NEW CASTLE — The Armstrong Lodge, the former home of the child care center at Butler County Community College, will be demolished, BC3's board of trustees decided Wednesday.

The board agreed to level the lodge after learning it would cost $250,000 to $500,000 to repair the 40-year-old building. It will cost less than $20,000 to demolish.

The Children's Creative Learning Center moved to the renovated, former bookstore after a 60-foot oak tree fell on the Armstrong Lodge during a May 6 storm, making the lodge unusable.

The new center's enrollment is filled with 31 children. The board would like to enlarge the child care center to 5,000 square feet to accommodate more children.

Officials have not determined whether a new child care center will be built at the site of the Armstrong Lodge or if it will be included in another structure.

Since May, the college hired an arborist to evaluate trees on campus. Twenty-eight were of concern and 16 have been removed. Work has begun to prioritize removal of the balance of the trees.

In other business, the board learned the Butler campus is short 150 parking spaces, with especially tight parking on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A new lot to accommodate the overflow is projected to cost $375,000 to $400,000. Staff is gathering additional information before a solution is recommended.

The board also approved a $77,496 bid from Phil Hay and Sons to clear land and build a fence to expand the Public Safety Training Facility for gas well job training. A grant from the Department of Justice will pay for the project.

BC3 and other community colleges in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia are developing a common curriculum to train a workforce for Marcellus Shale natural gas-related industries.