Trustees hear recommendations for capital budget

By Jo McCulty Renovation of the Main Library heads the list of Ohio State's preliminary capital requests budget for fiscal years 2005 and 2006.

Suggested projects would support Academic Plan

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

Ohio State's preliminary capital budget recommendations for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 support the priorities of the Academic Plan while carefully balancing university facility needs with a lean state budget. The recommendations were presented to the university's Board of Trustees July 11 for review, with adoption to be requested at the Sept. 5 trustees meeting.

Bill Shkurti, senior vice president for business and finance, said that, as always, the number of worthy projects exceeds funds available. While the state has not yet announced allocations to each institution for the 2005-06 biennium, he estimates that Ohio State's share of the next capital bill could be between $70 and $75 million for building projects on the Columbus campus.

"Alignment of the objectives of each project with the goals of the Academic Plan was an overriding factor in the recommendations," Shkurti said. "We are reserving scarce state dollars to support renovation or replacement of academic buildings, particularly where a deferred maintenance problem is involved," he said. While dollar amounts recommended for individual projects may change, ranking in terms of academic priorities will remain the same.

Capital funds are state funds the university receives every two years that are earmarked for specific capital improvement projects. The Ohio Board of Regents requires capital requests to include a six-year plan that charts university construction activity during this biennium and the next two biennia, as well as state funding history of projects not yet completed.

Representatives from the Offices of Academic Affairs, Business and Finance, Research, Health Services, Student Affairs and Development, and representatives of the Senate Fiscal Committee and the Senate Committee on the Physical Environment drafted the recommendations. Each project was evaluated based on its relationship to the Academic Plan, physical need, financial feasibility and physical feasibility.

Heading the list are five projects to which the university committed state funds during the FY 2003-04 capital process. (Basic renovation projects of $1.5 million or less are not included because they are funded by a separate line item.) In order of priority, they are:

• The rehabilitation of the Main (William Oxley Thompson) Library is one of two projects mentioned specifically in the Academic Plan -- and one of the few buildings bordering the Oval that has yet to be rehabilitated or funded for rehabilitation. The university is asking for $10 million in state funds for 2005-06.

• Mechanical Engineering is one of OSU's highly ranked academic departments; Robinson Lab is rated as one of the university's worst deferred maintenance problems. The recommendation is $29 million in state funds for 2005-06.

• The university is requesting $17 million in state capital funds for a new facility for psychology, a Selective Investment department. The project is critical to Academic Plan goals regarding sponsored research.

• A new student recreation center -- approved by trustees in 1998 -- addresses the Academic Plan goals regarding the teaching and learning environment. The university is asking for $8 million in state capital funds for the portion of the project related to instructional use. The remainder will be paid by user fees when the facility opens.

• A recommendation of $1.5 million in state funds will help finance improvements to the university's transportation and parking infrastructure to replace surface parking lost due to construction projects.

The five projects will require $65 million to either complete or continue in the 2005-06 biennium, leaving a maximum $10 million in uncommitted funds, Shkurti said. Priority for use of the remaining funds will be directed to those projects that offer the best opportunities to advance the Academic Plan, he said. Those include, in order of priority:

• Planning and designing an expansion of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is Ohio State's most productive interdisciplinary research center. The university is recommending $2.5 million be spent.

• Demolishing Lord Hall, a significant deferred maintenance problem, which would pave the way for a new facility in the north academic core of campus. $500,000 of other state funds set aside for small projects would be used.

• A recommendation to spend $3.5 million in state capital funds to help finance the renovation of Smith Lab for use as swing space, including the former occupants of Lord Hall.

• Renovation of Brown Hall, once it is vacated upon the completion of the Knowlton School of Architecture building. State funding of $2.5 million is being requested for planning that renovation. The new space will be assigned to the College of Humanities.

• The Office of Research would like to create a multidisciplinary research facility, a goal mentioned in the Academic Plan. A detailed study would be funded with $500,000 in state funds.

• The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences is completing an extensive master planning process that involved examination of its programs, land use and facility needs. The college could begin implementing the master plan with $1 million in state funds.

• Funding of $250,000 would help launch a feasibility study to determine whether Hughes Hall should be renovated for the School of Music or a new facility should be built.

• Murray Hall, located in the University Medical Center, is scheduled to be vacated by the Ohio Department of Health within the next two years and turned over to Ohio State. Funding of $250,000 is recommended to study the best use of the facility by the Medical Center.

The university's deans and vice presidents submitted 31 major project requests totaling $886 million.

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