From: Ronnie Smith, Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance
Subject: Hurricane Katrina Recovery – Update #21
Posted: July 25, 2006

There has been an intensive focus on restoring some of the key areas in the Medical Education Building to support the return of classes to the downtown campus.  In particular, work has focused on the two large Lecture Rooms, the Morgue, the Gross Anatomy and Swing Labs, the MDL, and the Seminar Rooms on the 3^rd floor.  The Seminar Rooms have been re-carpeted, re-painted, new ceilings installed, new white boards installed, and wireless network connectivity is now available in each room.  We trust that this will enhance the learning experience for our students who use those rooms.  Long lead times on some items and problems with the availability of certain materials have made some of the other work particularly challenging.  Some accommodations may be required during the 1^st few weeks of classes, but we should be completing the remaining work soon. You will find a detailed listing of the progress made in the MEB restoration below.  

The two contractors responsible for making the temporary repairs to the School of Dentistry’s Clinic and Administration Buildings continue to press towards completion of their respective contracts.  Both contracts are estimated by the architects overseeing this work to be more than 95% complete.  Details on this work can be found in the highlights section below.

The efforts to complete temporary repairs that will allow us to reoccupy the last of our major buildings on the downtown campus also continue.  The environmental remediation work at 1542 Tulane Ave. is largely completed.  The contractor who has been selected to make temporary repairs to the building’s electrical system and other key mechanical systems is scheduled to begin work shortly.  Parts have been ordered and should begin arriving soon.

LSUHSC Facilities and Property has been working on plans to provide temporary protective measures for critical building components for the 2006 hurricane season.  FEMA is generally willing to reimburse the costs of reasonable, effective measures taken to protect the temporary repairs that have been made, so they will be an integral part of this process and plans are finalized and bids are solicited.  A specific proposal from one contractor is anticipated to be received at the end of this week.

Both of the design teams (architects & engineers) are continuing to work closely with our FEMA team to reconcile their assessments of the damage to the various buildings with the FEMA team’s assessments.  This task is critical, as it will insure that as specifications are developed for the permanent repairs, the scope of work in the bids will be fully eligible for FEMA reimbursement. 

The eventual permanent repairs will also involve the elevation of critical building components and functions to prevent repetitive damage should a similar event ever occur.  The planning for this work by both the downtown campus and Dental School design teams is underway.  Concepts continue to be refined and shared with FEMA as they are developed.  Recently, at the request of LSUHSC, the design team for the downtown campus has been focusing on developing plans to rebuild the Cohn Learning Center on an upper floor of the Lion’s/LSU Clinic Building as part of the permanent repairs planned for this building.

Here are highlights of work that has been accomplished since our last update was posted two weeks ago. 

• The temporary repairs to the School of Dentistry Clinic and Administration buildings continue.       
  •  The hot water heaters are in place and being connected to the building plumbing.
  • The air dryer for medical air has been installed.
  • Some of the old black iron pipe is being replaced with copper to meet current codes. 
  • Sump pumps are in place and connected and the pump covers have been installed.
  • The temporary chillers are now connected to building power.
  • The Dry Vac has been delivered and installed. 
  • The Wet Vac system has been delivered and set in place (vacuum producer, tank, & pumps).   The connections to the building systems will be made shortly.
  • Boiler/Hot Water System:
    • Steam traps have been installed.
    • The expansion tank has been set in place, but needs to be piped-in.
    • Hot water heaters are connected to the building’s water supply, and they need to be piped to steam lines, hot water return lines, the expansion tank, & the mixing valve.
  • The chilled water is connected to Chiller #1, while the connections being completed to Chiller #2. 
  • The air compressors have been piped in and the electrical connections are completed.  The controls need to be programmed and the air dryers need to be tied into the system.
  • The deionized water system has been piped in to the building and the electrical connections are complete.
  • The ice water system is scheduled to be installed next week.
  • The contractor has begun fire sealing all of the floor/ceiling penetrations caused by the new temporary switchgear conduit. 
  • The elevator contractor is removing damaged parts and completing their evaluation of the damage to the elevators.
  • The fire alarm system has been installed and inspected.  A telephone line is still required to all the system to call out when activated.
  •  
• The contractor for the permanent repairs to the MEB Lecture Rooms, the Gross Anatomy Lab, the Morgue, and the Multidisciplinary Labs has crews on site and is progressing on the work.  
  • The repairs to MDL #6 in the MEB are complete and the room is ready for the final inspection.   
  • The new epoxy flooring was installed over the weekend of 7/15 in the Gross Anatomy Lab, the Swing Lab and the Morgue.  An additional epoxy coating will be applied to the Morgue floor on Tuesday, 7/25.  This 2^nd coating provides additional protection from higher concentrations of certain chemicals.
  • The new casework for the Gross Anatomy Lab, the Swing Lab and the Morgue should be delivered to the site beginning on 7/24 and the installation in the Gross and Swing Labs at that time. 
    • The casework installation in the Morgue will begin on Wednesday, 7/26 following the application of the 2^nd epoxy layer.
    • The new countertops will be installed in all three rooms beginning on Thursday, 7/27. 
    • The contractor will also install the emergency shower in the Morgue at the same time that the casework is installed.
  • The installation of the new carpet is complete in Lecture Room A & B.
  • The pedestals to support the seating and table tops have been delivered. 
    • The installation of the pedestals is complete in Lecture Room B. 
    • The installation is underway in Lecture Room A and should be finished shortly.
  • The 1^st shipment of table tops has arrived and they are being installed in Lecture Room B.  The new electrical and network wiring is being pulled to the table tops as they are being installed.
  • The installation of the vinyl wallpaper is completed in Lecture Rooms A & B.
  • The installation of the acoustic wallpaper (on the side walls) in Lecture Rooms A & B has been almost finished, however an additional roll of the wallpaper is required to replace a roll that contained flaws and could not be installed.
    • The installation of the trim still remains to be done as well.
  • The network cable has been pulled and bundled beneath the floor in “B”.
  • The electrical wiring has been pulled in both “A” and “B” and it is ready to be run to the table tops when they have been installed.
  • The installation of the new presentation equipment is underway.  The projectors have been installed in Lecture Room B. 
  • The replacement air conditioning unit that serves the 2nd floor of the MEB was connected over this past weekend.  This required a chilled water outage in the building.
  • Spare compressors for the Morgue coolers are on order.
• Work on the 3^rd environmental remediation contract addressing the balance of the buildings and facilities on the downtown campus is approaching completion.  While the remediation work is underway, access to the entire building remains restricted.  When air sampling results are received indicating that the remediation has been successful, we will again allow access to the building.  Specific updates on progress are as follows:
  • 8^th Floor:  Cleaning is complete.
  • 7^th Floor: Cleaning is complete.
  • 6^th Floor: Cleaning is complete.
  • 5^th Floor: Cleaning is complete.
  • 4^th Floor: Cleaning is complete.
  • 3^rd Floor: Cleaning is complete.
  • 2^nd Floor: Cleaning is complete.
  • 1^st Floor: Cleaning is completed.
  • Mechanical Rooms:  All of the mechanical rooms have been cleaned.
  • Duct Work:  All of the duct work has been cleaned.
  • Basement:  All of the walls scheduled to be demolished have been taken down and the debris removed.  The final cleaning is underway and is expected to be completed shortly.
  • Post-cleaning testing and monitoring results are starting to come in and generally look good.  A few rooms have been identified as needing re-cleaning and that work has been performed as it has been identified.  Retesting will verify that the cleaning was sufficient.
  • The cleaning has progressed far enough that the contractor who is making temporary repairs to the building electrical and mechanical systems can freely access the basement.
• Bids have been received, evaluated and a contract has been awarded for additional repairs to the chilled water pump and related mechanical/electrical components in the Central Utility Plant, attached to the Roman St. Garage.  These additional repairs will insure that we have sufficient chilled water capacity for the hottest summer months and also have a redundant pumping system should one fail or require repairs.
• The contract to make temporary repairs to the building’s critical electrical & mechanical systems at 1542 Tulane Ave. has been awarded.  The contractor has ordered the parts and materials necessary for the contract and work will begin shortly.  The contract includes an aggressive schedule for completion.
• The permanent repairs to building elevators continue. Elevators that have been repaired, inspected and certified for passenger use include:
  • All of the Stanislaus Hall elevators.
  • All five of the elevators in the Lion’s/LSU Clinic Building.  
    • Repairs to the damaged elevator floors have been completed.
  • The MEB elevators. 
    • Repairs to the damaged elevator floors are now complete.
  • The elevators in the Residence Hall.
    • Repairs to the damaged elevator floors in the “B” and “C” towers are now complete.
  • The passenger elevators in the Nursing/Allied Health Building.  
    • Repairs to the damaged elevator floors are now complete.
  • Two passenger elevators in the Resource Center. 
    • The inspections of a 3^rd passenger elevator and the freight elevator are being scheduled with the State Elevator Inspector.
  • Roman St. Parking Garage – The contractor has begun making repairs to the two passenger elevators. 
  • Dental School Clinic and Administration Buildings:  The elevator pits have been pumped out and the contractor is now able to access the pits and make the final determinations regarding damage and needed repairs.
    • Parts required for the repairs have been ordered.

Please continue to follow our progress through our Daily Updates that are also available on the web site.