In an effort to avoid inconveniences during winter recess, Facilities Services would like to remind all faculty and staff that the college is officially closed, as posted on the academic calendar, from Saturday, Dec. 17 through Sunday, Jan. 1.

In order to conserve resources when the college is closed, building temperatures are lowered, lighting levels are at a minimum and access to buildings may be restricted. Snow and ice removal is also limited to priority routes.

We have scheduled several projects during winter recess in an effort to avoid disruption to the regular College operations. Carpet will be replaced with tile in the first floor hallway of Sangamon Hall. Access to this area and the areas served by this hallway will be limited for the duration of winter recess. We will also be testing fire alarms and other life safety systems throughout the main campus.

We encourage anyone needing to visit the college over winter recess to contact the LLCC Police at 622.3853. As always, your patience and cooperation is greatly appreciated, and we hope everyone has a wonderful and safe winter recess.

Facilities Services would like to ask for patience and cooperation as our crews work to remove the accumulation of leaves around campus. This necessary job is often dictated by traffic flow, time of day and wind direction. There may be times when it will be necessary for us to temporarily block off a lane of a road or several parking spaces or even a sidewalk until we can remove a pile of leaves. With a little cooperation from everyone we will get the job done as safely and as quickly as possible.

We also would like to remind all faculty and staff that even though the weather has been mild lately, cold temperatures are right around the corner. A beautiful fall day may be followed by a night that’s cold enough to produce frost and ice. Please keep this in mind and watch your step in the parking lots and on sidewalks. We strive to address icy areas as soon as possible, but it takes time for salt and ice melt to do their job.

This Friday, Oct. 7,  we will be shutting off the domestic water service at the Millennium Center for a few hours early in the morning.  This will be from about 7-9 a.m. and will disable the restroom facilities and some faucets in the building.  The outage is necessary to prepare for the installation of the new boilers for the building and should be the only disruption of water service necessary during this emergency project.

We appreciate your understanding as we work  to provide heating to the building in advance of cold weather.

You may have noticed several changes in campus parking lots recently.  Ten parking spaces next to the Millennium Center have been blocked off to provide contractors space for equipment and vehicles for an upcoming boiler project.  These spaces will be blocked off through the end of October, the estimated duration of the project.

Also, there are now two concrete barriers at the corner of Cass Gym where the sidewalk in front of the building crosses the roadway. There have been concerns expressed regarding vehicles not stopping at the corner of the building and pedestrians not looking up as they are walking.  By placing the barriers there, the pedestrian traffic is forced to the right which places them in view of vehicles. The crosswalk will also be repainted to reflect the new pedestrian walking flow.

We have three new projects that we have recently begun.  We have just started work on a new sanitary sewer for the Child Development Center.  Previously the CDC had been served by a sceptic system but will now be connected to the Sanitary District’s sewer system.  You may see some activity in the western section of the Hamilton area that is associated with this project.

We are also beginning an update of the UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) systems and cooling systems in the Information Systems area of Menard Hall.  This will allow for a safer and more efficient use of these rooms in the lower level of the building.

Finally, we are installing two new boilers in the Millennium Center.  This is an emergency project necessitated by leaking hot water pipes from the Physical Plant in Sangamon Hall.  Without new boilers we would be unable to provide heat to the Millennium Center this winter.  We will be barricading off some areas on the west side of the building and are appreciative of your understanding and patience as we strive to complete the project prior to the heating season coming up at the end of October.

Thank you,
Hugh Garvey, Asst. VP Construction

Facilities Services will be conducting annual testing of the fire alarm systems in all buildings beginning on Monday, Aug. 8, through Monday, Aug. 15. Disruptions will be kept to a minimum; however, it will be necessary to activate  horns and strobes during the testing. We appreciate your patience as we perform this necessary testing.

Thank you,
Dave Bretscher
Director, Facilities Services

We extend our condolences to Tim Roth, building custodian, on the passing of his father, Felix Roth, Jr. Visitation and funeral services were held Tuesday, June 28. View the obituary.