The Student News Site of Central Oregon Community College

The Broadside

The Student News Site of Central Oregon Community College

The Broadside

The Student News Site of Central Oregon Community College

The Broadside

COCC to spend millions in maintenence and repair

Miranda Simone | The Broadside

A Crack in the pavement outside Ponderosa, one of the buildings in need of repair at COCC.

Kristeen Wolf
The Broadside

COCC will need millions of dollars in maintenance and repairs in the next 11 years.

EMG, a Maryland company that offers facility assessment services, estimated the cost of maintenance and “capital renewal” at over ten million dollars over eleven years.

“That number is a guideline,”said Joe Viola, director of Campus Services. “We don’t have to match that number.”

Roughly every ten years COCC conducts a facilities audit to acess “existing physical condition and functional performance of buildings and infrastructure, as well as maintenance deficiencies,” The 2011 Facility Condition Assessment by EMG provided an overview of building condition, a set of recommended priorities, long term needs and recommended first year repairs.

The formula used to assess building condition is the Facility Condition Index. The maintenaence, repair and replacement cost is divided by the current replacement value of the facility. Five percent is an indicator of good condition—and is COCC target rate— but “costly to keep it at that level” said Viola. COCC current FCI is 6.3 percent.

The newly built Campus Center has a very low FCI, unlike the 40 year-old structures on campus. The oldest buildings are around the quad. According to EMG, Ochoco alone needs over $150,000 in short term repairs. The total recommended for short-term building repairs across the campus came to over two million dollars.

The neediest building, according to the report, is the Frederick H. Boyle Education Center with $712,625 in short term repairs. The
building—just 22 years old—is depreciating at a higher rate than it should be, according to Viola. There is bird damage and the cladding—the exterior surface— is failing. Sidewalks, stairways and painting will be looked at as well as any safety concerns.

“That building has a lot of issues,”he said.

Director of Construction Gene Zinkgraf said that Boyle was not build with the standards COCC currently employs. At the time of construction, there was pressure to take advantage of state funds. The “speed in which [Boyle] was designed and build” resulted in the accelerated depreciation according to Zinkgraf.

Buildings generally come with a year warranty after completion. Zinkgraf feels that funds for current construction are such that the building will have “good bones” and will adapt and age well over the years.

The 10-year outlook for Boyle according to EMG includes roughly 1.5 million dollars in work.

While COCC does not expect to spend the amount EMG stated in their report they could spend half a million on Boyle, according to Viola.

The next audit will be in ten years and will include the Madras and Prineville campuses.

Kirsteen Wolf can be reached at [email protected].

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