A big new Center for Ag Science will be built on the Fort Dodge campus of Iowa Central Community College as the school’s leadership works to create more space to train more students for careers that are in high demand.

An existing facility, the Applied Science and Technology Building, will be extensively renovated as part of that same effort.

Those are two of the biggest projects that would be funded by a proposal voters will see on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

Voters are being asked to extend an existing borrowing authority so that the college can invest $35 million in facilities and equipment needed to train more people in the fields that are in the highest demand in the region.

Approving the extension will not lead to a property tax increase, according to Dr. Jesse Ulrich, the college’s president. He said homeowners will continue to pay the roughly $25 a year that they are currently paying to retire the college’s bond debt.

The ballot measure must be approved by 60 percent of those voting in order to pass.

Ag building

The Center for Ag Science will be on the northeast side of the intersection of U.S. Highway 169 and Kenyon Road.

The Budget Host Inn once stood there. That hotel closed in 2018. The college bought the property the following year and demolished the building

The center will be a two-story, 50,000 square foot building.

“That will be the first thing that’s going to greet you when you come into town from the south and west,” Ulrich said.

“This gives us the ability to showcase our priority in teaching future agronomists,” he added.

He estimated the cost of the building at $18 million.

The center will house the agribusiness, ag science, animal science, precision agriculture and veterinary technician programs. It will also have outdoor classroom space.

The veterinary technician program, started last year, is desperately in need of more space. There is a waiting list of people wanting to be admitted to the program

“This will probably be the last building we put on campus,” Ulrich said.

Applied Science Building

The Applied Science and Technology Building is one of the oldest facilities on the campus. It was formerly named the Vocational Technical Building, and was often called Voc-tech.

The building’s infrastructure will receive significant updates. For example, Ulrich said about $2 million will be spent to update its electrical system.

There will also be some major renovations that will include realigning interior walls.

Ulrich said the dental hygiene program, which is now limited to 15 students a year because of space constraints, will be moved to another place in the building, where it can be expanded.

The areas for the plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning programs will also be expanded.

The agriculture programs in the building will be moved to the new facility.

Other areas

The school’s Webster City center will be updated, with the use of bond issue money.

Ulrich said the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system will be updated. New windows and insulation will also be installed. Ulrich said all of that will be done so that the college can spend less on heating and cooling that building in the future.

He said bathrooms that comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act will also be created in the Webster City center.

Bond issue money would also be spent to purchase new equipment for programs at all of the college’s centers and career academies at area high schools.

“We have equipment needs across the region,” he said.

Among those needs are robotics and plasma welding equipment, he said.