Some $2 million in cosmetic upgrades for the new Doudna Fine Arts Center were cut by the Capitol Development Board after March construction bids came back over budget.

The board revised the general construction, plumbing and electrical construction contracts to fit under the $45.8 million budget the state allocated Eastern in September of 2001.

The Doudna project was on schedule in December after asbestos removal but hit a snag when contract bids were not received in early February. The deadline was then pushed back a month to March.

Mia Jaco-Harris, a spokesperson for the board, said the budget cuts would not affect the building’s classroom equipment but, rather, cosmetic elements. Jaco-Harris said cuts were made in areas such as the underground storm water retention, the amount of finishing on the concrete and interior architecture.

“The cosmetic things would have been nice to have if the money was there,” she said. “Basically the things we’re taking out are really the ‘nicety-type’ things.”

One specific example of the cuts, Jaco-Harris said, was the switch from a panel copper roof, which has a more modern, flatter look, to a standing seam copper roof.

Carol Strode, interim director of facilities, planning and management, said the $2 million, or 5 percent, budget gap was caused by the lack of a preliminary design.

“You need to understand that budgeting at this level is (difficult) without the benefit of plans, site surveys, infrastructure surveys, code reviews or other tangible assets,” Strode said.

The university only used information from program needs and per square foot estimates, but the lack of preemptive research is something most public universities experience, Strode said.

The cost of a preliminary design normally ranges anywhere from 2 to 4 percent of the construction cost, which would have been $1 million to $2 million. Eastern was unable to pool the money, which is normally paid by donors; and as a result, more specific estimates were not supplied.

“What might have affected the budget overrun?” Strode said. “Economies, bidding climate, project size, project location, inflation, war or threat of war and site constraints.”

The process is an inexact science, Jaco-Harris said, because the state allocates the money to the university – before accurate estimates are predicted – to pay for architectural design plans, which do not include construction or supplies cost.

“It takes time for it all to work out,” she said. “I think in a different market it would have come within budget.”

Bids for heating, ventilating and sprinkler fire protection have already been accepted, with the new bid dates for the three other contracts holding deadlines of April 23 and April 25.

Once the new Doudna Fine Arts Center is completed, it will double the current

building’s size from 69,861 square feet to 138,696 square feet and will house the theater, arts and music departments.

Doudna construction, which is estimated for completion in fall of 2005, will extend across Seventh Street, which was the reason the new Human Services building had to be built.

Glenn Hild, chair of the art department, said he wasn’t frustrated by the budget cuts, which he said are only part of the business.

“It’s one of those things that I don’t have any control over,” he said. “About all I can say is that academic classes are not going to be affected by the reevaluation.”