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| Harsh winter creates
increased spending |
Carrie Baker
Business Affairs Beat
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Appalachian
State University may be “dipping into student fee reserves”
to cover additional costs incurred by the colder winter, Vice Chancellor
for Business Affairs Jane P. Helm said Tuesday.
Helm said utilities, such as the natural gas used at the steam plant,
have gone up in cost and necessity this winter.
“We used more heating oil in all buildings this winter,”
Helm said. “It’s been budgeted for, but we’re probably
going over.”
Helm said areas not supported by state funding will cover the extra
costs by either not spending money allotted for another project
or using student fee reserves.
Salt, steam and extra man hours have incurred additional costs for
the university this winter, Physical Plant Director Larry D. Bordeaux
said Monday.
“We’ve been lucky in the past three years,” Bordeaux
said. “We’re making up for it this year.”
The Department of Housing and Residence Life and buildings such
as W.H. Plemmons Student Union have been impacted this winter by
the rising cost of heat, Bordeaux said.
Dr. Tommy Wright, director of housing operations, said Monday that
Housing and Residence Life prepared for the extra winter costs.
“We budget up front what we anticipate spending,” Wright
said.
The budget for the year is created in May and June of each year
and runs from July 1 through the end of June.
“We always budget a little higher than we intend to spend,”
Wright said.
“It stands to reason that if you have a colder winter you are
going to spend more,” Wright said.
“We probably have spread more salt this year than in the past,”
Wright said.
Extra winter costs for Housing the Residence Life include frozen
pipe repairs, salt, steam and extra labor for snow shoveling.
Wright said unexpected costs for frozen pipe damage in the Gardner
and Coltrane Residence Halls’ shared lobby area and in Appalachian
Heights Apartments probably amounted to $10,000.
David L. Robertson, director of student programs, said Monday the
planned budget for student union utilities will be exceeded this
year because of the colder weather.
The budget for this year did not foresee the colder winter and extra
supplies usage.
“We used figures from the last two years to determine the utilities
cost for this year,” Robertson said.
More money is spent on steam, salt and floor cleaning supplies during
the winter months.
Utility costs for the student union and Legends, which is part of
the student union budget, amounted to $352,150, which was covered
by student fees, Robertson said.
Robertson said the cost for propane used to heat Legends will reach
beyond the $2,650 bill from last year.
“We will probably double that this year or maybe triple,”
Robertson said.
The additional costs incurred by the colder winter will be covered
by the reserve built up from student fees.
Robertson said this reserve money is also used for unexpected costs
such as roof replacement.
“We still have enough in the reserves to cover a couple of
years. We couldn’t go on this way indefinitely,” Robertson
said. |
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