MSTC expansion in Stevens Point endorsed By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette Two Stevens Point committees endorsed an expansion plan at the Stevens Point campus of Mid-State Technical College (MSTC), 933 Michigan Ave., Monday, Feb. 4. The Plan Commission and the Board of Park Commissioners gave the go-ahead after an initial proposal had been tabled last month when opposition surfaced because it encroached beyond a lease line onto the property of the Stevens Point Parks and Recreation Center. John Clark, vice president of Academic Affairs, said the 6,800 square-foot addition is the final leg of a long-term facilities plan presented in 1991. "This will be the last expansion at this site," he said, and the project will include remodeling 3,100 square feet in the present facility. The project is expected to be completed by May 2003. Any future expansion plans will require MSTC to seek a new site, and Stevens Point Mayor Gary Wescott pledged the cooperation of city officials and staff in trying to identify a new location. MSTC has been leasing the Michigan Avenue site since 1961 and the current lease expires Dec. 31, 2016. To the south of MSTC is the Recreation Center, where the Parks and Recreation Department has its offices and directs programs, many of them offered nearby in Goerke Park, the Donald Copps Swimming Pool and Willett Arena. To expand in that direction would require the city to construct a facility. On the north of MSTC is a residential neighborhood, and expansion of the facility would require additional parking in an area already troubled by the lack of parking. Both the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and St. Michael's Hospital are nearby. The expansion requires 205 parking spaces and MSTC presently has 203. Relining the existing lot is expected to yield the necessary spaces to meet parking requirements. Because of the limits due to the lease line, Clark said the proposed expansion will probably meet the programming needs for the next year or two and the MSTC Board of Directors will have to begin addressing the long-range plans for its presence in the Stevens Point community. MSTC likes the proximity to UW-SP and other sites in the community, Clark said, and would like to remain in that neighborhood if possible. * * * SINGLE FAMILY PROTECTION: The Plan Commission amended a preliminary plat for Heffron Woods II Subdivision between Heffron Street and Heritage Drive on the city's east side. Albert Feltz proposed 16 duplex lots with "zero lot line" residences, but eight of the lots would abut the back yards of nine single-family lots on Lampman Drive, prompting complaints by neighbors. The area is zoned as single-family district. The commission agreed with the neighbors and said the eight lots on the west side on a proposed new street should be developed as nine single-family lots. The eight lots on the east side of the street could be developed as duplexes. Alderman Neal Nealis, 9th Ward, said residents purchased the lots on Lampman Drive, knowing that the land was identified for single-family lots and to change them to duplexes would devalue the property.