From: Ronnie Smith, Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance
Subject: Hurricane Katrina Recovery – Update #91
Posted: April 24, 2009

We were pleased to have an opportunity to meet with Rep. Joseph Cao and his staff for several hours on April 24th and discuss the continuing challenges that we face in our recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Tony Russell, the acting head of the FEMA Temporary Recovery Office participated in the meeting as did Charlie Axton, appointed as head of the “Decision Team” by Secretary Napolitano to resolve long-standing disputes or issues delaying the recovery issues. Also attending were Paul Rainwater, head of the Louisiana Recovery Office and senior officials from GOHSEP and the Office of Facility Planning and Control. Rep. Cao asked a number of probing questions that helped bring important issues to the surface. The group was given a tour of key facilities that helped to illustrate our challenges and better inform the leaders of these key organizations of the importance of the work that remains to be done.

Rep. Cao and his staff have promised that their interest and support of our recovery will continue in the weeks and months ahead. We have been encouraged to keep them informed of issues that arise and our progress in resolving them. A meeting with FEMA and GOHSEP has already been scheduled for next week to review our outstanding hazard mitigation proposals and identify specific impediments to their submittal and approval and establish the path forward to address each.

The contractors at the Clinical Education Building are working toward completion of the remaining tasks that must be finished to allow reoccupation of the lower floors. The three new offices that were created on the 3rd Floor have had doors installed, the walls painted and the ceiling grid is being installed. Carpet has been installed in the 3rd Floor lounge and the remaining data drops have been installed. The final cleaning has begun in the offices along the center hallway on the 3rd Floor.

The 2nd Floor lounge walls have been painted and the ceiling tiles are in place. Carpet has been laid in 2nd Floor offices. Ceiling grid is being hung in the 1st Floor lounge. Data drops and furniture have been installed in Rooms 111 and 111A. The State Elevator Inspector certified Elevators #1, #2 and #3 for normal use. The remaining punch list items for the new roll up door at the entrance of the parking garage have been completed and final adjustments are done.

The flurry of work in the Lions/LSU Clinic Building continues as the project nears completion. A variety of trim work has been finished on the 6th Floor. Sprinkler heads have been installed in the computer lounge and elsewhere on the floor. Window blinds have been hung in a number of the exterior rooms. Additional light fixtures were installed and the 6th Floor fire alarm devices were trimmed out and tested. Stryker continues installing and testing their equipment in the simulation labs.

The granite pavers surrounding the base of the new exterior stairwell were installed and grouted. The exterior granite has been waterproofed. Workers framed, insulated and sheet rocked the interior walls of the new stairwell on the 3rd through the 6th levels and the window trim is being installed. The 1st Floor mechanical rooms floors have been coated with an epoxy floor coating and the walls have been painted. Lights and electrical receptacles have been installed on the 1st Floor and conduit has been run to hold the 200 pair telephone cable being routed to the 2nd Floor location.

The efforts at the Dental School Auditoriums A & B are now focused on installing the state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment. The electrical contractor installed conduit in the elevator lobby outside Auditoriums A & B for the A/V wiring and connections. Creative Presentations installed speaker wiring and structural supports for the projector mounts in Auditorium B. They installed speakers and wiring in Auditorium A.

The contractor finished installing the fire dampers and smoke detectors in the Library Commons area. The restroom partitions have been installed and the ceiling trim was installed above the coffee kiosk. LSUHSC electricians installed light fixtures near the decorative screens and installed the faceplates for the network drops. Wallpaper was hung beneath the windows and in the back office area. The roll-up doors have been tested in manual mode. LSUHSC Facility Services personnel pulled wiring for the fire phone and trimmed out the electrical receptacles. The contractor installed sprinkler caps throughout the space and started the general cleaning of the construction areas.

The renovations to the Pharmacology labs in the MEB are continuing. The casework contractor installed the second side of the peninsula casework and the countertops in Rooms 5219, 5219A and 5262. Fume hoods have been connected and the sinks have been plumbed in. The new door frame was installed in Room 5219 and VCT was installed in the administrative area. The final coat of paint was applied to Rooms 5262B, 5264, 5262A, 5206C and in the department head’s office. The contractor installed receptacle raceways above the laboratory furniture.

A new contract has been issued to renovate Multi-Disciplinary Lab 3 in the MEB. The renovations will replicate the renovations that were completed in MDL 6 including a completely new layout, new casework, new countertops, new flooring, etc. The audio/visual equipment will be replaced with state of the art equipment. The contractor began work by demolishing the existing casework, removing acid waste lines, and disconnecting the old plumbing. They removed ceiling grids and tiles, removed light fixtures, and disconnected receptacle outlets. The A/V contractor de-installed the old LCD and speakers in the main MDL lab area. The existing partitions have been removed from the main MDL room and the casework and ceiling from Room 4108A.

Work on the MEB 2nd Floor lobby renovations continue. The contractor installed the new storefront frames at the Medical Center Stores location and installed the fur down across from the elevators. The fur down was taped and floated and the loose wire was removed from the open ceiling areas. The wall panel contractor installed wall panels along the Medical Center Stores wall and the contractor began installing new metal around the elevators.

The interior contractor taped and floated the fur down in the expanded lobby area of the Student Residence Hall. They completed installing ceiling tiles in the A and C Towers and in the area between the A & B Towers and began framing the sheet rock ceiling in the expanded lobby space. The electrical contractor ran fire alarm wires in the expanded lobby area. The contractor installed ceiling grid for the sheetrock ceiling underneath the mezzanine level of the A & B Towers and in the expanded lobby area. They installed ceiling grid for the acoustical ceiling between the B & C Towers.

The contractor responsible for installing the new roof on the Allied Health/Nursing Building has made good progress. The contractor removed a 30 ft. by 30 ft. section of the roof at the corner of Roman St. and Gravier St. and another 30 ft. by 30 ft. section of the roof at the corner of the MEB loading dock and Roman Street. They applied the temporary two-ply roofing system to those sections of the roof. Workers installed tapered insulation and a cap on a 40 foot section of the roof parallel to Perdido St. and on a section forty feet beyond the elevator penthouse toward S. Roman St. The contractor removed the old flashing from around the roof.

Here are highlights of work that has been accomplished during the past two weeks.

REPAIR WORK AT 1542 TULANE AVE.:

• The general contractor completed installing doors in Room 111B.

  • Workers are installing the ceiling grid in Rooms 341, 342, and 343.

• Painting:

  • The contractor painted the walls in Rooms 341, 342, and 343.

  • They applied the first coat of paint in the auditorium.

• Lounge Areas:

  • The walls in the 2nd Floor lounge have been painted and the ceiling tiles have been installed.

  • The flooring contractor installed carpet in the 3rd Floor lounge.

  • Workers started installing ceiling grid in the 1st Floor lounge.

• The mechanical contractor installed new fan coil units in Rooms 345 and 345A.

• The electrical sub-contractor continued wiring fan coil units on the 3rd Floor.

• Misc.:

  • The State Elevator Inspector cleared the final items on Elevators 1, 2 and 3 and certified them for normal use.

  • The flooring contractor installed carpet in offices on the 2nd Floor.

  • The furniture vendor installed desks and file cabinets in Room 111.

  • The network wiring contractor installed new drops in Rooms 111 and 111A.

    • They completed installing new data drops on the 3rd Floor.

  • LSUHSC-Facility Services personnel installed door locks on Rooms 111 and 111A.

  • The ceiling grid contractor completed repairs to the 3rd Floor hallway ceiling.

    • They continue repairing the 2nd Floor front hallway ceiling.

  • The cleaning contractor has been cleaning offices along the center hallway on the 3rd Floor and has begun in the offices along the front hallway.

  • The roll-up door contractor completed the punch list items and made final adjustments to the parking garage roll-up door.

  • The access control contractor installed door contacts and panic bars on the emergency exit doors on the Charity side of 1st Floor hallway.

  • New locks and hardware have been installed by LSUHSC Facility Services personnel on the doors to Rooms 110, 111 and 111A.

LIONS/LSU CLINIC PERMANENT REPAIRS AND MITIGATION:

• The contractor finished installing wall covering in the computer lounge.

  • Workers installed cove base in the new mechanical rooms on the 2nd Floor.

    • They installed base molding near the 6th Floor reception desk and in the hallway between the simulation rooms.

  • Workers installed sprinkler heads in the 6th Floor computer lounge.

    • Sprinkler heads are being installed on the Gravier St. side of the 6th Floor.

  • Window blinds have been hung in windows on the 6th Floor.

    • Room signs are being installed on the 6th Floor.

  • Crews installed tile floor on the Bolivar St. side of the 1st Floor.

  • Painters primed the CMU walls of the mechanical rooms, electrical rooms, and stairwells on the 1st Floor.

    • They are touching up paint throughout the 6th Floor.

  • Workers installed the remaining exterior glass in the stairwell.

    • Granite pavers have been laid around the new stairwell. The pavers have been grouted.

    • Workers framed, insulated and sheet rocked the interior walls of the new stairwell on the 3rd through the 6th levels.

    • Workers waterproofed the granite wall panels on the new stairwell.

    • The contractor began installing trim for the windows of the stair tower at the 6th level.

  • Workers applied joint compound on the new wall on the 5th Floor by the new stairwell.

  • They painted the 1st Floor walls on the S. Prieur Street side of the building and painted the mechanical room on the 1st Floor, Bolivar Street side.

  • Workers patched the 1st Floor in preparation for the epoxy installation.

    • The contractor placed epoxy on the S. Prieur and CSRB sides of the 1st Floor.

    • The contractor applied the 1st and 2nd coats of epoxy on the floors of the 1st Floor mechanical rooms.

  • Crews installed wall and floor tile on the Bolivar St. side of the 1st Floor.

    • They installed restroom tile on the 1st Floor Bolivar St. side of the building.

  • Workers sealed the original penetrations in the 6th Floor computer lounge.

• The electrical contractor installed lights on the Gravier St. side of the 6th Floor.

  • Electricians installed lights and receptacles on the Bolivar St. side of the 1st Floor and cleaned light fixtures on the 1st floor.

  • They installed lights in the 1st Floor restrooms and receptacles on the Prieur St. side of the 1st Floor.

  • The fire alarm devices on the 6th Floor were trimmed out and tested.

  • Conduit was run from the 6th Floor to the 2nd Floor demark (telephone) room for the 200 pair cable.

  • Conduit was run for the sump pump in the freight elevator.

  • The contractor ran conduit from the controller to the motor for the fire pump.

  • They ran wire from the controller to the motor for the fire pump.

  • They rewired the tamper proof switches for the fire pump controller.

  • Crews removed the tombstones in the simulation room on the 6th Floor.

  • The electrical contractor installed a junction box for the new fiber cables on the 6th Floor, Bolivar Street side.

  • Electricians wired the firemans switch for the exhaust fans in the new stairwell and installed door closure on the 6thFloor, Gravier Street side.

• The mechanical contractor installed a sink in the 6th Floor break room.

• Stryker continued to install wires and equipment on the 6th Floor.

  • They installed microphones in the large lecture room on the 6th Floor.

• AT&T continues to install the new telephone feeder.

LIBRARY COMMONS PROJECT:

• The contractor finished installing the fire dampers and smoke detectors in the Commons area.

• The contractor finished installing the restroom partitions.

• Ceiling trim was installed above the coffee kiosk.

• LSUHSC electricians installed light fixtures near the decorative screens and installed the faceplates for the network drops.

• The contractor hung wallpaper beneath the windows.

  • Wall paper was installed in the back office area.

• They tested the roll-up doors in manual mode.

• LSUHSC Facility Services personnel pulled wiring for the fire phone.

• The contractor installed sprinkler caps throughout the space.

• The contractor started the general cleaning of the construction areas.

• The ceiling in the elevator lobby was repaired.

• LSUHSC electricians trimmed out the electrical receptacles.

• LSUHSC electricians relocated light fixtures above the magazine racks.

MEB PHARMACOLOGY LAB RENOVATIONS:

• The casework contractor installed countertops in Rooms 5219, 5219A and 5262.

• The new door frame was installed in Room 5219. .

• The contractor hooked up plumbing underneath the casework in Room 5219.

• VCT was installed in the administrative area.

• The casework contractor installed the second side of the peninsula casework in Room 5219.

• Workers installed casework and countertops in Rooms 512A and 5124.

• They hung shelves in Room 5124 and installed sinks in Rooms 5219A, 5262.

• The final coat of paint was applied to Rooms 5262B, 5264, 5262A, and 5206C.

• The remaining sinks were installed in both the lab area and administrative areas.

• The plumbing contractor completed plumbing in the fume hoods in both sections and started hooking up the sinks in the administrative area.

• The casework contractor installed countertops on the second side of the peninsula casework in Room 5219.

• The contractor applied the final coat of paint in the department head’s office.

• The casework contractor completed touch up work to the casework in the administrative and lab areas.

• The contractor installed receptacle raceways above the laboratory furniture.

• Workers connected drains to the sinks in the laboratory furniture.

MEB 2nd FLOOR LOBBY RENOVATIONS:

• The contractor installed the new storefront frames at the Medical Center Stores location.

• The contractor installed the fur down across from the elevators and removed the loose wire in the open ceiling areas.

• The contractor taped and floated the fur down across from the elevators.

• The wall panel contractor installed wall panels along the Medical Center Stores wall.

• The contractor began installing new metal around the elevators.

MDL-3 RENOVATIONS:

• A new contract has been issued to renovate Multi-Disciplinary Lab 3 in the MEB.

  • The renovations will replicate the renovations that have recently been completed in MDL 6 including a completely new layout, new casework, new countertops, new flooring, etc. The audio/visual equipment will be replaced with state of the art equipment.

• The contractor began work by demolishing the existing casework, removing acid waste lines, and disconnecting the old plumbing.

• The contractor demolished ceiling grids and tiles, removed light fixtures, and disconnected receptacle outlets.

• The A/V contractor de-installed the old LCD and speakers in the main MDL lab area.

• The contractor removed the existing partitions from the main MDL room and removed the casework and ceiling from Room 4108A.

• The contractor completed demolition in the MDL.

• The abatement contractor began preparation for abatement over the weekend.

DENTAL AUDITORIUMS A & B RENOVATIONS:

• The electrical contractor installed conduit in the elevator lobby outside Auditoriums A & B for the A/V wiring and connections.

• Creative Presentations installed speaker wiring and structural supports for the projector mounts in Auditorium B.

• The electrical contractor installed junction boxes for conduit in the crosswalk (the conduit stretches between the Auditoriums and the rack room; Room 4202B).

• The A/V contractor installed speakers and wiring in Auditorium A.

• The electrical contractor installed additional conduit and junction boxes in the crosswalk outside Room 4202.

RESIDENCE HALL LOBBY EXPANSION:

• The interior contractor taped and floated the fur down in the expanded lobby area.

• The interior contractor completed installing ceiling tiles in the A and C Towers and in the area between the A & B Towers.

• The electrical contractor ran fire alarm wires in the expanded lobby area.

• The interior contractor began framing the sheetrock ceiling in the expanded lobby area.

• The interior contractor hung ceiling wires in the expanded lobby area.

• They prepared the concrete wall to in-set the wall-mounted fire alarm devices.

• The contractor installed ceiling grid for the sheetrock ceiling underneath the mezzanine level of the A & B Towers and in the expanded lobby area.

• They installed ceiling grid for the acoustical ceiling between the B & C Towers.

ALLIED HEALTH/NURSING ROOF REPLACEMENT:

• The contractor removed a 30 ft. by 30 ft. section of the roof at the corner of Roman St. and Gravier St.

  • The contractor applied the two-ply roofing system to the same section.

• The contractor removed another 30 ft. by 30 ft. section of the roof at the corner of the MEB loading dock and Roman Street.

  • The contractor applied the temporary two-ply roofing system to that section of the roof.

• The contractor installed tapered insulation and a cap on a 40 foot section of the roof parallel to Perdido Street.

• The contractor removed the old flashing from around the roof.

• The contractor installed insulation and a cap on a 40-foot section of the roof parallel to Perdido Street.

• The contractor installed insulation and a cap forty feet beyond the elevator penthouse toward South Roman Street.

EXTERIOR/LANDSCAPING:

• LSUHSC Facility Services installed irrigation piping and sprinklers at the corner of S. Roman St. and Perdido St.

• They began grading the planting beds at the corner of S. Roman St. and Perdido St.

• Facility Services finished installing new sod at the corner of S. Roman St. and Perdido St.

• We encourage you to follow the details of our progress through the daily updates which are posted on the web site.