By Zoebelle Bean, Catholic editor
Dryers set up in the entrance room to the president’s office – Photo by Zoebelle Bean
The Aquinas College president’s office on the ground floor of the Holmdene building was flooded on Friday, April 18 during a series of thunderstorms. A northeast storm drenched the office and a second flooding occurred from a subsequent burst heating pipe in the building on Tuesday, April 22 resulting in damage to the ceiling, floorboards and bottom half of the walls of both the office and its entrance room.
The Aquinas College Physical Plant, assisted by Campus Safety, responded on Saturday, April 19 to cover the desks and computers in the office and set up large fans to dry off the inside of the building. They returned again on Monday to put more dryers in, then once more on Tuesday to double check the progress. This is when the secondary flooding was discovered. A vent had broken inside of the heating pipes.
Repairs being made, objects being moved out of the president’s office – Photo by Zoebelle Bean
At this point, the Physical Plant recognized that fixing this issue was beyond the capacity of the department, so external contractors from Modernistic were contacted.
“This was the best time for the worst thing to happen,” Physical Plant worker Randall MacGeorge said. It happened between presidents, when former President Alicia Córdoba had just resigned and while Interim President Sister Maureen Geary, O.P. is in Ireland on sabbatical.
Damage to the ceiling of the entrance room to the president’s office – Photo by Zoebelle Bean
Large dryers have been placed in both the main office as well as the basement to dry the floor from the bottom up. Some of the repairs needed include replastering the ceiling, repainting the walls, and fixing the drywall and floor trim damage. However, the old, wood finish beyond the trim in the office remained unaffected. There was also no damage found in the sunroom connected to the office. “In old, historical buildings like this, stuff like this happens, but the response has been great,” MacGeorge said. Modernistic has already been in to test the humidity in the floor and ceiling and the fans have dried out most of the room.
In the meantime, President Assistant Kendall Pavano is working from the outside desk in the main hall of Holmdene while the repairs are made. The goal for the Physical Plant is to have all of the repairs finished by the time Sr. Maureen returns from sabbatical in late May.
The Saint 