Wednesday, April 3, 1996
Seismic retrofitting, capital improvements now have green light
By John Digrado
Daily Bruin Staff
With last week’s passage of Proposition 203, California voters
gave UCLA planners the go-ahead for several campus capital
improvement projects.
The bond initiative sets aside $39.2 million for 10 seismic
correction projects at UCLA, some of which were largely dependent
on the initiative’s passage for continued funding.
However, the measure’s approval represents an abrupt change in
voter attitudes toward bond initiatives  created to benefit
the state’s ailing educational system.
"In 1994, bond propositions for K-12 and higher education were
defeated (in legislature), creating an enormous backlog of projects
that, in my view, are vital to both segments of education," UCLA
Chancellor Charles Young said.
Bonds function as a long-term financing used by the state to
fund major construction projects. The bond approved with
Proposition 203 will be repaid by the state’s General Fund at an
annual cost of $6.40 per year for each Californian over the course
of 20 years.
Administrators considered bonds essential to the planning and
execution of state building projects. Bond funds are figured into
project budgets well before voters pass the bond initiative.
At UCLA, capital projects are laid out on a rolling five-year
schedule which takes bond initiatives into account, according to
campus architect Charles Oakley.
"Most of these (bond issuances) are  if not predictable
 at least we know what is in the bond issue" and how it fits
into the plan, Oakley explained. "The surprises come when the bond
issues do not pass and then we have to stop (construction) because
we have no money.
"It’s a bit like spending your monthly paycheck before you know
your company isn’t going to go bankrupt," he continued.
Since 1990, voters have failed to pass bond initiatives for
education due to the state’s prolonged recession. The issuances
come up for legislative consideration every two years.
In 1992, voters turned down one bond initiative for the
education system, creating a backlog of capital projects. State
legislators declined to even put the issue to voters in 1994 for
fear that it would be immediately turned down, said Cynthia Ingham,
assistant director for finance and capital strategy for UCLA
Capital Programs.
"It’s been six years since the last bond issue, so we do not
consider them a foregone conclusion anymore," she continued.
Proposition 203 funds will ensure that several campus
seismic-correction projects already under construction will be
completed on schedule. Funds from the measure will also set other
projects in motion with funds for planning and working
drawings.
In Haines Hall, where state engineers have rated the building
"very poor" in regards to seismic safety, the plan provides for $14
million for structural correction, construction and other safety
hazards.
Occupants of the historic building commented on the necessity to
maintain its seismic security and prepare it for the next
century.
"It is one of the original buildings on campus, so it’s
important to keep up the integrity of the building," said Ron Ando,
senior storekeeper for the anthropology department, which is
located in Haines Hall.
After the 1994 Northridge quake, "There were plenty of cracks in
the walls and stuff like that, but as far as I can see, the
building held up pretty well as compared to other buildings on
campus," he said. "I feel fairly safe in the building … if the
big one hits, the big one hits. I guess it doesn’t matter where
you’re at."
With Proposition 203’s passage, construction on the building can
begin on schedule in July 1997. It will be completed in January
1999, Oakley said.
"It’s so important and satisfying that the people of California
could understand the importance of this," Oakley said. "You know
there’s a big earthquake out there, you just don’t know when.
Waiting (and not passing the bond) would have been the wrong
thing."
The proposition will also provide construction funding for
repairs to the Dentistry Building, Knudsen Hall, Slichter Hall,
Schoenberg Hall, the Rehabilitation Building, the Dickson Art
Center, the Dance Building, Engineering One and the Clark
Library.