To:          Lawrence City Commission

                Douglas County Commission

                Mr. David Corliss, Lawrence City Manager

                Mr. Craig Weinaug, County Administrator

From:    Hugh Carter, Vice President External Affairs, The Chamber of Lawrence

                On Behalf of the Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center, Inc.

Date:     March 17, 2015

Re:         Funding Request for Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center

Thank you for the opportunity to provide additional information for the consideration of funds budgeted to support the renovation of the Peaslee Center.

BACKGROUND

As a community, we have recognized for several decades that Lawrence lacks technical skills training. In January 2014, the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Lawrence and Douglas County purchased a 77,000 square foot industrial building in east Lawrence to house the Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center.  The facility is named after Dwayne Peaslee, who was a tireless technical training advocate, community leader, chamber board member, and union representative.

As part of the purchase of the building the property owners, Rodger Henry and Jeff Morrison, gifted approximately $750,000 worth of land to Unified School District 497. This gift is the reason that the school districts new College & Career Center is being constructed immediately adjacent to the Peaslee Center.

The Peaslee Center and the USD 497’s College and Career Center will support career pathways for both high school students and adults. Both groups will have the possibility of learning in programs in either building and, in some cases, together. In addition to the synergies created by having these two facilities in one place, the Lawrence Workforce Center will be a tenant in the Peaslee Center, making a streamlined workforce development campus for our citizens and the business community.

When the EDC purchased the building, a consortium of five community colleges was applying for a $10,000,000 grant from the US Department of Labor (DOL) of which approximately $8,000,000 would be committed to staffing, equipping, and renovating the Peaslee Center. The grant would not cover certain renovations costs like the development of public spaces, restrooms, offices, and infrastructure.  Those costs were estimated to be approximately $1,200,000.

In August 2014, the EDC submitted budget requests to the City of Lawrence and Douglas County to support the renovation and operation of the Peaslee Center. For renovations and infrastructure development, the EDC asked each to make a one-time contribution of $500,000. Contingent upon the City and County approving these requests, the EDC agreed to contribute another $200,000 to get to the $1,200,000 needed.

The one-time contributions for renovations and infrastructure development were taken into consideration by the City and County when planning their 2015 capital budgets. However, each required additional information to be provided before officially acting on the request. Specific information requested included construction drawings depicting the scope of work, a detailed construction estimate, and an overview of curriculum planned for August 2015.

The EDC also requested annual funding from each the City and County in the amount $100,000 to support the ongoing operations of the facility. Both acted on that request and began making quarterly disbursements to the Peaslee Center in 2015.

Ultimately, the consortiums grant application was not selected for funding by the DOL. This was disappointing news but it was merely a speed bump and not a road block on the path to filling the community’s technical training gap. City and County leaders, local business and industry, the EDC, the Chamber of Commerce, USD 497, and private donors expressed a willingness to continue to work together to make the Peaslee Center a reality.

Without those grant funds, the new total budget for renovating and equipping the Peaslee Center was $1,200,000. Marvin Hunt began as the Executive Director of the Peaslee Center in September 2014 with that budget in mind. He has worked closely with local industry to identify the most urgent training needs and develop a curriculum that is relevant. In spite of limited resources, a robust curriculum is planned for delivery in August 2015. In addition to offering customized, on-demand training for industry, the Peaslee Center curriculum will include: Construction Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, HVAC (limited to electrical aspects), Technical Math, Computer Literacy, and supportive areas such as Employability Skills, Conflict Resolution, and Problem Solving.

Advanced Automotive training and a full HVAC program were also identified by local industry as being in high demand and laboratory space for these programs has been designed. The Peaslee Center will continue to pursue funding through grant applications, corporate partnerships, private donations, potential campus naming rights, etc. to further develop training spaces and expand curriculum.

FUNDING REQUEST

To date, the EDC has invested $1,000,000 in the Peaslee Center. The EDC is in the process of transferring deed to the property to the recently created Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center, Inc. The EDC board has also committed to contribute an additional $200,000 to renovations, contingent upon the City and County approving the following request:

At this time, the Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center, Inc. respectfully requests consideration from both the City and the County for funds budgeted to support the Peaslee Center infrastructure development and renovations in the amount of $500,000.

This request is accompanied by construction drawings depicting the scope of work, a detailed construction budget, and a draft of the curriculum to be delivered.

Thank you very much for your consideration and for the significant leadership role the City and County have played in this important community initiative to date.