An aggressive, comprehensive strategy is what’s needed to start chipping away at the $503 million backlog in repair and maintenance across the University of Hawaii’s 10 campuses — one that lawmakers are able to back up financially and that UH officials can fully execute.
Both parties agree the repairs must be done in a systematic way. But coming up with the funds to pare down the growing list of deferred maintenance projects — especially at UH’s flagship Manoa campus — has been the sticking point year after year at the state Legislature.
University of Hawaii officials are floating a three-pronged funding approach that, given the gravity of the situation, makes good fiscal sense. Funding would have to come from three sources: a mix of state-backed general obligation bonds, revenue bonds and general funds. That funding mix would have to be employed over the course of several years, with projects targeted for completion each year.
But with so many millions needed, and deep doubts over UH’s ability to use funds well, the challenge is getting legislators to buy into such a plan. It’s incumbent upon UH President David Lassner and his administrators to offer a solid plan with clearly defined goals to tackle the mounting list of repairs and maintenance projects.
UH needs $77 million a year in order to stay on top of deferred maintenance. Lawmakers have appropriated less than that amount each year, which has led to the ballooning backlog.
That underfunding, in essence, has forced UH to place on the back burner jobs such as elevator servicing, painting, roof repairs and air conditioning — maintenance needed to ensure longevity. At the Manoa campus, dilapidated Snyder Hall, with lab classrooms in disrepair, is both woeful evidence and the result of deferred maintenance.
Legislators in past sessions have not approved UH requests for general obligation bonds or for revenue bonds, but it would be irresponsible if they dismissed without careful consideration a plan that incorporates both those mecha-
nisms, combined with general-funds allocation.
In order to persuade lawmakers, UH officials must make every effort to get jobs done in a reasonable time frame and in a fiscally responsible manner. With new faces running operations at UH, there’s reason to hope that the system’s dismal record of maintaining facilities will become a thing of the past.
Jan Gouveia, system vice president for administration, told lawmakers at a budget briefing that the university is working to be more strategic in its approach to repairs and maintenance.
On Tuesday, Lassner told the Star-Advertiser editorial board that UH has put into place an electronic system for managing projects, which allows tracking projects online. That alone will help UH become more efficient in procuring services and realizing economies of scale. Rather than bid similar projects one by one, it makes sense to bid out a range of projects, allowing savings in time and money.
UH also is moving toward more design-build projects that realize cost savings by using a single company for design and construction, eliminating time-consuming steps in the bid process. And there is simply more scrutiny of change orders for construction projects, which cause delay and add to the price of agreed-upon contracts, Lassner said.
UH officials took their lumps recently as it presented its budget request for the upcoming fiscal year, which asks for an additional $185 million in state-backed bonds for capital improvement projects. State Rep. Isaac Choy (D, Manoa-Punahou-Moiliili) has been critical of UH’s handling of the backlog and scolded officials for requesting new CIP funds when deferred maintenance should be a higher priority. But there are needs at other campuses, such as the growing UH-West Oahu. As an institution, UH cannot remain stagnant.
If Choy’s initial reaction to the three-pronged funding for deferred maintenance is any indication, UH is in for another rough session. However, we urge lawmakers to replace scolding with productive discussion, and for UH officials to show success via its internal process improvements. Only then will lawmakers and UH be able to work on crossing off projects from the growing list of maintenance woes across our public university system.
