CMU seeking refunds for Brooks Hall mistakes
Central Michigan University will seek refunds from Wilcox Professional Services for mistakes made last year in the Brooks Hall renovations.
“We do feel we have a suit against the design group,” said Trustee Brian Fannon on Thursday at a meeting of the Board.
Steve Smith, director of public relations, said the amount of the refund CMU is seeking has not been calculated, but it will likely be upward of a few million dollars.
“It’s simply a financial matter,” he said.
The Facilities Committee addressed the Brooks Hall renovations along with replacement of the South Quad heating exchangers at the board meeting.
The committee consists of chairwoman Marilyn French Hubbard and trustees Brian Fannon, John Hurd and Gail Torreano, who was absent Thursday.
Mediation, not a lawsuit
Although Fannon referred to the conflict as a suit, Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management, said the parties will attempt mediation.
“We, being the university, and the other party will hire a mediator,” Lawrence said. “(We) just feel there were some errors and omissions in their design.”
Smith said contracts between CMU and companies require mediation as the first step in resolving an issue.
The university will hire a mediator to communicate between the university and the company. Smith said he believes mediation will start this spring.
“(We’re) hopeful that, through mediation, there’s a successful settlement,” said David Burdette, vice president of finance and administrative services. “(We) think we’re right.”
At December’s Board meeting, Burdette requested additional funds of $1.42 million going toward additional renovations in Brooks Hall and $80,000 for classrooms and safety rules.
The Deferred Maintenance Fund provided $300,000 and $1.2 million came from the general university fund. The Deferred Maintenance Fund is funding provided for maintaining buildings and facilities on campus.
The Board approved Burdette’s request, and renovations were completed Jan. 6. Now university officials are focused on receiving refunds from Wilcox for mistakes made in the designs.
If the company disagrees with the requests, CMU will continue to pursue it through litigation, Burdette said.
South Quad
The South Quad, consisting of Beddow, Thorpe, Merrill, and Sweeney residence halls will receive new heat exchangers for the first time in 50 years.
The process will begin in mid-May and is expected to be complete by August when students return to campus for the fall semester.
“These buildings are 50 years old,” Fannon said, explaining how the replacements are necessary in order to keep the heating situation under control.
The replacements, he said, are not to exceed $315,000.
Funding will come from the Deferred Maintenance Contingency fund— money previously unused from the Deferred Maintenance Fund.
“This is a perfect example of why we have this contingency fund,” Burdette said.
He said CMU will be able to purchase the parts in advance now and have an extra two months to plan.
