State's universities need more money for maintenance
ESU has $29 million backlog
By Scott Rochat
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Emporia State University has had to put off nearly $29 million of needed repairs and upkeep due to lack of funding, the chief executive officer of the Kansas Board of Regents said Wednesday.
CEO Reggie Robinson said the state's universities have a total maintenance backlog of $584 million, a backlog that continues to grow each year.
"If you don't address these maintenance concerns, this will only grow more expensive and it will only grow more severe," Robinson told an audience of state legislators, candidates for office and local dignitaries at ESU's Memorial Union.
The address was part of a "working lunch" sponsored by the Board of Regents and ESU. Two others have been held at Pittsburg State University and at Kansas State University's Salina branch.
About half of ESU's deferred maintenance needs come from four buildings: the William Allen White Library; King Hall; Roosevelt Hall; and the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building. The total only includes academic buildings, leaving out items such as the dormitories or athletic fields.
A behind-the-scenes tour showed some of the problem areas, such as an old and duct-taped electrical system in White Library or the crumbling concrete and general deterioration in the steam tunnels below the former Butcher Childrens School.
"Everything's behind doors, so you don't see it from the public side," said Mark Runge, director of university facilities. "But behind the public side, there's a lot of need."
Besides the electrical problems, a recent study found that White Library's heating and cooling systems, windows and parts of its interior needed to be either repaired, upgraded or replaced.
One unplanned item came up during the tour when an elevator carrying half the tour group went to the fourth floor and then back to the first without stopping. The elevator then refused to go up again.
"That wasn't on the list," ESU Vice President for Administration Ray Hauke said to some laughter.
The same study found Roosevelt Hall to also need work on its heating and cooling systems, its plumbing and its foundation. As Runge took the group behind Roosevelt, he pointed out the long white cracks that stood in sharp relief against the red brick.
"We're getting vertical breaks through the concrete and that indicates a very serious problem," he said.
"Sounds like my old apartment," joked Charles Long, a Democratic candidate for Emporia's seat in the Kansas House.
In addition to the heating, cooling and plumbing issues, the HPER building also needs a new roof, Hauke said. About a third of the money for the roof replacement has been saved. King Hall was not toured, but according to the report had issues with its plumbing, windows, electrical system and teaching laboratories.
Just to keep things from getting farther behind at all state universities, Robinson said, the state would need to spend about $74 million a year. The state didn't. This year's money for maintenance came to $15 million, of which ESU got $855,000.
In general, Robinson said, state funding to universities has been going down. In 1985, the Legislature provided 49 percent of a state university's operating funds. Now it's about 29 percent and projected to slide further.
After the tour, Rep. Bill Light, R-Rolla, said he wasn't sure how to address the funding issues but that something clearly needed to be done.
"I think it's going to be important for the state to do something about these conditions on all our campuses," Light said. "It is something we're going to have to tackle. It's just going to get worse."