Spring Break
Professor feels brunt of Arjona's ongoing disrepair
Christopher Duray
Issue date: 1/23/09 Section: News
Journalism professor Robert Wyss looked over the 225 water-damaged books spread out all over his department's reading room in an attempt to dry them out. The act, a doomed salvage, has sapped his literature into gnarled, broken things. Standing precariously upright on every table, desk and much of the floor, they resemble desiccated dominoes, poised to collapse on each other in final submission to their injuries.
Idly, Wyss picked at a crinkled Tom Wolfe novel.
"This destroyed a 40-year collection," he said.
The books are the victims of a winter-break flood in the aged Arjona building, a structure infamous for its chronic heating and architectural problems. The extent of the water damage is hard to calculate since it seeped down several floors in the building, but janitors have cleared much of the damage already.
According to Building Services Manager Dave Lotreck, the flooding occurred after a seam in the roof membrane broke, likely due to contraction or freezing because of the cold weather, letting in a large quantity of water.
There was some concern that traces of asbestos in the building, currently scheduled for abatement by the Facilities Operations department, infected occupants of the building through the flooding water, but Lotreck said this was unlikely and if it was the case, any asbestos transmitted would be negligible.
According to the UConn Office of Capital Projects and Contract Administration, maintenance on the roof was completed in December by Greenwood Industries, the firm that also built the roof of UConn's Chemistry building.
Lotreck said that Greenwood would be back to fix the roof as it was under warranty, and that the firm probably didn't foresee any problems during repair.
"These things happen sometimes," Lotreck said. "That's why they [the construction companies] have insurance and that's why they give warrantees."
It's a position Wyss disagrees with.
"I had warned them that this could happen for at least nine months now," he said. "And then it happened."
The Capital Projects Planning Advisory Committee (CPPAC) has been planning a replacement structure for Arjona and it's twin Monteith, but the project has famously suffered delays.
The latest report estimates a December 2013 completion date for the new humanities building, but at an October CPPAC meeting, a question concerning when Arjona would finally be condemned was met with laughter.
Wyss isn't laughing. In one fell swoop, he has been given the onerous task of replacing books it has taken most of his life to accrue, and it is uncertain if UConn or Greenwood Industries will compensate him for his loss. Talking about it, he carries the bitter smile of a man making the best of a bad situation.
"I'm filing a claim," he said.
Idly, Wyss picked at a crinkled Tom Wolfe novel.
"This destroyed a 40-year collection," he said.
The books are the victims of a winter-break flood in the aged Arjona building, a structure infamous for its chronic heating and architectural problems. The extent of the water damage is hard to calculate since it seeped down several floors in the building, but janitors have cleared much of the damage already.
According to Building Services Manager Dave Lotreck, the flooding occurred after a seam in the roof membrane broke, likely due to contraction or freezing because of the cold weather, letting in a large quantity of water.
There was some concern that traces of asbestos in the building, currently scheduled for abatement by the Facilities Operations department, infected occupants of the building through the flooding water, but Lotreck said this was unlikely and if it was the case, any asbestos transmitted would be negligible.
According to the UConn Office of Capital Projects and Contract Administration, maintenance on the roof was completed in December by Greenwood Industries, the firm that also built the roof of UConn's Chemistry building.
Lotreck said that Greenwood would be back to fix the roof as it was under warranty, and that the firm probably didn't foresee any problems during repair.
"These things happen sometimes," Lotreck said. "That's why they [the construction companies] have insurance and that's why they give warrantees."
It's a position Wyss disagrees with.
"I had warned them that this could happen for at least nine months now," he said. "And then it happened."
The Capital Projects Planning Advisory Committee (CPPAC) has been planning a replacement structure for Arjona and it's twin Monteith, but the project has famously suffered delays.
The latest report estimates a December 2013 completion date for the new humanities building, but at an October CPPAC meeting, a question concerning when Arjona would finally be condemned was met with laughter.
Wyss isn't laughing. In one fell swoop, he has been given the onerous task of replacing books it has taken most of his life to accrue, and it is uncertain if UConn or Greenwood Industries will compensate him for his loss. Talking about it, he carries the bitter smile of a man making the best of a bad situation.
"I'm filing a claim," he said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Orlando
posted 1/26/09 @ 8:44 AM EST
Mark my words. Arjona wont be replaced well into 2010s. With UConn, any sort of completion date is usually at least 5 years before realization..so they say 2013. (Continued…)
Post a Comment