Main Building Water Damage Updates (rec'd 2/10)

Both these letters are on http://www.antiochians.org/

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February 9, 2009

To:       The Antioch College Alumni Board
Fr:       The Board Pro Tempore
Re:       Antioch Hall

The Board Pro Tempore of the Antioch College Continuation Corporation
shares the concerns expressed by all Antiochians regarding the
condition of Antioch Hall and will be carefully following actions to
address the damage that occurred over the weekend.

Matthew Derr, Chief Transition Officer requested and was granted a tour
of the building and also earlier discussed the situation directly with
Art Zucker, Chairman of the Antioch University Board of Trustees, Toni
Murdock, Chancellor and Tom Faecke, Vice Chancellor. The Board Pro
Tempore also met last evening and had an extensive conversation on this
topic.

The Board Pro Tempore feels that stewardship of the entire campus is a
critical responsibility of the Antioch University Board. In particular,
"Main Building" represents both our symbolic home and as well as a
national historic treasure. In the spirit of our collaborative work
with the development of the Letter of Intent, it is the Board's
expectation that the campus be carefully safeguarded prior to its
intended transfer.

Following this statement you will find a link to a document from the
Chancellor's office shared with the Antioch University Board. We
anticipate that more information will be forthcoming.

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Letter From Antioch University:

Monday February 9, 2009

To the Community of Yellow Springs,

Over this past weekend, a water leak was discovered in the Main
Building that has, understandably, caused much concern among alumni and
Yellow Springs residents. The break was discovered around 5pm on
Saturday, February 7. Even though public outcry runs counter, cold
weather, lack of heat in the facilities, neglect on the part of the
university, and quick rebound in outside temperature is not the cause
of the current flooding in Main Building. It is early in the
investigation and the University is unable to say definitively what
caused the break.

The source of the water appears to be from a broken pipe in the very
peak of the attic of Main Building, with water contained mostly to the
center of the building. The fire system currently in use is a dry
system, which means that it is not triggered into activation until heat
is detected and, subsequently, pipes become filled with water. This
system, according to Miami Twp. Fire Chief, is perfectly designed for
the attic area of Main Building. Working with sprinkler system experts,
a complete investigation has begun to help determine the cause.

Tom Faecke is overseeing this issue and reports that all water has been
turned off in Main Building. Any remaining standing water in the
building will be addressed beginning Tuesday morning. In addition, a
professional service will begin to dry the building immediately. The
University is also working with insurance carriers to cover the cost of
remediation. It must be noted that even when the power plant was in
operation, the attic space in Main Building remained unheated. When the
break was detected, it was over 50 degrees in the attic so ice is not
suspected. However, that is speculation and a definitive answer will be
determined on further investigation.

The sprinkler system in use in Main Building is legal and has passed
all required yearly inspections according to Miami Township Fire Chief,
Colin Altman.

The pipes in the sprinkler system are 50 plus years old and corroded so
that may very well be the cause but the University will not know all of
the facts until the investigation is farther along. Water may have
pumped for several hours, but not days as has been speculated. Campus
routine inspection schedule had someone walking through, inspecting
Main Building late in the workweek and no damage was detected at that
time.

Initial inspection detects no structural damage to Main Building so the damage
appears to be superficial water damage only.

NEXT STEPS:

• the University assessed and documented the damage and is talking
with the insurance company to cover the costs

• a crew will begin Tuesday morning, working from the top floor down,
to remove any remaining standing water from Main Building

• all water will be extracted from Main Building and it will be dried
using fans and heat by a professional company who specializes in this
work

• The plan is to use 150 fans PER FLOOR to dry the facility

• Auxiliary heat will be used to warm the building during this process

• The remediation process will also remove all wet ceiling tiles and
wet carpet and replace with new once the facility is judged to be
completely dry

• Great care will be taken to dry and preserve the wood paneling
prevalent in Main Building

• During the closure of the College, all equipment was removed from Main
Building so no equipment remained to be damage

• All student records were previously removed and secured in a different
location--no student records remain in Main Building

It is regrettable that this has happened. Please look for updates from
the University as the investigation moves forward and we have more
substantive information to share.

Toni Murdock, Chancellor

--
Chelsea Martens
co-Community Manager

Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute
305 N. Walnut St.
Yellow Springs, Ohio  45387
cell: 440-840-8376
www.nonstopinstitute.org