Building the future

Feb. 23—OTTUMWA — Jon Dorman readily acknowledges the houses aren't perfect.

"But are they good, quality houses? Yes, they are," said Dorman, the director of Indian Hills Community College's Construction Technology program. "Everyone that has toured our houses that we've ever built has been very impressed."

Dorman said this as his crew was working on yet another home near Liberty Elementary School, which has been fertile ground recently for the program and its affiliated academies. Solid, single-market homes have sprouted up, and this 1,300-square foot house is the fifth one IHCC has developed.

"We don't want something that's really going to stand out like a sore thumb, but something that's a little unique as well," Dorman said.

Dorman operates out of the Centerville campus, where the program was first developed. When Dorman started eight years ago, there were nine students in the program. Now, there are academies throughout various school districts — the Ottumwa academy is building a house next door on Traxler Drive — stretching the college's 10-county region.

"So the deal is that students can come from a high school and they're going to learn something on the job using their hands, and they're going to get college credit and high school credit at the same time," Dorman said. "So if they play their cards right, when they're a senior, they can actually graduate high school and have an actual one-year degree paid for in their hand."

Micah Zook, who oversees Davis County and Cardinal students in the program and went through the program himself, said word-of-mouth is one of the biggest drivers for the success of the program.

"It's really cool. A lot of kids just seem like they don't know about the program, or don't understand it's available," he said. "I was one of Jon's students. There's actually a homeschool program in Davis County, and they're looking at sending some kids as well."

Dorman said recruitment starts in eighth grade, but the college also puts in work through career fairs as students get older. He said the public also is encouraged to visit the homes.

"Even the public kind of knows we're building houses, but they don't know everything that's going on," he said. "The students are unsure of so many things, so if they come here and see it, touch it and feet it, then they're probably more apt to sign up for a program like this."

And the career paths after the academy vary, or as Dorman said, "there's thousands of jobs, because there are so many umbrellas out there." One student, Kevin Moreno, who is from Ottumwa, foresees himself running his own business. However, through the academy, he also takes pride in the work he's doing in his hometown.

"I wanted to learn how to do my own house repairs, so I wouldn't have to call in anyone to do them," he said. "Every time I look at the houses I've helped build, it puts a smile on your face, knowing that you were part of making that house."

Jayden Jensen, an academy student from Chariton, also believed there is a sense of pride seeing work she's contributed to.

"I've worked for two different construction companies, and going into both there wasn't a lot of training that I didn't need to do because I kind of had a head start," she said. "But the actual physical labor gives you a nice sense of accomplishment."

Dorman said the academies don't work as quickly as normal contractors, and they don't perform all the work, such as plumbing and electrical work, that contractors do.

"We're slower because we're learning as we go," he said. "Therefore it's harder to get things done in a timely manner. The question about if we do renovations comes up all the time, and I'd love to do those, but you have to think about lead paint and asbestos.

"If something was completely abated, maybe we could do it, but right now, what we're doing fits our curriculum, and then we can take that out to the job site and apply what we've learned."

The college also has worked hand-in-hand with Ottumwa Schools on developing on their lots, but it has also worked with the City of Ottumwa to build on its lots. One of those will be on Court Street, which Dorman is excited about. Proceeds from previous home sales are essentially seed money for the next project.

"There's potential there for three little houses. Not only are we providing a good, quality product, but the houses are affordable for the city, and we're taking a rundown property that needs a little sprucing and making a nice house of it," he said. "We're helping the neighbors out and the neighborhood out, and values are going up.

"Every time we get somewhere and we do something on the house, the neighbors always do something, whether it's painting, cleaning up the yard. We've seen great things."

And Dorman doesn't anticipate slowing down anytime soon.

"I'd like to build a house every year for the next 20 years, and as long as the Ottumwa program keeps going, we'll be building two," he said. "We're proud of hour houses, but we're changing their tax base and upping that. They make a huge impact."

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury