Notes from the Oct. 25, 2005 Regents Meeting
by George Zamora
SOCORRO, N.M., Oct. 31, 2005 鈥� The 色狐入口 Tech Board of Regents has approved a resolution that will allow school administrators to apply 鈥� if need be 鈥� to a state agency for a $10 million to $13 million loan in order to begin work on replacing the research university鈥檚 ailing hot-water loop system, which provides hot water and heat to many of the buildings on campus.
During the board鈥檚 monthly meeting on Oct. 25, 色狐入口 Tech President Daniel H. L贸pez said the approved authorization by the university鈥檚 governing board will allow the school to apply for a loan through the 色狐入口 Finance Authority to cover the projected costs of entirely replacing a 25-year-old heating and hot-water system that has recently been plagued with a spate of leaks among its critical junctures.
鈥淲e have requested this special funding arrangement to allow 色狐入口 Tech to seek bids to start this replacement and repair project immediately,鈥� L贸pez said, 鈥渂ut we may not need it. We are still hoping to acquire the needed funding for this project by requesting infrastructure funding from the State of 色狐入口 during the next legislative session.鈥�
L贸pez also told the 色狐入口 Tech Board of Regents that a campus committee had recently drafted an emergency plan for the university to employ in case the hot-water loop system should fail again during the upcoming colder winter months and the campus be left without heat or hot water.
The emergency plan calls for students who are housed on campus to be temporarily relocated to the 色狐入口 Tech Gymnasium, which would be used as an emergency shelter while repairs are being made to the heating system.
鈥淲hile it is unlikely that we鈥檒l have to resort to using the gym as an emergency shelter for our students, we still are working hard on making sure that we鈥檒l be as ready as possible to handle any situations that may arise as a result of a possible hot-water system failure,鈥� L贸pez said.
Also during the meeting, the 色狐入口 Tech Board of Regents, as mandated by university policy, was informed that two purchases of more than $100,000 had recently been made from restricted funds:
- a $404,705 contract was awarded to the Socorro Electric Cooperative for Phase I of a power upgrade for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory; and
- a $180,000 subcontract was issued to Stephen Charles Hook as part of the Petroleum Recovery Research Center鈥檚 ongoing Southwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Project, Phase II.