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10-1-08 THE OCTOBER 1ST COMMITTEE TO SAVE ANTIOCH COLLEGE What’s Going On – The University’s decision to not heat Antioch College over the winter could cost an estimated $5 million dollars in damage to the College campus by next spring. This damage can be avoided if the campus is heated to 45 degrees over the winter. It will cost an estimated $400,000 to heat the campus at this temperature. While the $5 million damage figure may seem too high or too low to different groups, the fact remains—a $400,000 investment in heating the College over the winter will be cost effective and will render this debate irrelevant. Our Name is Our Purpose – We are called The October 1st Committee to Save Antioch College because the process to restart the College’s boiler system must begin by 10-1-08 in order to heat the campus before November’s freeze begins to damage the College. What Can I Do? – Come to the first organizational meeting of the October 1st Committee on Saturday, August 23, at 11:00 AM in the Virginia Hamilton meeting room at the Yellow Springs Public Library. We hope that representatives of Antioch University, alumni, local government and others will be in attendance as we gather information and develop actions to secure the campus. For more info contact Peter Townsend at petertownsend@sbcglobal.net or 937-399-1282 or 937-215-0578. READ MORE For the past 19 years, Gary Brookins was the Chief Engineer of the Antioch College Power Plant until this summer when Antioch University decided to close the College. 10-1-08 Committee members spoke to Mr. Brookins on the topic of the University’s winterization plans for the College Campus. Under the University’s plan the College’s power plant has been shutdown and the campus will not be heated this winter. This “Cold Campus” plan will result in cracked and crumbling plaster, warped floors, and other damage to the College buildings over the winter. There is no publicly available cost estimate of the repair costs to the College based on this Cold Campus plan. 10-1-08 spoke to some people with construction and building experience and they have estimated that the damage might be $2.5 million while other people familiar with the College campus fear it might be as much as $7.5 million. For the time being we will use a $5 million damage estimate until a more thorough estimate is made public. What is the most cost effective way to avoid the potential damage of the University’s Cold Campus plan? If College buildings are heated to a minimum level, it is Mr. Brookins’ opinion that the entire College campus could be heated at 45 degrees for about $400,000. At 45 degrees nearly all the damage costs mentioned above could be avoided. Mr. Brookins arrived at the cost of $400,000 based on the College’s past fuel bills and based on his technical expertise with the College’s heating system. A further review of the College’s HVAC system and an independent third party estimate would be needed to arrive at a more precise and verifiable estimate, but based on Mr. Brookins’ 19 years of work experience with the College’s power plant and boiler system, he is the most qualified person to make an estimate at this time. How much money would a Warm Campus plan save as opposed to the current Cold Campus plan? As mentioned above, the Cold Campus plan could cause an estimated $5 million in damage due to cracked plaster, warped wooden floors, damaged water supply and heating systems, and the cost to replace office and dorm furniture thrown out to meet fire code for cold buildings.
It appears that the College’s waterlines, heating system lines, traps, radiators, water softeners, and sprinkler systems are at risk under the Cold Campus plan because proper winterization techniques using compressed air to blow all lines were not applied. The published portions of the University’s College shutdown report produced by the Stanley Group (available on line www.theantiochpapers.org ) for the most part makes no mention of these items other than to say the following: Drain the water lines prior to temporarily shutting down any building. This will prevent water lines from freezing under extreme water conditions. According to FHA guidelines followed by Safeguard Properties, the largest privately held building services and preservation company in US, simply draining the water from their systems is not enough to prevent winter damage. Safeguard’s Contractor Memos and Procedures Manual states that “all lines must be blown free of water using an air compressor.” Mr. Brookins stated that the College employees in charge of draining the pipes told him they did not use compressed air on the water, heating, and sprinkler lines. As a result when the College’s building temperatures reach below freezing for 3 consecutive days then most of these plumbing systems will experience cracks and damage from frozen water. The average daily temperature in Yellow Springs falls below freezing for 3 consecutive days usually by November 15. Because Mr. Brookins estimated it will take 6 weeks to inspect and fire up the College’s boiler, this process must begin by 10-1-08 in order to avoid damage to these systems. The damage costs to the College’s water, heating, and sprinkler lines is estimated to be $2 million until the University or some other entity provides a more detailed estimate. In total, the damage to the buildings and infrastructure delivered by the University’s Cold Campus plan is estimated to be $5 (plus or minus $2.5) million. Even if this $5 million damage estimate is off 50% from the actual damage costs —ranging on the low side ($2.5 million) or the high side ($7.5 million)—the fact remains that a $400,000 investment in heating the College campus over the winter is the most cost effective plan for ensuring the future health of Antioch College, the preservation of Antioch College’s many historic buildings, and the stabilization of property values in the Village of Yellow Springs.
