The University of Hawaii’s price tag for backlogged repairs now totals about $461 million across the 10-campus system, a situation that lawmakers say needs immediate attention.
The bulk of the needed repairs — about 83 percent — are at the university’s flagship campus in Manoa, according to UH estimates.
To begin tackling the problem, lawmakers are looking to allocate about $100 million for UH repairs over the next two years.
A bill moving through the Legislature would also strengthen an existing campus planning facility board, establish a major repairs and replacement special fund, and put in place mandatory reporting on repair work so the university can show what progress it’s making.
State Rep. Isaac Choy, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, said despite vocal concerns about the maintenance and repair needs at UH over the past several years, university administrators have not made tackling the backlog a priority.
He is calling for a halt to state funding for new building on UH campuses until backlogged repairs are brought under control.
"They really dug themselves a hole," Choy said. "It’s time to say stop, let’s rethink this and let’s get it done. The part I’m upset about is I don’t think it’s the Legislature’s job to shine this light."
UH administrators, meanwhile, say they have been trying to address backlogged repairs but have seen state funding for capital needs decrease during the economic downturn even as needs mount.
Lynne Waters, UH spokeswoman, also said that over the past several years the university has put "energy reduction as priority one" to meet sustainability goals, which has meant a sizable chunk of repairs and maintenance funds went to upgrades of mechanical systems as opposed to other projects.
The biggest backlog problems, by far, are at UH-Manoa, where there are $381 million in needed repairs.
The estimated cost to address the backlog jumped $130 million in 2011, after a more in-depth study of needs based on inspections of 50 of the 300 buildings on the Manoa campus.
Tom Katsuyoshi, director of UH-Manoa’s Facilities Management Office, said even the new figure for UH-Manoa is a conservative estimate.
He added that his office is understaffed and overwhelmed with the increasing needs of a campus that has both state-of-the-art facilities and crumbling infrastructure.
"We’ve been killing ourselves. We’re burnt out already," he said. "Somebody better wake up and give us bodies, not just more work."
Concerns over dilapidated buildings at UH, especially at the Manoa campus, have been growing for years.
In 2007, then-UH football player Colt Brennan grabbed national headlines when he complained about aging and substandard athletics facilities at UH-Manoa.
That same year, UH-Manoa shuttered Edmondson Hall after a host of problems in the science building, from an electrical short that caused a small fire to power and air-conditioning failures that ruined experiments.
And in 2009, Gartley Hall was determined to be structurally unsound after crews found that water had undermined the 92-year-old building’s foundation.
(Edmondson is due to reopen in July after a 10-month, $17 million renovation project, while a $16 million makeover of Gartley Hall that kicked off in April 2011 is set to wrap up in December.)
UH administrators said how the university moves ahead to address its long list of repairs largely depends on the final appropriation from the Legislature and other budgetary issues.
UH-Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple, who stepped into his position last summer, said he’s looking forward to discussions with legislators and others "in trying to figure out how we can get our physical plant and our infrastructure back up to where it needs to be."
Apple said he couldn’t comment on how repairs were addressed before his tenure but acknowledged the backlog problem is a major concern that will take years to address, and that is already having an impact on current and prospective students and faculty.
"We have buildings that are in need of significant repairs. It’s classrooms, it’s laboratories, it’s the exteriors of the buildings," he said. "When a building is not painted, when a classroom smells of mildew, I can’t quantify what that does to our reputation."
At UH-Manoa last week, several students said facilities on campus were in need of major improvements.
Salilo Foifua, a freshman in nursing, said she doesn’t see the need for top-to-bottom overhauls for all buildings, but would like to see better ventilation in classrooms where there is no air conditioning.
Carly Namaka, a junior in anthropology, said Kuykendall Hall, near the Campus Center, "smells like feet" every time it rains.
Namaka was walking with her friend, sophomore Charlotte Elsey, down UH-Manoa’s main pedestrian mall, and they both noted that while there are plenty of backlogged repairs, there is also new construction on campus, something that they don’t see the need for.
UH-Manoa’s Campus Center is undergoing a $46 million renovation, while a $42 million, six-story Information Technology Center is also being constructed at UH-Manoa that will serve the system.
"If you can build a new building, why not maintain some of these buildings?" Elsey said.
Vassilis Syrmos, associate vice chancellor for research, said he agrees that for UH-Manoa at least, the focus for the foreseeable future should be tackling problems with existing buildings, not putting up new ones.
Syrmos was asked to temporarily oversee work at Edmondson and other renovation efforts while UH-Manoa seeks a new head of facilities and grounds.
"We need no new buildings. We need better space," Syrmos said. "It’s a disgrace."
But Syrmos added UH appears to be chipping away at the backlog.
Snyder Hall, which houses microbiology and other departments, will undergo a $38 million renovation shortly. The UH also plans to spend about $6 million over the next three years to modernize elevators.
On the campus on a recent day, Syrmos showed off several completed renovation projects, including a $5.6 million makeover of offices in the Sinclair Library basement, where the Office of Research Services is now housed; and an $8 million project to transform the third floor of Webster Hall into a hospital-like setting for nurses-in-training.
The first-floor entrance to Webster Hall, though, has a more fundamental concern. One of two doors won’t open and on the handwritten sign that reads "broken door," someone had scrawled, "Why is this still broken?"
