By Rebecca Rider

rebecca.rider@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS — The Rowan-Cabarrus Community College board of trustees Monday approved approximately $487,753 for buildings and grounds projects on the North and South campuses.

Building and Grounds Committee Chairman Tom Bost made several recommendations at Monday’s board meeting at RCCC’s location at the North Carolina Research Campus.

Bost’s first recommendation was increasing the project budget for the South Campus bookstore remodel.

“We need to approve the contract but there’s not enough money to do that,” he said.

Bost recommended increasing the budget by $50,000 — from $117,000 to $167,000. The motion was unanimously approved.

The board also approved:

• An informal contract for the bookstore remodel with Ike’s Construction, Inc. for $146,620
• An additional $16,712 for additions and renovations such as curbing and cooling coil replacement to North Campus buildings 300 and 600.
• Providing Johnson Modern Electric with $22,442 to make needed adjustments in North Campus building 600.
• Paying $1,616 to Crescent Construction for phase one of the Outdoor Learning Center.
• Changing an order for the amount of $6,486.66 to MLB Construction Services to replace unsuitable soil on South Campus exterior stairs.

The school has received three recent donations to aid its programs. Food Lion donated two electric hospital beds, valued at $1,500. The beds will be used in the school’s Health Sciences Building. Nissan North America recently donated two vehicles — a 2005 Nissan Altima and a 2006 Nissan Armada — to the college’s Automotive Systems Technology program. And Fire-Dex Corporation, based in Medina, Ohio, donated turnout gear and boots to RCCC’s Fire and Emergency Services Training program.

Dakeita Vanderburg-Johnson, chairwoman of the Institutional Advancement and Legislative Committee, reported that the RCCC Foundation has currently raised 78 percent of its major gifts campaign goal. The campaign, the school’s first multi-million dollar fundraising campaign, has a goal of $7.1 million. Funds would be used to build a new advanced technology center and an outdoor learning and amphitheater space, expand health-care education and provide STEAM scholarships for students pursuing science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. The school in January announced that it had raised $5.3 million so far. A 3 percent increase brings the school’s total to roughly $5.5 million.

Vanderberg-Johnson said the school hopes to complete and close the campaign by the end of 2016.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.