Physical Plant Page Vo lu me 6
Is su e 5
A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM THE CALVIN COLLEGE PHYSICAL PLANT Ja nu a r y 20 1 2
Note from the Director— The last couple of weeks have been interesting ones for me. I have just finished conducting the first round of 12 preliminary interviews, trying to find a replacement for Marc Huizinga. It sure is difficult to find someone who can fill Marc’s shoes. Ever time I go over the requirements of the job with a potential candidate I once again realize the complexity of the job and all the many things Marc and his team have been required to do to keep our mechanical systems operating and satisfy the needs of our community. This was vividly demonstrated to me again on Wednesday, January 4. About 9:30 am., Marc interrupted our weekly staff meeting with the news that there was a water main break under the front entrance of NoordewierVanderwerp. There’s more about the break in this month’s newsletter, but this unplanned emergency took all day to repair and had several complications. Marc, Clayt Meyer, and Bob Vanden Berg finally got home after installing a new shut off valve, repairing the water main, and checking every toilet and sink in NVW at 11:00 pm.. Because Marc is leaving, I spent most of the day observing the process. I have to say I was very impressed with our staff. Clayt and Bob worked hard on the plumbing; shutting off valves and making the repairs. Several of the Grounds staff removed paver and plants. Geoff Van Berkel and Charlie Huizinga were impressive on the backhoe, digging the holes, finding the water mains underground, putting all the earth back in place, and cleaning up the mess. Marc kept everyone informed and stayed to the very end to make sure everything was back in operations...and, because it was the second day back to school for the students, faculty, and staff, in addition to this all day emergency, Marc was responding to and assigning work orders for the many new requests that typically come in at the beginning of each new semester. It was great to see the teamwork, the professionalism, the skill, and the patience our team exhibited during this day in the life of work at Physical plant. You all do outstanding work, and I am proud to be part of such a successful team. 2012 will be a year of change, please pray with me that we find the right person to fill Marc’s shoes.
KDH Remodel Did you know…
This past summer the Knollcrest Dining Hall underwent a major facelift. Physical Plant staff re-laminated ~60 table tops, installed new carpet, painted, installed new ceiling tile, insulated walls, updated electrical and mechanical equipment, etc… Soon after the students arrived, it became apparent that the carpet wasn’t holding up to the hundreds of stains made each meal! Currently there are sample/test carpet squares scattered through out the dining hall. Physical Plant is hoping to find a carpet that can handle both the wear and stains received in such a difficult environment.
1320 E. Beltline In mid-December Calvin was made aware of a drainage issue on the property of 1320 East Beltline. A portion of the property consists of a large wooded ravine. Previously unknown to Calvin, there is a small land bridge that was built across the ravine by a local farmer decades earlier. The two culverts under the land bridge are clogged with debris and in general disrepair leading to localized flooding upstream. Neighbors have mentioned that during large rain events the backed up water can reach 12’ deep! Once weather permits, the Calvin Grounds Department plans on removing the unnecessary land bridge and culverts, allowing the ravine to function properly.
The Physical Plant carpenter shop is also working on creating two “peasant tables” for KDH (the bases are picture above). The wood for the tables was salvaged from the trees at SFC construction site. The tables should be in place by second semester!
...that the Calvin Mechanical department rents a specialized lift for the yearly winch inspections for the Arena Scoreboard? The lift can reach over a hundred feet, yet it is narrow enough to fit through a normal door opening! It is only available from a Chicago based company, making it quite expensive to rent. Thus, at the time the winch inspections are due, any burnt out lights are replaced as well. ————————————————
Did you know… ...that the picture on the cover of this months Plant Page was taken from a new webcam? This past month WOODTV 8 installed a new webcam on top of the DeVos Communications Building. A communications sub-contractor worked with Physical Plant and CIT to install and wire the camera high atop the roof of DeVos. You can view live images from both of the Calvin webcams at: http://www.woodtv.com/subindex/ weather/webcams
Focus on… Koinonia House
Over the next few months The Plant Page will be focusing on the many off -campus properties that Calvin owns. We’ll be exploring properties such as: Flat Iron Lake, Ladies Literary Club, the “Tongue House” and many of the other 10 houses that Calvin owns throughout Grand Rapids.
In the Fall of 1997, Calvin began looking to purchase a house with funds specifically raised by Bruce Osterink and Chaplain Cooper. The house on 1230 Lake Drive was purchased from Wedgewood Christian Services, which had been using the house as a group home. Conveniently, the zoning for this home was For the first article, we’re going to maintained, allowing up to 9 stuexamine the Koinonia House. dents and 2 mentors to live in it. The first group of students moved into Koinonia ("fellowship" in Greek) was the Koinonia House in the spring of the first Project Neighborhood (PN) 1998. House and unlike many other PN houses is owned by Calvin College In the Fall of 2007 the house underrather than by a partnering church. It went major electrical upgrades as is located within the Southeast part required by code. of Grand Rapids in the Eastowne neighborhood. In the summer of 2011, Physical Plant remodeled an aging bathroom in the home. Due to the extreme age
of the home the renovation was complicated and expensive. Doug VandeGriend (mentor) donated $1,000 towards the project! Much exterior painting also took place in 2011. Roof and HVAC upgrades have been necessary as well. As with many older homes, the Koinonia House continues to require a lot of maintenance. It has therefore been affectionately nicknamed “Money Pit #1” by many at the Physical Plant!
Heritage Hall: Phase I
In early December, Physical Plant concluded Phase I of the Heritage Hall remodel. New mechanicals, fire suppression, updated painting and flooring, new expanded spaces, and miles of shelving! The majority of Phase I focused on a large storage room consisting of rare book and archival storage. Half of the room consists of standard metal shelving. The other half of the room hosts over 6,800 lineal feet of compact shelving (see above/right). Laid end to end, the compact shelving alone would stretch over 1 - 1/4 miles long! Special thanks to the Architecture and Mechanical departments for their collaborative effort on the complex renovation. Special thanks to Building Services for their endless construction clean-up and beautiful floor finishing.
Heritage Hall: Phase II
In late December, construction began on Phase II of the Heritage Hall remodel. Special thanks to the Building Services Department for assisting in helping make the 5 Heritage Hall staff members feel comfortable in the Surge Building! A lot of work went into cleaning the Surge Building and moving the tons of files/boxes that accompanied the staff. Construction began with a significant amount of demolition. With the help of student workers, the Architecture Department removed old shelving, ceiling tiles and grid, flooring, old furniture and many block walls. Over Christmas break, Heather Chapman and Jennifer Ambrose (Environmental Health and Safety) oversaw the abatement of asbestos pipe insulation. The timing worked well to have the abatement contractor on site while most campus staff/faculty and students were on vacation. Over the next two months, electrical and mechanical updates will be underway. Project completion is scheduled for May 1st.
Waltman Lake This past month the demolition of a long time eye-sore at Waltman Lake Retreat and Learning Center was approved. The mobile home was infested with rodents, had multiple roof leaks and plywood sheets over holes in the floor. Physical Plant staff members disconnected the electrical and plumbing services that fed the structure. Pitsch Construction was contracted to demolish the building. Approximately 40 yards of aluminum, copper and steel were sorted and recycled. The large 40’x20’ concrete slab was left in place to be used later as either a RV parking area or recreational area.
Summer Projects: 2012
Physical Plant is already planning for the 2012 Summer projects. This year the Beta Apartment of Knollcrest East will undergo a complete renovation. Upgrades will include: -New electrical service -New boiler/ AC units -New roof -New kitchen cabinets -New kitchen appliances
-Asbestos abatement -New tile and carpet -Updated paint/wall coverings -New bathroom and living room cabinets -New furniture -Updated fire alarm system -Updated IT services -Updated landscaping In the pictures above you’ll see that the Physical Plant carpenter shop
already has a good start on the cabinet fabrication. All cabinets are cut, assembled and stained/sealed here on campus by Plant employees. Due to budget restraints, the yearly dorm renovation will not occur this coming summer. Instead, Kalsbeek Huizinga will undergo only minor painting and carpet replacement.
Commons Chiller
A boiler that was eighteen years old is being removed from Commons Power Plant and a new chiller will been installed. The old boiler was worn out and no longer worked properly/efficiently. The new chiller will supply Air Conditioning services to all academic buildings. It is more efficient and will be able to serve many future renovations to the campus. It is expected to run for approximately 20 to 30 years.
Sustainability Series
Did you know… ...that The Physical Plant Page is now available on the Internet at: http://www.calvin.edu/ admin/physicalplant/ newsletter/ Not only will the current edition be available to view and download, but archived copies of the newsletter are easily viewed as well!
During the renovation of Heritage Hall, many steps were taken to recycle and reuse much of the construction waste. Three metal recycling dumpsters were filled during the initial demolition of the project. Construction waste such as ceiling grid, HVAC duct work, and metal shelving composed the majority of the metal recycling. Calvin anticipates receiving ~$1,000 for the recycled material. Also recycled during construction were 10 pallets of used concrete block. The demo’ed block was palletized on the construction site and later shipped to a local Mink farm. The animals use the holes in the block for shelter and recreation.
The website is easy to find! Once at Calvin’s home page, search for Physical Plant under the “A-Z index”. On the left hand side of the Physical Plant website you’ll see a link entitled “Newsletter” . Due to the electronic formatting of the newsletter, the website is best viewed with Firefox rather than Windows Explorer.
FAC: One year later...
Over a year after the dedication of the CFAC, Physical Plant is continuing to try and “work out the kinks” of the new building.
West Entry (see pictures above). The initial fabrication of the wood paneling during construction was unable to withstand the wear/tear of everyday use. Keith rebuilt the columns with solid The punch list for the project consisted wood, ensuring that the beauty will last of almost 1,000 items. Many of the decades to come. construction related issues were resolved promptly, however other com- Mechanical work has been underway plex issues have continued to drag on for the last few weeks as well. Several for months. Other issues have arisen small entry ways are receiving necesbecause of design flaws or new user sary HVAC equipment, the English request. Dept. is having some pipe replaced, a storage room is gaining heating/cooling This past month, Keith Van Kooten re- capabilities and the Music Department surfaced the two center columns in the work room is undergoing HVAC equip-
ment work to lessen the noise level. One of he largest (and potentially most costly) issues may be the fact that the snowmelt systems aren’t operating correctly. The lip of the steps are failing to be de-iced (see picture above). Physical Plant continues to work with Rockford Construction to understand the problem and find an appropriate solution. Thanks to all staff who continue to work at resolving the many difficult issues that arise with the construction of a new building!
Water main break: 1/4/2012 On Wednesday, January 4th water was discovered bubbling up from the ground in front of Noordewier Vanderwerp Residence Hall. The cause was discovered to be a broken water main leak. Calvin Mechanical staff quickly assessed the situation and began to undertake corrective action. Water was shut off at the nearest valve, causing KDH and many of the dorms to be without hot water for several hours. After a new valve was installed (picture right/ below) water services were restored to KDH, thus supplying hot water to every dorm. Because the break was in a domestic cold water line serving only one dorm, NVW was without cold water until approximately 9:00pm. However, due to a very well planned and installed water distribution system, NVW’s cold water needs were met with hot water while the repairs were being made.
As Marc Huizinga prepares to enter retirement on January 30th, we’d like to invite the entire Calvin community to a farewell send-off on Friday, January 27th at the Physical Plant break room. Refreshments and snacks will be served at 3:00pm.
Thanks to Charlie, Geoff, Clayt, Bob, Marc, Dan and Phil for their hours of hard work in the wet and cold!
Please come and help us wish Marc a great retirement!!
January Birthdays December Work Order Stats Architecture
85
Mechanical
188
Grounds
0
EHOS
5
Building Services KE Dorms Academic Buildings
13 54 8
Seminary
0
Prince Conf. Center
0
Total:
1– Stanley Stanley 8– Geoff Van Berkel 11– Burt Houseman 12– Don Levy 17– Rhoda Riley 19– Scot Ohlmann 21– Dale Dykema
Upcoming Dates & Events Jauary 4-6 January 4January 7January 21January 24January 25-29 January 26-28 January 27January 30-
Hold it for the Holidays Weigh-In Interim term begins 8:30 am JV and Varsity Girls Basketball vs. Hope River City Improv at 7:30 pm Interim term ends 5:00 pm Interim Break Calvin Theater Company’s “David” Performances Marc’s farewell send-off Spring 2012 classes begin
353
Work Orders
December Vehicle Rentals “The weather inside is mighty frightful, but not cold, so so so hot! Practically tropical. Which at this time of year one would think a good thing but no, its like a sauna despite our attempts to self-regulate it. Please help!”
Calvin fleet car
4
Calvin fleet minivan
1
Calvin fleet large van
16
Off-Campus Rental car
15
Off-Campus Rental minivan
3
Off-Campus Rental large van
8
“Replace light bulbs. It’s so dark, [Don] Winkle keeps napping in there.” -Submitted by Bob Myers in CIT
Holiday Coach
8
“We’re swimming in our showers… (please unclog our drain)”
52
“The kappa vacuum cleaner needs to be fixed as it is very smelly and makes grumbly noises. Thanks”
Total:
Contact Info Calvin College Physical Plant 1475 Knollcrest Circle Grand Rapids, MI 49546
E-mail: plant@calvin.edu Phone: (616) 526-6444 Fax: (616) 526-8563
Visit us at www. calvin.edu/admin/physicalplant