LBW expanding campus footprint to downtown with two new facilities

LBW Community College will be expanding its campus to include new facilities in current structures located in Andalusia’s downtown area.

During a meeting Tuesday, the Andalusia City Council paved the path for LBW to begin work to renovate two separate facilities, one that will be used for adult education courses and workforce development programs and a second to be used to train students in the field of healthcare.

The council approved unanimously to enter into a lease agreement with LBW for use of the old Covington Casket building, just off the downtown square on N. Cotton Street. LBW will pay $1,000 monthly to lease the facility. The city took ownership of the building in a deal with Covington Casket that allowed that business to expand to a new facility in the city’s industrial park.

“This is really exciting,” Mayor Earl Johnson said. “It is something we have needed in this area for a long time while also filling one of our empty buildings.”

LBW President Dr. Brock Kelley and the college’s Associate Dean of Workforce Development Chad Sutton attended the meeting to discuss the projects.

“We have been working toward having something in the downtown area. For whatever reason, we recognized that we are not getting the foot traffic on our campus the way we would like. After some surveys, we found that some people don’t think they are college material, which we disagree. We want a place downtown where people feel they can get help. We don’t want to be looked at as just a college on the hill. We want to be all-encompassing of our community,” Kelley said.

Sutton added that the facility will provide much-needed space for the program to expand and grow.

“The workforce department has grown and we are excited about that. This will give us the opportunity to streamline everything,” Sutton said.

The facility will be known as the POWER Center, an acronym for Professional Opportunities Workforce Education and Readiness.

“For the community, we want people to look at LBW as a resource, not just a bunch of silos out there where they have to go to a lot of different places,” Sutton said.

The POWER Center will provide education and training opportunities such as GED, ESL, Work Keys testing, and other certifications.

The second facility discussed involved entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the city. This facility involves the training of students pursuing careers in healthcare. The council approved the agreement, which is a partnership with LBW, Andalusia Health, and the Alabama Community College System.

This facility is tied to a state legislation that provided funds to the ACCS for rural healthcare partnerships. It is located across from Andalusia Health, in an offive previously used by Dr. Gilbert Holland.

“This will be used to provide training for those interested in health care, are needing increased healthcare training, and provide extra training,” Kelley said.

LBW was awarded a $3 million grant to be used for the facility. Through the partnership, Andalusia Health is donating the building. The city will provide labor for interior demolition leading up to renovations to fit LBW’s needs.

The facility will include a simulation lab that will give students the opportunity to work on the latest equipment while also giving current healthcare workers a way of meeting some certification requirements.

“This is a big need, not just in Andalusia and Covington County, but across the whole country,” Johnson said.

The mayor added that LBW has made big strides in recent years to help meet the needs of the community.

“The secret to our future success is to have people who are trained and prepared to work. That is a key to attracting business and industry to our area. These are the types of things we need to do to put people on a course to achieve the training needed for these future jobs,” Johnson said.

Other items discussed by the council included:

• a first reading for participating in the Back to School sales tax holiday, which is scheduled for the weekend beginning July 18.
• approving an off-premise ABC beer and wine license for Dollar General on Brooklyn Road.
• approving to allow for the placement of a “Baby Box” at the Andalusia Fire Department. This measure was requested by Sav-A-Life of Covington County and allows a place for babies to be placed in child abandonment situations. If a baby is opened, it automatically sends an alert to first responders. The city will pay $25,000 to install the box but will be reimbursed with grant funds. Enterprise and Dothan are among the cities that currently have these boxes in place.

The next meeting of the city council is scheduled for Tuesday, April 1, at city hall, with a workshop at 5:30 p.m. and the regular meeting at 6 p.m.