T-R FILE PHOTO The Iowa Valley Community College District Board of Directors approved another new building on the Marshalltown Community College campus for the trades building program. Similar to a Morton building, the facility will provide convenient storage for utility tech students.

Even though they met on the Ellsworth Community College campus in Iowa Falls for their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, the Iowa Valley Community College District Board approved plans for a new building on the Marshalltown Community College (MCC) campus.

In August, a new trades building proposal was approved by the board. They also approved working with Clapsaddle-Garber Associates on the design of the $34,000 building.

MCC Provost Matt Schmit told the board members the project has a little history.

“We had to go back and redesign to stay within our budget,” he said. “It is being designed so that we can add on later if funding comes available. It was engineered with that in mind.”

The building will primarily be for the utility tech program which is growing, and the new facility will provide accommodation for that growth. Similar to a Morton building, the facility will be located close to the training fields and provide storage for the utility tech program.

The location for the building was important, Schmit added. It will be adjacent to where the utility tech students regularly work.

“Right now, they basically have to go across campus,” he said. “If you forget a tool, it’s a little bit of a haul to go back and forth.”

Bids will be opened on Dec. 1 and awarded on Dec. 10. According to Schmit, they are being intentional with the date of the bid.

“The work can be completed after the spring,” he said. “We don’t have a short time frame for this to be completed. We’re giving the contractors a fairly large window to complete this project.”

Money for the trades building project comes from the Plant Fund.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.