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Experts urge keeping Science Building heated, recommend mothballing some UW Richland buildings to cut costs
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Summary
Consultants advised the committee to keep the Science Building at a reduced set point because of servers and older Honeywell controls, mothball the Arts & Education building where feasible, and prioritize moving reusable items before taking buildings to ambient temperature.
Consultants from Venture Architects and Ring & Du Chateau told the committee that winterization can follow two basic approaches: fully mothballing a building (drain plumbing, shut gas and electricity, and take systems offline) or maintaining a low temperature set point above freezing to protect plumbing and mechanical systems.
RD Ruffin (consulting engineer) recommended plumbing steps for mothballing — shutting water mains, draining systems, and blowing out lines — and suggested filling traps or installing stoppers to prevent sewer gas. Kirk Stache (consulting engineer) advised on HVAC: some buildings (for example the Arts & Education Building) can be mothballed by shutting off gas and exiting systems; hot-water boiler systems in the Science and cafeteria/theater buildings may require either full draining or careful low-temperature setbacks to avoid freeze damage.
Committee members raised two interlocking constraints: (1) the Science Building contains servers and specialized mechanical controls (an older Honeywell building automation system) that staff have been unable to find contractors to service; staff reported that Randy has been manually overriding the system and that previous vendor outreach (Precision Controls, Johnson Controls) did not resolve the issue. Because of those operational dependencies, consultants said the Science Building is a strong candidate to keep at a reduced operational set point rather than fully shutting it down.
Members also reviewed utility data: staff reported winter utility bills last year averaged about $13,000–$15,000 per month across the campus, and committee members urged prioritizing which buildings to keep heated to limit costs. Several members recommended moving high-value, easily moved items (for example pianos and certain furniture) out of buildings before winterization to protect reuse value.
The committee agreed to prepare a recommendation to the full board and asked Venture Architects to supply custom per-building reports and maps (including water shutoff locations) to help the full board decide which buildings to mothball and which to maintain at a reduced set point.
What’s next: staff will follow up with Randy and facilities staff to clarify current control settings and server requirements, Venture Architects will provide custom reports and maps, and the committee will present winterization recommendations to the full board at the Nov. 19 meeting.
