INA, Ill. (Aug. 23, 2023) — Rend Lake College is accepting construction bids until Aug. 31 for the new Southern Illinois Manufacturing Academy in Mt. Vernon.
It’s a milestone for the project, funded by a $5 million grant through the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA). The SIMA will be located at the RLC MarketPlace in Mount Vernon.
Construction is expected to begin in October. Chris Sink, a longtime professor of Industrial Electronics and Maintenance Technology at RLC, was tapped as SIMA Director. Sink said he is happy with the progress they’ve made so far with the architects and “all the great ideas from the team and interested parties.”
SIMA will be built on the southeast corner of the MarketPlace campus, covering 20,000 square feet. The building will include state-of-the-art training stations for welding, machining, pneumatics, electronics, wiring, power, and controls. In addition, there will be a robotics lab, a computer lab, and classrooms for lectures and presentations. The facility will offer students and workers a comprehensive education in technical fields and a chance to develop in-demand skills.
“One unique feature we’re going to have is an actual chocolate production facility,” said Sink. “This is great because it will allow students to see the production process from start to finish, as well as integrate multiples disciplines from culinary arts into manufacturing.”
He’ll be collaborating with RLC’s Culinary Arts program, led by Chef Jeff Fairbanks. The plan is for students to make chocolate from scratch that will be fed into the machine and come out as chocolate bars, allowing them to participate in the production process from start to finish. This integration will provide students with a unique, cross-disciplinary approach to learning and expand their knowledge across different sectors.
The introduction of SIMA will also bring economic value to the MarketPlace and Southern Illinois as a whole. “The new facility will allow us, in one spot, to train people for these in-demand, well-paying jobs,” Sink said. “Whether that would be a student just coming into the industry, an incumbent worker looking to increase their skill set, or someone interested in changing careers.”
With a shortage of technical workers across the U.S., Sink said he is excited for the positive impact the facility will have on students, workers, and the region’s manufacturing partners. SIMA at RLC is a major step forward in Southern Illinois’ economy and technical education. The Academy’s resources will offer a range of training opportunities to students and workers and fill the crucial skills gap facing many industries.
Below is the invitation for construction bids, issued by the RLC Board of Trustees.
INVITATION FOR BIDS
The Board of Trustees, Illinois Community College District #521 will receive bids for Southern Illinois Manufacturing Academy at Rend Lake College Marketplace in Jefferson County, Illinois. Bids shall be submitted in a single lump sum proposal.
Bids will be received until 2:00 p.m., prevailing time on the 31st day of August 2023, at the Administration Building Conference Room, Rend Lake College, Ina, Illinois 62846, at which time and place all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud in the Warrior Lounge at the Event Center. Bids shall be directed to Attn: Donnie Millenbine, Administration Building, 468 N. Ken Grey Parkway, Ina, IL 62846. Proposals received after the above stated time will not be accepted and will be returned unopened.
A Pre-Bid Meeting will be held on the 22nd day of August 2023, at 10:00 a.m., prevailing time at the Rend Lake Market Place in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. The meeting will be held in Room 346 of Building No. 3.
Proposals shall be submitted in the following format provided and shall be clearly marked on the exterior of the envelope as follows:
“SEALED BID ENCLOSED”
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS MANUFACTURING ACADEMY
REND LAKE COLLEGE MARKETPLACE
- VERNON, ILLINOIS
Proposal forms and contract documents, including plans and specifications, are on file at the office of the Rend Lake College Physical Plant Department and at the office of Eggemeyer Associates Architects, Inc., 3029 South Park Avenue, Herrin, IL 62948; Phone No.:(618)988-2380; Website: www.eaarchitects.com. Contract documents are also on file at the following plan rooms:
Dodge Data and Analytics Southern Illinois Builders Association
Arlington, TX O'Fallon, IL
Marion, IL
Copies of the documents are available and may be obtained at the office of the Architect, by depositing a check with the Architect in the amount of $225.00 for each set of documents so obtained made payable to the Architect. Such deposit will be refunded to each bidder who returns the plans, specifications and other documents in good condition to the College or to the Architect within fourteen (14) days after bid opening. Partial sets may be purchased at the cost of photocopying and shipping cost upon completion of a request for partial plans/specifications form and submitting to the Architect. Documents may also be downloaded from the Architect's website for bidding purposes only.
Bid security in the form of a certified check or bank draft, payable to Rend Lake College, or a satisfactory bid bond in the amount of 10% of the bid shall be submitted with each bid.
The successful bidder will be required to furnish and pay for satisfactory performance and payment bond in an amount equal to 100% of the contract sum to insure completion of the contract.
Successful bidders shall be required to comply with all applicable laws, statutes, regulations, ordinances, rulings, or enactments of any governmental authority having jurisdiction.
Prevailing wage rates shall apply to work performed in this contract. All workers who perform work at the site will be required to be paid not less than the rates listed by the applicable wage determination.
The Rend Lake College reserves the right to waive all informalities in the bidding. The contract award will be made to the responsible bidder submitting the lowest acceptable bid responsive to the bid conditions.
This project will be funded with Federal Funds from the United States Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration and therefore is subject to the Federal Laws and Regulations associated with that program.
No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of thirty (30) days subsequent to the opening of bids without consent of Rend Lake College.
Date: August 4, 2023 By: Rend Lake College Board of Trustees
