Suffolk’s Eastern Campus may get a 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.