Cloud County Community College Board of Trustees Holds Special Meeting
The Cloud County Community College Board of Trustees took action on three items during a special meeting held via Zoom video conferencing technology on Thursday, March 10th.
The board voted to accept a bid from Bamford Fire Sprinkler Co., Inc. of Salina in the amount of $65,423.50 to install a new wet sprinkler system at the Tech West facility on the college's Concordia campus in preparation for the Children's Center renovation.
Last fall, the college announced plans to expand the Children's Center at Cloud County Community College to meet the demand for childcare in the local community. The current capacity at the Children's Center allows for up to 23 children. The renovation would allow the college to increase the capacity up to 40 children.
The Children's Center expansion project has received funding from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation ($100,000), Childcare Aware Grant ($30,000), and the Cloud County Community College Foundation ($400,000) in order to make this expansion happen. Caesar Wood, Vice President for Administrative Services, says total estimated project costs are $530,000.
City code and local ordinances require the facility to be upgraded to the current regulations after consultation with the local fire marshal. This sprinkler system will allow the college to meet current facility codes and regulations that will be affected by the renovation project.
The board also voted to accept a bid from IT Outlet, Inc. of Brandon, South Dakota in the amount of $248,841.54 to purchase new network switches and supporting hardware to meet data network needs. This purchase complements the network cabling project, where the college is consolidating networking hardware into nine dedicated, secure cabinet locations around their main campus building and the Tech West facility. To support the new cabling and replace the aging network switches, the college's IT Department performed product research and worked with consultants to determine the technical specifications. The purchase price includes network switch hardware, surge protection, battery backup equipment, and support and warranty services from the vendors.
Tom Roberts, Director of IT, says the newer generations of network switches also provide better management features, which enables IT staff to save time configuring and monitoring the network.
Lastly, the board approved submission of a $27,450 Jobs for Innovative Industry Skills Training grant application to the Kansas Department of Commerce, including an in-kind 50% match through support from Eagle Railcar and the Geary County Commissioners, to be used for the purchase of portable plasma cutting torches for use by welding students on the college's Geary County campus. The purpose of the Jobs for Innovative Industry Skills Training grant is to 1) provide innovative programs with private companies in Kansas needing specific job skills; and 2) provide for other industry training needs that cannot be addressed with current funding streams.