Sheets of chip board cover the damaged glass front of the Orpheum Theater operated by Iowa Valley Community College District and adjoining cafe. The building received serious damage on July 19 when a Level EF3 tornado swept through the center of the city including the downtown business district in Marshalltown. Plans are to repair the structure. T-R photo/Adam Sodders

MARSHALLTOWN The Iowa Valley Community College District Board of Directors was informed this week that the $33 million general obligation bond vote that had been planned for Dec. 11 is being postponed due to the extensive tornado damages in Marshalltown.

“We’ve decided it’s not ethically or morally correct to do a bond issue vote in December,” explained IVCCD Chancellor Chris Duree at this week’s Board meeting. “It wouldn’t be fair to taxpayers in this community to ask them to support having their taxes raised when hundreds, if not thousands, of people are still dealing with homes and businesses that were obliterated. Our focus now needs to be on supporting the community. It’s just the right thing to do we will get by and do what we can with the resources we have until the timing is more appropriate.”

The bond issue would have paid for many improvements to the Ellsworth Community College (ECC) campus in Iowa Falls and the Marshalltown Community College (MCC)/Iowa Valley campuses in Marshalltown and Grinnell.

Also related to the Marshalltown tornado, Duree reported that the Education & Training Center at 206 E. Church St. is back open, serving staff and students. The building’s roof will have to be replaced, but it has been patched sufficiently until roofers can do the work.

Orpheum

The Orpheum Theater Center at 220 E. Main St. was damaged more extensively and remains closed, although events are being rescheduled in other locations.

It was reported that the Orpheum’s damages are way past $1 million, but final numbers have not yet been presented. Insurance will cover most of the work, and repairs will be less costly than demolishing the building.

Duree said that drying has begun inside to mitigate mold and mildew, and all artifacts and valuables are being stored elsewhere to avoid further damage. “The front quarter of the Orpheum’s roof is still unattached it’s on the building, but unattached,” Duree said.

Orpheum event information is online at OrpheumCenter.com.

In other matters, the Board approved the following:

An agreement with Terrus Real Estate Group for an exclusive listing to broker the sale of the IVCCD Wolfe Building at 3405 S. Center St. The commercial property is being occupied by Iowa Workforce Development employees, for whom a lease will be extended for 90 days due to their inability to find another suitable site.

A 260F Iowa Jobs Training Agreement with Mid-Iowa Cooperative in Beaman to provide safety, management, professional licensure, and CDL training for 48 employees. The training agreement is the 4th with Mid-Iowa Cooperative, and it’s in the amount of $20,000.

An agreement with EVERFI, Inc. to provide online sexual assault and domestic violence training modules for ECC and MCC students; the same training modules have been used in previous years, in compliance with federal mandates.

An agreement with Bottling Group LLC (Pepsi Beverages Company) to provide snack and beverage vending services at the ECC and MCC campuses. As part of the agreement, Pepsi is decreasing the price of its products an average of 33% per case and is providing athletic department sponsorships of $12,000 annually (up from $8,000 in the previous agreement).

The Board also accepted gifts of various materials from Neal G. Johnson for the Gunsmith Technology program at Iowa Valley Grinnell, and $250 from Opal Foods LLC for the Ellsworth Equestrian Center.

The next regular meeting of the IVCCD Board will be on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 4 pm in Reg Johnson Hall (room 100) on the Ellsworth Community College campus in Iowa Falls.