Construction at the University of Alaska: deferred maintenance, capital construction projects drive growth for Alaska.

• Author: Voris, Rachel
• Position: SPECIAL EDITION: Building Alaska

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The mood was dismal at the Construction Specification Institute (CSI) meeting earlier this spring as the news went out across the room that there were few construction jobs ahead. The group, composed of different representatives throughout the state, works on construction standards, documents and project delivery.

John Faunce, a representative from the University of Alaska, sat in the room alongside other representatives, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel and delegates from the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities listening to reports given by the delegates about upcoming projects.

Faunce watched, and it seemed report after report carried the weight of bad news as many of the groups were facing significant shortfalls in funding, which meant fewer projects on the horizon. At last, the university brought good news that many were eager to hear.

The university unveiled a series of projects, all in various phases, which promised work for contractors and designers. Faunce delivered hope for a job sector that was in need of revitalization.

According to Faunce, director of facilities planning and construction for the University of Alaska Anchorage, firms were very interested in the work, not only because of the quantity of the projects but even more because the university brought one of the few positive outlooks for the day.

The Need for Work

There are an abundance of projects being completed on the UA system's 16 campuses, many of which will considerably reduce the university's deferred maintenance backlog from $750 million toward its $360 million goal. UA hopes to reach this goal by 2018 using funds allocated specifically for deferred maintenance through continued support by the state Legislature.

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Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell and the Legislature approved $100 million in funding in each of the next five consecutive years to go toward statewide maintenance and renewal projects. The university's cut of the $100 million was $37.5 million. The rest of the money was designated for other state facilities, including buildings, roads, airports and ferries. Parnell began the five-year program in budget year 2011. The budget passed in April was the third in the governor's five-year commitment to the deferred maintenance reduction program.

Parnell understands the need to maintain buildings based on his committee experience within the senate, according to Regent Kirk Wickersham, secretary of the University of Alaska Board of Regents and board facilities committee member. Wickersham has been on the board since 2007 and is a retired attorney and real estate broker in Anchorage.

"All governors in recent years have been very supportive of the university's capital projects," Wickersham explains. "Governor Parnell has been very supportive and we have been able to count on $37.5 million in the governor's budget, which has been very helpful in working towards reducing the backlog of deferred maintenance projects 2

Without a stable funding commitment, planning for major deferred maintenance construction projects system-wide is nearly impossible, according to Faunce. The university receives two kinds of funding for construction projects, he says: capital funding for new construction projects, such as the new University of Alaska...