By Kyle Coley
Staff Writer
A gutter above the right entrance of May Hall that has been pouring rain on students throughout the semester was repaired on Dec. 1, according to Executive Director of Facilities Dan Giard.
Maintenance workers flooded the small roof above the right entrance to May Hall to identify any leaks in the roof or gutter.
Giard said there’s "no big cost or anything to fix the flooding with the gutter."
The current repair to the gutter is not a permanent solution, but should last a very long time, said Giard.
He said this is the second repair to a gutter on the building within the span of a month.
“We repaired a gutter over there [May Hall] about two to three weeks ago. As far as I know, everything’s been repaired," said Giard.
"The gutter itself was plugged up and it was leaking over the steps. It was plugged up with leaves and other debris that had to be removed," Giard added.
Prior to the repair of the May Hall gutter, several students commented on their concerns with the right-most entrance way.
Nolan Psuik, a senior history major, said, “You get poured on walking in when it’s barely raining out.”
Daniela Marquez, a senior history major, said, “Every time it rains, I dread walking into May Hall because I don’t want an extra shower.”
Julia Taliaferro, a senior political science major, said, “It’s not my favorite thing, but I’ve gotten pretty good at timing when I walk under it.”
Anthony Sims, a junior English major, said, “It’s annoying and I don’t like getting dripped on. Especially if you’re wearing leather, it can be very annoying. It’s also dangerous to items such as electronics that can’t get wet.”
Cyrus Bergeron, a junior fashion design major, said, “When it rains, if you’ve been here long enough, everyone just goes to the other door. You basically see freshmen get rained on.”
A number of repairs and renovations have been undertaken in the past few years in May Hall.
The University is planning future renovations to the building.
Ann Martin, the director of capital project management, said the University has hired an architect to examine the exterior conditions of May Hall, which would include the gutters in the front.
“The cost to replace the roof and to perform the necessary repointing of the May Hall building, along with replacement of gutters, is estimated to be $3,100,000,” said Martin.
Martin said the University has completed two major renovations in May Hall since 2021.
Martin said, “One project was for a section of exterior repair - replacing a small section of the roof structure and repairing the interior ceiling walls of the front stairwells.”
She said the project included, “demolition and rebuilding of wood-framed roof structure at the two western stair towers of May Hall.”
Martin said the first project cost $579,825, with $402,749 being paid for by the Division of
Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM).
The second project that was undertaken “was to replace the stairwell treads and railings,” said Martin.
According to Martin, the second project cost $259,333, with $191,494 being covered by DCAMM.
“Both projects were funded in the DCAMM five-year Capital Plan (FY19-FY23). DCAMM provides a portion of the funding and FSU provides match funding for the balance,” said Martin.
“Currently, FSU has committed funding from the new DCAMM five-year Capital Plan (FY24-FY28) to complete the remaining flooring and landing repairs,” said Martin.
Martin said, “The total to complete is estimated to be $173,000, of which DCAMM funds $127K. The project was split into two phases to schedule the work when the building was unoccupied.”
Starting Dec. 26 and ending on Jan. 11, “Work is scheduled on the ground floor and first floor landings,” said Martin.