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SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Board of Governors at BridgeValley Community and Technical College approved a construction bid for work planned on expanding Building 2000 for the college’s nursing program.
In the BridgeValley Community and Technical College (BVCTC) master facility plan approved in recent days, the third floor of the north wing of Building 2000, which includes 5,704 square feet of space, will need to be renovated to meet the need. Building 2000 is the administrative headquarters of BVCTC.
BVCTC’s council solicited bids and landed on a contract of just over $1 million with Neighborgall Construction out of Huntington. According to board members, BVCTC received $3.1 million from the HEPC for the project.
The board also approved naming the nursing wing the Booker T. Washington Nursing Wing. Board members discussed Washington’s direct connection to the Kanawha Valley and healthcare. Washington and his family lived in Malden for a brief period of time.
“He was an educator, a speaker, an author, a statesman, a healthcare advocate, and an advisor to three United States presidents,” Dr. Casey Sacks, BVCTC president said.
Sacks said after proposals were sent to the West Virginia Board of Nursing, the college has received provisional approval of the 16-month nursing program and the VoTech to RN program. Sacks said the pair will be provisional until the college graduates its first class.
The construction expansion of the nursing program has to be done by Sept. 30.
In other notes from the meeting, Sacks said Green Power Motor Company plans to execute its lease in August. On Feb. 1, the electric-powered medium and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer and distributor announced a training partnership with BridgeValley Community & Technical College and the Workforce Development Board of Kanawha County.
On Jan. 12, Gov. Jim Justice announced that GreenPower had entered into a lease/purchase agreement with the state of West Virginia to acquire properties located in South Charleston with 9.5 acres and an 80,000 square foot building where it plans to be manufacturing zero-emission, all-electric school buses by mid-2022.
“Green Power Motor Company is thinking that their lease will be executed sometime in August so it’ll be after that before we ramp up training. Because they don’t need to hire people before they have a building,” Sacks said.