UI projects cost less

The university will save roughly $200,000 on the re-roofing of Burge Hall this summer, University Housing Director Von Stange said.

The savings are a result of local contractors’ lower bids during the economic recession.

“Based on the economy, we have more vendors look at these construction opportunities,” Stange said. “It’s been good for us.”

Jeffrey Aaberg, University Housing’s head of facilities and operations, agreed.

“Projects this year have been typically lower than what we’ve expected,” he said.

While the UI is putting off several major projects across campus because of budget cuts, none of the residence-hall projects are being pushed back.

This summer’s plans include, in addition to replacing Burge’s roof, renovating restrooms and installing key-card access at Hillcrest and Slater.

Stange said the original cost estimate for the Burge project was approximately $1.4 million, but after landing good deals with area contractors, new projections show it will cost around $1.2 million.

The university spends roughly $7 million on summer projects each year, Stange said.

The final cost of campus construction projects is not released until they are complete, but the university is expected to save 10 to 20 percent per project this summer.

Jeff Kelsey, a co-owner of Iowa City business S&K Roofing, said his young company has been taking low bids to stay alive.

“We’re barely making out,” he said.

Aaberg said officials have no specific use for the extra money but noted it could be used as an emergency fund if future projects are affected by budget cuts.

“Maybe we’ll be able to do a little extra work next year; if not, hopefully, we’ll be able to stay on the same path,” he said.

Aside from the Burge roof project, the summer won’t bring major changes to the residence halls, Aaberg said.

Stange said the Burge addition — which will add 100 beds and more storage space — didn’t benefit from the current discounts because its contractors were hired three years ago. But the project is also unaffected by budget cuts because it has been paid off over the past three years.

The Burge addition is projected to cost the university $9 million, an increase from the original $8 million estimate made three years ago.

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Green thumbs for a green movement

Originally published in The Daily Iowan 4/24/2009

UI President Sally Mason strolled through the university’s new sustainable garden Thursday afternoon, taking about an hour of her day to talk with students who helped create it.

Mason said she’s “very pleased” with the UI Environmental Coalition’s work to make the new garden a reality. “This is just fabulous,” she said.

The new garden — built in part to serve the IMU Food Service with organic produce — is the latest in several university sustainability efforts — which, UI officials said, they will continue despite budget cuts.

Food Service manager Richard Geer said he also hopes some of the produce will be sold directly to the students through a farmers’ market.

Officials realized they needed a new student garden after the last one — near North Hall — didn’t flourish because of a lack of sunlight. Garden manager and UI graduate student Adam Perkins said it was difficult to teach students how to grow their own food in such a plot.

“So we lobbied with the administration to find a different place to operate,” he said.

UI Director of Sustainability Liz Christiansen said the key to the garden’s creation was the Environmental Coalition’s claim of responsibility over the project.

“If anything were to happen to the hoop-house here or any damage to the garden itself, we’d have a responsible party,” she said.

The hoop-house is a movable greenhouse that will be able to shift the climate of the plants 500 miles south, keeping them growing when they are out of season, said Greg Garbos, designer and engineer with Kansas City, Mo.-based company Four Season Tools.

“You’re getting so much more value out of the structure by being able to move it,” he said.

Sustainability has become a new field for engineers over the last couple of years to answer the greater demand for a smaller carbon footprint. Next year, a new engineering class will start to teach students about different sustainable energy systems.

The new garden is another way UI officials plan to reduce the university’s carbon footprint. The garden is sustainable given its use of fertilization materials from the Iowa City landfill and promise of manually operated upkeep.

“A lot of agriculture companies are really focused on big scale agriculture with chemicals,” Garbos said.

Perkins said he hopes this new garden will serve as an example for the rest of Iowa.