Regents hear new building proposals
The State Board of Regents met at Utah State University last week to discouse proposed capitol improvement projects at public higher education institutions around the state.
Each college and university submitted its highest priority projects to the Board which then ranked each proposal on a qualification and prioritization (Q&P) scale intended to give the process some objective basis. The Q&P scale took existing space and projected needs as well as saftey issues into consideration.
The state’s primary research schools, Utah State and the University of Utah, were invited to submit two, rather than one, project to the board.
Both of Utah State’s proposals were agriculture related.
First a 5 million dollar proposal to move some 77 agricultural research buildings from the Inovation Campus located north of the main loagn campus to the Caine Dairy Research and Teaching Center and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station South Farm near Wellsville. This would centralizes all of the universit’s agricultual research facilities and free up space closer to the main campus for other types of research.
The University also requested 57 million dollars for a new agricultural science building on campus. The existing building is over 50 years old, too small, and has numerous saftey problems includeing asbestus paneling, insufficent wireing for standard information technology and other electronic systems, and a centralized air system that mixes laboritorys with calssrooms and offices.
The Board ranked the proposed centralization of agricultural research facilities at one and the new agricultural science building at four on the Q&P criterian. Both of the University of Utah’ s proposals will seek funds through other state economic development programs.
In all the Board aproved 192 million in capitol development projects throughout the state. It is now up to the state legislature to aprove funds.