Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Groundbreaking now will occur at 10 a.m. Aug. 17.
CHAMPION -- Trumbull Career and Technical Center is still on a fast track to complete its new adult education facility by June 2006, but spring's groundbreaking was pushed back and the cost has increased.
Neither situation was unexpected because the TCTC's board last November did not know all of the project costs, said Treasurer Gary Ghizzoni.
At that time, the plan was to break ground in this spring for a $4.5 million to $5 million building.
Groundbreaking now will occur at 10 a.m. Aug. 17, he said.
The project cost is $6.35 million of which $5.8 million is for the actual two-story, 44,000-square-foot building. The remainder is for "soft costs" such as the architect, construction manager, soil testing, insurance, permits and printing, he said.
Levy
In November, TCTC passed a renewal of its 10-year, 2.4-mill levy -- providing a stable source of income to plan upon. It generates about half of the center's budget. Last year, it brought in about $5.8 million.
"It took a little longer than we had hoped to get going," Ghizzoni said, noting that time was spent choosing an architect (GPD Architects, Akron), construction manager (R.P. Carbone Construction Co., Mayfield Heights), and a compatible design.
"But our opening date is still June 28 of next year, so we are still on a fast track," the treasurer said.
Structural steel bids are to be opened Friday afternoon; once that contract is awarded construction can get going.
The new building will resemble the current career center in outside steel appearance. It will be free-standing but connected with walkways to the current building behind Kent State University Trumbull Campus. The new building will face the state Route 5 Warren Outerbelt and be on the far east end of Educational Highway.
Adult education classrooms and labs will be on the first and second floors. Also on the first floor will be administrative offices.
New features
The first floor also will house 15 offices for the Northeast Ohio Management Information Network, which serves as a computer-services hub for 31 school districts in Trumbull and Ashtabula counties. It's moving to the new building from TCTC's current building.
TCTC serves 19 of Trumbull County's 20 school districts. It has 980 high school juniors and seniors who generate state funds for the operation. There are 3,000 to 4,000 adults attending day and night, many for job retraining.
New programs and changing requirements over the years have pushed TCTC to capacity, but that's not why a new building for adult education is happening now.
TCTC is paying about $240,000 for the adult education space at the Gordon James Career Center in Lordstown, and the board decided it might as well pay it on its own building, keeping the total facility one campus.