Colorado State Opens Two More Buildings, Finishes Boxing Water- Damaged Books At Morgan Library
Thursday, August 14, 1997
FORT COLLINS--Post-flood demolition and cleanup continues to
progress at Colorado State University as two buildings hardest
hit by the July 28 flood re-opened Wednesday.
University administrators said Eddy Hall and the Education
Building are now open with limited access. Because the lower
level of both buildings were flooded, access is restricted to the
upper floors. Faculty and staff with offices in the lower levels
of these buildings have been relocated to temporary spaces
elsewhere on campus.
Most entrances and exits are open, but it is recommended
that faculty, staff and students use the east entrance to Eddy
Hall and the south, main entrance to the Education Building. The
southwest stairwell in Eddy Hall is closed, as is the northwest
entrance-area in the Education Building, to accommodate
construction.
Six buildings on campus, including the Morgan Library and
Lory Student Center, remain closed as crews continue cleanup.
Prior to opening the buildings, officials from the
university's facilities and environmental health departments
conducted both safety and environmental inspections as well as
structural assessments. Neither Eddy Hall or the Education
Building--or any other building that incurred flooding--has
structural damage.
In other developments Wednesday:
* Crews expect to complete loading the remaining 5,000 boxes
of books from the Morgan Library tonight and ship them to freezer
space Thursday morning. In all, between 60,000 and 70,000 boxes
were filled with more than 450,000 monographs, bound journals and
other volumes damaged by water. The books were taken to freezer
storage and will be shipped to Fort Worth, Texas, to undergo a
restoration process known as freeze-drying. Some of those books
are already in Fort Worth awaiting a thorough cleaning before
they are restored.
* Power has been partially restored in the Lory Student
Center, which has not had electricity since the flood two weeks
ago. In the days since the flood, electrical crews have inspected
all of the cables serving power to the building, restored blown
fuses and cleaned the transformer, said Martha Blood, student
center director. Power is now available in the east addition, the
south hallways on both levels and central portions of the
building. Blood expects power will be fully restored by the end
of the week so that work can soon begin on restoring food and
catering services.
"I'm so encouraged by the progress that has been made,"
Blood said of the recovery efforts.
In addition, all of the debris has been removed from the
lower level of the student center and Blood hopes to have a plan
in place to begin remodeling and repairs in September. Once the
plan has been drafted, Blood said the campus community will be
invited to give input on the design and configuration of the
renovated space.
* The University Bookstore's temporary location in the east
addition of the Lory Student Center is completed and some
textbooks for fall semester have already been stocked.
Approximately 95 percent of the books needed for fall classes
have been ordered and are expected to arrive when fall semester
begins Aug. 25.
* The university's flood update line will no longer operate
during weekends but will remain open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday
through Friday. The number is 1-888-556-3475. The flood volunteer
hotline also is still open at (970) 491-7765. For the latest
information on flood recovery efforts, visit the CSU flood
recovery home page at http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/PR/flood/
* The university's Office of the Provost is conducting
personal interviews with the estimated 300 faculty, staff and
students who lost items in the flood. The purpose of the
interviews is to obtain a complete and accurate inventory of both
university and personal property damaged or destroyed by the
floods in order to maximize reimbursement by insurance or other
means, said Alicia Cook, interim vice provost.
"The loss to faculty, staff and students was tremendous,"
Cook said. "We want to make sure all of that loss is documented
in personal interviews with those who are affected so we can move
forward with recovery efforts as quickly as possible."
A team of a eight faculty, counselors and administrators
will conduct the interviews through Aug. 20 on campus. Affected
faculty, staff and students with questions may call the Provost's
office at (970) 491-6614.
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