Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Career Center Partnership topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears $48 million Hancock County Career Center update; partners, space and timeline outlined
Summary
Veritas Group representative Tim Jensen reviewed the Amplify/Hancock County Career Center plan: a roughly 106,000-square-foot facility with county-backed financing, partners Ivy Tech and Hancock Health, shared labs for K–12 and higher-education programs, and a timeline that could bring bond action by year-end.
Tim Jensen of the Veritas Group (speaker 12) briefed the Greenfield-Central board on the Amplify/Hancock County Career Center project, describing it as a multi-partner facility that will host K–12 programs, Ivy Tech space, and health-care training areas.
Jensen said the project team has prepared a digital update and expects a bonding mechanism to be pulled by the end of the year and sold early next year; the current presentation functions in part as a partnership intent letter ahead of a future approval request to the board so the district can then take an approved agreement to the county council for bonding.
Presenters described the facility’s configuration: the purple area on the plan was identified as K–12 space (CNA labs, welding, auto shop), green as Ivy Tech areas and orange for Hancock Health’s radiology space; a separate, secure entrance would serve secondary students so adult learners and K–12 populations are kept distinct. The county has contracted an owner’s representative (the Veritas Group) and purchased property for the site.
Speakers referenced a county commitment of $48,000,000 toward construction, with an approximate split noted in presentation materials of $40,500,000 in hard construction costs and $7,500,000 in soft costs. Jensen said updated FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) budgets are favorable and that the project will provide cohesive furniture and technology so local districts will not need to purchase individual classroom furniture.
Financing uses non-taxable lease rental bonds, which presenters said limits tenancy to nonprofit entities (Ivy Tech, K–12 districts, Hancock Health), constraining use by taxable private tenants; presenters said operating-cost projections came from comparable projects and utility-provider partnerships and that they will return to the board on Nov. 11 with an updated partnership agreement.
Board members asked clarifying questions about programs, occupancy and the project timeline; presenters said most program areas are solidified though a few remain to be finalized among the four counties’ school corporations. No board approval was requested at the meeting; the board was asked to review the materials in the packet and anticipate a future request for approval.
