Several buildings on Truman State University’s campus require repair from water damage, brick deterioration and normal wear and tear, according to Board of Governors meeting minutes.
Repairs are planned for both the facade of Barnett Hall and the roof of Ophelia Parish, according to the meeting minutes. The administration hired an architectural firm that is in the process of providing an estimate for the cost of repairs.
Dave Rector, vice president of administration, finance and planning, said the current repairs are part of the process of keeping the buildings maintained.
“This is kind of an ongoing approach where we try to maintain our buildings as best as possible, like replacing the roofs and keeping the bricks up to date, because it’s a major investment of the state in the buildings here,” Rector said. “We feel like it’s good to keep them in good repair as much as possible.”
Once deterioration was noticed–particularly at Barnett Hall– so the administration hired an architectural firm to give an estimate of what could be done and how much it would cost. Campus Planner Lori Shook said that the architectural firm currently working on repairs was chosen out of a pool of four firms that Truman has worked with in the past.
Rector said he does not know the exact cost of repairs yet but it will likely be in the range of several hundred thousand dollars.
The deterioration is primarily due to the brick being exposed, in some cases from both sides where the brick is not against an interior wall, Rector said. After several decades of buffeting from wind, rain and Missouri climate, deterioration is inevitable.
Rector said the roof of Ophelia Parish will be prioritized before Barnett Hall because of supply chain issues and the complexity of the project.
Shook said the main crux of the repairs at Barnett and Ophelia Parish will be identifying the source of water leakage and preventing future leakage. She also noted similar problems of water leakage in the downspouts at Pershing and brick deterioration at the Stanton Gardens by the Pickler Memorial Library and Magruder’s corner wall. Shook said the repairs are planned for the summer since students will be gone and are expected to last most of the summer. The repairs are expected to be completed by the time students return in fall 2023.