BS Building continues HVAC wait

Despite continuous requests, the much-needed renovations to repair the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the Biological Sciences Building has been delayed until July 2009, college officials said.

At a monthly meeting on Friday to discuss plans for improving the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) or lack thereof, Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said the building, which was built in 1961, has never had air conditioning or heat at all.

As part of the Facilities Master Plan, the building was previously expected to undergo changes in May 2009. King said that in preparation of the cold winter days and nights that accompany the spring semester, they are striving to get adequate heating, at minimum, by January 2009.

Biological Sciences department Chairwoman Kathryn Levine said that despite the fact that members of the biological sciences department have ideas to temporarily improve the condition of the HVAC system, all funds, plans and projects have to be approved by the Department of State Agriculture.

College President McKinley Williams said the college wants to fix the HVAC system as soon as possible, but would like to do so when there are fewer disruptions. Hundreds of students have classes in the building from Monday through Saturday and it may be more efficient for the work to take place during a break.

Faculty members and students have acknowledged their discontent with the temperature of the building, which fluctuates daily from scorching to freezing.

"The students are the reason why we're trying to push. We want our students to be able to focus on learning rather than on being hot or cold, wishing they had brought a sweater to class," biological sciences professor Katherine Krolikowski said.

Numerous students agreed.

"It's very uncomfortable and hard to concentrate when it's too hot or too cold. When I'm worried about how cold it is, I can't learn," nursing major Mia Taber said.

Radiology major Connie Lin said, "You just can't work as efficiently as you could because your mind is distracted."

Dr. Levine said that although they have had to wait so long, they still believe that things will change for the better.

"We appreciate the fact that people are willing to listen to our needs even though progress is not as fast as we'd like," she said.

Dr. Ellen Coatney, biological sciences professor, said that the new set date is a glimmer of hope.

The biological sciences department is set to move to the new Sciences and Allied Health Building around 2012, the plot of land where the Liberal Arts Building is currently located. The art department will replace the biological sciences department in the BS Building after its faulty foundation and plumbing is renovated.

Biological sciences professor Christopher Tarp has been teaching at Contra Costa College for 25 years. He said that the system has never worked well and he cannot imagine how it was in the '60s and '70s before the trees, which now provide refuge from the heat of the sun, grew tall enough to surround the building.

He said that a long time ago, a professor once took his class out of the building to a room across from the then-president's office to show the professor's discontent with the HVAC system.

"It's an ongoing and persistent problem," Dr. Tarp said.

Alternative and cost-efficient solutions, such as space heaters, are not an option, Levine said. They are illegal because they are a major fire hazard and would never be approved by the DSA, she said.

There are other possibilities, however. An easy and short-term option that has been discussed is air conditioning and dual heating window units, similar to temperature moderators that are typically found in hotels.

The relocation of the student services in the Humanities Building to the new Student Services Center has left the H Building near unused. Sometime in 2009, it will be torn down.

Levine said it would be great if they could take advantage of its vacancy and rewire the HVAC system from the deserted H Building to the BS Building.

Though there is a budget set aside for the building, the cost of the renovations are still unknown. She said the proposed architect is expensive and regular people can probably do most of the work.

Levine said that they are trying to grow as a department.

"It's hard to convince students when they have to compete for space and then feel like citizens of the Third World when they get in," she said.

Contact Holly Pablo at hpablo.advocate@gmail.com.