A window left ajar over the winter break is leading to some costly repairs at an Allen Community College dormitory.
Roberta Nickell, ACC’s vice president of finance, shared the details with college trustees Tuesday.
The open window allowed bitterly cold temperatures to fill a dorm room at Horton Hall in the days leading up to Christmas, allowing water lines to a boiler in the building to freeze.
The frozen lines eventually burst, causing extensive water damage.
“So on Christmas Eve, we had maintenance here, trying to clean up the water,” Nickell said.
The Christmas holiday meant a slight delay in getting plumbers on site, as well as crews with dehumidifiers to dry out the walls and carpeting.
That means four rooms will remain shuttered as students return for the start of spring classes next week.
“That’s not a problem,” Nickell said. “We have the space.”
However, the repairs will be pricey. One bill from a cleaning company came in at $6,700. Moisture levels in the walls remain too high for repairs to begin in earnest.
An insurance claim has been filed, although an adjuster hasn’t been on site yet.
Nickell noted the episode reaffirmed the need for student housing and maintenance crews to ensure each room is properly sealed off from the elements when students aren’t on campus, Nickell said.
The room was occupied by a student who had intended to stay on campus over the break, Nickell noted. However, a change of plans meant the room had been vacated in the days before the cold snap arrived before Christmas.
IN A BIT of a coincidence, athletic director Doug Desmarteau told trustees the college had made plans for medical professionals to be on campus starting this week to do heart screenings on all ACC athletes as they resume practice for the spring.
Heart health has been in the spotlight in light of Buffalo Bills linebacker Damar Hamlin collapsing on the field during an NFL game on Jan. 2 and going into immediate cardiac arrest.
Desmarteau noted the heart exams had been scheduled well in advance of Hamlin’s incident, although the episode has hammered home the importance to ensure athletes are healthy when they take the field, he said.
On the brighter side, Desmarteau said Allen athletes made their marks in the classroom during the fall semester.
