Matt Weir / The Collegian
Nimat Davis, administrative coordinator for the women’s studies and political science department at Fresno State makes her way to her office up to the second floor of the McKee Fisk building daily. It’s a trek she’s made for the past three years and one getting more difficult with the deteriorating building around her.
Last month Davis and anyone else who visited the second floor of the McKee Fisk building could see vacant tile frames on the ceiling in front of the men’s restroom creating a leaking roof. Concerns were raised about the safety of sporadically falling tiles, the wet floor produced from the roof from rain and exposure to what appeared to be a compilation of black mold.
“I called right away once I was informed that it had fallen and asked for someone to come from Plant Operations to come pick it up and they did,” Davis said. “They brought two trash bins, one with toxic on it, so it probably did make the faculty and everyone else nervous.”
Robert Boyd, associate vice president for facilities management, explained the 50-year-old McKee Fisk roof has far exceeded the usual 25 year roof lifespan. He said the aging roof began to leak and dripped down causing the ceiling tiles to soak up the moisture. The chain reaction lead to the loose tiles falling.
During the April showers the roof began to leak creating a potentially hazardous slippery floor.
“Its really only a problem when it rains and its more the water leaking,” said political science professor Dr. Kenneth Hansen whose office is right next to the falling tiles. “When it was wet it was [the ceiling] really black so it could have been mold and given that there was so much water there the thought did go through my mind.”
Matt Weir / The Collegian
Manager for the Environmental Health and Safety division Lisa Kao said once concerns were raised about a possible mold exposure her office had the area tested by professional labs.
“That was accumulated dirt on the ceiling, that wasn’t mold,” Kao said. “But that dirt provides a place for mold to grow. We knew we were going to grow mold on that dirt if it wasn’t cleaned off so they have been cleaned off.”
Kao also stated that until the roof is properly fixed, all ceiling tiles were checked and the loose ones removed.
“Because of the financial issues and lack of staff, things occur that could impact safety,” Kao said. “But our department and facilities management work really closely. Our goal is to ensure that safety is never impacted. We’re really trying very hard to make sure the buildings are safe for the occupants because you can’t learn in an unsafe environment.”
Boyd said his team was able to fix the leaking roof once it stopped raining with a single-ply patch. He said it’s the best solution for the problem right now but does not deflect that a new roof is long overdue.
“Given our fiscal situation it’s a challenge,” he said. “That roof will probably be close to $300,000 to replace. That was determined yesterday and we’re trying to expedite getting that repair, not just the repair but a replacement”
He said his main focus is to start construction on the roof by June or July to have it ready for classes to begin in the fall semester.
“That would be record and I’ve only been here almost 31 years and I haven’t seen it yet,” Boyd said. “It’s a challenge not only to find the money but then if I had the money to get out and repair it. A lot of people think things like that should happen very quickly but there’s a lot more variables that you don’t see that goes into a construction project.”
With a continually shrinking staff, Boyd said his team is learning to adjust to keep providing adequate service to students, faculty and staff on campus.
“That’s just an impact people have to understand and realize that we are in desperate times, things we’ve never went through or experienced before. And the outcome of that is it takes longer to deliver service you want to provide,” he said. “It’s a real challenge for us but it’s not one we concede, it’s not one we say we’ll never solve. We’re very optimistic and we try to provide the best level service we can.”
Boyd explained that Fresno State has grown in building size exponentially yet his staff is half of what it used to be 30 years ago. The campus maintenance is backlogged in excess of $120 million, he said. Due to the amount of repairs needed on campus and the lack of workers, all work orders are sorted by priority, a practice known as a triage operation. The most severe issues concerning health or safety are dealt with first, he said.
“I think in general our community is understanding of the fact that we are in a diminished state at this point in time and our resources are extremely limited,” Boyd said. “I think we’re changing the way we do business but at the same time we’re keeping it focused that the needs of the students and the faculty does come first for us and always will be. We never will back down from this challenge and I’m committed, my team’s committed to making this still the best University around.”