University of Minnesota officials are at the State Capitol, rounding up support for a 238-million-dollar bonding request heavily weighted toward maintenance and repair of existing building at campuses in Crookston, Duluth, Morris and the Twin Cities. U-of-M President Eric Kaler says, “Simply deciding not to fix something doesn’t mean it gets better on its own…. Maintenance that is continuously deferred simply gets worse, and at some point that space becomes unusable and we have to replace it or find alternatives.”
It’s unusual for the University to include relatively little for new buildings in its bonding request, but officials say maintenance is crucial to protect taxpayers’ investment.