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PCT to offer building, energy training at new site

The addition of a National Sustainable Structures Center training site in the western part of the state was announced by The Pennsylvania College of Technology at yesterday’s virtual board meeting.

The site will be located at Latrobe and will be used to enhance delivery of building science and energy efficiency training for the department of energy’s weatherization assistance program.

According to Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour, Penn College president, the National Sustainable Structures Organization is what was formerly known as weatherization and does work throughout the state.

Shannon Munro, vice president for workforce development at the college, told the board that one of the reasons for opening the site was to offer easier accessibility for groups seeking this type of training.

She said that the Department of Community and Economic Development had approached the college about the possibility of opening a location in the western part of the state to address this issue.

“In addition, we’ve been looking for a site that would allow us to do things differently than we do in Williamsport,” she added.

Munro explained that the new site has a higher roof span which would be able to offer additional services.

“For example, we are looking at actually flying drones inside the building to be able to do inspections on a mock-up of a roof,” she said.

This capability would allow workers who do roof inspections to get a feel for doing that without putting themselves in danger, she said.

The 7500 square foot facility will be leased by the college for $75,000 for the first year and $65,000 for the next two years. The higher amount for the first year is due to construction that the college wants to do at the site. The Department of Community and Economic Development will fully reimburse the college for the lease of the building.

Some of the programs to be offered at the site include the Interstate Renewable Energy Council training and home energy training programs for retrofitting homes and facilities to make sure that they are more energy efficient, Munro said.

The college also announced that workers in the state’s weatherization assistance program and their contractors, as well as subcontractors, private companies in the home performance sector are among those that would be trained at the site.

It is open for enrollment statewide, but will primarily draw from counties in the western part of the state. The college noted that the additional location offers significant benefits for learners such as reduced travel, increased scheduling options and smaller class sizes. This in turn may help NSSC offer hands-on training in a world challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, the college stated.

The board approved the lease agreement for the new site.

In other actions, the board approved the purchase of a property at 938 First St. Gilmour noted that this is the remaining property outside the view of the admissions office on campus.

There are no plans to raze the property which is in good shape, Gilmour said. She added that tentative plans are for the college’s ROTC program to relocate there.

The board approved the ratification of unanimous consent of a bond refinancing that was presented in February. Munro told the board that at the present time it is not actually favorable to refinance, but that the ratification enables the college to move quickly if things do stabilize and the deal becomes financially viable.

The next board meeting will be at 3 p.m. June 18. The manner in which it will be held is to be determined at a later date.

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