The university is working on making permanent repairs to damage caused by the tornado that struck campus Sunday and will also provide financial aid to any students who have incurred damage.
Temporary repairs have been made to all the known damage, executive director of facilities Jim Jones said.
“We’re still finding damage,” Jones said. “We will continue to find [damage] for weeks.”
It takes a great deal of people and time to fix a problem of this magnitude, and the university is still assessing the damage, Jones said.
“We’re beginning to put together a plan of how much it’s going to cost,” Jones said.
The total estimated damage amounts to about $3 million to $4 million, vice president of finance and administration Ray Hayes said.
The damage to the Pace Seed Lab accounts for about $2 million. More than $250,000 in damage has been found at Perry Cafeteria, and more than $170,000 in damage occurred to McCarthy Gym, Hayes said.
Determining when the permanent repairs will be complete is difficult, Jones said, because, among various other factors, some buildings require special attention. Perry Cafeteria is a historical building and requires certain standards to be met in order to restore it to its natural state.
In assessing the damage, the university will have to make some key decisions, Hayes said.
“The question is, do we try to repair the roof or do we replace it?” Hayes said.
The university has been talking to state and federal emergency relief organizations, but no final decision has been made. A group made up of state and federal employees will visit campus next week to survey the damage, Hayes said.
“I’m sure it will take us at least a year to fully repair everything,” Hayes said.
Students who have been affected by the tornado may apply for help though the Student Relief Fund, which was originally set up for hurricane victims, director of financial aid Bruce Crain said.
This fund is not meant to support students for a long time, he said.
The Student Relief Fund, which opened its funds to tornado-affected students Tuesday, will provide students with a few hundred dollars, but it won’t buy a student a new car or trailer.
The fund is intended to help students get by until they can get back on their feet. Fewer than 10 have applied so far, Crain said.
“It’s not based on student financial aid eligibility,” he added.
Students may come to Garner Hall and fill out an application for the Student Relief Fund. Students should bring some basic documentation for themselves and for the damage they received to help with the application process, Crain said.