'Only emergency repairs are possible,' says University of Regina report

Over the past few years the University of Regina (U of R) has been quietly sending the provincial government dire and alarming warnings about the state of campus infrastructure.

In its annual operating forecasts, the U of R management team says one quarter of campus roofs are failing, some "literally at the breaking point."

It says "only emergency repairs are possible," noting projects only become a priority when they're on the verge of "catastrophic failure."

That's alarming to biology professor Chris Yost, who said he's troubled by the leaking roofs and crumbling infrastructure he sees all around the campus.

"This is where I'm going to live for the next 30 years. We want to make sure that things are going well, so you consult these [operating forecast] books and then you get scared," Yost said.

'Catheter-like' rain catching devices on campus

In one classroom there are two garbage buckets catching rain from the roof using tarps and hoses. Some people on campus jokingly refer to them as 'catheters.'

The U of R acknowledges it has a "major backlog" of deferred maintenance, the technical term for delayed repair, replacement and renovation projects.

The institution's 2015-2016 Operations Forecast says "23 per cent of university roofs are failing, with over 60 roof leaks occurring in locations that cannot be repaired without full replacement."

It says at the current level of government funding "the risks will continue to increase."

U of R one of the worst in Canada

CBC's iTeam has learned the U of R's infrastructure has almost three times more deferred maintenance than average for Canadian universities.  

The institution's 2015-2016 operations forecast says there is $307 million in necessary renovation, replacement and repair work needed across the campus.

According to a 2014 report, Deferred Maintenance at Canadian Universities: An Update, the average Canadian university has $42 per square foot of deferred maintenance.

At $121 per square foot, the U of R has almost three times that amount.

The author of that report, James Kadamus said, "That's a lot. That puts them on the very high end of the campuses that we looked at in Canada."

The U of R confirms the iTeam's math is correct. However, in an email, a spokesperson cast some doubt on the university's reported deferred maintenance numbers.

"The U of R recapitalization number was generated with a very crude estimating tool that may inflate the number relative to the expensive systems used at some universities," the email says.  

The chair of the university faculty association, Dennis Fitzpatrick says his colleagues are finding all of this alarming.

"People are very concerned," Fitzpatrick said. "People would like to be working in a place which presents itself to students as state of the art, or at least state of this century."

VP says U of R facilities doing well

When CBC's iTeam first interviewed the U of R's vice president of administration, Dave Button, he said his university is in better shape than most in Canada when it comes to deferred maintenance.

"The University of Regina isn't immune to it, but has a problem that's probably a little bit less than most places," Button said.

However, after the iTeam reviewed the report, and interviewed Kadamus, it became apparent the U of R's deferred maintenance problem was more severe than that of most Canadian universities.

In a follow-up email, the iTeam asked how Button concluded the U of R was better than most campuses. The university explained Button's reasoning this way: "This is a subjective assessment, as there is no formal and definitive way of comparing universities in this way."

In reports to the provincial government, Button and his colleagues have not been nearly as positive about conditions on campus, or the funding they receive. They've said because of the low funding "only emergency repairs are possible." And they've threatened that classrooms or even buildings could be closed.

'Things are going to get worse:' expert

Right now the university receives $5.1 million annually from the provincial government for preventive maintenance and repair (PMR).

The university argues it should be receiving at least 3 times more just to keep up.

Kadamus agrees the U of R's PMR budget is too low.

"They're going to be adding to their backlog every year," Kadamus said. "Things are going to get worse."

He said while the deferred maintenance problem can be lessened with good planning and careful work, in the case of the U of R, "without an infusion of a significant amount of money there's going to be building failures and continuing problems."

Province reduces maintenance and repair funding

In 2009-2010, the U of R received $7.7 million in PMR funding from the provincial government, but in following years it was significantly cut back to as little as $4.5 million. That has been increased to $5.1M in the current year. In addition, the province has offered some additional one-time money for special projects, contingent on matching funds from the U of R.

The university has been lobbying the province to restore funding to previous levels, but the deputy minister of Advanced Education, Louise Greenberg isn't convinced the need exists.

"They are wanting to make their best case, their most extreme case to government so all the institutions are going to sometimes use stronger language than maybe what is the case because they want to catch government's attention," Greenberg said.

She told CBCs iTeam she didn't know where the U of R ranked nationally when it comes to deferred maintenance per square foot. But she said she does know that the university receives more funding per student than any other comprehensive university in Canada.

Greenberg pointed out that government isn't the only source of funding for the university and she said it's up to the board and administration to set priorities and manage their budgets.

The U of R said it's doing just that. On Tuesday it announced it has allocated $4M from its fundraising campaign to upgrade Darke Hall at the College Avenue Campus.