TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Damage at one of Troy University’s oldest buildings is reaching a point that students and faculty say something has to change.
Art and design students are often encouraged to use their creativity but, right now, some of that creativity is growing stagnant. Literally.
“The real issue is how the water sits. It’s no longer flat. It’s getting where water pools up and collects to the point where it just needs to be replaced,” Art and Design Department Chair Greg Skaggs said. “There’s been several new issues that have popped up in the last three or four days. We’re just trying to do what we have to do.”
According to Skaggs, those ”new” issues, including leaking ceiling tiles, are just the latest in a list of issues the building has faced. Most of which, Skaggs says, is connected to a leaky roof.
Skaggs says once the water collects, it doesn’t have any place to go other than to leak into the ceiling tiles that rest below it. Skaggs says each new rain brings a new batch of maintenance request tickets, but, so far, that hasn’t been enough.
ORIGINAL STORY: Fire hazards, leaks, safety concerns abound in Malone Hall
“We can replace ceiling tiles but eventually those tiles are going to be in bad shape because if the link isn’t fixed, it’s just going to cause another problem,” Skaggs said.
Another problem? Rust.
“We have to constantly maintain equipment for rust issues,” Skaggs told TrojanVision. “We keep three mill plastic over all of our wood-cutting equipment. We have a nice machine, routers, table saws, we just keep those covered now,” Skaggs said.
Although Skaggs says the ideal resolution to the problem would be a new facility, he acknowledges the process would be complicated.
“Honestly, the biggest improvement would be a nice new building. There’s just no place to put us with all of our equipment.”
Despite those setbacks, Skaggs says he is hopeful something can and will be done. Recently the university released a statement about Malone. It reads:
“Troy University is fully committed to providing clean, safe and comfortable learning environments for our students, faculty and staff. The condition of Malone Hall is a serious concern for senior leaders. A number of solutions have been discussed over the last few months and are under consideration including relocation of classes to facilities that will become available in the next two months when the new CMMS building and Health Sciences building open, as well as replacing the roof or construction of a new building and subsequent demolition of Malone Hall.
Although University Physical Plant has been engaged in addressing maintenance challenges in the building, responding to more than 40 work requests in the past six months, the maintenance process is being carefully evaluated to ensure that issues are being resolved quickly and up to University standards. Crews are working to address all current maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
University leaders are committed to providing a permanent solution to problems in Malone Hall or providing new space to house these programs.”
Over the past few days, maintenance crew members have been spotted at Malone Hall, including crew members carrying new ceiling tiles.
