A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds to rutherford county for the CONSTRUCTION of a health sciences building at isothermal community college.
Whereas, a new health sciences building on the main campus of Isothermal Community College, located in Spindale, currently estimated as a $30 million project in today's market based on initial planning, is designed to specifically address critical needs in the local and regional workforce; and
Whereas, this facility will provide future‑focused space for Isothermal to ensure direct, hands‑on preparation for career entry and advancement in healthcare and emergency services fields that are currently experiencing serious personnel shortages in Rutherford and Polk Counties and across western North Carolina. The facility will support existing and projected programming to provide increased capacity to prepare registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), certified nursing assistants (CNAs), emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, phlebotomists, geriatric and homecare specialists, virtual healthcare specialists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, and other allied health specialists; and
Whereas, the planned 62,540 sq. ft., three‑story building will allow the college to integrate state of the art anatomy, chemistry, and related labs that support healthcare education and training, create high‑tech simulation classrooms, and return to campus its nursing programs, which are currently housed in a repurposed, 1950s‑era elementary school in Rutherfordton that is in need of extensive renovations and repairs estimated at a cost of greater than $4 million; and
Whereas, in January 2023, the Isothermal Community College Board of Trustees approved a resolution in support of moving forward with the building development process and directing the college's president to begin to seek funding sources. And, in March, the Rutherford County Board of Commissioners and the Polk County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution in support of the project. The Rutherford County Board has indicated it will assume the full cost of maintenance and physical support of the building once completed; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund to Rutherford County the sum of thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2023‑2024 fiscal year to be used for a new health sciences building on the campus of Isothermal Community College.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2023.