by Katy Knapp
Daily Lobo
It will cost $2.2 million to fix the damage caused by a flood in the Centennial Science and Engineering Library.
Joel Straquadine, facilities maintenance manager, said the total could change, but that is the figure the insurance company gave.
"That figure includes all the labor and putting the books back on the shelf," he said.
Straquadine said putting the more than 200,000 books back on the shelves will be a daunting task.
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"We hope to have the books back in by February 14," he said. "That will be a two-week process."
It took more than 100 people to move the books out, he said. Putting the books back on the shelf will take less people but require more time.
"We won't be in as big of a panic," he said. "We will have to go slower and get them back up in an orderly fashion."
Repairs have progressed steadily, Straquadine said.
"Our target date for completion is the beginning of March," he said.
Johann van Reenan, director of Centennial Library, said he hopes the repairs will be finished in eight weeks.
"The carpet is taking longer than expected to arrive from the manufacturers," he said. "The downstairs will also have water-and mold-resistant tile put in."
The walls were repaired and painted, and the flooring will be delivered by Friday, he said. The ceiling repairs will be finished by the end of this week, he said.
"In the first week of February, final things, like reconstructing the bathroom, will be done," Straquadine said.
Engineering students have been finding other places to study.
Van Reenan said the student population in the library has dwindled since repairs began.
"We had to put a sign up that said 'Welcome, we are open,' because it looks like we're closed," he said.
He said students using computers used to be a common sight in the library.
"We used to be very heavily used as a computer pod," he said. "That traffic has diminished."
Student Geno Griego said he has been going to Centennial Library for a long time, and the repairs haven't deterred him from studying there.
"It just looks ugly," he said. "But I think it will look a lot better than before when they are done."
The area where Griego usually studies is closed off for repair, he said, which is his only annoyance. He said it doesn't seem to be less crowded than last semester.
"It looks about the same to me," he said.
Three offices in the building have been closed due to extensive damage, van Reenan said.
UNM is looking at ways to prevent a flood like this from occurring again, Straquadine said.
The power outage that caused the flood occurred when a 90-foot transmission tower tilted on the corner of Constitution Avenue and Carlisle Boulevard on Dec. 24.
Don Brown, media relations representative for PNM, said two transmission lines were lost that morning, along with 12 substations, including UNM.
UNM has one high-voltage feed of electricity from PNM.
"The power that supplies UNM goes to the substation and reduces the voltage," he said. "From there, UNM distributes the power to their buildings."
He said UNM is responsible for the maintenance of its distribution center, but PNM's power outage was the reason for the frozen pipes.
"We will be reviewing more options later this week," Straquadine said. "Right now, everyone is looking at the scenario and how to avoid it or minimize it in the future."
