State Legislature approves $123 million in repairs for the UW

A drink of water in Johnson Hall doesn't come out of a fountain, it is poured into a paper cup.

But the bottled water isn't a luxury, the pipes in Johnson Hall are so old the plumbing has rotted, and the building must be supplied with clean water.

But by the end of this year, that will no longer be the case, said University officials.

Earlier this month, the Legislature approved nearly $123 million in construction improvements for the UW. That money comes from the state's $2.6 billion capital budget, a third of which higher education receives to help repair, maintain and modernize decrepit buildings like Johnson Hall. Also slated for improvements are Guggenheim Hall and Architecture Hall, begining 2005.

Johnson Hall's improvements are scheduled to start by December, said Marilyn Cox, the UW's director of capital and space planning.

Students who typically use Johnson Hall will be transferred to Condon Hall by the end of the year when construction is expected to take place. Law students who used Condon Hall will take classes in the new law building.

Johnson Hall was opened in 1930. In a pamphlet distributed to the Legislature during the past session, UW officials said the building was so old it "could serve as a museum of early 20th-century science facilities."

Renovation is estimated to cost more than $50 million, and half the cost of renovation will come from bonds, courtesy of a plan concocted by former governors Dan Evans and Booth Gardner. Evans is a member of the UW Board of Regents.

The Legislature authorized at least $750 million to be bonded out and used for new higher-education construction. House leaders pushed for public schools to receive some of that money, but lost to Senate negotiators who refused to amend the plan.

Last year, UW received a record low in capital funding from the Legislature. "We could have done much worse (this year)," said Cox.

The Higher Education Coordinating Board estimates UW will have a capacity of 50,000 students in the next two years. That's 11,000 more than UW currently enrolls. However, UW does not meet capacity in some upper-level classes, such as those required in master's-degree programs, so capacity is probably much lower, Cox said.

"The consensus on the campus is that we need to focus dollars on repairing and modernizing existing buildings," Cox said. "Until we get to an acceptable funding level, we won't worry about capacity."

Besides improvements to buildings, the Legislature authorized $5 million for improvements to the school's communication system, including an increase in Internet capability and improved phone lines. Another $5 million was also authorized for continuing to increase the efficiency of the UW power grid.

A reference in the capital budget also requires UW to develop a plan to relocate residents of six floating homes on land UW owns along Northeast Boat Street. The plan must be turned into the Legislature by Jan. 15, 2004. UW officials seemed unsure where the reference in the budget came from, but have contacted the families in the boats.

"It was a surprise," said UW Real Estate Manager Jeanette Henderson.

Henderson said that six houseboats are renting moorage on the land with leases set to expire by 2006. She said the current marina "is not in good condition, and we needed to figure out how the houseboats fit into that."

Whether the UW will move the houseboats or continue leasing. The Legislature permitted the UW to do whatever it needs in order to relocate the residences, but it must meet with the Legislature first. The reference to the houseboats is one of the last items on the budget under an obscure category called "Miscellaneous."