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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Thursday, January 13, 2005

UH details its flood costs for state legislators

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

State legislators on the House and Senate money committees yesterday got the first breakdown the University of Hawai'i has offered on costs and recovery from the Oct. 30 flood, including a cleanup bill of almost $10 million.

According to Sam Callejo, vice president for administration, the overall total of $76 million — not including the cost of lost business and intellectual property, which could push the total as high as $100 million — breaks down to:

• $25 million in loss of contents at Hamilton Library.

• $10 million to $15 million for reconstruction at Hamilton Library.

• $10 million in total cleanup charges from BMS Catastrophe, a Texas-based recovery firm, and other firms used before BMS CAT was hired five days after the flood. The BMS CAT bills amount to a little over $6 million.

• $7 million to $10 million for cleanup, reconstruction and refurnishing of the Biomedical Sciences Building that currently houses the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine.

• The remainder will cover repairs throughout the other 28 buildings on campus that were also damaged in the flood, as well as repairs to the primary cable in the underground utility system.

Some bids have been let and reconstruction is beginning, said Callejo.

He said it could take as long as a year to refurbish the library completely. By the end of January, two large generators should be in place to power up the main building.

On Monday the library annex went back into full operation for the beginning of the spring semester.

Part of the money to pay for the damage and repairs will come from the $25 million state flood insurance policy and $25 million in repair and maintenance money allotted to UH last year but not yet released by the governor.

As for the rest, officials are awaiting word on whether President Bush will declare the flood a state disaster, which would qualify the university for money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The lawmakers, members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and House Finance Committee, also heard of the growing need for money throughout the system.

Officials said the needs include:

• Repairs on virtually all campuses, as well as at the Waikiki Aquarium — where the electrical system is considered dangerous by its director.

• Adding faculty to build programs at West O'ahu to train nurses and teachers.

• Augmenting security forces at some community colleges — including Kapi'olani Community College, which has only a single guard.

Additionally there's a growing need to provide services for the rising number of physically and emotionally challenged students attending colleges in the state system, officials said.

In offering an overview of the budget, interim president David McClain said the university is asking for increases in the operating budget of $31 million in the first year of the new biennium budget and $39 million in the second year. That doesn't include a one-time infusion of $20 million into a state scholarship fund created last year by the Legislature.

On top of that, capital improvements director Jan Yokota told legislators the university is asking for a $169 million CIP budget over both years to cover four major project areas, including:

• $120 million for repairs and maintenance and health and safety improvements system-wide in the face of a $161 million backlog of deferred maintenance.

• $20 million to build a Hawaiian Language Building at UH-Hilo.

• $17 million to develop a Culinary Institute of the Pacific at the site of the former Cannon Club on the slopes of Diamond Head next to KCC; $12 million for additional needs at the new medical school and proposed new Cancer Center in Kaka'ako.

The university is also asking the Legislature to make it exempt from the state procurement law — as it has been for several years until now — because that law slows the university's acquisition of ordinary supplies, from one to two weeks to one to two months.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.