 The school board in a unanimous decision made both the building
trades program and the Humane Society of Logan County very happy.
The board approved a memorandum of understanding that allows the
construction of the Humane Society building by the school's building
trades department.
School board president Rick Hobler said, "We can be proud to
be associated with the Humane Society."
For Humane Society members present at the meeting, the approval
was the beginning of seeing the fulfillment of the project they have
worked on tirelessly the past four years.
Bret Hitchings, director of the Lincolnland Technical Education
Center, also known as LTEC, dispelled any rumors that the building
trades program was in any jeopardy. "The program does really well,"
he said. "Every house the school has built has sold very quickly.
But this is a great opportunity for students to learn about
commercial building, and I'm excited."
Earlier in the day the LTEC board gave their approval to the
project, and with the Humane Society board long having approved the
joint venture, the plans can now get under way for a June
groundbreaking, with the build beginning shortly after.
The benefits to the Humane Society come in the form of labor
being provided by students rather than contractors. The benefit to
the school's program is that materials will be paid for by the
organization, as well as the valuable commercial build experience
for students.
The anticipated final cost of the 3,000-square-foot structure is
estimated at $250,000. The estimates of savings by using the school
range between $35,000 and $50,000, depending on how much the school
can do, as a commercial building will need some work to be sublet to licensed
specialty contractors. But Hitchings says that building trades
teacher Justin Dietrich will have the students do as much as they
can on the construction of the shelter.
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The building will have a Lincoln Parkway address on the 2 1/2
acres donated to the Humane Society by Gene Burwell.
With a $390,000 cash balance on hand, the society will have
roughly two years of operating expenses on hand after paying for the
build.
The society has long held two goals as they worked year-round to
gather funds. The first goal was to build the shelter. The second
goal was to have on hand a secure amount of money to ensure the
shelter could remain open and running after being built.
With summer approaching, the society has a full calendar of
fundraisers to make sure the shelter will remain on a solid
financial foundation for years to come. And now with this corner
turned, every member will assuredly have a smile on their face as
their continued work will be about collecting operating funds for
their new shelter -- coming soon.
[By
MIKE FAK]
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