FAIRMONT — Fairmont officials are keeping a close eye on events taking place at the city-owned Southern Minnesota Educational Campus, where Presentation College’s long-term presence is in doubt.

City administrator Mike Humpal has been in talks with the college about its situation and plans. He reports that the school saw just a handful of students interested in enrollment for fall 2018, so Presentation made a decision not to accept any freshmen for the fall. The college has been offering nursing and other health care majors locally.

Humpal says the college told him it will continue to teach the sophomores, juniors and seniors currently enrolled, then re-evaluate how to proceed for possible enrollments in the fall of 2019.

A previous attempt by the Sentinel to contact Presentation College at its headquarters in Aberdeen, S.D., did not result in a response. The Sentinel called the office of college president Margaret A. Huber on Monday and was told she was out. The Sentinel left a message for her, offering the opportunity to comment on the situation.

Humpal is surmising that Presentation’s future in Fairmont is not assured. That has prompted creation of a working group within City Hall to assess the situation and determine how to proceed.

“City staff will continue to visit with other post-secondary education providers,” said Humpal, who noted that a variety of colleges have moved in and out SMEC during its decade-plus of existence. These have included South Central Technical College, Minnesota West and Minnesota State-Mankato.

Presentation College has been the big man on campus. Its lease runs through June 2019 and it pays about $40,000 per year, or about half of what it costs the city to operate the facility. Presentation has been an integral part of SMEC since 2005.

Humpal said the city never intended for SMEC to be a major money-maker, but agreed that the city would miss the college and its lease payments.

“We are working diligently to get someone in there,” he said.

Nearly two decades ago, the city acquired the campus site from Fairmont Area Schools for $1 before spending $1.2 million to rehabilitate the building. In addition to housing different colleges, SMEC is used by community groups and others for meetings and seminars.