Voters within the College of the Mainland Taxing
District overwhelmingly approved a $162.5
million bond referendum on Tuesday, Nov. 6,
paving the way for the construction of three
new academic buildings on the Texas City campus.
Voters favored COM with 24,313 voters,
or 66.79 percent, supporting the bond referendum
while 12,087 voters, or 33.21 19 percent,
voted against. The approved bond referendum
now paves the way for COM to change the landscape
of its aging campus with the addition of
three new buildings, allow for the addition of new
programs and be able to accommodate its growing
enrollment.
“This is truly a new beginning for College
of the Mainland. Our sincere thanks go out to
all of those who believe in us and support our
mission,” COM President Dr. Warren Nichols
said. “Approval of this bond referendum allows
the college to continue and expand on its commitment
to our students by offering new career
opportunities and expand services to this great
community.” Aside from when the college district
was first created in December 1966 and a subsequent
bond referendum in May 1970, voters
had twice voted down bond measures sought by
the school. This time around, the college mirrored
the request under the bond referendum to
the needs in the school’s Academic Master Plan.
The plan was created as a result of student
and regional workforce demands. The college
serves as an economic engine for the region,
which is experiencing growth in the petrochemical,
medical and construction sectors. The approved
bond package will mean the average
taxable home valued at $120,809 will see taxes
incrementally increase to about $141.55 a year,
or $11.80 a month. A COM Bond Advisory Committee
made up of 40 community members from
throughout the taxing district worked with the
college to finalize the bond request. Included in
the bond package is: – New, 160,000-squarefoot
STEAM/Allied Health Building – New,
90,000-square-foot Industrial Careers Building
– New, 60,000-square-foot Student Success
Building The three-story, STEAM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics)/
Allied Health Building will allow the college
to expand its popular nursing program and the
cyber security networking lab.
New programs being created and that will be
housed in the new building are chemical, civil,
electrical and mechanical engineering tech programs
as well as surgical tech, imaging tech,
dental hygienist and physical therapy assistant.
Allied Health programs currently offered at the
COM Learning Center –North County in League
City – pharmacy tech, nursing assistant, medical
assistant and medical coding – will be moved
and taught in the
new building. The
Industrial Careers building calls for the expansion of
the college’s Process Technology program, the addition
of an instrumentation & electrical program, relocate
the Occupational Safety & Health Technology
and HVAC programs as well as the Gulf Coast Safety
Institute from a leased location in La Marque and provide
for a campus data center.
The Student Success Center would replace the
current Administration & Enrollment Center,
which recently sustained damage when
the concrete foundation cracked and water
streamed in and flooded the entire one-story
building. The two-story Student Success
Center would consolidate student services
such as admissions, financial aid, advising,
testing center and the Veterans Center.
The building also would house the college’s
Leadership Team and relocate campus functions
such as marketing, communications
and the COM Foundation from an off-site
location. The bond package also calls for
additions and renovations to the campus
fine arts building as well as expansion of the
college’s physical plant and technology up grades
and demolition of the Administration
and Enrollment Center, the police station and
the Technical-Vocational building. Voters in
1966 originally approved the construction
of the administration building, the Learning
Resources Center (library), the Technical-
Vocational building, the Math and Science
building and a central utilities building. A $4.75 million
bond package approved in 1970 covered the cost
of building the Fine Arts building, Physical Education
complex and Student Center as well as expanding the
Technical-Vocational and Math-Science buildings.
College of the Mainland Bond Referendum Total
Cost: $162.5 million Projects: – New STEAM/Allied
Health Building – New Industrial Careers Building –
New Student Success Building – Fine Arts Building
and Theater Addition and Renovations – Demolition
of Police Department, Technical-Vocational Building
and Administration & Enrollment Center – Technology
Upgrades – Physical Plant Expansion Election Results:
For: 24,313, or 66.79 percent Against: 12, 087,
or 33.21 percent
