Southwestern’s board holds January 2025 meeting

Creston- The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of directors met electronically on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., for their regular monthly board meeting.

Wayne Pantini, SWCC vice president of economic development, presented to the board requesting an amendment to the Clarke County Development Corporation (CCDC)-SWCC lease for the newly-constructed ORBIT Center in Osceola.

Pantini explained as the CCDC began to explore options for commercial property insurance on the new facility, they encountered problems with finding an option for addition of the building to the corporation's current coverage. He said after speaking to the college's insurance carrier and legal counsel, the college would be able to add coverage for the structure to its existing policy.

With the amendment to the original lease agreement in place, Pantini said each year upon renewal, the CCDC will be invoiced for reimbursement to the college for that portion of the commercial property insurance.

Following Pantini's explanation, the board approved the amendment to the ORBIT Center lease agreement with the CCDC.

During the president's report, Lindsay Stoaks, SWCC president, said, "We've been working diligently here the last 18 months on master facilities planning … so we wanted to provide an update on prospective projects planned for this spring and summer."

Pantini said it is exciting to now be in the implementation phase of master facilities planning. He proceeded to explain the following priority projects for 2025:

1. Instructional Center, room 180 - Upgrades to the HVAC system. Pantini said the HVAC proposal could be ready for the board to look at as soon as the February regular board meeting.
2. Skilled Trades Facility - A two-fold project involving the construction of a 14,500 square-foot facility to provide classroom and lab space for the carpentry and building trades, electrical technology, and EMS programs, as well as the renovation of 9,500 square-feet of Technical Center I to establish a welding technology career academy program and provide additional classroom space. Funding is reliant on a $1 million grant application that is currently pending. If the grant application is not selected, the college will move forward with the third priority, and postpone the skilled trades facility project.
3. Main entrance and parking lot improvement project - Reconstructing the college main entrance including a boulevard tied to the main parking lot; relocating the loop drive to the east side of the Instructional Center offering better access for drop-off and pick-up, service deliveries, and handicap parking; and a pedestrian sidewalk giving direct access from the residence halls to the Administration Center.

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