From: Ronnie Smith, Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance
Subject: Hurricane Katrina Recovery – Update #31
Posted: December 8, 2006

The project to improve the lighting at the Student Parking lots on the downtown campus is almost complete. All of the new light poles bases have been poured and finished. The new light poles have been installed and the all of the new fixtures have been mounted and the electrical connections have been made in Lot #2. The installation of the new fixtures is underway in Lot #3. Completion of the work is expected within a few days.

The building located at 1542 Tulane Ave. was constructed over a period of many years; the original structure was built in the early 1930’s and there are two separate additions that were constructed at different times many years apart. This fact, in addition to the lack of "as built" drawings for the building, poses a unique set of challenges in identifying and completing all the temporary repairs necessary to reoccupy the upper floors. It was recently discovered that the latest building addition received its electrical power through a separate switch gear located on an upper floor, and the necessary electrical feed had not been repaired. An additional transformer is being installed and the feed repaired so that this final portion of the building will have electrical power restored. Repairs to elevators in the building have begun. The testing of repaired plumbing systems is progressing and leaks are being repaired as they are found. Some additional repair needs have been identified and change orders are being developed at this time.

Both of the temporary chillers serving the Dental School Clinic and Administration Buildings are now operational. LSUHSC Facilities personnel are manning watches at the facility and providing basic operational support for the major building systems. The dehumidifiers have been installed and are operating. The contractor has completed the inspection and cleaning of the air handling units throughout the buildings. They have made necessary adjustments and repairs; a number of thermostats have been also been replaced throughout the buildings. The recent emphasis on completing the scope alignment process has resulted in the architects and engineers having completed their initial review and analysis of all of the Project Worksheets written for the Dental School campus. FEMA has recently returned their comments and they are making site visits as needed.

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

Project to Make Temporary Repairs to 1542 Tulane Ave.:

• Plumbing systems are being tested.
  • A drain line elbow on the 3^rd floor of 1542 Tulane Ave. broke and leaked water into Room 241. Repairs have been completed.
  • A leak was discovered in the A section pipe chase and it is believed to be the domestic water line.　 The contractor is handling repair.
  • A leak was discovered on an upper floor at an air coil unit. The pipe is being capped off, as the location of the leak is difficult to reach.
• The contractor was on site for half a day reviewing the change order work that remains to be done.
  • The engineers and the mechanical sub-contractor reviewed the gas piping in the basement to plan for the removal of all piping that is no longer in service.
• The elevator contractor is working on repairs to the freight elevator.
  • The technician has it moving, although it is not ready to operate at this time.
• The contractor continued making adjustments/repairs to the temporary switch gear in the basement.
  • The old switchgear has been removed from the basement.
  • The contractor is preparing to install a 13.8kw transformer to supply the 2^nd switchgear located on an upper floor.　
  • A transfer switch located on the 4^th floor may also warrant repair to allow the 13.8kw feed to be switched in the event that a feed was lost.
• The design team engineers walked the building to locate all of the air handling units, the rooms with faucets, and all of the bathrooms to determine what repair work may remain to be completed.
• The contractor is removing old, flood damaged equipment from the basement.

Project to Make Temporary Repairs to the Dental School:

• The second of the two temporary chillers at the Dental School has been started up by the manufacturer. 　
  • The system to inject the chemical treatments into the chiller water must still be installed. Initial quantities of treatment chemicals have been provided to the sub-contractor to allow the chillers to be started.
  • Training of the LSUHSC Facility Services staff in the operations of the new units has not yet been provided and the provision of the factory operational manuals is still pending.
  • The contractor has completed the installation of pipe supports, braces and brackets for the additional pipe that was installed for the new temporary chillers.
  • The contractor also started the water coolers for the two medical air compressors in the Power Plant.
• The contractor removed all of the old copper lines supplying the medical gases, the compressed air, and the vacuum lines on the 1^st floor of the Clinical Building, in the Oral Surgery suite.
• The air handling units located on the south side of the Dental School Clinic building are not currently operating in automatic mode.　
  • An electrical problem at the control panels is suspected and the contractor is now investigating.
• The sub-contractor completed the repair and/or installation of most of the thermostats in the Clinic and Administration Buildings.
• The elevator contractor installed the doors to the freight elevator in the basement.
• Cingular removed all of their cellular telephone equipment (antenna, etc.) from the roof of the Clinic Building. They have decided not to repair the equipment or use this site at this time.
  • This equipment relates to a prior contractual agreement with Cingular and does not impact on the provision of telephone service at the Dental School.
• LSUHSC Facility Services employees removed all of the mold damaged chairs from the Dental School Clinic and Administration buildings under the direction of our environmental consultant.
  • Photographs were taken and all of the chairs were inventoried as they were removed and disposed of.
• The FEMA Health & Research team visited the Dental School campus to evaluate the Administration Building to examine the ceilings and to assess the plumbing in the cafeteria area. They also reviewed some of the buildings on the back campus. These assessments are part of the ongoing scope alignment process.

Project to Provide New Lighting for the Student Parking Lots:

• The concrete forms were removed from the light pole bases in Student Parking Lot #2. The contractor finished the surfaces of the bases with sand mix and has painted them Safety Yellow.
  • The new light poles have all been installed.
  • The new light fixtures have been installed and wired.
  • Minor fence work and clean up at Lot #2 is all that remains to be done.
• At Student Lot #3, the fencing at the parking lot entrance was reinstalled.
  • The new lighting fixtures are being installed and wired.
  • The work should be completed within the next few days.

Miscellaneous Work:

• The interior surfaces of the elevators at the CSRB and the Entergy Garage were damaged by the flood waters. This damage did not present a safety issue, so the repairs were not made a high priority with the contractor.
  • The repair work to the elevator cabs has now been completed.
• Representatives from the State’s excess insurance carriers completed their inspections of the downtown campus buildings and the Dental School campus buildings.

We encourage you to follow the details of our progress through the daily updates which are posted on the web site.