Utah Legislature: U. seeks funds to keep campus from crumbling

SALT LAKE CITY (Deseret News) — Like most state agencies, the University of Utah is asking lawmakers for money.

However, the $15 million it is seeking for critical infrastructure needs is necessary to keep the school from further deterioration, at least for the time being, officials said.

"We are at a crisis here," U. President Michael K. Young told the Capital Facilities and Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Monday.

He said that in June 2009, 65 buildings on campus were without heat and hot water for days due to a line break. In January, 44 buildings suffered the same fate for four days.

In the past two years, 22 electrical outages have left parts of the university without power for more than 300 hours total, and in 2009, the school witnessed 105 days without heat. Some of those came during colder months, but the majority happened in June.

Young said such conditions are unacceptable for the high-caliber institution he's running.

"In these circumstances and with this infrastructure, I cannot continue to do what we've been doing," he said.

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