Dilapidated buildings here to stay

UNM has more than 300 buildings, some built as far back as the 1920s,

And some faculty members said a number of aging buildings are in such disrepair that it affects their ability to teach.
Trish Aragon-Mascarenas, a psychology department administrator at Logan Hall, said the building has never been renovated, but it needs work. She said the Aug. 8 flood that left three floors and 35 rooms in Logan Hall unusable could have been prevented by renovating the plumbing system.

“Where to begin? This building is horrible. It has lead, asbestos, mold and sewer gas leaks, not to mention the flooding. Ask any of the faculty here and they would say the same thing,” she said.

Mary Vosevich, director of the UNM Physical Plant, said PPD completes about 50,000 work orders a year and must be judicious when deciding what buildings need attention. She said PPD sets aside Building Renewal and Replacement funds, which come from the state, to do work on buildings, and money for renovations also comes from department funds, grants or University donations.

“We have a lot of different maintenance on our campus because of the vintage of our campus,” she said. “We have a lot of old buildings here… Our focus is building functionality… while still allowing the educational and research mission of the institution to continue.”
Ethan Kalosky, a graduate student who works in the Anthropology Annex, said the building floods at least once a year, the bathrooms need work and the air-conditioning system is outdated. He also said that the doors don’t shut properly and that the heating system needs to be revamped.

“We have radiators in here. The last radiator I saw was at my grandma’s house,” Kalosky said.
Osbjorn Pearson, an anthropology professor, said the building also has heating and cooling problems.
“This is an old, old building,” he said. “The cooling system breaks down several times each summer, and the temperature is constantly yo-yoing from hot to freezing in the winter.”

John Craig, lab manager of the Biology Annex, said the annex was built in 1948 and was last renovated in the 1970s. He said there are currently no plans to renovate any part of the building.

“It needs new heating and cooling, definitely. There are hot spots and cold spots all over this building,” he said.
Paul Polechla, a professor in Marron Hall, said the building is among many on campus that needs renovating, as well.

“It’s quaint, but I’d like to see it renovated. The wooden vigas out front really need some help, so do the windowsills, and they are constantly working on the plumbing,” he said. “I really think they just need to start from scratch with the plumbing.”

Vosevich said Building Renewal and Replacement fund totals more than $3 million, which is less than previous years. She said PPD focuses on “preventive maintenance” to eliminate the need for costly “correctional maintenance” when a building system fails or damage occurs.
“We are dealing with financial restraints right now, like everyone else,” she said. “This is a lean year. So, in this time of financial restraint, our focus is building functionality.”

Preventive maintenance funds come from PPD’s operating budget, which is allotted by the state through a formula based on how many square feet PPD is taking care of. But this year, Vosevich said PPD took a recurring budget cut of $1.3 million, a one-time cut of $635,000 and did not receive an additional $1.2 million.

“All we can do is look across the board at what we have to do to keep buildings functioning … but the issue of deferred maintenance is an issue across higher education in this country,” she said.
“It just is what it is.”