By Craig D. Reber
The Telegraph Herald
FENNIMORE, Wis. — Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is back on course to complete a public safety training complex for area police, fire and EMS personnel.
Members of the Grant County EMS Association and the Grant County Firefighters Association recently met with school administrators to voice concerns about getting the facility built after bids came in $2 million over budget. According to school officials, it forced the college to refine facility designs, including the need to adopt a temporary classroom facility. An existing building on the complex property will now be renovated into classrooms.
Southwest Tech officials said the decision to step away from building a large classroom and office facility in favor of a temporary classroom was driven by the need to not detract from a planned fire burn building, emergency vehicle operations course and a firing range.
Southwest Tech President Karen Knox emphasized that the long-range campus facility plan needs to include a more “permanent” solution for classroom space. The school will address the issue with its district board during an upcoming August meeting.
Current plans for the complex include a 5,368 square-foot, five-level fire burn building, an outdoor firing range facility and an emergency vehicle operations course that includes a 60,000-square-foot maneuver pad.
Steve Braun, EMS Association president, is satisfied with the revised plan.
“I think we’ve reached a good solution, absolutely,” he said, “and now we are ready to move forward on a very critically needed facility.”
He said the classrooms are temporary. By scaling back classroom building work, Braun said it means the public safety training complex will have the “important” things. He is hopeful the $3.3 million project is completed by next spring.
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