SCC approves land purchase for Learning Center

The Southeast Community College Board of Governors last week approved the purchase of some eight acres of land north of the Falls City Aquatic Center for the future site of its Regional Learning Center.
    SCC bought the land from Armbruster Motor Co. for a reported $75,000. The college plans to build a 10,000 square foot facility.
    “Falls City EDGE worked diligently with SCC for more than a year to get to this exciting announcement and after much due diligence in evaluating multiple sites and buildings we have found a great site suitable to meet the training needs of our region,” EDGE Director Beckie Cromer noted, in a statement released last Wednesday.
    The SCC Board of Governors approved the purchase agreement on a 7.91 acre tract located west of Highway 73. Cromer and Falls City Mayor Jerry Oliver both attended the meeting and thanked the SCC Board for their commitment to the region and offered a continued partnership moving to the next phase of the planning process.
    “In the coming months, EDGE will work with SCC and their architects at Clarke Enersen on a design build that meets the needs of our workforce,” Cromer said. “We anticipate working together to create the partnerships necessary to make this plan a reality by identifying funding partners, scheduling completion dates for engineering, architectural design, utility installation, site preparation, construction, staffing and the beginning of operations in the new facility.
    “The Learning Center will serve the training needs of this region for generations to come by providing coursework in the areas of manufacturing, healthcare and education,” Cromer said.
    EDGE Tri State Labor Committee Chairman Charlie Radatz, who spurred a letter-writing campaign in 2015 and lobbied SCC to consider Falls City for their Outreach Program, celebrated the college’s recent acquisition.
       “We will no longer need to travel 70, 90, and 120 miles to SCC campuses to learn the skills required for today’s job opportunities,” he said. “This Learning Center will be a great addition to Southeast Community College and helps to fulfill its mission to meet the workforce training needs of those seeking employment and of the employers seeking workers with the skills required by the various industries within the region.”
     In her statement, Cromer gave special thanks “to the team members who have worked so hard on this project including the SCC Site Team, led by Bob Morgan, and the EDGE Tri State Labor Committee (Radatz, Ryan Larsen, Tim Heckenlively, Valerie Buckminster, Ruben Koopman, Katie Youngquist, Oliver and Doris Erickson).
      “We also offer our sincere gratitude for the support of SCC President Dr. Paul Illich, and our Board of Governor’s representatives, Kathy Boellstorff and Donald Reiman. This was a team effort and all involved gave generously of their time and energy; we are all excited to move into the next phase of the planning process,” she said.