Facilities Update

Thanks to staff involvement in facility subcommittees in Newton, Knoxville and Johnston, implementation of the Regional Education Center (REC) model is progressing well. These subcommittees have focused on service delivery and have helped move Heartland closer to its goals of reducing the financial resources committed to facilities and reducing the overall square footage footprint of the Agency.

Knoxville
In Knoxville, the subcommittee reconfigured the office to accommodate shortcomings of the allocated space. Working with the Agency’s architect, the subcommittee resolved space allocation issues by simply removing a few walls and erecting another wall in a different location to make the facility more efficient and user-friendly. This minor renovation work is scheduled to begin during spring break (March 15) to reduce inconvenience on Heartland staff. This project is scheduled be to completed by the end of March.

Newton
In Newton, the subcommittee worked with the Agency’s architect to design an efficient REC layout. Lease negotiations are underway for space at the Iowa Telecom building in Newton, and we are optimistic that an agreement can be finalized for the April Board of Director’s meeting. Once an agreement is finalized, we will seek approval from the Department of Education and the Heartland Board of Directors. Our goal is to complete this project and “stand up” the new REC by July 1.

Johnston
The Johnston REC (6500) planning committee submitted its layout recommendation to the Executive Council in February. The general layout is very space efficient and increased the amount of space allocated for service delivery. Next steps are to “program” the space in order to provide more detail to the general layout and to work with the architect on plans and specifications for the project. In addition, a draft timeline for renovation has been developed and will be shared with staff by April.

This is a complex project because it involves construction work in an occupied building, so it’s important for everyone to know that flexibility will be the key to success. This stage of planning requires the development of milestones in the timeline that will minimize the impact of construction on our staff. Tentatively, the targeted construction dates are mid-September through mid-December. Once the plans and specifications for the project are completed, the milestones and timeline will firm up and a communication plan will be developed for coordination purposes. Once this planning phase is completed and communicated, the plans and specifications will be submitted to the Heartland Board of Directors and the Department of Education for review and approval. Once the plans and specifications are approved, the RFP process will be used to contract the project.

Along with the 6500 REC project, provisions are being made to accommodate the closing of the Woodside office and relocation of some staff to Johnston. To accommodate staff currently assigned to the Woodside office, a co-location opportunity at the Neveln Center in Ankeny is being explored. It is anticipated that details of the Ankeny co-location opportunity will be completed by the end of March.

Please stay tuned to The Connection for updates on these projects.