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Commissioner Philbeck - Public Works - To Approve the Appropriation of $5,300,000 in County Funds for the Construction of a New Extrusion Facility on the Gaston College Kimbrell Campus in Belmont (County Funds $5,300,000)
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STAFF CONTACT
Ray Maxwell - Manager’s Office - (704) 862-7551
BUDGET IMPACT
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Appropriation of $5,300,000 from the General Fund fund balance that will be transferred to the Capital Improvements Fund where expenditures will be increased by $5,300,000.
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BUDGET ORDINANCE IMPACT
There is minimal impact to the budget ordinance.
BACKGROUND
Gaston College plans to construct an incubator, extrusion and testing facility for advanced fibers behind the existing Textile Technology Center on the Kimbrell Campus in Belmont, North Carolina. Preliminary plans for the facility include an approximately 30,000 to 40,000 square foot building with extrusion lab, spun yarn and filament processing, administration/reception, climate controlled storage, incubator flex spaces and associated building systems and parking. The proposed facility would house existing extrusion and laboratory operations to support development and testing of advanced fibers for use in personal protective equipment, military, medical and specialty products. The facility will allow development of specialty fibers to produce consumer products that can be tested on site. Having the complete process housed on site will allow quick performance feedback for use in refining the composition of the advanced fibers. The project was originally included in the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM), North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office (NCPRO) PPE-NC Initiative as a $5,300,000 allocation. Due to the December 30, 2021 expenditure deadline initially approved in the legislation, the project could not be designed, permitted, and completed prior to that date. The $5,300,000 originally allocated to the extrusion project will be used to cover the salary and benefits of public safety and public health workers instead.
Approval of this Board Action and attached Budget Change Request will appropriate $5,300,000 from the County’s General Fund fund balance for the construction of the proposed extrusion facility. The College will manage the design, permitting and construction of the facility along with any and all necessary tasks to complete the project. Any funding needed in excess of this allocation will be the responsibility of Gaston College. Upon project completion, Gaston College will provide a final update to Gaston County including a breakdown of project expenses showing the use of County funds. Funding will be remitted to the College on a reimbursement basis.
POLICY IMPACT
N/A
ATTACHMENTS
Budget Change Request (BCR) and NC Community College System - Capital Improvement Project Approval