University of Utah needs $400 million in repairs

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Higher education officials say Utah’s flagship university needs $400 million in repairs to crumbling buildings, a backlog that has state agencies rethinking the way they fund renovations on public college and university campuses.

Statewide, routine repairs that can stave off later breakdowns have been shelved. Higher education officials say they are putting money toward more pressing construction needs as they grapple with funds whittled by the Great Recession.

It means outdated laboratories, music studios and other school buildings could soon stop short of serving students because they lack new amenities, said Cory Higgins, University of Utah executive director of facility and construction operations.

“I wouldn’t call it a crisis yet, but a lot of people are raising the alarm that we can’t continue to underfund these higher ed assets and expect to continue to compete in a worldwide market in education,” Higgins tells the Deseret News (https://bit.ly/1jNJxVS).

Large-scale needs like an ongoing overhaul of the university’s rundown water and electricity systems mean that smaller projects get tabled. That project is an example of deferred repairs that later “came back to bite us,” said state Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, who co-chairs the state Infrastructure and General Government committee.

Each year, the university receives roughly $20 million from the state for improvements.

But officials don’t take infrastructure into consideration when they divvy up that money: The formula neglects green space, parking lots and roads.

So the school is pulling the $100 million from a variety of funds to address crumbling pipes and wires. During the 2013 legislative session, it got some extra help in the upgrade from lawmakers who approved a special allowance.

The university’s logjam highlights the need for officials to reconsider the process, said Josh Haines, director of the Utah Division of Facilities and Construction Management. In the future, he said, they’ll likely add in infrastructure checkups and maintenance.

Last year, the division funded about 320 of nearly 550 requested state improvement projects, handing out about half of the requested $196 million.

At state-run universities and colleges, new buildings will continue to go up, officials say, because private donors and other sources often foot the bill.

Utah Sen. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, chair of the Higher Education Appropriations Committee, says his committee is considering a more active role in addressing campus maintenance issues.

Other universities have felt a similar pinch in recent years, Urquhart said, but none as acutely as the University of Utah.

“I think we’re doing all we can,” said Higgins, the University of Utah official. “Sure we’d love to do more, but it’s a matter of resources.”

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Information from: Deseret News, https://www.deseretnews.com