With an eye on bolstering Utah’s slumping economy, legislators looked favorably on two U construction projects Friday.
Administrators presented their plans to totally revamp the Marriott Library and construct a Health Sciences Classroom Building to the legislative committee in charge of new buildings. The two projects would each cost more than $37 million.
The “large number projects” U President Bernie Machen and his staff presented legislators didn’t scare them, however.
Lawmakers are considering bonding anywhere between $200 million and $400 million to use on capital facilities projects throughout the state. Utah’s Legislature has never taken more than a $100 million bond, but with tax revenues slipping, more legislators are jumping on board.
U officials are positive that they will get their funding if lawmakers decide to bond.
The idea to borrow so much money came from U Economics Professor Thayne Robson.
Robson issued a report earlier this year that stated every $100 million lawmakers bond will create 4,000 construction jobs. And for every one construction job, five new service positions will open up.
“This would tremendously impact the economy of the state,” said Rep. Gerry Adair, R-Weber, who is the chairman of the Capital Facilities Appropriation Committee.
U administrators also gained support from lawmakers who have toured the U’s current facilities.
“I commend the U for turning out such great medical personnel using such poor equipment. This building has to be replaced,” said Rep. Ty McCartney, D-Salt Lake City.
McCartney took a tour of the School of Medicine classroom building last summer and was shocked that it looked so similar to the labs he used in high school.
U administrators want to tear the building down and construct a Health Sciences Classroom that would serve not only the medical school, but students in the nursing, pharmacy and health schools as well.
Lorris Betz, senior vice president for health sciences, said the new building would fulfill three “critical needs.”
First, the new classroom building would have state-of the-art equipment for medical students to use.
“As you can imagine, medical education has changed drastically in 40 years time,” Betz said.
Second, it would alleviate concern about the threat of an earthquake. Betz said an architect only half joked when he said a strong breeze would make the current building crumble.
Third, a new building would allow all four of the health sciences colleges to expand the number of students they enroll.
Betz said such an expansion would greatly diminish the state’s nurse and pharmacy technician shortages.
It would also cost more to renovate the current medical school building, than to construct this new classroom building, Betz told lawmakers.
The project would cost $37.5 million and take more than two years to complete.
The Marriott Library construction project is the U’s No. 1 priority, according to David Pershing, senior vice president for academic affairs.
Pershing told legislators that a mild earthquake would close the Marriott Library and a major one would collapse the 40-year-old building.
Such a disaster would destroy many valuable documents and artifacts of Utah history stored in the library’s special collections.
But beyond issues of safety, Pershing said the renovation is needed to offer a 21st century facility to U students.
“The 1960s building was designed in an era where libraries were basically book warehouses and the net was something you caught fish in,” Pershing said.
The newly renovated Marriott Library would include 30 percent more high-tech classrooms. It would also contain computer labs constructed into pods so students could work as teams, or what the U calls the “info commons.”
Pershing said the number of people entering the library continues to rise, while the number of books coming off the shelf declines, indicating the strong rise in online resources.
The project would cost the state $37.2 million. The U would match these funds with $17 million donated from private sources. So far the U has $7 million donated for the project.
“You have our support,” said Sen. Beverly Evans, R-Carbon, who also said the committee would not vote on the matter until it has decided to bond or not. Most likely, lawmakers will not vote on the bond until after the Olympics.