Long repair time for Frees Hall

Kiley Mackie
Staff Writer
Feb. 26, 2004, Page 1

Doane College and its students are about to be awash in repair and replacement costs.
Though exact restoration costs for the historical building have yet to be determined, Pappy Khouri, vice president of Financial Affairs, said he is predicting high damage figures.
Students have been saddled with the financial responsibility for personal property losses in accordance with pg. 55 of the Student Handbook which states “the college is not responsible for theft, loss or damage to stored items.”
At the various meetings held for Frees residents on Monday, Russ Hewitt, director of Residence Life, and Kim Heier, dean of Student Leadership, advised students with property damage to contact their personal home owner’s insurance agencies.
Students were supplied with disposable cameras and told to take pictures of their damaged property and document their losses.
Students’ thoughts were quickly forced to focus on the ensuing clean-up process when they were told they had to move all their belongings out.
During these meetings, boxes were being put together by Paul Davis Restoration to assist the students in their packing.
The Lincoln-based company has been hired to repair the water damage and dry out the building.
Khouri said that the company has already begun taking steps to restore the upper north side of Frees – the area most affected by the flooding.
“We have things fairly well in hand,” Khouri said. “Tuesday the company brought their extraction truck in to suck up the water from the rooms. Later that afternoon, they brought in equipment such as de-humidifiers and large fans and placed them in every room and at the end of the halls.”
Soon after fans were in place, the halls began to appear dry and habitable.
However, the clean-up process is much more extensive and could take until the end of spring break.
One aspect of Frees Hall that both helps and hinders the clean-up process is its age.
“The fact that it is an older building helps because the walls are plaster and not dry-wall,” Khouri said. “That way the walls didn’t suck up as much water. The hump in the middle of the building also helped to contain the water to just the north side.”
In contrast, the age of the building has also made the use of extra equipment necessary.
“We needed more power in the building to run all the equipment,” Khouri said. “So we brought in an electrician and the city of Crete helped us to bring in a transformer with a conduit going from the parking lot into Frees.”
Though the additional equipment is undoubtedly running up the restoration bill, Khouri said that the cost of repairs is not his first priority.“
Right now, I’m less concerned with the eventual cost than with ensuring the safety of students and getting the situation taken care of,” Khouri said.
Khouri has informed St. Paul Insurance of the crisis and had an adjustor come on Tuesday to assess the damage.
“Here in a few weeks or so, I will probably have more of an idea of how much this is going to cost the insurance company and the college,” Khouri said.
Thus far, the only monetary compensation issued has been to students who agreed to house residents from second and third floor Frees.
The students’ room rates were dropped from a single-room to a double-room fee for the rest of the semester.
Khouri said it is unlikely the displaced students will receive any reduced rates for their inconvenience.