University to benefit from stimulus bill (w/list of projects)
February 18, 2009 by RAISA HABERSHAM
Filed under News
One University administrator hopes for funds in projects such as renovation and repairs, as colleges and universities around the country scramble to propose projects that may benefit from funding in the national stimulus package. The $789 billion stimulus package was passed by President Barack Obama Tuesday.
“[The University] submitted four types of lists of projects for the stimulus package,” said Tom Jackson, vice president for Public Affairs, in an interview Tuesday. “The [Board of] Regents asked for ’shovel-ready’ projects, which means they require no more design and if we had the money they are ready to go.”
Energy
“Some of the specific projects that we submitted had to do with energy-related stimulus projects,” he said. “For example we proposed upgrades to the central steam plant to replace retrofit gas boilers to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.”
The University submitted 15 proposals under the energy category to the Board of Regents, which include the expansion of the chilled water piping in South Campus and the replacement of the steam generator in North Campus by a biomass boiler.
“The chilled water piping expansion reduces energy and water consumption,” Jackson said. “When your chiller is looped you don’t have to have one for every building. One chiller can serve several buildings and they can share the chilled water. The construction of a biomass boiler would be a cogeneration system and it would replace steam generation with biogeneration and reduce fuel costs.”
The total cost of the 15 energy projects is $83 million, with the most expensive being the biomass boiler as a cogeneration system at $40 million.
Maintenance and repair
Other proposals are being prepared specifically with maintenance and repair, Jackson said.
The University’s submitted projects range from 64 repairs and renovations to 13 building renovations, including renovations to the Fine Arts Building that total $25 million dollars, Biological Sciences Building at $60 million, and Gilbert Hall Basement renovations totaling more than $150,000.
In the area of research, the University has proposed six projects and 13 building projects, which do not have dollar amounts attached to them.
“With research, there’s a lot of funding in the stimulus bill,” Jackson said. “The money will be dispersed to organizations such as the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the United States Department of Energy. These organizations will award grants and these are things to compete for.”
Financial aid
The University also has interest in increasing student financial aid.
“There are other areas that we are looking for in assistance one is in student aid, in particularly the Pell Grant,” Jackson said.
There are currently 3,700 University students who receive the Pell Grant, which is up 12 percent from last year, Jackson said.
“This indicates some of the economic impact on our students,” Jackson said. “[The stimulus] could lead up to a $500 dollar increase on the Pell Grant which would be very positive for those students that qualify for Pell,” Jackson said. “But we’ll have to see how that plays out.”
According to the Federal Student Aid Web site, the Pell Grant was worth a maximum of $4,731 for the 2008-2009 school year.
Funding
A Board of Regents spokesman addressed the matter of approaching Georgia colleges’ costs.
“Sufffice it to say that our 35 institutions, in concert with our System Facilities Office, have been working on an approach to infrastructure needs that could be addressed by any federal funds,” said John Millsaps, spokesperson for the Board of Regents, in an e-mail.
“These needs in general reflect projects that involve repair, renovation, rehabilitation, and upgrades to buildings and the various types of systems that support buildings” such as electrical, heating, cooling and roofs, Millsaps said.
