ULV must set realistic budgets

As the University of La Verne is growing, the departments on campus are growing as well. As a result, their individual facilities are in need of expansion to accommodate their own needs and therefore need larger facilities in order to do so. By having a larger facility, each department can do things that they could not previously do because of the lack of space as well as accommodate the needs of the students and the growing needs of each individual department.

Departments like the Office of Housing and Residential Life, the College of Law, Behavioral Sciences, the Campus Accelerated Program for Adults (CAPA), the College of Arts and Sciences and Communications, are some of the departments that are looking to move to other facilities that will accommodate their needs.

So far, the plans for the building projects are going as planned. While the University has managed to get $6 million from a bond issue to renovate the Lemon House, the Hoover Building and the newly constructed Oaks pod, the original budgets that have been set for each building have increased in order to complete each project as well as cover the costs of any problems that have come up.

For the Oaks pod, which was designed to be three stories high and cost only $2 million to build, problems arose when it was found that zoning regulations of the city of La Verne require that all buildings be no higher than two stories. As a result, they had to place the first floor below street level, making the costs of finishing up to $2.3 million.

Since the College of Law has moved to Ontario in January, construction in the Hoover building has commenced. However, both the heater and the air conditioner that is currently in use needs to be replaced. Once again, this unexpected problem has increased the original cost of the renovation to $2.3 million. However, it is expected that the building will be ready to be occupied by the behavioral sciences department, the College of Arts and Science dean and CAPA on July 1.

The Lemon House, now named the Art Communication Building, is undergoing architectural review. This project is expected to cost more because both the art and the communication departments need new offices, radio studios, edit rooms and classrooms that will make the costs for the renovation even higher. It is expected that the cost will go up to $3 million, provided that other problems do not arise while it is undergoing renovation.

While the University is doing a good thing in recognizing that these departments need larger facilities because their departments are expanding, the University must be realistic in how much they budget on each project.

There are several things that the University can do to stay within their budgets. By making sure that they examine the buildings properly for any problems, they can calculate how much they will need to cover all costs. They must also examine all zoning regulations prior to any kind of renovation so they know that they are not violating any rules imposed by the city. Another thing that they could do is have some extra money aside for any problems that may arise. More importantly, they must be realistic by realizing that there will be unexpected problems that will come up and they must prepare their budgets to accommodate any type of problems that may rise.

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