EHOVE plans facilities project

MILAN TWP. — With facilities approaching five decades in use, EHOVE Career Center's board of education has decided to move forward with a project to improve the career center's campus. According to the career center's superintendent, Chris McCully, EHOVE has faced projects in the past but nothing to this scale. "In the proposed upcoming project, EHOVE's buildings will be either renovated or replaced to accommodate more high school and adult ed students with state-of-the-art labs to better prepare the future workforce," McCully said. "A majority of EHOVE's campus has original structures from its opening back in 1968 or shortly thereafter." The project was a recommendation from the career center's facility planning committee. Committee members consist of former area school treasurer and Erie County auditor Jude Hammond; board chair for the Greater Sandusky Partnership Duff Milkie; development corporation president Chris Raftery; and Huron County commissioner Harry Brady. The committee hosted a series of meetings in which members: • Reviewed Ohio Facilities Construction Commission recommendations, developed as a result of a physical audit conducted on the campus to proactively address items related to the age of the facility, functionality and overall need for repair and/or replacement • Toured EHOVE facilities to observe infrastructure needs firsthand • Benchmarked against other top career centers in Ohio and the country • Analyzed the benefits of having more hands-on learning space and high-bay labs — in other words, a lab with a high ceiling — compared to traditional classroom settings and low-bay labs • Envisioned facility enhancements by reviewing blueprints and incorporating advice from the state construction commission and Architectural Vision Group • Considered potential associated costs to address these facility needs to meet the long-term vision for EHOVE for the next 30 to 40 years During the meetings, the committee looked into lab space and equipment, safety and business and community concerning the career center's facilities and future Here are the preferences of the committee for each topic: • Lab space and equipment should have high bays, more natural light and the space should be designed so that EHOVE can accommodate additional students and easily pivot as workforce needs to change • The campus should be one connected facility, have improved signage, dedicated entry/exit points and school resource officers to enhance safety • The campus should have meeting spaces for public use, up-to-date technology and an employee training area Seeking voter support According to McCully, it is too early in the process to say who will be doing the campus updates as the career center is in the initial phases of planning specifics. He said that, after receiving recommendations from the facilities committee and the school board's approval, the career center is prepared to explore improvement details. "EHOVE is a community asset and the decision to progress with our facilities improvements lies in the hands of our community members," McCully said. "To achieve these critical upgrades, the board will propose a bond issue for the ballot." McCully said the board and administration are assessing the financial details and timelines. If community members are in favor of the issue put on the ballot, then the plan is to upgrade the originally built structures. According to the audit performed by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission and Architectural Vision Group, half of the campus buildings, electrical, water and other infrastructure need to be brought up to code. The other half needs to be replaced with more square footage to accommodate students' needs.