Several Warrenton city aldermen have expressed concerns about joining an initiative to bring a trade-oriented community college to Warren County.Local business leaders have been organizing a committee since October to explore the possibility of building a new St. Charles Community College (SCC) campus somewhere in Warren County. For that to happen, the Warren County R-III and Wright City R-II school districts would likely need a public vote to join SCC’s taxing district.The city of Warrenton was asked to appoint a member to the committee, but Ward 1 Alderman Greg Costello said the board of aldermen doesn’t have a right to interfere in the school districts.“I personally don’t know enough about education, and I don’t feel I or one of our members should be telling the school districts whether they need to (pass) a tax increase and sell it to the voters,” Costello said.Among the concerns of Costello and Ward 2 Alderman Gary Auch, who also spoke out, is that there has been little communication with city leadership about who is in charge of the college initiative and who it is meant to benefit.The push for a college campus began picking up steam in October, led by State Rep. Bryan Spencer, whose legislative district includes Wright City and Wentzville. Spencer said he had successfully gotten money in the state budget to be set aside for building a school focused on trade and technical education.From there, the Greater Warren County Economic Council (EDC) took the initiative to work through the details of making the college a reality. EDC President Wayne Baker said the group plans to form a committee of representatives from local governments, school districts and businesses.Which is how the Warrenton Board of Aldermen came to be discussing membership in such a committee on Dec. 19.However, there was confusion about whose project this is — Spencer and the EDC both have taken some ownership of it, but ultimately the school districts would have to put a tax initiative on an election ballot. So what role the city of Warrenton has to play was a matter of debate.“There’s a lot of hurdles that we have to go over yet,” said Ward 1 Alderman Mike Shilharvey, who expressed support for the college initiative. “We would be remiss if we did not at least have a representative at the table.”In response to Costello’s concern about trying to interfere with the school districts, Shilharvey said all the groups involved want to work together, not tell each other what to do.But Costello and Auch said they still don’t know who ultimately would have control of the committee, where the college would be, or what representatives from outside Warrenton hope to gain by having the city participate.Costello and Auch expressed that they would be more comfortable if the request to participate came from Rep. Bart Korman, who represents western and southern parts of the county; or if a superintendent from Warren County R-III School District asked for the city’s input in the decision-making.But no one from the State Legislature, EDC, school districts or SCC has yet come to speak in Warrenton on the matter of a community college. The only person who has addressed the issue before Warrenton’s board is Dr. Jon Bauer, president of East Central College. ECC currently covers Warren County in its extended service area, which the R-II and R-III school districts would have to leave in order to join SCC.Because of the unanswered questions, the majority of aldermen on the board said it would be appropriate to wait and hear from the people involved before making a decision about taking part in bringing a college. Mayor Eric Schleuter directed city staff to contact the various groups and invite them to appear at a meeting in January.The Warrenton Board of Aldermen holds regular meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month, at 7 p.m. in Warrenton City Hall. Meetings are open to the public and include a time for public comment. The next meeting is Jan. 2, 2018.City of Warrenton logo