Theater renovations were approved by the South Plains College (SPC) Board of Regents Thursday with new chairs, carpet and paint being the top priorities.
SPC President Dr. Robin Satterwhite explained that the college received a $120,000 grant with the aid of Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Samantha Goldie. The grant was provided by the Rea Charitable Trust.
The seating company was selected through the buyboard for $82,629. A quote from Brock’s Carpet was received for $9,950 and the cost for paint was $7,650. The total cost is $100,229, with a little under $20,000 remaining.
Satterwhite explained that he would like to complete the three items presented to the board then possibly identify additional areas that could be addressed in the theater once the chairs, carpet and paint have been completed.
He added that the college does not typically go out for multiple quotes under $10,000 as the prices are within reasonable standards and appropriate for the work being done.
An Aquatic Center update was provided for the Regents. Satterwhite acknowledged the process has been lengthy. He explained that he is working with the architects to find ways to reduce the cost of the project in addition to waiting for the results of a core or soil sample from under the shell of the pool.
Satterwhite stated the sample results take a considerable amount of time, but are important to give the group assurance that the structure and integrity under the pool is sound.
Working to reduce the costs, Satterwhite feels that the estimated savings is currently around $100,000 to $150,000 by making adjustments.
“We are working on that and I want you to know that we are trying to make a good faith effort in making sure we are being as efficient and cost appropriate as possible,” said Satterwhite.
Once the final results and adjustments have been made, Satterwhite will present the new information to the Regents to move forward.
Work towards the dental hygiene program has progressed. Satterwhite informed the Regents the college has identified and hired a dental hygiene director.
With the position filled, the college can now begin working on ideas and projected costs for the design of the program. Satterwhite added that the position had to be filled before any other phase of planning could move forward to have their insight.
“One of the biggest things with dental hygiene programs is the clinical component because they have to clean a lot of teeth. There are so many requirements to that which is going to be so good for our community,” said Satterwhite. “We are going to be able to clean teeth for economically disadvantaged, geriatric populations and pediatric populations.
Satterwhite sees the opportunity as an improvement of health for the community and something the college can hang their hat on.
Updates will be provided as the program moves forward.
Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Ryan Gibbs provided an update regarding the Workforce Training Center that has been in the works..
A plan that has been in the works for multiple years, Gibbs explained that the goal has been to relocate the truck driving from the Reese Center in building four to Levelland.
Gibbs explained that the college has been working with several entities to get the relocation of the program accomplished.
He added that one of the entities the college has been working with has been the LEDC (Levelland Economic Development Corporation). Gibbs offered a thank you to LEDC Director Justin Balderas who was in attendance for the meeting along with thanking the LEDC Board for their continued support.
With the desired relocation of the program being in Levelland, the LEDC is providing a lot at the rail park which is sized at 5.1 acres.
The college has also been working with the Economic Development Alliance (EDA) through the entire process. The EDA is a federal entity that provides grants for workforce development projects.After a recent meeting with the EDA, the intention for the college is to turn in the project and hopefully enter into a dollar-for-dollar match.
The hope is the college will secure 100% of the funding within the next few months. Once the process is in place, the goal is to break ground and begin moving.
With the way the project is designed, the goal is to have the entire operation in place in a relatively short time.
Satterwhite added that the expectation is to bring in a modular building which would allow for a quick turn around of the project.
Site prep will be extensive as there will need to be aggregate, concrete, asphalt, electrical, utility and fence work completed beforehand.
“Some advantages are that this route is very flexible, quick, less expensive and matches the training that we are going to have out there,” said Satterwhite. “They will look good and professional looking, but it will not be your typical building. The cost associated with building something with true bricks and mortar or even metal buildings is astronomical.”
The footprint of the building has been planned to center around truck driving, but has also been adjusted to accommodate the police academy driver training that also takes place at Reese.
“We spend a fairly significant amount of money to rent one of the runways there at Reese to do our driver training for our truck driving and our police academy,” explained Gibbs. “It made sense to relocate both of those programs.”
In addition to those two programs, Gibbs added that there is a desire to have additional types of workforce training at the facility.
“That could include any short term workforce training that a company, industry or city might need,” said Gibbs. “There are lots of different types of training we anticipate to have.”
A dedicated space is also included in the plans to conduct licensure training. Gibbs added that the college currently conducts licensure training for TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) and computer training. The majority of that training will be done at the facility.
While the overall plans allow for the college to grow into the building with the programs that will be provided, Gibbs did add that expansion is possible with the modular aspect of the building if the overall demand exceeds the expectation of the college.
Goldie provided an update regarding the 27th Annual Scholarship Gala that was held Feb. 21.
The annual event raised $186,490. From sponsors and tickets, a total of $102,750 was raised. There were five items in the live auction which raised $41,700. Thirty-six items were in the silent auction which raised $17,860, while the raffle included three items that raised a total of $1,880. This year’s game also raised $4,300. There was $18,000 raised in donations as well.
The SPC street sign naming which was donated by the regents was won by Smith Auto Family.
In regard to the overall event, Goldie explained there were new things implemented to help keep the experience fresh. An hour of mingling time was added for guests before dinner, the entertainment was split to allow for patrons to have time to visit with one another and a grand SPC presence was introduced.
“Some of our new implementations went well and some things experienced some hiccups, but I think everything was an opportunity,” said Goldie. “We meet every year with feedback committees, so everything that we tried that was new was something that we heard from our supporters. We wanted to give them a shot and tried things we could have a chance at doing.”