ALEX HOBEN
editor-in-chief
alexandra.hoben@my.tccd.edu 

TCC maintenance worked throughout Christmas on South Campus due to the freeze causing water damage to two of its buildings.

During the holidays there were instances of damage done to facilities across the district. The worst of the damage occurred in the SACD and SAUT buildings.

According to district facilities manager Thomas Roese, a domestic water line burst in the second floor of SAUT and proceeded to flood a tool room, the connecting hallway as well as the men’s bathroom.

“The ceilings all fell down and made a mess,” Roese said.

The other main cause of water damage was an HVAC coil in the SACD building failing and causing flooding damage. Roese explained that the cause of the damage was indeed the freeze and the way it affected the campus’ facility systems.

“Over the holiday break when the cold front came in with the excessive winds and cold temperatures, we lost power here on the South Campus a few times,” he said. “During this event as of the power being lost we had some domestic water lines exposed to the cold and froze and caused some flooding.”

Roese and general maintenance supervisor Manny Rodriguez were emailed by staff that were on-site that there were problems on Christmas Eve. By Christmas Day, they were both called to the campus.

“I kind of knew that we had some issues, but I didn’t get on-site until Christmas Day to look at what happened,” Rodriguez said.

When he was notified on Christmas Day, his initial thoughts were that this could never happen on a normal Wednesday when the staff is there.

“It always happens at the wrong time, the worst possible timing,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said he always keeps in the back of his mind the possibility of things that can happen, and his family knows that. He, along with other maintenance staff, worked throughout the holidays to ensure that the campus was ready for the new semester.

“My goal was trying to see if we can get this done before students and the faculty get back, that way we are not holding them back,” Rodriguez said.

Roese said that while there was some work done to the campus to ensure safety, everything has been restored back to being student ready.

“All in all with the work of the TCC employees quick action to get the water shut off and the work of the Remediation Company everything is back in order,” Roese said.

According to an informational memo presented to the board of trustees during the January meeting, there was damage on the Erma Johnson-Hadley Center for Logistics and Transportation, South and NE Campus. The estimated costs for complete repairs across the district is up to $250,000. TCC chancellor Elva LeBlanc commended the staff that stayed to work through the holidays.

“There were about 185 facilities staff members working during the holidays so that everything would be perfect and ready for the faculty and the students when everyone came back from the holidays,” LeBlanc said.