From: Ronnie Smith, Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance
Subject: Hurricane Katrina Recovery – Update #42
Posted: May 11, 2007

The final environmental remediation of the Dental School Clinic and Administration Buildings is underway.  This contract includes the cleaning or removal and replacement of all the air handling ducts throughout both buildings.  The restoration of telephone service is progressing well and the new switch is planned to be installed by early June.  The project to upgrade the network infrastructure in both buildings is also progressing well, as new cable trays are being installed, old network cable is being removed, and new network cable connections are being made.

The Invitations To Bid for two important projects at the Dental School were opened late this week and are being evaluated at this time.  The Central Sterilization project will establish the old sterilization function in a new location on the 3^rd floor of the Clinic Building where it will be protected from any basement flooding.  The ceiling tile project will replace all of the ceiling tiles, ceiling grid and lighting fixtures on the upper floors of the Clinic and Administration buildings.  We anticipate that award recommendations will be made rapidly and the contracts executed in the near future so that these two critical projects can begin.

Work has continued at 1542 Tulane Ave.  Preparations are being made to install the temporary emergency generator, and the initial testing of the Energy Transfer Station has been completed and repairs will begin shortly.  Additional disconnect panels are being installed and old electrical wiring is being removed.

The modernization of the cafeteria on the 3^rd floor of the Medical Education Building is just getting underway.  The glass partition wall separating the food serving area from the seating area is in place.  Some of the initial demolition has begun.  The landscaping project that has been underway on the downtown campus continues.  Recently, the installation of the irrigation system has been the primary focus.  New, separate water meters have been installed and a number of irrigation systems have been installed and are now operational.

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

Project to Make Temporary Repairs to the Dental School:

• The effort to restore telephone service to the campus continued.
  • BellSouth/AT&T spoke with Zimmer's superintendent on how to protect the phone equipment during the environmental remediation and duct cleaning work.
  • Bell/South/AT&T installed the remaining parts that were needed to get the phone line for the elevator.  The technician put in work order to make that connection.
  • BellSouth/AT&T continued their work in the telephone room on the 5th floor.

• Eight telephone lines have been installed to serve life & safety purposes.  Seven lines were run to the buildings elevators and one way connected to the fire alarm system.
• The work related to the upgrade to the network infrastructure is well underway.
  • Boe-Tel is busy installing new cable trays in the space above the suspended ceiling for the new network cable.  Trays are being installed on the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th and 7^th floors of the Clinic Building.
    • Installation of cable trays is complete on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors.
    • New conduit is being installed in the cable bays on the same floors.
  • C & R Network Communication visited with Boe-Tel to discuss and prepare for the next phase of the network infrastructure upgrade.  They talked with LSUHSC Computer Services about some changes on the 1^st floor.
    • C&R Network Communication started running network wires on the 5th floor starting at room 5312, running the wire throughout the 5th floor. 
    • C&R Network Communications has started connecting the 300 network ports on the 5th floor of the Clinic Building.
  • LSUHSC Computer Services has begun relocating some network equipment to the new 5th floor space.
• Significant enhancements are planned for the Auditoriums A and B, on the 4^th Floor of the Administration Building, including improvements to the network connectivity and audio-visual equipment.
  • Zimmer-Eschette has removed the carpeting from the auditoriums.
  • They are removing the old seats and wall coverings.  Debris is being removed as the demolition continues.
• The first phase of the final environmental remediation project is underway. 
  • Zimmer has pre-positioned their equipment in the building.  The duct cleaning equipment has been assembled in the basement.
  • They have started wiping down everything in the stairwells of the Administration Building starting at the basement level and they are working throughout the 1st thru 4th floors of the Administration Building. 
  • They are also working in all stairwells in the Clinic Building from the 1st thru the 8th floors.
  • The remediation of the offices, clinic spaces, etc. has begun on the 1st floor of the Clinic Building.  They will work their way up through the entire building. 
• Frischhertz is working in the elevator penthouse of the Administration Building.  They are installing the conduit for the elevator disconnects needed by Schindler Elevator to continue with the repairs to the three elevators in the building.
  • Frischhertz shut down the building power temporarily to make the power connection to the panel in the penthouse for the new elevator disconnects.
• Schindler’s repair work has slowed somewhat while they wait for the new power and disconnects to be installed in the Administration Building.
  • Some additional repairs were made to Elevator # 4 because it was repeatedly stalling out.
  • Elevators #3 and 4 were taken out of service to allow for the interiors of the cabs to be changed out.  New controllers are being installed at the same time.
  • Schindler is also working in the elevator penthouse of the Clinic Building.
• Coastal Air Balance is testing the all of the air handling rooms throughout both buildings to insure proper operation; checking the flow of air at each unit, the temperature at the damper's, the chilled water supply and return in the system, and the thermostats.
  • The hot water supply and return has been tested on the 5^th floor of the Clinic.
  • Coastal checked the air balance of the 7th and the 8th floor air handling units.

• Pflueger Electric was on site determining how they will remove the generator on the Eighth Floor, Room 8412. 
• ADS systems serviced the fire alarm panel on the 2nd floor that had a trouble signal. The tech replaced a faulty circuit board then tested the unit and ran it through its cycle.
• Bert Leveau Boiler and Mechanical Construction Company provided an orientation to LSUHSC Facilities staff on the hot water heaters in the basement of the Clinic Building.
• GVA came to the site to look at the maintenance auto shop, Auxiliary Enterprise warehouse and the safety room in order to address FEMA scope alignment questions.
• Pflueger cut power to the southeast riser from the switch gear room in the basement to change out the electrical panel on the 8th floor.

Project to Make Temporary Repairs to 1542 Tulane Ave.:

• Repairs are being made to the Energy Transfer Station (ETS) in the basement of the building.
  • The ETS cabinet was disassembled to allow for hydrostatic testing of the ETS.
  • The hydrostatic testing has been completed.
  • The cabinet has been reassembled.
• Ordes Electrical is removing old motor controls from the engine room to prepare for new motor controls to be installed.
  • Ordes has installed the new motor control panels for the heating hot water circulating pumps.  
  • Ordes is working on the installation of the new motor controls for the heating hot water circulating pumps.
  • The starters for the hot water circulating pumps have been installed.
  • New disconnect panels for the air compressors and the 4^th floor power are being installed.
• Stratos Elevator continues to work on elevators in the building.
  • Safety switches are being installed on the #3 Elevator.
  • They are running power to Elevators #1 - #3, and lighting in the elevator shafts.
• Ordes Electrical is running new feeders to air handler units on the upper floors from the old engine room. 
• Arc Mechanical continues with demolition work in the basement.

Downtown Campus Landscaping Project: 

• The recent activities have focused on providing in-ground irrigation for the grass, planting beds and trees. 
  • Arc Mechanical installed three backflow preventers.
  • LSUHSC Facility Services personnel have completed the installation of 4 additional stations including the stations at the Memorial Bench.  This includes installation of the sprinkler heads.
  • All of the vacuum breakers have been installed. 
  • 13 stations have been installed.
  • Water is now running in two of the irrigation zones.
  • The main for Lions/LSU Clinic and a portion of the CSRB irrigation system has been connected to the water source and is now operating.

MEB Cafeteria Project:

• The new glass partition wall that will close off and secure the food preparation and serving area from the rest of the cafeteria space is in place and operating.
• Demolition of the ceiling has begun.
• A construction wall is being built to protect the remainder of the building as construction gets underway.

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