THIS OLD CAMPUS
Maintenance needs exceed $200 million
R. Steve Dick/University Relations
Jim Modig, director of Design and Construction Management, points out a section of steam tunnel that is badly rusted. The tunnels, which need several million dollars of repairs, are KU's top deferred maintenance priority.
The transformer, which had been in use since the building's construction, cost several thousand dollars to replace. But because it failed before it could be replaced, a generator was needed to provide power to the building. The cost of running the diesel-powered generator and replacing the transformer will reach an estimated $120,000.
The Wescoe incident is just the most recent problem. In August, an electrical line on west campus failed, causing a power loss to Nichols Hall. The cost of repair and rental of a generator to supply temporary power was $180,000. Earlier this month, a chiller in Green Hall failed. It has been rebuilt four times but would cost about $150,000 to replace.
WHAT IS IT?
The transformer is just one example of KU's multi-million dollar deferred maintenance problem. Deferred maintenance is needed repair and rehabilitation of buildings and infrastructure that is delayed because of a lack of funding. At the Lawrence and KU Medical Center campuses, the backlog is estimated at $228 million. Across Kansas Regents universities, the estimate is nearly $600 million.
For fiscal year 2007, KU received $4.4 million to use for building and infrastructure repair. Each year, the price tag for deferred maintenance increases an estimated $14 million.
EXAMPLES
Across campus, the examples of needed work are plentiful. Below the feet of the thousands of people who walk across campus each day is the university's top deferred maintenance priority. A network of steam tunnels that carries heat from a 50-year-old boiler at the power plant to campus buildings is crumbling. The tunnels, which were built in about 1900, need about $8 million in repairs.
Nearing the point of collapse in some places, the tunnels are full of rusted structural steel. Jim Modig, director of Design and Construction Management, said in many places, temporary fixes are in place to try to maintain the tunnels. He points out pieces of steel that support the steam piping system in the tunnels that are rusted completely through. Concrete has been poured around the base to help hold it together. Others have temporary replacement pieces that are also rusted.
"This whole tube is rusted out," Modig said of one section of tunnel. "If it fails, that's all that's holding the earth back."
At Watson Library, a fire prevention sprinkler is rusted. It would only cost an estimated $3,000 to replace. But, like Wescoe, the total cost would be drastically higher if the system broke and caused water damage to the millions of volumes housed in the library.
In the basement of Lindley Hall, the walls show years of damage from water that leaks in from an exterior area well. In many places, the walls are discolored, while paint is peeling and pipes near electrical outlets are rusted.
Research is affected as well. In Lindley and Malott halls, laboratories have outdated fume hoods that would cost thousands to replace. The equipment in many is rusted and outdated.
Wescoe Hall has problems in addition to its transformer. Walls and ceilings on the first floor are uneven because of a failing concrete slab below the building. The slab is pushing the floor upward in places, causing floors to slope and ceilings and walls to rest at uneven angles. The university recently received $1 million in repair and rehabilitation funds from the Kansas Board of Regents to repair the problem. Modig said another estimated $4 million would be needed to complete the project.
Behind the Art and Design Building, a retaining wall that helps support the structure has broken free and is leaning away from the building.
ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM
In 2004, Regents produced a report chronicling the problem at each of the Regents institutions. In the report, it was stated that $74 million would need to be provided each year to prevent further backlog. Keith Yehle, director of government relations, said Regents recently produced analysis that shows not only is that figure not being met, but support is declining. By 2010, more of the university's budget will come from tuition than from state support.
In an effort to garner more state support to pay for deferred maintenance, Regents institutions are updating the figures in the 2004 report as they apply to each university. KU has completed its update and submitted it to regents, who will compile the information from all regents' institutions for a new report. An updated estimate on KU's deferred maintenance total was not available.
Yehle said a legislative proposal would be presented to lawmakers, after mid-term elections, but before the next legislative session in January.
To provide lawmakers with a first-hand look at the problem, Regents are hosting a series of "working lunches" across the state. Yehle said legislators at the event would be shown several examples of deferred maintenance problems. A working lunch is being held today at the KU Medical Center and will come to the Lawrence campus Nov. 2.
Modig said situations like the failing Wescoe transformer will become more commonplace if funding for maintenance is not increased. The most pressing needs would take years to fix at current funding levels, he said.
"If we continue to fund just 25 percent of our repair and rehabilitation needs that are on our list today, we'll spend 20 years just repairing the tunnels."
Email Page
Print Page