Osceola training center bid approved

The project to construct the Osceola Regional Business and Industrial Technology (ORBIT) Center in Osceola continues to move forward as Wayne Pantini, SWCC vice president of economic development, gave the board of trustees an update during their monthly meeting Tuesday.

Pantini said the bids for construction of the center were due the previous week, and a bid was approved by the Clarke County Development Corporation (CCDC) on Friday, Dec. 8. A January pre-construction meeting is being scheduled to begin organizing all contractors.

The ORBIT Center, located west of the SWCC Osceola Center on Highway 34, will be a regional training facility to be used for industrial training needs of private companies, regional secondary schools and the college.

Pantini said SWCC presented the CCDC with a lease agreement, and it is currently being reviewed by the Economic Development Administration (EDA). He said construction on the ORBIT Center is scheduled to start in the spring and be completed by the end of 2024.

The 9,000 square foot building is being constructed by Denovo Construction Solutions in West Des Moines. The facility will feature a 7,500 square foot lab area with flexible lab space and a welcome area/student lounge space.

The CCDC is responsible to secure all funding, contract and pay for design and construction and insure the facility against loss. They will lease mutually-agreed upon space within the facility to the college for no base rent on mutually-agreeable terms. They will also maintain, replace and repair elements of the facility.

“In a perfect world, if everything came together the way we would like it to come together, maybe the earliest we would get some programming into that facility would probably be January 2025,” SWCC President Lindsay Stoaks said during an August board meeting.

Two actions items, the audit report and consideration of the early retirement policy, were tabled until a later date. Cass explained both items were still under review.

The Southwestern Community College board of trustees will look the same after the yearly election of officers, Dr. Tony Cass of Creston remaining president and Fred Shearer of Corning re-elected as vice president.

Cass joined the SWCC board member in February 2009; was the board’s vice president from 2015-17 and became president in October 2017. Shearer joined the board in 2002 and became vice president in 2017.

Carmalee Woods, SWCC assistant to the president and coordinator of special projects, was appointed as board secretary, and Brandi Shay, SWCC chief financial officer, was appointed as board treasurer.

During the board member report, Cass announced Sue Stearns, SWCC board member of Woodburn, has agreed to be SWCC’s representative on the board for the Community Colleges for Iowa. She takes over the position that was held by Jerry Smith before his retirement in May.

SWCC contributed to this story