Spring has brought with it a flurry of activity at the Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Co-Lin President Dr. Ronnie Nettles reported at the board of trustees meeting in the Henley Building Thursday afternoon.

“It’s a very, very busy time at Co-Lin,” the president said.

At the meeting, trustees approved full-time personnel for the college district, high-tech welding equipment and other budgetary and finance items.

Contingent on a balanced budget, Trustee member Roy Winkworth presented the board with a list of contractual personnel recommendations for 2014-2015 that the board approved.

Stan Patrick updated the board on expenditures vs. revenues at the college, reporting $34,112,959,51 in expenditures and $33,771,795.67 in revenue for the month of March.

“Federal dollars, plant funds and other revenue continues to come in sporadically,” Patrick said. Between February and March, the college saw close to $2.6 million in revenue come in, Patrick noted.

The board approved 18 purchase orders of over $5,000 for total purchases of $977,783.39.

The board approved two items to be used in the college’s welding program including a Torchmate CNC cutting system for $16,961.37 and a teachWELD Welding Simulation for $42,216.

The Torchmate system combines hardware and software to create a computerized cutting system that allows the operator to customize their system to match cutting needs. The simulation comes with a welding workstation, gun, helmet and gloves and is meant to educate students in the full complexity of welding.

Parking improvements for the Simpson campus were approved after the board reviewed a bid from Central Asphalts Co. for the amount of $234,062.50 for the project.

A Smithsonian exhibit that began April 3 will continue through May 9 at the Wesson campus. The exhibit, titled “From Mill Town to College Town,” is being displayed in the Mutton Building. The exhibit includes a historical look at the evolution of Wesson and has photos and items from the National Archives as well as local artifacts from Copiah and nearby counties as part of the display. Co-Lin is only one of two community colleges approved by the Mississippi Humanities Council for the exhibit.

Earlier in the day Thursday, several board trustees participated in the college’s annual Business and Industry Appreciation Luncheon at the Thames Center where awards were given to college and industry representatives.

A new training program consortium, titled the South Mississippi Alliance for Workforce Solutions, between Co-Lin and four other regional colleges was introduced to the luncheon crowd. The goal of the cooperative program is to transition students into the workplace.

Steven Amman promised to have a balanced budget for the board’s review in May, when they meet again.