Washington state’s proposed Senate capital budget was released Wednesday. It closely parallels recommendations made by Gov. Christine Gregoire in December and by the House earlier this week.
All budget proposals would provide funding for WSU to complete the Pullman Life Sciences Building, extend the life of existing older structures, protect the lives of students and employees, provide for vital infrastructure and build a needed classroom building for the burgeoning Vancouver campus. In addition, the Senate and House budgets would fund design of a Vancouver Applied Technology Classroom Building.
Pullman Life Sciences Building
Senate, House and governor: $58 million.
Funding for WSU’s top capital construction project will complete construction that the governor and the Legislature initiated with a $10 million appropriation in 2006. When occupied in 2009, the four-story building will bring together academic disciplines in innovative laboratory settings in the life sciences, predominately researchers on National Institute of Health-sponsored projects.
Minor works preservation
Senate, House and governor: $38.9 million.
WSU’s preservation project extends the life of buildings by replacement or repair of elevators, roofs, fire alarms, HVAC, pumps, masonry, windows, flooring, painting and building network cabling and electronics. The request includes health, safety and code projects needed to protect the lives of students, faculty, staff and visitors and to comply with occupational/public health and environmental regulations.
Minor works program
Senate, House and governor: $17 million.
Minor works program money funds improvements ($8 million) that allow older facilities to be retrofitted for cutting-edge research and education and provides significant quality of life improvements. It includes omnibus equipment ($9 million) to improve, upgrade or replace essential apparatus and equipment throughout the university.
Utility extension
Senate, House and governor: $11.536 million
The Pullman campus is experiencing a critical shortfall in electrical capacity and a deficit of chilled water production that will be solved by the recommended utilities extension.
Library road infrastructure
Senate, House and governor: $15 million.
Extended service life and greater capacity to underground utility lines are provided by this project. The corridor project also includes accessibility and safety improvements for enhanced pedestrian movement and decreased vehicular traffic.
Universitywide infrastructure
Senate, House and governor: $8 million.
This funding will address the most critical improvements to infrastructure and roadways. WSU had requested $14.36 million.
Aggregated intermediate preservation
Senate, House and governor: $3.119 million.
WSU requested $7.740 million to address deteriorating heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems in Sloan Hall/EEME and Johnson Tower and the deteriorating exterior of Wilson Hall. The governor’s budget included $3.119 million for the projects.
Vancouver Undergraduate Classroom Building
Senate, House and governor: $24.35 million.
Construction of this facility will provide general classrooms and computer laboratory spaces for delivery of lower division programs and to accommodate enrollment growth on southwest Washington’s only four-year campus.
Vancouver Applied Technology Classroom Building design
Senate and House: $4.77 million
This building will provide classrooms and teaching labs for the Vancouver building. WSU had requested $3.77 million to design this project in a future biennium. The expanded building may also house the Washington Technology Center in Vancouver.
Not funded by the Senate, House or governor’s budgets are design costs of the Biomedical Sciences building in Pullman.
