Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Campuses said to have $117M backlog

Campuses said to have $117M backlog

Dec 01, 2006 - 04:06:54 CST

North Dakota's 11 state college and university campuses have a backlog of more than $117 million in deferred maintenance, a university system vice chancellor says.

Laura Glatt, vice chancellor for administrative affairs for the North Dakota University System, said the projects include everything from leaky windows to steam lines that need replacing to cracks in buildings.

The university system is seeking $10 million from the Legislature to ease the backlog, and $4 million to increase the base amount that campuses get for maintenance.

Workers found 247 loose bricks on the fourth floor of one of Valley City State's buildings that was near sidewalks. That has been fixed, Valley City State President Ellen Chaffee said, but just this month she learned of another building with loose bricks.

"Modern, up-to-date and well-maintained facilities are critical," Glatt said. "If we aren't going to have those, it's going to be more and more difficult to recruit and retain students."

The University of North Dakota has the highest amount of university system's deferred maintenance with $40.5 million, or 34 percent of the total. North Dakota State University has 25 percent, with a $30 million backlog.

Minot State University and Mayville State University each account for about 10 percent of the total backlog.

At the rate North Dakota University System facilities are maintained, it would take 264 years to upgrade everything, Glatt said. The $10 million request would be just a start, but campus officials say they will be grateful for whatever they get.

Jim Borkowski, director for business affairs at Minot State-Bottineau, said a 25-year-old roof on campus may not be added to the deferred maintenance list because it is not leaking. But it is nearing the end of its useful life, he said.

"We really haven't identified all of the major repairs on our campus," Borkowski said.

Mayville State's West Hall accounts for about 30 percent of the $10 million in deferred maintenance on campus, said interim president Gary Hagen. A $4 million renovation of West Hall is near the top of the priority list for the university system.

The deferred maintenance problem is fairly common at schools around the country, Glatt said. But other states have invested several million dollars in bond issues to take care of some of the backlog, she said.

Every dollar counts, Chaffee said.

"You don't know where a fire might break out in an area not sufficiently sprinkled or a brick might get one last nudge," she said.

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Comments

former Bismarck resident wrote on Dec 1, 2006 10:18 PM:

" Consolidation and/or elimination are the only responsible means of putting higher education financially back-on-track in your state. There are not enough students to maintain 11 separate 'university' physical plants. Mayville has been insolvent for several years now, so it makes no sense to spend another $4 million on a building in a location where there may no longer be students at the end of the re-construction. The Mayville campus should be closed. If the state is going to invest in education, it would be wiser to transform Bismarck State College into a 4-year school since it is experiencing record enrollments. What kind of thinking is going on with your Board of Higher Education when schools are kept open purely for nostologia? "

wood-eye wrote on Dec 1, 2006 12:03 PM:

" Here we get back to priorities again. If the Board of Higher Education would allocate a portion of the monies spent on sports related activities and spend that money on infrastructure in the colleges and universities that are "falling apart" there would be a remarkedly increase in the comfort and security of the staff and students in the schools. It seems year after year, the sports machine demands more and more money to operate their programs. Somewhere, someone is going to need to say enough is enough. Begin either downsizing the sports agenda or stick to a minimum required annual budget. Academia should have the priority in schools of higher education. After all the students are there to get an education - not become professional sports heroes. This is just so obvious a decision. "

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