There is no reason for the Jefferson County Legislature to postpone endorsement of the community college's master facilities plan.

A yes vote for Jefferson Community College's design for the future does not commit the county to pay anything. It simply would make the $62.7 million vision for the college available for state consideration and funding.

The board voted 8-7 Tuesday to table approval for further review. Yet legislators received the master plan in June. Have the naysayers not studied it? They need more time?

Those who voted no expressed concerns about spending and the desire to closely investigate the costs. Yet there was no need to resolve the plan's costs before advancing the process, according to Legislature Chairman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, who said the college is unable to provide more specifics about costs at this point anyway.

It is crucial that the county submit the plan to the state Legislature soon to be eligible for funding in the 2009-10 state budget. Nov. 1 is the deadline.

Delaying could cost the county. There is a danger, Mr. Blankenbush said, of having "to put money into maintenance and programs that every other college is getting funded by the state."

The JCC vision for the future is a good one. It should be advanced for the state Legislature's consideration. County legislators should be careful not to endanger progress.

There is much to gain by moving this initiative forward and much to lose by tarrying.