First Posted: 1/15/2009

John Charles Robbins
Managing editor
LUMBERTON — Even with the cushion of an approved extension, the architect says that Robeson Community College Workforce Development Center will rise on schedule.
That’s good news for the RCC board of trustees that is wary of delays in getting the final plans approved for the multi-million-dollar facility.
“We’ve had a very good few weeks,” said Walter Vick of The LSV Partnership of Fayetteville. “We intend to meet the original schedule — that’s our goal.”
He gave a status report on the project to the trustees at their meeting Tuesday night.
Board Chairman George Regan asked if the project would get the state’s approval by March. “By the end of the month,” Vick said confidently.
Another bit of good news came after a question by Trustee Sammy Cox, who asked about construction costs heading into this summer.
“We’re actually optimistic,” he said.
The current bidding and building environment bodes well for the college to get the best bang for its buck when the walls start going up, according to Vick.
“We are seeing more aggressive bidders … materials costs have come down some … nobody’s giving it away yet, but we’re certainly not seeing an escalation in prices like we’ve seen before,” Vick said.
“If everything runs well, we could be looking at a groundbreaking in June,” said RCC President Charles Chrestman. “The bid documents are ready and waiting, and obviously the sooner the better.”
The Workforce Development Center will be built on campus near the new Health Science Building. The project is expected to cost about $3.6 million, which includes a mix of state bond money, two state grants, and a $1 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration.
The use-it-or-lose-it deadline on the EDA grant had been June 23, 2008, but RCC officials were successful in getting an extension to Aug. 23. The EDA granted the extension in mid-January.
Also Tuesday, Chrestman reported on the success of RCC’s hosting the winter meeting of the North Carolina Community College Presidents Association in January.
Fifty of the 58 community college presidents attended the conference in Lumberton, he said.
“It was a great meeting,” Chrestman said, noting that incoming president of the state community college system, Scott Ralls, attended both days of the conference.
Ralls begins his new job on April 1.
Chrestman also reported on the good turnout for RCC’s annual fire-rescue college, which this year attracted 580 participants. “We received a lot of great support from across the region,” he said.
In his monthly report, Chrestman told the trustees that RCC had garnered the Advocate of the Year Award recently awarded by the Pembroke Area Chamber of Commerce.