A. Chappa Construction has been hard at work repairing Krueger, Lakeland College’s all-female residence hall. They are mainly repairing windows and performing a check on the entire building. Students can expect the construction to be complete by mid-October.
“(The construction) started the last week of August,” said Richard Haen, director of campus facilities management and planning.
Prior to the construction, water had been leaking into Krueger from outside. According to Haen, the building was designed to drain water from its windows, but the original construction failed due to age. One of the oldest residence halls on campus, Krueger celebrated its 56th birthday this year.
“The repair to the building has been referred to as deferred maintenance,” said Haen.
According to Haen, funding became available this past July because of the new fiscal year. They are using the fiscal budget allocated money to tackle what they think is the worst side of the building, the north side.
A total of $300,000 is being used to repair the entire building. The entire north side will be repaired this year and the other three sides in the future.
“This has been an ongoing issue for some time,” said Haen. The project was put off because Lakeland had not received funding to address the problems.
A. Chappa Construction was chosen because of price. “The general contractors (A. Chappa construction) from Sheboygan Falls offered Lakeland College the lowest bid,” said Haen.
Haen urges students to proceed with caution.
According to Haen, Students have been complaining about the smell generated by the construction and workers are constantly reminding students to keep their windows shut, “Make sure windows are closed,” Haen warns.
Haen says that Lakeland College faculty and staff have maintained constant communication with the students living in Krueger.
Due to a recent incident, Haen says the facilities team has entered Krueger to offer assistance. They are checking to make sure windows are shut, among other things.
“Although (construction) is noisy and wakes people up in the morning, it will prevent rain from getting in the windows,” said Veronika Lau, resident assistant for the third floor. “Basically, it’s necessary.”
A. Chappa Construction has even performed water tests to ensure the repairs are working.
“The first column of windows was tested from the bottom-up,” said Haen. “First they used a water hose then moved on to a power washer once they saw the construction worked.”
Although some residents are weary of the construction, Lakeland only desires to make sure Krueger is as water tight as possible.
In addition to window repairs, A. Chappa Construction is also checking for necessary roof and mortar joint repairs.