MANSFIELD — The Ohio State University Mansfield campus and North Central State College are set to receive a combined total of more than $4 million in state funds from the Ohio Capital Improvement Budget, part of Senate Bill 310.
Dorey Diab, president of North Central State College, said the college had submitted two proposals for funding at the end of 2019. The final appropriations bill sets aside approximately $2.3 million for NCSC, including $600,000 for a First Responders Safety and Training Center.
This initiative has been developed in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies, including the Mansfield Police Department.
Part of the funds will go to the Mansfield Police Department to develop an outdoor training facility that will be available to all local law enforcement agencies and fire safety as well as students of NCSC’s criminal justice program, said Mansfield Safety Service Director Lori Cope.
Cope said she and Mayor Theaker are very thankful that the funding came through.
Cope and Diab both expressed their gratitude to state Senator Larry Obhof and Rep. Mark Romanchuk for their support of the projects.
The rest of the funding will go towards upgrading the lower floor of the Kehoe Center in Shelby, which houses the college’s criminal justice and cyber security programs. The renovations will make the program headquarters a “state of the art” facility, possibly with a crime scene simulator room.
Diab said the expansion will allow the college’s criminal justice students to learn more cyber security skills.
“We provide very strong candidates for our police departments in the area. They’re really in bad need of candidates,” Diab said. “As a community college, we exist to meet the needs of the community more so than anything and workforce development is a big part of that.”
NCSC also received significant funding for utility and infrastructure upgrades, which Diab said will lower operating costs and create a better environment for staff and students.
“In order for our employees to work, you need to provide them with a safe and healthy environment, that means heating, ventilation, air conditioning,” he said. “Our campus is more than 50 years old and all these buildings have the original boilers and chillers and doors and windows.
“It’s helping both ways — maintaining that good environment for our people and on the other side, reducing the cost of utilities so we can invest in higher priorities and serve the needs of our community.”
These projects will address deferred maintenance at Ohio State Mansfield by increasing our energy efficiency and making the campus more sustainable, said Norman Jones, Dean and Director of The Ohio State University at Mansfield.
“The projects will also make our campus more welcoming, user-friendly and safe, not only for students but also for the local community we serve,” Jones said.
The total amounts appropriated for both universities are listed below:
North Central State College
- $500,000 two replace two original chillers in the Fallerius Center and boilers in the Fallerius and the Byron Kee Center with more efficient units.
- $663,293 to purchase and instal generators in campus buildings to serve key components of the grid and to ensure operation during emergencies. This includes the installation of Uninterrupted Power Sources so that phone and IT server equipment can operate during emergencies. For security and business continuity, storage area networks with high disk space will be purchased to replicate all data between main campus and satellite ones. Management software will also be installed to provide wireless coverage for multiple devices, as will access points in classrooms for faster collaborative learning and teaching environments.
- $565,000 to replace original doors and windows on several buildings across campus, including old and energy inefficient doors and storefronts in the Byron Kee Center, the Child Development Center and the Fallerius Center. Approximately 70 mid-1990s installed windows in the Health Sciences building will also be replaced with new, energy-efficient ones.
- $600,000 for First Responders Safety and Training Center.
The Ohio State University at Mansfield
- $500,000 to replace the natural gas boilers and circulating pumps in the Campus Rec Center and Eisenhower Hall.
- $375,000 to replace the original fire and smoke detection and alarm system and the bleachers in the Campus Rec Center.
- $275,000 to modify building panels and update the operating system on the campus-wide HVAC control system and to purchase and install a new emergency genetretato and the Schuttera maintenance service center.
- $250,000 to replace main entrance vestibule doorways, ADA-compliant hardware and storefronts on Eisenhower Hall, Conard Hall and the Campus Rec Center.
- $300,000 to replace all antiquated exterior building, directional and wayfinding signage and replace deteriorated concrete sidewalks along primary access corridors.
