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The state of Oregon recently decided to spend $1 million to strategically refinance lottery debt and generate $282 million in bonding capacity.

The timing couldn’t be much better for Oregon State University-Cascades in Bend. The university’s lease of space for its graduate program at Central Oregon Community College is nearly up, and it needs bond money to purchase a building.

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Today, state legislators will accept testimony from citizens and Oregon State University-Cascades students about a bill that would help the university buy a building 鈥� HB 3627 鈥� as well as a bill 鈥� SB 242 鈥� that would change how universities are funded.

The public hearing will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. in room 107 of Cascades Hall on the Central Oregon Community College campus. People seeking to submit testimony on either bill can sign up as early as 1:30 p.m.

Contact Christine Coffin, at 541-322-3100, for more information.

Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler first made the recommendation to refinance the state’s lottery debt in February. Without refinancing, the state would have had only $9.4 million in lottery-backed debt capacity to help pay for economic development projects in the next biennium, which starts in July.

OSU-Cascades, which could become the first entity to tap into the $282 million allotment, is seeking $1.95 million. That money would be used with approximately $2 million from OSU 鈥� including an $800,000 private donation 鈥� to buy the vacant Bend building. Its present price is $4.81 million, but Becky Johnson, vice president of OSU-Cascades, said the university is hopeful it will drop through negotiations.

The university worked with state legislators to develop House Bill 3627, which would authorize Wheeler to issue the bond.

鈥淭he treasurer isn’t picking winners and losers,鈥� said James Sinks, a spokesman for the Oregon State Treasury. 鈥淏ut something like this is a good investment and an appropriate use of the money.鈥�

Presently, OSU-Cascades pays approximately $165,000 per year to operate its graduate program in 13,000 square feet of space at COCC. School officials are targeting the former Edge Wireless building at 650 S.W. Columbia St., in Bend. The lone existing tenant occupies a small portion of the 28,000-square-foot building. The university has a tentative agreement with Bend Research, a private firm, to lease some of the space if the purchase were to go through.

鈥淥ur lease is set to expire this summer and we knew we were running out of room at the space we’ve been occupying,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淲e put together a task force and first looked into constructing a new building, but realized we wouldn’t have the money for years.

鈥淭hat’s when it was pointed out that with the real estate market the way it is right now, and so much available space for sale, that buying a building made a lot more sense.鈥�

Rep. Jason Conger, R-Bend, was one of the legislators who sponsored the bill.

鈥淣ot only will this bring down the college’s costs, because they will no longer have to pay the lease, it will also provide positive cash flow from the tenants,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t also gives the college a chance to acquire an asset in the region.鈥�

Conger and Johnson also noted that there would be benefits from a private research firm occupying the same building as an educational institution. The graduate programs wouldn’t dovetail with the research firm’s work; however, Johnson believes opportunities would exist for OSU students based in Corvallis.

Even with state-level support, Conger said approval of the bill won’t come easily.

鈥淚’m very hopeful that the merits of this project are compelling enough to receive the needed support,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I think it takes a lot of work under any circumstances to get an expenditure passed, and with the state’s financial situation right now, it’s definitely going to be scrutinized.鈥�

HB 3627 was referred to the joint Ways and Means committee earlier this month; a hearing has not been scheduled yet.

As for how the remainder of the bond money may be used, Gov. John Kitzhaber has outlined some ideas that would fit the bill; however, he is largely letting the Legislature identify and discuss potential economic development projects.