Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : College Buildings Get Go-Ahead : Education: Campus officials, state reach accord on funding library and fine arts center after bids came in higher than expected.

Construction of a long-awaited library and a fine arts center at College of the Canyons is scheduled to begin by the end of the year after campus officials worked out a compromise with the state over funding, it was announced Thursday.

The two projects were originally expected to cost $10.3 million, but the lowest construction bid submitted was $11.9 million, college President Dianne Van Hook said. The estimate was higher than expected because seismic reinforcements were added to the plans after the Northridge earthquake, she said.

In addition, construction costs around Southern California increased after the earthquake--when the project went to bid--as contractors once starved for work found themselves able to name their price.

State officials initially denied the school’s request for extra funds. But Van Hook argued that the projects would have to be scaled back considerably without the funding. She told state officials that spending a year drafting new plans would be nearly as costly as approving extra funding now.

“I explained to them, not so politely, that this was not an acceptable answer,” she said.

The state Community College Chancellor’s Office agreed Monday to provide about two-thirds of the extra funding, Van Hook said. In return, College of the Canyons will pay $300,000 for the seismic work out of its reserves and will be reimbursed by the state later.

Van Hook said the structures will be built as planned, but without some decorative elements such as a fountain, library shelving and landscaping.

The 35,689-square-foot library will be about three times as large as the college’s existing library, located on the third floor of a classroom building, school spokeswoman Sue Bozman said. Book capacity will increase from 41,000 volumes to 73,000, and the new facility will have extensive computer access, including hookups in seating areas for students with laptop computers.

The fine arts center--roughly the same size as the new library--will house courses in art, journalism and related fields, she said.

The project’s original budget established by the state chancellor’s office was based on estimates done before construction costs rose after the earthquake, said Joe Keating, facilities administrator for the state community college system.

Keating said failure of a state bond measure in June and the Legislature’s refusal to put another bond issue on the November ballot made requests for extra construction money all but impossible to approve.

About $10 million remained in the community college system’s coffers from bond acts approved in 1990 and 1992, but that money had been allocated to purchasing equipment for projects already under construction, he added.

“We established that as a higher priority than new construction,” he said.

But, Keating said, community college officials were able to juggle money from other accounts to avoid the extra cost of delaying the project. Van Hook said it will take four or five weeks for the college to receive the money.

Groundbreaking on the buildings is scheduled before the end of the semester.