BLINN TRUSTEES APPROVE PROPOSED LIBRARY RENOVATIONS, NEW GOLF PROGRAM

  

Blinn Trustees approved a renovation design for the W.L. Moody, Jr. Library at their meeting in Bryan Tuesday night.

The new designs for the Moody Library include improved lighting, upgraded furnishings, HVAC and restroom upgrades, and improvements to electrical and technology connectivity.  Once the additions are complete, students will have access to seven study rooms, a seminar room, an enclosed computer classroom, a vending area, and new windows.

Trustees hope these additions will help create a more welcoming and modern atmosphere for students.

The Moody Library, located on the Brenham Campus, was built in 1967 and expanded in 1981.  With these renovations, the circulation desk will be moved toward the front of the building, which will widen the space connecting the original library and the 1981 addition.

For these renovations, the board authorized the College to award a contract to Madison Construction, L.P., of Bryan, for construction manager at-risk services.  Construction is slated to begin February 1, 2019, with a projected budget of $2.2 million.  Funds would come from bonds and the repairs and renovations budget.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, trustees approved the addition of men’s and women’s golf teams, beginning in the Fall 2019 semester.  The new golf programs will be based in Brenham, and the teams are expected to have around 30 athletes participating in the programs.

The team would play in four to five tournaments during the Fall semester, and another five during the Spring semester.  This includes the regional and state tournaments, where players can advance to the national tournament.

Blinn will look to hire a head coach and assistant coach to oversee the programs.  For more information regarding the golf programs, call the Blinn College Athletic Department at 979-830-4170 or email debbie.watson@blinn.edu.

In other items, administrators can begin looking for proposals from contractors, to relocate its Division of Health Sciences equipment to the RELLIS Campus.  Blinn’s Health Sciences programs will be moved from the Texas A&M Health Science Center Clinical Building and to RELLIS by Fall 2019.

The board also permitted the replacement of the current wood window frames on the Old Main Building with aluminum frames.  As part of an upcoming window replacement project, the aluminum frames should provide a similar historic architectural style to the current wood frames.  As the Old Main Building is on the National Historic Register, the Texas Historical Commission must also review the project.