Deferred Maintenance: 'Ticking Time Bomb'

Repair work needed on University of Arizona buildings has been put off for years because state funding has dried up. Occupants of one of those buildings now have started to complain.

University officials said they must pick and choose which projects to tackle from a list of infrastructure needs that are piling up from years of deferred maintenance.

Current needs total $350 million and could rise to $1 billion for within a decade, UA Chief Financial Officer Gregg Goldman said. People working in the building at the top of that list want the process to move more swiftly.

Scientists, researchers, students and staff work and study in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, which they refer to as the veterinary science and microbiology building.

The structure is called Building 90 in the architectural and air quality assessments that followed complaints from occupants. Several people working in Building 90 said they are convinced it has caused or exacerbated respiratory ailments like asthma and allergies. They cited poor air quality, mold, insect parts and rodent feces as issues in the building.

The university’s chief financial officer, Gregg Goldman, called deferred maintenance a "ticking time bomb" at an Arizona Board of Regents meeting last year.

Read more here.

This Quick Read was submitted by Dan Hounsell, editor-in-chief of Facility Maintenance Decisions, dan.hounsell@tradepressmedia.com. To read about strategies and tactics managers can use to address deferred maintenance, visit https://www.facilitiesnet.com/1586FMD.

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