The campus is going through changes

Construction crews have been a familiar sight across campus this academic year, from making preparations, to building a new football stadium, to renovating the Massari gymnasium; students, faculty and staff have become aware of the changes occurring across campus.

Included in the construction projects is the re-roofing of the Life Sciences building along with the Physics/Math building.

Heavy rainstorms that hit Pueblo over the summer, damaging some of the roofs severely. Ceiling tiles collapsed due to the large amounts of water that soaked through the leaking roofs. Waste baskets were being scattered around classroom floors to catch dripping water.

The buildings around campus have not had new roofs in about 15 to 20 years. The economy in the state was bad for such a long time the legislature was unable to fund higher education in the amounts that it should have, said Deborah Proctor, campus projects manager. Because of this, the infrastructure suffered.

Now that some money is coming back into the system we can complete some of these projects, Proctor said.

“Occupants of the buildings will notice the difference by virtue, the fact that it got so bad with some of those big rain storms,” Proctor said. “They would have to leave waste baskets to catch the dripping water, so hopefully we won’t go through that anymore.”

The project, which was set to start in mid-August, began in early September. The roofing had to be pushed back two-and-a-half weeks because the roofs of the new Massari gym were not yet completed. The same roofing crew, Central States Roofing Company, is responsible for each building, so the project could not begin until the other was finished.

The campus projects team wanted to re-roof over the summer, but the large demand for construction work during the summer months made it impossible.

Unless we wanted to schedule roofing for next summer and go one more year with leaking roofs, we had to agree to roof during the school year, Proctor said, our contractor was scheduled throughout the summer on other jobs, so we weren’t able to do it any sooner.

Before the projects began, it was cleared through the University’s President, Joe Garcia. The project was given the go-ahead with the agreement that the roofers would not work on pre-determined days that would interfere with specific activities being held on campus. This agreement would not go against either the cost or timing of the project.

Proctor said proper precautions are taken before roofing or any other campus construction begins in order to insure the safety of students, faculty and staff around campus.

Before beginning any projects we contact the Environmental Health and Safety Officer, Joe Gallegos, Proctor said. He is responsible for making sure all the proper safety signs are posted and all health concerns are addressed before construction begins.

Concerns raised about the prominent tar smell as a result from the roofing was on top priority for Gallegos, Proctor said.

“We received a lot of complaints about the tar smell that was circulating through the buildings because of the ventilation system, especially during the warmer months of September and October,” Proctor said. “Joe made it priority to make sure everyone felt safe and knew that there were no harmful chemicals being breathed in.”

Building occupants requested the company bring in a tar kettle with an after burner to help alleviate some of the smell, Proctor said. The company also used a low odor tar to keep the smell a little less strong, she said.

“The main thing we want people on campus to know is that all the projects and renovations that are beginning to take place are being done with their safety in mind,” Proctor said. “We understand some of this construction can be inconvenient, but it is necessary and it can be done without endangering the campus community.”

Other roofing projects in the psychology building, the art and music building and the administration building are set to begin next summer. The psychology building will be re-roofed first, and the other two buildings will be scheduled for repairs within the next two years.

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