No Repairs at Heritage Hall

Former Students of Georgia Highlands College

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New budget cut means no repairs at Heritage Hall

By Julianna Hunt
Staff Writer

Budget cuts strike again, and this time they affect the Heritage Hall campus in Rome. The campus was set to receive minor project funding from the Board of Regents.

Minor projects are those that costs less than five million dollars.

The funding cut was passed down from the office of Gov. Sonny Perdue.

He told the Board of Regents that they would not receive any funding for minor projects this fiscal year.

The original plan was that Georgia Highlands College would receive $250 thousand to start planning the renovation of Heritage Hall in the 2004 fiscal year and begin work on the campus in the 2005 fiscal year.

Dr. Randy Pierce, Georgia Highlands College president, said that the hope is that the funding will only be put on hold for a year.

According to Director of Plant Operations Doug Webb, the type of work that needs to be done to the Heritage Hall campus includes completely replacing the heating and air conditioning system throughout the entire building.

This would require replacing the existing piping and air conditioning units.

There would also be a new sprinkler system added to the entire building and the existing electrical system would be completely updated.

He explained that these changes would "require some architectural changes, such as lowering the ceiling and new lighting throughout."

Webb also stated that the project, whenever started, would take about a year to complete and that it would be a work in progress.

"Our plans are to put temporary quarters in the Centre Stage or other areas not to be utilized every day," said Webb. "We are looking forward to the project both as a challenge and a chance to make the building everything it can be."

Nursing student Mistee Graham, who has classes at the Heritage Hall campus, said that her major concern is the heating and air conditioning system.

"It's hard to concentrate when you are freezing or when you are burning up," said Graham.

Graham also stated that she feels the other things could wait but the heat and air are very important.