Faced with a $5.5 billion backlog in building maintenance across the state public higher education system, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s top education official said the state must focus on repairing old buildings before constructing new ones, according to an article in the Boston Globe.
And of the dozens of projects that need attention, Education Secretary James A. Peyser said the crumbling underground garage at the University of Massachusetts Boston is the most pressing problem, and he wants it fixed as soon as possible.
Overall, the administration’s capital budget for fiscal year 2018 includes about $190 million for the state’s five UMass campuses, nine state colleges and universities, and 15 community colleges, many of which were built at least 40 or 50 years ago. That is about the same as the amount allocated over each of the past 10 years, Peyser told legislative budget writers recently, according to a copy of his testimony.
Peyser said the state is making a detailed assessment of the condition of every building on every campus. That has already been done for the UMass campuses, he said, and the rest should be done by the end of the calendar year.
This Quick Read was submitted by Dan Hounsell, editor-in-chief of Facility Maintenance Decisions, dan.hounsell@tradepressmedia.com. To read facilities consultants’ insights and strategies on deferred maintenance, visit https://www.facilitiesnet.com/15865FMD.
