ISU estimates $750K needed in new upgrades to Serval House
On Tuesday Idaho State University released records relating to the upkeep of Serval House, the president’s official residence. Work orders show annual maintenance costs averaging more than $30,000, but the school said that doesn’t include new renovations that may be needed.
ISU is estimating Serval House will require $750,000 in additional renovations in order to bring the 6,663-square-foot home up to code. The house was built in 1917.
“To take care of the old wiring, the electrical problems, asbestos, plumbing issues and all that, you could be talking three quarters of a million dollars,” said James Fletcher, vice president of finance at ISU.
In 2012, maintenance costs at Serval House doubled from just under $16,000 in 2011 to more than $34,000. Fletcher said this is common for older structures.
“In the life cycle of most facilities, after you go through a certain amount of time — and usually it’s around 40, 50 years — costs accelerate significantly,” said Fletcher.
Local News 8 has spent the last two days combing through around 900 pages worth of work orders and utility bills for the house. Some highlights include:
A wooden gate to the dog’s area was replaced with a metal one in 2012, costing the school $5,999.92
A dog house and kennel was moved in 2013 at a cost of $42.96
Electricity costs ranged from $140 to $461 each month from 2012-2014
Gas bills ranged from $56 to $665 each month from 2012-2014 In 2013, $21,070 was spent on painting the house In 2014, $17,683 was spent on painting
“The paint was falling off and chipping and was very, very gray,” said Fletcher.
ISU spokeswoman Adrienne King told Local News 8 all work done on the house had to be done through the state bidding process using state contractors.
Fletcher said the university was obligated to make all of these improvements.
“The board policy says that we should not only keep it up to spec, we should maintain and enhance the image,” said Fletcher.
Fletcher said compiling the documents cost the school around $4,500, but that they wanted to make them available nevertheless.
“We are public servants and we’re interested in transparency and our objective here was to be as maximally transparent as we could,” said Fletcher.
You can view the documents on the third floor of the ISU Administration Building during regular business hours.
