By KALEY LYON

klyon@dailynews.net

Across town from North Central Kansas Technical College's main campus, located near Commerce Parkway, a variety of educational courses soon could be taught in downtown Hays.

In just a few short months, the college hopes to celebrate the grand opening of its Big Creek campus, located in the former Army Reserve center, 101 Main.

"We actually have been, for the last year or so, looking for a place to bring some additional programs here," said Don Benjamin, dean of the Hays campus. "And the reserve center and the request for proposals was like Christmas almost."

The college has another campus in Beloit.

The Hays City Commission sent requests for proposals looking for a way to use the vacant building.

While final approval has not been granted, city staff has been negotiating with campus officials.

Due to recent budget cuts at the state level, constructing a new building was not an option. While other locations were looked at, it was determined the cost of lease payments and renovations was too high, Benjamin said.

While details of a final proposed agreement between the city commission and the school have yet to be released, current provisions do not call for NCKTC to pay rent.

The possible agreement will be discussed at Thursday's Hays City Commission 5:30 p.m. work session.

Instead, NCKTC students will have the opportunity to further hands-on learning by providing free labor to the city for construction projects.

Already, certain projects have been identified to alleviate space needs in the parks department.

Pending final approval from the Hays City Commission, the college hopes to have some remodeling work done -- at its expense -- in time to open its doors this August.

A grant in the amount of nearly $73,000 has been received from the Kansas Department of Commerce to assist in start-up costs, Benjamin said.

The expansion will include programs like building/construction, commercial driver's license training, plumbing and heating. A second-year curriculum also will be established for electricity, giving students the option to undergo two years of training in Hays rather than transferring to Beloit halfway through.

It's hoped some of these programs will be in place by next fall, but others, such as culinary arts, will follow a year later, Benjamin said.

An additional five full-time faculty positions will be created, and the college is in the process of recruiting the first two employees.

A small business incubator also is included in the plans. The idea is to give potential entrepreneurs the opportunity to make their dreams come true, Benjamin said. The college would provide a small office, as well as phone and computer access.

There's no question economic times are tough, Benjamin said; however, technical education has proven resilient to a shaky economy.

"Normally in economic slowdowns, historically more people have returned to college for additional training or to change a career," Benjamin said.