CCTI launches $15.4 = M expansion

CCTI launches $15.4 M expansion

By RICK GRANT tneditor@tnonline.com

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RICK=20 GRANT/TIMES NEWS CCTI breaks ground on new addition. From left, = Brett=20 Simmons, 12th grade student CCTI; Jeremy Breiner, 9th grade = student CCTI;=20 James Kraky, superintendent, Lehighton Area School District; = Gerald=20 Strubinger, board member, Jim Thorpe Area School District; Damon = Kane,=20 architect; Frank Ruch, board member, Lehighton Area School = District; Brent=20 Borzak, CCTI principal; Wayne Fritzinger, board member, Panther = Valley=20 School District, Gerald Grega, board member, Weatherly Area School = District; Thomas Henry, board member, Jim Thorpe Area School = District;=20 Carl Bieling, board member, Palmerton Area School District; and = David=20 Reinbold, CCTI administrative = director.

Members of the Carbon Career and Technical Institute Joint Operating=20 Committee (JOC) and their guests took up shovels during their monthly = meeting to=20 break ground on a $15.4 million renovation project that will add 35,000 = square=20 feet to the technical school in Jim Thorpe. The project was approved by = the five=20 Carbon County school districts in early 2008.

"This building was constructed in 1966 and this is the first major=20 renovation," said CCTI Administrative Director David Reinbold. "We've = waited a=20 long time for this."

It took a long time for the project to gain approval from all five = school=20 districts. A feasibility study completed in 2007 revealed that the = renovations=20 required to bring the school up to date would cost close to $27 million. = Since=20 then the project was pared back to about $20.5 million, at which point = it was=20 approved. Last month, the school's architectural firm Godshall Kane of = Ambler=20 said the project would come in at just over $15 million.

Back in 1998, another feasibility study was done on the vo-tech = school, but=20 the five districts ignored that study and the proposal died because of a = lack of=20 interest. Many worried that the current project would meet the same = fate. Last=20 week's groundbreaking ceremony put those fears to rest. When it's = complete, the=20 new building will house over 105,000 square feet of labs, classrooms and = workspaces, including a working salon and restaurant.

Now, taxpayers in each of these five districts will be asked to pay = for the=20 project. According to Damon Kane, a principal with Godshall Kane, the = project=20 will be well worth it.

"This project will have a positive impact on all 14 programs in the=20 building," said Kane. "We call it a 'round robin,' where we build one = new lab=20 and every other lab works its way up to a larger space. This will also = allow us=20 to get all the kids from the modules back into the building. The work = can be=20 sequenced so it's not so disruptive to the kids and we can take the = emphasis off=20 of the valuable summer construction months."

Contractors for the project have already been selected and contracts = have=20 been signed, Reinbold said. The companies involved include Lobar Inc. of = Dillsburg, general construction; JBM Mechanical Inc. of Nazareth, HVAC; = George=20 J. Hayden Inc. of Hazleton, electrical; Worth & Company Inc. of = Pipersville,=20 plumbing; and Sargent Enterprises of Jim Thorpe for asbestos abatement.=20 Greenfield Terrace Company of Pittsburgh will serve as Clerk of the = Works.

The renovation will include new kitchen and cafeteria, automotive and = cosmetology facilities. Several new programs, such as Licensed = Professional=20 Nursing, Horticulture/Landscaping, Housekeeping/Hospitality/Custodial, = and=20 Protective Services are also slated to be added.

The addition is expected to be completed within about a year, but the = complete renovation project will take until the fall of 2011. Kane said = that the=20 first phase of the project would concentrate administration into a = single area=20 and move programs that require public interaction, such as cosmetology = and=20 culinary arts to the south side of the existing building.

"Tech schools require interaction with the community," Kane said. = "This is a=20 big issue because on the one hand these buildings must be secure, but on = the=20 other it's all about this ability to interface with the public. There is = this=20 tension between providing pragmatic spaces that work for teaching = students but=20 also work to keep the kids safe."

For instance, he pointed out that students in the cosmetology program = are=20 required to cut hair for more than 20 people in order to graduate. That = means=20 that people have to come into the building. To facilitate that, the = renovation=20 will include a working salon and restaurant, each with its own entrance = on the=20 south side of the building.

Kane, whose company specializes in renovating technical schools like = CCTI,=20 said that the needs of the community also put pressure on these schools = to=20 evolve over time.

"There is a 1-to-1 correlation between what's taught in these schools = and the=20 job skills the community needs," he said. "There is so much technology = involved=20 and these schools are subject to the evolution of that technology. As it = changes, the facility that houses it must also change."

He used Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) as an = example. The=20 systems in use 20 years ago bear very little resemblance to the modern = equipment=20 we use today. In another 20 years, much of what we have today will be=20 outdated.

"All of this equipment gets jammed into these labs," Kane said. "As = the=20 technology improves, more is added, but if the building can't expand, it = causes=20 problems."

Despite the challenges associated with keeping them relevant, Kane = says that=20 tech schools, of which there are about 60 across the state, can have a = very=20 positive impact on their communities.

"The impact the vo-tech has on the area is vital to the area's = survival,"=20 Kane said. "Businesses and industry looking to locate in this area will = look to=20 the school's programs when determining if a suitable, well-trained = workforce is=20 available. The vo-tech, in many cases, can provide that experienced = workforce of=20 young individuals who are ready to step into the workforce and make a = positive,=20 immediate impact on the community."

At least two of CCTI's current students agree with him. Brent = Simmons, a=20 senior studying precision machining, said he was glad that the JOC was = taking=20 action to improve the school.

"This will be good for the school, even though I won't be here to see = it," he=20 said. Simmons has already made plans to continue his studies in Ohio, = but said=20 he was likely to return to the area.

Jeremy Breiner, a freshman studying welding, said he has no plans to=20 leave.

"It's pretty exciting that I'll get to see this finished before I'm = out of=20 here," he said.

Kane said that he expects the finished project to lead to more young = people=20 with that attitude.

"If you build it, I really think they'll come," he said. "If you = raise the=20 stature of your school, more kids from your feeder schools will come = here, and=20 if they come to the vo-tech school, they are more likely to stay in the=20 community."

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