Creston— The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of trustees met electronically on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, at 8 a.m., for their regular monthly board meeting.
There were no action items.
Tom Lesan, SWCC vice president of economic development, spoke to the board regarding current construction projects at the college. Lesan said the reconstruction of the science labs, located in the Instructional Center, is complete and the temporary mobile lab has been removed from campus. Classes have been underway in the renovated labs since the start of the semester on Monday, Jan. 13. Lesan also talked about the progress with the addition to the main facility at the SWCC Ag Site. According to Lesan, construction is progressing, dry wall is being installed this week, and the project is now slated for a March 1 completion date.
Next, Lesan gave an economic development update. Lesan stated on Jan. 22, seven consecutive training ventures with Wellman Dynamics of Creston will wrap up. These trainings were an approximate $50,000 investment in local management training. The college will begin a new electrical training program with Wellman Dynamics later this spring.
Lesan also spoke about potential upcoming 260E training agreements with Weaver Meats of Afton and ZFS of Creston. Lesan said these agreements will create just more than $1 million in total issuance, providing a large impact to the local economy as well as to these local employers.
Jerry Smith, board member from Osceola and Iowa Association of Community College Trustees (IACCT) representative, reported he will attend the next IACCT meeting at the end of the month. He provided a brief overview of the topics to be discussed.
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