PARIS – The creation of a local higher education complex will be the subject of a documentary premiering Monday on local television.

The half-hour feature, “Becoming a College Town: An Investment in Collaborative Leadership,” will air at 8:30 p.m. on Norway-Paris Community Television. It focuses on the establishment of the Western Maine University and Community College Center.

“This is meant for communities to understand why involvement matters, what leadership means, how people can come together,” said Marge Medd, producer of the documentary.

Medd, former chairwoman of the Growth Council of Oxford Hills and a trustee with the University of Maine System, said the documentary was prepared over the course of two-and-a-half years. She said it was done voluntarily by herself and Steve Galvin, station manager at NPC-TV.

“That really was a big deal, having that university come to town,” Galvin said. “It was important to let people know how that happened.”

Galvin said Medd worked as the producer and conducted interviews for the documentary, while he did the filming and editing.

Medd said about 50 people started pushing for a college after the loss of several industries in the area. They had to present their case to the state education committee, after which the Legislature approved it, including a bond vote.

The center opened in May 2004 in a former fairgrounds building. It houses University College, a part of the University of Maine System, and holds courses offered by Central Maine Community College. The building also contains the state CareerCenter and Women, Work, and Community.

Medd said the documentary includes footage of the center’s opening, interviews with people involved in the center’s creation, and historical pictures showing changes the area has gone through. She said the Maine Public Broadcasting Network allowed the use of a studio to tape host segments and Norway Savings Bank underwrote the film.

Galvin said he has worked on documentaries before, but that the feature is the first documentary produced by NPC-TV. He said his favorite part of the process came after Medd interviewed Congressman Mike Michaud on the second floor of the center, when Michaud helped him take his equipment out of the building.

“At the end of it, I did not carry a single piece of equipment downstairs,” Galvin said. “He won my vote.”

Medd said the documentary will have future airings on NPC-TV, and she will also offer it to Lake Region Television in Bridgton and Great Falls Television in Lewiston. She said that while the feature focuses on the origins of the center, she is interested in doing another documentary focusing on success stories that have come out of it.

“It would be neat to follow up on people who have gone through there and gotten degrees,” Galvin agreed. “But we’ve got to take a bit of a breather first.”