program most likely will be expanded on campus and not relocated downtown, officials say. However, the project could end up smaller than originally envisioned.
    SCCC spokeswoman Heather Meaney said college officials are
    working on a proposal that would build an addition to Begley Hall — the current home of the program.
    “They’re still negotiating with county legislators on when, where and how much for the addition,” she said.
tal cost of the addition is one of the points of discussion, so the initial design would probably be changed. “The goal is to get sufficient space for the music program,” she said.
    The college had previously proposed a $5.4 million, 20,000-squarefoot addition to Begley Hall that would include eight music practice rooms, a sound recording studio, and stage and rehearsal areas for the drama program.
    Architect Karl Griffith of Griffi th, Dardanelli Architects confirmed that there is also a possibility that the project could be scaled down.
    The county Legislature appropriated $2.7 million toward the project in its 2006 capital budget with the intention of the state matching the other half.
    County officials have wanted the college to move all or some of its music program downtown to a location near Proctors. In the spring of 2007, the county declined to release the $2.7 million because college officials had not considered the downtown option. The county had expressed interest in using Center City, which is owned by the Galesi Group. However, news surfaced last month that the YMCA is considering building a branch on the ground floor of Center City.
    Meaney said the college is not aware of any other off-campus sites under consideration for the music program.
    County Legislator Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady, said he is not ready to say that all downtown options are off the table.
    “We are continuing to be in discussions with the college about music program facilities. Anything more than that is probably speculation,” he said.
    He said both the college and the county would like to wrap up its negotiations “fairly quickly,” but he declined to state a specific timetable.
    Hughes said the county’s fi scal situation is more challenging than it was a couple of years ago, so it has to balance that with the needs of the music program. “One of the reasons that the downtown project made sense to the college is that it opened the door to be able to access a great deal of money that we would need for the project from sources other than the taxpayers,” he said. “Those types of redevelopment loans aren’t available for a straight facility project.”
    SCCC currently has two rehearsal rooms, 11 individual practice rooms, one small classroom and faculty offices. The National Association of Schools of Music, which accredits the college, has said SCCC should have additional practice facilities for the number of students in the program, according to Meaney. The school is up for reaccreditation in 2012.

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County Legislator Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady, said he is not ready to say that all downtown options are off the table.

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SCHENECTADY COUNTY
SCCC music dept. to stay on campus
Scaled-back addition planned
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    Schenectady County Community College’s accredited music program will remain on campus, but will expand into a smaller, less expensive addition, county offi cials said Friday.
    Following discussions with the county, the college has reduced the scope of the project by more than 5,000 square feet. The scaled-back addition will be constructed onto
    the Begley Building at a cost of $3.9 million, saving $1.5 million off the original project cost. The college had previously proposed a $5.4 million, 20,000-squarefoot addition.
    The addition will contain eight music practice rooms and offices for faculty, space that the National Association of Schools of Music said SCCC needs to maintain its accreditation. It eliminates a recording studio and space for the theater program.
    The music program has outgrown its current space because of increased enrollment based on its growing reputation, college officials said.
    In a news release, Schenectady County Legislature Chairwoman Susan E. Savage, D-Niskayuna, said the revised plan represents “substantial savings for the taxpayer and new ways that the county and SCCC will work together to promote economic development. We are pleased with the outcome of this effort.”
    Music Department Chairman William Meckley, who was unaware of the news release, said the county’s announcement was wonderful. “It was a long time coming and we look forward to it,” he said.
    He said music department faculty and students and college offi cials wanted to keep the music program intact and on the campus. “It maintains the integrity of the program and that is really important for us,” he said.
    SCCC President Gabe Basil said in a news release that the revised project “will have a significant positive impact on the college, our music program and its students, as well as the local community.”
    Savage sparked a firestorm last year when she suggested the college move some or all of the music program downtown rather than build the addition.
    In earlier interviews, Savage said the proposed move would save the county money and would help the college with future expansion efforts.
    The college is proposing $78 million in capital projects over the next six years. The county’s share would be $39 million. The county is experiencing a deficit estimated at $10 million going into the 2009 budget year and is seeking ways to contain costs.
    The county and college were at loggerheads during most of last year over the project. When the college last spring asked the county to release the $2.7 million, which would allow the construction project to proceed to the state level for funding, the county demurred and repeated its request that the college consider downtown.
    The college subsequently missed the deadline for state funding, delaying the construction for more than a year.
    County legislators said the Legislature has a vested interest in the college as it provides an annual subsidy of $1.9 million. The subsidy is among the lowest sponsor contributions in the state.
    Savage said the county and SCCC will explore other ways to meet the needs of the theater program, including examining the use of downtown venues. She also said the music department has agreed to work closely with Proctors and other venues to present performances downtown.
    The revised music program will be included in the county’s proposed 2009 capital budget.

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In a news release, Schenectady County Legislature Chairwoman Susan E. Savage, D-Niskayuna, said the revised plan represents “substantial savings for the taxpayer and new ways that the county and SCCC will work together to promote economic development. We are pleased with the outcome of this effort.”
    Music Department Chairman William Meckley, who was unaware of the news release, said the county’s announcement was wonderful. “It was a long time coming and we look forward to it,” he said.