Mason: Asbestos to slow Hancher demo

IOWA CITY - The presence of asbestos at the flood-damaged Hancher Auditorium means a slower demolition process, but that building should start coming down this summer, University of Iowa President Sally Mason said Tuesday.

In her annual visit to the UI Faculty Senate, Mason said the eventual demolition will be a slow process “because it contains a good deal of asbestos” so workers must mitigate and contain that.

The discovery wasn't surprising given that asbestos is common in buildings of Hancher's age, Mason said. The performing arts facility was built in 1972 and heavily damaged in the Floods of 2008. A new Hancher Auditorium will be built up the hill from the current structure, to the north.

Groundbreaking on several flood-recovery projects should happen within the next year, Mason said, and university officials expect to spend about $20 million per month on new construction for the next four to five years, including flood-related projects and work at UI Hospitals and Clinics.

Also at the meeting, faculty members voted to support an interim university policy about video surveillance equipment on campus. The group plans to revisit the topic in a discussion next fall.

UI officials believe there are about 700 cameras on campus used for surveillance, but there is no policy on how they're approved, where they can be placed and how they're used.

An installation moratorium was put into effect last summer when questions about the process came up, said Steve Fleagle, associate vice president for information technology services. About 400 more cameras have since been requested, many for new buildings under construction.

“So I think we've got a lot of pent-up demand,” he said.

The policy would establish a process for approval and gather a listing of all existing surveillance equipment. Officials want to make sure the decisions are made at the appropriate levels of the university, they said.