KU says repair backlog made damage worse / LJWorld.com

Kansas University on Thursday blamed the state's failure to pay for facilities maintenance for exacerbating the damage from Sunday's storm.

KU officials say the high winds left behind at least $6 million in damage.

"I think if we'd been able to address our deferred maintenance, we would have come out better," Vice Provost Jim Long said.

The state's universities want the Legislature to address a $584 million repair backlog. KU officials connected the university's plight in the wake of Sunday's storm to the problem of deferred maintenance.

"We're very conscious that we're kind of living on the edge in a sense, in terms of the quality of our facilities and need for maintenance," said Jim Modig, KU director of design and construction management.

But, when questioned, Modig said it wasn't always the oldest or worst maintained roofs that suffered significantly from the storm.

KU and the Kansas Board of Regents made their last complete assessment of conditions at KU buildings in 2004. Roofs were rated on a scale of unsatisfactory to excellent.

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Some of the roofs damaged by the storm received "good" or "excellent" ratings in 2004.

Blake Hall, which KU says will need a complete new roof, received a good rating in 2004. The Art and Design building, which KU says will cost $400,000 to fix, also received a good rating. And Snow Hall, expected to cost $180,000 to repair, had an excellent rating. In recent repairs to Snow Hall, KU changed its asphalt shingles to tile.

"There are some exceptions," Modig said.

But there were some damaged roofs that got low marks in 2004. The roof of Danforth Chapel, which received an "unsatisfactory" rating, was completely destroyed by the storm. Dyche Hall's roof, which is expected to cost $500,000 to repair, received a "deficient" rating. Fraser Hall's roof also was rated "deficient."

The storm destroyed the roofs of six KU buildings and damaged others. More than 70 of KU's 116 buildings received some damage. One hundred trees did not make it, and others lost limbs.

"The scope of the damage will really not be known until permanent repairs begin," Long said.

Modig said cleanup and repair could continue for six months to a year.

Of the $584 million backlog statewide, KU has $168.5 million in repair needs, not including the $68.8 million needed at KU Medical Center, according to the Kansas Board of Regents.

The Regents allocated $4.36 million to KU for catching up on deferred maintenance in fiscal 2006. Of that, $625,000 was for roof repair.

March 12, 2006, Storm

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cavtrooper (anonymous) says…

Hmmmmm
Maybe less money on sports, overpaid administration and "liberal arts" and more money to maintain the Campus???
March 17, 2006 at 9:53 a.m.
Fatty_McButterpants (anonymous) says…

I don't know if I can beat "cavtrooper" but here goes. Why does it seem like the University always has to do every project twice? For example, the section of Naismith located in front of Murphy Hall. They tore out the sidewalks and put in new ones. Then, the following semester, they tore out the road in that same section, damaged the newly laid sidewalks, and had to redo the sidewalks as well as the road. That seems pretty wasteful to me.
March 17, 2006 at 11:11 a.m.
yourworstnightmare (anonymous) says…

More excellent writing from the reporters at the LJW:

"KU says repair backlog made damage worse"

KU can speak and KU has opinions? Wow.
March 17, 2006 at 11:36 a.m.
cutny (anonymous) says…

Well, Bennyoates...considering that your post broke no new ground, nor offered a topical opinion, I think you've won your own contest. I agree with Cavtrooper. The University thinks nothing of blowing money fixing things up that don't even need it, but when it comes to maintaining what they have, things seem to be put on the backburner. BTW yourworstnightmare, in case you just started reading newspapers today, that's pretty standard headline writing throughout the commercial news industry. Somehow, KU Official says....just doesn't have the same ring to it in headline editors' opinions.
March 17, 2006 at 11:51 a.m.
yourworstnightmare (anonymous) says…

The computer writes:

Well, cutny, you seem quite confident in your statement "The University thinks nothing of blowing money fixing things up that don't even need it, but when it comes to maintaining what they have, things seem to be put on the backburner"

Could you name a few examples of this behavior on the part of KU?
March 17, 2006 at 12:18 p.m.
Alyosha (anonymous) says…

yourworstnightmare, it's really not so odd or confusing.

It's a common to use a metonym when referring to an institution.

No one really thinks KU itself speaks.

Just like no thinks the White House speaks either.

But often you'll read "The White House says...."

Nor do people really think that "the press," as in "the freedom of the press," refers to a literal printing press. Rather it refers to the news media.

American education....
March 17, 2006 at 11:04 p.m.

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