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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1979)
n r f 1 111 ' friday, aprll 27, 1979 .. lincoln nebraska vol. 101 no. 118 il t i University to face cold facts an contract penalties By Rocky Strunk. UNL will lose $35,000 in contract penalties and an additional $90,000 in pre liminary fees paid for designing a chilling unit for East Campus if the Nebraska Legis lature passes its present capital construct ion bill. According to Robert Lovitt, assistant vice chancellor for business and finance, a 'chilling unit (air conditioning system), which would upgrade the present East Campus system, was contracted In Nov ember for $463,000. The university had until Feb. 1 to cancel the order without penalty. , "Because the chiller had number one priority on the Board of Regents capital construction budget request, we thought we had a fairly good chance of it being in cluded in the bill," Lovitt said. The capital construction bill presently includes renovation of the Temple Theatre and "Agricultural Engineering buildings, conversion of Eppley Library at UNO to office space and an animal holding center at the technical agricultural school in Curtis. The university has until April 30 to make a decision on canceling the chiller or suffer further penalties in addition to the $35,000. "Chancellor Roy Young, Vice Chancel lor Martin Massengale and myself will meet before Monday to make a decision on the chiller,' Lovitt said. "Chances of the legis lature including it in their budget are slim and our only alternative would be outside sources to provide funds." According to Lovitt, even if the chiller was included in the legislature's appropriat ions bill, it would still be more than $1 million short of operation . "The chilling unit is a two year approp riation with the chilling purchased first and the towers, valves, etc. being purchased the next year," he said. "Without the accessor ies, the chjjler is worthless.' The chiller contract calls for delivery by January 1980 with full operation by June of the same year. ' Good price The regents approved the chiller con tract last November placing it number one in priority on their budget request to the legislature. Lovitt said that the bid was taken at that time because the regents "felt it was a very good price on the chiller. "With general inflation and the differ ence in bids, we felt another bid in March or April would be substantially higher,' he said. .Although he couldn't indicate the amount that would have been saved by not rebidding, the difference between the accepted bid and the next highest was $57,000. Lovitt .said he didn't know where the $35,000 contract penalty would come from if the chiller contract is canceled since it wasn't included in the budget. The $90,000 spent 'for preliminary measure of designing the new chilling system was in cluded in this year's budget. "In my five years experience in budget advising, this is the first year the legislature has totally not responded to a number one priority item," Lovitt said. Matter of priorities The items that are included in the pre sent appropriations bill were numbered two, four, five and twenty-one on the regent's priority budget request. The twenty-first priority is the renovation of the Temple "Theatre. , According to Lovitt, the appropriations committee was approached twice on the subject of the chiller. One meeting was devoted entirely to the chiller appropriat ion. "We don't know what happened at the appropriations level, but the appropriations committee spends lots of hours in consider ing our requests and they had to tighten their budget this year," Lovitt said. ; Chilling on east campus is decided by priorities that included research and the dental college, according to physical plant director Harley Schrader. "Buildings such as the plant and veterin ary research get top chilling ; priority followed by the Dental College and Regents Hall," Schrader said. He added that the latter two buildings require cool ing because they don't have windows that open. "We feel that productivity is influenced by conditions in the building and placed personal concerns on a low priority as far as cooling," Lovitt said. Urgency, low bid hurried constructionSchwartzkopf By Gordon Johnson Giving the go ahead on a project before -funds are appropriated is ndt standard pro cedure for the NU Board of Regents, some members said Thursday. s Yet last November the regents decided to start construction of an air conditioning unit for East Campus' even though funding had not been appropriated by the Nebraska Two students cited for arson, cruelty Two more UNL students have been cited in connection with Friday's early morning bonfire at 16th and R streets. Michael Alexander, 1433 R St., a fresh man was cited by Lancaster County Court, for third degree arson. Hie arson was classi fied as a Class four felony because damage costs were over $100. According to Lt. Marlin Hupka street damage alone was over $300. Arson conviction can result in a maximum imprisonment of five years and or up to a SlOjDCO fine. Scott Sinner, 1548 Vine St., a junior was cited for cruelty to animals, a mis demeanor ofTense punishable by , six months in jail andor a $500 fine. Sinner 20, and Alexander, 19, were both released by order of the County Attorney's office. Three UNL football players were also cited to appear in Lancaster County Court May 1 on the same offense asr Sinner. Paul Jacobsen, UNL police investigator, said his office is still trying to find out where the turkeys came from. Legislature. The Legislature, however, took the money for the chilling unit out of the .capital, construction bill, .which it passed , . Wednesday, , . , . ? . The university could lose $35,000 uv contract penalties and an additional $90,000 in fees that have already been paid for the designing of the unit. Regent Edward Schwarzkopf of Lincoln said he did not know where the money would come from to pay the . penalty costs because the board has not' discussed that possibility. The regents approved the construction because of the urgency of the situation, he said. "What happened here is the urgency was so great we had to get it on order," Schwartzkopf said. The construction also ..was improved Aetause the price, of the con struction was $57,000 below other bids, he said. Schwartzkopf said the regents voted for the construction on the assumption that it would be passed by the Legislature. The regents had the chiller designated as first priority, he said, and first priority items usually are funded'. "I would expect them (the Legislature) to pass the bill as we have prioritized them," Schwartzkopf said. Regent Kermit Hansen of Omaha agreed with Schwartzkopf by saying he thought the first priority item would be approved. pie chiller was placed as a first priority because f mfbrmation ey had -received . citing the need, for air. conditioning, Hansen said . " One reason air conditioning is so important, Hansen said, is that it cools many of the agricultural research buildings. "I am really at a loss to tell where we failed to get this across to the appropriations committee," he said. Not only was such action not suspected, but it has not happened in 12 years Schwartzkopf said. "I cannot recall in my 12 years as a regent ever having to pay a penalty," he said. For the Defense: Testimony con-r ; tinues in the John R. EUismurder trial. . ;f ;..;. -page 6 Ili Ken: Activities planned for Pa . rents Weekend. . , n .... .pass 12 Show Me: Husker baseball team tra : veil to Missouri for, crucial . , series. . ... p3 14 $ Ertrycss fcl i foci tire at Thursday's CoZfss cf Business Administration's Hj sad Swij psrty except the porky fellow 20 4 I t. 4 i' i. i J ' i' A 1 4' 1 4 ' 1 ! 1' :-1 1 4